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Thread: Opoid crisis. Why is this happening!?!

  1. #51
    Senior Member awakenedsoul's Avatar
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    Jun 2011
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    I was prescribed percoset and tramadol after my bilateral hip replacement surgery. I'm the kind of person who rarely takes anything for pain. I had taken a few aspirin and ibuprofin for hip pain in the ten years before the surgery. After having my wisdom teeth out, (he had to break my jaw to remove one that was stubborn,) I took over the counter Motrin, which numbed the pain. He prescribed vicodin, but I didn't like the way it made me feel, so I didn't use it. The Motrin worked, perfectly.

    I took the meds after having my hips done. The percoset, (oxycodone,) immediately numbed my pain and gave me incredible relief. On the second day, I tried skipping a dose of percoset, and it was a huge mistake. I became very upset, and my pain level soared. As long as I took the meds as prescribed, the pain was only at a 1 or 2 on a scale of 1 to 10. They expect you to do a lot of physical therapy and walking the day of, or after the surgery. That makes the pain shoot higher, a few hours after the PT I declined on the first day. I needed to lay perfectly still and sleep. I noticed that there's a lot of pressure now to get people out of the hospital and home, right away. I stayed for three nights, but had to show them my letter from Blue Cross, because they said I was ready to leave after two nights. When I showed them the letter, they reluctantly agreed to let me stay for one more night.
    Those pills were a Godsend to me. They erased my pain, helped me sleep, and provided instant relief. It was a double amputation, and I was grateful for their instant effects. I got off of them after three weeks. During the last week I just took a half dose, and only at night. I was able to taper off and not become addicted. Some people can take Tylenol for the pain, but I was afraid to try it. If you don't stay ahead of the pain, it can shoot up quickly, and then it's much harder to manage. I had a friend who missed a dose in the hospital after her THR, and she was crying and pooping in her hospital bed. She got panicky. It's scary. She is a very disciplined, positive, successful performer. She couldn't handle it, which shocked me. Because of her story, I put it in writing that I wanted the medications on schedule, even if they had to wake me up, or if I was out of it. I also iced the whole time, which really helped.

    Just thought I'd post, since my experience with these medications was positive. I am now pain free. I only took about a third of the pills that they gave me with my first prescription. There was a distinct shift that I felt when the drugs went to my head, and not to my hips, and that's when I stopped.

  2. #52
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    I have used pain meds for a few days after a surgery and then threw the rest away. I think people get into more trouble when they develop severe, chronic pain.

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