I'm having hernia surgery next wednesday-

[dysfunctional press]

i met with the surgeon today, for the first time..5 minutes later, he's trying to schedule me for saturday- of memorial day weekend...i told him that i'd have to pass on that, so he said wednesday.

my own dr hadn't even diagnosed it yet- i came in today because of a bump by my belly button and some discomfort(i was in a week ago for a check-up and it wasn't there). this surgeon apparently comes in one day a month at the dr.s office, and i hit it lucky- i guess...

so it's an umbilical hernia(which apparently isn't all that common in middle-aged men...?), i get full anesteshia, a slice under my navel, and i'm home the same day.
i have primary coverage(PPO) thru my wife's work, and medicare part b as my secondary- so i'll probably pay very little if anything out-of-pocket.
and when you're on permanent disability (ssd), that's a big deal.

[BlueIris]

1. Just try to get non-generic pain meds if you can. I know it can be tough

to get what you need when you have Medicare anything, even as your secondary carrier, but there's no reason for you to suffer after surgery and generic pain meds really aren't likely to provide you with adequate pain management. No half-way decent doc in my area is even trying to pretend that anymore, and most encourage events patients who'd have to pay for the scripts out of pocket to get the brand-name. Make your provider write "do not substitute" on the Rx. Assuming, of course, that you're not strongly opposed to use of pain meds period, in which case, disregard this post. And good luck.

[dysfunctional press]

4. pain meds aren't a problem...and i'm not shy about asking.

i take 50-70mg of methadone daily for chronic pain(6 years-plus) and lately i've also been taking 1-2 vicoprofen/day for migraines. i've also got LOTS of flexeril around for when that's needed as well...
i used to take OxyRushContin, but when i lost insurance awhile back, my dr. switched me to methadone, which is LOTS cheaper- but it's worked well for me...it comes in 10mg tabs, so it's easy to self-adjust my dosing.

[BlueIris]

5. Oh, good for you.

"OxyRushContin," geez. Hon, you're taking it for legitimate reasons. If I recall correctly, prosecutors shredded Limbaugh's bogus claim that he needed it for chronic pain a long time ago.

Methadone, I've heard, can be a good solution for chronic pain sufferers if you can tolerate it. Like you, I'm relatively blessed in this area, and when I need pain medication, the cheaper kinds shut my pain down with few to no side effects, thank the gods. Same with psych meds and tranquilizers. Well, all except Valium which has never, ever had any effect on me, even at very high doses, during times when I haven't had to use prescription drugs of any kind for months (ie; low tolerance for narcotics and tranqs). That have no idea why, but one provider said she thinks it had something to do with the fact that despite coming from a family of alcoholics, I don't seem to have gotten "the gene." Apparently there's a connection between the way an alcoholic's brain functions and the way a Valium addict's brain functions. But, yeah, cheap (brand name, full strength) drugs (without the crap generic manufacturers throw into their shit) are the best. We should all be fortunate enough to be able to manage our pain affordably.

[Floogeldy]

2. I would get a second opinion, if I were you.

Doctors love to schedule surgeries after only five minutes of thought because it makes them money money money money money money money.

[dysfunctional press]

3. it's going to have to get done...

it's kind of uncomfortable, and it's not going to fix itself.
i have some major chronic health problems, and i know/trust my doctor pretty well...my blood pressure actuallly goes down when i go to the dr.'s office...so procedures generally don't really freak me out or give me pause anymore.
but this was the quickest i'd ever had it go from "hello" to "how's your saturday?"

[ScreamingMeemie]

6. Make sure you really like the surgeon. I had a hernia repair in Sept.

due to a surgical hernia (a rip and bulge in muscles that had been previously operated on) It was an open slash n dash... 7 months later I still have a noticeable hematoma and look like a freak on most days. Good luck! :hi:

[dysfunctional press]

7. the guy could be jackie mason's double.

he seems like a genuinely nice guy.

[auntAgonist]

8. arghhhh

I'm looking at having hernia surgery this year too. My hernia is abdominal, due to surgery I had a year ago March. I look like I'm having an alien child :(

:hi: Mrs G!

:hug:

aA

edited to make more sense.

[dysfunctional press]

10. when i sit up- i look like the Alien is about to burst out of my gut.

it's freaky.

[SacredCow]

9. I had a bilaterial inguenal repair back in December of 1999...

My Y2K New Year's eve was spent whacked out on Lortab!