Q. My husband had hip replacement surgery in January. For two days after the surgery, he was a bit groggy. By the third day he was hallucinating.
I was trying to prevent him from injuring his new hip while he was seeing bobcats, raccoons, cattle trucks and airplanes, all in his hospital room. He threatened to divorce me because I wouldn’t take him home. We've been through Hell.
We thought he'd had a stroke but that was ruled out. We finally figured out it was probably the OxyContin he was given for pain.
Since this happened I've heard of other people on this drug who have had hallucinations. Why don't they get that drug off the market?
A. OxyContin (timed-release oxycodone) is a very effective pain reliever, but like other narcotics, it may sometimes cause hallucinations. Doctors should alert patients and their families about this possibility so they don’t have to go through the terror you experienced.
