opiates

I just passed 30 months free and while I've made progress, I still am in withdrawal.  I've decided to have a total knee replacement done(I've put it off as long as I can).  I'll be on some heavy duty pain meds at least for a week or so.  Anyone have any experience or input on this?

Have you talked to your doc and/or surgeon about this?

 

I would definitely make sure they are aware, but it seems like you will need some narcotic pain meds after surgery.

 

You are still in opiate w/d after 30 months of being off it?  Or am I misunderstanding?

 

I tapered off of 60 mg/day from hydrocoden, but if you are having that type of surgery, I'd think there's no avoiding the need for strong pain meds for you.  I sure wouldn't take them any longer than absolutely necessary.

 

I hope your surgery goes well and you can make a quick recovery.

Sorry Disney, I'm 30 months benzo free.

Sorry Disney, I'm 30 months benzo free.

 

Oh, I'm sorry, I did misunderstand.

 

 

Under the circumstances, I don't think you will be able to avoid them.

Just keep them to the minimum.

 

 

Wishing you a speedy recovery ...

Lizie

If it were me, I'd take the minimum amount required to be reasonably pain-free following the surgery, and then not worry about it much.

 

Opiates do not directly hit the same pathways that benzos do.

I took hydrocodone about a month after quitting cold turkey and was fine.  Definitely less euphoric than usual and it affected my sleep severely, but only when taken close to bedtime.  I also use kratom daily in low doses, which hasn't caused any noticeable problems.  Tramadol once a month has had mixed results due to the strange stimulating properties of the drug. 

 

All should be fine as long as you don't overdo it. 

Hi:

 

I agree. You're gonna need the pain meds after surgery. I recently had a knee operation while tapering and wanted desparately to avoid taking percocet, but the pain was so terrible I had to take them. Luckily, after four days I was able to take less and less and after seven days, only took tylenol. Still suffered a bit, but didn't want to get dependant on yet another drug. One is enuf for me! Betsy

I completely disagree with people saying take the lowest amount possible.

 

heres why: you wont feel the benefits at a low dose + you will be tempted to take benzo's if the painkillers arent hitting you as hard. The goal here is to quit BENZO'S.

 

many will disagree with me, but i know i'm right as i've been in this same situation many times and i know taking low dose opiates really defeats the purpose of taking the drug entirely. High dose opiates can even sooth the effects of benzo withdrawal entirely, why suffer from surgery pain+benzo withdrawal when you dont haveto?

Obviously DONT go overboard, just find the dose that makes you feel "very good" and thats probably the dose you'll need daily for about a month or so. Ultimately the pain will be gone and you will have quit every drug entirely

Kyle -- by the way, Gene Wolff is awesome

Hi! In the past 6 months my mom has had the surgery you are going to have (twice.) And she was worried about the pain pills because of a family members addiction problem. I really hope you have a dr you trust to discuss this with. I know she tried the less is more & didn't find out until too late her worries were unwarranted. After all you must have gone through to be benzo free (I'm not familiar w your story but assume) I would think you will be careful with your meds. You need to tell all of your benzo past to your dr because they put my Mom on Xanax, to help her get through the recovery process. I think that's insane!!! She's already needing more Xanax. I think if it's in your file, and say your Doc's partner is filling in, they won't prescribe you a benzo. Good luck!!!

Congrats on being benzo free SOO long!!!