DonnaJean,

I'm glad Johnny had a nice birthday. Rest assured his 55th will be much, much better! 40 mgs of Oxycontin timed release tablets every 12 hours worked for Heather. She had a very hard time swallowing them, though, so the doc put her on the liquid Oxycodone, 30 - 40 mgs every 4 - 6 hours. Sometimes she needs it in 3 1/2 hrs, but sometimes she gets 5 hrs from a dose.

This can be very addictive, so some of her docs were reluctant to give her such a high dose, but the surgeon said the #1 priority was to control the pain so she could get on with the healing. We will deal with the possible addiction later. He doesn't think it will be much of a problem.

He also prescribed Vioxx because she has a really bad case of Trismus (lockjaw). As long as John can open his mouth okay, it probably wouldn't be recommended for him. It's for the joint pain in her jaw.

Everybody is different and perhaps he needs a different pain med, but the important thing is to make sure they prescribe a high enough dose. When I mentioned what Heather had been taking before, several people here told me to push the docs to get her stronger medicine. I urge you to do the same. Johnny doesn't have to be in pain. The doctors can do something about it, but you have to be assertive and insistent.

Good luck,
Rosie