I am about to have oral surgery in 10-20 days from now
I am not worried about the surgery itself it is the pain
after the surgery or more importantly the pain meds
wich I am almost sure will be some form of opiates
& I will just say I am very worried about that because my drug of choice was herion. I would appreciate any input or advice any of you may have to offer
Your right to be concerned, some dentist are very loose with the vicadin. Before I got clean I had a root canal and even though I wasn't in pain the dentist gave me a script for 30 vicadin. Needless to say I used them for recreational purposes. After I got clean I cut 2 fingers on my left hand on the tablesaw at work and even though I told the Dr that I was a recovering addict he gave me a script for vicadin, I told him I didn't want to take it so he gave me a script for Industrial strenght Aleeve and that worked for me. Talk to your surgeon and tell him your fears. Their are other pain relievers. If you end up still having to take opiates, talk to your sponser. I've known addicts to give their meds to their sponser or a friend so they won't abuse them. Good luck. Bob.
Kevin, You can find some good ideas in "In Times of Illness" from NA's world service office at na.org, the booklet itself can be found at http://www.na.org/pdf/litfiles/us_english/Booklet/In%20Times%20of%20Il lness.pdf Stay aware that the disease of addiction can convince you that pain is so severe that you "need" to use. I posted more on this subject in the thread "Newbie, strange situation/unsure of acceptance here". The key is to take medication with a doctors direction and as directed, and for the right reason. This is a situation we all face in recovery, you too can come through clean!
Lon
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Courage is not the towering oak that sees storms come and go; it is the fragile blossom that opens in the snow.----Alice Mackenzie Swaim
hey there.....you are right to have some concerns about your upcoming surgery and its aftermath..ie pain control...just make sure your dental surgeon knows you are an addict...there are other medications for pain control that are not narcotic...one they use in canada is called toradol(non-narcotic) which they use for dentistry....good luck
