Hi,
Has anyone else had a bad experience with morphine? Last time I had breast cancer surgery I was really sick when I woke up. This has happened before when I had a knee operation, and I wondered if this was a common experience for patients. I understand there are alternatives and I should have a conversation with the anesthetist before I have my reconstruction surgery next Monday. Has anyone else been offered alternative postoperative pain management medication? What were they like and what side effects did you experience?
Morphine is an opioid and all opioids can cause nausea but some more than others - Morphine is one of the worst for it but unfortunately it’s also one of the best drugs for severe pain. If you tell your Anaesthetist that you have suffered from post - operative nausea and vomiting and that you think it’s down to Morphine he may be able to give you extra anti- sickness medication and tweak your anaesthetic a bit as there are other things in the anaesthetic that can also cause nausea . There are other opioids that cause less nausea - we use Fentanyl as a first line now after surgery and often that works and causes less sickness but if it doesn’t work then Morphine is often the next step. We don’t do breast surgery in my Hospital so I’m not familiar with pain relief options but you could ask your Anaesthetist if it’s possible to have regional nerve blockade with local anaesthetic.
Hi Flowersandbees. I have secondary breast cancer with mets in pelvis, spine, ribs and skull. I have a lot of pain in my back from this. The doctor prescribed oramorph and zomorph for me. It didnt cause me to be sick but I got so constipated and felt dreadful. I take tramadol now which is okay for me and will only go on the morphine when pain is too bad. Tramadol suits me and doesnt upset my stomach only thing is I get nauseous so take cyclizine for this. Why dont you ask him about Tramadol it is also an opioid like morphine. Good luck with your surgery. Love your name by the way.
Lee x
Just reading your post @leelaloo1 . I’m glad that Tramadol works for you though I’m sorry that you are in the situation that are needing it. I have given this myself quite a few times and it’s effective the fact that it works in a slightly different way to Morphine makes it a good choice for longstanding pain .
However @Flowersandbees I would not recommend asking to be prescribed it in the Recovery Room / PACU as from my experience ( and all of my colleagues ) when it’s given IV in Recovery it causes at least as much nausea as Morphine at the time though possibly it doesn’t last as long as it’s not as sedating.
@Flowersandbees i also have a bad reaction to morphine and my surgeon prescribed my OxyContin which was great for me and I didn’t experience any sickness or nausea.
I only took it for 24 hours post surgery and then moved to paracetamol
Hope that helps x
Sorry to hear that you’re going through so much, Leelaloo1, thank you for taking the time to get back to me and for your recommendations. It means a lot.
Glad you like my name, I’m into gardening (when it’s not pelting down or blowing a gale).
Much love to you.
xxx
Interesting… I didn’t know Oxy was available in the UK. I will definitely have that conversation with staff before my op.
Thank you for your response.
All the best,
It is available and used in some areas more than others . I have given it before -bi can’t remember anyone being sick with it but then I haven’t given very often . it might be another option for you - worth asking. Xx
Oxycodone is the pharmaceutical name, available in liquid or iv form. You could try that post op. Intra op, try fentanyl, I was fine after having that despite codeine making me feel ill if I do any more than 30mg. Immediately after surgery they might be able to give you a fentanyl PCA (patient controlled analgesia) if staying in overnight.
Yes- the sickness after my lunpectomy was horrendous and I took ages to be allowed home and couldn’t get it under control. I refused opioids for my node clearance and oopherectomy and the pain was absolutely manageable without them and I came out of anaesthetic really fast. So definitely ask for other options.
Hi @Flowersandbees I’m allergic to morphine. Having discussed this with my surgeon, she made sure I had an anaesthetist who could give me both anaesthetic and an anaesthetic block to help with pain management. This did the job until a short time after surgery and then the nurse looking after me in the recovery room gave me fentanyl which worked for me and didn’t cause any reaction. Hope this helps.
Hi mimi6,
I wonder if I’m allergic to morphine as well, I had such a horrible reaction last time. Good to know there are other options. Fentanyl being one of them.
Thanks
If your problem with Morphine is sickness then it is an adverse reaction and not an allergy . I have met people who are truly allergic to Morphine but they are very few .
@mimi6
I had reaction to morphine sickness it’s on my notes now , mastectomy was great no pain no sickness what ever they gave me was so much better than morphine it’s horrible when your so sick , it’s more common than you think apparently x
Hi @Flowersandbees
After my lumpectomies i was given fentenyl. I had no problems with it. But after mastectomy, they used morphine and i did feel queasy. At your pre-op, explain your worries. The anaesthetist will see you before the operation andvyou can tell them too. They can the plan a change.
Hi bluesatuma, it’s interesting that quite a few us don’t get on with morphine. I think I need to be prepared to ask for and discuss alternatives.
All the best