217. Heroin part one

Hardly a day goes by without a news headline about the nation's opioid epidemic.  So no surprise when a patient's history reveals a history of substance abuse, including heroin. 

47 year old Carolyn was referred to me by a partner who didn't have time on her schedule for a hysterectomy.  Carolyn experiences chronic pain, especially with menses, which some providers attribute to endometriosis, others to adenomyosis. 

Adenomyosis occurs when the active cells of the inner uterine lining expand into the more sedate muscle fibers that comprise the uterine wall (which they are not supposed to do), Hysterectomy is the only effective treatment.  Remove the uterus--remove the adenomyosis.

Hysterectomy for pain can create more problems than it solves, but I reviewed the chart and said okay. 

The morning of surgery, Carolyn tells the admitting nurse that she used heroin the day before (just a little bit she said; "I didn't really feel anything").  The anesthesiologist promptly cancelled the surgery, saying he wouldn't do it unless he could confirm that she had been off heroin for six months.

But taken at face value, she does have a reason for pain; she takes narcotics for pain; trying to take her off of all narcotics and similar drugs for six months, is not realistic.

So we're going to try again, monitor her urine for a couple of weeks and try again after labor day.