Hello there slimjim, and welcome to our corner of recovery
How long is it going to take? It depends on several things.
- The dosage. The more your doc gives you the faster it will have an effect. The danger is that it will also mean stronger side effects. Take too much and your lungs will stop and you will die. Or worse.
- Your body weight. The larger you are the more med you need to get the desired effect. But you can still overdose no matter how big you are.
- Your internal organs. Some meds are processed by the liver, others by the kidneys, and so on. The general health of your internal organs will affect how quickly the med has an effect, and also how strong the side effects will be.
- There is something called the "breakthru" effect. Which means that when you _first_ start taking a med it takes it longer to have an effect than if you have been taking it for awhile. Once your body gets past the "breakthru" then it will take less meds to give you relief.
- Another issue is called "blood level". Some meds work the same one day as they do the next. Other meds have to "build up" for a couple weeks before you feel anything, and then you have to maintain that level on a daily basis.
- And to make it even more complicated, some meds interact with each other making each other stronger or weaker.
All of which results in an answer that only a doctor or a pharmacist can give you. And only if they look at your medical record to see what other meds you are on and what your general health is like. So if you are still in pain, call your doc and tell him that you are still in pain and if there is something else you can take, _less_ powerful, just to get you over the initial "hump".
Mike