CCU after surgery: Still traumatized

The risk of myocardial events is greater with opioids. Pain pumps are usual after whipple. I can only guess that you were at some risk which even in pain and if knowing you wouldn't want to take.
Then again hospital care can be fraught.
I was caring for someone in a hospital where the nurses could complete continuing education units while on shift. Otherwise they would have to return on the days off. The resented being interupped from their ed unit completion for patient care. They were all working 12 hour shifts and could be quite grouchy. It was a struggle to get attention for anything.
I'm sorry that you had the experience. You may be experiencing post traumatic stress.

I'm so sorry you went through that. You must have felt abandoned and frustrated, in addition to the pain.

My experience after lengthy spinal surgery to remove a tumour was the opposite — opioids didn't agree with me, and I insisted on going off them as soon as I could (within a couple of days post-op).

Still they kept trying to push them on me from time to time over the next few months while I was recovering in a hospital bed, and it was always a case of "Is it an opioid? ... Then no thank you, I'll just deal with it." I even had visits from the pain-management specialists, who were concerned that I wasn't taking opioids when most of my roommates (especially the first month in an orthopaedic unit) kept asking for more.

We tried a CBD, but that didn't work either. They eventually sent me home with Pregabalin (Lyrica), a non-opioidal nerve-pain medication that was fairly effective once we found the right dose.

Thank you for the response.
I was on large doses of morphine after the second surgery then weaned off with Norco.
Been on them since.

@unclebob83 What a horrific experience. No wonder you are still traumatised by it. I bad HIPEC with cytoreductive surgery and a peritonectomy. Thank goodness for my epidural before the operation and then all the pain relief afterwards including ketamine. I cannot begin to imagine not having had that pain relief.

The closest I came to your experience was when I ended up in emergency sone years ago (before an emergency spinal fusion a few days later) as nerves were being caught in the discs. I was kneeling on all 4’s on the trolley, with a nurse rubbing my back, way off the pain scale. Despite having a very high pain threshold. It took forever for the doctor on duty to give me something that knocked me out - only after my sister (a clinical nurse) arrived and questioned his approach. I’m so sorry you went through that.

I had internal bleeding and low blood pressure was the reason for removing my epidural I was told by staff

Thank you for your response.
I was given high does of morphine after the second surgery and then weaned off onto Norco 10.
One every two hours now down to three a day.

@unclebob83, such an experience is traumatizing. It is good that you are asking questions and getting answers. Internal bleeding and low blood pressure are also concerning after surgery.

Did you have the Whipple surgery for pancreatic cancer surgery? Will you have further treatment?

Yes. Pancreatic cancer.
I was given two weeks to live then after the deep wipple,chemotherapy and radiation treatment I was given four to eight years.
That was ten years ago.
I am blessed!

Amazing!

Yes. I am blessed!