Pros and cons of Pain Catheter

[boswind]

Hi All,

I am going to have surgery to remove the cancer tumor located around in the junction of Sigmoid colon and rectum. I was seen by my surgeon last Friday. He asked me if I want to have a pain catheter to reduce pain. Since I have no ideas about pain Catheter, I would appreciate it if you could provide me pros and cons of the pain Catheter.

My main concern is: will the pain catheter delay my discharge date from the hospital?
Also, I usually tolerate moderate pain well. will pain catheter be very helpful?
What is the patient group that is most suitable for pain Catheter?

Thank you in advance.

Boswind

[skypup]

I had one, and it's no big deal. It definitely won't delay your hospital departure. Taking it out was a very simple pulling on the line, if yours is like mine was. There is no reason not to get all the good pain management you can because it will hurt to walk, high pain tolerance or not, and the more you are up and about the faster your guts will start moving again. Check with your surgeon about these questions, of course, but I give it the thumbs up.

[Deb m]

When my husband had his surgery he had a pain cath put in. They told him that his recovery would go faster the sooner he was able to get up and walk around some. The pain cath helped him to do this. I think it helps speed up your recovery.

Hope all goes well,

deb m

[Ashlee H.]

I think you are talking about an Epidural. I've have procedures with and without it. Most people love them. If they work right, you end up taking less pain meds. If you are on blood thinners, they don't like to do them because there is a risk of complications. My first epidural, only 1/2 of me was numb, so I still needed the other pain meds. It would have been great if everything was numb, but there is no guarantee They OD my epidural pain meds and I got horrible chills where I couldn't stop my teeth from chattering. They have to tape the epidural to your back. It was at this time I learned I had a bad reaction to the tape they use, and ended up with a lot of sores that was worse than the incision. But, like I said, if everything works great - it is wonderful!

[sdp]

I would recommend / suggest that you get one.
U will be walking early and that to some people means a early recovery -
I had a epidural in both my liver resections and it was much better than the colon resection when I didn't get one

Imwould definitely opt for a epidural

[skypup]

I think you are talking about an Epidural.

If you are asking about an epidural, then disregard my previous post; I have not had an epidural. I did, however, have a line inserted through my incision to send pain meds to the surgery site that was left in after the surgery for a few days. Thought that was what you were referring to. Can you clarify?

[sadysue]

I had an epidural for pain management while in the hospital and it worked great. It was taped to my lower back and when I needed some relief I simply hit a button and received my meds. As many others said, the faster you get up and start walking, the faster your bowels will go into action. The epidural will provide you with enough comfort so that you get feel good about getting up and moving around. I was out of bed pretty quickly and walking the halls less than 24 hours after surgery. Good luck!

[jens22]

The Epidual pain med was amazing!!! I got outof surgery at 8pm and was walking to the bathroom the next day. It gets you up and out quicker. I had it for 4 days. WOnderful!!

[Amy W]

I didn't have an epidural with my surgery (top 75% of colon removed), but I thought I could give you a good comparison re. what other pain meds are like since I also tolerate pain quite well. I was on patient-controlled morphine for the day of my surgery, where you press the button to get a small shot of morphine when you need it, but my surgeon took me off of it the next morning. Turns out he didn't want me on that in the first place so I was switched to a standard painkiller -- I think it was Tramadol -- for the rest of my stay in hospital. And I was walking around the day after my surgery, and doing laps around the nurses station the second day after my surgery. I felt sick to my stomach -- I blame the hospital food -- but I didn't feel much pain. Since you still have questions about it, maybe ask your doctor what he would recommend, or talk with the nurse at your pre-surgery clinic. I always ask my doctors if they were in my situation, what they would do -- I find they give me honest answers every time.

Good luck with your surgery, and remember to move around as much as you can afterwards -- it will get you discharged sooner!

[Coppercent]

I had a LAR and I handle pain well so it would have been unnecessary for me. I had a dilaudid pump the first 24-48 hours and then went straight to Tylenol. For me an epidural would have added an unnecessary risk of additional complications. If you handle pain well, you may not need one. I was up walking several times a day after surgery. They told me walking was my ticket out. And I wanted to go home as soon as possible. Good Luck on whichever choice you make.