Originally Posted by
TCR Rider
I have noticed that doctors are very reluctant to prescribe pain meds whereas in the past when you had an operation there was a much higher priority placed on pain relief. I've had numerous orthopedic procedures with the same surgeon. The last operation I had last Septemer was for a total knee replacement and I was sent home with pain meds at half the dosage I was given in the hospital and for only 10 days. How are you supposed to rehab properly if the pain is too great to do the exercises? When I spoke to the Doc about pain management he started giving me the new party line about pain medication. I reminded him that I had been through this twice before, with him, and had sufficient medication to minimize the post op pain and didn't develop a opiate dependency. I said that the drugs are for dealing with post op pain so why am I being denied that aspect of my recovery. He reluctantly gave me more medication at a higher dosage and I had an excellent rehab with manageable levels of pain. I realize there is a huge problem with opiate addiction but for the love of God don't crack down on people who need them for the purpose they were intended for.
As far as CBD oil is concerned I get mine on line from Hempland
https://www.hemplandusa.com/ It is rather pricey but I feel that it works.
Bingo. That's precisely what doctors used to tell patients: The prescription pain relievers are to make it possible for you to get up and move around as much as you can. Even my mom's neurologist told her to use the prescription paid meds constructively -- to ease the pain so she could get up and walk with her walker, get some exercise as much as she was capable of, and get the blood circulating to help offset her encroaching dementia. And mom was pretty cooperative with that advice. She never took the full amount allowed daily and usually submitted refill requests every 60-90 days, far longer intervals than the 30 days she was authorized for.
But now they've set an inflexible 10-day limit, almost regardless of the patient's actual condition. When I asked for an extension I pointed out that I declined morphine in the ER and took only a single Tramadol (one of the mildest of the opiate type analgesics, milder even than hydrocodone which used to be considered so mild it wasn't worth regulating back when my grandparents took it routinely in the 1970s-'80s). And my 10 day prescription lasted me almost six weeks.
That's why my previous post in this thread a few days ago included my recent experience with mitragyna speciosa, commonly called kratom in the US, or ketum in Asia. It's still available legally, or at least not banned, in many states. Despite the hype from some proponents and denials by the FDA that it offers any medical efficacy, I was surprised to find it very effective in relieving joint paint -- very specifically -- yet is not a do-it-all analgesic. I still get sinus headaches and the kratom does nothing for that specific pain. But it takes very little to relieve my shoulder and neck pain just enough to do my physical therapy, stretching and indoor bike trainer exercise.
So it's potential useful for folks who are in pain that's beyond what NSAIDs or any OTC analgesics, topical or oral, can relieve. And considering that chronic, severe pain can lead to depression and even risks of suicide, it's potentially a lifesaver for folks who are confronted with an unresponsive health care system that denies any alternative.
But it shouldn't be used without reading the readily available material online to weigh the risks. It's possible that folks who have a history of substance abuse and addiction might be better off avoiding it. But I've never had any substance abuse problems, never been addicted to anything, even quit smoking cigarettes 20+ years ago because I was tired of the sore throats. I never smoked more than half a pack a day, usually only a few cigarettes a day, and never missed them from the day I quit. I like beer but sometimes it sits untouched in my fridge for weeks.
And I don't take the addiction issue lightly. I'm from a family of alcoholics and drug addicts, including much of the extended family of cousins. I'm not sober and straight because of willpower. I just don't have the craving. Apparently the addiction gene or whatever it is just skipped over me. I try not to judge them but I do wonder why that craving and addiction hits some folks and not others.
But don't try to take my coffee away.