Painkillers Galore

This post is much like a rant like that of my previous post, but of course a different topic. This post shall be based upon narcotic painkillers.

Two years ago I began to develop dull aching pains in my knees. I began seeing an Orthopedic doctor to see what the issue was and what was causing the problem. Physical tests, X-Rays, and an MRI showed nothing that was out of the ordinary (e.g., patella [knee cap] was not running off track, the cartilage behind the patella was not grinding down due to mis-alignment, etc.). Though the MRI results did state that there may be a possible cyst around there that may be causing it.

Starting from the beginning, March of 2007 is when I started seeing the Orthopedic doctor and by mid May they had placed me on a narcotic painkillers called Darvocet. Each pill contains 100mg of the active ingredient (Propoxyphene) and 650mg of Acetaminophen (Tylenol). It is weaker than Codeine thus resulting in needing to take higher doses for it to work effectively (3 tablets at each dose). Darvocet is a Schedule IV controlled substance. Nearing the end of 2007 I began seeing another Orthopedic doctor who briefly put me onto Oxycodone, which is a Schedule II controlled substance. After one fill of that I stopped taking it mainly due to the fact that is has higher addictive properties and I moved back to the Darvocet.

About 3 weeks ago, my doctor informed me that "Darvocet is falling out of favor with pain specialists and to begin taking Vicodin". Well of course I got curious as to why it was falling out of favor, so I looked it up to see what the deal was. It turns out that when the drug hits your blood stream, it turns into a different chemical which can cause various heart problems. If that isn't bad enough, the fact that it is a fairly weak narcotic, you need to take more for an effect. Taking more = possibility of more and/or more severe problems. Why I was even put on this medication in the beginning is beyond me given its history...

As of 2/23/09, I began taking Vicodin, which is a Schedule III controlled substance. Unfortunately, I have a very high tolerance to it resulting in it barely helping. Take Darvocet, risk toxicity; take Vicodin, doesn't work worth a damn. Great isn't it?

So that is my rant on painkillers and dumb doctors. Fun shit.