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Post surgical pain. Any suggestions
I was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer in 2019. I went through chemo and radiation and the team decided surgery could be an option. I had surgery in April 2020. Recovery was slow and pain is still an issue. I have tried nerve block several times, and even went to see a neurosurgeon to see if blocking the nerve permanently was a possibility. The surgeon sounded very optimistic. In her note, she even mentioned booking an OR. I have reached out to her every month through the portal and have not heard back. I am not impressed with the neurosurgery department at Dartmoth-, Hitchcock medical center. I refuse to take pain medication. Does anyone have any suggestions?
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I had my esophagectomy 3 months after you in 2020, I was a stage 3 adenocarcinoma (T3N1M0) patient. As a stage 4 getting to esophagectomy... amazing. And the fact that you, like me, are 5 years post-op... and maybe not being monitored any longer... truly amazing as a stage 4.
Ok... pain management, assume from your surgical scars and internal nerve healing... yes, can be all over the place. Do you have the big thoracotomy scar? Abdominal or neck incisions? I was lucky... minimally invasive Ivor Lewis esophagectomy... my biggest incision is 2 inches... and only one of these. The rest are holes from laparscopic tools.
Not taking any pain meds... hmmm... Both a good thing, and a bad thing. It changes your personality... and greatly affects your QofLife. I host twice-weekly free Zoom calls... maybe come see us. Just two Sundays ago we had a highly credentialed Los Angels Cedars-Sinai anesthesiologist and Pain Management doctor as a guest on our call. We have surgeons and oncologists and others pop in from time to time. Additionally, I know many who suffer from postoperative pain and have sought relief. Would you like me to put you in touch with some? Contact me privately right here inside this Mayo site... and maybe we'll start a dialog and see where this will lead. I have hundreds of my fellow patients' cell numbers stored in my phone... we pass them around like candy... we only want to help our fellow patients and caregivers. You may have to change your attitude a touch in order to achieve a better QofLife. Certain meds are helpful, possibly non-opiod and nonaddictive. But I'm guessing you've tried a few things in past years... so I've much to learn about your situation.
Be well,
Gary
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2 ReactionsGary,
Thank you for reaching out. I have decided to try asking other survivors for help as narcotics seem to be the only help offered from doctors.
I also had an Ivor Lewis Esophagectomy via Laparoscopy and right Thoracotomy. They also had to do a 7th rib resection as there had been of cancer there in a previous PET Scan (neg for cancer which changed my diagnosis from stage 4 to stage 3). The incisions on my back and side is 15”. The incision on my chest is 7”. Other than that my trunk and arms look like I’m a pincushion, lol.
After the first few months I was still taking four ibuprofen or two Tylenol every three hours for a couple years. My surgical team knew I never mentioned any possible complications.. it wasn’t until I went for my first nerve block, but the nurse told me this could cause major complications if it continued. So I stopped taking over-the-counter medication‘s too. The first nerve block lasted about two days The second third and fourth didn’t even last that long. I went to a neurosurgeon, and Dartmoth- who said she was going to reach out to my team and schedule an OR. That was in February 2025 I have reached out through the portal every month to her. Someone has always responded to me saying that they would give her the message and I have not heard from her.
You are definitely correct as far as having no quality of life. I live alone with my two cats.(Who are no help lol). Most major household chores(mowing the lawn or shoveling) require several breaks and nausea medicine. Coughing, sneezing and vomiting also require nausea medicine as the pain gets so bad. Doing activities with my two young grandchildren will usually cause pain that is almost unbearable for a couple of days as I overdo it while we are together.
Besides getting to see my daughter, get married, and my two grandsons being born I almost regret ever having surgery. Chemo and radiation really were not that bad at all I knew surgery was going to be very difficult, but I didn’t realize the lasting impact it was going to make all my life.
Thank you,
Lori