Narcotic/Opioid pain medications make me nauseous/vomit. What could prevent that?

Question

Just recently, my boyfriend had his second knee surgery and he is taking Percocet for pain. This got me wondering what I would do if I was in his situation.

Every type of pain medication I can remember taking (besides ibuprofen or acetaminophen) has made me incredibly nauseous and I end up vomiting. I had my wisdom teeth extracted and had either Percocet or Vicodin (I don't remember which). I was constantly dry heaving and nauseous to the point where I just stopped taking them and tried to deal with the pain. (This was not ordinary extraction pain, I had a dry socket at the time because my stitches got dislodged as the result of vomiting.) When I was 18 I had kidney stones and was given IV morphine and ended up vomiting non stop (I know I was given Zofran which obviously didn't help). Most recently, I had ovarian cysts and was given IV dilaudid. This is the experience I remember the most. I was given the dilaudid, which made me nauseous, so they gave me Zofran. It did absolute wonders for my nausea (entirely gone), but I was still vomiting. After my kidney stones, they offered me some sort of pain med (don't remember what) in addition to PO Zofran. Nothing worked and I continued to vomit. After my cysts, I just told them not to bother to write me a script, but they did anyway and I didn't even bother to fill it because at this point it's just not worth taking anything. And it doesn't matter if I take it with milk, on a full stomach, on an empty stomach, with crackers, with a meal, without food.

So my main questions are:
What would you suggest I do if I need pain medication for post-op or some other reason? At this point I feel I'd just rather deal with the pain because the nausea and vomiting is worse. It's just not worth it to try to find something that works and deal with the constant nausea/vomiting.
Why is this happening to me? Do narcotics/opiates hate my body that much?

Pangolin · Accepted Answer

Try a scopolomine patch.  It's prescription only, and works wonderfully to prevent opioid induced nausea and vomiting.  If you have surgery, your anesthesiologist will probably also give you ondansetron and deamethasone, which are good at preventing N/V related to anesthesia.

N/V is a normal side effect from opioid medications.  Some people react more than others do.

Anonymous · Answer

In Australia when a person is going to have elective surgery the anaesthetist asks the patient if they have any allergies to medications and prescribes suitable pain relief for the expected level of pain in accordance with the patients allergies/intolerances.

For home use of pain relief medication speak to your family doctor or local pharmacist, who will also take into consideration your past medical history and any allergies/intolerances.

mtwaites · Answer

You should either talk to the pharmacist or to your doctor, but most of the painkillers out there you should not be taking without food. A lot of them are very hard on the stomach, and that is why they suggest to keep up your food intake, so that this doesn't occur.

Chadders · Answer

Have you ever considered marijuana?  The medicinal benefits of marijuana have been studied extensively and it no longer holds the stigma that it's just for burnt out social rejects.  It really helps to take the edge off, numb pain, and helps stimulate the appetite.  Just a thought if you haven't considered it already...

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Narcotic/Opioid pain medications make me nauseous/vomit. What could prevent that?

4 Answers