Hardware Analysis - Guys guys guys!

Re: Guys guys guys!

McFly — 2008-07-19T05:41:01-05:00

Well don't blame me, blame the Alaskan isolationists.

Re: Guys guys guys!

Gerritt — 2008-07-19T05:30:29-05:00

I've gone off of my Lyrica meds for a couple of weeks.
I can't afford them.
Sharp pains in every extemity.
Life sucks, but I'll deal with it as necessary.

Re: Guys guys guys!

angryhippy — 2008-07-17T23:27:32-05:00

john albrich said:

It's amazing how much many doctors in the US don't know squat about pain management.

It's amazing how many doctors don't know squat period. I had one doctor prescribe multi-vitamins for my Hep C once. And he was the GI Resident in charge of the whole Dept. They have since shut that hospital down for incompetence.

Re: Guys guys guys!

john albrich — 2008-07-17T23:19:46-05:00

FordGT90Concept said:

...They cause a lot of irritation while they are in there and they don't come out gently either.

Ouch! I can only imagine. (hope I didn't just jinx myself).

angryhippy said:

...Elavil is an antidepressant they sometimes prescribe for pain....

A number of other neurological and anti-seizure meds are so-called "synergistics". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synergy
Such drugs can be very helpful when used in combination with pain meds, but tolerance can vary greatly person to person. In addition to Elavil, you get drugs like Lyrica, Clonazepam (Klonopin), Tiagabine (Gabitril), Neurontin (gabapentin), Zonegran (zonisamide), and so on. While not explicitly specified for pain, a doctor (in the US) has the power to prescribe a drug for purposes other than the "approved" reason(s).

Fentanyl patches (e.g. Duragesic) also work great for some people. The patch stays on for something like 3 days.

It's amazing how much many doctors in the US don't know squat about pain management. A lot of them are also scared silly by the DEA or state drug agencies. These agencies usually don't give a damn about patient pain and instead harass doctors for prescribing narcotics regardless of the justifcation. See
http://www.painfoundation.org/

Re: Guys guys guys!

FordGT90Concept — 2008-07-17T21:53:53-05:00

angryhippy said:

You know Ford my kids mom had a stent put in her urethra to try and pass the stones.

After every operation, they leave a stent behind in the ureter to make sure it won't collapse. I really hate those things and every time, I'm counting down to when it comes out. They cause a lot of irritation while they are in there and they don't come out gently either. At least I'm drugged up enough for the first 24 hours not to really notice it but after that stuff wears off, it hurts.

angryhippy said:

Did you ever try the sound thing to break them up.

It doesn't break my kinds of stones up at all. The most it could do is shake them free inside of the kidney so they will come out instead of stay up there and grow larger. Without the laser, all they can do is grab the little stuff with a basket and pull it out.

angryhippy said:

Elavil is an antidepressant they sometimes prescribe for pain. Been around since 1956 so it has few sides and is safe. Not real strong though but using it to augment other pain killers works at bed time. Bit of a groggy wake up but not too bad and doesn't last too long.

I use Phenergan for nausea. Usually that stuff knocks me out for a good 10-16 hours. I don't take anything to help me sleep.

john albrich said:

Make sure the doctor knows that you understand the toxicity and danger of acetaminophen. Vicodin often contains 650mg of acetaminophen per tablet, whereas you can get a hydrocodone prescription that contains half as much acetaminophen (325mg). For example, my doctor had me on Vicodin 7.5/650, but agreed to switch me to 10/325 (I think brand name=Lortab) after we discussed the risks of liver toxicity.

I have only seen 5/500 and 7.5/500. That was from three different facilities too. It must be standard for kidney stones. XD

Re: Guys guys guys!

john albrich — 2008-07-17T21:43:46-05:00

Back on "topic"....I can just imagine Tam's response to the "JibJab" video Time for Some Campaignin' had it been showing at the time he placed his first post in this thread.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=r0Cwm_Rw8X0
http://www.jibjab.com/originals/time_for_some_campaignin

Re: Guys guys guys!

john albrich — 2008-07-17T21:36:13-05:00

angryhippy said:

...10/375? That's a pretty heavy hit. I'm only getting 5/500's. I'd be afraid of going higher than 5. If I take two at once my chest gets tight. It kind of scares me. I've died once from an overdose. I don't ever want to go there again.

That's another reason I like the 10/325's. The 10/325 tablets are scored for easy halving of the doses, thereby providing the ability to decrease the acetaminophen content even more. It also gives the patient more control over day-to-day management of both the opiate and the acetaminophen.

It sounds like you may be a bit more sensitive than many people, as a common starting dosage for pain management in the case of injury or surgery is 7.5/650 or even "Vicodin ES" (7.5/750) if I recall correctly.

Re: Guys guys guys!

angryhippy — 2008-07-17T21:16:42-05:00

The liver is a pretty amazing thing. My cirrhosis is almost gone since they killed off the Hep C. Each ultrasound report gets better and better. I'm in a pretty enviable position right now. My primary care doctor who prescribes my meds? One of his other patients is my liver doctor. 10/375? That's a pretty heavy hit. I'm only getting 5/500's. I'd be afraid of going higher than 5. If I take two at once my chest gets tight. It kind of scares me. I've died once from an overdose. I don't ever want to go there again. And you are right about the tylenol alcohol connection. It more than doubles the risk of damage as opposed to acetaminophen alone. Even in healthy people. I can't take the NSAIDs (aspirin, ibuprofin, naproxin) so I'm left with just the tylenol option.

Re: Guys guys guys!

john albrich — 2008-07-17T21:01:35-05:00

FordGT90Concept said:

Ah. My primary concern with pain pills (hydrocodone) is staying away from the daily acetaminophen max (4000mg) otherwise you'll liable to get liver damage...

A number of scientists and doctors believe that the maximum safe dose of acetaminophen is much lower, especially if your liver is already damaged.

I've seen total recommendations for a fully healthy person below 2000mg/day.

Here's a link to one item suggesting a max of 2900mg/day. That's 70% of the 4000mg dose!
http://ncpainmanagement.com/acetaminophen.htm

Liver damage appears to be accelerated with the consumption of alcohol.

Acetaminophen is included in many medicines and marketed under many different names (perhaps to intentionally keep the public confused and the brand names separated from the issue of drug toxicity?) If you take some cold, sleep, allergy, etc. Over-The-Counter meds, check the label for acetaminophen (and all the other aliases for the drug). Dosage is cumulative and taking these meds in combination with your usual prescribed dose can be dangerous. Liver damage due to acetaminophen is also cumulative over time so it makes sense to keep the doses the minimum needed to effectively manage pain.

If one is taking vicodin (or other high acetaminophen-content drug), then see if your doctor will prescribe an alternative with less acetaminophen. If not, consider seeing another doctor...it's that serious. Remember that doctors are compensated to prescribe certain brands and formulas over others.

Make sure the doctor knows that you understand the toxicity and danger of acetaminophen. Vicodin often contains 650mg of acetaminophen per tablet, whereas you can get a hydrocodone prescription that contains half as much acetaminophen (325mg). For example, my doctor had me on Vicodin 7.5/650, but agreed to switch me to 10/325 (I think brand name=Lortab) after we discussed the risks of liver toxicity.

Re: Guys guys guys!

angryhippy — 2008-07-17T20:12:41-05:00

I've got a bad liver from Hep C so the acetaminophen thing is an issue for me too. I try and save the Vicadin's for days when the pain goes from bad to really bad, so I don't build a tolerance. I have some other things I do for the pain, like Neurontin and Elavil. But, all kidding aside the one thing that assures me of a good nights sleep despite the pain is a big fat spliff before bed. But times are getting few and far between when I can afford it, which is pretty much never. But lots of friends know I'm a basket case and throw me down a bit here and there. I do have a prescription for pot, but the pot stores have all been getting busted by the feds even though it's legal with a scrip here in So. Cal.

You know Ford my kids mom had a stent put in her urethra to try and pass the stones. You ever heard of that? I had gall stones so I can empathize with your pain. Those things made me curl up in a fetal position and cry like a baby. It was worse than when I got stabbed in the stomach or when I got shot. I'd go to the ER and they would just hit me up with a lot of morphine to make me go beddy bye! Did you ever try the sound thing to break them up. Elavil is an antidepressant they sometimes prescribe for pain. Been around since 1956 so it has few sides and is safe. Not real strong though but using it to augment other pain killers works at bed time. Bit of a groggy wake up but not too bad and doesn't last too long.

Re: Guys guys guys!

FordGT90Concept — 2008-07-17T10:12:34-05:00

Ah. My primary concern with pain pills (hydrocodone) is staying away from the daily acetaminophen max (4000mg) otherwise you'll liable to get liver damage. With stones, there is a degree of pain that hydrocodone won't scratch. Often, I last many hours (4-12) at that level of pain before I either throw up or decide I can't take it any more. Then I end up in an ER. Usually they just sent me home with more drugs after I get over that hump. The last several times they put me under observation status right away and went pretty much directly from the hospital to surgery. Unfortunately, the damn MDs (except the one that performs the surgery) don't listen to me.

Like this last time, I told them it is "huge and high." What do they do? Run fluids through me like no tomorrow. They finally take a CT scan the next day to discovery it was exactly that: "huge and high." There was no freakin way I could pass it (2.0cm x 1.4cm) so effectively, a whole day was wasted using an IV. I didn't take any pain meds for over 24 hours too so they let me go home before surgery the next day.

Re: Guys guys guys!

angryhippy — 2008-07-17T08:51:45-05:00

FordGT90Concept said:

Juggernaut said:

I was supposed to be taking meds to lower my amount of stomach acid, as I was getting pretty bad chest pains, which was my stomach acid climbing my aesophagas ( wtf, spelling ) and burning a hole in the upper part. He said stress was causing it, but insisted I take medication for it....wtf?

I have the same problem. I take the meds though because there is no getting rid of the stress in my life. XD

Juggernaut said:

A lot of older people ( i am talking 70+ ) end up taking c**ktails of pills to counter other pills side effects etc. Just let natural selection take its course would you? If I am 70, living off meds, bound and restricted by them, I will use all of my energy resources, and skate off the Grand Canyon.

It's depressing, really. I don't want to know how many elderly died from reacting drugs. I know my grandfather-in-law had a close call on that one...

It's not just dying from the crap. They had me on a pain killer that didn't kill the pain, so I was poppin them like candy. Then they found out the crap had eaten a hole in my stomachs lining. Now I have to take acid pump blockers for the rest of my life. Pills for my pills. Thankfully they took me off those and put me on vicadin.Next week I'm gonna get some spinal epidural steroid injections (4 of them), so for a couple weeks I'm gonna be happyhippy. When I was on drugs I was never sick. Soon as I quit everything started falling apart. sigh...This getting old s**t is starting to get old.

Edit: I just saw the skating off the Grand Canyon thing. I can just see you going off the lip yelling "I'm the Juggernaut biiiiiiiittttttttttcccccccccch biiiiiiiittttttttttcccccccccch biiiiiiiittttttttttcccccccccch biiiiiiiittttttttttcccccccccch (thats supposed to be an echo lol)

Re: Guys guys guys!

Kieran Blenkarne — 2008-07-17T04:55:59-05:00

You put ur coffee pot in the oven?

Acid on the tongue, coffee in the oven, makes sense...

Re: Guys guys guys!

McFly — 2008-07-17T01:24:38-05:00

lol@Payton.

Re: Guys guys guys!

angryhippy — 2008-07-16T23:12:53-05:00

I wasn't going to comment, but after reading all this I decided I had to say something.

First of all, ummmm DAMN I forgot what I was going to say. Oh ya! Wait a minute. What were we talking about? Oh never mind... I think I left the coffee pot in the oven. GTG!