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Comment by exabrial | Hacker News Reader

I refuse to take opioid pain relievers anymore :( After my knee surgery (subluxated knee cap, hyperextension, multiple tears, loose bodies in joint), I was prescribed oxycodone. I felt very happy, very relaxed (usually I would consider myself high anxiety). But after the dose wore off, it felt terrible and I felt a craving even know my knee necessarily wasn't hurting. That up/down cycle scared me and I realized why people become addicted to these pills and that I'm probably at risk. I flushed the rest and asked the doctor for a NSAID alternative which he was able to find a good one for me. Prescription medicine shouldn't leave you craving more.

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Probably a good decision to switch to NSAIDs (at least when possible) please don't flush meds again though.

> please don't flush meds again though.

Curious why you say that? I was always told that this is what you were supposed to do

I'm not totally sure why that's any better than throwing them into the trash. Are people really digging through garbage just hoping to find opiates?

However, presuming you're not on a septic system, they end up in the river, just like any other form of pollution.

Lots of police departments are taking them no questions asked. The city where I work's police/public affairs building has a big metal box with a one-way lid for unused drugs.

> Are people really digging through garbage just hoping to find opiates?

Where I live? eh... it's not common, but it definitely happens. And it's probably not just for opiates, but anything will probably do. I do get that putting them into the river/ocean is undesirable, though.

I refuse too. I had Percocet prescribed after oral surgery, which I am just learning is a combination of Oxycodone and Acetaminophen. The withdrawal from the Percocets was longer and much more severe than the wisdom teeth pain. I had another gum surgery a year later and never filled the pain prescription - a day of getting used to pain that fades by the end of day three is much better than no pain followed by 2 weeks of headaches, anxiety, and sleeplessness.

My wife recently took two doses of hydrocodone for foot surgery and felt terribly anxious after the 2nd dose. She's not had another. It was hard to watch her in the grip of that anxiety for the better part of an afternoon, mainly because she's never really experienced it and she was so confused.

FWIW, I've had several knee surgeries and have taken everything under the sun. I always feel the ups and down but never have become addicted. I think some of my feeling is anxiety but it wears off after I am active again; I simply don't think about it because I'm off during fun things.

I dont think that everyone who feels anxious taking pain pills becomes addictive. My take is there is a lot more at play.

You had something you enjoyed doing that you could reach for rather than dive back into the pill bottle once the down and anxiety set in.

the trouble is when someone do not have that.

I think there's more to it than that. Due to a combination of OCD/anxiety/chronic pain, a lot of the things I would enjoy doing aren't currently possible - I rarely leave the house, and I can't cook for myself, for instance. Despite that, each time I've stopped lengthy (>6 months) periods of opiate treatments, I've just stopped (no tapering) and had no ill effects (withdrawal etc.).

It depends on pain levels and duration. If you're in a position to reject them, then you probably shouldn't have been prescribed them in the first place.

The up/down cycle is frustrating... wouldn't it be nice if science could figure out a way to maximize the up and minimize the down? Wouldn't it be great if you could just take a daily pill that brightened your mood and killed your anxiety? Seems like there's a common belief that homeostasis can't be beaten... that the house always wins. Is this really true, or just an assumption?

Typo in the last sentence?

Yes, whoops

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