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Ask her providers if they can prescribe a pain med in the form of a patch. A dialysis center won’t give IM pain medication shots.
Be aware however that getting pain medication these days is like pulling teeth. Usually the patch is prescribed for terminal patients so her chances may be slim for this as the side effects for her (somnolence, constipation, dizziness).
I would medicate her right after dialysis (if by mouth) so it stays in the body to help.
Be prepared because her doctors will be weaning down the pain medication soon.
God forbid a patient should be in pain and need, not abuse, narcotics for real pain relief. This opioid crisis royally pi*^es me off when I see folks ordered Tylenol for some painful or uncomfortable procedure.
The pain after losing a limb is horrendous. When I was young I was involved with a guy who lost a limb after a horrible motorcycle accident. He became addicted to morphine while in the hospital due to the pain being so severe. He was able to overcome his addiction.
I did not meet him until years after his accident so I did not see him suffer, nor see him as an active addict. He was in recovery when I met him. He told me about the accident. It was at night. He wasn’t drinking or speeding. There was a knocked down utility pole in the street that he couldn’t see. He hit it and flew off his bike. Gangrene set in at the hospital and he lost his arm.
I know with my own accident and I didn’t even lose an arm like my old boyfriend, I had surgery with rods placed on my bones. I had an open compound fracture. The pain was so great that the morphine drip in the hospital barely took the edge off.
With my history of growing up with a heroin addicted brother I pretty much suffered on my own once I left the hospital because I am extremely reluctant to using even a moderate amount of opioids.
I was bothered by the muscle spasms that hit me out of the blue just as much as I was bothered by the pain. Again, I took very few of the muscle relaxers. I take the minimum amount of meds that I need.
I hope your mom will recover as quickly and as best as she can. I certainly feel for her and for you. Keep us posted on her progress and let us know how you are doing. We are here to offer our support. Take care. 💗
Good news, for now, she spoke with her doctor in skilled nursing (again, he wouldn't talk to her family or even leave his business card with her), she did the best she could, but, he changed her medication from 6 hrs. to every 4hrs. We STILL don't know what medication she is taking, I can ask the nurse, even though some people told me not to bother them. I think it depends on who you get. Ben, her nurse, was so helpful and had her pain meds ready and waiting for her as soon as she got back from dialysis Saturday bc I called and talked to him. It's kind of scary. Tomorrow is another day of dialysis. They are supposed to give her pain meds 2 hrs before. Praying that they will remember. Thank you so much for your compassion and taking the time to respond. I feel the support from everyone.
Your profile doesn't mention dementia, can she not ask for herself? In any case if the meds are not prescribed that often they can't be given, and her renal failure only complicated things. This is something that you need to hammer out with her doctors and her renal team, who can then hopefully direct the NH.
Any thoughts on how to relieve pain from an amputation when she is on dialysis, Intramuscular shot?
I understand how strong the urge must be to do *something* to help your mother. But just remember - every time you pick up the phone, somebody has to answer it. If you speak for only ten seconds, they've still got to pick up the phone, note the contact, note what you said, go back to what they were doing before...
Or, if they don't answer, you're going to go spare with worrying.
With no visitors going in, all of the voluntary work and support that usually comes from them (extra snacks, changing drinking water, plumping pillows, laundry etc etc etc) will either be done by the staff or not done at all; and you can predict that at least some staff will be forced to go off work in the next few weeks. It's going to be extremely hard going.
You might be able to get better information about what pain relief was prescribed for her from her surgical team. Have you tried giving them a call?
"No doctors over the weekend"? At a post-op Skilled Nursing Facility??? Crikey.
Grit your teeth and hold on. It is horrible, absolutely horrible, to think of your poor mother being left in pain, but the pain relief will be attended to and will take effect - just not as fast as I'm sure we would all want to happen.
Good idea asking the surgical staff!! I am sympathetic with how hard the nurse and staff's job is now. I appreciate them and I tell them.
Y'all, it's impossible to hear my mom crying telling me how badly her pain is, knowing she just had her leg amputated only a week ago, and NOT called and sweetly "bother" the nurses to give her pain meds right away. I can't just go back to doing dishes or trying to concentrate reading for work, like it doesn't affect me. Lots of praying too. Thank you for your sympathy and encouragement, talking helps.
Best wishes to you and your mom.