Pain 4 mo following lung surgery

I am a 54 year old female. I worked at a n extremely stressful job - at least 50 hours per week.  I feel strongly this had a lot to do with my immune system being so depleted that it let the cancer invade.
I had surgery January 24, 2011 It is now April 16 and I am still having pain. I had surgery to remove my right upper lung because of cancer. The surgeon did not prepare me for this lasting pain. It has been very discouraging.  I found out how to treat it myself by seaching on the web.  I too was scolded by nurses 2 weeks out when I told them I was still in pain and needed something to help.  I was so concerned about becoming a drug addict but I also was till in pain.  I wanted to get well enough to get back to work.  But the pain, wakes me up at night and then I have to wait till the medication kicks in befre I can sleep.  I found out about Gabapentin by investigating on line. I asked the Dr and he prescribed them.  Then I found out about the lidocaine patches from a friend I asked the Dr and he prescribe that.  Then when the pain still persistend I asked to be referred to a pain management specialist. I saw him last week.  I was glad that he did not doubt me or scold me for still being on pain meds (1 Norco 3-4 times a day, plus gabapentin 600mg 4 times a day, and advil when i can to replace the pain meds. This is down from 3 oxycontin every 3 hours. Then from 2 Norco every four hours, now down to 1 norco 3-4 times a day so I think I am doing pretty good as far as being able to ramp down on my pain medication.
So anyway, I go to the pain mgmt dr next wednesday for the first of two "intercostal nerve blocks" spaced one week apart. Then we will see how the pain is.
I wish my Dr's had prepared me more and were more proactive with me.  Sometimes I have felt very along and like something was wrong with me.  
So anyway it is nice to find this forum so I can see how others are doing.
As far at the people who infer -just buck up- that is very insensitive.  I had someone say that they refused pain meds, like it was a badge of honor.  EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT! Your pain may be different and you may not need meds after a certain amount of weeks.  
I lost my job, which turns out the be a blessing, and now work at a temporary job with very understanding folks. I started part time March 24 intending to get to full time within the next few weeks. It is now April 16  and I am still fighting to get back to full time but still in a lot of pain. The pain, the worry, the sleep disruptions.  There is alot of pressure to be at a certain place of healing and painless.
I am so worried about how to continue work when i'm still dealing with pain.

[mellie4]

Welcome to the pain forum.  You'll find a great support network here.  Lots of people with a lot of different reasons for their pain.  I'm sure that in addition to you finding support here you will also be a great source inspiration for people.

I'm very sorry about your cancer diagnosis and glad they were able to operate.  I'm sorry your pain is still this bad, though I imagine it would be.  Everyone is different, but it seems to me that you've had a pretty big surgery.

Shame on those nurses for scolding you.  They should be reported.

I think lots of us find we need to be our own advocate and often need to do a lot of research on what will work for us.

I hope you'll keep us posted as to how you're doing both with your pain and your cancer.  Are you having any other treatment?  Do you belong to any cancer support groups, either online or in person?

Congratulations on your new job.