Humor will not be tolerated!! -Portia

I must admit that I am a little afraid of medicine now, and I don't take it nearly as often as I should. I'll lie there and moan and complain but I won't take painkillers or anything. I have a slightly-legit reason for this, even though I know it's bunk. See, everyone got all up in arms about rare side effects and such right when I was taking pain reliever every six hours - and that's on a good day. And this had been going on for weeks. So I quietly freaked out a little with everyone else and quit taking the pills, and now I hardly take medicine at all. Which is silly, but that's just what I do.

I'm totally anti pain meds. Not because I'm afraid of them or anything, but I just don't take them.

[commence bragging] Even when I have major surgery. I take them religiously for a few days or a week (or that one time, probably a month), but then ... I stop. I can just deal with it. Sometimes I wonder if I'd be able to walk better if I took something regularly, but I'd rather walk better on my own than with the help of painkillers. Anyway. I just wanted to say that. [/bragging]

There was a time when I wasn't allowed to take ibuprofen (blood thinner) and I wasn't supposed to take Tylenol either (fever reducer). That was fun.

But I have some questions for Gimgimno, that I don't feel like following up on the Board with! So here they are:

1. Did the nurses lie to me when they told me that Percoset was oxycodone + tylenol? And that's why the percoset was so much bigger than my tiny tiny oxycodone pills?

Okay, that's actually the only question I had. I thought I had another couple, but they dissolved in a reread. I'll just say that I hate Lortab and morphine is great.

I also don't take any pain medication, and I try to avoid medication all together. Fortunately, I've never had to really take any medication (ok, there was the antibiotic that one time, but that's it).

I feel like we have a culture in the US that is really predisposed to taking drugs at the drop of a hat, and this is my little way of protesting against it. I just don't like the idea of something so given to chance, especially with my own body.

C is for wrote:But I have some questions for Gimgimno, that I don't feel like following up on the Board with! So here they are:

1. Did the nurses lie to me when they told me that Percoset was oxycodone + tylenol? And that's why the percoset was so much bigger than my tiny tiny oxycodone pills?

Nope, they told you the truth. The bulk of the pill is acetaminophen--generally about the amount in one extra strength Tylenol pill--with the small amount of oxycodone (generally 5-10mg).

There are generics for Percocet, but there are also strictly oxycodone pills without the Tylenol--so if you're comparing the Percoset to those, then that's indeed your difference. I'm not absolutely certain (because I don't have an analytical balance and plenty of free time), but if I had to guess, I would say that plain oxycodone pills have extra fillers/inactive ingredients just to make the pill a little bit larger and more manageable. 5-10mg could practically be carried in the wind (especially compared to the 650mg Percoset horse pills, heh).

I avoid painkillers, too. I dislike the way they make me feel more than I dislike the pain--even rather severe pain. I was on codeine after having a hernia operated on and it made me so nauseated that I stopped taking it on the first day. And when I had an apicoectomy a few months ago I didn't even buy the pain killer I was prescribed; I just didn't eat until the pain had subsided.