IV Toradol -don't let them give it to you - it is the devil

My WLS surgeon gave me IV toradol.. (even though they made me sign a paper saying I wouldn't take NSAIDs) and they even gave me 5 days of Toradol tablets to take after my RNY....).. I asked why they were giving it to me since it was an NSAID, and the nurse gave me some excuse (that I don't remember at all since I was also drugged up on narcotics)....

but, I have been wondering why he gave them to me....

I hope you didn' take them?  You need to ask you surgeon that question at your next visit so this doesnt' happen to future patients.  Toradol in a pill is even worse than the IV - please talk to your surgeon - this shouldnt' be happpening.  They need to be sending us home on liquid vicoden or liquid percocet for those in more pain and then when not needed, you can take liquid tylenol but no toradol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think a lot of WLS surgeons do give toradol because it is so AWESOME for post op pain control in general.  Quite a bit of the time they also have you on a proton pump inibitor as well (Protonix usually).  So even though they ARE ordering an NSAID, they are using it so short term and are covering you with the PPI.  They really do know what they are doing.

It's the ED docs or PCPs that aren't as well versed with RNY and NSAID use that you have to watch out for.  They don't usually have you on the PPI with it.

Pre-op, when I still had migraines it was the only thing that would work for the really bad ones.

I wish I could believe that but I don't. I know my hospital doesn't even carry protonix because I take it by pill now 2 times per day and when I went in for surgery for complications, they tried to give me IV toradol again but they had switched me to Nexium. When I told them I couldnt' take toradol, they told me it was fine that IV's don't cause ulcers and the nurses said it wasn't an NSAID>

I dont' know if you read these boards often but over the past 2 months, I think I have read about 30 or more posts of people that have ulcers within the first month or 2. When I asked, the majority were on PPI's and never took NSAIDS or any other risk factors. My bet is that they were given toradol in the hospital and didnt' know it.

Giving immediately post op is very dangerous. We have a tiny pouch that needs to heal and any acid or other irritants can cause ulcers while things are healing especially at the staple line which is called a marginal ulcer and these are really dangerous - if severe enough, surgery is need. They tend to bleed. This is why we need to take PPI's immediately and for the first year, although many surgeons only require them for 3 or 6 months. My surgeon requires a year but if you have any history of reflux or ulcers, you need to take for life, so I take for life.

You say you use the toradol for your migraines - have you ever gone on topamax or other preventatives? They work like a miracle pill - I used to get them daily and sometimes they lasted for 3 days at a time and I would go to the ER for IV pain, nausea and fluids to finally calm it down. This would happen atleast 2 or 3 times per month until my Neurologist finally put me on the Topamax. I was also on verapamil but that caused my BP and heart rate to go to low, so we increased the topamax and that was amazing. I now get a migraine about once in every 3 months and they aren't even that bad. When I do get one, I take zomig 5mg ZMT - dissolves on my tongue and it works really fast. If not, you can take another one 2 hours later but I have never had to do that.

You should really try to get a preventative and Migraine medication to take once you get one - they work so much better than just regular pain meds - I could take percocet or dilaudid and they dont' work - migraine meds work differently. Zomig ZMT, Imitrex, Maxalt, are all different types. I like the ZMT because it is a sublingual - I am not sure if the others have one. Imitrex has an injection which works really fast - the nasal spray isn't great if you have sinus troubles or even a cold.

I hope this helps you

Unfortunately you are very right.  A lot of facilities do not use this drug because of the expense, and there IS a lot of knowledge deficit surrounding oral, IV and topical NSAIDS.  That really saddens me, because as a nurse it is my responsibility to protect the patient - who often does not know or understand medications and relies on me to do so.  You make a very valid point, and I would be interested in someone doing a study on the corrolation between post op ulcers within a few months of surgery and post op use of toradol.

I actually do not get migraines since surgery.  It used to trigger one en I went too long without eating, when I got dehydrated, when I didn't have enough sleep... about 3 or 4 times a month on average.  It was almost immediate relief.  I think it had a lot to do with resolution of my sleep apnea, but most likely also diet.  Since I still abstain from sugar and caffeine as well as fried foods and *most* carbs (I'm imperfect in that respect).  I've had slight headaches which are so far removed from the types of migraines I used to get that I don't even need tylenol to get through them.  I often tell people that even if there were no weight loss associated with my surgery I would do it again in a heartbeat just because it resolved my migraines.  It was a miracle.