My mother, 89 years old, has a herniated disc. She aggravated the disc two weeks and has been in constant agony since. The pain led me to take her to Emergency at our local hospital. They diagnosed the slipped disc, told her to take Tylenol, prescribed muscle relaxants, and sent her home. Tylenols and muscle relaxants are not making a dent in her pain. Called her doctor on Monday, two days after her ER visit. Her doctor is fully booked, does not want to prescribe any pain medication without seeing her and finally, begrudgingly, agreed to see her on Thursday, 6 days after her ER visit. In the meantime, she is whimpering in pain, stays in bed, has no appetite, and is totally miserable. I asked my sister to come over and help her shower, which she did fairly unwillingly. This a vent, but I cannot believe the doctor has waited this long to see her. He is unwilling to see her outside his regular hours and has only agreed to refill the muscle relaxants. I am at my wits end, trying to deal with her pain. Any ideas? She cannot take Ibuprofen or ALEVE due to stomach bleeding issues. The Tylenol is useless.
Make them keep at it to find what is really wrong.
Sometimes we have to be a little pushy to advocate for our LO's. Your mom should not be suffering b/c her doc is stingy with pain meds.
Even IF she got addicted to something--at 89? Who cares??? Sorry, this 'opioid crisis' is such a farce. You know who the biggest abusers are? DOCTORS AND NURSES. And that comes from 2 doctors who KNOW.
Street drugs are another thing. Prescribed narcotics taken correctly can remediate pain and allow your poor mom to heal.
Her dr sounds like and idiot.
But unless you were very clear and very specific about what you wanted and expected him to do, you'll just have to hang on 'til Thursday (unless God forbid anything gets worse). There are anti-inflammatory gels which might help, get advice first because if she's not allowed to take NSAIDs some of these won't be suitable for her; but anyway I often think it's the massage that comforts rather than any magic ingredient.
What kind of bed is your mother on? Is she able to adjust her position, with or without help? You may find it better if two of you assist her when moving - many hands make lighter work of this.
I took her back to the ER. Her doctor's assistant informed this would be the vest course of action. He doctor is out tomorrow completely and wont be back until Thursday. I don't have the ability to monitor her health given her problems. I am seriously considering finding another doctor.
Consider finding a geriatrician.
https://www.agingcare.com/questions/help-with-89-year-with-severe-pain-468773.htm
I see you're in Santa Maria, CA, with a population of a little over 100K. I checked this b/c my first thought was to find another hospital and ER, and equally as important another doctor who's more responsive.
Even if it's a long drive, and out of pocket cost, I would consider calling an ambulance and asking that she be taken to a larger hospital, a teaching hospital perhaps, and seen in their ER.
Forget about showers; use no rinse soap and shampoo. If your mother is already in agony, she doesn't need the challenge of getting in and out of the shower; bathrooms can be dangerous especially for someone in agonizing pain.
Other than quickly finding another ER, or Urgent Care, and/or another ortho doctor, I don't know what else to suggest. And personally, if this doctor doesn't seem to be very interested, I'd certainly dump him and find someone else.
I do know how painful it is to see a loved one in agony, and aggravated by a doctor displaying limited responsiveness. Other than going elsewhere, I don't know what can be done.
Is this current doctor an orthopedic doctor? Personally, any doctor who treated my family or me as yours has been treated would be on the "fired" list by now.
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