PasserbyDave

I just learned that I have to have shoulder replacement surgery, and I'm concerned about painkillers. I was able to endure a broken shoulder and two surgeries so far to repair it, without taking any opioid painkillers like Oxycodone or Percocet. The last time I took Percocet was after some minor surgery a few years back. I took it as prescribed until the prescription wore out - about 2 weeks, and I liked how it made me feel. I liked it TOO much: when the pills ran out, I went straight back to drinking, after a year of sobriety. Now I have 3 years of sobriety, and I cherish it. The thing is, a shoulder replacement is major surgery and no one seems to undergo it without something like Percocet, at least for the first few days. So -- I'm wondering how to manage this. I'm wondering if I just take the painkiller for the first 3-4 days after surgery - and make sure my doctor doesn't prescribe any more pills than that - if I'll be okay. I just don't know. There's no way around having this surgery - my shoulder is completely messed up - but I would do anything not to succumb to drinking again. Any advice, dear sober friends?

fini

Dave,
i needed spinal surgery at three years sober, and had the same concerns.

the nurses kept telling me i wasn't using enough of the self-regulated morphine drip and i told them i was too scared of getting addicted/using more than needed.
they and a doctor explained to me (in laypeople terms) that when you're in pain, the medication simply "goes to" that part of the brain and takes care of the pain issue. and that when that is no longer necessary, you will feel the change.
when i was discharged, i was given a prescription for hydromorphone and told that i would know when i took the pill which wasn't necessary any more. which i doubted, very much!.
but turned out to be exactly so.
i took the pills for a few days, and then wasn't sure one morning if i needed it, as the pain was mych less but still there, and i took the pill.
totally different feeling, felt woozy, slightly dizzy, a bit out of it....i understood that this was the pill they had been talking about: it "went somewhere else". i knew i didn't need them anymore for pain.
and so i didn't take another.

the fear of getting addicted, or of liking it...the best thing i did was to be honest with the nurses and doctors about that fear and my history of alcoholism.
i got the proper information and reassurance to not suffer unnecessarily while staying safe.

Mountainmanbob

I had this same problem in the past after having surgery.

I think your idea of only asking the doctor for enough pain medicine so as to get you through the first few days to be an excellent one.

As you already know -- we take them only as prescribed. That was a mistake I made. Took many more than prescribed and knew deep in my heart and mind -- that I could no longer consider myself a sober one. Naturally in a few weeks from that time I started drinking yet again.

You are smarter than that today.

Mountainman

PasserbyDave

Fini and Mountain-Bob, thanks for your feedback. It's so reassuring to hear from others with the same concerns and how you resolved it. Your advice resonates with me, and even more than that, just staying in touch with fellow recoverers helps me keep my resolve up not to succumb to the bottle again.

Dee74

Hi Dave

I think it's important to be honest with your Dr - share your concerns?

D

Mountainmanbob

Accountability brothers and sisters have helped me so much in my recovery. There will always be someone here for you. I have found this site to be one of the greatest sobriety tools. Stay sober, keep in close touch and enjoy.
Mountainman

Gottalife

I wonder about this sort of thing too. I worked with a woman, now at death's door, who got that extra wizz from a pain killer which somehow led her to benzos with which she has had a horrendous and losing battle.

I don't have much of a tolerance for pain, and I once had the experience of a puff of weed leading me to drink in seconds. I don't know how I would handle it in reality, but my first approach would be to try lower level painkillers. When I had my wisdom teeth out I noticed paracetomol seemed to work a whole lot better than it ever did while I was drinking.

I also feel there is a lot less danger in taking medication to treat pain, as opposed to taking it to prevent pain, if that makes any sense.

TheEnd

If you're married or have a partner, give the medication to them to hold and have them hand you the medication when it's time. You are self-aware and you're being cautious, but that does not mean you have to be in pain. I didn't read that in any book so far big or small.

Soberpotamus

My experience was similar to fini's... I needed the meds for pain relief until I didn't. And at that point, the meds had already begun to affect me in a different way. I was having very negative emotional reactions to them, even a bit of paranoia. I might have been fortunate to react negatively to them, because that reaction was my cue to stop them.

wshall

I also had/have a problem with pain killers. I have to stay away from them at all costs. I have some pretty severe back problems but when I go to the doctor about it I let them know right off the bat to not give me opioid pain killers. There are non narcotic prescription strength pain killers available. Just be honest with the doctor and they will give you options. I couldn't imagine going through shoulder replacement surgery without medicine afterwards. Good luck

PasserbyDave

Thanks TheEnd - Your idea will help. my wife is good about that kind of thing. The last thing she wants to see is me drinking again.

thomas11

I had both knees reconstructed last year (far worse than knee replacement) and took oxycodone for a year. I tapered sensibly and came out of it ok. In that year I probably did "abuse" them on a couple occasions because they can make you feel good. I recommend mentally preparing yourself, taking as few as possible for the shortest period of time possible. If you are able to do that, I think you should be fine.

PasserbyDave

Soberpotamus and everybody else -- This is all very helpful. It seems like I could get my doctor just to give me a few days worth of opioid painkillers and have my wife hold on to it; then try going with just Acetaminophen/Paracetomol and/or Ibuprofen at first, and if I can't endure that, take the opioids until I feel them stop going to the shoulder pain, and start going "somewhere else" which is what I don't want. It feels good having a plan in place.

Cherrybreeze

I think having your wife hold them and give you doses as you need them is a great idea. That will keep you from taking more than needed.

Good luck Dave, shoulder surgery hurts, so be careful but don't suffer needlessly!

Forward12

You can ask them to give you something not that strong like tylenol 3 or low dose vicodin. At least for me personally pain killers didn't do anything for me, but if you are worried about it, I would avoid them unless you really need it.

fini

Dave,
the best thing is to speak with the surgeon and your GP.
the idea of taking the absolute minimum to cope with the pain (which is what i attempted) makes sense intuitively, but there's a bunch of research out there showing that neural "pain pathways" can be established quickly and my own doc and i are quite convinced i'd have less ongoing chronic pain if i had taken enough right after surgery to quench that pain and not given a chance to certain "pathways" to become entrenched.

just a caution re the idea of minimum absolutely necessary. backfired on me.

Vandermast

Hey I understand your concern

I too have relapsed due to pain meds in the past

Took a while to sober up again

It was post surgery also

I reckon it can be managed though

V

chickippo

i broke my collarbone in 2010 and have had 7 surgeries so far to try to fix it. i take Tramadol and pregablin for the chronic pain i have in my shoulder and also my knees, which are shot.

i haven't abused my script and i haven't had a drink. nothing in the pills compels me to try and get high. i need them, so i take them. i'm two-and-a-bit years sober.

ultimately it's your choice. i don't see a single thing wrong with taking prescribed medication. pain is tiring. it may lower your defences more than taking the meds.

i hope the surgery goes well.

Grungehead

I agree with fini, and after 2 open heart surgeries my experience was similar to how she explained it. For the first couple of days I was on very strong pain killers yet didn't feel "high" at all. As a matter of fact I was still in pain, but the painkillers kept it at a manageable level. Any time I started to feel "high" from the painkillers it was a sign to lower the dose. After a couple of days they stopped the IV morphine and put me on oral oxycodone. When I was discharged 5 days after the surgery I went home with a one week supply of hydrocodone with no refills.

After my first surgery I had some complications with my sternum which required extended use of painkillers. Once those complications cleared up I continued to use/abuse the painkillers and became addicted to them. Before my 2nd surgery I discussed this with my surgeon and he explained that painkillers were vital right after surgery and the stress of being in too much pain could have a negative effect on the recovery process. By knowing my past history and my concerns he was able to treat my pain effectively yet make sure I was on a "tight leash" once I left the hospital. Within a week of the surgery I was off of all opiate painkillers.