Had surgery on my spine and was on Oxycodone for three months . As it was nearing time to return to work , I tried getting off the stuff . I had not realized if was an anti-depressant as well as a pain killer . First weekend , I failed . Second weekend I knew what to expect and was able to get off the stuff .

And not only the physical "bad" but the emotional as well. Imagine taking that pill for your physical pain and discovering it makes your emotional pain go away as well. Emotional pain is the long term pain that addicts use drugs for.

I had knee surgery back in 2011. When I woke up, the nurse asked me if I was in pain. I said that I was. She hit me with a shot of morphine. I WALKED to the car. I don't look down on anyone with an addiction to opiates. That shit is good stuff. I doubt that I'll ever feel that good again.

I love it when I go to the dentist and they give me gas. Worth just going for the gas.

I lost a nephew to Opioids.

Sorry you were injured, hope you mend quickly.

I've been fortunate not to have experienced drug addiction.
I know people who started taking hydrocone, and oxycodone, for legitimate reasons, and soon discovered their effectiveness ceased fairly quickly.

Rather than honestly try to manage my daily migraines, my doc threw hydrocodone at it. I started building tolerance immediately! At first, one tablet relieved 100%, then it mostly relieved, then it took two, then two wore off in 2 hours... it took more with each subsequent dose! Scary stuff! Crazy things is all doctors are taught how powerfully addictive opiates are. Yet, they still prescribe them like candy! Claiming the pharmaceutical rep said it was “safer” or “less addictive” is no excuse for lazy medical practice, IMO. I hope your pain winds down and you can kick those drugs to the curb.

An opioid addict I dated stole all my jewelry. It's more addictive than heroin. And harder to get so a lot of people that have a car accident (or ?) Get hooked on it then move to heroin coz it's the same buzz but easier to acquire. Careful! Smoke weed!

One can be ensnared in days. Opioids will also relieve mental anguish........temporarily. It makes one care only for the lure of the poppy. Nothing else matters. I do not have an addictive personality but I loved someone who did & lost him to the opioid pandemic. The doctor of 40 years prescribed & prescribed. Opiods alter the brain & there is no recourse offered to those who watch in helplessness.

Best wishes for your recovery...I’m sure you won’t become addicted and will use your prescription opioids in the manner they are intended...for as short a term as possible to control your severe pain.

The more you take the harder it is to achieve relief at the same dosage level.
I have kidney stones. Before I was able to find a Dr. that addressed my mineral metabolism issues I was generating one a week for 3 years.
Today a 4 10mg Hydrocodone won’t even phase me.
Never got hooked but I see the issue.

I have Polycystic Kidney Disease. Because of it, my kidneys are three times larger than normal and full of cysts. Occasionally I will have severe back pain. The only thing I'm allowed to take over the counter is Tylenol which does not work for the pain. My nephrologist gave me a six day prescription for Tramadol. Six months later he asked how many I had left, and I told him six. He now has no problem giving me a script because he knows I don't abuse it.

I'm ultra vigilant with my prescription and alcohol because I had alcoholic grandparents, my oldest son is a recovered addict, and three out of four siblings were addicts. I refused to be one of the statistics.

I'm not an angel though. When I was young and dumb I tried cocaine. I remember telling myself that I was so glad I wasn't rich because I would have spent every penny on it.

I had painkillers for three months after an operation. I passionately hated them, but when I came off because I decided the side effects were worse than the pain (I foolishly went cold turkey) I had severe withdrawals. Nasty shit. I can see how people would get addicted to avoid the discomfort of withdrawal.

I smoked some straight opium one time about a million years ago. One time. Loved it. Never saw it again.

kratom fills the opiod receptor quite nicely, but no addiction i guess, or at least none that i notice. Dont mix with pot, according to my sources anyway, havent tried that but i can kind of see why.

“Perhaps all pleasure is only relief” - William S. Burroughs

I actually lived with someone with an opioid addiction. Still after quiting ( still friends ) but hes still on methadone. withdrawal was horrible to watch. ovoids are wicked

I suffer from Psoriatic Arthritis and have for years. In the search for relief I was referred to a doctor that started with Percocet and, over the years, upped that to a Duragesic patch and 8 40mg Oxycontin per day. (Yes, you read that correctly!) This took 5-6 years to get to that level. Any time I told him I as starting to feel pain, he'd up the dosage. Over the years... You end up watching your life drift away... With no real care about it happening. I mentioned this to the PA one day when I was getting a refill... That they just prescribe this crap with no real worry about how someone is supposed to live their life. I received a registered letter 2 days later saying they would not refill another prescription. REALLY???

I called my GP and asked her for the best rheumatologist she knew. They were booked 3 months out... Until I told the nurse my story. That doctor said he would see me the next day! He saved my life and also my quality of life! It took about a year and a half to get stepped down and totally off pain meds. I now take Inflectra to manage my issues.

I live with pain daily and I hurt like hell sometimes. I joke that it lets me know I am still alive. Do I see the draw? Absolutely! I was lucky... And had a great doctor to help me. The original doctor had his license taken away about a year after I stopped seeing him... He was over prescribing everyone apparently.

Similar experience but with morphine. Short version I went from not feeling well at 6p to going into shock from the pain at the ER by 2a. Reason - kidney stone and they gave me morphine. My first thought as it took hold was "now, I know why this stuff is illegal". I too 'get' it.
What makes some people become addicted and others not? Is it an emotional/mental make up or a brain receptor difference? Or a combination.
Hope you're back on your bike soon enjoying the outdoors.

Now you get it? So until you tried it yourself you didn't "get it"? Really?

You understand part of it, the attraction. Yes it feels very good, and so you can see why people would want it a lot. But thats just a whisper of what addiction to those things is. You can only know the desperation if you've experienced it. Stopping cold from a drug like that can kill you. You don't have it for a day, you don't just miss it . . . you can simply die, and painfully.

Sorry about the spill. Hope your heal up quickly. I don't like Vicodin. I deal with pain. I'd have to be dying to take that.

I agree, came out of my operation with a plate and 7 pins in my collarbone and took just one of those. Never felt that good in my life. Never took another.

I was given morphine once for an infection that almost cost me a leg. I didn't try to get them to give me more during my stay... but I really wanted them to.