Dear So and So

[NbyNW]

Mimi, I got my pain med tapering strategy from a friend who also had a cancer-related surgery. I don't remember what I was on when I fractured my sacrum, but this worked for me:

- don't take pain meds first thing upon waking up -- get dressed, have breakfast, etc. and take a little time to assess how you feel.

- (subjective part) when the pain is just around or beyond what you can bear in order to function (depends what you plan/need to do that day!), that's when you take your first dose for the day.

- gradually take that first dose later and later each day.

- at some point the Rx med will be a bit more than you need -- either you are taking it so late in the day or the pain is dull enough that it's not worth taking ... carefully switch over to your OTC pain reliever of choice ... I'm an ibuprofen person but extra-strength Tylenol was recommended to me at this stage. Check with Dr. &/or pharmacist about potential interactions, as in how long ago should your last dose of Rx be, before it's safe to take OTC.

The other thing I would add to this is to find ways to focus the brain on things other than the pain. TV is too passive for me, I couldn't watch TV all day. Thankfully I was still in grad school so I had a few papers to write, and a thesis topic to come up with. And I was getting ready for a quarter in Italy, so I spent a half hour in the morning and a half hour in the evening practicing my Italian with language tapes.

Some people can really get absorbed in crosswords and Sudoku. There's lots of ways to distract yourself while resting up.

Sounds like Donald's being in the hospital for such a long time may have messed with his sleep patterns ... hopefully things will settle down over the weekend!