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My take on chronic pain

Tricia

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An anesthesiologist friend once explained to me that it isn't just rebound pain that feels worse from opioid use. He said that people who have been on oliods for any long period of time actually develop a much lower pain threshold. And that sensitivity to pain my never go away. What may feel like an ache to you could feel like a knife stab to them. Thought that was very interesting.
This thread has gotten increasingly intersting.
I've always had a high pain threshold which has resulted in becoming sick to my stomach, which is my body's way of saying...Pay attention. Something isn't right.
After my surgery last fall, I was sent home with oxycodone. I took one as a precaution the first night to make sure I slept. After than all I took was tylenol. I really don't know if I "needed" it the first night, but since I don't often have this kind od procedure, I wanted to play it safe.
That being said, I wonder if my pain threashold is because I've had chronic pain for so long that my sensistivity to pain has changed over the years.
 

Scotty I.

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I took one oxy right after my knee replacement (best thing I've ever done for myself - the knee replacement, not the oxy) and it put me into a seperate, and very frightening, reality. That was it for me. Over the counter stuff thereafter.
 

doc

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I took one oxy right after my knee replacement (best thing I've ever done for myself - the knee replacement, not the oxy) and it put me into a seperate, and very frightening, reality. That was it for me. Over the counter stuff thereafter.
Took a day's worth of oxy after pateller tendon rupture repair. Never again. That stuff is the devil's elixir. The post-surgical agony was way more tolerable than the 10,000 red oxycontin ants crawling all over me.
 

Paul Lutes

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.......
That being said, I wonder if my pain threashold is because I've had chronic pain for so long that my sensistivity to pain has changed over the years.

Possibly; I think it's more common, however, for chronic pain to lower your threshold so that any new pain, even small things, on top of the chronic pain seem much worse than they would with out the chronic base. That's been my experience, at any rate.
 

Jwrags

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As a point of clarification, it seems that the terms oxycodone and OxyContin are frequently used interchangeably here. They are similar, yet different. OxyContin is the long acting version of oxycodone and was made by Purdue Pharma, who went bankrupt with the litigation related to it.
 

Tricia

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Possibly; I think it's more common, however, for chronic pain to lower your threshold so that any new pain, even small things, on top of the chronic pain seem much worse than they would with out the chronic base. That's been my experience, at any rate.
Interesting...
Something to think about.
I recall a time when I got sick to my stomach so my mom took me to the doctor. I had fallen off my bike the day before and the doctor noticed a bruise on my arm, so he gave me a thorough check up, and ordered x-rays. I had a broken arm and only felt like it was a little sore. Turns out, my upset stomach was my body telling me that I had pain.

Maybe this is why I waited nearly a week after a bike crash before going to the doctor and finding out I had fractured ribs and a broken collar bone 10 years ago. Also the reason I currently have chronic shoulder issues.
 

Seldomski

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I was astonished when a endodontist refused to “let” me not accept a prescription for pain meds. I explained that I didn’t need them, I didn’t particularly like them, and endodontic surgery had not in the past required more than Tylenol.

The assistant left to talk to someone, and returned with my little bag of things to take home. He insisted I have the prescription “just in case.” I was incensed, and said that this was one reason for the opioid tragedies we all knew of (but I faced continually in my work).

I mentioned this to a friend, an MD. She explained that this was referred to as the “don’t call me” prescription. So you don’t call in pain in the middle of the night. Ok, sure, but insisting I take the prescription home? What if I was an addict trying to stay clean?

We lost some addicts to overdose in the program where I was involved. Tragedy.
How many pills were prescribed?

When I broke my hand, I was prescribed some wimpy narcotics (Tylenol 3) by the urgent care clinic. The prescription was for 10 pills total (dosage was take 2 for pain). I was a bit argumentative, at the time... Just 10, really? I thought I'd need a refill with 2 days at the recommended dosage. Ended up I only needed them to sleep at night and took advil otherwise. Think there are 4 pills left actually.

Only point here is prescribing pain pills is not necessarily a big deal... The quantity prescribed may be really low and this helps monitor abuse.
 

François Pugh

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How many pills were prescribed?

When I broke my hand, I was prescribed some wimpy narcotics (Tylenol 3) by the urgent care clinic. The prescription was for 10 pills total (dosage was take 2 for pain). I was a bit argumentative, at the time... Just 10, really? I thought I'd need a refill with 2 days at the recommended dosage. Ended up I only needed them to sleep at night and took advil otherwise. Think there are 4 pills left actually.

Only point here is prescribing pain pills is not necessarily a big deal... The quantity prescribed may be really low and this helps monitor abuse.
Many years ago I had an unscheduled dismount from my bike. Doc prescribed Tylenol with codiene, despite me assuring them that codiene didn't do much for my pain. I can't recall if it was Tylenol 3 or 4. Anyway, as predicted the
Tylenol did the square root of FA. So I supplemented it with a 40 oz bottle of Jack Daniels. The JD was effective. Many years later I was discussing this with a friend who was an MD, and learned that mixing Jack Daniels with Codiene was not too healthy (risk of autonomic nervous system suppression to the point of not breathing, also liver damage).
 

newboots

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How many pills were prescribed?

When I broke my hand, I was prescribed some wimpy narcotics (Tylenol 3) by the urgent care clinic. The prescription was for 10 pills total (dosage was take 2 for pain). I was a bit argumentative, at the time... Just 10, really? I thought I'd need a refill with 2 days at the recommended dosage. Ended up I only needed them to sleep at night and took advil otherwise. Think there are 4 pills left actually.

Only point here is prescribing pain pills is not necessarily a big deal... The quantity prescribed may be really low and this helps monitor abuse.
I don't remember. The prescription went into the shredder. But the number of pills doesn't make much difference if you give this prescription to an addict and they relapse. One drink or one pill can start a cascade of events and behavior that turns rapidly into a relapse. Addicts know where to get more.

I'm not offended that he offered medication. I'm offended that there was intense pressure to take the prescription when I explained, in detail, why I didn't want it. At that time, after experiencing the deaths of a couple of young kids (20, 22) that I helped get into treatment, I was particularly sensitive to the availability of these drugs and the deadly cost of this to our society. Nice kids. Good kids. With sobbing mothers. It was awful.

It wasn't a broken bone; it was just a root canal. Today's root canals are pretty straightforward and there is no significant pain afterward, at least for me. I did take something for my broken metacarpal after surgery, for a couple of days.
 
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Tricia

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It's concerning if your doctor prescribed you opioids without advising you how they work and how to properly use them. In my case I'd been on them in the hospital for more than a week, which was reason enough to find an alternative. As between risk of addiction to opioids and virtually risk free edibles it isn't a hard choice.


Using opioids for temporary pain results in an addiction problem for many:

It's best to use as few opioids and for the shortest duration possible and strongly consider non-opioid pain management. Sadly, docs often still send folks home with lots of pain pills. I think it's just easier.

I just watched some interviews with Michael Keaton and other cast about the series on Hulu.
Dopesick
I think this may be worth watching.
 

Jerez

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I just watched some interviews with Michael Keaton and other cast about the series on Hulu.
Dopesick
I think this may be worth watching.
Terrific series. Not a documentary though so there is poetic license at play.
 

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