Narcotic pain relievers - too hard or too easy to get legally? (dollar, financial)
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P.T. is critical in rehabbing from surgery. I picked the wrong P.T. person and was allowed to go too fast through the P.T. steps which resulted in frozen shoulder adding weeks of more intensive P.T. and PAIN to the procedure.
It's amazing what the shoulder does and how it does it! I was told it's the one joint with the most range of movement in the whole body, what a design!!!
It's also amazing what you depend on your shoulder for, down to wiping ones behind, unzipping ones zipper to go to the bathroom, washing ones hair,brushing teeth etc.
All things that come to a screeching halt when you are in that sling.
Try washing your hands one handed...
Talcum powder/baby powder will become your friend as things get funky and skin sores can occur having your arm locked to your side for weeks on end.
Oh no, doesn't sound good. Thoughts on ways to tell if a PT is good for this? I have a few local recommendations from people in the area but none with this exact surgery. My son wasn't told any of this about the sling.
Something that helped my shoulder and neck pain while in bed is the "My Pillow". If they are having a TV add in your area for it you can get a second one for free
I got mine at Bed,Bath, and Beyond. I bought it on only a hope but it has made a big difference in the amount of hours I can sleep without being woken up because of pain
Might be the best $40 investment you or your son could make
We all have water pillows from the chiropractor and they are great too. Thanks though. I've heard of "My Pillow" but like the pillows we have for now.
Oh no, doesn't sound good. Thoughts on ways to tell if a PT is good for this? I have a few local recommendations from people in the area but none with this exact surgery. My son wasn't told any of this about the sling.
Reneeme, go check out My Recovery Experience which is at a labrum surgery forum as it will give you some decent information on what you/he are looking at when it comes to pain,recovery,PT and possible outcomes.
That's where I found out what to expect years ago when I had my surgery. Understand that there are best/worst case scenarios on there, I just read through most of 'em to get ideas on how to deal with the things that were certain to arise like the stinky,nasty, painful armpit due to yeast infection. Some suggestions on armpit care after surgery:http://slaptear.com/forum/12-physica...before-your-op
Oh no, doesn't sound good. Thoughts on ways to tell if a PT is good for this? I have a few local recommendations from people in the area but none with this exact surgery. My son wasn't told any of this about the sling.
I would first check your insurance plan and see what PT agencies are even covered before you ask for recommendations (private paying would be a couple of hundred per session, usually 3 sessions a week, the first session with eval would be about $300). For instance my plan covers exactly one PT outpatient clinic, NovaCare. My doctor (Sports Medicine) did tell me which NovaCare clinic near me he thinks is best, but that is the extent of my choice. So check your insurance, then ask for recommendations based on the ones you can actually pick from.
Most PTs are going to be good. But communicate, and do your own research as well. The sling is no big deal, it is standard procedure for any issue involving needing to keep the arm immobile for a period of time. It's the human version of the dog cone, lol. Point is, it;s not something that would occur to any doctor to bring up...you (hopefully) were already aware he wouldn't be allowed to use his arm for quite some time afterward?
Reneeme, go check out My Recovery Experience which is at a labrum surgery forum as it will give you some decent information on what you/he are looking at when it comes to pain,recovery,PT and possible outcomes.
That's where I found out what to expect years ago when I had my surgery. Understand that there are best/worst case scenarios on there, I just read through most of 'em to get ideas on how to deal with the things that were certain to arise like the stinky,nasty, painful armpit due to yeast infection. Some suggestions on armpit care after surgery:Armpit Care-Read this before your OP...
Thank you. I'll check them out. My son's was a Bankart Tear (vs.SLAP on the recovery forum) but I imagine recovery would be similar.
Back to the narcotic pain meds, so far my son thinks Tylenol is helping more than the Oxycodone, so even though Tylenol has it's own set of problems, he's taking both plus starting to rotate and add Ibuprofen (doc suggested). He's doing pretty well overall.
Several days ago in Southern California a female doctor was sentenced to life in prision for second degree murder; several of her patients had died from overdoses of drugs she had prescribed for them. One patient travelled from Arizona in order to get drugs from her.
Is it too easy, too hard, or about right to get drugs through legal channels? Obviously doctors who abuse their prescribing privileges are in the minority, but should standards be tightened or left where they are?
Is there concern that patients needing pain medication for legitimate, medical reasons will have trouble getting it?
A personal case in point: Four or five years ago I had hernia surgery and was sent home with a bottle of 30 pills of a narcotic pain reliever. I took eight of the pills over a two-day period after which I didn't need them anymore, leaving 22 pills left. The door was open for me to sell them illegally or use them recreationally myself. Since I wasn't interested in either, I just kept them. It took years for me to use the 22 pills - for the odd headache here, a dental procedure there, and so forth. In my view that was over-prescribing, leaving the door open for abuse.
I wonder if things have changed, or perhpas will soon change? Should they change?
ER, my experiences are similar to your own. We had an orthopedic surgeon here in Utah that I actually knew professionally who was sentenced to a long term in federal prison for abuses prescribing opiates. He has since been released after serving some years.
I have had four kidney stones in my past and every time I had one I was always sent home with a bottle of about 30 pills. I have been given large supplies of lortab, vicodin, percocet, and darvocet for this and a couple of other medical conditions.
I cannot recall a time that I wasn't able to make do with more more than six pills. What did I do with the remaining pills? I kept them for emergencies. I eventually get rid of the really old ones. However, I've actually had family members ask me if I want some they didn't use.
I've also been something of a hiker over my lifetime and I don't mean that I take short walks. I've hiked rim to rim at the Grand Canyon and walked over 20 miles in a day in strenuous terrain. I was a scout leader and my troop did much hiking. Pulled muscles are not uncommon and some of the hikes to put it can be excruciating. I've learned that most people who hike seriously keep a bottle of opiate pain medication in their backpack. Most of us don't use it. However, its there if we pull a muscle or if someone in our group does. No one has to tell me its dangerous stuff. However, I do think that taking one lortab when one has a severe headache is not abusing this medication.
My son broke his arm once and I learned the true importance of this medication. My neighbor, a physician, set the fracture, but first gave me one-half a lortab for my son to take. It allowed the physician to move the arm easily into the position that he needed to set the fracture. A light went on in my head at that time. I began to see these medications less as something to relieve pain, but instead as a "tool" to accomplish a specific purpose. That purpose may be setting a fracture. It may be extricating a n injured hiker from a remote area. It may be just being able to tolerate a condition until you can get to the doctor.
I'm very conflicted about opiate use. They have resulted in many early deaths, much addiction, and much harm. Yet, in the right situation--in small doses--they are are extraordinarily useful "tools".
When I had sinus surgery, I was sent home with a bottle of oxycontin. I think I took 2-3 of them and never needed more. I didn't even know what it was until a friend noticed it.
I used to take a lot of Sudafed for years and years before the sinus surgery. Now they've found a way to make something nasty with that and it's kept behind the counter and you need an id to buy it. Thankfully, with the sinus surgery, I don't need to buy it anymore.
Gabapentin. I take it for chronic insomnia. But the other day I was reading that prison inmates have discovered that it makes them high! Oh great. Now it's being taken out of the hands of prisoners. I hope I can still get it as it's a great sleep remedy for ME. We all have different side effects from medicines and most of us don't take pills to get high.
I think if a dr is knowingly prescribing addictive substances to addicts, they should be punished. Maybe not for murder, but they should be punished somehow for abuse and maybe lose their license.
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