Had Hip Surgery And Pain Is Getting Worse. On Lortab And Started Morphine. Getting Headaches. Suggest?

Posted on Sat, 5 Oct 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 5 Oct 2013 Answered on

Wed, 23 Oct 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi Dr. I had a total hip surgery on my right hip n January 2013. My pain is not getting any better, but accually it's worse than ever! I've been on Lortab 10/500 for about 5 yrs. my dr just two weeks ago added morphine 30mg. Since I've started taking the morphine I keep getting bad headaches. And I don't get any extra relief from my day to day pain. I'm wondering if there is anything else my dr can try along with my Lortab 10 for extended pain relief?

Answered by Dr. Jorge Brenes-Salazar (40 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
NSAIDs

Detailed Answer:
Dear patient,

Thanks for your query. If you don't have kidney problems or a history of stomach ulcers, you can try adding an antiinflammatory such as naproxen or ibuprofen to create a synergystic effect with the Lortab components.

The idea would be to use them for a short period of time and sparingly, but you should check with your orthopedic doc to see that everything looks fine from a hip replacement standpoint.

Yours truly,

Dr Brenes-Salazar MD
Mayo Clinic MN

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar