A glimpse into how badly I behave when I'm in pain
[SKIP IF YOU CAN'T TOLERATE FOUL LANGUAGE!
I'm publishing this rant as a snapshot into daily life in April. My pain did reach a nine and I did not bother the Trumpist down the road from us. My pain reached a constant 10 three days before my surgery. My pain level is back down to a 7 as of today. 9/7/21]
Fuck the opioid war.
Fuck the addicts.
Fuck those that allow chronic pain patients to suffer.
Fuck everyone demanding pharmaceutical companies be sued because a moronic family member abused the drug.
More than two dozen states have implemented laws or policies limiting opioid prescriptions in some way. The most common is to restrict a patient's first prescription to a number of pills that should last a week or less. But some states like Arizona have gone further by placing a ceiling on the maximum dose for most patients.
The Arizona Opioid Epidemic Act, the culmination of months of outreach and planning by state health officials, was passed earlier this year with unanimous support.
It started in June 2017, when Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, declared a public health emergency, citing new data, showing that two people were dying every day in the state from opioid overdoses.
He has pledged to come after those responsible for the rising death toll.
"All bad actors will be held accountable — whether they are doctors, manufacturers or just plain drug dealers," Ducey said in his annual State of the State address, in January 2018.
The governor cited statistics from one rural county where four doctors prescribed 6 million pills in a single year, concluding "something has gone terribly, terribly wrong."
Later in January, Ducey called a special session of the Arizona legislature and in less than a week he signed the Arizona Opioid Epidemic Act into law. He called it the "most comprehensive and thoughtful package any state has passed to address this issue and crisis to date."
The law expands access to addiction treatment, ramps up oversight of prescribing and protects drug users who call 911 to report an overdose from prosecution, among other things.
Initially, Arizona's major medical associations cautioned against what they saw as too much interference in clinical practice, especially since opioid prescriptions were already on the decline.
Gov. Ducey's administration offered assurances that the law would "maintain access for chronic pain sufferers and others who rely on these drugs." Restrictions would apply only to new patients. Cancer, trauma, end-of-life and other serious cases were exempt. Ultimately, the medical establishment came out in favor of the law. - Healthleaders
I live with an 8 on the pain scale. It was a 7 last year, before the stenosis got worse, before the spur grew larger, before the nerves for my left leg and buttock were compressed by a loose bit of bone.
I live with an 8.
I live with an 8.
A mother-fucking 8.
I'll let you know when it gets to a 9. Then I'll go to the Trump loving asshat down the road, with a Biden flag in my hand, kick his door in and tell him I'm wearing a tracking device for the Jewish space lasers to target.
Lest there be any misunderstanding:
My shock wave lithotripsy was a 2.
My total thyroidectomy was a 2.
My cholecystectomy was a 6. It was still painful to twist on day four, but we had patients scheduled for implant surgery and I was the only chairside assist. I also could not take narcotics while at work.
My hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy – the uterus, cervix, fallopian tubes (salpingectomy) and ovaries (oophorectomy) were removed, as well as some tissue infiltrating spaces between other bits. The day of surgery, I was at a 9. The next day was a 6 and I was sent home. I took an oxy that first night. That was it. I could handle pain at a 6.
My pain level today is an 8. Because I walked down an alley and back.