I has VSL surgery on October 3rd and I am recovering well, full of energy and so happy that I've done this momentous step. But I do have one problem and I wonder if anyone else has experienced this. I was given hydrocodone acetaminophen as a pain med. But I can't take it - it makes me wake up with face scratching and the worst nightmares I've every had. I mean, these are vivid, lucid, weird disturbing dreams that haunt me all day. Crazy dreams that I can recall with perfect clarity days later. They are so bad that I asked for a different medication. I would even go without pain meds, but my blood pressure has shot up, which may be cause by the pain. I've trying another strong pain reliever and the effects are still there, but not quite as strong.

I just wondering if anyone else has experienced this. At least the good news is.. I'm pretty sure I could never get addicted to opiods because I hate the way they make me feel.

17 minutes ago, sundog said:

I just wondering if anyone else has experienced this.

Have you told the nursing staff or doctor that the meds are affecting you this way?

I think you need to.

yes..me as well..they are like movies..

more previlant with Oxycodone.

Wow, that would be terrible! Definitely talk to your surgeon or nurse or someone to get something else. Or, if possible, go without. Everyone's pain is different. My pain meds made me nauseous. I thought I was feeling sick from having the surgery but when I got home, I stopped taking the pain meds and the nausea went away. But, as I said, everyone has different pain and different tolerances but it sounds like you should definitely ask for something different. No reason to suffer like that.

I switched from hydrocodone to tramodine and things were a lot better. Now I am 6 days post op so I'm only taking liquid tylenol. But for anyone else who experiences this... apparently some people have an opioid receptor that makes them experience a lot of itching. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/defeating-pain-without-the-itch/

I must have that receptor. I guess I also am susceptible to some of the hallucination effects of opiods. Mine weren't as bad as in this story.. but I hope I can live the rest of my life without every having to take any of these drugs again. Hands down - this has been the worst part of this whole experience

https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/22/nightmares-after-the-i-c-u/

My wish for the future - live a long, healthy life after this surgery at a normal weight, and then drop dead sometime in my nineties (on the dance floor) without every having to go to the hospital again.