Tumor pain relief. Any advice?
There's a large tumor discovered Mar. 23 on my R kidney; the pain worsened on Saturday to radiate from the waist towards the front, about 10 inches in a line. MD said "warm showers to relax, read, listen to music, walk, do something to take your mind off it" until surgery, which is some weeks away. Would anyone know more immediate relief methods? Currently, I'm using hot showers and a heating pad that helps quite a lot in addition to his advice. The prescribed tylenol stopped working on Saturday; it was 650 mgs every 6 hrs. I switched to my old standby: aspirin every 4 hours. MD said "stop aspirin 1 week prior to surgery" which I intend to do.
The area is approx. 8 inches in diameter for the pain source, which was described as 'grapefruit' sized tumor. I can feel the pushing of the tumor against my ribs and guts, with noticeable distension and extra firmness to the area. Any hints appreciated.
Call, visit--whatever--beg your doc for something that will WORK. The pain is being caused by something, it's not 'in your head' and all the meditation/essential oils/massage isn't going to relieve pain that has an actual, literal cause.
The war on opioids is a lost cause. You KNOW who the biggest abusers of them are? Doctors and others in the healthcare field.
THAT comes from my DIL, an anesthesiologist. She said that people are waaaaay underprescribed for pain.
I wish you luck in getting this dealt with.
quickly. hint, hint.
Delaying surgery on a tumor like that is unconscionable, imo.
There have been people with what seems like "emergencies" that never went to the E.R. And I am no expert, and do not want to scare you with even more concerns than you may already be having.
Common sense says to me that just because you have a surgery scheduled (some time in the future) does not mean that you should have to endure or ignore acute, increasing pain.
Of course, call your doctor. Ask if you should go to the E.R. ??
A tumor that size can rupture and become life-threatening. How will you know?
If you were family, and I knew a little more as to why your surgery is so far away from Mar. 23rd., I might suggest you go to the E.R. for the proper pain meds and an update (MRI) on the tumor. And, to stop the aspirin "as if" you were going to require emergency surgery any day.
At the very least, return to see your doctor right away.
Even St. Joseph's does not mention Nephrology as a specialty, I could be wrong.
Try UCSF, or the Mayo Clinic in Arizona?
Opioids are the most effective analgesic class, far more than the near worthless and very dangerous cocktails of 1980s antiepileptics and antidepressants, augmented by weirdo antipsychotics like seroquel. It’s about as effective as aromatherapy and homeopathic woo, in my opinion.