Surgery and Fibromyalgia

[Drummer76]

I have to have shoulder surgery in the near future to remove calcium deposits in my shoulder.
Just wondering how well pain medications worked after surgery. Right now I am on Norco 7.5mg and they worked for a few days and now they don't work at all. I am not normally on a pain medication and haven't had any for about 6-8 months.
Does anyone else have issues with this and is recovery time longer for people like us?

 

[sunkacola]

Hi Drummer,
Often pain medications will work for a while and then stop working, or work less well. This happens for everyone who takes pain medication, not just for fibro patients. It's just a common aspect of pain medication.

I have not had surgery, but my understanding from those who have is that it takes longer to recover fully than it tends to take for people who don't have fibro. Following the instructions of the doctors and getting physical therapy and following those suggestions will probably help a great deal in recovery.

My suggestion would be to take whatever pain meds they give you for as few days as possible after the surgery.

Others here who have had surgery can tell you more. Best of luck with it!

 

[Frantastic]

Hi there. I was intrigued to read your post. I have calcific tendinopathy in both shoulders. Having type 1 diabetes for 31 years, I figured it was a complication of that. Do you think it's related to your fibro? At what point were you when surgery was recommended?

Do you know if you're going to have to wear a sling? I hope not.

I had surgery to repair a broken clavicle (right) in August. The surgery itself was fine, partly because a huge area around my clavicle has been numb. I was prescribed hydromorphone 1mg for pain. I already take a Tylenol 3 2-3 times a day, so I stopped taking those for a few days and took the hydromorphone. But the pain wasn't too bad, to I went back to the T3s. The problem arose with having to wear a sling for six weeks while the bone healed. I knew it was the worst thing for someone with fibro, myofascial pain and tendinopathy to do, but what choice did I have? After a week or so, I ended up taking some hydromorphone on my worst days to combat the pain in my traps and upper back. I wanted to stretch so badly! Also, the tendinopathy flared up in my left shoulder because I was having to use only my left arm to do everything.

Sorry for going on. I think I needed a little rant. So, to answer your question, no, I haven't had any experience with pain medications only working for a few days and then not. I've been on Ritalin for a long time and sometimes I take a break from it because I think it stops working as well over time.