Ty, ask any chronic pain patient what they would rather have....
.....The potent narcotics they DEPEND on
or a pain free life. Junkie or not, they're going to go with a pain free life. You need a fucking reality check, man. You think all of these people on opiates that actually need them (not the ones just blowing their doctors for a script) have tried other avenues of relieving their pain? Nine times out of ten, opiates of any kind, are usually never the first line of treatment. For acute pain? Yes, sometimes narcotics are involved, but for CHRONIC pain... No. There's so much more to it. Maybe you should do some research, and find some shit out on your own.
Or maybe someone should kick you in the spine with steal-toed boots on, and deny you opiate medication, and you know... try
other things, first.
Edit: illmantos, nobody here can tell you how it's going to pan out, honestly man. The only way we could possibly tell you accurately, is if your doctor signed up and posted about what you're going to get before you even walk into his office. No two cases are ever the same, even if the diagnosis is the same, the treatment isn't always going to be.
Example: My grandmother and my uncle both have DDD (degenerative disk disease) which is painful. In some more then others. Now, my grandma is almost 80, so the pain is a little harder for her to handle, obviously. Because not only does she have DDD, but she also suffers from osteoporosis. So basically, she's in a lot of pain. & she's scripted very heavily.
Not my uncle, he's in his late 30's, and while he's still in pain, he doesn't take any narcotics for it. At least, not yet anyways. He does some injections and some accupuncture, and goes on about his day.
Same diagnosis, different treatments, ya know?
I wish you all the luck in the world though. But remember, just be honest with your doctor about the pain your in. Don't exaggerate it just to get better meds, or a higher dose of meds. & you might wonder why I'm saying that, and it's because... if you're going to be a life-long CPP, you don't want to start at the top of the opiate ladder, do you? Fuck no, cause then you've got no where else to go, except for invasive pain pumps implanted in you, or more surgeries that might not even fix anything. You may require more, or stronger dosages now, because you said you just had surgery.... but when you're not dealing with the pain of surgery, if it's possible, lower your dose.
If you can get by on 40MG of hydrocodone a day, do it man. So that way, you have a lot of room left to grow in the treatment of your pain later down the life, if it's needed. But don't rely solely on the narcotics, man. Do whatever you can to help treat your pain. Be proactive in getting the best quality of life that you can. Do therapy, nutrition, exercise (but don't overdo it and hurt yourself.) Just be as proactive as you can be in your treatment, man. It'll help, I promise.
Damn, I got kind of carried away there, my bad.