(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . I was addicted to painkillers for over five years and did not know it [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-10-25 I retired from UPS in 98, not knowing that I had done serious damage to my skeletal system. I have had both knees replaced. I have had both shoulders replaced. I have had two lower back surgeries. I have had two neck surgeries. I have also had several non-skeletal surgeries. Around 2004, I began having severe back pain. The pain led to epidurals for six years. A drug one month followed by a lesser drug the following month - rinse and repeat. About a year in, I was prescribed Percocet. I took it for five years. I was offered Vicodin and Oxycontin. I saw the addicts in the waiting room waiting for their monthly prescriptions. I refused many times. In the last year at the epidural clinic, I noticed I was driving erratically. I was unable to anticipate curves and other problems. I believe I was doing 10 or more Percocet per day. At this same time, I spent a week in the local hospital with some kind of lung infection due to severe sinus drainage. I was close to death. I was released in a barely functioning state and referred to a local otolaryngologist. He wanted to cut the nerves in my nose to stop the drainage. I was all for it but my wife wanted a second opinion. I was referred to Dr. Bozena B. Wrobel, MD. I called and was told the doctor was leaving the following evening for a six-week lecture tour of Europe. I explained the circumstances, that I was very ill and needed help. I was told, “Hold on.” After a long wait, I was told the doctor would fit me in before she went to Europe. I saw her the following day. She spent several hours with me. I had an immediate CT or MRI and saw a Speech Pathologist who stuck a long tube down my throat while the doctor, my wife, and I watched on a large monitor. I was given immediate injections and prescriptions. She saved my life. This was my first experience of a longstanding relationship with KECK-USC doctors and hospital. I have been a frequent flyer at the hospital. I have excellent doctors, some world-famous. Dr. Gamradt, my shoulder doctor, is the chief orthopedist for the USC football team. I have many surgeons and all my doctors there. They keep me alive. At a follow-up with Dr. Wroble, I mentioned my back issues and a nurse suggested a surgeon. The surgeon did a surgery to fuse some vertebrae in my lower back. While home recuperating and still taking my Percocet from the epidural doctor. I began thinking, “My back surgeon said I would not need anything for my back but aspirin, and the reason for the epidural has been repaired so why am I taking Percocet?” Stopping the Percocet cold put me on a month-long + wild ride. I was still sore from the surgery and it was easier to sleep in a recliner chair than a bed. I would get very tired during the day but as soon as I hit the recliner, my eyes would pop wide open. I would try to sit still and my body would not let me. I cut the Percocet completely and at once and did not sleep for five or six days. I had shakes. I had sweats. It was agony. I dreaded the evening as the sun set. I did not like my routine but I did adjust. I did not get used to it. I did not notice as things improved until one night, I slept a bit, then more each following night. I had walked through the tunnel of darkness with a train coming at me. I walked through that train and demolished it. I still occasionally take Percocet. I was only physically addicted and not mentally. I now realize that I must have been driving impaired for at least a year. I believe I have a small understanding of what being an addict is and the pain and terror of withdrawal. It is not easy. Support someone if they are struggling. For substance abuse treatment and mental health referrals, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/10/25/2279464/-I-was-addicted-to-painkillers-for-over-five-years-and-did-not-know-it?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/