Opioids wisdom teeth

[e92]

im getting my wisdom teeth pulled soon and from what i know, the doctors prescribe you percs or vics afterwards. the problem is i am a recovering opiate addict.

i was addicted to primarily oxycodone for about 10 months. now i'm 5 months clean and i feel like on some days i still get PAWS. would taking perc 5s fuck up my recovery? what should i do?

 

[NeighborhoodThreat]

It was the wisdom teeth script that started my opiate addiction.

If you're conservative about using the oxycodone (or hydrocodone) prescribed for you for pain and nothing else you should be okay. For some people, wisdom teeth removal is an extremely painful experience and for others there is minimal pain involved.

If you're able to deal with the post-op pain without opiates that is your best course of action. They'll probably prescribe ibuprofen along with whatever narcotic prescription they give you - use the ibuprofen and see if that works for the pain. If you have to use oxy/hydro-codone, use the absolute lowest dose you can to help with the pain.

 

[doppelgänger1]

Normally you will be prescribed ibuprofen or diclofenac. They should do it

 

[brutus]

^ Not in the U.S.

When I had my wisdom teeth taken out, I was in the exact same position, but I was on bupe. When I asked my bupe doctor what I should do, he told me to take pain meds if I needed them cause in his experience, someone was more likely to relapse if they didn't take proper medication. I took oxycodone for a week and had no problem stopping.

 

[The Dope Man]

you probably wont even feel the vikes/percs what so ever unless you CWE the whole script like I did when I got my wisdom teeth pulled.

If you tell the dentist/doctor that you use/used opiates recreationally and thus have a tolerance. Would they give you more/stronger meds ?

 

[mindtools]

Lol, I also had the 8th tooth removed on Monday, and despite saying I'm sensitive to pain dentist told me to get Ibuprofen. Next day, I got quite in pain, so I'm going to emergency (I don't know if that's the proper name for the place). I got naproxen. Today, as naproxen didn't quite deal with everything I went to another emergency and got another NSAID.
I pay my insurance* (not for long, but anyway; my family did for long), I look rather healthy, I'm in pain and they're scared of scripting me anything really helpful

*in Poland everybody who works normally is insured and some other people too

 

[AminoAcid]

There are numerous non-opioid pain medications out there:

Acetaminophen (Tylenol)
Aspirin
Ibuprofen (Motrin)
Ketoprofen
Naproxen sodium (Aleve or Naprosyn)
Diclofenac (Voltaren)
Etodolac (Lodine)
Fenoprofen calcium
Indomethacin (Indocin)
Ketorolac (Toradol)
Meclofenamate sodium (Meclomen)
Nabumetone (Relafen)
Naproxen
Oxaprozin (Daypro)
Piroxicam (Feldene)
Sulindac (Clinoril)
Tolmetin sodium (Tolectin)

Just kindly explain your situation to the doc, I'm sure they will be accomodating. And yes if I were you I wouldn't be touching percs and vics. It only takes a few and your habit booms again.

 

[smokemctoke420]

i remember i was in rehab and got 4 wisdom teeth pulled and 4 molars pulled. the pain was so bad i had to take a leave frrom rehab (you cant use anything mind altering even if prescribed asnd if you do you have to take a leave but can come back and finish) i got 45 7.5 vics as soon as the surgeon saw my mouth and the pain i was in and aftewards i got 15 5mg percs which i didnt even need after the first day cuz getting the teeth taking out stopped the pain right then. my mom held on to my script and i was good but i did save a few out and ate them when i went back to the rehab center

 

[DooMMooD]

^ Not in the U.S.

When I had my wisdom teeth taken out, I was in the exact same position, but I was on bupe. When I asked my bupe doctor what I should do, he told me to take pain meds if I needed them cause in his experience, someone was more likely to relapse if they didn't take proper medication. I took oxycodone for a week and had no problem stopping.

I'm just gonna say I think your doc is smoking crack if he thinks it is a good idea to give a recovering addict their drug of choice that they have spent months and months recovering from....

As for the wisdom teeth, you dont really NEED opiates. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either crazy or literally has 0 pain tolerance. Advil (ibuprofen) works wonders and is honestly all I needed because the swelling/inflammation is what causes probably 90%+ of the pain, and considering advil reduces swelling but opiates dont....advil or other NSAIDS will help you 100000x more.

Wisdom teeth removal is what got me hooked on opiates too. Because I saved all of them (because I didn't need them and simply took advil instead) and after a week I had 60 vikes saved up. Thats all she wrote.

In short: do not take any opiates, advil will be all you need.

 

[brutus]

I'm just gonna say I think your doc is smoking crack if he thinks it is a good idea to give a recovering addict their drug of choice that they have spent months and months recovering from....

What kind of medical degree do you have? Are you an addiction specialist? Have you spent your entire life studying/treating addicts? For some reason, I think my former doctor knows a little bit more than you do about treating addicts.

Anyone who tells you otherwise is either crazy or literally has 0 pain tolerance.

I guess all these dentists across the United States are crazy, thanks for the heads up.

 

[Cane2theLeft]

^ this.

Doom, in a lot of cases, it is necessary to give someone in recovery their DOC whether a former oxy addict breaks their leg or a former benzo addict is seizing in an ER and needs IV lorazepam. If you read the literature, it advises caution to doctors when prescribing certain medications to those in recovery but it does not say it should NEVER be done.

Each case is different and while one person may be able to handle the pain and taking ANY would lead to relapse, another might be able to take the medicine appropriately and if they hadn't, the pain would have driven them to relapse. OP, you know yourself best so only you can decide what is the right course for you personally.

I think it is a good idea to try to hold off on using the opioids and use NSAIDS, ice and other ways to deal with it and if you absolutely have to use them, as said, take the lowest dose(s) that you can and perhaps have someone else hold on to them for you if you are concerned about taking more than you need. Your addict brain may try to convince you to take more and rationalize the use and it will be tempting having a small stash there but you need to force yourself to view this as medicine and not as a recreational drug. I was prescribed opioids for years for chronic pain and I kept my doses low for years but it was when I started to take more and see them as a means to get high instead of a medicine that it became harder and harder to use them appropriately.

Keep your focus on your sobriety, make sure you have support (family, friends, BL, etc.), try your hardest not to use them and get help using them responsibly if need be and this certainly doesn't have to jeopardize your sobriety.

 

[bayhead415]

You should not be afraid of using opiates for medical needs while you are recovering. It may be difficult and bring you back to what you do fear which is a reminder of the feeling you crave sending you into a downwards spiral. I think one of the hardest parts of recovery and tell tale signs you are very well on your way there is if you stop fearing the addiction and trust your self control and use the opiates as medication without relapsing into an addiction that leads to dependency.

Now when I had my wisdom teeth pulled I had very little to no opiate experience... Just some vicodin. I wanted to get something I could snort though so I mentioned how all the tylonal and anti inflamitories made my stomach get butterflies. I ended up with a script of 2 mg dilaudids vs vicodin or pure oxy. I was very pleased to say the least even though my parents turned it into a nightmare by bullying me into refusing the medication after I used about 16 pills I think in 3 days when I asked to make a doctors appointment for a refill. It was after that I possibly had my first W/D although I couldn't tell as I was developing a dry socket due to smoking. After 3 days of suffering with the pain and screaming and punching the wall as the pain became so bad. I got another script when I went back and learned of my dry socket. I than just used it to week weening myself only to end up with an EXTREMELY painful infected jaw after I ran out that left my whole mouth swollen and begging my parents for any spare vicodin even though I knew they would do all in their power to not give it to me. I don't know if they did because I was crying in pain or if it was because they saw my swollen job. That's essentially story of my opiate problems....

The use is not the problem for me, but getting a steady supply is as my parents fight tooth and nail to preserve the ideals that are in the scheduling system. Although according to them cocaine, meth, opium, and every schedule 2 drug has more medical value and therefor less harmful than things like LSD, Mushrooms, and even cannabis just because the government tells them. At this point though they are paying for my opana and hydrocodone and yet still fighting me using cannabis. I guess they would rather have an opiate addicted child rather than a stoner....

Anyways back on topic don't worry 'bout a thing with the procedure. IT is quick and painless as well as pretty bearable while your recovering. Just whatever you do DO NOT SMOKE and make edibles if you use cannabis. Smoking or sucking on a straw will cause a dry socket and there is no way around that trust me. I wish you the best of health!

 

[DooMMooD]

What kind of medical degree do you have? Are you an addiction specialist? Have you spent your entire life studying/treating addicts? For some reason, I think my former doctor knows a little bit more than you do about treating addicts.



I guess all these dentists across the United States are crazy, thanks for the heads up.

Well, I got my teeth pulled, and had the worst recovery possible, and advil sufficed. We're talking about WISDOM TEETH REMOVAL. I could not have had a worse recovery: my recovery time was over a week (which the average is 3-5 days), in addition i developed a dry socket and bone spurs in the roof of my mouth. My dentists and oral surgeons both threw pain killers at me because they 'thought i'd need them", well guess what? The thing that worked best was advil and it STILL wasn't that bad, and the oral surgeon said I was the worst case he'd had of the year.

As for not giving an addict their drug of choice, that is common fucking sense. My suboxone doctor told me the same thing when I tore my rotator cuff: no opiates. And thats quite a bit more painful than wisdom teeth extraction. So I guess your doctor and my doctor are on 2 different pages.

If you want a written example, go read Scar Tissue if you want a prime example of an addict relapsing after getting tramadol for wisdom teeth removal, which at the time wasn't even considered "narcotic".

I guess we disagree fundamentally about giving an addict their DOC, as do our docs. Next time you see an alcoholic at their daughters wedding, tell them to drink up the champagne because they'll be at more of a risk WISHING they could drink as opposed to just "giving in this one time", right?


If we're talking a gunshot wound I"d be singing a different tune. To suggest to someone to take their DOC for wisdom teeth extraction is taking 3 steps backwards at best.

And FYI if you tell your dentist you're in recovery for opiate addiction? 4/5 dentists (ha) will agree with me. And no before you shit on me this is not a verifiable statistic, that was a joke. But tell your dentist this very thing and see what they say, then we'll talk. Considering dentists in UK and Europe do NOT give out opiate medications for wisdom teeth removal (as evidenced by this thread)....maybe i'm right and dentists DO overprescribe opiates for a routine procedure that advil helps with better.



And for the record, I said I THINK. I didn't make it to be fact, this was my fucking opinion. Way to sound nice and gracious to a guy expressing an opinion he thinks will help someone in recovery. Great characteristics of a mod, belittling a user who contributes frequently with intelligent information. "Oh wow, guess you know better than docs and dentists!" Did I fucking say that? No, I made it clear this was an opinion.

Whatever. Go out and take some vicodin after being on the wagon so long. See how that ends for you. I'm sorry, don't you routinely recommend addicts stay away from their DOC as well? Don't you also say that doctors don't always know best? Or are doctors gods? I routinely agree and say that patients should follow their doctors advice. Check tons of thread regarding SSRIs and the likes; others will say chuck em, i'll say listen to the doc because you're right, they aint just whistling dixie; they did go to fucking med school after all, and I only studied pharma for a year or so. But that doesn't mean I'm not well read and educated on matters of addiction and recovery, considering it is something very dear and important to me.

You want the best advice OP? TELL YOUR DENTIST YOU"RE AN OPIATE ADDICT IN RECOVERY, see if he gives you vicodin or not. That will basically settle this thread.

 

[Cane2theLeft]

^ all that will tell us is the opinion (or prejudice) of the dentist and not settle anything.

I am sorry that Anthony Kiedis had a bad experience with taking tramadol for a dental procedure but that is hardly proof that this is a bad idea for all people and those made up statistics hardly bolster your claims.

The fact is, for addicition and damn near everything in life, there is no 1-sized fits all approach that works for everyone and it's silly (and asshole-ish) to shove your opinion or experience down everyone else's throats and believe you know best for them. This is the bullshit you hear from AA meetings and religious assholes who believe they know better than everyone else.

Your champagne analogy is totally absurd because that isn't a prescription medicine utilized after a medical procedure.

Your repeated claim of "giving them their DOC" is also potentially rather inaccurate. If someone was shooting or snorting high dose roxies or something, that is quite different than being prescribed 5mg lortab or tylenol 3 that they take in low doses orally as needed for pain. There is a difference between the way people use drugs recreationally versus therapeutically and a lot of this has to do not only with the route of administration and dose but the mindset of the individual taking the substance. Someone could get a full bottle of percocet and go through it in 2 days abusing the shit out of it but to act like this is the same as someone taking low doses when needed for pain is silly.

You are obviously very tough to get through such painful dental and rotator cuff procedures/injuries but not everyone is. Once again, please stop acting like everyone is the same and that what worked for you is appropriate for everyone else.

 

[yteek]

^ all that will tell us is the opinion (or prejudice) of the dentist and not settle anything.

I am sorry that Anthony Kiedis had a bad experience with taking tramadol for a dental procedure but that is hardly proof that this is a bad idea for all people and those made up statistics hardly bolster your claims.

The fact is, for addicition and damn near everything in life, there is no 1-sized fits all approach that works for everyone and it's silly (and asshole-ish) to shove your opinion or experience down everyone else's throats and believe you know best for them. This is the bullshit you hear from AA meetings and religious assholes who believe they know better than everyone else.

Your champagne analogy is totally absurd because that isn't a prescription medicine utilized after a medical procedure.

Your repeated claim of "giving them their DOC" is also potentially rather inaccurate. If someone was shooting or snorting high dose roxies or something, that is quite different than being prescribed 5mg lortab or tylenol 3 that they take in low doses orally as needed for pain. There is a difference between the way people use drugs recreationally versus therapeutically and a lot of this has to do not only with the route of administration and dose but the mindset of the individual taking the substance. Someone could get a full bottle of percocet and go through it in 2 days abusing the shit out of it but to act like this is the same as someone taking low doses when needed for pain is silly.

You are obviously very tough to get through such painful dental and rotator cuff procedures/injuries but not everyone is. Once again, please stop acting like everyone is the same and that what worked for you is appropriate for everyone else.

Your brain can not tell the difference between recreational drug use and medicinal usage when it comes down to it. Then again, there may be a difference between the way people use drugs recreationally as opposed to those who use drugs for medical reasons but the same risk of addiction and dependence is still there. If it is possible to avoid the use of your "doc" through non-narcotic/non-addictive medication then by all means do so because it probably is best avoided. Often people with legitimate conditions, even those without a history of addiction due to the nature of these drugs people are often lead into the same realm of issues. The route of administration aside along with the dose, even when just taking the pills at low doses as directed for a prolonged period of time, there are those that still end up addicted to the medication. Considering the action of these drugs and the physiological changes they can cause on any individual, I'd say no one is really immune to the possibility that it may not be so easy to stop and often ends up a lot more complicated then some one expect. Its not always necessary/practical to take opiate medication for some things.

 

[BiggDirty01]

In terms of recovery, taking medicine as directed/prescribed doesn't violate your sobriety in the eyes of NA. Remember, it is your intentions that count more than the substance. Taking a medication for the intention of pain relief is totally acceptable. Taking said meds to get high, well that intention is geared towards abuse and therefore not considered medicine.

 

[Coraline]

^ this perfectly said.

If you do decide or have already, just take it for pain.

If you feel like you are losing control with it then stop. Flush it.

 

[WhoFalls]

Yeah that surprised me as well; however I disagree with some of the points you made. I think that there is a vast array of ways to treat pain, especially that involving recovery from a some what routine procedure. I think that it is the patients duty to notify the physician prescribing pain medication that you are recovering addict, before he per scribes you opiates. Many dentist do go the t3, tramadol (ultram) , otc pain pills, and other non narcotic forms of pain management route. In the case of a recovering addict, I would subscribe to the route I mentioned.

 

[phatass]

......

 

[bayhead415]

Just remember that opiates are narcotic drugs, meaning a sleep inducing drug. While they help slightly with pain I feel it is more for neuropathic pain, injuries in the muscle, or muscle soreness and tenseness as it is more a muscle relaxant and sleep inducing drug. IMO it does nothing to really solve pain vs. anti inflammatory like Advil or tylonal. Really if you don't want a script tell them and they will let you go without it as they cant force you to pay for a prescription and take it.

Anyways keep us all updated! Hope your healing goes well!