update

Old 04-19-2007, 01:13 AM
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update

Ive been gone from the board for a while. About a month ago i took a fall at work, about 15 feet onto concrete inside a confined area. The upshot of it is that I shattered a kneecap, re arranged much of my face and am now confined too bed for another three weeks. Its both scary and lonely, my life will be forever altered because of one poor decision on my part and, the future is unclear. be careful out there people, and be good to yourselves and each other. mahalo
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Old 04-19-2007, 02:51 AM
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I had wondered about you ... and OUCH! Im sorry your hurting.

I will say prayers for you sweetie... please take care of yourself.
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Old 04-19-2007, 08:15 PM
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wow kentg, sorry to hear that. I know how health problems can really mess with your mind, not to mention ruin your day. thanx for dropping by to let us know where you've been. You are in my prayers every day.

Mike
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Old 04-20-2007, 01:58 AM
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I am so sorry that happened to you. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
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Old 04-20-2007, 06:38 AM
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OUCH. Glad to see you back on the boards, but I'm really sorry to hear the reason for your absence.
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Old 04-20-2007, 01:48 PM
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Possible roadblocks ahead. One issue concerns me quite a bit, I have had my kneecap RE
MOVED (there wasnt anything left to reconstruct, and for the immediate future, survival dictates dependence upon what in my mind are massive amounts of narcotics, oxycontin, percosets, 24/7. I worry that I am setting myself up for a real problem down the road and yet, without these at this time at least, life is intolorable, unimaginable even.
Anyone have any advice for me?
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Old 04-20-2007, 02:17 PM
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I can only tell you my story--I am currently on morphine for a chronic illness.I first tried everything else besides narcoticsfor a few years--nothing worked-even alternative treatments all of which I tried. After nearly 6 years of being bedridden for all but two hours a day and having to walk on canadian crutches...They offerred me the morphine.
On the vicodin--which I was previously on--there were to many dips and dives in the pain levels. The morphine is time released-so there are no highs and lows.
I was scared-I knew once I started I would be addicted to morphine.I talked at lenght with my doctor about it.

I had to choose--what type of quality of life did I want? After I started taking it--my pain level lowered to a level that was livable-and I no longer needed crutches to walk ...I am up most days all day-I can walk my dog etc...some kind of life.

You can have no life if you are in horrible pain I do not regret it and it has been almost a year now.
I will say the pain management clinic monitors me closely--sometimes urine tests--plus only a 30 day prescription--they make it impossible for you to"play around' with it.They can call at anytime and I would have 24 hours to bring in my bottle so they can count my pills.

Once you start a narcotic treatment you have to start worrying about you head! I find meditation and massage work well for that.

I am sorry for your pain--it is an awful way to live.
You need to find a good pain management clinic to evaluate you and stick by you until you find whats right for you. It can be frustrating because you will have to try many different types of medications to find the one that is right for your pain. And that may not even be a narcotic--they have all kinds of new non narcotic pain medicines that just came out.

Only you know what your pain is like so try not to get angry when others tell you''i have this and that and i dont take anything"--they aren't in your shoes.
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Old 04-20-2007, 08:43 PM
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Sunflower's advice was very good. Although I'm not on painkillers, I am on benzos for anxiety. I also had to make that decision between quality of life and whether I wanted to be on addictive substances.

Benzos do not give me any kind of rush or high or euphoria. I feel perfectly normal on them, just not so agitated all the time. If you can find a pain killer which makes you feel 'normal' but without pain, then I would definitely use them.

There was a friend of mine who's brother was in a horrible explosion, and was severely burned. To be able to do all the skin grafts they needed to do, they put him into a morphine induced coma. He was in that state for multiple months while he went through surgery after surgery. When the surgeries were done, they did a slow withdrawal on him, using other types of pain meds to keep the pain tolerable.

As long as you are being regularly medically monitored, then I don't think you're setting yourself up for any problems. I've been on benzos for over 3 years now. I was a one dosing for about a year, dropped down as my anxiety levels decreased, and recently, due to major stressors in my life, was told by my doctor to up the dosage a smidgeon. All of my changes in dosing have been done under close watch by a doctor.

You may become "dependent" (not addicted - addiction is when you keep wanting more and more, and you lose control over how much you're taking etc) upon the drug, but dependency isn't always a bad thing. In my case, it makes my life livable. Physiological dependence does not always correlate to a psychological dependence or even to a psychological problem.

And I am in STRONG agreement with Sunflower that no one else knows what you are experiencing. Only you know that. So don't listen to what all the people who want to fear-monger you are saying. Make the decision that is right for you, the decision which gives you quality of life both physically and emotionally.

As a side note: I used to practice Judo (before I ripped my shoulder up). One of the black belt Senseis (instructors) was missing both of his kneecaps, and he could still take a person out in a blink of an eye. It took him a while to recover, but he did and he continued on with his lifelong love of Judo (which is more like wrestling than like Karate, it's a knee intensive sport).
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