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What Do Former Narcotics Users Do When Surgery Happens And You Need Narcotics

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Morninggloryseed

Morninggloryseed

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That's me. I nearly did myself in a year ago after 8 years of solid opiate addiction which followed somewhat regular use since age 14; I have been a regular opiate user for more than half my life.

I came home to my mommy and daddy and stopped opiates because they took me in and I respect them. I won't even get into the hell of withdrawing.

Slowly as time went by, I began to appreciate the extra money I had from not having to buy opiates, and definitely enjoyed never having to run out and being sick. Last month I had a tooth pulled, got some percocet, and noted that after a few days I was in WD...not intensely but enough to make me uncomfortable, sweaty, and appreciate sobriety.

Then today, had another dental procedure done and more percocet. Just a few hours later as the 10mg oxy wears off I am sweaty, nasty, uncomfortable, and I am very sure it is not psychosomatic. But I am in pain and somewhat traumatized from the procedure (I have intense white-coat syndrome and had a panic attack as I did last month) so I was looking forward to opiating myself and forgetting the whole day....but man I just cannot handle opiates anymore.

Sure, today I got a good feeling for about an hour, was mostly out of pain, but the comedown is very unpleasant (I never had opiate comedowns before).

What do others do? Is this lifelong? I am surprised after so long my body is not back to normal. Would you just grin and bear it? It seems like every pill I take sets me back again to when I was getting off this shit in the first place.

Well, that is all...just complaining to anyone who will listen.
 
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Yea once you've been seriously addicted even 1 dose will really fuck you up, unless its been a really really long time

I feel you, have chronic nasty back pain. Sometimes I go days on end with cramping and burning pain so bad I can't even get out of bed. It blows. I'm still on low dose Suboxone, but it doesn't do shit. I want to get back on full agonists so bad to kill the pain, but that only leads one place

Frustrating as fuck, good luck
 
Thank you for reading and replying. It sucks, and even though i have a great support system here with my family I really avoid any 'ex addict' discussion because I have already put them through enough.

today still sucks pretty bad. I stopped on the percocet last night; I am sure *some* of it is psychosomatic but I am also very sure most of what I felt when it wore off was not at all psychosomatic...the comedown was pretty intense and left me shaken; I just called for some T4s.....codeine use to work well for me; and I figure the 60mg I get per dose will be less narcotic (thus less WD) than oxycodone, while still making me more comfortable than I am right now.

Hey, what junkie gives up oxycodone for codeine....I must be doing well. :)

Thanks for justifying my query with a response....and good luck on your path.
 
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Sorry to say this, but i think its really stupid to take oxycodone - one of the strongest pain killers - for a pulled tooth. In my country you would never ever get any opiate for such a trival dental procedure. Come on you have been addicted to opiates and sure know about all the lows one goes through. Now you suffer minor WDs and psychological cravings will come back. How bad is a pulled tooth compared to this? I would never risk my realationship to my parents (and your life) over some bearable pain that will soon end.
 
they suffer because doctors are stupid thats what. Im not a drug addict but to smoke weed sometimes and do trips a few times a year, everytime i need pain meds i just suffer till the pain is gone. 8(
 
I agree with soundsystem you shouldn't be taking them if you are an addict. I would recommend speaking with your dentist/doctor about it, they should know how to properly treat you without opiate medication.
Sure, codeine 60mg will not produce such intense withdrawals as oxycodone (one of the most potent opiates) and will have beneficial effects for treating pain (duh, thats what its for), but that doenst mean u should do it cuz it wil produce less WD
If you are embarassed to tell your doctor that you are addicted and you dont trust yourself with a script, you can say you are allergic to opiates.
You don't even need prescription ibuprofen, its all the same you can just take more pills of OTC ibuprofen to treat pain. Just dont go over recommended dosages and if you do make sure you speak with your doctor about it.
I recently crashed riding my bicycle riding at about 28mph (im a cyclist) and sprained both my hands, gashed my face, lost a tooth, and fucked my knee up pretty well. Even with the amount of pain I experienced from one of my most intense crashes, I was only prescribed perc 5s.
Im confused as to what kind of doctor would prescribe 10mg oxy for tooth pain. It sounds a little ridiculous lol.
If you are having cravings, I would try kratom. It does act on opiate receptors and reduces pain. And it gives u a nice lil opiate buzz (could compare it to light dose of codeine), without any of the withdrawal symptoms.
 
trip407 said:
Sorry to say this, but i think its really stupid to take oxycodone - one of the strongest pain killers - for a pulled tooth. In my country you would never ever get any opiate for such a trival dental procedure. Come on you have been addicted to opiates and sure know about all the lows one goes through. Now you suffer minor WDs and psychological cravings will come back. How bad is a pulled tooth compared to this? I would never risk my realationship to my parents (and your life) over some bearable pain that will soon end.
Click to expand...

I kind of agree with this - you shouldn't be using something as strong as oxy :\ I've got a similar problem - I had an accident a few years ago where I almost broke my neck and I'm in permanent pain since then. I used various benzos for muscle tension & was prescribed oxy as well but I ended up having a lot of problems both with xanax and oxy so those are out of the question now and I basically just have to suck it up. Sounds awful but you do get used to the pain in the end, and it's better than falling back into addiction.
 
Hate to say it op, but your doctor is fucking you if he knows your history and is still prescribing you percs...especially for a little dental work...I had surgery on a cist on my back and only got Norco 5mgs :( Bottom line though like some others have already said you need to stay away from opiates/opiods if you want to stay out of the cycle of addiction. If the pain is really unbearable, ask for a non narcotic pain reliever such as Ultram or tramadol, then smoke some good weed on top of that. No withdrawals, cravings, or risk of falling back into bad habits, be it that you won't get an opiate high feeling (weed helps take your mind off that and aids with the nausea wd cause). Good luck and always make sure you and your doctor are on the same page-which should be dedicated to keeping you healthy, and not lining his pockets.
 
10mg percs for a pulled tooth?? that can't be, was this a complicated wisdom tooth extraction or serious oral surgery or something? even if it was infected dentists wouldn't script anything more than a few T3s for a pulled tooth, and most would just say take some ibuprofen. And even if it was a fullon wisdom tooth surgery they should have used T3s or 5mg Lortabs/hydros at most. Wtf was the dr thinking giving out 10mg oxys, they never should have put you in that spot, morningglory, that's really irresponsible prescribing. Anyway best going forward, sounds like you have the right mindset and support around you, hope tooth stops bothering you soon and can just forget about all this
 
I am doubling up on the replies of "what is your doctor thinking?!". If you feel it's right, try a different doctor and explain your circumstances. See if you can get prescription strength Advil or knockoff, which will not cause intense withdrawals, but will still minimize the pain.
 
If your responsible enough to give them to someone and only take them when your pain gets unbearable then it shouldn't be a problem. Maybe try half the dose and other things like ice and ibuprofen.

Also I don't think dentists see your actual medical chart (correct me if I'm wrong) because when I was in the middle of rehab I had to leave cuz my tooth pain was horrible, I couldn't sleep. I got a 2 week medical leave and the oral surgeon took one look at my mouth and immediately gave me #45 7.5 mg hydros and I couldn't get it done for a couple weeks. After I got 4 molars and 4 wisdom teeth pulled I got #20 5mg oxys and this is only 6 months after I went to detox the first time.

Shit I went to detox and 2 rehabs twice in 6 months and he still wrote that. I gave them to my mom and she dosed me and it all worked out, you just gotta show some responsibility dude. Just b/c you have a script doesn't mean you gotta take em or take em all for that matter. Do the lowest dose you can that will take away your pain
 
Thanks for the advice and the criticism. I think some of the comments are a little harsh but I accept them. I did not make this post just to have people tell me what I wanted to hear. I am not sure what I wanted to hear, I think I was just reaching out for a little support/'therapy'.

I did not tell the dentist about my history because I wanted to make the decision myself about whether or not I needed pain killers. Maybe it was subconscious drug-seeking behavior but at the same time; I had a tooth cut out. I am very pain intolerant and I don't think leaving the option open for pain killers means the past year (of sobriety) is/was in vein.

As for the oxycodone, I did stop taking it. I have not yet thrown them away; I know doing so is the only way to go. So far, I have not taken any more of the oxycodone which speaks volumes; I figured I'd eat through them by now based on past behavior and I am pretty happy with myself...maybe even surprised at myself. Pat on the back.

Even if this is/was drug seeking behavior, it is a small step back after a decade of abuse. Nobody is perfect. At the same time, the headshop down the street sells kratom which (for me) was a totally acceptable opiate ; so I have to give myself credit for not displaying any drug-seeking behavior until now (if you can call this drug-seeking behavior). It is not like I don't still know how to order potent things online.

The dentist did give me the T4s and they have been very helpful with a minimum amount of side effects/withdrawal and I think asking for them was legatimate. I don't feel like I am opiated from 60mg codeine every 4-6hr, but I can recognize behavior changes; I can tell by all the posts I have made in Bluelight in the past few days including a post in social about my pets. I never post such drivel in normal circumstances; realize that is clearly posting while warm. Is 60mg codeine even enough to cause behavior changes? I used to eat 250mg to get a buzz when I was doing codeine. No matter what, he only gave me 20 and there are no refills.

Well, clearly 60mg is enough to effect me, but I am in pain, and APAP and/or Alieve was not touching it. I feel admitting this here and subjecting myself to further brow beating is better than telling myself anything different from what I just acknowledged.

I appreciate the comments and brow beating you guys took the time to give. I will certainly check back and will (for my own sake) continue to comment on what I end up doing with the 15 oxycodone I have left; I know eating them or hoarding them will be a bigger step back so I intend to follow up here on what I end up doing. So far, I think I am doing well considering but I look forward to more brow beating from those who read and disagree.

PS the dentist gave me 20 X 5mg percocet. He was not irresponsible, it was my decision to take 2X the amount. I definitely paid for it.
 
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my old sponsor went through multiple spinal fusion surgeries and cages. never used the narcotics.
 
^^^^

That sounds horrific/insane. Why would anyone want to do that?

I ended up getting a dry socket and absolutely needed the codeine. I ran out of the T4s a couple days ago and seemed to have little penalty with regards to withdrawal. I am still in a bit of pain, but not enough to take more narcotics.

If other people are more tolerant to pain, good for them. I am glad I was able to decide for myself because I have no idea why I should have sat around hurting and unhappy all week. Good for other people if they can use tylenol or advil and that is all they need. That was not the case for me.

I still have all the percocet, and the fact I have not eaten any more, speaks volumes to me, a year ago I would have eaten them in a night. For the sake of honesty, assuming this thread is still open, I will report if that changes.

I know my problem is life long, but it's been a good experience to know I do have self control that I never had in the past.
 
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oh and get this. at the time he was in his forties and a roofer lmao. I don't think I could do it.
 
Get rid of the pills now (not by taking them) and use acetaminophen (tylenol). Although it sounds like you're not going crazy with them, you're smart enough to know it's not good to have them around. You can take 2 doses of extra strength acetaminophen up to 4 times daily. That's what I've used for dental and minor surgical procedures before.
 
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