Is ultracet like hydrocodone

Pre-surgery I lurked a lot on this thread and admittedly FREAKED myself out a lot BUT it did make me do a lot of prep work pre-surgery that I think ultimately made recovery a lot better and just wanted to share!
I’m 26F on day 8 of recovery from my tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy on 5/9/24. I’m honestly doing surprisingly well and was even able to eat pizza (sans crust) and honey hot wings without any issues today.
I want to emphasize that this has fucking sucked but I wouldn’t change my decision to have this surgery. While I did not have frequent illnesses or tonsil stones due to my tonsils I did have mild obstructive sleep apnea due to my tonsil size which my ENT said were large both from the front and the top (from the nasal scope). Already I feel less crowdedness in my throat and am able to breathe so much more easily.
I’ve keep a consistent schedule with pain medication, much more Vicodin in the beginning but by day 4 I was able to transition to mostly ibuprofen and tylenol and just doing Vicodin before bed and again 5.5 hours later (getting me around 10 hours of decently pain free sleep.) Set alarms, have caretakers set alarms, set back up alarms and strictly follow those alarms. The only times I was in excruciating pain were the times that I overslept an alarm or forgot a dose of medication, which only happened twice. The liquid forms of ibuprofen and tylenol have been amazing. Getting ready for sleep I would take the Vicodin (in applesauce), drink as much fluids as I could, then I would spray my throat with the mucinex instasoothe spray, put my ice pack on, prop myself up in a comfortable spot and then drift off.
In the comfort list I mentioned pillows, humidifiers and ice packs. Make a lil pillow nest 10/10, it’s hard to get comfortable so having a lot of different points to be able to adjust helps, especially when propping yourself upright ends up being the most comfortable position to sleep in. From the get go I had a cool mist humidifier running 24/7 which helped prevent dry mouth/nose and has definitely helped with healing and pain, I highly recommend this. I also bought an ice pack head wrap with extra ice packs to have fully frozen ones on hand at all times, this helped a lot with managing the pain.
No one warned me about not being able to blow my nose, sneeze, cough or clear my throat— this is me warning you. No matter how much it feels like you have to, you can’t, this is annoying. To help with this my ENT (who told me this only after surgery) recommended I avoid dairy as much as possible to prevent excessive mucous production.
The other thing people did warn about but I didn’t want to believe was the taste. It’s vile. It doesn’t go away until the scabs start going away. Which for me started on day 6 and by day 8 (today) the scabs are almost completely gone and with them the taste is gone too. I spent 6 days doing everything in my power to not think about the taste. I hated drinking regular water bc it just made the taste worse, so I took the less healthy route of drinking anything with flavors to mask the taste, it was a concession I was happy to make. That being said, swallowing hurts, just keep at it, the more you do it the less it hurts, again set alarms, stay hydrated it’s important.
I’ve seen a lot of mixed feedback on here about brushing your teeth but I asked my ENT and he said it’s fine as long as you don’t hit the back of your throat, which people normally don’t do anyways. For me brushing my teeth has been the best, it makes your mouth feel so much better and helps a ton with the god awful cauterized flesh taste.
As for food, I kept to jello, popsicles, broths, applesauce and my other fluids the first few days, by day 3 I was able to eat instant mashed potatoes and by day 4 I was doing mac and cheese and heartier soups. Today is day 8 and as I said I was able to do pizza and wings!
For drinks, like I said, hated the taste in my mouth so I did everything I could to mask it. I’ve been drinking a lot of water with liquid IV and a lot of Gatorade. I have a pebble ice maker, but you can buy bags of it from sonic, pebble ice is so nice to chew on and have in drinks.
Again, this has sucked, but honestly recovery has flown by (not sure if it’s the pain meds or the excessive amount of sleep) but it’s going by quickly and I’m very happy I did it and would make the same choice again.
Best of luck if you’re pre-surgery and reading this thread. You’ve got this!
List of everything:
Food - I premade a fuck ton of jello in different flavors, popsicles, sorbet, sherbet, Jamba Juice with protein, instant mashed potatoes, knorr pasta sides, Annie’s Mac and cheese (I went easy on the milk), applesauce, miso soup and chicken noodle soup/chicken broth (with both soups the early days I did strain out anything in it bc I was paranoid about things getting stuck in my throat) — I did buy protein yogurt drinks, pudding, and ice cream but I did end up AVOIDING those to prevent excessive mucous
Drinks - ice water, water with liquid IV, watered down apple juice, Gatorade, slushies, smoothies, lots and lots of pebble ice
Medication - prescription hydrocodone (which insurance would NOT fill the liquid form of because apparently they know better than my doctor and felt big pills would be better for me after the surgery… in my throat… :-) so wise) I crushed the pills up and ate them with applesauce, children’s liquid ibuprofen, children’s liquid tylenol, mucinex instasoothe sore throat and pain relief
Comfort things - pillows, a cool mist humidifier, head ice pack wrap with extra ice pack inserts

35 year old female, 5'1" 125 pounds. Medication: atenolol, amitriptyline, prescribed hydrocodone 7.5/325mg following tooth extraction
I was put under IV sedation today to have 13 teeth extracted (all top teeth). My procedure was over 8 hours ago. The surgeon prescribed hydrocodone for pain management, 7/5/325mg. I had heavy bleeding during and following the procedure. I suspect I swallowed a large amount of blood during the extractions and possibly while I napped after. I was on a 12 hour fast prior. I took 1 hydrocodone about 4 hours ago. In the past when I have been prescribed narcotics I've experienced dizziness, lightheadedness and nausea. Since the procedure I've eaten about half a bowl of soup and a few bites of mashed potatoes.
After waking up from a nap, I vomited black liquid. I suspect it was swallowed blood. The vomit was liquid in consistency and did not have a coffee grounds consistency. After vomiting, I slowly sipped about half a bottle of water and ate maybe 5 small bites of mashed potatoes. Within 5 minutes, I again vomited black liquid although this time it was much more diluted and had undigested soup that I had eaten earlier.
Now I am extremely nauseous, lightheaded, mildly dizzy, and feel like I'm overheated. I'm assuming this is side effects of sedation, pain medication, and swallowing blood. However, I am concerned. Is this normal for after what I've explained above?

I’ve posted before about a certain brand of hydrocodone causing me problems such as rapid irregular heartbeat, chest pain, headaches etc. I discussed this with my doctor and he switched me to Percocet. Ive had the same symptoms with it including itching with no rash and heavy chest. The thing is with both of these meds the symptoms don’t really occur until the medication has worn off. It honestly makes no sense to me. I will be fine until like 8 hours after taking them or sometimes even 24 hrs after taking them and then I’ll start having killer headaches, pulse shooting to 130s, chest discomfort etc for awhile then it will go away in a few hours. I had an appointment Tuesday with my doctor and he switched me back to hydrocodone but made sure I got a different brand because he thought maybe it was something to do with the filler but low and behold the same thing is happening. Another thing is it seems sometimes I can go for a week or two and not get these symptoms and them all the sudden they come back. I don’t seem to ever get them when I get IV fentanyl or morphine from the hospital. Anyone have any ideas? I’m scared I’m going to be out of options and my doctor is just going to quit giving me any medication if I continue having these issues.

I need help, I'm feeling overwhelmed by too much info, and I'm exhausted
Here's the basics: Species: dog Age: 14 Sex/Neuter status: spayed F Breed: large chihuahua mix (probably some jack russel, but not sure) Body weight: 19 lbs History: 2 summers ago contracted Kennel Cough (was vaxxed), and after treatment developed lasting and chronic, loud cough. Clinical signs: consistent, prolonged coughing/hacking, wheezing, heart murmur Duration: 1 year, 9 months Your general location: Arizona, USA
Diagnosed with likely collapsing trachea in late 2022 after ruling out other possibilities. X-ray at time could not determine CT for sure, and showed no heart disease.
Prescribed hydrocodone/homatropine. Getting one pill 5mg/1.5mg three times a day.
Over time cough gets worse, uncontrolled by rx. Prescribed rounds of prednisone, which improves cough during treatment.
New x-ray March 21st, 2024 finally confirms collapsing trachea, all the way down at the base right before it splits off into the lungs. Also showing likely bronchitis. No obvious heart disease. Possibly slightly enlarged heart?
However, new heart murmur (mild) detected by stethoscope
In the meantime, I joined a FB support group for owners of dogs with collapsing trachea. I ask my vet about a few medications recommended by the group, but my vet dismissed them for various reasons. I wish I could tell you the reasons, but I'm always sleep-deprived at these visits because they're after several nights of lost sleep due my dog's hacking.
Anyway, in past two weeks the coughing/hacking got significantly worse, uncontrolled by medication. Sunday night, she could not get comfortable, was pacing from room to room, hacking, wheezing, only sleeping in very short bouts, with help of gabapentin. It was a terrible night for us both and I felt like she was pleading with me to help her go.
I visited vet the next day (Mon, May 13th). I was ready to discuss euthanasia due to her distressed state, obviously discomfort, uncontrollable hacking. I also had some new suggestions from the support group to ask about, including Vetmedin and Lasix.
On Monday's visit the vet said her heart murmur sounded more pronounced. However, she would not prescribe any heart meds without at least another x-ray.
Tbh, I don't have another $600 for an x-ray when I already paid that for one less than 2 months ago.
The vet prescribed another round of prednisone, and said I could increase the dose of hydrocodone to 1.5 pills every 6 hours if needed.
This combo does reduce her coughing, but that much hydrocodone basically just knocks her out.
So, I began seriously considering euthanasia again, because having her drugged all the time, and desperately hacking in the time between doses, is no quality of life to me.
Additionally, her coughing snd prolonged health deterioration is having significant impact on my own well-being due to lack of sleep and missed work, and just general constant stress. Last night was another sleepless night for us both.
However, the CT support group has me convinced I should push to try vetmedin. Some say it's been like a wonder drug.
I'm on such a roller coaster, having already mentally and emotionally starting to prepare to say goodbye. I even made an appt for in-home euthanasia on Saturday. Now I'm wondering if I'll feel guilty if I don't push for this medication.
Again, I cannot afford another x-ray, let alone a cardiologist. I've spent so much for so long for so little improvement, I'm also emotionally spent after almost 2 years of this.
But, I'm really needing to hear from some vets.
I'm ready to let her go. Do I owe it to her to try to convince the vet to let me try Vetmedin?
I'm attaching a link with two videos of her terrible night on Sunday, her medical history, and 3 x-rays from March.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1saHMHDiIOW6Hov1EnOpWY44qVgokfjGW

Has anyone gone through this or have any suggestions? ’m having excruciating head and next pain that have been resistant to treatment so far. I’m unable to do anything and have been out of work for over a week. I’m looking for any response…advice, a similar story or simply a friendly hello!
A week ago an excruciating headache came on, different from any migraine I’ve ever had (prior to the accident). I am in so much pain that I cant function and it flared all of my post concussion symptoms (writing this with the help of chat gpt and talk to text). The pain is in my temples and my head feels like it is going to explode and my neck and the base of my skull hurt bad as well.
I tried all the things for the next four days, OTC meds, prescription migraine medication, neck stretches, lidocaine patches, ice packs, heating pads, tens, electrolytes and staying hydrated. All I could do was be in a cold, dark, noiseless room to struggle in pain. After 5 days I went to my PCP, she prescribed prednisone to calm my muscles and my headache, it’s not helping at all. I went back to my PCP yesterday she gave me hydrocodone and said to finish the prednisone (that didn’t do anything) and after my last dose I was to come back and get an injection of toroidal. I’ve taken the hydrocodone and it’s not helping at ALL!
I’ve been laying in my dark room for over 7 days straight in pain. The pain is similar to the excruciating pain I felt the days after the accident when all I could do was sleep. I’m worried that it’s not a “headache” although I don’t know what else it would be. I’m scared the toroidal is not going to help and I’ll be left in pain again. Work is getting angry I’ve been out so long.
Any suggestions on what to do? Has anyone had this happen? I’m 6 months out of my accident/concussion and this pain is new.
I’m feeling lost and this pain needs to go away!
Thanks for reading.

Like the title says, I have been getting fentynal patches and dilaudid from my primary for almost 15 years. I have a new treatment set with pain mgmt that seems promising, but he told me he can't prescribe opiates as he is capped by the state. So, now I'm out of patches, and basically get told tough! My primary does care, so he switched me with the national hydrocodone shortage to oxycodone. For the patches he's trying er oxycontin. We shall see, but this some crap, especially since I've reduced my dosages over the years.

So today was my first time seeing a pain management specialist. He told me i fit all of the criteria of fibro but he wants me to do some research and come back in a month before he puts the diagnosis on paper.
A bit of history: I 24f rode horses competitively for 13 years. I've taken 3 massive horse related accident that have cause soft tissue damage and severe to mild brain injuries. In 2022 me and my significant other were rear ended while at a stop light by some one going 83mph which resulted in another bad head injury, internal bruising, and of course some severe musculoskeletal issues. Over the years ive been told i have IBS, migraines, endometriosis (diagnosed by surgery), as well as a few mental health issues. I've tried physical therapy multiple times, done dry needling, trigger point massages, muscle scrapping, used tens units, hot/cold therapy, every medication from (gaba, flexeril, duloxetine, tramadole, robaxin, naltrexone, hydrocodone, NSAIDs, preventarive migraine medications, epidural steroid injections, trigger point injections, etc). I've been to neurology, neurosurgery, ortho, a back pain specialist for car accidents, pelvic floor specialists, etc. Never was any one able to tell me anything other than "wow your muscles are very reactive" "you have alot of scar tissue" "do you stretch? Your muscles are extremely tight" etc. I currently follow a PT regiment for a hip surgery (extreme labral tear, femorectomy(to help a bad impingment), cartlidge repair, and an attempt at arthritis removal) in january but incoperate previous PT exercises to try and help my back and neck. In total i stretch for 30 minutes 2-3x a day and do low impact exercises 1hr 30 minutes to 2 he 45 minutes a day. I gave birth june of last year so sometimes the exercise either gets spread out through out the the day or to the shorter 1.5 Hrs during a nap. After all of this i continued to have unexplained back and neck pain starting each day at a 6-7 out of 10 and usually not get more than 2 hours of sleep at a time. My PCP was prescribing 10 mg norco for flares (i have days where ill get migraines with endo pain and muscular flairs that leave me unable to move, nauseous, occasionally losing consciousness and i usually end up I'm the ER) along with robaxin and tylenol daily and this combination worked incredibly together but didn't do much of anything apart. It felt like i finally could function and had relief. Unfortunately she told me she couldn't continue to prescribe to me and needed me to go to a pain clinic so I agreed in hopes of more answers and maybe even finding a long term pain management plan.
The PM dr went through my history and ended up stopping and saying hey i think you have fibro. He pushed into some trigger points said "yep you're meeting all of the criteria". He then told me we will try acupuncture, more trigger point injections, and tizanidine. I agreed to these as I'm always open to new things or retrying things in a different combination. He gave the injections and told me i should feel it almost immediately but i unfortunately felt no relief and told him so. At the end of my appointment i asked if i could still have a rescue medication until we find a regiment that works well for me and he told me "if you were 50+ yes but you're too young for that route", said he will see me in 4 weeks, and walked out. I am still waiting for the tizanidine but he told me he is not optimistic it'll help much so im a bit scared now. I went into this appointment thinking id be helped and left feeling scared and grimm.

My mom has a prescription for hydrocodone that keeps diminishing faster than it should, she told me this herself. She thinks they’re being stolen, and I have good reason to believe it is him. He is a sweet kid, he wouldn’t hurt a fly and I mean that, but I have zero doubt that he is the one taking them. I am not defending him, I am very aware it is wrong to steal peoples medicine and there is no excuse for it. That being said, I’m unsure how to approach it.
For the past year he’s been extremely depressed, his buddy died, and he did try to kill himself in August. No excuses, but Im having a hard time being angry because of that. I should be furious, he’s harming other people with his actions, my mom needs those much more than him, obviously. But still, Im more worried and sad. Am I wrong for not being mad at him? Im upset and I WILL confront him about it, but I guess I just feel confused about my reaction. I’m waiting for the anger and it won’t come.
It’s just so out of character. He has always been a good kid, he’s not had a rebellious teen phase, he never even raises his voice at anybody. He has DEFINITELY never been the kind to steal or lie, and I guess I’m more worried than angry, because I wonder how bad things have been if he’s able to throw his morals out like that. I don’t know. Anyway, have any of you been through anything like this or know anyone who has?

hi, im 17 f who went through a tonsillectomy on may 1st due to having inflamed tonsils on and off for over a year. throughout my recovery i would go on here to read peoples experiences so i wanted to share mine.
day 1 (surgery day): after the surgery, the pain was a 2/10 hence being on anesthesia. i talked directly after the surgery; it only felt a bit uncomfortable. once i got home, i took 2 tylenol and ate tomato soup.
day 2: i had a small fever at midnight which was so horrible…. i did take 2 tylenol to be able to sleep. once i woke up, pain was really starting to kick in, 6/10. id describe the pain as a VERY awful strep throat. it honestly just really hurts to swallow. i ate left over tomato soup for breakfast. mashed potatoes for lunch and dinner. i tried hydrocodone but i had such a bad experience with it (i felt so nauseous and was shaking really badly) so i decided to not take it at all for the rest of my recovery.
day 3: the pain was so bad i deadass was begging to be killed, 8/10 (dramatic ik). i was struggling to eat my food that i ended up crying. i wasnt eating or drinking enough fluids that i felt so weak and nauseous. i am not kidding when i say this, EAT YOUR FOODDDD!!!!!! even though it hurts to swallow trusttttt meeeeee, itll all be worth it in the end.
day 4: I SNEEZED for the first time and i felt like my entire throat was about to go up on flames!!!!! for breakfast i ate left over mac n cheese. for lunch i attempted eating a sandwich (no crusts, SOFT bread, mayo, and ham) and it went pretty fine. make sure to REALLY chew down your food!! pain was about a 6/10
day 5: the pain was incredibly manageable 2/10 in the morning although during the afternoon things started getting a bit bad…... 7/10. in the morning and dinner i ate some mac n cheese yet again and downed it with some cold gatorade. i started getting some teethaches but it seemed to be normal since its part of the nerves connected to the tonsils (or where they used to be lol)
day 6: 12/10. woke up in excruciating pain. i was aware that things were about to get really horrible. seeing as peoples worst days ranged from day 5 to day 9. i took my usual intake of tylenol. i barely ate anything because the pain was just horrible. drinking wategatorade was such a pain as well. the right side of my throat seemed to have some blood coming out (it wasn’t too much but it made me worry a bit).
day 7: kept waking up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat. pain was about 8/10. checked my throat and the blood on the right side was completely gone. scabs are starting to form. started to crave hard foods (the struggle is unreal). whenever id drink water, gatorade or chew on popsicles, my throat would BURN.
day 8: i slept for an entire night straight without waking up once in the middle of the night. i say that is PROGRESS!!!! when i woke up the pain was not so bad 3/10. i was craving taco bell so i got a beefy 5 layer burrito since i know their burritos are soft!!! it was THE BEST ive eaten since this recovery im telling you omg… i drank a whole water bottle afterwards too… pain feels mild, not unbearable or unused too.
day 9-14: 4/10 throughout these days!! been able to sleep without any struggles. ive also been eating somewhat solids things like sandwiches, pizzas, hot chips (dyanmites, hot fries). yawnings, sneezing, and burping have been my hell.
i want to say that although i was SOMEWHAT just fine using tylenol, it might not be the case for everyone else. the same goes for food, i know some people don’t do well with dairy based foods such as mac n cheese. eat what you feel most comfortable eating but make sure it is soft and mild cold (do NOT eat anything hot/hard/spicy/salty/sugary)! i know its hard for people to talk during this but i talked the majority of my recovery (nurses encouraged it). id also like to note that id randomly eat ice pops and put an ice pack under my chin. id keep track of taking 2 tylenol every 4-5 hours (i recommend that you do as well because its literal hell when you dont). everyone deals with pain differently. just know you’ll be okay and all this pain you’re going through right now will all be worth it in the end.

I recently started opioid therapy, working through my GP. She put me on hydrocodone, which is metabolized into hydromorphone by the same liver enzyme that converts codeine into morphine (CYP2D6). All of my research shows that pain relief is correlated with hydromorphone concentrations, so the enzyme activity is important for pain relief. Hydrocodone its self has very little activity, and is basically a prodrug (almost like codeine).
I know from past experiences that I have poor function of CYP2D6. I asked my Dr. about going on morphine rather than the hydrocodone because they have the same MME, and I have family who has had success with morphine.
She was very against the idea, and referred to morphine as one of the "strong" opioids. This surprised me, as my research seems to suggest they have similar potency.
Can anyone with first-hand experience with these medications offer some insight here? I am most interested in the comparison between hydrocodone and morphine, but I would love to hear any other comparisons you have experience with, or insights you can provide on the subject.

UPDATE I’m on morphine so I messed up my update. I had concerns but before discharge I asked for another quick chat with doc and he assured the hell out of me that it’s not Cuada Equina which gives me hope that my cystoscopy and physical therapy for my back will have me good as new. I am SO relieved. The staff were INCREDIBLY nice, the nicest I’ve met so far. I want to give them all the props in the world - they were so nice I didn’t have to ask for benzos or anything on top of the morphine, thank god. My spine CT showed “Slight disk bulges throughout the lumbar region without significant spinal canal or foraminal stenosis” Which had me panicking but after some research and assurance from the Dr, I feel much better. They gave me rocephin and 5 days of antibiotics to take, pretty sure I have a UTI because my nitrites are active, but no bacteria. Not sure if I fully believe it cause my PCP and urologist have been denying UTI possibilities for 6 months but I’m desperate for relief so I’m trying it. Thank you everyone who tuned in. If you read this and have your own health issues, please advocate for yourself!
TL;DR** normally pee 20-40 times a day, can barely get anything out now. Have bladder wall thickening and bladder cyst consistent with urachal remnant.
25F 130lbs 5’10” no tobacco, MMJ user, Dx bladder partially cystic mural nodularity on the anterior midline, Dx 3mm kidney stone, history of cervical precancer (CIN 3), Rx’d cyclonenzaprine, oxycodone as needed, and protonix.
A few days ago I urinated between 30 and 40 times. This is pretty normal for me. I normally have trouble urinating for about 5-10 minutes and then a normal length (but weak) stream comes out, and I spend a while getting the last drops out. Maybe a 25 minute total bathroom visit at most. I spend a lot of time on the toilet.
Yesterday morning around 9am until noon I sat on the toilet without getting a single drop out, then managed to get out a small stream and took a nap because I’d been up all night feeling like my bladder is gonna burst. Throughout the day I had a few very short streams, and was drinking water (at least half a gallon, maybe more). I stopped peeing around 10 and laid flat in bed trying to take shallow breaths to not put pressure on my bladder and had a few more unsuccessful or two-drop visits to the toilet. Fell asleep around 5am and woke up at 7, continued to really struggle with pain and finally gave into a hydrocodone I had from a while back and that didn’t work. I had already tried pyridium at this point and given it a while, but it didn’t help. I gave the hydro two hours, still no relief and no urine. Finally caved to 5mg of oxycodone because I’m broke and can’t afford copays and desperate to get to work. That didn’t work either. Still only a couple drops or complete inability to urinate. It’s like my brain stopped talking to my bladder.
So I finally called my urologist office saying this isn’t normal for me to have this happen for this long and they were shocked as to why I wasn’t at the hospital with a catheter already. I feel fine other than my insane bladder pressure and sharp pain. My urologist is out of the office but previously told me only to present to the hospital if I test positive on a drugstore UTI test strip. I don’t have money for that so I can’t check. I have $0 to my name and I’m thousands in debt from only being able to work less than 50 days this year due to my bladder. Is the urology office right that this is an emergency and I need a catheter? Or could this just be from the bladder wall thickening?
Every time I go to the hospital they tell me they have no idea how to help me and have never seen bladder wall thickening like this before and the last doc who was the top ER doctor there literally said he’s never seen what I show on CT and I’m discharged within an hour and referred back to my urologist, so I have little hope of anything going right.
I have a cystoscopy scheduled next week. I really can’t wait it out with a higher dose of pain meds? I’m constantly treated like I’m overreacting when I go to the ER and I will be humiliated if it happens again.
Thank you soooo much if you read this far. Any advice appreciated.

Hello
25F, 130lbs, 5’10”, no tobacco, MMJ user, hydrocodone and oxyxodone as needed, cyclobenzaprine, protonix
If you read this thank you so much because I’m absolutely desperate and my doctors are tired of me and I think they think I only want pain meds. I don’t, I just want to feel better. I have a huge stash of emergency oxycodone anyway so I barely even need them for that.
On 12/15 I fell down the stairs and hit the lower of my middle back quite hard. 12/19 I had a LEEP done, 01/06 I came down with extreme urinary issues and between then and now have been back 6 times, seen 4 specialists and have seen my PCP at least ten times for urine samples. I’ve also only been able to attend my full time job for 43 days so far this year and have no more money for copays and if it weren’t for my ADA paperwork, I’d have been fired a long time ago
Over the last two weeks, it’s been taking me up to two hours to produce urine while having a full (and very sore - mostly left side) bladder. This is infuriating. When I do end up finally feeling the need to release, I have less than 3 minutes to get to a restroom before my vision starts going spotty from the bladder pressure pain.
My urologist ordered a cystoscopy, but has been blaming my 3mm kidney stone until I begged for an ultrasound last month of my bladder. Found bladder wall thickening and bladder cyst / possible urachal remnant.
I found out what Cuada equina is today. I learned that it is very very commonly missed. I can barely walk, and at the music festival I went to over the weekend I had to use ADA for just about everything. I look completely normal so I got judged pretty hard, but I do have paperwork. I have been losing weight without much diet change and my back has been killing me as well. I feel so weak. My urine flow is so small compared to what it used to be. I had a period of time where the pain was so bad, I couldn’t feel my clitoris or labia at all so sex was pointless as well, and I thought I’d lose my relationship and be alone forever. They send me to an OB-Oncologist who said not to come back, which is why my urologist finally agreed to check my bladder.
Is it possible that all my issues are related to the cyst and thickening, or could this be cuada equina that was missed on multiple CT’s? I can’t find info on bladder cysts. using retention. When is the appropriate time to go to the hospital? I can barely walk without pain meds. I urinated about 40 times on Saturday, with my usual being 10-20 times, and some days there’s very little pain or urgency at all, but the retention is almost always there to some extent.
It almost feels like the part of my brain that controls my bladder doesn’t work anymore because no matter how hard I tell my bladder to release, it just doesn’t happen sometimes and I can’t get comfortable after that. I’ve slept a total of 4 hours since Saturday morning and I only have one hydrocodone left. Pyridium does NOTHING except for when burning pain presents, and I can’t take NSAIDS until my GI clears me due to extreme gas, constipation and bloating / belching thought to be caused by peptic ulcers. I can’t walk at this point without pain meds, but the ER always releases me with the same DX of cyst and bladder wall thickening and tells me they have no clue what that means. But I’m in so much pain I feel like there has to be something they can do other than give me fluids and monitor me for an hour or two until I can get to my cystoscopy next week.
If you have any advice for me I really appreciate it. I don’t want to die but I feel the only way out of lifelong urinary pain after 6 months now is suicide. The only time suicide doesn’t cross my mind a couple times is when I do end up having to take a pain pill. In March, I had to take oxy every day. I only take them now when I can’t walk because the effects are too strong for me to keep my life in order while taking them every day. But this weekend I have had the most trouble walking, and using the restroom, since all of these issues began.
I can’t afford any more specialists visits after my procedure, so I really wish the ER could do something for me as they’re the only ones who won’t turn me away for not having money at this point. My GI doc actually canceled my appointment because I don’t have $20 and I’ve been putting off another ultrasound because it’s $200 up front. IDK what to do but I’m pretty sure this is how a lot of people end up on fent and heroin - if I had been denied pain meds this far I would have turned to the streets, and that’s coming from someone who has chosen - on their own - to quit most drug related and extracurricular activities to better their life at a young age and is much happier for it.
I can’t even get the ER to catheterize me when I can’t urinate for 6+ hours at a time. What gives? Why won’t they run a different imaging test? They wouldn’t even give me a breath test for h pylori recently and now I’m waiting a month for an appointment I can’t even afford.
TL;DR extreme bladder pain, nobody understands why, extreme difficulty urinating, ER can’t do anything for me and awaiting surgery. Is there anything I can say or do to get proper medical attention or can the ER really not touch your bladder like they say? Is there a way I can convince them to admit me so I could see a urologist before my procedure? My urologist is unavailable until my follow-up and I don’t think the company they work for allows them to Rx narcotics and I’m against taking more than 1 oxycodone a week at this point but so far have been unsuccessful in getting something weaker like hydro or tramadol.

Let me just start with, this sub has helped me so much through the years with dealing and not dealing with my JNMIL's racism, narcissism, and controlling spirit. It's has also helped me, help DH with shining up his spine. If you were here anywhere from 5 to about 8 years ago, my JNMIL was Cuntrol Freak and I'm the DIL that stole her precious son with my pussy made of gold and cocoa butter (DH and I are an interracial couple). My previous post have either been archived or deleted at this point, because I was so scared of getting found out, I was making and deleting accounts almost every month. I'm going to try and keep this as short and condense as much as I can so that I solely stick to where JNMIL plays a hand in this.
So safe to say we've had our issues off and on through the 9 years DH and I have been together, but why I'm here now finally takes the fucking cake. I just need to get this out and wash my hands of this situation now that I've fully processed, had a full emotional and mental cleanse of the familial relationship. Plus DH truly seems to be done.
Title confusion: in 2021 JNMIL got fed up after 35 years and finally decided to divorce JNFIL one night after he got too drunk and threatened to unalive her, JYGMIL and BIL2. I ended 2 years of NC and DH & I made sure we surrounded her with love, and during this time, JNMIL leaned on me a lot. We talked all the time and seemed as though we turned a corner. Everything was good for the next few years. Relationships were much better across the board. JNMIL & I were in a good position, JNFIL had gotten clean and was doing better and him and JNMIL seemed to like each other... But I wouldn't be here if any of that actually lasted.
End of January 2024: JNMIL comes over one day practically begging one of her boys to take in JNFIL as he's basically on his death bed, and she doesn't want him dying at the homeless shelter. According to her, he had heart disease, nodules on his lungs (which became the throat when she brought it up a few days later), and major weight loss. I hadn't seen him since Thanksgiving, but DH & BIL1 both agreed that he had lost an alarming amount of weight so we didn't give it a second thought. Long story short, DH & I squeeze LO's entire bedroom into ours and move JNFIL into our home. Only to discover he isn't on his death bed. He's gone back to drinking, and is going through withdrawals.
February: We find out JNMIL knew. Not only did she know, and said nothing, she decided to come up with all those ailments he was having on her own! According to her, "it wasn't her lie to tell," but she had no problem coming up with her own lies to make his lies seem more believable. DH & I decided that JNFIL had to leave and that we needed to take a long break from JNMIL due to them both lying and she absolutely lost her mind. Although DH & I make every marital-related decision together, of course, this was all my fault, because how dare I find out she was involved in making our home unsafe. She also cursed my mother because we all know with a narcissist, it's always everyone else and never them and she assumes because it's my JYM's house, she was involved in the decision. (She wasn't. My JYM's favorite line is "You both are adults. As long as y'all pay the bills, y'all's business is yours and mine is mine, until y'all say you need me).
-- Somewhere in between all of this JNMIL reads the text I sent to BIL2 (he's still on her phone plan) to let him know what's going on and that we won't be going out to JNMIL's house for a while, because he lives with her, and we always give each other a heads up when one of us does something that is going to piss off JNMIL. Gave BIL1 a heads up as well.
DH is at work when JNMIL just starts berating him over texts about picking up the title to an old car that DH & his father have been working on at least since before I met them, and we've been together 10 years. The car was supposed to be a gift to DH, but because it was never signed over to him, JNMIL decides she suddenly wants to facilitate a sale for it, because she'll be damned if we make JNFIL a homeless alcoholic again. They go back and forth until DH mentions that I'm furious with her, and he's trying to save her from me, so BIL2 should be the one to come pick up the title, and holy mother of an extinction burst...
\Take into account this all happens on the weekend that DH and I are celebrating 9 years together, so I'm convinced she's been keeping track of our anniversary and lighting black candles every year, hoping he'd see the light and leave me which is why according to her, DH has been missing for 9 years.*

JNMIL: Put the title in his hands today. I could care less about her or her mother fucking feelings. God damn fuck her and her childish feelings. It's already been told ya'll won't be coming to my house anytime soon. All because I didn't tell someone else's business. Same as BIL2 when he kept his nose on his own face. Wasn't my place to tell anything yet your wife thinks someone owes her something. I think you need to be more concerned with how furious I am. You've taken my granddaughter from me for the last mother fucking time. You've all got the demon to deal with now. Gonna find out soon enough what happens when you fuck with someone with nothing to loose. Choke on that. JNMIL: Put your father in the street because that is what makes her happy. I wish I could have put my mother on the street for falling off the wagon, hiding her alcoholic behavior. Oh.. yeah! She should have been at the mission a long time ago. Difference between me and you and people that live with you. So be it. You can have her. JNMIL: I don't know you and don't want to know you. Where is my mother fucking son? [DH's Full Name]. He's been missing for 9 years. If you see him tell him his mother loves him in-spite of his choices. Because that is a paren't love. JNMIL: You let HER take my granddaughter from me that last mother fucking time. Fuck that. Fuck her. JNMIL: Even [JYGMIL] doesn't know what the fuck is wrong with you. JNMIL: Save me from [OP]! Hahahahahahaha You must have forgotten who the fuck I am!

That was 2 months ago and she has since ignored me, DH, BIL1, SIL1 and our kids because she'd rather go nuclear than own up, and admit she was wrong for not telling us we were moving a fresh alcoholic into our home. I mean, she had no problem telling me to hide the hydrocodone I was prescribed after I had LO from JNFIL 9 years ago, so how is this any different? Not to mention how dare you be upset with DH for kicking out the same man you kicked out for being drunk and threatening to kill you, your mother and one of your sons just 3 years prior.
I'm pretty sure if there was a ceremony for the delusional, my JNMIL would win every award, and all the statues they handed out would be made in her likeness.
*edited to add: someone in the comments asked why no one suggested SHE take FIL in… DH did, but she completely ignored the suggestion. So it is now May, JNFIL is still alive and kicking at homeless shelter and the old car she wanted to sell so bad is still sitting in her driveway according to BIL2, so they did this for absolutely nothing.

Figured I'd post my positive experience, if it helps anyone idk. You may not want to make the same choices I did for my own circumstances.
F24, I got my bottom impacted wisdom teeth out, one was partially out and horizontal, the other fully under the gum. They did seem to be shifting/crowding my other teeth. My tops are also impacted and fully under the gum. I decided to leave them for now because of the cost and because they don't seem to be affecting the others on top.
I was given hydrocodone and amoxicilin (prescribed to take 3 a day for 7 days). I have had cdiff in the past so I decided not to take the amoxicilin unless I had signs of infection... thats another reason why I didn't want all of them out, less extraction sites to worry about. This was my first experience with iv anesthesia! the last thing I remember was my throat feeling cold and I only slightly remember the ride home.
Day 0/1 was ok, I had to use some of the extra gauze they gave, had a little bit of swelling. My face was numb but slowly went away. I took hydrocodone twice. Had some mashed potatoes, apple sauce and juice. I couldn't sleep very well the first night, I was tired but I felt like I kept startling myself awake right before I fell asleep? Not sure if that was the hydrocodone, me being weird, or after affects from the anesthesia?
Day 2 very swollen, more so on the side of the tooth that was completely under the gums. I flossed and brushed my front teeth, and started salt water rinses. Couldn't really get a good look in my mouth. I took ibuprofen which worked for the pain. I decided not to take hydrocodone to see if I could sleep better. I did get more sleep that night.
Day 3 still very swollen, but more evenly. I was able to brush a little further back. Had a hydrocodone in the morning, mashed potatoes and juice. Didn't need any pain pills at night, I did notice a small bruise on the inside of my cheek.. Felt some tension around my temples. Later in the day the swelling seemed to get lopsided again.
Day 4 still very swollen. Didn't need pain medication, only felt a bit of tension near my temples. I noticed I also have a bruise on the outside of my cheek where the inner bruise is.
Day 5 still swollen, yellow bruise at the jawline on both sides. A small stitch came out but everything still looks the same inside. No pain meds.
Day 6 still swollen with yellow bruises. No pain meds. Tmi but worst constipation of my entire life I thought I might need the hospital lol. I do not like Hydrocodone, wish I had not taken that third one. I was able to floss and kinda brush all of my teeth!
Day 7 visibly about the same.
I used salt water rinses religiously after every meal & drink, also in the morning and at night before and after brushing my teeth.
10 days now, have still been doing salt rinses. Still some discomfort, the side where the tooth was partially out still has kind of a crevice and I can feel a stitch I think. This is probably long enough lmao.

(24f)So tomorrow will be my first time going into pain management. I have muscoloskeletal pain in my neck and low back from multiple horse back riding accidents and being rear ended at a stop by someone going 83mph. I have a herniated disc in my L4-5 with nerve root impingement but with out leg pain. I also have endometriosis and migraines. My Pcp has been wonderful in trying to help me and has sent me through PT twice where we tried acupuncture, dry needling, trigger point massage, muscle scrapping, exercises, and sent me home with a tens unit which i still use.When that didn't work she tried various meds including muscle relaxers like flexeril and robaxin , nerve medications like gaba and lyrica, NSAIDs, naproxen, and various lidocaine cremes. She even send me to a spine specialist and we tried a epidural steroid injection that unfortunately didn't work. For awhile she was prescribing me 10mg hydrocodone/ 325 acetaminophen with the robaxin and the combination works fantastic at allowing me to function through out the day. She unfortunately was not comfortable continuing to prescribe it and took me off of the combo two weeks ago stating she didn't want me on it if she couldn't guarantee pain management would continue to prescribe it. She told me to go to the ER for flareups and I've gone once because of endo, a migraine, and back muscle spasms happening all at once leaving me unable to leave bed. They gave me a migraine cocktail which surprisingly helped alot.
Yesterday i (stupidly) thought it was a good idea to get on a family horse after not riding since 2018 and got thrown again. I went to the ER just to make sure i didn't have a concussion or break anything. I at first declined any meds as i didnt think id need them at first, but once i came out of shock and the pain set in i finally agreed. It definitely aggravated my back and neck issues and the ER dr was kind enough to give me hydrocodone 5mg/ 325 acetaminophen for two days along with along exercises to help relax the muscles spasms in my neck and back until i see pain management. He warned me that PM might be irritated with me for going to the ER instead of waiting for my appointment.
My main question is how do i best prepare for my appointment tomorrow? Im open to trying new things but im afraid they will retry methods we have already ruled out or i will be told its because i have mental illness ( I've been in therapy for over a decade and been treated with a good med combo for the past 2-3 years. I've been doing so well we are going to take me off of my rescue ativan as i haven't needed it. I am on adderall for adhd and only started a few weeks ago) my Pcp has been focusing on my back pain as its the primary issue i have but id also like to address my migraines and endo pain since the migraines can leave me bed ridden for 2-4 days and the endo pain has gotten as bad as labor contractions. I'm open to a multi faceted approach as i don't want to be on opiates forever. Ideally it'd be like with my anxiety treatment where once we finally built up a good treatment plan id be at a point where i don't find my self needing them and can say hey lets stop this and continue on with the other treatment. I just don't really know how to approach that and don't want to be flagged as soon as i walk through the door. Im young and often get told im too young to be in so much pain despite having a long paper trail of traumatic injuries, endo surgeries, etc. I've always been compliant and optimistic about trying new treatments. What should i expect to deal with? What question have you found to be important to ask? Any advice welcomed!

Hi, I (21f) have had chronic ear infections all my life (I sustained severe hearing loss and have hearing aids, but don't wear them because I need to upgrade them) so I am pretty well versed in telling when I'm starting to get one and what to do. But this one that I have right now is confusing me and making me worried and I need a doctor's advice to see if I need to go to the ER for it.
I will say that I have only been on antibiotics for two days and I know it takes time (I'm taking cefdinir 300mg every 12 hours) and the doctor I went to see also gave me strong pain meds because of severity, one of them being hydrocodone (which I take a whole pill which is 10mg) I just took one now and I've been sitting here for a good hour and it's not even touching the pain.
My head is throbbing, the side of my face near my ear is swollen, the inside of my ear is throbbing, the canal is so swollen you can't really push a q-tip in it at the moment, as well as the pain radiating down my neck and jaw and itchyness of the ear canal. The side of my face is also very hot to the touch.
I'm at a loss because I don't know what else to take for pain. Tylenol isn't touching it even at extra strength, my hydrocodone isn't touching it anymore and it's progressively getting worse even though I'm taking the antibiotics like I'm supposed to. I know that you usually take amoxocillan (I'm so sorry, I can't spell it) but my mom had to take it while pregnant with me and now I'm immune to it so it doesn't work on me.
My ear is making it hard to sleep as well. I have severe insomnia so I take medication that I use for my mental health that also makes me sleepy (I take Seroqil) so I'm no stranger to staying up for 3 days straight if I don't take medication if I forget or need to do some extra studying or whatever I need to do that night. It's usually not a problem for me when I'm not in excruciating pain lol.
I physically cannot sleep on the left side of my face and I tend to sleep on my stomach and then end up on my side and usually it's on my left side so I keep waking up. I seriously don't know what to do and I'm literally crying as I'm typing this. I have a pretty high pain tolerance and am trying my best to tough it out, but this is getting so bad that I just can't put on a brave face anymore. I can't think of anything else because it's just that painful.
I would be very thankful for the advice, so I'll say my thanks now. I guess my question is: what should I take to calm the pain down and should I go back to the hospital with the symptoms i'm having now?

What is the likelihood of having incomplete cauda equina syndrome if the patient is having issues with straining to pee/no sensation when straining to pee but still needing to pee a lot. The patient also has a 9 mm disc herniation in spine at l5-s1 disc . Other symptoms include chronic low back pain, sciatic pain that is bilateral. So far no numbness around vagina, no saddle numbness either. No sexual issues either so far. 29 year old female, 5’1, 135 pounds, currently taking 10 mg cyclobenzaprine 2x a day, and Hydrocodone 5-325mg 2x a day. I don’t smoke, drink alcohol. I’ve had on and off low back pain to start in the past when the disc bulged for the first time ever in 2021, the pain went chronic at the end of 2022. The sciatic pain does come and go. The low back pain stays consistent. Pain is worst sitting then standing after awhile. Prefer to lay down. The straining to pee started sometime within the last 6-8 months. I didn’t really think about it when it first started. Until I had to start leaning forward more to make it easier. Began noticing the harder I strain, the more I realize i have no sensation of peeing at all, it’s like almost numb and yet lots of pee will keep coming out. It’s weirdly like I can tell my bladder has more pee in it cause I don’t feel done but I don’t feel the need to pee. Also around the same time I noticed this, I realized I don’t get the need to go as urgently or frequently as I used too. Like I have one daughter who’s 6, and basically since or pregnancy/ childbirth (my disc issues didn’t start until she was 3 1/2, ) like I’d have to pee pretty frequently which many people say it’s normal and has happened to them due to childbirth they have to pee frequently. But now I can literally go like many hours before I start to feel a slight urge to go. There are times where it doesn’t always happen that way like sometimes I do go more often but more than half the time I’m not. And the longer I go without peeing, the more I’ll need to strain to fully empty my bladder.

hello! sharing my story because it was *super* encouraging reading other positive stories during my recovery. firstly, I am 21F. i had my tonsils removed because they were very large after I had covid in the summer of '23. sometimes they caused me pain and sometimes they didn't. they were always uncomfortable, just got used to it. i was def questioning whether or not I needed the surgery because my situation wasn't exactly dire. now that I'm 25 days post op, I'm relieved I got the surgery done sooner rather than later.
day 1 (surgery day) - I had my surgery in the morning, so I'm counting it as day 1. this was the worst day for me. surgery was a breeze. , got adenoids out too. was given liquid hydrocodone at the surgery center. was prescribed oxy and tylenol for the pain. i absolutely could not handle the oxy. i felt too nauseous to eat anything. threw up twice, slept, woke up for a drinking alarm at midnight and pretty much instantly threw up two more times. this def freaked me out, a lot. i had a moment of regret during these hours. my stomach is typically pretty strong. before this surgery the last time I had thrown up was in 2021. so I think that says something. i was worried that throwing up would cause for hemoraging- my biggest fear throughout the healing process.
i stopped taking oxy after day 1. took tylenol only and drank ice water CONSTANTLY. i had an alarm *every* hour throughout the night to remind myself to drink water. the most physical activity I did each day (day 3-6) was a ten minute walk outside.
days 2-6 - i started trying to talk on day 3 because i heard the sooner the better. it hurt to talk a lot. but i did it whenever i could. i was eating barely anything because most things were uncomfortable and a hassle. cold things were preferred here. smoothies with peanut butter, banana & plain yogurt were good for a bit, til bananas started to suddenly burn my throat terribly. could not handle applesauce at all. a lot of popsicles. scrambled eggs were uncomfortable but worth it because they actually made me somewhat full. ramen the same.
day 7 was when things started to look up. i remember i kept trying to make certain things to eat because i was so hungry, but i would try and it would fail over and over again. tried making tofu... i was able to eat it, but it made me burp a lot so i had to stop. tried making ramen, again, kept bothering my throat. oatmeal, which was good before, was now awful. i was losing hope on a meal, until i had the sudden glimmer of hope in a pasta side (those cheap half premade sodium filled things). That pasta side was the best thing. Ever. i was somehow able to eat ALL OF IT. and boy did i. i continued to opt for pasta sides and pasta dishes for the rest of recovery.
day 8-10 was taking 30 min walks each day. talking more but it was def still uncomfortable/sometimes painful. hurt to laugh, tried to not laugh as much as i could. definitely did laugh at times. extremely concerned about hemmoraging. i never looked at my mouth to see the scabs, hurt too much to open my mouth and i was also afraid i would make matters worse by doing so. i never felt any scabs come off. they must've dissolved. i continued to drink insane amounts of ice water and barely sleep throughout the nights because i was so worried. thankfully my dad was taking care of me throughout recovery so i didn't really have to worry about being tired throughout the day, because, well, there was nothing for me to do except rest.
day 10- post op appointment. dr looked at my scabs and told me they look normal and my uvula is still swollen, which i had no idea about. seriously felt no discomfort there.
day 12- went out into the world for a concert. Yep. i had already bought my ticket months ago and decided it was worth going to because of how easy of a concert experience it was. it was an outdoor venue, sat on the lawn with two of my friends, we saw the opening act (the only one we wanted to see, i know, strange) and then left. we were probably there for an hour and a half total. i did accidentally shout once, but to my surprise it didn't cause any pain. i was certainly more tired than i expected to be from the whole experience. like, really tired.
day 15- went out into the world again. got my hair done. felt SUPER dehydrated after not constantly drinking water for two hours.
day 16- i would say i was 75% normal now. i went to a friends house to prepare for the next FOUR DAY music festival. slept through the night with no alarms for the first time since surgery, it was amazing.
day 17- music festival all day (we camped too). i danced and jumped around for probably 6 hours straight. i had alcohol- just one twisted tea, which was all i needed. was able to talk completely normally with no pain. was able to sing as well. was able to shout, laugh, ate a beautiful peanut butter sandwich (first time having bread since surgery).
day 18- i was super tired throughout the day because of lack of sleep from previous night. danced a bit too hard and started to suddenly feel nauseous/overheated. was super worried i was going to have a sudden hemmorage, felt really silly for not exactly taking it easy. i did not have any alcohol. considered going home, but i found ice and chomped it down and slept early instead.
day 21- went back to work. i work 13 hour days where I'm on my feet constantly, so I'm glad i took time before going back.
yes this was a super long recovery story, but these are the posts that allowed me to sleep while i was on day 7-12. so i'm hoping this will help someone else out there in need for a good story!
random notes:
i had no problem brushing my teeth (i read that others had issues)
the weird smell from my scabs was gone by day 7. never really bothered me too much either.
yes it was painful when i would wake up from my alarm to drink water, but after a couple gulps the pain would go away. i think because of how cold the water was, it almost had a numbing affect.
i stopped taking tylenol completely by day 10.
tongue was numb until day 12 or 14.
was able to speak full sentences beginning day 5 or 6.
for me, the pain was honestly never that bad. i don't think anything ever came close to the discomfort/miserableness i felt on day 1 after throwing up so much.
pancakes were AMAZING. had pancakes on day 6 and they probably changed my life because of how good and easy to eat they were. dipping the pancakes in honey was perfect. i ate pancakes every single day from day 6-12. Not kidding.
i lost 6 pounds from recovery lol.... prob all back now tbh
right after the surgery I stopped snoring, stopped sleeping w my mouth open. also, i frequently have sleep paralysis episodes. before surgery it would be especially scary because i always felt like i couldn't breathe during these episodes. but now, since surgery, i had sleep paralysis recently and i could breathe just fine throughout it. a lot less scary when you can breathe.
pasta was also super easy to eat, surprisingly.
welp that's all i got. ketchup still burns my throat lol. let me know if you have any questions at all.

i have chronic SI joint dysfunction and i’ve had tons of flares that were really painful, but recently i’ve been in basically an unending intense muscle spasm in my lower back and i’m just finding no solutions or relief. usually a course of prednisone knocks my flares from like an 8/10 to a 3/10 but this is 10/10 pain and prednisone has done almost nothing. i’m on lyrica, cyclobenzaprine (i can only take it at night), baclofen, and they gave me a few hydrocodone 5mg pills (which have done next to nothing). CBD makes it so i can at least lay down without crying but i’m just at my wits end. what should i advocate for with my doctor? what else is there to try? i can’t even get around my house. i can’t do steroid injections because i have ehlers danlos syndrome and i’m not willing to risk the complications.

Hey everyone. I really love this sub and was hoping to get some input or personal experiences.
I broke my ankle and leg 13 days ago and had surgery yesterday to repair the breaks. My primary care doctor (who helped deliver my now 4 month old via c section and is her doctor as well) said I was ok to take opiates and breastfeed and that managing my pain was really important for me and baby.
I trust my doctor, I really do. This is just so antithetical to my normal approach. I only took tylenol/ibuprofen after my c section and stopped as soon as possible. So today I got home from the hospital and took a half dose of my hydrocodone (5mg) instead of the full 10. And it is not working ya'll. I can tell exactly where the steel plate is screwed into my leg and the screw in my ankle. And the incisions. And my whole foot area just feels like it was hit by a truck. We have used almost everything I pumped and saved for her while I was away in the hospital.
So I guess I'm just hoping anyone else had a situation like this and can re assure me that it's OK. That I'm not alone. And that I'm not a terrible mom for passing trace amounts of meds to my very healthy four month old baby. Mom guilt is such a trip.

Just sharing my experience for other folks in my situation. I didn’t quite know what to expect going into this operation in my late 30s. It’s definitely tougher at this age, but manageable.
I’m on day 5. Had all four wisdom teeth removed in one surgery. Two teeth had been exposed for years and were showing signs of decay. Two others were formed but under my gums. I elected to have all 4 removed while I was under, at the recommendation of my dentist and oral surgeon.
The operation itself was a breeze. I had local numbing and sedation, and only vaguely remember looking up at one point during the surgery with no feeling (or care in the world). I had never been fully sedated like that but my surgeon coached me what to expect. I came out of sedation real quick once they were done and felt surprisingly fine.
Fast forward, no significant complications so far, but I was seriously surprised by how much blood I had to deal with in the first two days. Total yikes. Spent the whole time with gauze or teabags in my mouth. Woke up the first morning after with a mouthful of partly clotting blood, mostly in the back of my mouth and sinuses. I still have some traces of blood in the morning on day 5, but that seems within normal bounds.
Part of that might be due to a partial breach into my nasal cavity. My upper tooth that had not dropped was far enough up that the extraction created a small hole into the nasal passage. Apparently this is somewhat common and no one on the care team seemed worried about it. I have some extra soreness that felt like a sinus infection for three days.
Pain was rough the first and second night in between hydrocodone doses, but manageable. Opted to get up at 4am to very gently rinse the front of my mouth and take another dose. It helped. I was also surprised by how sore my actual jaw has been - I presume from the general physical trauma and swelling. Ice packs helped a lot and I had 4 on rotation, it’s just tough (and a little dangerous) to try and use those while sleeping. Pain was better on day 3, and I switched to ibuprofen yesterday (day 4).
I’m on a 7 day regimen of amoxicillin (antibiotic). Seems fine on a mostly empty stomach.
No clots have come out - I’ve been super careful about that reading all your horror stories in this sub - but my two of my stitches are coming a bit loose today. Is that bad or good??
Very glad I took off the week from work. My job is mostly desk work and meetings these days, but I’m probably running at 60-70% five days later.
Hope this helps someone compare notes!
(Bonus note for runners: my surgeon is a distance runner too, and stressed very clearly that I was not allowed to run for at least 5 days and should probably take it easy until day 10 to avoid elevated heart rates and clots coming loose)
EDIT: location and pricing. I’m in the San Francisco Bay Area (USA). My procedure was at a major facility with a hospital attached. All said and done the bill was about $2300, I paid 10% through Delta Dental.