Thought I'd mention now that I'm no longer doped

[DarwinOfMind]

I had oral Surgery yesterday, had both my lower wisdom teeth impacted in the bone, had to be cut out, one was sitting on an important facial nerve.

Surgery went well, they gave me the Micheal Jackson drug,

I asked them, does this happen right away, or do I get groggy first, they said "No we drip it in slowly you'll feel sleepy while we're preparing before you go clean out."

Seconds later I woke up in the recovery room. Actually it was 2 hours later, becuase they said it took them 30 minutes longer than usual to wake me up.

I got a prescrip for Loratab, I'm not even bothering with it today, I took it yesterday but I was in so little pain this morning that I'm just taking Motrin right now

[DarwinOfMind]

Stupid laptop trackpad, didn't mean to click.


The bleeding has stopped now, they stitched me up nicely. Already getting super sick of jello and soup, my giirfriend was eating a pizza an di was really jealous.

[Morbidity]

Don't forget custard/yoghurt! My surgeon was really keen for me to eat custard or yoghurt afterwards to increase my good bacteria and reduce the possibility of infection. I've no idea if that is actually medically sound, but I ate custard for a week. I think I could also eat scrambled eggs.

[Harry]

That's for strong antibiotics, not pain killers. The yogurt mainly helps keep you from getting an upset tummy. The bacteria repopulate fairly quickly on their own.

The biggest short-term problem with Lortab is constipation [turns your shit to clay]. This affects some people quickly. I spoke to a person the other day who said it happened within 24 hours. It takes me a week of use or so, though. The other big issue is depression and fuzzy-wuzzies. Addiction takes a while, but it's a dangerous drug in that regard, so just take what you need and no more.

hth

[Morbidity]

Ahhh it all makes sense now.

[Black Angel]

Glad things went well for you DoM. Hope the swelling goes down soon & you can start eating normal food.

[DarwinOfMind]

I only took the narcotics on the first day, stepped down to some high powered ibuprofin and doing just fine.

Been eating yogurt, jello, pudding, cream of wheat. I tried eating some white rice, just wasn't soft enough and a piece got back there and I was not happy.

I'm so desperate for toast, chips, crackers, bread, something that feels like food.....

[bunny]

Mashed potatoes with butter and/or gravy feel like food and will help you feel full.

Good luck with your recovery.

[Lady_Acoma]

I took Loratab for a good long while due to back injuries. The most of the major side effects didn't really hit me in a discernible fashion though. I wasn't eating so there wasn't anything to come out, I was already depressed so no harm there, and I was pretty drugged out on several other things so I am not sure which ones would cause me to fall asleep anywhere. I wasn't leaving home at all so that didn't matter anyway.

Coming back down off of it took a while and a great deal of stubbornness about hating drugs on my part to work though.

I always believe in only taking what you Have to and not a bit more.

[DarwinOfMind]

Well I'm on of these kind of people who takes an asprin if i'm in lots and lots of pain, so taking all these 1000mg tynolo is enough for me to do this.

The only reason I'm even taking that is fear that I'll fuck with it with my tongue and mess it up if I can feel it.

[AZRogue]

I'm glad things are going well for you, amigo. I hope you get to eat toast soon, at least. I don't think I could live without toast! :)





On the subject of narcotics, and not related directly to this particular case, I'd like to say, though, that they are a very valuable tool that is often misunderstood. There's absolutely nothing wrong with taking medication, including narcotics, when there is a need and they are prescribed to you by your doctor. There is, unfortunately, and undercurrent of negativity associated with taking narcotics--fostered by people who don't know any better, some propaganda from the DEA, and stories of actual abuse--that is harming patients and has the potential to really negatively impact the quality of patient care.

If you're prescribed narcotics by your physician, and take them as directed, the risks of becoming physically dependent are almost non-existent. What's really important is to keep in contact with your provider and maintain an open and candid dialogue with them. Provided you do not deviate from the SIG provided by your provider, things should be more than fine and, unless you're dealing with a chronic condition, you shouldn't even experience an increase in tolerance or physical dependence (which is different than addiction). Many times, with non-chronic conditions, dependence occurs because the patient decides to deviate from the plan provided by the physician because they experience a sudden onset of breakout pain and so feel justified in increasing their dose, when in reality if a particular dose is not adequate the physician should be notified and a new dose, or alternative, worked out together.

And this is all in regards to tolerance and physical dependence, which can sometimes occur with prolonged exposure to narcotics (usually only due to chronic conditions, rather than acute ones), but which is not usually a problem even then, provided the physician and patient work together to devise a taper strategy. Addiction is not the same thing as being physically dependent; addiction occurs when a patient also feels a psychological need to have a narcotic, even to the point of breaking the law or pursuing harmful behavior to achieve it. Addiction is usually the result of other factors and the narcotic itself is only incidental; there is usually a history of abuse beyond just narcotics as well.

Unfortunately, some people who have serious chronic conditions and, so, are prescribed narcotics by their physician, as part of a well devised plan, become physically dependent and then, BOOM!, people around them and even sometimes the patient themselves think they are addicted. This isn't the case. They are merely experiencing a known side effect that can result from prolonged narcotic use; a side effect that is recognized by their physician and can be dealt with when appropriate, depending upon their condition. Being called an addict, or considering themselves an addict, as a result is incorrect and actively harmful. It's a growing sentiment, born from ignorance, that has the potential to negatively impact the quality of patient care in the future.

This isn't directed to anyone here, just important in my opinion, since we're discussing the subject.

"Toughing it out," however, is not a good thing to do when it comes to pain, especially when you're trying to recover from surgery or an illness. It causes a lot of stress, both psychologically and physically, and can delay healing. Quality of life decreases, stress increases, health takes a hit, and many times it's just because people do not understand the choice they are making and so forget the fact that they don't have a medical degree hanging up on the wall and try to make important medical decisions for themselves without being properly informed or in concert with their primary care physician. Once the actual (rather than fictional) risks are understood, and discussed with a physician, a usefulchoice can be made by a patient (sometimes the cost or risk isn't worth the gain, but sometimes it is and that should be explored with a doctor, rather than prejudged based upon popular myth and opinion, rather than on actual impact to patient care, in the context of whatever individual, and unique, situation the patient is experiencing).

It's kind of like those individuals who, due to religion, fail to treat serious medical conditions, only in this case instead of religion the cause is popular culture and myth (that narcotics are "bad" rather than just a tool, like any other, that has the potential to be abused).

[DarwinOfMind]

I had a dream about eating tacos....
This is killing me...

[DarwinOfMind]

AZ,

Know you didn't direct your comments at me but I thought I'd respond anyways..

I didn't stop on the narcotics because of a fear, or a desire to "be tough" anything that even seems macho usually makes me sick.

Basically it all came down to a cost benifit analisis. I took the narcotics the first day, and didn't complain, after that night I woke up in the morning, the narcotic had worn off over the night and I was in far far less pain than I had expected, figured the pain I would get was less stressful to me than the side effects and simply stopped.

I'm doing great other than the no crunchy food...