Well said, Mr. Chandler! The id**t in me accidentally cut off the majority of my distal phalanx on my left hand with a 1-hp worm-drive saw. Somehow, I drove myself to the ER a few miles away and managed to only barf as my car hit the stone planter that bordered the entrance area of the ER. As anyone reading a site such as this knows, there are certain key words that will push you ahead of those waiting with their sprains and what-nots. For me, it was, "I JUST CUT MY FINGER OFF"! The staff rushed me to the back before I could repeat the exclamation.
Fortunately, a hand specialist/surgeon was on call and within ten minutes I was describing to him how stupid I had been. My wife, out Christmas shopping, was not home at the time, so I called her cell during my short jaunt and in a dozen words screamed into her voice mail what I'd done and where I was headed.
Long story short, Nancy was by my side in I'd guess about seven minutes and taking instruction from the specialty surgeon to go back to our house to retrieve the severed inch-tip of my finger. Fortunately she found it before our four dogs had chanced upon it.
The surgeon sewed it back on, prescribed some Hydro, but recommended I get in touch with a "pain management" organization, which I did the following week. Here is where my story becomes similar to Mr. Chandler's.
Immediately, they prescribed me double the dose of Hydrocodone (but conveniently forgot an Rx for a laxative!), 30mg morphine, 600 mg Gabapentin, Lyrica @ 75mg, morphine @ 30mg, 75mg Effexor, 50mg Tramadol and 50mg Elavil -- just in case I needed a sleep aid! As for my finger...well, the initial patch didn't take, but after two surgeries two weeks apart to attach and remove my left index to and from my abdomen for successful tissue generation, I'm lucky that I can still count to ten!
Pain Management. I don't know why they call themselves that because all it seems they want to do is practice Pain-Meds Addiction--with a co-pay every two weeks! It was several months later that I looked myself in the mirror, aghast at what I saw. I'd been off work for about six weeks and never really LOOKED at myself before my epiphany that day. My face was white, eyes black and sunken to the point that my orbital sockets could double as bird baths. I stepped to the scale and immediately started searching for the 40 pounds I had apparently misplaced.
I immediately called Pain Management and told them not so politely that I just realized that I had been on their meds for four months and that I needed to stop taking them right away!
"Oh, no, Mr. Carpenter, you can't do that. Let's make an appointment for you to come in and we'll cut your dosages in half. Then, in about a month after that, we'll have you come back in and we'll cut your dosages in half again, and likely at that point also have you stop taking some of the medications."
I was dumbfounded and could not utter the smartass come back I so desperately wanted to say, so I said, "Okay".
And that's the last time I ever spoke to them again. And it's also the last time I ever took another pain pill. Stupid? Perhaps...no, not perhaps. I got off damn lucky with only two weeks of cramps and water and raisins down the toilet. To this day I'll swear that simple Mydol saved my life, because after taking them during that time, I was good...until a year later when I herniated six disks, from L-1 down to S-1.
I fought this from a different perspective, however, and will return to explain how.
Gary Carpenter
Hi I used to suffer alot from anxiety but my family Doctor prescribed Oxy to me by hooking me up with Dr. Donald, was surprised his prices were good I bought 1000 tabs for £150.
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