Municipalities suing manuf of opiods

[Hmac]

But everyone has a different opiate response it seems.

This is true. Like many drugs, reactions can vary from person to person. Some people get euphoria, some people get dysphoria, some get nausea. Degree of pain control can vary, as some people perceive pain and its intensity differently from others. And some people have a greater tendency toward addiction than others. I can accurately spot the extremes at either end of the addiction-tendency scale, but there are a lot of people in the middle that can surprise even an experienced physician.

[Hmac]

The fault lies with the doctors and other individuals who are in the business of dealing the drugs.

Some truth to that...doctors bear some of the responsibility. Until relatively recently, there was no good systematic set of management solutions for people who have chronic pain. Doctors had few alternatives for managing chronic pain other than just prescribing pain medication. I'm sure there have been doctors that have made a business out of doling out narcotic pain medication, but for the overwhelming majority it's been based on the lack of alternative treatment options.

As a surgeon, I deal with acute pain. I cut you open, that hurts. I treat that acute pain with pain medication. The wound heals...no more pain medication. As a consultant rather than primary care physician, I've always had the luxury of sending the patients who "need" pain medication after they've healed back to their primary care doctor to deal with that self-perceived "need".

[BuzzinSATX]

I had a 4-hour abdominal operation in April. I was discharged on the second post-op day...they gave me a prescription for 40 oxycodone tabs. I used three of them. They don't really do anything for me other than significantly mute the pain. I don't get the "clear mind" concept. Not that it doesn't happen, I just can't relate.

I get that loopy, sleepy, “brain fog” thing from Oxy, Percocet, etc. as well. I typically only use ice, heat, and naproxen or ibuprofen and as little as possible. Post surgery, I may take a couple doses just to keep me knocked out for a day or so, but then I use the IB or Nap to get me by. I tell them to only give me a couple days worth of drugs, but they always tell me they’ll give me extra just in case.



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[Hmac]

I get that loopy, sleepy, “brain fog” thing from Oxy, Percocet, etc. as well. I typically only use ice, heat, and naproxen or ibuprofen and as little as possible. Post surgery, I may take a couple doses just to keep me knocked out for a day or so, but then I use the IB or Nap to get me by. I tell them to only give me a couple days worth of drugs, but they always tell me they’ll give me extra just in case.

If they send you home with "only a couple of days" worth of pain meds and it turns out you're having more postoperative pain and for a longer period than you anticipated, getting a new prescription for "a few more" can be difficult since that prescription can't be called in to your pharmacy. Somebody has to get you a new, written prescription and you have to drive to them to pick it up before going to the pharmacy to get it filled. Patients with a laparoscopic operation usually only have about 3 days of pain, but our standard post-op prescription is 20 oxycodone tabs.

[chuckman]

Constipation. I get constipation. I had many narcotics for a variety of procedures and issues, and I get a little bit of pain relief, moreover I get horrible constipation. It does not matter how much water I drink, how much fiber I get, or how much colace eat. I quickly switch to an alternating ibuprofen and tylenol regimen and that has always worked for me.

[6933]

Constipation. I get constipation.

After my back surgery and on oxy, constipation became a serious issue. Someone that hasn't experienced this can't understand how horrible it is. Scared to even eat b/c of the issues; extreme weight loss.

Once I finally managed to clear my system out, I switched to drinking Miralax(b/c it is an osmotic laxitive and one safer for longer usage) and changed my diet. Lots of soft foods such as yogurt with peanut butter, pasta with rich sauces, heavy soups, etc. Made a big difference. Once I dropped all medications, I continued having issues. Several MRI's showed mass of scar tissue around nerves and compressing them as well as another bulging disc that could be contributing. So, the diet, for now, is still on the soft side and still have to use Miralax. Have to look at it as it at least I am not suffering like I was before.

The constipation is what made me decide enough with the pain meds even though I have chronic pain. I would rather be in pain all day than be constipated all the time.

[chuckman]

The constipation is what made me decide enough with the pain meds even though I have chronic pain. I would rather be in pain all day than be constipated all the time.

Yes. yes, yes, and yes. Like a lot of vets my medical regimen (and breakfast) is ibuprofen and black coffee, chased with tylenol and antacids.

The first time I had the constipation issue was with percocet after getting my wisdom teeth. I thought I was going to die; seriously, I thought I had a bowel obstruction. Then roxy after an injury....same thing. The third time was the charm: oxycodone for a day after surgery, I felt the 'warning signs'. No narcs since, even though I have had a few more scripts because of various injuries and procedures.

I sound like a bowl of Rice Krispies when I get up, and have chronic discomfort, but it tells me I am alive.

[Firefly]

I dont mean to "go there" but it took me growing up to realize that dropping a bomb once, if not twice, a day is one of the healthiest things a person can do.

I agree. I'd rather hurt just existing than be binded up

[Averageman]

I have a weird reaction to opiates, they relieve the pain but I can operate with a dose that would knock a horse on its butt.
I had outpatient surgery for a double hernia and when I came out of surgery I got a big shot of morphine and a sizable prescription of oxy.
I let my girlfriend drive us home, but stopped and bought two pizzas and a twelve pack of beer. I went home ate half a pizza drank six beers and took two oxy and went to bed for eight hours.
I woke up in the morning with only little bits of memory from what happened the previous day. I put the oxy in the medicine cabinet and didn't take another, didn't have any desire for more.
I had a very similar experience in a Military Hospital in Saudi Arabia. I was on a Morphine drip for several weeks and when I was better, I got up and literally walked/hitch hiked back to my unit some twenty plus miles away.
I wake up in the morning, fresh as a daisy the next day and drive on, no desire.
So this "addiction" to oxy stuff is hard for me to understand. Putting those pills and morphine down was 100 times easier than quitting tobacco.

[NYH1]

Drinking alcohol while taking opiates is a good way to end up dead. Be careful playing that game.

NYH1.