How to wean off percocet after surgery

I’ve been addicted to oxymetazoline for probably 4ish months now…. Honestly I knew right from the start that this stuff was addictive…. Perhaps not aware of the full extent of HOW addictive it is… but my boyfriend got it for me when I was sick… I used it for just 3 days like it says on the packaging when I was sick at first…. But my god… it felt so good… I could finally breathe not only all day when I was sick but ALL NIGHT I could breath through my nose. 😍
I have always been a mouth breather while I sleep… cuz I’m too congested to breath through my nose at night, and mouth breathing is embarrassing, and uncomfortable, and bad for you… plus I get extremely bad allergies in the spring and summer, and on and off throughout winter and fall too, and I have no idea what I’m allergic to. I’m sure some of it is pollen considering how much worse they are in the warmer months. I don’t have a family doctor, and there are no walk in clinics, or ENT doctors in this small town where I live. I would have to go to the damn emergency room and be like “lol I’m chronically congested can you help 🤪” I’m moving soon so hopefully I can go to a ENT soon enough and get my chronic congestion figured out but in the meantime I guess I want to quit this stuff…
Anyways when I first tried it when I was sick I actually stopped no problem cuz I used it for only 3 days… for a couple weeks after that, at night while I tried to sleep with my blocked up nose… I couldn’t stop thinking about the stuff… 😅 it sounds dramatic but god that relief was like nothing else, so I looked up the side affects besides the dependency/rebound congestion… and I couldn’t find any! 😁 so I figured… if I just never stop taking it I’ll be fine! And consciously made the decision to get addicted to the stuff! 😅
But it feels dirty not being able to live without a substance, and I knew there’s gotta be some other side affects I just didn’t know what they were…. And my boyfriend is worried about my addiction lmao…. So I got Flonase. It was suggested to me by my boyfriend’s mom who is a nurse, and I found a study that said it helps with the rebound congestion and tolerance…. So I tried it and it did not help with the rebound congestion… but it did help with the tolerance so I just started using both 🙃 haha. And I’ve been using bother for maybe 2 or 3 weeks now.
But I still want to quit… so this morning I’ve been scrolling through this subreddit… and I’ve learnt a lot. I now know the actual concerning side effect of using this stuff long term is (I forget exactly what they called it but) basically that once you finally stop using it after years of use, you could have done permanent damage and made your congestion permanently worse and need surgery? It’s like permanently enlarged something or other? And I already suspect I have a deviated septum and will have to get surgery for that, and don’t really want to add more permanent problems on top of that so now I want to quit even more, before I cause my chronic congestion to be worse when I stop. I’m hoping stopping now will prevent that, I have seen people on here have been using for 15+ years so I think I’m catching it early? I don’t know…
I’ve also learnt about all these ways to help with the quitting process on here. Which is great, because like a lot of the people who’s posts I’ve read on here, the rebound congestion gives me a LOT of anxiety, I HATE the feeling of not being able to breath through my nose… it makes me irritable, and frustrates me to the point of just having a mental breakdown, and knowing it could all go away with just a couple sprays… I have not had the balls to stop and face the rebound congestion…. I am looking for ANY way I can to be able to relieve the rebound congestion when I quit….
Some of the things people are suggesting are the Rhinostat kit, a Neti pot, Flonase, sutafed tablets, the vicks inhaler stick, breath right strips, and SinuOrega natural nasal spray. My plan is to get EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE, and use ALL of them. As a desperate attempt to not have rebound congestion 😭 But I’m wondering if anyone has any more suggestions/advice, or if anyone knows whether all of these things are okay to use together? /how to use them together? Specifically the sutafed and the Rhinostat kit… because I know you still have to wean yourself off of the sutafed as well… if I use both I worry that the sutafed will make the rhinostat pointless or vice versa because I’m already using the rhinostat to wean off of oxymetazoline and then also just getting addicted to another thing?? I don’t know.
Any advice, tips, or even just encouragement, and moral support would be greatly appreciated 🙂 I’m scared guys. 😭

Our 14.5 shih tzu likely has IVDD. He was diagnosed with it at the emergency vet via their neurologist but did not have an MRI done for official confirmation.
Context: Our dog had trouble one night walking and was flopping around. Panicked, we knew something was wrong and took him to the vet in the morning. He then went to an emergency vet and was admitted to their hospital.
After spending 4 days there receiving meds (gabapentin and prednisone) and also on strict crate rest, he was not showing any signs of imrpovement. Couldn’t walk, wasn’t able to go to the bathroom, and not able to stand. About 3 days in, he stood for maybe 30 seconds when eating, but it was brief. He wouldn’t eat anything while he was there unless we visited, so we visited him often hoping he’d improve. We also even tried taking him home for a few hours to see if he’d go to the bathroom while home with us around and no luck.
While hospitalized, he received shockwave therapies, Piezio treatment, and was supposed to have a few treatments in a hyperbaric chamber. Turns out the chamber was broken and the vet lied to us about him getting treatment in it, so we pulled him from this vet and went to another 24 hour vet nearby. This particular vet recommended we go to another emergency vet that has a neurologist on staff (first place he was hospitalized at didn’t have any specialists). They also mentioned thinking about his quality of life and since he wasn’t showing signs of improvement, it may be time to consider euthanasia. He had to have his bladder catheterized every 8 hours or so. Our hearts were breaking, and as much as we loved our boy we thought this might be the end of the road for him.
We brought him home that night and decided the following day would be it. When we woke up (barely slept because of how sad everything was) we decided to take him to the regular vet for the bladder catheterization and then the vet said we could spend the day with him and bring him back later on to be put down.
He went for the morning catheterization, and when he came back, we noticed he started standing! And wanting to walk! It was a miracle! We knew it wasn’t his time yet. We brought him to the emergency vet with neurologist on staff to have him evaluated. After doing that, they said it was likely IVDD, and to do strict crate rest and gabapentin and prednisone for the next 6 weeks. He was weaned off of both and getting stronger each day.
Flash forward to last week, about 6 weeks or so after this first occurred, he was doing well. But then the next day, he had the issue again with not being able to walk. Back to square one. He almost seems worse than he was originally. We brought him back to the emergency vet and they gave him some more gabapentin and prednisone to take again, but after about a week now he’s still not getting better. We feel terrible.
Is there any chance this is a “flare up” and he’ll improve? I’m curious if others have had this happen. It’s so sad when they’re like this. Also, I forgot to include that he really isn’t a candidate for surgery due to high age and having a heart murmur. Most of the vets we’ve interacted didn’t recommend it for him.

Hi everyone, I'm here to give an update on my 15 day Post operation, fibroid removing hysterectomy and first off, I want to say it was the best decision ever in regards to my fibroid journey. I'm two weeks post-op and feeling great. Like many of you, I was very anxious in the weeks leading up to my surgery to remove two fibroids that had been assessed at about grapefruit and orange sized 6 months previously. I was on Lupron to stop my periods, which only exacerbated my anxiety. My doctor prescribed add-back hormones, which helped tremendously with the volatile emotions, and Zopiclone to help me sleep, as that was also disturbed by the Lupron.
On the day of the surgery, I was at the peak of my nervousness. The nurse helped ease my fears by giving me a low dose of Ativan, which definitely helped as I went through the motions of talking to the anesthesiologist, my doctogynecologist, and the attending surgeons and nurses. I made it very clear to my doctor that I don’t do well with pain and I didn’t want to endure any unnecessary discomfort. I was brought to the surgical table and got through the anesthesiology needle poke pretty easily with the aid of the Ativan (I hate needles!) and before I knew it, I was slumping into that glorious sedation daze and within what felt like seconds wheeled to my room for my overnight stay. During surgery, I was administered generous amounts of nerve blockers and Fentanyl, so I woke up literally feeling nothing in my body and feeling quite euphoric.
I live in a wonderful small community in Canada and received the most exceptional care on the women and children’s floor. A few notable aspects of that overnight stay: the pain from the gas they used to expand your chest to get into your abdomen is no joke. I could feel it across my shoulder blades each time I breathed. The apparatus they provided me to test blowing air out of my lungs was uncomfortable but manageable and really helped to get movement within my internal torso, which is super important as you need to get the gas flowing so that it exits out your butt. I happily took the Hydromorphone made available to me every three hours, as well as the Tylenol and Advil, which they cycled every three hours as well. I certainly felt some discomfort, and again, the gas passing was painful but everything was manageable and the addition of the opioids during my stay made everything quite happy and pleasant.
I had a catheter attached to me, which was a new experience, as you go pee without any effort. I had four bandages on my abdomen indicating where my doctor had gone in laparoscopically. There was some overall tenderness and achiness which I attribute more to the positions I'm sure I was manipulated into while under , so the surgeons could get in via different angles. I was admitted into the recovery unit in the evening because my surgery was over four hours (about eight hours altogether end to end from my 11am admission)and there was no meal service available. Thankfully the wonderful nurses procured a sandwich from the cafeteria. I was absolutely famished and ate it quite voraciously. I was quite high at this point, so I thought it was the best thing I’d ever tasted in my life (it was a pedestrian tuna sandwich on plain bread).
Sleeping was more difficult, between the opioids and just general discomfort in my body. Oh, and the gas—the gas exiting your body does hurt as it makes its way through your tender digestive system, but it's very satisfying when it leaves. I know I kept the poor woman recovering in the adjoining section up all night with my flatulence, but the nurses assured me that it was encouraged to get it all out. I did wake up a number of times with some sharper pain and took advantage of the drugs on offer. My sleep was not deep nor necessarily restful, but it was enjoyable because I was pretty hopped up and happy. The hospital had affixed circulating airbags onto my legs to help prevent blood clots, and I found them to be quite relaxing.
I managed to sleep a few hours. When breakfast was served, I was happy to eat it. My doctor came to give me my surgical report and advised me that she had removed TWO grapefruit-sized fibroids along with my uterus and a dozen or so more little fibroids in the mix. One of the fibroids had necrotized. She showed me pictures of all the pieces and tissue. I don't do well with anything medical-related, but it was actually quite satisfying to see what had amounted to about the size of a bowling ball removed from my body. I had my uterus, fallopian tubes, and of course fibroids removed but my ovaries left intact. She said the total mass of the removed organ and bits was about 4 to 5 lbs. I'm very happy she was able to do it mostly vaginally with some assistance through the four small incisions on my belly. After receiving the all-clear from my doctor, the nurses removed my IV, which had been hooked up to dispense electrolytes and vitamins. Then they removed my catheter. I was really nervous about having my catheter removed because I didn't understand the mechanics of how it was attached, but it was just a quick little pinch and then it was gone. Another thing I had to demonstrate before being discharged was that I could pee on my own. It felt odd because I was activating muscles that were still tender, and I was uncertain about what was going on down there, but after being filled with various intravenous fluids as well as the juice and water I had been drinking, it was pretty easy to just sit back, relax, and let it flow. My partner came, wheeled me out in a wheelchair, and took me home where she had configured the bed with a variety of adjustable wedge pillows to ensure I was comfortable.
I was also sent home with a prescription for 15 additional Hydromorphone tablets, and I diligently took those every three hours because I had no desire to be a hero and endure any pain. The doctor prescribed one to two every three hours; I took one every three hours and that was sufficient, cycled with one Tylenol and one Advil every three hours. Getting out of bed was pretty easy; it just felt like I had had a rigorous ab workout and was a bit tender.
The worst part was trying to compel a bowel movement. The opioids are a bit of a double-edged sword in that they really enhance the healing experience, but they also cause constipation at a crucial time when your bowels are already quite shocked and don't need any more discouragement. I started on doctor recommended Colace pills and Restoralax on day one. By day four, I still hadn't had a BM and was starting to feel quite bloated and heavily constipated. What worked for me was a combination of warm milk of magnesia and prune juice. I downed a large glass of that and within about three to four hours, I had explosive diarrhea, which wasn't as bad as it sounds as it was a relief to finally get things moving. I had to endure about a day or two of just expelling liquid but still feeling like I was constipated. I continued to take the Colace and then added in Senokot (which I wouldn't recommend until you've had that first explosive movement) and have been taking that combination now for about a week, and finally, two weeks post-op, I had my first normal bowel movement today.
I ended up refilling my prescription for another 20 Hydromorphone pills about four days after the first. Near the end of that prescription, I started tapering down my dose, which I think helped significantly with the discomfort of weaning off. I've struggled with substance abuse issues in the past (five years sober this month!), so of course, the prospect of using potent drugs for the surgery and recovery was concerning to me and my family, but I can tell you that I was able to ease off without relapsing. I got through the whole experience with minimal pain and suffering. If you can get access to the drugs, do yourself a favor and don’t try to be a hero—take them! You’ve already been a hero dealing with these alien tumors disrupting your body for so long. Honestly, I think the fact that I don’t drink alcohol has probably helped my recovery significantly.
Yesterday, my partner helped remove the steri- strips. They did not fall off on their own as I had read, but they came off easily with just a little bit of pinching. I now see the faintest scars you’d expect from a super minor cat scratch.
My body definitely looks different, and everything just feels better. I always felt that I had an unsightly paunch, but the reality was I had a massive collection of fibroids the size of a bowling ball, and having them removed has made me look quite svelte, and there's still some swelling reduction to happen.
I feel like I could run a marathon, but my partner keeps reminding me to take it easy and to stick to walking only for exercise for the full six weeks. It’s a small investment to make for lifelong health. All in all, my experience was as good as it could be, and to top it off, I got the call from my doctor that my biopsy came back all clear from cancer. Let me know if you have any questions , happy to help you with your journey!

I’m a 27 y.o. female who got L4-L5 laminectomy and L5-S1 MD 4 weeks ago. I didn’t have instant relief like some of yall had; I was immensely sore after surgery and I still am having nerve pain. It limits me, but i’ve been walking daily (5000-10000 steps/day) and I just started PT this week. I am on 50mg tramadol and am wondering how long to stay on it. I tried to wean off, but had an spike of severe pain and a terrible headache. I told my doctor and he said to stay on it longer. Any advice about this? Is this continued nerve pain normal at 4 weeks post op? Thanks in advance!

I had major surgery and was on dilaudid and oxycodone at the hospital. They sent me home with oxycodone 10mg IR. After one refill I was cut off and I said "no big deal, I should be healed soon." Well, many months later and I'm basically the same.
I am now in pain management and was put on Percocet. Doc said it's the same as I was getting, but with Tylenol "so it's actually better." Well these things don't do anything for me. She gave me 5s at first and then the second visit I said they didn't help, so she bumped them to 10s. I'm sure if I took 5-6 of them they light help but I don't feel like I should be doing that. I asked her if it was possible they didn't affect me the same and she said "no it's the same drug." Also, these seem to make me pretty nauseous whereas the other ones didn't at all. I get almost no pain relief, but lots of nausea. It's a no-win.
I have never been in PM but I know that it's a very delicate situation and I don't know how to advocate for myself without raising some sort of flag. Basically, I don't know how to talk to this doctor as she's already been a bit dismissive. Any advice would help. Thanks.

I am 16 days post op and finally getting discharged tomorrow after my robotic mesh rectopexy (bio mesh) to repair a rectocele & surprise sigmoidocele! I also had 1 1/2 feet of my sigmoid colon removed. I no longer have a sigmoid colon. Just a straight shot out. My incisions are TINY.
It’s been a ROUGH road. I’ve been hospitalized for 16 days.
I had a bad port site bleed a few hours after my op and was ignored for 12 hrs by the nurse assigned to me regardless of my screaming and crying in pain. I ended up losing 1/2 my body’s blood from the bleed and needed a blood transfusion.
For days I couldn’t feel the urge to urinate, I made them take my catheter out early bc it wasn’t emptying right. Even days later when urinary urges came back, it was nearly impossible to empty my bladder. I had to bend over and push. This made me terrified of having a bowel movement. It also made me feel like the operation caused bladder damage.
For days horrific nerve pain that wrapped around my whole pelvis like a waist band from pants only it was electrical excruciating I didn’t even know this type of pain existed type of pain would happen every time I’d sit on the toilet to relax my pelvic floor to pee. It took almost a week for me to pass gas.
For days I couldn’t defecate sitting up and had to drink a whole bottle of mag citrate and lay on the bed to do so on a pad. That was if I didn’t wake up pooping the bed already.
Since then my pain has been managed by an acute pain care team and I have been advised a low fiber diet and am allowed to take a high magnesium supplement nightly to liquify my stool until my nerves settle down. I will be slowly weaning off meds and laxatives and adjusting my diet over the coming weeks.
At first- I regretted this surgery. I screamed and cried for them to take the mesh out. They were willing to, but really advised me to give this a chance.
While I was not at all prepared for the intensity of this recovery, and did not expect complications - I am feeling hopeful about it.
I really think I made the right choice and am thankful my sigmoid colon is gone to no longer fall into my pouch of Douglas- that was found to be redundant (surgeon closed the pouch with the same stitching and mesh used on my rectocele). Even if the pouch reopens that colon won’t be there to fall into it or push down on it. I had so much extra in there and I now believe that was the reason for my prolapse.
I do not have EDS or pelvic floor dysfunction. I did not have intussusception nor did I have rectal prolapse. I no longer have a sigmoid colon and just a straight shot from the descending to the rectum.
Pooping is not feeling much different than before surgery but I’m also having loose liquid stools intentionally til the pain is a bit better and I can begin to add fiber to my diet. There’s a lot of rumbling and bowel sounds and feeling like I need to go when I don’t but then it goes away. On and off throughout the day. Like little butthole twitches. Do those go away? I sure hope so. I think my nerves are just super confused right now. Drop a comment if you know anything about this.
My surgeon (who is so compassionate, open minded, and just treats her patients like gold overall) also advised it will take a few months for my colon and rectum to adjust to their new anatomical positions. I have faith in this.
I’ll keep everyone updated on how it’s going and if you have any questions for me or you wanna see the piece of my colon they cut out I am completely comfortable with sharing here.
I just wanted to share my experience because I didn’t expect alot of the stuff that happened to me and I was so scared it wasn’t going to improve. Im still curious about what will come and go. Anyone have those anal spasms like you have to poop but then you don’t and it just goes away - only to twitch again 5 min later…
So if you get this surgery or are considering it- be prepared for a wild ride and some surprise side effects you may not have ever expected, but have hope that it does get better. I’ll keep you posted on the pooping part. xoxo💕

I know this is gonna be long but pls pls read so I’m f 26 I’ve struggled with drug addiction in the past im 10 months clean I was using when I met my now ex boyfriend& sons dad male 27 (also former drug user ) we met in a NA meeting 🙄the whole time I’ve known him he’s been clean until he got off probation about 3 months ago . he gave me the stability I needed to get clean I was living out of my car prior I had a really big problem with running from my problems I had decided to stay single for about two years before him because he had his own place it toke me about 4 months of being with him for me to get off fety our relationship was so toxic in the beginning of our relationship I was on the “run” from the cops I had warrants out of two counties long story short I ended up getting picked up and going to jail on the jail calls he’d tell me he’s not leaving me there’s no one else for him well I found out I was pregnant by him about two week of me being in jail I asked for a test we had a feeling I was prior to going so they released me out of jail with a warrant from another county I come home I found out he had been sleeping with another girl he came to pick me up from the hospital with hickeys on his neck I ended up finding out he fcoed this girl and gave her my clothes to put on after he saw how hurt i was he blocked her before he came to get me she got salty and started messaging me saying “hey girl I have your shorts if you want them back 😉” me and he ended up getting in to it I ended up apologizing but she tried making me feel sorry for her which I did to an extent but she didn’t take into consideration how it felt to be me she only knew him for three days I was in jail pregnant by him and he was lying to me the whole time so me and him would fight all the time I would go to my mom’s for one night he would call me the next day, begging me to come home, telling me he didn’t talk to anybody or with anyone and I would believe him and come home and I would find out he had another girl sleeping in my bed this was an endless cycle of this happening plus every time we “broke up, “he would try to get a hold of the girl he cheated on me with I wouldn’t even consider a breakup. I would call it me leaving so we could cool down. We literally would get back together in the next day. He did this to me almost my whole pregnancy he put his hands on me fast-forward to September of last year. He had her blocked on everything but Snapchat because she had him blocked. She unblocked him and added him. And I picked up his phone and saw it and said something to him about it and I blocked her that was a Thursday Friday He comes home and starts an argument with me mind you I still had that warrant from the other county as soon as we start arguing, he walks outside and I thought it was weird so I walked outside. I was like what are you doing calling the cops he lied and said he was on the phone with his mom inside waited like five minutes and then walked back out as soon as I started walking towards him a cop car pull up I took off running in the woods behind the house he told them what I was wearing which I ran they ended up catching me. I went to jail. He told me he was going to throw all of my stuff out and he hopes that somebody would come steal it. I was on drugs at the time, but I had started taking methadone to get off of them. by the time he threw me in jail, I was barely using I went from doing a gram and a half a day. to doing barely a pinch at night I just had to wean myself down when he put me in jail, I didn’t get my methadone and I was pregnant doing drugs while pregnant is not right by any means and I don’t need backlash because it’s something I have to live with every day the fight wasn’t even that bad He said he threw me in jail to get me clean but he knew I was only gonna be in there over the weekend because it was on a Friday and the court wasn’t open till Monday so I sat there and detox while pregnant I started bleeding When you become pregnant if you’re using it it’s very dangerous to just immediately stop because if you go into withdrawals, it can make you go into pre-term labor. He didn’t put me in jail to get me clean he did it so he could try to screw the girl that he cheated on me with and tries to get with every time I leave to cool off I don’t even think the cop car pulled off and he was already messaging her he put me in jail so he could have the whole weekend to go do whatever he wanted knowing there was nothing I could do about it anyway we had a few more incidents of him talking to his exes all I ever wanted was a family not a broken one and I really really want to make it work with him. I didn’t want to be another person that gave up on him, but he kept hurting me. I ended up getting clean five months into our relationship relationship. I was three months pregnant fast-forward to me, baby. Things were good for about two months before I had the baby . in the hospital He did amazing. I ended up having to have an emergency C-section which I never had before and I have other kids so I end up getting prescribed 25 perk 10. Since I was on methadone. I can’t even abuse the pills if I wanted to because I wouldn’t feel them. Literally all they did for me would take the pain away. I left the hospital after 24 hours because they discharged me because my son went to Children’s Hospital. Because he was two weeks early. And just needed on a CPAP machine to help his lungs expand. His lungs just weren’t fully developed from him being a little early. But other than that, my baby was perfectly healthy. No he had no withdrawals at all of the methadone. So we go up to see our son and all the walking and having to sit in a chair and then getting up really made me sore and my legs were so swollen around 8 PM walking around all day and putting a number on my body I said I can’t take it and I need to take one of my pills I go to get my purse and get them and there’s two left mind you he did good the whole 14 months he was on probation had no slip ups but he had eaten 23 Percocets within a 10 hour time span I was so upset with him I thought it was so selfish because one more up here seeing our son for the first time what if I really would’ve needed those I was in pain he just took them to get high. We bring our baby home. everything’s going good for about two months he starts drinking while playing his PlayStation he turns into an every day thing for four weeks straight I had enough we got into an argument and he left for the night. I Got him to stop drinking another month goes by and he starts taking steroids and injecting them into his butt cheek that his friend got off the dark web so he doesn’t even know what he’s putting in his body it took about two weeks until I noticed he was getting really angry over nothing or the littlest things he would get mad when the baby would cry at night so I started sleeping on the floor next to the baby so I could get to the baby fast enough so it wouldn’t wake him up tell me when he wakes up in the morning he feels like he sees me sleeping on the floor he tells me to stop doing that and just start getting back in the bed so the next night I try to do that and withthin a six hour span at night I’ve gotten up to help the baby maybe three times I get back in the bed and he yells at me and says “damn dude your tripping you’ve gotten up like 14 times” which I hadn’t even before he was taking steroids he was really weird about his sleep. He absolutely absolutely did not like to be woken up. Or he would be really mean. When I was pregnant and had to get up to he would yell at me. So I would either try to be super quiet. And take a long time to get out of bed to not wake him up. Or I would just have to wait until his alarm went off. One time I accidentally woke him up 10 minutes before his alarm went off and he set his alarm for two more hours. And was late to work two hours. We got into a small argument about a week ago and he went to his mom’s house and came back I thought we were doing good and he was changing because I wasn’t hearing anything or seeing anything that had to do with that girl he kept trying to cheat on me he had her blocked but when I got on his phone the other day she was unblocked and I said to him I really thought you were changing, but you’re not I said I feel like the only way for me to get my point across to you is for me to do something like that to you and you have to beg me to stop like I do to you he said he doesn’t care about this girl like that. He just knows that it pisses me off and he wants to piss me off when he’s mad at me anyway, saying that sent him off the edge I might want to add that he goes through my phone and picks my phone up more than I do to go through it anytime anybody text me anytime my phone dings he grabs it I’ve never stepped outside our relationship no matter what he’s done to me. I can’t post pictures on Facebook because that means I’m looking for validation. I am a really pretty beautiful girl and I’m not saying that because I’m self-centered or cocky. Because I’m actually really insecure. But I do get a lot of attention. He doesn’t like that. I’m just trying to give you guy some context so you understand a little better Anyway, me saying that turns into a huge fight, I didn’t want him to leave so I hit his keys and he grabbed my phone. He broke my last one and I didn’t want this one I just gave him his keys. He started packing all his stuff to leave. Remind you, he has the vehicle the lease and electric was in his name I told him to give me back the baby‘s social he rips it up and throws it at me my son is three months old and can’t really do anything so when I’m not holding him, he likes to watch TV we can only stream TV/movies with Amazon prime and we have a Wi-Fi box that we literally got just for the baby he uses it too to play PlayStation he toke that While we were arguing, he grabbed me and started choking me, and shoving his palms into my mouth which busted my mouth open I had welts on my face from where he smacked me as well then just to make everything worse he turned the electric off knowing that I had to pay almost $1000 to put electric in my name knowing his son stays here with me if it wasn’t for the wonderful woman downstairs who ran extension cords once it got turned off, we would’ve been sitting in the heat and dark since I have nowhere to go. He did this all the day before the first. I am in a recovery program, which helps with bills. So they pay my half. Our rent is $800 so they paid my four. I used to be a dancer in Columbus. But it made me really depressed. I haven’t been working since I was pregnant and since I just had the baby not even three months today I was talking to sister which the girl who he keeps cheating on me with his friends with her, which is how he met her talk to her today and told her that her and my sons dad have been talking and that he was on his way over his sister told her don’t do it he did some really messed up stuff to(me) And asked her why she keeps doing this to herself because he’s always gonna choose me and he’s always gonna come back to me and that he’s just trying to get at me. He texted her telling her he didn’t expect her to ignore him when he was on his way to her house And now he feels bad because he knows it’s his fault that she’s treating him like this from what he’s done to her ( he’d message her when we’d separate and get her in her feelings then block her after a day or two cause we’d get back together ) he told me before he left he doesn’t want a “btch he just needs some p*say here and there “ when we would separate (for a night ) I would start freaking out, blowing him up, texting him and calling him from text free numbers because he would block me on everything I even would pay people to drive me around so I could try to find him because I’d be so afraid to give him the time to go mess around just to end up calling me the next day and getting back with me it just caused so much drama in our relationship I saw the landlord today got him taken off the lease and me put on I’m going to work at the club this weekend to pay the other half of the rent and I can get the electric turned on as well.. I’ve been doing this with him for over a year now he always comes back and it doesn’t take long. But I just can’t forgive him for bringing my son into this. It’s one thing to hurt me, but I can’t forgive somebody for being weird to my kid. I’m just so hurt that he could do this to me and our son but he’s pushed me for so long I know I’m not in love with him anymore I have love for him and I think just the security of him how he has a stable job and car He also left knowing that I had to be at court this week. And our son had two doctors appointments. I just feel so lost and don’t know what to do he was my favorite person but I can’t live like this I can’t put my son through this it’s not fair we deserve better 😔

I just got got my Hida results back (after 2 weeks of wait, grrr), and a torturous experience with the test. The results show abnormal ejection fraction of 23%. I also have one single large gallstone (no clue of exact size) as noted from ultrasound 2-3 months ago.
Findings: Prompt and homogenous update of activity by the liver -What does this mean?
normal visiualization of gallbladder, bilary ducts, small bowel, within 60 min of initial injection (was found in 15-20 but i had to stay still for the full 60grrr.
GB Ejection fraction: 23% (normal greater than or equal to 38%)
Can anyone interpret what this means? Also should I opt for surgery or can i eat better?
My symptoms are random. Its either mid back pain, right shoulder pressure next to armpit, neck pain, and sometimes stomach tightness, and always getting full faster then usual. Also worse constipation, with lighter colored poop than normal.
The pain is always aching and a heating pad usually helps, also walking. Food doesn't seem to change it, although too much cheese will make me fuller faster. I have been able to eat bacon, and hamburgers (I don't eat that all the time), without issue. More issue has been from processed foods (which i try to stay away from).
I don't get neasuea, vomiting, jaundice, or sharp knife pain like so many get, but the achyness makes me grumpy and it is 100% worse when it is cold out. Now that it is warmer, it seems not as bothersome (don't know why that is). The sun seems to help.
I am afraid of surgery. I am on Methadone and Doctors don't like prescribing pain pills to people who are on opioid replacement maintenance. I have been on it for years, and I am not ready to taper from that before surgery. The surgeon suggested i wean off it in 2 weeks. I was like you are nuts, you obviously don't know what you are talking about when it comes to medication (didnt say that but was thinking it, told him thats not how it works). I am afraid I will be in pain and they won't give me anything for it. I am on a low dose, I can take anetheisa and painpills as long as its enough to get past my leveling dose (ie more than a normal person would need). Doctors are so afraid to prescribe anything, I think they would let me suffer.
I am afraid of having worse symptoms and having a disability. I don't have people in my life that can support me , I need to work. MY wife wants me to get the surgery, my other family some are trying to talk me out of it and my mom is like "just eat a better diet and exercise, the doctors are paid by big pharma.....and you will have further issues that multiply afterwards". Both sides make some sense, but i can't bring myself to know what to do.
What are the chances of having issues getting it out? (surgeon says no chance for issues, which i think he is full of it.
Will I be able to eat food I like again? Food is my only vice I have left. I love buttery home made style dishes, not processed, but whole foods, I can eat now.
Will i develop liver problems from getting it out?
How much time off will I need? I work from home on a computer, so there is that.

TW: Extreme detail with hemorrhoids
Hi all! I'm currently 20 weeks with my third baby and my first little girl. She's looking healthy and measuring at a fantastic 49%, already head-down. In a perfect world, I would be a good candidate for vaginal birth.
The only fear I have is the sheer insanity that was my hemorrhoids last time. I'm afraid I'll end up needing an emergency surgery immediately PP or a colostomy bag for the rest of my life if they're any worse than last time.
Let me stress just how massive this issue is. With my first, the hemorrhoids were above average severity, but workable with pain medication. I was bleeding anally trying to pass a BM because of the terrible constipation that comes with the meds and had to use a glove to digitally remove the feces from myself over many excruciating hours. My first BM was the size of a baseball or larger. I actually went to my OB to ask for help but he just looked at me disgusted and said "that's normal". In hindsight, I should've gone to the hospital to help me pass that first BM. Obviously, I left that OB. There were LOTS of issues with them beyond that.
But that's nothing. With my second, the man who delivered my son took one look at me and said "those hemorrhoids are... really something." When I told him that I knew they'd be bad and had it bad before, he said "if you knew they'd be THIS bad, why didn't your OB plan you a c-section?? They'll be worse next time, absolutely don't give vaginal birth again." He was the hospital doctor, not my OB. I didn't even know yet just HOW bad they were since I was still reeling from a natural birth. My epidurals failed both times.
For my stay at the hospital, I couldn't sleep. I couldn't move. I couldn't do a damn thing and even though they gave me the maximum amount of pain medicine that was legal to give to me, it didn't even make a small dent in my pain. Even the percocet did literally nothing to the point where I didn't even realize that's what they were giving me until i asked then for it and they said "that's that we've been giving you". I heard the nurses talking about me as "the hemorrhoid girl". Nurses and doctors were coming into my room asking to see them like I was a sideshow and they were genuinely extremely sympathetic. Some said they'd never seen anything like them in their career. My nurses on staff always prioritized my meds and even asked the hospital gastro to come see me and check if emergency surgery was viable, but he was unwilling for at least 4 months since I was PP.
When I finally got a look at them after i got home, it was basically a whole anal prolapse. If I put both of my fists together, that's not as large as the mass of thrombosed hemorrhoids I had. It was something out of a gory horror movie. I had them for about a month, during that time I couldn't sleep or sit or anything. The pain was too extreme. All I could do was cry while my husband took on the majority of the work with my newborn. If i took a percocet, the pain would go from an 11 to a 9, but then my exhaustion from not being able to sleep and the medicine would make me unable to watch my son. I saw a gastro who was so alarmed by the sight of them that they got my in same day to see a colorectal surgeon who was booked out multiple months otherwise and was a full hour drive away, but she also said she would not operate and prescribed me lidocaine, which honestly only made the pain much worse. They started turning black with necrosis. It was actual hell and all I could do was use suppositories, witch hazel, prescription steroids which made me pump and dump, and dermoplast, which did literally nothing to help. For reference, dermoplast took the pain away completely from the stitches I got from my first birth. It was 1000x worse than a vaginal tear. ALMOST as painful as unmedicated natural birth.
Eventually, they went away, but not until I'd already suffered weeks and weeks of crying every waking moment, unable to walk, unable to nap, calling my OB off the hook and telling them that I NEEDED more meds, to which they told me they couldn't even though they wanted to.
Long story short, I left that OB as well for other reasons (I didn't like them at all except for the midwife), and I'm now with an OB office that I really like. The only problem is, when I bring up the hemorrhoids, they give me the whole "hemorrhoids are normal, sorry" talk. "Oh, just use witch hazel :)". And when I try to stress the severity, they all respond with disbelief and think I'm just being a drama queen. I tell them that the doctor who delivered my second recommended a c-section, but they refuse the idea, telling me that "I'll get hemorrhoids anyway, it's your third so you'll probably have a short labor".
My second son who gave me these hemorrhoids was 5lbs at birth and I progressed to 10cm within only a couple of hours from induction (I was 36 weeks with preeclampsia). I had a normal sized hemorrhoid until it was time to push. Once I pushed, everyone's eyes went wide as I gave birth to my own ass before my son came out. Varicose vein issues run in my family. I am absolutely prone to BAD hemorrhoids.
Yesterday I saw another doctor and asked again. She told me that c-sections pose a significant risk to the baby's ability to breathe once born and that vaginal would be much safer. She said "maybe his head was big" and "surgery hurts too, you know". When I told her that I'd way prefer a major surgery over these hemorrhoids again, she looked taken aback and said "oh wow, that bad? That's up to you then. You have time to make a choice".
But I want to make an INFORMED choice. I would do it again if I didn't have fear that I'll literally end up with a colostomy bag and blood transfusion, but she kept telling me to make a choice on my own and couldn't tell me just HOW much riskier a c-section could be. She (and the other doc I saw prior) struck me as the "vaginal at all costs" types as well as thinking that I was exaggerating.
Ladies. When I tell you that those hemorrhoids were the worst pain of my life, I MEAN IT. The ONLY thing that hurt more was pushing my son for the last 15 minutes, but that didn't last a full month. Even the active labor contractions were nothing in comparison. And, given how much worse they were the second time, I don't even want to imagine how much worse they'll be the third time. There's NO WAY that a c-section recovery could be worse than that. But, if it puts my daughter at risk, I would sacrifice myself for her in a heartbeat. My second son was born white and limp and was rushed out of the room for 3 hours before I got any news on him because he wasn't breathing well. I just can't go through that again. That's the only thing worse than the pain of the hemorrhoids. I'll do natural birth, no problem, but...... those hemmies. I've literally not even been able to Google an image half as bad as what I had that literally wasn't a whole anal prolapse. I'm genuinely worried that they'll become a medical emergency of their own and ruin my rectum permanently.
So, if you were me, what would you do? Can anyone shed some light on just HOW much riskier a c-section is to a vaginal birth? My doctor said that it would likely end up with a NICU stay due to trouble breathing if I got a c-section. I've been up all night since that appointment worrying. I wish my doc could've answered for me, but she just kept saying "that's a choice you have to make" without giving me any context beyond "vaginal is safer and you'll get hemorrhoids anyway", which I highly doubt they'd be anything like what I had with a c-section instead of pushing. I can deal with hemmies, but not a total anal prolapse with no treatment.
I've rambled on enough! Is my anxiety showing? 😅 Thanks in advance to anyone who can give me some input!

I am a 47 yr old woman, 5’,6.5”, 198lbs. History of Endometriosis dx’d age 19. Total hysterectomy age 22.
Question: Do HRT guidelines apply to someone like me? Vs. someone who goes through natural menopause? Or even someone in their mid to late thirties/fourties? Now being 47, doctors are talking about weaning me off of my estrogen. Since I have done well having been on a relatively stable dose since my hysterectomy, I am hesitant to do this without having more information. My docs don’t seem to have any information on how the prescribing standards might apply to such early menopause and internet searches haven’t been fruitful either. Can anyone give me any information that is specific to my situation? I just want more information that isn’t blanketed to women starting HRT in their 40’s, 50’s, 60’s - where the baseline is already from a temporary use perspective. I hope this makes sense.
History: By age 22 (1999), I had undergone various BC pills, depo shots, lupron shots, had ovarian cysts burst, an experimental leep procedure to remove endo from cervix, a DnC following said leep, and finally a total hysterectomy 10 months into my 22nd year. (Total hyst meaning EVERYTHING - both ovaries, fallopian tubes, & cervix.)
Side info, not sure necessary for answering original question but possibly of interest: Upon opening me up (not a vaginal/lap hyst but a full surgical hyst), the doc saw Endo on my colon. Instead of closing me up & calling for a qualified surgeon, he went ahead and did the hysterectomy anyway, never mentioned it, & prescribed HRT - which caused the left behind Endo to grow & take over other areas…5 months later pain was worse than ever. This is when doc finally fessed up about the endo left behind & called in a surgical oncologist to “assist” in colon surgery. They removed the sigmoid colon, the top 2” of the vaginal canal, several inches of bowel, and several areas of abdominal adhesions, including bladder. No HRT for a year after that one. Then, colon fell & kinked so a year later was back in for correction, more removal of Endo & adhesions, another spray mesh to slow adhesions, appendix removed, nerves severed (not ablation, severed - lead to further bladder, bowel, sexual dysfunction).
TLDR: Does anyone have any sources on HRT prescribing recommendations for someone who went through early surgical menopause at age 22 and is now the age (47) when estrogen levels would naturally start dropping off - having been on a stable dose of HRT for 25 years now, do the same long-term use concerns apply? Considering, is tapering still medically necessary?
Thanks in advance. I know this is long.

Had my surgery April 12, they replaced my ACL with part of my hamstring and found a tear in my meniscus that only needed 1 suture. No weight for the first week. After my postop appt the surgeon said I could start to put weight on it with crutches for the next 2 weeks, then we’d start weaning me off the crutches after that. The day after the appointment I just stopped using crutches at all because it’s a hassle for work. I’m not walking normally, I hardly bend my knee at all when I walk so it usually doesn’t hurt. It seems to only hurt when I’ve been sitting for a long time and then go to walk and put weight on it. Ive been trying to do some stretches to bend it and straighten it, but it gets really stiff and aches when I have it bent for too long and try to straighten it, and vice versa. Am I doing more damage by not using crutches anymore, or is it okay since it usually doesn’t hurt a lot to walk on it? Is the lack of pain giving me false confidence about how my knee is actually healing?

TW: Extreme detail with hemorrhoids
Hi all! I'm currently 20 weeks with my third baby and my first little girl. She's looking healthy and measuring at a fantastic 49%, already head-down. In a perfect world, I would be a good candidate for vaginal birth.
However, I have some issues with vaginal birth. Firstly, my waters don't break on their own. Both of my previous births were natural and the water had to be manually popped after reaching 10cm. Secondly, my epidurals failed both times. Thirdly, and most importantly (since the first two wouldn't deter me completely from doing it again), I have MASSIVE hemorrhoid issues.
Let me stress just how massive this issue is. With my first, the hemorrhoids were above average severity, but workable with pain medication. I was bleeding anally trying to pass a BM because of the terrible constipation that comes with the meds and had to use a glove to digitally remove the feces from myself over many excruciating hours. My first BM was the size of a baseball or larger. I actually went to my OB to ask for help but he just looked at me disgusted and said "that's normal". In hindsight, I should've gone to the hospital to help me pass that first BM. Obviously, I left that OB. There were LOTS of issues with them beyond that.
But that's nothing. With my second, the man who delivered my son took one look at me and said "those hemorrhoids are... really something." When I told him that I knew they'd be bad and had it bad before, he said "if you knew they'd be THIS bad, why didn't your OB plan you a c-section?? They'll be worse next time, absolutely don't give vaginal birth again." He was the hospital doctor, not my OB.
For my stay at the hospital, I couldn't sleep. I couldn't move. I couldn't do a damn thing and even though they gave me the maximum amount of pain medicine that was legal to give to me, it didn't even make a small dent in my pain. Even the percocet did literally nothing to the point where I didn't even realize that's what they were giving me until i asked then for it and they said "that's that we've been giving you". I heard the nurses talking about me as "the hemorrhoid girl" and "the poor thing has been crying in her room since she gave birth". Nurses and doctors were coming into my room asking to see them like I was a sideshow and they were genuinely extremely sympathetic. Some said they'd never seen anything like them in their career. My nurses on staff always prioritized my meds and even asked the hospital gastro to come see me and check if emergency surgery was viable, but he was unwilling for at least 4 months since I was PP.
When I finally got a look at them after i got home, it was basically a whole anal prolapse. If I put both of my fists together, that's not as large as the mass of thrombosed hemorrhoids I had. It was something out of a gory horror movie. I had them for about a month, during that time I couldn't sleep or sit or anything. The pain was too extreme. All I could do was cry while my husband took on the majority of the work with my newborn. If i took a percocet, the pain would go from an 11 to a 9, but then my exhaustion from not being able to sleep and the medicine would make me unable to watch my son. I saw a gastro who was so alarmed by the sight of them that they got my in same day to see a colorectal surgeon who was booked out multiple months otherwise and was a full hour drive away, but she also said she would not operate and prescribed me lidocaine, which honestly only made the pain much worse. They started turning black with necrosis. It was actual hell and all I could do was use suppositories, witch hazel, prescription steroids which made me pump and dump, and dermoplast, which did literally nothing to help. For reference, dermoplast took the pain away completely from the stitches I got from my first birth. It was 1000x worse than a vaginal tear. ALMOST as painful as unmedicated natural birth.
Eventually, they went away, but not until I'd already suffered weeks and weeks of crying every waking moment, unable to walk, calling my OB off the hook and telling them that I NEEDED more meds, to which they told me they couldn't even though they wanted to.
Long story short, I left that OB as well for other reasons (I didn't like them at all except for the midwife), and I'm now with an OB office that I really like. The only problem is, when I bring up the hemorrhoids, they give me the whole "hemorrhoids are normal, sorry" talk. "Oh, just use witch hazel :)". And when I try to stress the severity, they all respond with disbelief and think I'm just being a drama queen. I tell them that the doctor who delivered my second recommended a c-section, but they refuse the idea, telling me that "I'll get hemorrhoids anyway, it's your third so you'll probably have a short labor".
My second son who gave me these hemorrhoids was 5lbs at birth and I progressed to 10cm within only a couple of hours from induction (I was 36 weeks with preeclampsia). I had a normal sized hemorrhoid until it was time to push. Once I pushed, everyone's eyes went wide as I gave birth to my own ass before my son came out.
Yesterday I saw another doctor and asked again. She told me that c-sections pose a significant risk to the baby's ability to breathe once born and that vaginal would be much safer. She said "maybe his head was big" and "surgery hurts too, you know". When I told her that I'd way prefer a major surgery over this hemorrhoids again, she looked taken aback and said "oh wow, that bad? That's up to you then. You have time to make a choice".
But I want to make an INFORMED choice. I would do it again if I didn't have fear that I'll literally end up with a colostomy bag and blood transfusion, but she kept telling me to make a choice on my own and couldn't tell me just HOW much riskier a c-section could be. She (and the other doc I saw prior) struck me as the "vaginal at all costs" types as well as thinking that I was exaggerating.
Ladies. When I tell you that those hemorrhoids were the worst pain of my life, I MEAN IT. The ONLY thing that hurt more was pushing my son for the last 15 minutes, but that didn't last a full month. Even the active labor contractions were nothing in comparison. And, given how much worse they were the second time, I don't even want to imagine how much worse they'll be the third time. There's NO WAY that a c-section recovery could be worse than that. But, if it puts my daughter at risk, I would sacrifice myself for her in a heartbeat. My second son was born white and limp and was rushed out of the room for 3 hours before I got any news on him because he wasn't breathing well. I just can't go through that again. That's the only thing worse than the pain of the hemorrhoids. I'll do natural birth, no problem, but NOT those hemmies. I've literally not even been able to Google an image half as bad as what I had that literally wasn't a whole anal prolapse.
So, if you were me, what would you do? Can anyone shed some light on just HOW much riskier a c-section is to a vaginal birth? My doctor said that it would likely end up with a NICU stay due to trouble breathing if I got a c-section. I've been up all night since that appointment worrying. I wish my doc could've answered for me, but she just kept saying "that's a choice you have to make" without giving me any context beyond "vaginal is safer and you'll get hemorrhoids anyway", which I highly doubt they'd be anything like what I had with a c-section instead of pushing. I can deal with hemmies, but not an unmedicated anal prolapse.
I've rambled on enough! Is my anxiety showing? 😅 Thanks in advance to anyone who can give me some input!

i have a surgery date!
i’m a 15 year old girl, and i learned that i have bilateral hip dysplasia february 1st. it came as a shock because i had been an aggressive athlete in volleyball since the age of 7. i made all three teams (Frosh, JV and Varsity) for one of the best schools in my state, and the current guess is that the overuse from school season pushed my hips over the edge. we had no clue that i had anything anatomically wrong with me except that my knees turned in.
february 1st i was diagnosed with bilateral hip dysplasia (18° right, 16° left), bilateral FAI and SIJ dysfunction. after getting CT and MRI, my doctor had confirmed bilateral labral tears and femoral anteversion (45° right, 41° left.)
i was told to do PT and take 15mg meloxicam. i had made considerable progress from diagnosis, and at the 6 week mark (march 12th) i had made a full recovery until out of nowhere i was back to square one. worse than that. i was in pain on both sides and it just kept getting worse.
april 1st i had to go to the ER because the pain had gotten so bad. i couldn’t get up out of my seat at school and i knew i wouldn’t be able to stay at school. they did another X-Ray and this one had shown extreme inflammation at my SI joint, and some irritation at my hip joint. they sent me home with a prescription for percocet.
a few days later i got the labral tear and the anteversion news, as well as the confirmation that i would need surgery now. we had exhausted every conservative option to get myself better but nothing had worked in the end of things.
my mom wanted to look out of state to find a surgeon with more experience and we are currently settled on Dr. Swann in colorado, and we have a surgery date at the beginning of July.
this week i’ve started to develop anterior knee pain. has anybody else experienced this as well? it is around a 6/10 pain with movement and 2/10 without. i do use crutches to get around mostly, so the movement is not at 100% pressure. i’ve been icing and resting as much as i can.
i go back and forth between acceptance and depression for my situation. there are some days where i am at peace with my diagnose and other days where i feel borderline suicidal. a huge part of my life has been stripped from me: movement. i can no longer play volleyball. it was my plan for college. i can no longer work out. i can no longer walk. i can no longer stand. i’m missing out on hanging out with my friends because i cannot move around as much.
my life has been flipped upside down and i’m still struggling to cope and be okay with it. it’s been nearly 3 months since everything started, and i briefly turned to smoking weed to get my mind off the problems at hand. i haven’t smoked in about a month and a half at least. i’m very scared for my future and for the surgeries. i’m scared for my short term future because my body is in so much pain all the time. it gets progressively worse each day and i’m scared of the damage i could be doing to myself. my right hip has swollen so much i lost the hip dip.
i’m scared for my long term future too. my grades slipped this semester. the level of pain and exhaustion and depression made it difficult to focus or study or do my homework and i’m so scared i’ll fail my classes. i’m scared that after surgery i won’t be able to play volleyball again, or that it won’t be fun anymore.
i’m scared for the surgeries. i’ve been under a few times for various operations - appendectomy, uterine polypectomy, wisdom teeth - but my fear for this surgery totally outclasses those ones. i’m scared i’ll wake up and i won’t be able to walk because my sciatic nerve got hit. i know there’s likely paresthesia but i’m terrified of partial or totally paralysis. i’m terrified of the recovery. i don’t want my friends to see me in that low of a state. i’m scared of the constipation and the blood thinners and the pain afterwards. i’m scared of nonunions in the healing process and i’m scared that the incisions will get infected. im scared of a lot of things.
i do have questions for those that have gotten arthroscopies, PAO or DFO/PFO surgeries - bonus points if it was through Dr. Swann.

• what are your scars like? surprisingly i’m not scared of what they will look like. personally i’d prefer if they were massive scars because if i have to go through all this i want something to show for it.
• what was your physical activity like before diagnosis and then after full recovery from surgery?
• what is sleeping like during recovery?
• what were your energy levels during recovery?
• what foods helped you not be too constipated?
• what tools are important for after surgery?
• what clothes are best to wear?
• how do you handle not being able to showewash your hair?
• were you nauseous after surgery?
• who did you have supporting you?
• did you have knee pain as a result of your dysplasia?
• did your knee pain resolve after surgery?
• did the femur surgeries (DFO/PFO) affect your height?
• how was it learning to walk again after your femur surgeries? (as far as i’ve heard that’s a big part of recovery)
• how often did you have to go to PT in recovery?
• how was your mental health impacted?
• what would you do to keep your mental health in check during recovery?
• what is something you wish you asked your surgeon before surgery?
• do you have paresthesia anywhere on your legs?
• back to the scars - do they at least look cool?
• can you wear underwear after your surgery?
• where are your scars located?
• did you gain weight as a result of your pain? (when the pain started for me i gained weight because i couldn’t exercise anymore)
• what did you do leading up to surgery to prepare your body?
• what was the scariest part for you?
• do you regret anything?
• what did you wish you knew before going into surgery?

i know this was a really really long post, but i needed to get my story out and also hear about others. if you have any advice regarding anything hip dysplasia, torn labrum, SIJ dysfunction, femoral anteversion, knee pain, surgeries, sports, recovery, mental health, etc. please let me know. anything and everything helps. ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

TLDR: Can I take hydrocodone for an upcoming surgery if I had a dependency 10 years ago?
33 trans man, 170 lbs.
Current medications: cellcept, celixicob, duloxetine, plaquenil.
When I was a freshman in college, I got sick and one of the main symptoms was chronic pain. My rheumatologist at the time couldn’t figure out what was going on, and had genuinely good intentions of wanting me to be able to live a normal life, so he prescribed me twice daily hydrocodone-acetaminophen at 5-325 (eventually upped to 10-325). This was also at the height of the opioid epidemic, ofc.
When I moved out of my small college town into an actual city at 22, my new doctor was super alarmed and stopped my prescription, but gave me no guidance on stopping taking the meds, so I didn’t know how to wean off and stopped overnight. I wouldn’t have classified myself as an addict- I didn’t ever take a pill that wasn’t prescribed - but I was definitely dependent. I experienced a full blown opioid withdrawal that lasted several days, but got thru it. With that same city doctor, I was finally diagnosed with Mixed Connective Tissue Disease, and a regimen of disease controlling meds brought my symptoms under control.
Two years after that, I was prescribed hydrocodone-acetaminophen for recovery from the excision of a peripheral nerve sheath tumor on my spine. I took it for about 10 days before the script ran out, and experienced a full withdrawal again. That withdrawal/post nerve surgery recovery was the single worst experience of my life and I never want to deal with that again. I had two surgeries since then, with just a rotation of ibuprofen and acetaminophen for pain management (and gabapentin briefly for one.)
This brings me to today: in October, I broke my humerus and had orthopedic surgery to repair it with a plate. Again, I only had ibuprofen and acetaminophen, and the pain was very very poorly controlled - it was honestly pretty damn hellish. It’s not healing, so I’m going to have to have follow up surgery to rebreak it, add in a bone graft and replace the plate with a longer one. I’m really scared of the pain, since it was so bad with the first humerus surgery. My doctor suggested opioids for post surgical pain, but I’m not willing to risk another withdrawal.
I’m not finding much research or other experiences like mine. Any specialists have thoughts?

i came here looking for info on zurzuvae when i was debating taking it & had a hard time finding much, so wanted to share my experience.
for background - we had a very hard time conceiving & went the IVF route. i had a miserable pregnancy (sick basically the entire time) but a fairly routine delivery. we had a lot of issues breastfeeding and pumping killed my mental health, so we went to exclusively formula. my first two weeks postpartum were heavy baby blues, but then i started feeling better. on week 4 my husband went back to work and my mood took a huge dive off a cliff. i cried literally nonstop & felt so disconnected from my baby. i reached out to my OB and was put on zoloft (25 mg). after 9 days, we went up to 50 mg. i started feeling better and working with a psychiatrist, who had me increase to 75 mg. being on 75 mg was a game changer for my mental health but killed my body. i had major stomach surgery about 10 years ago and wasn’t aware how poorly people with stomach issues can react to SSRIs. given that, my psychiatrist thought i would be a good candidate for zurzuvae.
we went through a speciality pharmacy, who worked with my insurance (UHC) to get the meds approved with a $0 copay. i waited to take them until i had a family member visit because i was nervous about the sedation effect. the first night, i tried to get into bed almost immediately after taking them with dinner + ice cream for dessert to get in the fat content i needed, and that was too early & i had trouble falling asleep. when i woke up in the middle of the night to pee, i felt drunk and stumbled to the bathroom. in the morning i felt hungover.
i started falling into a pattern of taking the meds with dinner then going to bed 2 hours later. husband took over all bath and bedtime duties. i slept through the night no problems and definitely had some grogginess in the morning but not abnormal. i continued to take the 50 mg of zoloft with the intention to wean off if the zurzuvae helped. i cant really pinpoint when it happened, but i was all of a sudden feeling feelings (laughing with my baby and also crying at times); while the zoloft made me feel flat, this felt like it was bringing me back.
i’ve felt so much better in the week since taking it until day 6 when i noticed all of my hard zoloft side effects returning (vomiting, anxiety, GI issues). i’m hopeful that once i wean off the zoloft these will stop but they could certainly be my PPD/PPA resurfacing. would love to hear from others who struggled with zoloft or took zurzuvae and hear your experiences!

A bit over 32 months now. Therapy for over a year seems to not get me anywhere. So many meds over so many years, nothing helps. Thanks to Antabuse I have been sober for almost 8 months now. Being sober hasn't improved me mentally, not that I can tell. After quitting drinking though, I later noticed that I wasn't going to the cemetery as often. I used to go every day or every other day, eventually I could go a few days without. After surgeries in December and March I went almost a month without going. I could have made it on crutches, I just didn't. I don't understand why. Talking to my psychiatrist the other day she asked about how often I'm going out there and I told her "not very often anymore. What's the f---n point? She can't hear me. I have begged for 32 months for a sign. I don't feel her out there, I don't feel her at home, I never feel her anywhere". Usually when people wean off of feeling the need to go to the cemetery, I think it would be a sign of progress. To me it feels like I've just completely lost hope. I went out there a couple days ago and talked to her again and I told her that I just give up hoping, I knew that she doesn't love me or care about me now that she has no need for me, and that the last 32 months have proven it because she doesn't care enough to even come back and comfort me. It's the first time since she has died that I spoke angrily towards her. I don't know. It's either of two things... either she would come back and comfort me but God won't let her because he doesn't care about me and hates me, or else she could come back but doesn’t because she doesn't care enough to comfort me. 32 months. I should be getting better with time and I'm just getting worse.

This is a long story – and I apologize for that. I figured I should tell the whole story, for both you – and for my adult children. I’m not comfortable with leaving a note behind. Also, everything in this is true and can be PROVEN. I’m willing to entertain this while I’m still here. If you want proof of anything written below, just ask and I’ll provide the proof you request. I probably have maybe 3 weeks left – to make it, or to give up AGAIN. Thanks!
My father severely abused me from the time I was in diapers until I was big enough and man enough to stand up to him. He would leave bleeding welts on top of older bruised welts. I once showed my 6th grade teacher thinking I would be kept safe, and the only thing that happened was she talked to him and more abuse. He hit me in my head often, knocked me unconscious, and called me stupid. He is responsible for the low self-esteem and low self-image I carried with me throughout my life. I never felt worthy of anything or anyone.
I did meet a beautiful girl 21 when I was 23. She was in an abusive marriage and wanted out. I don’t know if she really fell in love with me, or used me to save her from her current situation. I did fall in love with her though. We got married (a year and a half after her divorce) and had 2 kids.
I was in a bad car accident and became addicted to the pain pills. Instead of supporting treatment or rehab, she packed up herself and the kids, and left me. She moved in with her dad.
I sank into a depression and my addiction progressed. It evolved to heroin. I got caught and was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
She moved back into the house. I did overcome my addiction and quit in 2008 while in prison. She started writing to me when I had one year left to serve before my release from prison. She never did tell me she loved me, but told me that she missed me, felt safe and secure with me, and blah, blah, blah… She was in another abusive relationship again though, and I guess she needed to be rescued again. I still don’t know if she ever loved me, but I was in love with her, and planned to move back home and reclaim my family – my wife, my kids, my home.
6 months before my release, the truth came out. She was away from the abusive guy, and needed support. She needed food stamps, Medicaid, and WIC and had to file for divorce in order to qualify for the benefits. WIC? Yeah, more of the truth – she had 2 more kids with the abusive crackhead (literally).
1 month before my release, she notified me that she had let him come back a few months ago, because she needed his financial support. I also found out that this dude had my wife, and my 2 sons (then 15 and 17) smoking weed and that Mojo Spice synthetic crap. My kids actually quit school!!! I had to get home and clean up my house and get my family back the way it’s supposed to be.
I got back home after 5 yrs.in prison (03/2013), got rid of him, and fixed my family. It didn’t happen overnight, but we slowly got back to normal. It took about a year. She actually ‘showed’ her love for me. Maybe she had a hard time saying it because of her traumatic experiences with domestic abuse. IDK. We planned on getting remarried in a year or so.
My wife developed a bad cough, and by Christmas 2014, she kept dropping things – phone, drinks, silverware, whatever. I took her to the hospital. The MRI showed 7 lesions in her brain. They believed the Spice/Mojo caused a lung cancer that rapidly spread to her lymph nodes and then to her brain. Prognosis – 4 to 6 months. The radiation made her very sick. She rather spend her last few months with as little sickness as possible and refused all future treatments.
I never stopped loving her and I feel like I was about to be cheated out of something I never did get to get to fully enjoy. I needed to make every moment count and I stayed by her bedside. She passed after 5 months (05/2015). I didn’t work those 5 months, fell into deep depression 5 to 6 months because part of me died too, and we didn’t have life insurance. After trying to pay everything, I ran out of money and lost everything. I became homeless.
My wife said the Bible says, “Ashes to ashes.. “ and she wanted to be ashes. She didn’t want to be put on display and remembered in the condition the cancer left her in – skin on bones and bald. She picked the picture she wanted used at her memorial service, and wanted to be cremated. I did exactly as she wished. Her catholic family didn’t believe she wanted to be cremated, and accused me of taking the cheap way out. I could get no financial assistance from my in-laws (ex in-laws). My parents were dead, and my kids were now 17 and 19. My wife’s family helped my kids, but I had no one to help me. Homelessness was inevitable. My ex-in-laws bailed me out of the foreclosure on the house, but I could no longer live there. They only did it for my kids. I couldn’t pay for the utilities or food, so my kids stayed in our house and I had to leave, so my in-laws (ex) would help support my kids until they could become financially independent, or until I could get my life together and buy back my house (or another one).
I had a couple cousins and friends open their homes to me, but I could obviously see my presence causing a strain on their relationships. I left for the homeless shelter. My first night there, someone stole my bag while I was sleeping, and I had nothing but the clothes on my back. I no longer had an ID and couldn’t stay at the homeless shelter again without one. I was really on the streets the end of 2015.
I never wanted to be a panhandler and hold up a cardboard sign at a traffic intersection, but I had to become that person. It was so degrading – especially with everyone yelling, “Go get a job loser!” Who would hire someone with no identification card, no address, no transportation, no bank account for direct deposit, someone who hasn’t showered, had a haircut, or a change of clothes in over 6 months???
Near the end of 2016, the cops saw me panhandling and recognized me from a missing persons flyer. He told me to call the people who reported me missing – the nursing home. The nurse stated that my mother was dying and really wanted to see me before she died. I told her that I’ll come as soon as possible. She said, “That was 5 months ago. Your mom passed away almost 4 months ago, in mid 2016.”
I was determined to beat homelessness by panhandling. I would panhandle 12 hours a day, and save as much as I could. I could survive on $10 for food, and would save everything else I’d collect. I averaged between $25 and $40 a day. I became homeless when people were already tired of panhandlers at every traffic light. It was hard to make any money panhandling. Most homeless people were alcoholics and drug addicts, and it seemed everyone knew it – and I blended in with them, I guess. I actually had homeless drug addicts asking to borrow money from me. Dude, I’m homeless just like you… I guess nothing can be hidden in plain sight. I guess they watched how many times I collected a dollar or two, and realized I hardly spent any. I don’t know, but they knew I had some money.
I had almost $1500 in cash, and I was so close to beating homelessness. In March 2017 while I was looking for odd jobs, a guy rode up to me on a bicycle, pulled out a gun, put it to my head and said, “Give it all to me.” I’m not going to let someone just shoot me in the head. I put up a fight, and in the struggle for the gun, he twisted it into my chest and pulled the trigger. He shot me in the chest and the bullet barely missed my heart. Because of the positioning, the bullet traveled through my intestines, hit and fractured my pelvic bone and lodged in my left-back waistline. I woke up in the ICU with an incision from the top of my chest down to below my abdomen – and I had a colostomy bag.
I lost my wife, lost everything else, became homeless, lost my mom and missed telling her goodbye, got robbed and shot, and now had a colostomy bag. I was discharged from the hospital to bedrest, to keep my wound clean, and was supposed to change the colostomy bag daily. I couldn’t get medical supplies or colostomy bags. They are mailed by McKesson, and I didn’t have an address. I used 1 colostomy bag for several weeks and had it duct taped to my stomach. It kept leaking. I couldn’t take anymore. I reached my breaking point and wanted to die – immediately!!!
A few homeless people overdosed on fentanyl and some died on $10 and $20 bags. I decided that’s how I would go. I panhandled and saved $68. I got with a homeless drug addict and bought him a $20 bag for hooking me up, and bought a ½ gram and a syringe for $50 ($48). I went to the middle of the park and did almost all of it in one shot. The $20 bag overdosed Brian, but the $50 didn’t overdose me. I don’t understand, because I haven’t even drank since 2008. It was over 9 years since I did anything. I don’t know. It did make me seriously loaded/high though. It didn’t kill me, but it made me feel good and it poisoned my thinking - I didn’t have to think or care. I still wanted to die though…
As long as I used the fentanyl, suicide wasn’t so urgent. I was able to live. I wasn’t able to cope. I was only able to live a while longer by suppressing the suicidal thoughts. Without it, I probably would have run out in front of a speeding truck or something. I was able to panhandle without caring, and I was able to take a little better care of myself. I was able to convince my surgeon that I was no longer homeless, and I got him to reverse the ostomy. My life was getting better.
In 2018, my intestines pushed through the incision giving me a 12cm stage 2 incisional hernia. In 2019 I had my 3rd major surgery to repair the hernia.
My life was surely improving, but still sucked. The only thing that could possibly prevent suicide and stop the drugs would be beating homelessness. In March 2020 the world pandemic came. The local government put all of the homeless in hotels and motels. I now had a temporary address and filed for food stamps, the 2 stimulus checks, and pandemic unemployment. I made a plan to use the pandemic money ONLY to get off the streets. I became chemically dependent on the fentanyl, but became a handyman for the motel and used that income to support my dependency.
I used my pandemic money only to buy a 2018 Nissan in 2020 with only 23k miles on it, rented a house with a big yard, and bought enough tools to start my own handyman business. The only thing left to do was kick the dependency. I say ‘chemically dependent’ and not ‘addicted’, because I had no psychological obsession and compulsion for the stuff. I didn’t like the way it made me feel anymore. I didn’t like it poisoning my thoughts anymore. I only had a physical need for it to be able to function. Otherwise I went through withdrawal sickness.
I was able to go to a detox hospital, and they only let me stay 7 days (Medicaid won’t cover any longer than that). I didn’t experience any withdrawals until day 6. I was being discharged the next day. I had to get on MATs (Suboxone). I didn’t like it, and went with the Sublocade injection. I weaned myself off of that and I’m completely drug-free now.
Unfortunately, my business suffered when I went to the detox hospital. I planned on staying in contact with my contract customers, but the detox hospital lost my wallet with my list of phone numbers during intake. Cell phones are not allowed, so I brought my number list with me. I lost my 2 biggest contracts. I planned on stringing them along for the week, but no contact for an entire week violated our contract. I went from making $2000 to $3000 a week to $2000 a month.
I recently had my endocrine system crash and I became very sick. My body stopped producing hormones and other things. I had no energy, I was tired all the time, and I gained 80 lbs in less than 6 months. I went from 185 to almost 270 lbs. I got so big, I couldn’t breathe when trying to tie my shoes.
I’m on testosterone injections and other meds now. My health is getting a little better, but my business is gone. I have no customers left. I haven’t had much income in months. I’ve been living off of my savings. My savings is gone. I’ve tried to find a job, but I’m 56 yrs old, out of shape and not in the best health, and other than my own small business, I have no verifiable employment history in the past 10 years. Either I’m overqualified, underqualified, too old, no employment history, a convicted felon, etc. I’m about to lose everything again. I refuse to become homeless again. I’d rather be dead. I could sell my tools, but then I might as well plan on never working again. The last time I reached my breaking point, I really tried to kill myself on an overdose of fentanyl. I’m not scared to do it again. This time, the syringe I have (for the testosterone injections) is a LOT bigger. I could probably fit 10x as much. I’m not scared to fall asleep and never wake up again. I’ve been super lonely since Lisa died. I feel I have nothing more to live for anymore anyway. Being 56 now, my life is basically over anyway. I’ve come a long way. I’ve come too far to lose it all and become homeless again.
This isn’t a cry for help and I’m not attention-seeking. This post is more for my kids to understand why I chose this way. They have their own lives now, and there’s nothing they can do to make my life better anyway. I’ve been lonely too long, and now I can’t afford to pay my bills anymore. I refuse to be homeless again. If I can find a way to cover my bills, it would definitely buy me some more time. I just don’t want to be lonely much longer either. If something great happens, great! If not, I’ll be gone in about 3 weeks. I’ll probably be evicted right after the first week of May. If so, bye cruel world! Come to think about it… Lisa passed away on May 9, 2015. I could go May 9, 2024.
I’m not religious anymore either. I lost all of that over the years… Please don’t tell me that I’m still here because God has a plan for me, or anything like that. If this is his plan, his plan (my whole life basically) sucks, and I don’t want any part of it anymore!!! My life has gotten so much better since losing my religion. It feels better to not think a loving God gave me this life. And please don’t preach. I’m a atheist now, and only God himself could prove his existence and convert me back to a theist. Thanks!

Hi everyone! Had a puzzling case last night that I can’t seem to fully understand:
We had a 76-year-old male with hypertension and atrial fibrillation (on edoxaban) scheduled for emergent dorsal decompression of Th 8-9 due to spondylodiscitis. I had the support of an attending and another senior colleague through the case. We started the case around 2 am.
Induction went smoothly; post-intubation, we placed arterial and central lines. He wasn’t in sinus rhythm initially, but his heart rate was stable. Shortly after being positioned prone, his heart rate dropped from 69 to 33 bpm, with what appeared to be atrial flutter on the monitor, and his blood pressure surged to 190/100. I suspect this may have been influenced by a noradrenaline bolus (possibly 5 or 10 mcg, administered about 5 minutes before the onset of bradycardia to correct earlier hypotension).
I administered 0.2 mg of glycopyrrolate. Almost at the same time, the surgeons began the incision. I asked them to wait at least two minutes, to allow a sufentanil bolus to make effect, but he didn’t wait more than a minute. Suddenly, the patient’s heart rate escalated to 130 bpm, and his blood pressure initially dropped but then stabilized with adjusted noradrenaline dosages.
Throughout the surgery heart rate was 130/min, it seemed pretty regular and didn’t look like afib. Noradrenaline was maintained between 0.03 and 0.015 mcg/kg/min. Due to hypotension, adrenaline was added at 0.017 mcg/kg/min by the attending, although I questioned this decision given the ongoing tachycardia and adequate response to noradrenaline.
Additional details:

• Blood Gas Analysis: Showed hypokalemia (2.8 mEq/L) and hypocalcemia (1.12 mmol/L). Despite supplementation with magnesium, calcium, potassium, and amiodarone administration, there were no significant changes in rhythm or heart rate. Lactate was always below 0.7 mmol/L. • Blood Management: Blood loss was about 1 L. We administered 3 L of crystalloids and 1 L of colloids (gelatin). Initial hemoglobin was 11.3 g/dL, staying over 9 g/dL, so no transfusion was given. • Postoperative: On supine repositioning, his heart rate briefly reduced to 65 bpm a couple of times but surged back to 130 bpm. We decided to extubate and were able to wean him off vasopressors (which were the whole time low dosed anyway). After extubation he remained tachycardic, then I colleague took over and transferred him to PACU. He was supposed to be transferred from PACU to Intermediate Care. As my shift ended, I don’t know yet how the patient did in PACU or IMC. 

Theories I’m considering:

• Volume Deficit: The patient was NPO for over 12 hours. • Sepsis: Elevated CRP (\~130) without leukocytosis. • Noradrenaline Bolus: Possible overdosing that might explain the bradycardia and hypertension initially? If I remember right, the bolus was at least 5 minutes before the onset of bradycardia, which seems like a long time, as I usually see an effect within seconds. Maybe tiredness played a role and he got 15 mcg instead of 10. 

I’m puzzled, especially by the sudden switch from bradycardia to tachycardia. Any thoughts?

I (25f) am really starting to hate my best friend (25f). We met when we were 15 in high school where we participated in an activity that my family was running. We would her up and drop her off almost every day and we got close. She stayed over at my house a lot and I only stayed at her house once. We were close all the way through college. We wouldn't talk that much but when we did it was nice, I would often joke with my family that she was only herself around me.
One day when I was visiting home from college she told me she was engaged to her high school boyfriend, I never liked him and didn't really keep it a secret. I wasn't invited to be a part of the bridal party and just went to her wedding where she look miserable. Fast forward 6 years and she calls me in the middle of the night and long story short he was abusing her. A whole lot of nasty things came out about her family as well, her parents were manipulating and abusing her and there was abuse from her siblings as well. I spent a week with her at my parents house and we got her stuff and helped her file for divorce.
She moved in with me and my other best friend (they didn't know each other) out of state. The first 6 months were honestly really bad looking back at it. She had constant nightmares and we shared a bed for the first 4 months. Hearing about all of her trauma as it came out was really traumatizing for me as well. Then to top it all off I was diagnosed with cancer about a year after all of this went down and had surgery to remove it, which I still haven't processed.
The problem is that I just don't want to hang out with her anymore. Every time I come home I don't want to leave my car if she is home, and even then I just go to my room and close my door. If I don't then she literally follows me around the house as I do stuff. She is constantly telling me that I am the only one her gets her. She makes me really anxious, anytime that we have a serious conversation about feelings or boundaries I always end up making her feel better and feel worse afterward. She also has this way of just making you feel used. She constantly dumps her trauma (not invalidating her trauma, it's super terrible what she went through but she has a therapist for that) and is always talking about her day or her problems. Our other roommate also feels this way.
Another complication to this whole situation is that she is really close with my family, my family has always been accepting of everyone and my siblings friends and my friends have always been considered a part of the family but never to this extent. She relied on my mom for help with the divorce a lot and when all of the stuff came out about her parents she relied on the both of them for advice and such. Every year now she comes to Christmas and she calls my siblings her siblings, but I don't consider her a sibling. Honestly my feelings about her being close to my family is really complicated but worth noting because it means I can't just start weaning her out of my life, she is always going to be around.
Typing this all out kind of makes me feel like a terrible person but I just need to know if anyone has any advice on how to deal with all of this.

For the record: 63M, 5' 8", 165 lbs, Severe Stenosis and level 1 Spondy at L4/5.
Gabapentin was working(heavy dose) and then I tried weaning off gradually and the pain came back and seems to get worse every day even after going back to my original Gab dose a week ago.
This morning I dropped my pants because of the pain lifting my right leg to put them on. Had to wait till I could even pick them off the floor.
The morning pain usually goes away after an hour or so, but never completely. If it were not for the pain getting out of bed it would be a little more manageable.
My daughters graduation from PT school (oh the irony) is in May and no idea how I am going to manage the 1-1/2 hour trip, let alone the longer drive camping trips we have planned.
I have a follow up appt with a neuro, one of the two surgeons I have narrowed it down to, on May 2nd. This was one surgeon who said I did not need surgery at the time when I met him last July. The other preferred surgeon would do a level 1 fusion at L4/5
I feel ultimately defeated and pretty negative thoughts.
Yes, I am scared of Fusion, but the fear is getting less in favor of having an actual life again.
Thanks for letting me vent.