This thread has gotten increasingly intersting.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.
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.