chronic osteomyelitis

What has your child's doctor said/done when you have told him/her about the inadequate pain control?

They are unsure what to do...at first they told us to give her stronger doses of tylenol or advil (now we are up to the max. recommended dose) then we went on to the Vioxx although they were unsure of which meds they could give her. They said there have not been a lot of studies done on pain control for kids and therefore were unsure of dosages for children. Today I am taking her to our family doctor to see if he has any suggestions as we can't get back to or orthopedic specialists until mid June. We also have a CAT scan today to try and hopefully figure out the cause of the pain she is still having. Its all so frustrating to see a kid in extreme pain (limping, crying etc.) everyday *sigh*

I am a orthopaedic nurse in one of the top 10 us teaching hospitals.I am no doc thats for sure.....but....osteomyletis is PAINFUL!And pain is one area that should be controlled.there are NUMEROUS pain meds out there that will alleviate your childs pain.It has been proven study after study that if pain is not well controlled it prologs the healing process.Why isnt your doc looking at a mild narcotic?Its almost inhumane not to.Pain is pain....and osteomyletis can make grown men scream with pain.Are they treating your child with the big gun antibiotics?The antibiotics will treat the underlying issue of infection...but it doesnt care for the pain issue.Pain is something that can be alleviated.....do not worry over "addiction" or aNYTHING LIKE THAT....this is a neccessity( pain mmeds)...studies show that even patients that have to be on narcotic pain meds for true illnesses will not ever have any addiction at all.Think of it like this....have you ever had a csection...or a major operation?how would you feel if postop they only gave you tylenol?talk to your ortho and pediatrician.

oramorph? may help but it is not a long term drug

I am a orthopaedic nurse in one of the top 10 us teaching hospitals.I am no doc thats for sure.....but....osteomyletis is PAINFUL!And pain is one area that should be controlled.there are NUMEROUS pain meds out there that will alleviate your childs pain.It has been proven study after study that if pain is not well controlled it prologs the healing process.Why isnt your doc looking at a mild narcotic?Its almost inhumane not to.Pain is pain....and osteomyletis can make grown men scream with pain.Are they treating your child with the big gun antibiotics?The antibiotics will treat the underlying issue of infection...but it doesnt care for the pain issue.Pain is something that can be alleviated.....do not worry over "addiction" or aNYTHING LIKE THAT....this is a neccessity( pain mmeds)...studies show that even patients that have to be on narcotic pain meds for true illnesses will not ever have any addiction at all.Think of it like this....have you ever had a csection...or a major operation?how would you feel if postop they only gave you tylenol?talk to your ortho and pediatrician.

Thanks so much for your reply! My daughter was treated a year ago with 4 weeks of IV antibiotics then another 8 weeks of oral antibiotics. There is no sign of infection now. Just lingering pain. I took her to see her family doctor yesterday who has given us Naprosen 3 times a day and told her to take tyelnol arthritis twice a day. We've only had 2 doses of each so far but it seems to be helping - last night she slept all night for the first time in weeks (and this was after doing her paper route and having a soccer practice)! The family doc was surprised that she had been given such a minimal dose of the Vioxx and was not surprised at all that it didn't work. I think it helped that she was in considerable pain when we were actually at the doctors office yesterday. It seems when we see the specialist she is having one of her better days and I don't think he realizes the extent of her pain - even after we explain it to him. Hopefully the CAT scan we had yesterday will help give us some insight into the cause of this pain that she is still having. We'll just sit tight and wait - again.