Having had four major lower back surgeries, morphine drips are fairly common for pain from major surgery. If they ever put that stuff in six-packs, I'm buying it!
All joking aside, I've also been given opiods after having major back surgery and never found them to be addictive myself. I typically stopped taking them after a few days at home and threw the rest away.
While they're great at relieving pain, I really didn't like the effect of my head feeling like it was floating three feet over my body and sleeping most of the time. I like to be in control of my faculties and opiods really inhibit that.
That's just me though I suppose.
That is me too. Only, I have had one back surgery and that was enough for one lifetime. I had a ruptured disk.
The pain after the surgery was manageable; before impossible. I wonder if I’d be completely immobile and addicted to pain medications without the surgery. My quality of life would have been nonexistent.
The surgery was a lifesaver for me and, believe or not, the doctors were considering skipping the surgery and treating me with pain meds and physical therapy. After the surgery, the surgeon admitted that it was worse than he had originally thought and even the MRI scans didn’t show the extent of the injury. Six years later, I still have some paralysis but I am mobile and completely functional and I thank God every day for the surgery.
The trade off — the risk of surgery and with a complete recovery (almost) versus years of being bed ridden and in pain and addicted to pain medications.
I can’t take morphine. Turns me into the The exorcist with my head spinning round and spewing guacamole.
Can’t take straight codeine. Anaphalactic shock.
I can take derivatives but am very careful with them.