surgery

[greysparkey]

Hi all,

I am a recovering alcoholic, and a friend of Bill W. My sobriety date is 11-25-06. I am having a partial knee replacement done on 9-29. I have been taking vicodin at night to allow me to get up and down stairs. My doctor is aware of my alcoholism/addiction history. I feel too guilty to continue taking the pain medicaition untill surgery, because although it helps greatly with the pain, i can't deny that i like the way it makes my head feel. Sponsor thinks i am over reacting . my husband (also in recovery mangages the pills and will after surgery). I need some more support so i am here. any words of wisdom out there?

Mary Jo

[ColdSweat]

Also had this problem with my pain meds (Hydrocodone, my former drug of choice, along with Lortab) for my endometriosis (I had a thread here...). Felt so guilty that I liked the way it felt... I asked my doctor to give me something different, so he gave me generic for Darvaset. It's now 1 every 8 hours as opposed to 2 every 4. I'm in a little more pain until my surgery on Monday, but I feel better about myself.

[greysparkey]

The doctor offered darvacet but i declined. i have 3 weeks before surgery, so i think i 'll just use advil till then. Thanks for sharing and good luck with your surgery. I am so gald I found this forum!
Mary Jo

[ColdSweat]

Good luck with your pain management and surgery as well! It's a great forum, lots of love and support here

[DesertEyes]

Hi there greysparkey, and pleased to "meet" you

I had brain surgery last Xmas, and the docs put me on Hydrocodone. I also have severe Angina, and the same docs give me the same med for it. Yup, I'm an alkie, and I'm scared witless of having my addiction get started again because of the pain meds.

The way the docs explained it to me is that there are _two_ reasons for giving pain meds. The pain, obviously, is one reason. But the other is the way the human body _responds_ to pain. In my case, my body responds by generating endorphins, which raises my heart rate and tenses up my muscles. For me and my heart condition that is a very bad thing. Pain also increases blood pressure, which increases the volume of blood in my head, which in turn increases the pain from the surgery. That starts a nasty self-feeding cycle.

What the docs have told me is that the meds _replace_ the body's natural endorphins, but without all the harmful side effects. As long as I take just enough meds to substitute for my own endorphins _and_ I am taking the meds because I really am in pain, then the addictive effect of the med is practically none. But if I start taking the meds because I _like_ the feeling, then all bets are off.

I keep my own "medical chart" where I write down _exactly_ when I take a med, how much I take, and why I take it. I keep this little notebook on the kitchen counter, where any of my AA friends can see it. Keeps me honest with _me_, helps me see just how much progress I am making, and helps me keep my docs informed of how the meds are working. I keep my sponsor informed, and I share in my meetings.

I am not a doc, so I can't tell you how those meds are going to affect the muscles around your knees, and whether that's going to have an impact on the surgery, or on your recovery afterwards. My suggestion is that you ask your doc to educate you on the need for those meds beyond just pain relief, so that you can be better informed as to the need for them. Perhaps you can take a lower dose that will not dull the pain as much, but that prevents your muscles from tightening up before and after the surgery. Maybe you can take muscle relaxers that are much less addictive. Perhaps there are other "recipes" of meds that can be helpful to you.

Modern medicine has many more options available to us other than just take pills or not take pills. Your doc can help you find those options. As far as the guilt, what works for me is the same old routine that helps me with everything else. Share alot, talk to my sponsor, and write about it. I have another "recovery tool" now, and that is sharing in this forum.

Welcome again, I'm glad you found us.

Mike

[barb dwyer]

I'm with Desert Eyes.

When I was in great pain ... I was useless.

I behaved more like an alcoholic then than I do now with pain management. Sticking with the pain medication I've been prescribed has been a no-brainer for me, the FIRST time in my life I haven't gone gonzo and eaten the whole script the day I get it.

Believe me - I am the most surprised person in the room as far as my staying within the recommendations and not going over board. SOME of that is the doc's prescribing me a med that doesn't give me a 'high'... but allows me to function without the pain. The entire rest of that is .. nothing less than the Grace of God.

I think you can work with your doctor and get a management (chemical) routine going like I did, and keep the alcoholism triggers turned off, with continuing to focus on your recovery first, and staying within the design of your program.

[nandm]

Desert eyes is right on the money with his explanation of pain meds and how they work within the body when taken as prescribed. Once the pain has been allowed to get out of control it is much harder to stop it. That is why the pain meds are prescribed, to keep the pain from becoming out of control.

I have been on and off pain meds since 6 months of sobriety that was in 2001. I have been on morphine, oxycontin, and oxycodone. Currently I am oxycodone, flexeril, as well as an anti-anxiety agent as needed. I do not consider it to be destructive to my sobriety as I take the meds as prescribed for the reasons they are prescribed. If I were to start taking those meds for some other reason then I would consider it a threat to my sobriety and have to rethink whether or not I am someone who can handle the responsibility of pain med management in recovery.

Good luck to you and it is always great to see someone new. Welcome to SR and our recovery/pain management forum.

[greysparkey]

Thank you all for your wisdom and support. I feel like this forum is a wonderfull place to come and talk, because I feel i know you all on a deep level. we are all in this together. You don't know how each of you have helped me. I have been taking Advil only for the past week and will meet with the ortho surgeon on the 23rd of this month to talk about post-op pain mangement ( Having partial knee replacement on the 29th of this month). I don't suppose it can be done with Advil alone, but it can be managed with everyone;s support, i do believe.
Mary Jo