Is that a realistic request? Do they give you a good answer back?

They say I have to have neck fusion surgery which is apparently (as they sell it) not that big of deal other than the damn opiods you have to be on for 6-10 months.

You either have an indomitable spirit or you don’t.

“Get busy living, or get busy dying”

You don’t have to be on opioids for anywhere near that long. My brother had a fusion and was back at work a week later. He didn’t even go through one bottle of pain meds. My mom had a back fusion July 3rd and she is off all pain meds and she is a 70 year old woman.

Give that Doc's name.

I had a neck fusion 18 years ago and have a disk failing from wear/tear above the fusion. I will have another fusion when the epidurals can't knock the pain down....when my disk ruptured I was begging them to do surgery.....it stopped the pain immediately except for the soreness from the procedure....with minimal pain medication....

Charles Clark at Neurosurgical associates at St. Vincent’s.

Thank you, I will call and consult.

If your in enough pain you will take ANYTHING for relief. I’ve had chronic back and joint pain for years. Just had a total knee June 5th. I’ve been taking them for years off and on. Just weaned myself off of them after the knee replacement. You have to be smart. You can’t mix opioids with alcohol or drugs like Valium. Always take as directed and never take higher doses than prescribed. The knee replacement was pretty rough took 6 weeks before I could quit taking them. I think people with addictive personality’s have a much harder time controlling opoids . Personally I’ve never had an issue. Thank the Lord.

I had my C5, C6, and C7 fused. I took one Demerol the day after surgery. After that I took Advil for about 2 weeks, then I took nothing. You don't have or need to be on a pain killer for any extended period of time after neck surgery.

He did mine too. I had NO neck pain after surgery. The hole they cut in the front of my neck was the only pain I had. It hurt pretty bad for a week or so. If you'll get them to leave off the Versed when you have anesthesia, you won't have the month long brain fog that I had after mine. I did go back to work 7 days after fusion. Should have stayed out a few more days. I've had surgery since then on my wrists and told them I was allergic to Versed and I had a much better recovery from the anesthesia. Actually no recovery. Just woke up with no side effects.

Your first statement is what got my son started...........phuckin army doctor(s). I say plural cause you hardly ever see the same doc wannabe.

6-10 months! Not ! I had a titanium plate put in my neck after one of the EF4 tornadoes got me back on 4/27/11. The one that went past Eclectic and through central on hwy 9. Tore up my 70 acres/house and I got that plus the redhead got a broken leg, from that 5 minutes of fun. Well, I just had neck surgery again (3 weeks ago) to fix the disc collapsing from the plate + discs mashing down. He gave me lortab 10's. I needed two a day for about a week, then one a day for about2 weeks and then none. I will say, this surgery was at least double worse than the first one. Lots of scar tissue/disc to clean up. Pray to the Lord, this is my last. Amen.

I was on 4 Norco 10's a day for years. Took 4 shots in my knees and back every 3 months too. I was also on 3 blood pressure meds.

A year ago this August,I quit the pain pills, and sugar,and all grains,and potatoes. I thought I would die for a long time. I threw up 3 times a day for the first month and it started getting better after that. there were times I didn't think I could walk from the house to the truck,I felt so bad but I kept pushing and puking till I started feeling better.

In a year I am now 145 lbs lighter. I eat what's called a nutritarian diet. I eat the healthiest freshest foods I can always. I fast 16-20 hours of every day and I exercise by ridding a bike or doing calisthenics several times a week. I just got back from a 10 mile night ride on dirt roads and across grassy hills.

I do not take any medication at all now and my blood pressure is better than when I was 20. I feel better than when I was 20. The body is designed to heal itself if you give it the proper nutrition and exercise. I was told I had to have knee replacements and could barely walk before. I can run now and have more stamina than I ever have in my life. The bike had completely healed my back and I only get a little sore in my knees after a longer ride,but overall they are 99% better.

The industry isn't geared to heal,just to satisfy the lazy American public that don't care that they are killing themselves with every burger ,bite of fries or drink of Coke.

I represent these folks on a weekly basis. They lie, they steal and usually are only focused on where their next high is coming from. Many use multiple doctors in our town and surrounding communities to write them plenty of prescriptions to supply their habits. Most have their preferences on the types of pills that they prefer, so they get multiple prescriptions for pills that aren’t palatable to them and sell said pills to other addicts to support their habit.

Most of the criminal cases and many of the divorce cases that I’m involved in are related to addiction.

The drug makers, doctors, and pharmacist that are responsible for the opioid epedemic that has helped destroy a large percentage of an entire generation should be in prison. They are no different than the drug cartels and drug dealers that are selling heroin and meth

The drug addict that is dumb enough to put that crap in their body is just a completely innocent victim right? personally id prefer that they get a prescription from a doctor filled at a pharmacy than buying it off the street and lining the pockets of the cartels. Opioid epidemic is a made up crisis I guarantee you more people are overdosing on illegal fentanyl or heroin than legitamate prescriptions.

What y’all may not realize is that up until about 10 years ago, the medical literature was very adamant that chronic pain was being UNDER-treated. It’s so crazy.

I assure you it’s not made up.

And I think you’d be shocked at the number of college kids popping pills. It’s an epidemic.

and 90% of them arent getting them with a prescription.