the opiates in regular dosage are fairly benign physiologically
problem starts when someone cannot simply do with a routine dose like 5-10mg of oxycodone or hydrocodone 2-3 times a day and has to go always reaching for the buzz...the heightened sense of well being that comes and goes
I have cervical arthritis, sternal arthritis and lumbar issues and nursed two hip abscesses the size of a bar of soap the past year
I get 2 Lortabs or Percocets a day and cervical spinal injections 3-4 times annually...they help some
I have been offered stronger stuff like patches, dilaudid or ms contin...time released morphine but turned them down
i prefer to take lower dosage entry level opiates as I see fit...some days might be a 10mg day...others a 30...I had a 40 day when the surgeon did two I&Ds on the abscesses...with no anesthetic and I had no meds since I feared they might give me something more general...wow..pain worse than my gun shots or open heart
anyhow...I function fine...5 kids...work all day...and i mean all day...often every day...self employed
I don't drink...no street dope...and the docs will test for that time to time
anyhow...it helps folks like me..worst part for me is the tylenol...which they do omit form the higher level dope
there is a move afoot to omit it from hydrocodone and oxycodone
btw...shame of banning Darvocet in my view
but it is abused...no question
pain dope and xanax and hormones and johnson dope are probably 75% of the pharmacy market in the US,,,i see the junkies and resellers at the doc and drugstore all the time...you can just tell...but they also test to make sure you are taking them or they will ask for a pill count...it's pretty rigid...and if u doc shop and they find out...and they will since all pain meds are on a system with drugstores here in TN...then the doc will drop u....that is a genuine pain/nerve ablation/epidural sort of practice....the non genuine pill peddlers get closed quick and move around a lot
as a kid I could always take more dope than anyone but i always never made a habit either...never..cept cigarettes for a while
some folks can just do that and other go hog wild...one drink..one snort...one pill...anything ...next thing you know they are taking 10-20 times the therapeutic doses..like someone we all know and love so well did..
I understand what you are saying. I had a bad car accident in year 2000. I was prescribed Vicoprofen, which is Hydrocodone with Ibuprofen (which I requested due to the liver side effects of acetaminophen). I stayed on the same dosage for 9 years. Three, 10 milligram tablets a day. Day in, day out. I never asked for an increased dosage, nor ask for a stronger med.
One day when my script ran out after 9 years, I decided not to refill. Quit taking them. No withdrawal from the med, no heebie jeebies, shakes or anything at all. Cold turkey and that was that.
I was on 8 loratabs for shoulder pain. Because of the Tylenol danger my doctor put me on Replexan which has ibuprofen (same as loratab 10)in it and not Tylenol and I am down to 6 aday instead of 8 the ibuprofen really helps with inflammation.