CheekyEMT Posted July 13, 2013 Author Share Posted July 13, 2013 I am the opposite of a shrink..... I am better at bitch slapping than hugging, but I do have some suggestions for you. First off, clearly you are way too smart to dwell on the things you can't do. So go ahead and cut that crap out. How?? Well, Here's what has worked for me! Advice #1 First off, think about the colour blue. OK, Now, think about the colour red. What just happened to blue? Well.... you chose to stop thinking about it so you could think about red, so it went away. Easy hey! Now apply that theory to all those things that pick at your soul. I know it seems pretty easy to say, but ultimately it is your choice not to let these things fester. Advice #2: Perhaps you need to set some goals, both long & short term. How about starting a blog? A bunch of us will follow I do promise that! Set daily goals, weekly, then long term (no dates on these ones). Short term goals should be both progress and distraction goals. Here are some examples: Learning to crochet Put an ankle weight on the uninjured leg and do 'leg ups', set goals for reps Post 1 scenario on EMTCity per week (13 years on truck and you're not sharing?) Find a physiotherapist (online perhaps) and get advice on how to maintain muscle while laying there Start making jewelry and sell it online Get some bubbles and play with the kids Long term goals could include walking with only a cane, or just 1 crutch. Doing light yoga, Weight lifting goals, etc The ultimate end goal could be passing a fitness test of some sort, then you can decide if you want to go back on ambulance or not, but i'd leave that alone right now. by posting your goals and progress online, not only will you get a 'cheering squad' but you will also have some accountability which helps with motivation. I know first hand it is easy to sit and wallow in sadness, so if your looking for the easy way out - go ahead and do that. If your ready to shake off the dust and get on with life, set some realistic goals and get at 'er As a side note: 9 Ibuprophen every day? What dose? Sounds like a recipe for a bleed to me...... I'd be following Dr.s orders if I were you, I know Narcs aren't fun and addiction is a real concern, but lying in bed bleeding from your stomach ulcer ain't fun either. I came home from surgery with a script for oxy then a wk later he gave me dilauded..2 every 4 hrs then a wk later he gave me tramacet and ibuprofin...ibuprofin was prescribed at 200mg...3 tablets 3x's day. The tramacet is 2 every 6 hrs at 37.5mg/325mg. I have been taking the ibuprofin as prescribed but only taking the tramacet for break through pain . If the pain is bad enough I take the dilaudid. I was taking ASA post op for DVT prevention but stopped that once I was prescribed the ibuprofin and tramacet. I became a little nervous last week when I noticed blood in my urine and quit taking the ibuprofin for a couple days and it went away. But I have been taking it as prescribed again because of the amount of swelling and not wanting to taking the tramacet or dilaudid. When my hubby filled the prescriptions even the pharmacist questioned the dose on the ibuprofin....I was originally prescribed 800mg 3 x's day but I told the doctor I wouldn't take that .So, as of today I am currently taking the 1800 mg of ibuprofin a day as prescribed and the tramacet...2 tablets every 6 hrs. I've tried to just get by with tylenol but I can't yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard B the EMT Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Now youze guyz are scaring ME! 1997, I had a torn meniscus, reduced LAZER Arthroscopic surgery, and re-injured 2 more times, no surgery. 2009, I threw my back out (again), and ended up working in the department's Bureau of Health Services. While there, the pain in both knees started. So did my using a cane to get around (distance or unknown or uneven terrain), and taking one Aleve tab a day. On days when I knew I'd be exerting the knees, 2 tabs (label says no more than 3 in a 24 hour period). I'm keeping track of bloody or tar-like stools. Ain't had any...so far. Keeping tight with my PCMD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubanurse Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Aleve is naproxen and has different standards than ibuprophen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariB Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Aleve is naproxen and has different standards than ibuprophen. when Ihave visits to the pain clinic I have to take 4 aleve a day 2 am, 2 pm for 2 weeks. I start bruising easily after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubanurse Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 It's still an NSAID and recommended max dose is 1500mg/24hrs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobey Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 As a side note, I have seen lower max daily recommended dosing for rheumatoid arthritis in a couple different sources. However, they have also mentioned that some RA patients may respond better to higher doses (but not higher than 3200mg/day). Yes. Longer duration medication use can potentially lead to GI issues. However, we don't know the dose, we don't know if this is OTC or prescription strength and we don't know if this is the treatment regimen prescribed by her physician. No drug is without risks. Even OTC medications. With this in mind there have been studies about ibuprofen induced GI bleeding. This lit review indicates a 2-3 fold increase in the risk of NSAID induced bleeds. Here's another study that saw somewhat increased risk of bleeding. Risks can be diminished by taking the medication with food. There are more references and studies out there. Good then.... we agree. NSAID use can lead to GI bleeding. Ya I definatly typed the peds dose as I rushed through the last part of my post while making lamb ribs in a dutch oven on my BBQ, thank you all for pointing that out. It is a little sad though that the rest of my post seems to be 'lost' to some sort of frenzy surrounding the med dose. I stand by my original post though. When someone states '9 ibuprophen a day' with no other quantifiers, it alerts me to give a warning about GI bleeds. Although I have been moved to Celebrex, then Arthrotec... I used to take Advil liquid-Gel 800mg tabs daily. 9 of those/day would be 7200mg. Perhaps this is what the dr ordered... perhaps the pills are a lower dose..... I really don't care. The message I was trying to get across is trading narcotic drugs for a high dose of OTC is not always best. I'm not saying that's what happened here. I'm not saying she is trying to do that. I'm not saying the dr didn't prescribe the Ibuprophen. I am saying the impression I got from the OP was she was happy to cut down on prescription Narc's in exchange for Ibuprophen. I simply wanted to leave the impression to all reading as well as the OP, that 'cutting down' on prescription meds and supplementing high doses of OTC is not necessarily a good goal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheekyEMT Posted July 13, 2013 Author Share Posted July 13, 2013 I had the best night I've had since my surger. My hubby went and bought me a waterproof cast cover. I was able to go in the pool for the first time this summer......yahoo! It was the best feeling ever. For the first time in 3 wks I was totally mobile and free to move around completely unaided. No crutches, no walker and no wheel chair. I floated around the pool and acutally swam. I can't even begin to tell you how good that felt. I felt like a free bird. AND not only did I get in the pool I had my first REAL bath since my surgery. We have big corner jetted tub and boy was it every nice to be able to get in the tub and enjoy a full blown bath. How silly right.....finding such enjoyment from nothing more then a modified plastic bag...lol... It's actually a DryPro waterproof cast protector....worth every cent of that $55 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubanurse Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 I don't think that is a dose supplied here OTC... here in the US 1 pill=200mg Also narcotics especially the APAP combo's carry heptotoxic risks... I think the overall point is every drug, OTC or prescribed comes with risks and shouldn't be used for longer than absolutely necessary. I had the best night I've had since my surger. My hubby went and bought me a waterproof cast cover. I was able to go in the pool for the first time this summer......yahoo! It was the best feeling ever. For the first time in 3 wks I was totally mobile and free to move around completely unaided. No crutches, no walker and no wheel chair. I floated around the pool and acutally swam. I can't even begin to tell you how good that felt. I felt like a free bird. AND not only did I get in the pool I had my first REAL bath since my surgery. We have big corner jetted tub and boy was it every nice to be able to get in the tub and enjoy a full blown bath. How silly right.....finding such enjoyment from nothing more then a modified plastic bag...lol... It's actually a DryPro waterproof cast protector....worth every cent of that $55 That's awesome! I was going to recommend getting in a pool ASAP so I'm glad you did this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheekyEMT Posted July 13, 2013 Author Share Posted July 13, 2013 Good then.... we agree. NSAID use can lead to GI bleeding. Ya I definatly typed the peds dose as I rushed through the last part of my post while making lamb ribs in a dutch oven on my BBQ, thank you all for pointing that out. It is a little sad though that the rest of my post seems to be 'lost' to some sort of frenzy surrounding the med dose. I stand by my original post though. When someone states '9 ibuprophen a day' with no other quantifiers, it alerts me to give a warning about GI bleeds. Although I have been moved to Celebrex, then Arthrotec... I used to take Advil liquid-Gel 800mg tabs daily. 9 of those/day would be 7200mg. Perhaps this is what the dr ordered... perhaps the pills are a lower dose..... I really don't care. The message I was trying to get across is trading narcotic drugs for a high dose of OTC is not always best. I'm not saying that's what happened here. I'm not saying she is trying to do that. I'm not saying the dr didn't prescribe the Ibuprophen. I am saying the impression I got from the OP was she was happy to cut down on prescription Narc's in exchange for Ibuprophen. I simply wanted to leave the impression to all reading as well as the OP, that 'cutting down' on prescription meds and supplementing high doses of OTC is not necessarily a good goal. I had thought about starting a blog but that's not something I've ever done and figured it would be waste of time. No point in blogging if ya don't have any followers. I've had many friends/family ask for pic's from surgery so I decided to post some on my facebook. I've been taking pic's since the day of surgery to document my progress medically for those who have wanted to know. Maybe a blog would be a good idea. I first saw my leg/ankle 7 days post op and I cried....the look of it truly upset me. Look like I've been beaten with a baseball bat and stabbed half a dozen times. I was definately NOT prepared to see my leg in the condition that it was. I saw it for the 2nd time this Tues and thankfully it looks so much better then it did that last time I saw it. The bruising has gone way down as has the swelling. I still look like I've been beat to hell, but I know it will heal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariB Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Good then.... we agree. NSAID use can lead to GI bleeding. Ya I definatly typed the peds dose as I rushed through the last part of my post while making lamb ribs in a dutch oven on my BBQ, thank you all for pointing that out. It is a little sad though that the rest of my post seems to be 'lost' to some sort of frenzy surrounding the med dose. I stand by my original post though. When someone states '9 ibuprophen a day' with no other quantifiers, it alerts me to give a warning about GI bleeds. Although I have been moved to Celebrex, then Arthrotec... I used to take Advil liquid-Gel 800mg tabs daily. 9 of those/day would be 7200mg. Perhaps this is what the dr ordered... perhaps the pills are a lower dose..... I really don't care. The message I was trying to get across is trading narcotic drugs for a high dose of OTC is not always best. I'm not saying that's what happened here. I'm not saying she is trying to do that. I'm not saying the dr didn't prescribe the Ibuprophen. I am saying the impression I got from the OP was she was happy to cut down on prescription Narc's in exchange for Ibuprophen. I simply wanted to leave the impression to all reading as well as the OP, that 'cutting down' on prescription meds and supplementing high doses of OTC is not necessarily a good goal. OTC advil is 200mg in US. Not sure what it is there but 4 of them here would be 800 mg. 800 mg is a prescription strength dose. Long term use can lead to a GI bleed but can be reduced by taking with food. Anyway. Back on topic. Cheeky, sounds like a great night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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