Bee2011

Hi Everyone. I've been posting in the alcohol forums for about a month now and recently began reading this forum for insight regarding oxycodone and hydro morphone - both of which I was prescribed a week and a half ago following a hysterectomy. I personally know several people who have struggled with various pill addictions and am hoping to avoid dependency. With that awareness and my own addictive personality in mind, from the time I returned home I used half the dose of oxycodone prescribed by my surgeon:

(5mg every 4 hours as opposed to 10mgs along with a 600mg ibuprofen every 6 hours). I didn't feel those oxycodone accomplished much in the way of pain relief, so my surgeon implored me to take the full dose, but then prescribed 2mgs of he hydro morphone every 4 hours instead. I tried it twice and then chose to return to the 5mg doses of oxycodone every 4 hours.

I didn't know if there is a preemptive thread for folks just out of surgery to
help us to fend off a potential pain med addiction while recovering from surgery or various injuries.

I also wanted to say thank you for all of the helpful posts I've seen shared in this forum

FT

Hi Bee:

You are wise to be thinking about the risk of opiate addiction. I quit alcohol over 20 years ago and thought I was "done". Then I had orthopedic surgery (both knees replaced) followed by a hysterectomy in March 2010. I became addicted to oxycodone in the process. Wow.

It became a 2 year struggle to get OFF the oxycodone. I'm six months clean now.

I have plans for the next surgery, which us old women* tend to need at times, and I will be far more diligent about pain medication the next time around. I NEVER want to go through withdrawing from oxys again. For me, it was a much FASTER addiction to acquire, and a MUCH harder one to kick. That's me, but I don't think I'm so unique.

Stay strong. Healing from the hyst doesn't take too long.

FT

(*I'm old, but maybe you aren't, so sorry for the slight -- not intended to be one)

Bee2011

Thank you so much for the support and swift reply FT. I've read many of your recent posts around this forum and already have great respect for your wisdom and kindness.

Zero offense regarding the 'old' category! I'm 44 and in the last year or so have lumped myself into the old or atleast start of old category!

Today was the first day that I woke without 'pain'. Only discomfort which really didn't feel any different from the normal discomforts of my age. So I have been up about four hours now and taken no meds yet. I felt good two days ago and so went grocery shopping.... I paid the price for several hours where even the normal meds wouldn't ease the pain. Yesterday I took it very easy and today I will as well in order to not require the meds.

I do notice some little 'red flags' though. For example: I am still holding onto the hydros which I don't like and someone asked me for an oxycodone and I felt very protective over them - almost like hoarding. I would rather have parted with a hydro morphone. I should just dump those and maybe after a couple days pain free dump the oxycodone as well.

If you don't mind me asking, what is your plan for pain after your next surgery?

FT

Hi Bee,

I have to be off line most of today, so I'll answer in more detail later. I do have a plan.

FT

FT

Hey there. I'm back.

I'm looking at needing an eventual "tune-up" of my titanium knees that I received in 2009, plus I have shoulder issues from an old sports injury, so I know I can't escape surgery forever. I'm also avoiding upcoming dental surgery because I am afraid of pain meds now.

If I have a MAJOR surgery that has significant postop pain (like my knees), of course I will have to have pain medication. I think part of my problem with oxycodone was that I had to apportion myself enough pills to last me a couple of weeks at a time. I would always take too many in the first week, and the suffer like hell during the second week until I could get more. Eventually, I was seeking out other doctors and pharmacies to get more pills, which I didn't tell the other doctor about. I got "caught" once after my hysterectomy when a pharmacy refused to fill my opiates, because I forgot I had used that same pharmacy for a different doctor. I don't know why they didn't turn me in.

Anyway, NEXT surgery, I hope to avoid have pills to count and pills to apportion to myself. If I need 2 weeks of pain relief (let's say), then I would rather return to the doctor and get fentanyl patches for pain that you change every few days. I don't know how realistic this plan is, because often docs give you pills for "breakthrough" pain while using the patches. I'm concerned I would have "breakthrough" pain that isn't real, or at least not bad enough, to really trust my deciding when I need it.

Quite frankly, I am scared. Going off oxycodone was SO HARD, and I got SO sick, I don't ever want to face that nightmare again.

My plan B for surgery would be just to put my husband in charge of my pills. But I don't trust that either, because I can be DAMNED persuasive when I think I need something.

Realistically, I think I should plan to be in an "acceptable" amount of pain, avoid doing movement that exacerbates it, and try to make do with anti-inflammatories. While fighting the not-so-secret part of me that says YES! GET SURGERY SO YOU CAN GET PILLS AGAIN! What a sick, sick "addict brain" I have. Last fall I was almost HAPPY when I cracked a tooth and had weeks of severe pain before I had a root canal. I didn't care about the pain as much as my new-found source of pills. Now I have the followup dental surgery to do -- the implant and crown I'm supposed to have done. Geez.

FT

Bee2011

Wow you have been through a lot. Congrats on your sobriety too, btw.

I didn't know about the patches you refered to but that does sound like a good option. Along with, as you mentioned, being prepared to have to deal with some level of pain while recovering. And most importantly to follow doctor's orders with regard to rest versus activity. My doctor told me I cannot lift over five pounds for several weeks. I thought it sounded silly. But after grocery shopping on my own the other day, I understand. Today I had my son accompany me and carry everything! I had to. I think we get in such a rush to feel better we forget to take it easy, and we do have to call on our families for help with things for a while.

Peace FT, and thank you for talking about this with me. I'll be around the forums for my alcoholism. When the time comes for you to revisit knee surgery etc I hope I can be some support as well as you deal safely with recovery.

Latte

I think being aware of the potential and being very cautious is a good idea. A healthy fear of opiates and opiates is a good sign, not a bad one.

I've been avoiding having my tonsils removed for the same reason FT has avoided surgery. Coming off of Oxycodone was the most horrid thing I've ever had to go through and I birthed a child with no epidural. LOL

FT is much newer to all this, and her memory is newer so I'll leave you with her advice, but I'll root for you in the background.

FT

Hi Bee,

I'm glad you found SR, and I know the alcohol forum is very active. I hang around here a lot. I haven't quite become an anti-drug zealot yet, but I have a viewpoint on addiction I never realized I would have until it happened to me. If I can help an occasional person here to face up to reality, I try to do that at the same time of trying to be helpful and kind.

Good luck to you. Obey the lifting restrictions faithfully. Lots of people start to do things too early, thinking that feeling "fine" means they are healed up. Reinjuries can take a lot longer to heal than the original surgery or injury. So be careful, stay safe, and love that family. Kids grow up SO fast.

FT

ACOAHappyNow

OMG Bee, I've been reading these threads, and talking in PM's, and I'm like you, I am recovering from a hysterectomy and they gave me 30 of those Percocet pills. I just threw what I had left out. I'd been using them just at night once the really bad pain went away, partly because they helped me sleep.

I think I thought they were safe because a doctor prescribed them to me. These threads are a real wake-up call for me. Now I'm scared of these meds.

I'm pretty sure I won't have noticeable withdrawals because I've only been using one Percocet (5mg) at night for the past 8 days but I'm scared that maybe I will get cravings down the line or something, like maybe they've changed my brain so that I will crave them, I don't know.

These threads are scary. This medicine is scary stuff.

Latte

ACOA, oh ya, it's not just the risk of addiction but the thought of dependance on anything. For awhile I used an allergy medication to aid in my sleep but I realized that while I wasn't addicted I had to start letting my body do its job or talk to a professional and stop self medicating. It took a few weeks to get back to a regular sleep pattern but it was so nice to do so. I still use that OTC medication when I have a bad allergic reaction to something (nuts do it to me-swollen lips etc.) and it's nice to know it's there for that.

Bee2011

Wow so much I want to say here now! lol

Thank you, Latte for your support. I wondered about the fear of addiction being a good sign/start.. so it's great to hear your input on that. I'm sorry you're suffering with your tonsils. It sucks that the fear of revisiting addiction and withdrawl forces folks to postpone needed medical treatment. I had my tonsils out as a child and while I don't remember the details much more than the sore throat and the promise of ice-cream, I'm inclined to say that the pain of the tonsils leading up to the surgery was worse than the recovery in some sense. I mean ultimately it was just a relief to never have to deal with the infections/inflamation etc again. Bravo on the natural childbirth too! See, you're a trooper!

FT - I'm really glad to have found SR too. I feel more at home here than on my own facebook page! lol. Here you can talk about what's really at the core of yourself and your troubles. The support is amazing and people seem so kind-spirited. This place has helped me get through the last month sobriety and surgery recovery in ways I never could have done without.

ACOA! Hi! It sounds like we are in a very similar place here! Is there a thread where you've posted on your experience with your surgery and recovery? Otherwise I might bombard you with a shlew of questions! When did you have your surgery? It sounds like you are recovering really well!

Congrats on dumping the percocets! I was told they are the same drug as an oxycodone. Not sure if that's true... I was told in the hospital shortly after surgery and my brain was a little foggy then. I would really hope that with the dose you've been taking the last week that you would be in the clear. Otherwise, why would they dare put anyone on these things?

I had my surgery June 21st. I took one dose about 7:00 tonight, but that was it for the entire day. So I'm happy about that. I was hoping to get through without but by evening I felt really sore again. I'm going to talk to my doctor tomorrow to ask if I can switch to aleeve or something similar now.

Bee2011

Latte it's great you limit the allergy meds too. But no you don't want to mess with nut allergies!

ACOAHappyNow

Hi, Bee, thank you so much for your posts here! And I have to give a lot of applause to FailedTaper, isn't she wonderful? I am so grateful for her help and for the honesty in her posts here and her caring.

FailedTaper, I don't know if I can ever be of any help to you, but if I ever can, I'm here! I won't be on the internet quite as much once I'm allowed to be more active, but I do still check in at least most days and this will be one of the places I'll check. I owe you!

Bee, I had my TAH/BSO (with tons of endometriosis removed from my bowels and bladder too) exactly two weeks ago today! How about you, when was yours and what type of surgery and are you doing pretty good? I hope so. From what I've been experiencing, it seems to get a little better with each day. I'm being really careful to rest a lot and not lift anything over 10 pounds. I'm being super careful and using an abdominal binder to help hold things together when I go for my walks around the house to prevent blood clots.

Yeah, Percocets do have that Oxy stuff in them. I know the doctors mean well, they don't want their patients to be in pain.

Pain isn't good for us for healing, either. Stress hormones get released that interfere with good healing and health. So it's actually a good thing to have pain managed to where it is bearable.

But I was using the Percocets the wrong way because my pain WAS bearable. I was using the Oxy mostly to knock me out for a good night's sleep and that's totally not the right way to use them.

I thought it was okay because I wasn't overdosing or anything and the doctor prescribed it. Last night I took two Tylenol PM's instead and I was just fine! (I get pretty achey at night. Not bad pain but enough that it would stop me from sleeping if I didn't have the Tylenol to help.)

I'm never going to use this stuff again unless I have pain that really demands it. I mean, for surgeries or something like that. If I'm not hurting really really really really badly, I'm not touching the stuff. It's too dangerous. I have an addictive mind, too, I know, because I come from a long line of alcoholics. So I have to be on guard against any addictions.

I hope you feel better with each passing day!

Bee2011

Good Morning ACOA! Thank you for your posts here as well, and Yes!... FailedTaper is wonderfull!

So your surgery was two weeks ago today? June 21st? Mine too! LOL. I came home on the June 23rd and my dad spent a lot of time here to help me out. My surgery was a straight forward hysterectomy - yours sound much more complex. The biggest issue I suffered was a strange left-lower back pain that was triggered by certain activities. The pain would quickly elevate to a level off the charts, and I would find myself unable to walk even. The meds didn't touch it. I would need to lay flat for a good half hour or so until it subsided. The medical concenous was that it was the result of a positioning issue during surgery, that would hopefully subside soon. (apparently they contort the heck out us for these surgeries - oi!) Anyway, the follow-up is that this past thursday I bled heavily after many days of not really bleeding at all. But then it seemed that come friday the back pain issue had subsided immensly. Due to the long weekend, I haven't had a chance to speak with my surgeon about it yet, but I'm wondering if the bleeding and the relief of the lower-back issue are related.

I'm glad you had a good night's sleep last night, are taking good care of yourself and healing so well! Congrats on sobriety and keeping safe inlight of the family history as well! I have to ask, were you in much discomfort prior to surgery where you are now realizing the relief of that pre-surgery pain of the endometriosis?

I hope you have another good day and heal up well enough soon to enjoy a bit of the summer. I'll be off work for 6-8 weeks and am hoping to get out and about as the weeks roll on.

I took a little time this morning to write up some safe ways I've handled pain over the years for surgery, migraines, etc.. I don't know if there is a thread somewhere on SR where folks contribute such suggestions? If not, I didn't know if it might be a nice idea to start one. Anyone have any thoughts/suggestions/direction about that?

FT

Hi Bee -- You are right to make that connection between your bleeding and the back pain. Google "recto-uterine pouch" or the female anatomy kind of "cul-de-sac", and you will see why. It is the lowest place in the pelvis behind where the uterus used to sit, and it collects blood when people have an ectopic pregnancy, so the hidden blood isn't always seen but causes a lot of pain. It can also collect blood after female surgery, among other things. It can collect a lot of blood, so it's good if you describe this to your doctor. There are ways the doctor can find out of that's what was going on. I'm glad you are feeling better now, but talk to the doc about the bleeding right away. This far postop, women don't usually bleed like that after a hyst.

ACOA -- Good morning to you, too! I sent you a PM.

Thank both of you for your nice words. It's kind of funny to me in a way, because I come right up and sometimes over the edge of making people mad at me on here. I usually call people on what I see as "making excuses", and my brand of tough love is not well liked all the time. But I've raised two young men, and I have had several challenges with addiction in my own life. I share my experiences and give my opinions, and maybe some of the time it helps.

You both sound like you will be back on your feet soon. My own hysterectomy last year is too graphic to describe in detail here. Let's just say, I waited too long and it was no longer a simple procedure when I had it done. It was during a time I was "just about to" do it, and then my knee crisis came up, and I put the orthopedic surgery first.

Well, have a great week. Don't get too hot either, if you live in a hot climate. Check in with your docs for any problems, but I think you are both on a forward trajectory.

FT

ACOAHappyNow

Hi, Bee and FT! Good morning!

I second the great advice from FT, Bee! Better safe than sorry - best to call the doctor and see if there is anything that needs to be done. Don't be afraid of bothering them, they will only be mad at you if you don't call and then something goes wrong!

Are you keeping your incision(s) nice and dry? I blow dry mine after my morning shower and it seems to be doing just fine.

Oh, yeah, the bladder and bowel discomfort got immediately better. It was like a miracle! I no longer have that constant feeling of being on the verge of a UTI! The doctors diagnosed me with IC when I was 40 but I guess it was actually endometriosis of the bladder all along. The symptoms are very similar.

I wish I would have had this surgery done a decade or more ago. I'm mad at myself for not having done it sooner! I was just so scared. And then it turned out that it wasn't even as bad as I feared it would be. The first couple of days were a little rough, sure, but I got through them.

You and I will get better with each day, we are through the worst of the healing now I am sure! But it's best to go ahead and call your doctor. Maybe there's something they need to give you so that the pooled blood won't cause problems down the road.

Congratulations on your sobriety! It's kind of hard NOT to be addicted to something the way our society is, I think. I mean I think I am seeing such high rates now of people being addicted to this or that. Makes me think there are some needs that aren't being met very well by our society as it is right now. I get the feeling something is wrong somewhere.

FT, I'm sorry that you had to go through so many surgeries so close together and then ended up addicted to the Oxy. Life sucks sometimes. I know that sounds so trite, but it DOES! It really does suck sometimes.

It's okay to give tough love. It's what is needed alot of times.
Have a great day everyone!

Bee2011

Thank you for the info on the rectouteran pouch FT. My surgeon had mentioned a blood collection as a possibility as well, so maybe that is what happened. I think it would make more sense than a positioning issue, considering the bleeding and subsequent relief. She said she would touch base with me today, so I will definately let her know what's transpired.

Thank you so much for sharing your insight and encouragement! I'm sorry you suffered so with your own, but happy for you that it is behind you now. I guess it's further testament that we have to stay on top of our own good health.

Enjoy your week as well, and if I don't see you here again I will see around the forums!

Bee2011

Hi again ACOA! Love the disco smiley! Your post reminded me I should jump in the shower before my dad comes by! I plan to come back a little later to write again. Glad you're day is going well so far!

Bee

Bee2011

That's fantastic that you've felt such an improvement over all ACOA, and so quickly too! Success! Good idea with the inscision. Mine seems to be healing up fine. It was just kind of freaky if I felt the urge to laugh or cough. The nurse in the hospital showed me the trick of using sitting with a folded pillow nestled in my lap for a little comfort during those spells.

Addiction does seem to be an epidemic. I know far more alcoholics and heavy drinkers than not. Could just be the environments I've been in but it is a shame. Weird too how we fool ourselves for so long with regard to accepting we are powerless. The strength and determination to overcome here is incredible. I've never seen anything like it. Especially on a public forum.

Well I left a message with my surgeon this morning letting her know the back pain had subsided. I haven't heard back but maybe I'll try giving a call again tomorrow to mention the bleeding too.

Thanks again and hope you enjoy another good night's sleep!

ACOAHappyNow

Hi, Bee, I agree, this forum is awesome!

I hope you sleep well too! A good night to all!