and since we’re talking about it, here is this Spring’s info on the DEA drug take back day.
I don’t know if @Nrdsb4 or any of the other health professionals on this thread could weigh in on the idea of pain “getting ahead” of the patient - in other words, becoming more intractable and difficult to deal with when the patient decides to wait until it gets really bad (whatever that is) before taking their prescription meds.>>>>>>
Oh absolutely staying ahead of the pain promotes faster healing. The development of the Patient Controlled Analgesia pumps for post surgery was a god-send for post-op pain management. Studies proved a quicker recovery time. You just cannot heal when all your energy is directed to fighting severe pain.
Even gosh, 15 or 16 years ago, my son had a regimen with his wisdom teeth removal of Vicodin for a couple of days then we switched to ibuprofen. It’s hard to imagine an oral surgeon writing for 50 Vicodin tabs!
Lower echelon doctors who just really don’t care and hand out the scripts just to get people off their backs and out of their office, not to mention making money, are not going to bat an eye at these guidelines because they don’t care. These are just guidelines, there is nothing to stop them from keeping on. Any doctor worth his/her weight already knows this information.
Dragonmom - when I had two broken ribs, my wife put me on Aleve. The prescription strength is just two pills of the OTC strength, so easy to try. One side effect was that my bowels worked a little too well. Like most NSAIDs, they are not really meant for continuous use because of potential kidney issues.
LasMa - I would hoard those pain pills instead of turning them in, but we live in an earthquake zone.
Is there any data on whether the new regs are helping?+
For those of you in the field, what is there for non-narcotic pain relief?
My H has put up with severe pain from spinal nerve damage for years. After each surgery they put him on opioids which shut down his digestive system entirely. Is there any hope for something new on the horizon? >>>>>>>>>
There are a couple of different meds specifically for opioid induced constipation. Just so you know in case you want to take another look at that option for pain. I’m very sorry, by the way. I feel so bad for chronic pain sufferers.
As for new pain meds, I honestly don’t know. I am retired but I try to keep an eye out on what is going on and I admit this is one subject I haven’t seen addressed. It certainly should be.
Has he ever tried lidocaine patches on his back? Can he take NSAID’s and Tylenol, perhaps alternating them? Has he tried Ultram?
I wish I had a dollar for every patient I’ve had that had ulcers and other problems after taking NSAIDs for chronic pain.
There really is no medication which does not exact some kind of price. It’s always a balancing act between risk/benefit.
LasMa, I would save those extra meds too in case your Mom needs them.
As for prescription “buy backs” - I’ve never made it to one and ended up disposing of things myself. The recommendation is to throw the pills in the trash (never flush them), OUTSIDE of their bottle (put the empty bottle in a different trash bag or in recycling), make sure the trash bag is opaque, and have the pills amidst something gross - bag of dog poop, coffee grinds, dirty tissues, etc.
I’m not sure what they do at the drug drop offs but I would always wonder if someone there might be pocketing a few things!
I don’t know what they do with the drugs at the sheriff’s drop off either, but that’s where I’m supposed to take them. The pharmacy won’t accept them. I assume that something nefarious happens in some small percent of cases. Nothing i can do about that. All I know is that given my predisposition to addiction, i don’t want them in my house.
Sort of a related topic…
There have been multiple accidents in my area due to heroin usage, really bad accidents. Folks are shooting up while driving. Yesterday, a friend was almost hit but she was able to move in time. He still had the needle in his arm.
@partyof5 , yesterday I heard a similar story from a young man who works for us in the summer. His roommate’s bother was involved in an accident with someone who was actively shooting up while driving
@lje62 yes, its awful! There have been many accidents, some fatal. My friend barely escaped the accident as he hit the car in front of her. I am not sure what has to be done, but this has to stop. Its bad enough practicing defensive driving due to elderly, teen drivers, bad drivers, etc; now I have to watch out for dope fiends shooting up too?!?!
I saw a YouTube video the other day taken from the dash cam of a cop following a driver who was veering in and out of his lane. Suddenly he took off, crossed the median, drove wildly against traffic, crossed the median again, then drove for just a bit before crossing the median again and hitting a van head on, and then a school bus full of kids head on again.
Turns out he was high on heroin. Just scary as can be. The cop can be heard freaking out when he takes off in the wrong direction.
UCBalumnus, you are very blessed if you have never had a surgery! Unfortunately, I have and that is what they give you to get through the early days. Mostly I find Advil just as good, but I did use this stuff in the first few days.
I have had oral surgery (removal of impacted wisdom teeth). Received prescription for an opioid, did not fill it. Cold packs were enough.
You are lucky that you healed well without considerable pain. Many of us are not so fortunate.
My DH eschews pain medication for the most part. When he had intestinal surgery, he took his pain medicine. Incisional pain after surgery can be excruciating. When I had my first surgery (a C-section), I couldn’t believe how much pain I was in after the epidural was removed. By my second c-section, they were changing protocol to leave the epidural in for a longer period after surgery. This was such an improvement.
People who have either not had major surgery with accompanying severe pain, who have a high pain tolerance, or who do not have chronic painful diseases are fortunate indeed.
And you can barely move after abdominal surgery with a large incision through muscle and nerves. We need to watch for “I tolerated X, why can’t you tolerate Y.”
The stupid drainage bag or whatever it was that I had on my stomach for several days after my complicated gallbladder removal was probably the worst pain I’ve had in my life (which is saying something as someone who’s had a lot of different excruciating conditions lol). Every time the bag moved it felt like someone was ripping out my insides.
It isn’t a pain you can really imagine unless you’ve been there and experienced it yourself. That’s another one of my issues with beaurocrats dictating how much pain meds someone needs. Not everyone is going to react the same way to the same procedure.
This is an incredibly difficult and complex issue. I’ve now started getting “notices” from insurers that a patient is on high doses of narcotics. Yes, I was aware that I gave that prescription out, thanks. Hopefully doctors are careful with ALL prescriptions/therapy.
My guess is this will get tighter and tighter, until only certain physicians are writing chronic opioids. I look forward to not having to struggle with this much longer. Trying to determine who is in pain and who is a seeker, who has abusive/manipulative relatives (it is extremely common for narcotics to be stolen from elderly patients, most often by their family/caregivers), who is using other illegal/unprescribed substances–this isn’t why most people choose medicine.