Drugs

Thanks to everyone who left me notes. I needed them yesterday. :)

This surgery is really painful. I mean really really I used to be scared of the idea of childbirth and now couldn't be less worried about it painful. It takes a lot of drugs to get by, but I hate taking them. I hate the idea of dependence, I hate how the drugs confound my body, and I hate that I can't even have a glass of wine to look forward to in the evenings.

So, I keep trying to cut back on the drugs. Dr. Trice's office has helped by stepping me down with the drugs that they have prescribed, but a lot of it is up to me. Sometimes I have been successful and sometimes I have not, so I need to step it back up. I thought I would lay out how long it took me to take each step just as an example to others.

Home from hospital: 10 mg Oxycontin every 8 hours, 15 mg Oxycodone every 3 hours, 500 mg Tylenol every 4 hours

Home +3 days: Replaced Oxycodone and Tylenol with Vicodin (10 mg Hydrocodone and 325 mg acetaminophen per pill), taking 2 every 4 hours.

+6 days: I tried to take the Oxycontin every 12 hours, but had to go back to 8 hours.

+8 days: Successfully reduced Oxycontin to every 10 hours.

+9 days: I missed a pill of Oxycontin and things went all to heck. Decided I needed to fill the prescription for more.

+10 days: Changed the Vicodin to a weaker dose (7.5 mg Hydrocodone and 325 mg acetaminophen per pill), taking 2 every 4 hours.

+11 days: Got the prescription for more Oxycontin, but I believe it is a differently timed release since it can be taken only every 12 hours instead of 8-12 hours. It's still 10 mg.

+12 days: Changed Vicodin from 2 every 4 hours to 1 every 3 hours. This seems to be working so far.

Today is 13 days since I came home. My next two goals are to reduce the Vicodin to 1 every 4 hours and the Oxycontin to once a day.

So who wants to share a bottle of wine with me when I am free of this nonsense?