This area of medicine is very complex and often mismanaged by emotions versus results.
My wife and I are on the opposite end. We do terrible with the narcotics/opiods.
We have to go through hoops and bs not to get these drugs.
My wife gets very sick GI/nausea with a single dose of an injectable or po dose of an opiod. The last thing you want when you are post op. She, also, develops bizarre mental reactions from these drugs.
I have zero pain relief with these narcotic/opiate drugs. When, I take them post op, it like getting hit in the forehead with a baseball bat wrapped with a lot of gauze. My mental processes go to hell, and I’m very shaky when I try to get up to answer some of nature’s calls.
Last week, I had some lengthy and complicated foot surgery, and the Orthopod/foot surgeon as per my suggestion used Toradol IV during and on closure.
He gave me an rx for po Percocet an rx for Toradol. Re the Precocet, which I took as directed for one day and half the dose for the next day and DCed it on the third day. No real pain relief besides filling like someone hit me in the forehead with the baseball described above. Constipation for me comes with a single dose of a narcotic/opiate.
In spite of warnings that PO Toradol, a non steroidal, might not cover the pain. I started rotating the doses of the Toradol and Percocet on the first day at home post surgery., I’m doing fine with it and had no narcotics after the second day. I started walking with the boot two days ago, and I am apparently about a week ahead of schedule re recovery.
The unfortunate situation is that true personalized care is becoming non-existent. Doctors used to be well acquainted with the patient and their reactions to different medications and would tailor them to the individual, but unfortunately most doctors don’t bother anymore and it’s only going to get worse.
Those who don’t fall into the “average patient” category will and are suffering — as you shared your and your wife’s experiences.