Do you do drugs?

[Guest The Pom Queen]

No not recreational ones. Strange question I know, but I'm here and I'm on a morphine drip which I can control myself by pressing a button. Despite being in pain I refuse to use it. They come round every few hours offering me more pain relief and I keep refusing. Yet the 3 women on my ward say yes every time the pill trolly comes round yet in the meantime they are having a little boogie here and there (they are all over 70) and seem as fit as anything. Maybe that's why they are able to dance around because they are high on meds. They even asked me if I wanted to climb on the bed and do a dance, I can just imagine it, I'd have to do topless bed dancing though seen as the boys forgot my pj tops.:chatterbox:

 

​But back to my question, are you one of these who takes drugs at the first sign of a headache or do you try and soldier on?

[noworriesmate]

I think if I was watching you lot in that hospital ward - I might be tempted!!

 

​Daniel

[HappyHeart]

Yes, why suffer when you dont have to? If I'm in pain I take the pills. Not using pain relief after surgery when you have pain is a really bad idea by the way because you won't breathe as deeply or move as freely when in pain thus increasing the risk of post op complications, chest infections and hindering your overall rehabilitation. So get that button pressed silly girl! You dont win any prizes for being a martyr!!

Edited May 18, 2013 by HappyHeart

[Guest The Pom Queen]

I think if I was watching you lot in that hospital ward - I might be tempted!!

 

​Daniel

I'm the baby being lead astray

[Johndoe]

I'm on enough as it is without adding paracetamol for a headache. I only take 'em because they were prescribed, and I feel like I'd be letting the "pros" down if I didn't follow their instructions.

[HappyHeart]

I hear that all the time JohnDoe and it makes no sense to me. People on complex med regimes with potentially dangerous side effects and interactions but refuse a simple minimal side effect drug like paracetamol and suffer pain! Craziness and no logic to my mind!

[blossom]

No, I don't normally take them if I can avoid it.

 

Having said that, I woke up at 4am this morning with a killer sinus headache. It took me two hours to finally go get some tablets. Admittedly had I realised I had decongestants I would have taken them earlier, but I thought I was out. The headache totally went, and I did wake up thinking 'why didn't I just take the tablets earlier?'

I won't take tablets if I can't see a result though. For example, my decongestants have to be the psudoephregine (sp) ones as the others do nothing at all.

​No vitamin tablets etc either.

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Yes, why suffer when you dont have to? If I'm in pain I take the pills. Not using pain relief after surgery when you have pain is a really bad idea by the way because you won't breathe as deeply or move as freely when in pain thus increasing the risk of post op complications, chest infections and hindering your overall rehabilitation. So get that button pressed silly girl! You dont win any prizes for being a martyr!!

Not talking about me, but people in general, say you hurt your back, took two really strong pain killers this would mask the pain and surely you would end up doing more damage

[Johndoe]

I hear that all the time JohnDoe and it makes no sense to me. People on complex med regimes with potentially dangerous side effects and interactions but refuse a simple minimal side effect drug like paracetamol and suffer pain! Craziness and no logic to my mind!

 

Any pain killer I add to what I'm already taking, either bungs me up or gives me the squits :embarrassed: I prefer the headaches

[Maruska]

I never do unless I have a really good reason ( delivery of a baby). You have a great reason to use it and being in pain isn`t helping you! You won`t rest enough, your breathing will be shallow which does nothing to prevent pneumonia, definitely push the button! You won`t get addicted to Morphine after using it for a short period of time as needed. I hope you feel better soon :hug:

[Johndoe]

Not talking about me, but people in general, say you hurt your back, took two really strong pain killers this would mask the pain and surely you would end up doing more damage

 

Yup! I have two kncackered disks and to my way of thinking, when i get the pain it's telling me that I've gone too far and to slow down...................mask that pain and I'm likely to do more damage. When it gets too bad (to bear) though, I take a couple of tramadol.

[Maruska]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium

 

Morphine was used since ancient times by Greeks, Romans, Assyrians, Egyptians and others. It`s plant-based, therefore natural :wink:

[blossom]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium

 

Morphine was used since ancient times by Greeks, Romans, Assyrians, Egyptians and others. It`s plant-based, therefore natural :wink:

Nicatine is plant based and used to be used as a pesticide. Doesn't mean I'd want to use it if I could avoid it.

[VERYSTORMY]

Yes and i can not comprehend why someone would not.

 

At the moment i take a anti malaria pill every day. I have had expats who refuse and my policy is simple. That is fine, it is your choice and it is my choice if you work here and i chose you wont unless you take it.

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Yes and i can not comprehend why someone would not.

 

At the moment i take a anti malaria pill every day. I have had expats who refuse and my policy is simple. That is fine, it is your choice and it is my choice if you work here and i chose you wont unless you take it.

I wouldn't have thought you could enforce that? I know I'm really ill on anti malaria tablets and would never take them again

[Guest Guest16631]

......I was a button pusher........:embarrassed:......and can confirm.....you only get what's prescribed.....you can press as much as you like.......:dull:

 

.......I came round after surgery and my epidural pain relief had come dislodged......so after .i had been peeled from the ceiling spitting and screaming like an ally cat........spent the night in critical care.....

.........I was having everything on offer......

 

.........for day to day pain...........!

..........tend to use alternative methods if I can........

​..........too long on painkillers cannot be good for you .....IMO....

[HappyHeart]

Yup! I have two kncackered disks and to my way of thinking, when i get the pain it's telling me that I've gone too far and to slow down...................mask that pain and I'm likely to do more damage. When it gets too bad (to bear) though, I take a couple of tramadol.

 

I see the rationale there but the thinking these days is to keep moving when you have back pain and injury. Too much pain that hinders usual range of movement ends up making the pain worse as you self protect and assume different postures to 'protect' yourself from the pain. In general I think its best to treat any pain as left untreated it can lead to further problems and has a knock on effect on other symptoms.

[HappyHeart]

I think too long on painkillers you dont necessarily need is a bad thing and dependance can be an issue but if we're talking about chronic pain for which all else has been tried, physio, steroid injections, surgery etc sometimes appropriate analgesia is the best option. Addiction or dependance is only a problem when people are taking meds for the wrong reasons. Always a good idea to get the dose right though and reasonable to try a reduction if after some time on one dose youre pain free. Untreated chronic pain can induce or worsen pre existing depression and seriously affect quality of life. I hate to see people 'soldiering on' for no good reason other than that theyre of the opinion that 'drugs are bad'

[blossom]

I see the rationale there but the thinking these days is to keep moving when you have back pain and injury. Too much pain that hinders usual range of movement ends up making the pain worse as you self protect and assume different postures to 'protect' yourself from the pain. In general I think its best to treat any pain as left untreated it can lead to further problems and has a knock on effect on other symptoms.

A girl I work with (outdoor physical work) just took pain killers and kept going when she had a bad back. It turned out she had a slipped disc, needed surgery, and two years later still can not function properly due to her back pain. She is facing at least another op.

Edited May 18, 2013 by blossom

[HappyHeart]

Obviously pain of unknown cause should always be investigated before reliance on pills. What do they say on pill packets, do not take for more than 4 days or something without consulting a Dr. Once you know what youre dealing with and have taken medical advice its a different matter. Back pain is so debilitating isnt it, my lower back flares up if Ive been doing too much gardening or manual work

[VERYSTORMY]

I wouldn't have thought you could enforce that? I know I'm really ill on anti malaria tablets and would never take them again

 

Yep. I can enforce that. I am responsible for the health and safety of everybody in camp. I have had to put the bodies of expats in th camp fridge previously because they would not take anti malarial tablets, came to me to say they were not feeling well and finding them dead a few hours later. I wont do it again. Nobody forces them to come and work in a high malaria environment. But, if they want to. They have to obey my camp rules.

 

Anti malarials have been known to make people ill. Particularly doxy. However, i have never known of anyone fall ill when on Malerone - other than a slightly loose bowel for the first few days and that is cured by taking it with breakfast and not on an empty stomach. It costs 20x more than doxy, but i am happy to pay for it for any expat that wants it.

[Petals]

It depends, before I had my knee op we had to go to a pre surgery meeting and they told us we had to keep the pain relief up as if we did not they it takes even longer to get the pain under control again. So being the good person I am I did as I was told and I must admit they were right. However that was the major op. The op I had a few weeks ago I also had a morphine pump but did not use it as it does knock me around and not in a good way. So the anesthetist put pain blocks in whilst I was under and I was able to manage with just panadol. Much better result without the morphine, got better quicker etc. However have to say it really depends what is happening with an individual person, we all have different levels of pain. Nerve pain for instance is terrible.

 

Off subject but I read yesterday where two guys had gone to a lab and simulated labour as they did not believe their wives on the pain they experienced in having children. They know now in a big way though.:wink:

[Johndoe]

I see the rationale there but the thinking these days is to keep moving when you have back pain and injury. Too much pain that hinders usual range of movement ends up making the pain worse as you self protect and assume different postures to 'protect' yourself from the pain. In general I think its best to treat any pain as left untreated it can lead to further problems and has a knock on effect on other symptoms.

 

I agree with you there.........................I have athritis, mainly in my right foot, and when it gives me gyp, I end up "favouring it" and the left then suffers. Also, when the back is real bad, if I don't jump in with the tramadol, if affects my hips due to "stance"

[NicF]

I take ibuprofen for five days every month so I try and avoid using pain killers at other times if I can, but it depends what it is. Generally I'm pretty fit and healthy and don't have a lot of pain, just headaches every now and then. Most headaches I soldier on with to see if they will go by themselves and only take something if they are still bothering me after a few hours.

[Guest]

I used to avoid taking anything but after the RA diagnosis I am on chemotherapy and an anti-malarial (strange but the standard protocol for treating RA) I know that without it I would probably be in a wheel-chair within a couple of years so I accept it - still wont take a pain killer tho' I'd prefer to know I am having a flare and respond accordingly than mask the pain.