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Mike Honcho
Trad climber
Glenwood Springs, CO
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jul 13, 2017 - 01:43pm PT
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So, my personal quick history is this. I've had about 14 major surgeries in my life. 3 hernias in the last 5 years being the most recent. My principal longstanding problem is my ankle that I destroyed at 2am jumping out of a C-130 in the 82nd Airborne. I was 18, I'm 48 now. I destroyed my talus and 3 of my 5 metatarsals, my medial and lateral malleolus are still fractured. No surgery will repair that sh#t at this point. The overwhelming prognosis is that in 10 or so years they will lop off the ankle or fuse it...
NOW. My beef is this. Even though I take it a bit more easy, I'm still cranking tough, pack burro racing and making the occasional BASE jumps and NO Doctors will prescribe anything. Where are all these over-prescribing doctors I can't stop hearing about?? And by the way, life is a bitch sometimes and people have chronic pain. To be clear, I have fantastic health insurance and do have a moderate monthly supply of Percocets from my Dr.
However, I'm wondering if this is a real "epedimic" or is this some weird sh#t some less savory doctors created? Personally, I thank Grandpa and Grandma need to keep their pill jars hidden when the Grandkids are around, "wow! Billy and Jill sure do like to visit a lot"!!! No sh#t Grandma.
And I'm not buying the whole, "You'll be shooting smack in Glenwood Springs, CO as soon as you eat a Percocet" bullcrap..
Without ripping me a new ass personally. I just brought up a topic, was wondering what you guys and 3-5 gals thought?
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snakefoot
climber
Nor Cal
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Jul 13, 2017 - 02:05pm PT
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Back in black, hit the sack... hows your new pad big boy?
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Mike Honcho
Trad climber
Glenwood Springs, CO
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 13, 2017 - 02:12pm PT
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Back in black, hit the sack... hows your new pad big boy?
Dude, we have a beautiful, over-sized for us house in New Castle. The Wife has never been happier. My number one job is to get "kneebar pads" and become a Rifle turd again.. lol
But to the last poster, I believe this epedimic is very regional, Like West Virginny, Connecticut etc etc. just a few shitty States.
Edit to ad- West Virginia is gorgeous, not trying to throw blame. Just a conversation. As well, I'm not a cop. I work for the Criminal Enforcement Division for the Dept. of Treasury. I provide high-end armed security for the Cannabis Industry in Colorado, which is still, all cash.
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Winemaker
Sport climber
Yakima, WA
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Jul 13, 2017 - 02:14pm PT
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I had surgery to repair a severed quad tendon a few years back and was supplied oxycodone for pain. Took them for two days, couldn't get real sleep, couldn't dream, just a surface fade out then wake up fully in a second at any noise. Got constipated and didn't sh#t for three days. It was awful; I said enough and tossed the pills as the pain was better than the consequences of the drug. So I don't understand why anyone would want to take this sh#t for 'pleasure'.
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Mike Honcho
Trad climber
Glenwood Springs, CO
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 13, 2017 - 02:16pm PT
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Winemaker, same here dude. After an 10 mile training run with our burros, the Percocets do help with my f*#ked ankle and back. But really, they suck. Still not seeing the big deal..
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snakefoot
climber
Nor Cal
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Jul 13, 2017 - 02:22pm PT
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nice! i agree about not seeing it all over. also, the pills are getting more expensive so people are moving over to heroin which is cheaper according to recent reports.
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Batrock
Trad climber
Burbank
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Jul 13, 2017 - 02:32pm PT
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I work in some of the worst parts of Los Angeles as a firefighter paramedic and have for the past 30 years and I haven't seen real life mirror what the news portrays. What I see on occasion are heroin overdoses but OD's due to taking too many pain meds are very rare at least in the areas i have worked, South Central, East LA and more recently the Sunland Tujunga area. Alcohol is far and away a bigger issue and more abused than pain meds but you don't see a huge public outcry reigning in alcohol abuse. Same with pot, the only calls I have been on concerning pot are first timer kids freaking out. Alcohol use creates a myriad of problems, domestic abuse, DUI, long term health issues, and just plain old acting like a d#@&%ebag. Not saying pot doesn't do the same but I just haven't seen it.
Back to the opioid issue It is a real problem but I don't think it's as bad as the press makes it out to be, at least not in LA where I work.
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Mike Honcho
Trad climber
Glenwood Springs, CO
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 13, 2017 - 02:34pm PT
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the pills are getting more expensive so people are moving over to heroin which is cheaper according to recent reports
And there we have it. I cannot make the leap from pills to shooting smack scored from the streets. And I don't want to be medically lumped in with those dipshits!!
I'm 48 years old, I'm not old, but boy am I on deck to be old, parts of my body are roached, but I hate this new epedimic getting in the way of me and my Doctors care. Whatever it is.
edit to add again, Thanks for your service Batrock, you do not have a glamorous job, though it sounds like it at a party maybe.
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Jul 13, 2017 - 02:44pm PT
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Isa had minor surgery on her finger to deal with a splinter infection and they gave her 48 vicodens. WTF I do that sh#t to myself at least once a week (carpenter)with a razor knife and don't need any pain meds. Guy I used to work for got hooked on Oxy for back pain. annother guy I worked for went from oxy to Heroin. I had zanax perscription about 25 years ago and had withdrawal symptoms when I backed off of that. Its all pretty bad sh#t...
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Happiegrrrl2
Trad climber
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Jul 13, 2017 - 02:53pm PT
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I had a sponsee in AA who got addicted to perscription opioids back in the 90's. She had a real tough time because she "wasn't passed out on park benches, like you alcoholics, or prostituting herself like a junkie." She "hadn't lost her home" and so many other "I'm not like you all" reasons to that because her doctor prescribed all those drugs that must mean there wasn't "really" a problem.... Yet there she was.
Another sponsee had a son who had been injured at work and was now addicted to oxycodone. As a recovered junkie, it broke her heart to see that happen to her son. At least when you shoot smack, you are aware there is risk of addiction/overdose. Back in the 90's, people really didn't understand they were at the same risk with prescription drugs.
I have a nephew who ended up a herion addict because the prescription drugs were getting hard to come by, and expensive.
Yes, it is real. While I have no personal experience with pain management and thus don't know what it's like to suffer the pain, I have to say that I DO know what it's like to see people suffer from the addiction that innocent pain management morphed into.
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Jul 13, 2017 - 03:02pm PT
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The opioid epidemic is somewhat masked, it is not necessarily dirtbags doing them. The problem is showing up in later stages as heroine overdoses, usually involving fentanyl. We just had three people OD and die together, local business owner. Friend had cancer and passed away last year. Found out later it was a long opioid addiction that killed her, had no idea she was doing it, but a doctor was prescribing for years. It is out there, not always seeing it.
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Loose Rocks
Trad climber
Santa Rosa, CA
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Jul 13, 2017 - 03:32pm PT
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When I was last in the ER about 60% of the patients that were there were addicts.
One old guy was in there with his 30+ YO son who was just begging for the pain to stop. He was screaming "Oh god I'm in so much pain. You've got to do something" over and over. You could tell the old guy knew what was going down. He just sat there watching his son act out. He looked a little lost as to what he could do. He just seemed sad. You could tell the old man was just at wit's end. I kind of felt bad for him.
Heard from the curtains of a couple of other patients:
"Oh I don't remember it was perco something or rather"
"I think last time they gave me oxy something"
I felt bad for the ER nurses. They have to put up with this crap day in and day out.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jul 13, 2017 - 03:50pm PT
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Got constipated and didn't sh#t for three days. It was awful
Don't need opioids to achieve that. Just hiking to the base of El Cap
and looking up keeps me plugged up for at least three days.
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ontheedgeandscaredtodeath
Social climber
SLO, Ca
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Jul 13, 2017 - 04:36pm PT
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I'd like to hear more about pack burro racing. Is that for reals??
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Matt Sarad
climber
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Jul 13, 2017 - 04:43pm PT
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My wife told me that I was screaming in the ICU after a headplant on the pavement. Unbeknownst to me, they added Dilaudid to my IV bag. I woke up a few days later and knew reality was not normal.
She said every time they brought me meds I refused to take them after rambling questions about what they were for and why I had to take them. Of course I have no memory of that.
After nearly a week of not taking a dump I figured out that I had been given opioids.
The three bottles of pills I was given after my release I ran through the garbage disposal and lived with the multiple broken ribs, vertebrae, double broken collar bone and crippling headaches.
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Loose Rocks
Trad climber
Santa Rosa, CA
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Jul 13, 2017 - 04:55pm PT
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After my back surgery I laying in bed and was waiting to be discharged. The nurse told me if I felt pain all I had to do was push the button for a little more relief. A couple of hours goes by and she shows back up asking why I wasn't using the button. I said "You guys are not going to let me leave unless I have a movement, correct? I plan on leaving today.".
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Jul 13, 2017 - 05:10pm PT
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My number one job is to get "kneebar pads" and become a Rifle turd again..
Pads? Egads man! Men don't use pads...
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skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
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Jul 13, 2017 - 05:16pm PT
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No sh!t
You see, THAT was the problem.
sounds like many of us would rather tolerate major pain than become constipated. ;)
Just exchanging one pain in the ass for another. I was really glad to get off my pain meds. If I was tacked out with level 9 or 10 pain over long periods I suppose I could see getting addicted to them. Otherwise, forgetaboutit. gimme some whiskey and a joint
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Jul 13, 2017 - 05:42pm PT
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I have tons of chronic pain. lots of worn out and broken parts. #1 reason that none of the parts get fixed is poor health care. #1 reason I would not use the pain meds if they gave them to me is that I don't want to be dependant on more pills. allready have to take prylosec every day for heart burn/acid reflux....
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