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Pain Relief and Operation Recovery

  • anonymous Asks ...
    anonymous

    I have been on norcos for 8 months. I am taking 12 10/325s per day. I know this is not a huge habit but trust me I am very addicted and I cannot stop just yet. The issue I have is that I have a knee replacement surgery scheduled for the early August. I am only 42 but chronic knee injuries from running and sports have led me to have no choice but to go full surgery. It’s also how I got introduced to pills but at this point I would be lying if I said I was taking these just for pain. So here is my worry. Obviously my doctor is not prescribing me all these pills but he does prescribe me some. I do not want to admit what I have been doing and have this on my medical records. However, if I do not reveal to him how much I am taking I am really scared that I will get insufficient pain relief during and after surgery – since they won’t account for my high tolerance. I plan to go on Suboxone after I recover from my surgery maybe by September. But I am not sure how to proceed until then. Should I be very worried about getting insufficient pain relief if I do not reveal my high tolerance?

  • Yerachmiel Donowitz Says ...
    Yerachmiel Donowitz

    Having an operation will naturally cause pain. The severity which you will feel the pain is dependent on a number of factors including your tolerance to the pain medication you are addicted to. Your options are a little like buying insurance, the greater piece of mind you buy raises the cost. If you reveal your addiction you will have the greatest assurance that your pain will be treated to the fullest, but that involves your concern about your records. You could say nothing and rely on the fact that some tolerance would be expected based on your prescription. You could even voice this as a concern in advance and add that you are afraid to take a very high dosage of that medication because you could become addicted. You could then encourage them to use a different pain medication that would work differently. You can also increase the chances that you would recover more quickly by eating healthy, working out regularly and learn stress management techniques to minimize your body's pain response. Obviously the choice is yours.