My Dad's been rushed to Hospital, again: does anyone know anything about failed discectomy or possible Piriformis Syndrome

[KatyMac]

He had his 4th discectomy in May & it failed 5 weeks later

He has been on increaseing Morphine ever since & the pain is increasing; OOH have suggested an emergence Orthopedic admission

I am off out (shopping) as a bit of displacement

Could this level of pain be Piriformis Syndrome? What pain meds could they give him other than Morphine? Are they likely to admit him?

So I bough loads of clothes in the Tesco sale - most of which are going back tomorrow

So worried about him

He is still waiting

He has been admitted - he may have discitis/discitus (?) well an infection anyway

Well gee I feel supported this morning

Never mind at least I can vent

He is on shed loads of painkillers & awaiting a scan

Oh I'm sorry Katy, - I don't know anything about your dad's condition, but didn't want you to feel unsupported. It must be very worrying for you. Is he in a hospital near to you?

I'm glad they're given him some strong pain relief, and I hope they get to the root of the problem with the scan so he can make a good recovery.

take care x

Thanks, he has had loads of painkillers & they are talking about an infected disc; we are off to visit him this afternoon

Apparently he is in less pain than he ever has been since it happened.

Nothing will be done until his scan tomorrow evening (this was already booked & they can't/won't make it any sooner)

I appreciate your post

Try to get the hospitals pain clinic involved in the management of his pain too, They really helped my mum recently.

I hope things coninue to improve for him.

I've been trying to organise pain management for some time now

I sympathise, it took months to get them on board with mum.

She has a chronic condition (lupus), and it was only when she had a bad fall recently and the pain relief she had was insufficient, that they finally got it sorted.

It was worth it though. Just a shame we have to fight for our parents to have better managed pain.

TBH all my relationships with the NHS appear to be fights atm

Actually not even atm going as far back as the early 90's we haven't fitted in the box 'as a family'; so we have had to fight for the correct treatment

no idea sorry, hope improves soon

Thanks Giraffes

Hi Katy
I remember your last thread.
Glad to hear that his pain is under control for the time being.
Insist that the pain team (not the clinic) are involved now and make sure you get a good relationship with them, how to contact when etc
If this is discititis it will require a long course of antibiotics usually vancomycin. This may need that he will need a line inserted (rather than the peripheral cannulas) and regular blood tests to ensure the antibiotic is at the right level and not causing too many side effects.
Pain management will be a big issue. Whilst he may be in a back brace or not it is imperative that he stays mobile.

If he is on that much morphine, constipation will be an issue. Ask about targinact - morphine(oxycodone) and naloxone. This basically prevents any constipation but has all the benefits of morphine.

Pregabalin is an adjunct to morpine and is very effective for nerve pain
Not too mention anti depressants and anti inflammatorys.
Insist that the pain team review first thing tomorrow and don't take no for an answer!!
Good luck

I will ass that all onto my mum

He is on 2 sorts of morphin a tablet & a liquid; his guts are in a mess & his mouth is awful

The Pregabalin sounds sort of familiar but not the others

Thanks

Katy, the targinact is new so they may not have heard of it. INSIST they consider it as the benefits of no constipation are fantastic

Well I'll try but you know how some medics are about accepting advise/suggestions

They spent an hour saying well just coming into hospital doesn't mean you'll have your scan any earlier; before acknowledging that he was in a real mess

He looks awful; slurring his words, falling asleep mid-sentence, and so, so, so confused

He can only have some medication because there is too much salt water and you can't have some drugs in a marine environment

Which I assume is nonsense........poor bloke - he looked so old

Katy, he could be confused due to infection or he could be opiate toxic from too much morphine.
You can ask that the anaesthetist reviews him tonight if you think it is related to his pain meds.
You need to discuss all ur concerns with the consultant.
Write down your most serious concerns and a wish list.
Then insist on speaking to his consultant or registrar tomorrow.
Don't take no for an answer and if they don't arrange to speak to you have a letter of complaint with all your concerns and problems with treatment ready to give to the ward sister AND the consultant.
Then if you have still not been seen, INSIST on a second opinion and speak to the consultant that gives it
Hth

I don't get to see anyone; my Mum is (sort of) in charge

I'm not sure anything is wrong other than protocol has delayed treatment. My dad (before he was in hospital) was wondering if the operation wasn't the cause just a red herring.

I'll speak to my mum about 'opiate toxic' are there specific symptoms we should look out for?

Small pupils, drowsiness, confusion, slurred speech.
However, these can be indicative of many other problems too.
Slow respiratory rare and pin point pupils are pretty likely to indicate that it's the morphine.
That doesn't mean they need to stop it, but they do need to reduce it.
I know what you are saying about your mum being in charge, but if you have all these concerns and you feel like you are being fobbed off, you both need to make sure ur concerns are heard

I'll see if I can go in with my Mum tomorrow

They had a panic about his medication over night & changed it all

They moved his scan earlier in the day

The 'Matron' (I think) suggested that she wasn't letting him out until he was better as he was 'one of hers now'

So things are looking up

Glad to hear your getting somewhere Katy. Fingers crossed things will continue to go well x

I think it's good news generally

It turns out it's the same disc & it's herniated again

They are taking about an epidural