Prescription Pain Killers

I'm finding out myself, just how easy it is to get hooked on a prescription pain killer.

I get a monthly prescription of 50mg Tramadol from the VA. Tramadol has been classified a narcotic. I get 15 tablets at the beginning of each month, but have to make an online request for them.

It's only 50mg, which is the lowest milligram there is of Tramadol, but, on the days I take one tablet at 9AM, and a 800mg of Ibuprofen (also a VA prescription) about 20 minutes later, I have absolutely no osteoarthritis pain in my left shoulder almost the entire day. BTW, the osteoarthritis came sometime after my rotator cuff surgery in the left shoulder. Anyway, the Tramadol connects to a nerve from my brain, so I don't know there is pain there. OTH, the Ibuprofen, actually reduces the pain by fighting the inflammation in the shoulder that is causing the pain.

On days I don't take Tramadol, I have to take at least two Ibuprofen during the day, sometimes use an ice pack and put CBD Deep Rub on the shoulder. This works, but not nearly as good, fast, or last as long, as the Tramadol combined with the Ibuprofen.

I can honestly say that I really know now why people can get hooked on a prescription pain killer. I've been on 50mg Tramadol for nearly 5 years now, which is much, much less than some folks are on a pain killer.

Sometime in the not-so-far future, I want to get a Cortisone shot in the shoulder. Although, not to long after my orthopedic surgeon took me off of a pain killer for the rotator cuff surgery I had, he gave me a Cortisone shot, but it didn't do any good. So, I requested the Tramadol from the VA and they granted me that.

 

I got shots of Demerol right after my ankle surgery in 1988, while in a VA Hospital. Demerol is a pretty hefty pain killer. I got the shots in my hip and I was really beginning to feel like a "pin cushion", but boy did the shot take away the pain and made me sleep. But, when it started wearing off, I was almost in tears waiting for the next dose/shot.

Right after the rotator cuff surgery, in an Outpatient Clinic, I was definitely taking a higher milligram than 50 of Tramadol.

One thing I direly dislike..........pain.

 

I've got a couple of bottles of Tramadol that I got after having my port installed and for neck pain from my degenerated disks. I don't remember ever taking any of them. I have an older bottle of Naproxin that works better than any other pain reliever for me, but I don't take those either unless the disk pain keeps me awake at night. Right now I'm trying to not take any more medication than absolutely necessary because my liver is working overtime with chemo.

I suppose I don't consider it being "addicted" if a medication is doing its job and preventing pain. It really grinds me that some people with horrific pain are denied opioids that would allow them a bit of comfort.

 

Unfortunately, there are a lot of people that are really hooked on pain killers. That is, whether it's a prescription one or bought thru black market/underground.

George Floyd's girlfriend admitted that both of them were, not only on, but addicted to, pain killers.

 

See, I don't "get" that. I never get any kind of high or anything else from a pain pill. It just helps the pain and I don't take them for recreational purposes. I will never understand stuff like that.

 

I can't tell that Tramadol helps my pain a bit. Doc wrote me a prescription several years ago. They are still in the cabinet.

 

Well, wife and I have found out that, on a day that I take a 50mg Tramadol, I'm much more active. After doing three loads of laundry, running and unloading the dishwasher, she will say "today was your "T" day (Tramadol) wasn't it?" and I will say "yep".

As for helping quiet pain down, guess, like Ibuprofen, it works on some and not on others. It most definitely works on me!

 

So far, for most of my adult life, despite chronic low back pain, and more recently other weird pain in my leg that the doc says is originating from my hip, I've been able to mostly avoid prescription pain killers, and all prescription meds entirely. Instead, for pain I use homeopathic arnica 200c and 30c, and Tylenol and Aleve when needed. And lately, I've used some phototherapy stem cell and tissue repair patches on acupuncture meridians that seem to be working fairly well for me without the altered consciousness effect of opiates.

 

I don't get any "altered consciousness" effect, unless getting more things done, on a Tramadol day, would include that. Actually, on my VA prescription bottle of Tramadol, it states about not driving, not operating heavy equipment and not drinking alcohol. I have never operated heavy equipment, and, since I started using Tramadol, I drive and might have a beer. Driving and a beer, on a day of Tramadol, doesn't affect me at all. Have even taken our boat out on the lake the day I take a Tramadol. But, then again, the Tramadol I take is only 50mg, which is the lowest milligram of Tramadol there is.

 

Lucky you, @Cody Fousnaugh . You must have the "right" kind of biochemistry. When I was in hospital for a caesarian, they gave me narcotics, and it made me sleep for about 3 days straight. At one point when a doc came in on rounds, and put a hand on my ankle trying to wake me enough to answer questions, I kicked him. LOL

But I had a friend on generic dilaudid AND oxycontin for a while who got extremely altered, was alternating between hallucinations and complete unresponsiveness as I was driving him back from an appt with his pain doc. He was talking about little old ladies in purple hats having a tea party sitting on the hood of my car as it traveled 55 miles an hour on the interstate. He was talking with them and pouring their tea! It was so bad that I pulled over and called his homeopathic doctor, wondering if this was a "normal" pharmaceutical / homeopathic interaction and if it would wear off. The homeopath told me not a normal adverse interaction, more likely narcotic poisoning, and to take him into an ER where they gave him narcan or something similar and kept him there for hours until normal consciousness returned.

 

Remember, a 50mg Tramadol definitely isn't like a shot of Demerol. Had shots of Demerol in the hospital after ankle surgery. Due to how good the 50mg Tramadol takes away my shoulder pain, I don't need to ask for any stronger milligram.

I was given oxycodone after my hip replacement.

 

One doctor I talked to made a distinction between being dependent on a drug versus being addicted to a drug. Folks with Type 1 diabetes are certainly dependent on insulin, but it would be incorrect to say they are addicted to it. Some folks with chronic pain issues (such as Fibromyalgia) are often dependent on pain killers, but that does not mean they are addicted to it.

YMMV

 

How much of a "fine line" is there between the words "addicted" and "dependent". I always thought that if someone was dependent on a medication, they could be addicted to it as well. Shoot, I don't know!