[ka1222]

Re: Just diagnoised and start Chemo today

by ka1222 on Sun Apr 24, 2011 7:01 pm

Dr. Libby,

Thank you for your encouraging comment. Getting the pain under control is the key for him right now. We got 3 hours of sleep last night due to getting up and taking pain killers just to be able to rest. It was a rough night. Not only is the pain so bad, it's crippling. It takes at least 5 minutes to be able to work his self up out of the bed. His body gets real stiff. We talked to the doctor at thursday's appointment. about the pain situation. She D/C'd the Oxycodone and put him back on Hydrocodone. He had a fairly good day on friday but on saturday, he was back in the unbearable stage again. We called the oncologist on call saturday afternoon and he told him to go back to the Oxycodone. The results have not been encouraging. The Tramadol he's on is HCL 50 mg.. I;m wondering if he should not be taking the Extended-Release form?? Any thoughts on that? They say he has a hair line fracture on his sacrum. Is this the samething as a Compression Fracture? Also, we were wondering if they could possibly do a nerve block in that area? We are so new to all this and just searching for any answers that may work. His pain level is at a 9 or 10 constantly. He could cope if he could just get it to a 4 or even 5. That would be a blessing! We go back for the 3rd chemo treatment in the morning. I would really love to hear your thoughts on these questions.

Thank You!!
Karen

[Dr. Edward Libby]

Re: Just diagnoised and start Chemo today

by Dr. Edward Libby on Mon Apr 25, 2011 4:28 pm

In general the oncologist should be in charge of his pain medications. Patients may need large doses of long and short acting narcotics initially. The dosages sometimes need to be rapidly excalated until control is obtained. As the myeloma receeds the need for pain mediciations will as well. I often use long acting morphine in combination with short acting morphine for new myeloma patients. The long acting morphine is taken every 8 or 12 hours and the short acting is for pain that occurs in spite of the long acting drug (breakthough pain). Patches that are applied to the skin every 72 hours are also effective for long acting pain control for many patients. The oncologist will adjust the pain medications every 24-72 hours until a reasonable level of comfort and tolerance is gained. My recommendation is that you contact the oncologist or get in to see him/her quickly to gain control over this. The pain is often absolutely terrible and severely debilitating.

[Beacon Staff]

Re: Just diagnoised and start Chemo today

by Beacon Staff on Tue Apr 26, 2011 9:56 am

Hi Karen,

One of the regulars here at The Myeloma Beacon, Lori Puente, recently wrote and shared with everyone an Opinion article about the extended-release form of morphine, Kadian, and how it was really useful to her husband when he was suffering from a lot of pain from his multiple myeloma. You may find the article helpful as you consider the options for your boyfriend. Just click on the link to read it.

All of us here at the Beacon hope you and your boyfriend are able to find a solution to this issue really soon. Good luck!

[Blanca]

Re: Just diagnoised and start Chemo today

by Blanca on Mon Jul 15, 2013 7:05 pm

Hi Karen,

How is your boyfriend doing? My husband was diagnosed with multiple myeloma a month ago. He had back pain and saw a chiropractor and when he got the results from the MRI we got the shocking devastating news. It was the hardest thing on earth for me. I have been praying so deeply from the bottom of my heart asking God to please heal him. I feel in my heart that God is with Us and everything happens is for a reason and my husband tells me that is always the best for the soul. He is a happy positive person. And that really helps him. We changed the diet drastically to more vegetables cero processed foods. It is so important to have 80 % alkaline foods in your diet and 20 % acidic. Cancer likes sugars so we changed everything.
He is having Velcade, dexamethasone, and cytoxan. He had his 6th chemotherapy today. But his blood was a little low so the Dr. Skipped the cytoxan for today.
Can you please let me know how your boyfriend is doing? This journey is hard for me. Always the unknown right? It is normal to feel this way. But i must admit that God has given us strength and his love to be able to accept it and live with it. My husband is my hero. He is an example of a real Godly person always asking for God's will.