I was surprised at how controversial the “Kelly Clarkson performed with appendicitis” story was, but that happens a lot with this job. Chronic appendicitis is real, I experienced it for months and my doctor confirmed that he’s seen many cases like mine. There are people who live with it and do not know the source of their pain and there are people, like Kelly, who know their appendix has to come out and take a calculated risk to have surgery at a convenient time. To recap that story, Kelly hosted and performed twice at the Billboard Music Awards last Sunday right before she was scheduled to have her appendix out. She was in pain for a week and chose to power through. Also, to the people who doubted her story because their appendix gave them more pain, everyone is different. I had an endometrial ablation and wanted to cry and curl up in a ball for weeks. I know a handful of women who had the same procedure and were back to normal within a few days.
One of the issues I have with surgeries and procedures is that I don’t tolerate pain medication. It turns out that Kelly is the same. She recently tweeted this:
Quick recap… recovering after surgery super duper sucks. Turns out I don’t “rest” well (so bored), pain meds make me feel a different kind of horrible 2 where I question if I’d just rather feel the pain instead, & 2 out of the 3 scars feel as if Lord Voldemort is always near 💁🏼♀️
— Kelly Clarkson (@kelly_clarkson) May 6, 2019
That’s an apt way to explain how pain meds can make you feel, “a different kind of horrible.” I’m like that with Oxycodone/Percocet. I can take a Tramadol for a little while as it’s not as strong but only up to two a day and not for more than a few days or I’ll get loopy. I’ve been taking CBD oil, as recommended by my hippie doctor, for a little over a week. (It’s somewhat of a legal gray issue, but CBD oil derived from hemp is legal nationwide.) It actually works to help alleviate pain and I would recommend it, as long as you find a reputable source. It makes me slow but it’s not as bad as pain medication and the side effects are minimal. I try not to take it on work days or nights before a busy day because it makes it harder to write. I don’t know how people live in chronic pain. Opiates are addictive and a lot of people don’t tolerate them well and the other pain management options are minimal.
Getting back to Kelly, she returned to The Voice just this Monday! She gave a video interview to Extra before the show. She said that many artists are tenacious and that her case is not unique. “I had been in contact with my doctors. I knew I was getting the surgery right after. One of my friends on stage [is a cancer survivor]. There are people doing way more heroic things. I was in throbbing pain it wasn’t bad until the end of the show because my adrenaline stopped.” She’s a badass but she’s not going to give herself credit for it.
photos credit: WENN and via Instagram
I hate pain meds too! I had horrific migraines (long story, but ultimately was tied to my teeth shifting), and preferred Advil over allll the different medication they kept prescribing. So many medications can mess with your emotions and leave you feeling off. I have minor elective surgery in a couple weeks and I’m already prepared to manage the pain with Advil vs. prescribed meds.
This is not a judgy comment, so if it comes out this way, I’M HONESTLY SORRY. I’m not American.
But I have the sense that US doctors prescribe really heavy pain meds when it’s not absolutely necessary. For having wisdom tooth removal, for example. I had them all removed on the same day because I just wanted to get it over with and there was no gas to knock me out (which isn’t common here), I think it was just a few lidocaine shots in the incision places. He gave me pain meds for 3 days and it was something more like ibuprofen than a stronger drug. Whenever I see comments in the news about painkiller addiction increasing in the US, I can’t help to think that maybe it’s because they are more commonly prescribed there than usual.
I’m American and you are absolutely right. The pharmaceutical companies have a stranglehold on doctors to push more drugs on their patients and now we have this explosion of prescription drug addictions. I read an article in the NYT a few years ago where old school psychiatrists here in the US have complained that they are being pushed into prescribing meds over using talk therapy (which the doctors are used to using more).
To reform health care here, there would need to be a huge reduction in the power of the pharmaceutical and insurance companies but they’re not going anywhere without a fight.
I am in the pharmaceutical industry in America and you are absolutely right. I do think doctors over prescribe, and some of that is due to the drug companies. But the prescribers are largely to blame- every day I encounter nasty doctors and nurses if we dare question the high dose of a medication. Prescribers (some) aren’t willing to change or do any due diligence to ensure responsible prescribing. Chronic pain patients and oncology docs aside.
I think you’re absolutely right. I’ve had a couple minor surgeries and high doses of Ibuprofen was enough to get me through although I did have some extremely painful moments. I guess I was able to push through it. I think people are afraid to feel any pain and doctors are more than willing to accommodate that. If I remember correctly, the New Yorker had a good article about Purdue Pharma and how docs were eager to give patients a quick fix so that they would not experience any pain. So misleading and ultimately devastating.
My husband had major surgery to fuse some herniated discs and asked to get off the pain meds within a few hours after waking up because he felt so sick and crazy from the pain meds. He said the pain was better than the meds made him feel. On the other hand, my son had severe pneumonia and morphine was the only thing that reduced the excruciating pain. He had no problem coming off it and the Norco, though, and switched to ibuprofen easily when the worst pain was over.
Also, I think athletic trainers and PTs would say that too many surgeries are recommended for issues that good be fixed with physical therapy. It takes work and commitment, though, and some people would rather have quicker fix.
You are absolutely right. When I had my appendix out two years ago, I felt fine afterward, and only used ibuprofen in recovery in the hospital. At discharge, they insisted on giving me an Rx for Norco, even though I said I didn’t need it.
And I am well aware of how addictive Norco is-I’ve had family members get hooked. No discussion about that from the nurse, no warning or advice to be cautious about using Norco if I chose to.
I threw the script out on my way out of the door.
I absolutely agree. I don’t know much about pain med prescription rates in other countries, but every time I have something done, it feels like I get a script for some type of pain medication. The migraine experience was the worst because I was obviously in severe, debilitating pain, and instead of digging for a root cause, they just kept prescribing more and more combinations to try to manage the pain and insisting that it was migraines.
Pain management is terrible in the US. I was fortunate to be able to advocate for myself, to have a good support system, and to have a fortune 50 employer who was very supportive during that process, but my neurologist and my GP were both adamant that it wasn’t dental related. I kept thinking it was. After my dentist and I did some tests and impressions, we figured out my bite had shifted. Four months of Invisalign, and boom. No more migraines. Ever. But if i had trusted my neurologist and GP, I would still be suffering and on awful medication that had horrific side effects.
I will say that costocondritis (sp.) is the one time I wanted all the morphine they would give me. That pain is worse that labor all day long.
I had all four of mine removed at once too. The enamel had broken off of one and it was just easier to pop them all out together. Took less than five minutes. After which I received a script for THIRTY lortab (Vicodin). 30! I took maybe 6 of them because I am not interested in having an opioid addiction. This was a year or two after getting 10 of them for motherfucking strep throat. Which I didn’t ask for. This is why we have an addiction crisis.
My personal experience matches what you’re saying. Years ago I had 2 minor dermatology surgeries, the first was to remove a small cyst on my arm. They gave me Oxy. I never took it, and only needed1 or 2 tylenols. I then had something lesser done, and the dr. asked if I wanted a pain prescription. I said no, not needed. HE WROTE ME ONE ANYWAY. WTF, right?
I switched doctors after that, it made me uncomfortable, and knowing what we know now, I probably would have reported him or something, because that is messed up.
I did have major surgery 2 years ago and was on powerful stuff, but felt really horrible on it and weaned off within a week.
I couldn’t imagine doing what she did while going through that. And her quote about rather feeling pain, made me emotional. She’s a very strong willed person.
She sounds out of her mind! Appendicitis needs immediate surgery if it isn’t to burst and become life-threatening peritonitis. I’m just stunned! Anyhoo…..glad she is recovering now; but phew! I don’t call that brave, it’s barmy, though of course she surely suffered badly….it’s just ill/advised and a bad example, really. Still, my next highly brainy remark is that I luuurve pain meds, and can I have everyone’s spares? I know they are much, much more stupid a choice than deferring an appendectomy, but I’d still take any I could get. (Sister morphine, hold my hand)
The opioid tragedy in America is still a far off thing over here (I’m only half serious about my own enthusiasm) but in spite of very much stricter doctors, these types of drugs are slipping into the mainstream, and it’s like we are helpless to halt it.
I get this. I was in horrible pain after both my C-sections and had to take my pain meds religiously, but after about a week after the second one I scaled back because I kind of wanted to feel the pain. I had some major scar tissue from my first section and I think part of it was because I did too much too soon, because the meds blocked some of the pain, which was the point, obviously. But so after the second I took more care to go slowly and to feel how my body was healing, which I think helped in the long run (at the time I was pretty sure I wanted a third baby, so I wanted to take extra precautions to reduce the scar tissue.)
They work for my sister, but they totally fog up her focus and sense of reality. It’s a really ugly trade off for the chronically ill to choose between functional pain versus functional cognition and addiction risk. If there was ever a prescription industry that needed more research, it’s chronic pain meds. People shouldn’t have to live like that.
This is a great point. The impact on memory is significant, and your thinking slows down. For people in fast paced work environments that require decision making abilities…. ugh.
I really wish she’d just keep her mouth shut, sometimes. I KNOW that she’s allowed to feel awful from pain meds, and I do know the feeling. But at the same time – there’s SUCH a hate on prescription pain medications and so many people GENUINELY need them.
I also suspect it’s a case of “hehehe I’m so special. I can’t be bothered to rest and follow drs orders because I’m a fancier, better human being than the rest of you. I’m special because I can just push through the pain – my life is so busy that I can’t POSSIBLY imagine resting even though I’m complaining about the pain in the scars that would likely feel better if I DID in fact rest and stop putting stress on them”.
When you have chronic pain, there’s at least a good portion of your life where you certainly aren’t questioning whether you’d just rather be in pain.
Percocet doesn’t agree with my stomach, and I’ve power puked from it after being released from a kidney stone hospital trip. Tramadol made me really nauseated the first week or so that I had to take it and it was rough. But I adapted as much as I could – take them before bed. Take them with food. Take them with a half of a gravol.
There are certainly a ton of people who abuse prescription drugs – but I do worry about the complications that will be forced on people who really really need them when everyone is so quick to make them seem unnecessary or that they shouldn’t be something accessible to those that need it.
Lots of projection in your comment.
Oh, I don’t doubt it. But it’s also mixed in with me disliking her in general. The whole “I spank my children” debacle despite all of the evidence showing that spanking IS detrimental to children and doubling down on it really formed those opinions for me.
But it’s also tainted by over a decade of being in pain and not having the luxury to just not follow what my Drs are telling me to do. I did state that I understand that she’s allowed to have her opinions – it’s just that this sort of thing undermines people who are genuinely struggling. Her comments about the drugs are similar to the people who say “ugh I CAN’T take antidepressants because they make me SO sick” after trying them for a week and not allowing their bodies to adjust. It promotes a continuing stigmatization around prescription drugs that SO many people legitimately need, while tooting one’s own horn for being able to rise above pain that not everyone can. I have a low pain threshold – but a very high tolerance. Allodynia is a bitch of a symptom. I’ve had to work in way more pain than what would probably be considered healthy – but I don’t make a big deal of that. It’s just the only option I have sometimes. And I don’t look down on the people who have to go home for a minor cold, or anything like that because everyone’s experience with pain is different.
But if she’s in THAT much pain and saying that she CAN’T relax like the Dr’s want her to – she’s furthering this idea that people should just push through it.
@ Erinn
“ugh I CAN’T take antidepressants because they make me SO sick” after trying them for a week and not allowing their bodies to adjust.
It’s not your body that adjusts with antidepressants it your brain chemistry.
Excuse me if I don’t want to be the guinea pig of big pharma and jack with my brain chemistry to deal with anxiety. My anxiety has at times taken over my life and I would have given any material thing in the world to find the “easy fix” pill. However after years of meds (yes, I’ve tried them all) I found that long term results only came when I changed my lifestyle (eating and exercising habits) and my thought/reaction process (through therapy). I also refused the fen-fen (sp) my doctor prescribed for me when I had trouble losing weight after my pregnancy. See how that turned out for those that let their body adjust to taking it! Big pharma may be useful in many ways but bottom line, they are out for one thing only big money.
I don’t want to say that you don’t have a right to your opinion, I just think you are taking your frustrations out on a celebrity who simply stated her own opinion. I also feel that you should be mad at Dr’s and Med companies too as they have perpetuated the culture of drug dependency that makes it that much harder for people like you who need the pain therapy and meds to get the very meds that you need to live. It’s a terrible cycle that isn’t getting any better with all these regulations and laws. In my opinion. Sorry if I was harsh, not my intention. I do feel for your situation I’ve just always had the opposite problems you have had.
Erinn I feel you! I take a very low dose of adderall 5 mornings a week. It has changed my life. I can function! It’s not an hourly battle to quiet my mind and do one thing at a time! But it’s a runaround to get them. And pharmacists treat me like I’m drug-seeking. Last time I needed a prescription refill I couldn’t get it because my prescription was EXPIRED, as in I hadn’t even taken my pills in the allotted time because I take them as little as possible and almost never take the second daily dose that I am prescribed. But oh my lord if the pharmacist didn’t treat me like a drug addict… it was embarrassing how she spoke to me. I had to drive to my Dr office and get the new prescription, they won’t call it in.
People abuse adderall like crazy and it makes it hard for those of us for whom it is a life changing prescription that we use to function like other normal people.
Ah Charlie, I had the same issue. I take Dexedrine for adult add – I typically only take it during the work week and tend to forget on the weekends despite trying to remember. I’ve made a point to try to take it every day, because I have had them run out on me before needing the refill, and because it’s probably better to have it in my system regularly. I’m lucky to know my pharmacist on a personal level, so I’ve avoided that kind of interaction, but it always feels like such a hassle. Last time I was at the Dr I misread the expiry on my pills, so I said I was good for another refill, but it had JUST passed. So I had to call my dr up to get a new prescription, and where it’s the narcotics pad I had to physically go get it instead of having it faxed to the pharmacy. I apologized profusely since I had JUST had an appointment and messed up the dates, but the office admin laughed and told me that they have people in every 2-3 weeks who still leave without the prescriptions they need so I’m doing pretty good.
At the end of the day, people suck haha. I understand why people are worried about the epidemic – and they should be. But there doesn’t seem to be the necessary interest in getting to the root of the problem and would rather bandaid it by making people who need these drugs jump through hoops.
Im sorry Charlie and Erinn.. I’m a pharmacist and I try really hard to never treat anyone this way. Its a good reminder to see your comments to remind myself to try and be better. You should never be treated like an abuser. On the flip side, not excusing their behavior at all, I personally just had a visit from the DEA who basically checked all our dispensing history and it was brutal! The heat pharmacists are under right now is unbelievable.. it almost makes you afraid to fill prescriptions sometimes. Regardless, its no way to treat a person.
Yes, the struggle is very real ~
I’m living with Stage 4 breast cancer that has left me with some horrific side effects. I take one, maybe two Norco per day to live with the debilitating pain of lymphedema and neuropathy. Without it, I’d be completely non-functional.
Sometimes the flaming hoops I have to jump through to get my meds refilled is humiliating. I’m a former practicing RN and completely aware of how all this works.
But due to the Opioid problems in this country, it has made patients like myself be treated with such disrespect.
I also have a disabled placard for my car as well; I don’t “look” sick and get snide remarks often.
It’s hard enough trying to survive as long as I can; it just makes a bad situation worse trying to navigate my situation with some compassion.
Erinn thank you, this needs to be said. I made a throwaway joky remark about loving pain meds but the truth is, it’s them or no life or mobility for me. (Opiates do suit or complete my brain chemistry, it’s true)
I definitely suffer, via my doctor, from the institutional fear of good opiates that is the culture now, and have to take inferior opioids instead. If I were taking morphine I’d be much healthier, no question about it. Modern compounds are by and large cynical mixtures with inbuilt misery, but they are the money makers, and we are trapped. At least we should be free to obtain what is available, and not be constantly looked on askance by persons who have no business judging in the first place, but who see themselves as holding power
*rant rant*
I kind of get this.
Like, I’m not going to heroically endure pain if I don’t need to, but if I’m going to take them, I like it to be for as short a duration as possible and then I want it out of my system.
I love how Kelly has upped her style game over the past year. The Balmain didnt work but the McQueen looked beautiful on her. But shes probably yoyo dieting which isnt really healthy.
When I was in hospital I absolutely loved how whenever I got the first pinpricks of pain from my incision I could just press that buzzer & the nurse would come & top up tha antipain meds. No idea what they were tho. Plus I was only in for a week.
I had an emergency open appendectomy a year and a half ago. I never bothered to fill the prescription they gave me afterwards. I was still in huge amounts of pain, but I don’t like the way the pain meds make me feel. Also, I thought it was funny that all the doctors I saw at the hospital were all, take the pain meds! While the nurses all said if I could make it without the pain meds to do it.
But that story is really just so I can say always buy travel insurance! My appendectomy occurred hundreds of miles from home on thanksgiving day. We were going to an island that requires a ferry to get to, and I only agreed to stop at the emergency room because I knew ferry service would be limited. (I had no idea it was appendicitis). My insurance (UHC) denied any coverage because I was out of network, and I got a 26k bill from the hospital. I imagine after a lot of fighting I could have gotten my insurance to pay for it, but we’d bought travel insurance and they ended up paying the entire bill without a fight. So buy travel insurance! And don’t have surgery on thanksgiving because then you only eat ice chips all day!!
I broke my arm clean in half a few years ago. I dislike oxy as it makes me itch and feel weird, but damn it was the only thing that cut the pain. I went to Advil right when I could, though. I guess some of us are not as tough as others.
I’m the same as Kelly. I can’t stand the way pain meds make me feel, to me it’s worse than pain. I’m also a chronic pain sufferer so my tolerance for pain has gotten pretty high I guess.
I would rather endure a short amount of extreme pain than a week on pain meds.
Where it gets tricky is sleeping through the pain. After my c section I took the oxy they gave me just at night so I could sleep. Waking up was hell, same after my tonsillectomy, but at least it was REAL hell and not the bizarre, sickeningly dreamlike state of vagueness that pain meds put me in. I lose myself and all sense of reality.
My dad was on lots of opioids towards the end of his battle with ALS and cancer. I thanked the universe for opioids at that point, when I would see my beloved Dad having moments of peace and rest. They are a true god send for some circumstances. And they made my Dad feel more calm and accepting of what was happening. So I would never say they shouldn’t be used. Everyone is different and every circumstance is different.
Opiates killed my mother. In the early 2000’s the docs would prescribe them long term. Of course she became tolerant so he upped her dose over the course of years. She was constantly high, never remembered anything, either slept for days, or didn’t sleep for days. She never bought illegal drugs, everything was prescribed by the same doctor. One night we are guessing she forgot she took them and took a second does. Or she did it on purpose. We will never know. I tried to convince her she had no idea how much pain she was still in because she was an addict. But she was from the generation that think doctors know all. I hate opiates. I tore my meniscus and wouldn’t take the prescription. My husband was same after ACL surgery. I won’t even have them in my house.
So sorry about your Mom. May she rest in peace. All I can say is follow the news. Especially NYPost regularly reporting both doctors & pharma CEOs going to jail.
Im so sorry aang, that is a terrible thing to have to go through. Sometimes people dont realize that accidental overdoses are a real problem, as well as accidental addiction. Hugs.
I hate how I feel on pain meds, too. They don’t seem to do anything but make me feel foggy. The strongest I will take is some ibuprofen. I like using heat or ice for some pain relief.
Years ago I had gallbladder surgery. I had let things go for so long surgery was required. I went home with a bottle of Oxycodone. I came across the bottle recently and was surprised the bottle had contained 40 pills which is a lot. They never affected me the way others have revealed, except to relieve the pain. All told I took eight and never needed any after that. But I’m still surprised so many were prescribed.
Oh Ibuprofen that’s a novel idea said no one with chronic debilitating pain ever. 🙄
Not a comment on Kelly’s comment but disposal. Several commenters have noted leftover meds. Just a reminder that when you decide to dispose of them, please, if at all possible, do not flush down the drain/toilet or throw in the trash. Contact your local police department, pharmacy or hospital, most have drug take back programs, no questions asked, with secure drop boxes.
Yes yes yes. Very important.
Most police stations here have disposal available, and have special event days to draw attention to it.
I once helped an elderly person in her home after a hurricane, and rounded up enough medication to fill a pharmacy. Seriously I’ve never seen so many prescription bottles in my life. And she wanted me to throw it all away in the trash! I refused and told her she had to dispose of them properly through the police dept.
Any pharmacy in |Ontario will take back any drugs.
I’ve also seen pill take back bins at CVS. My vet also has one for pet meds!
I’ve had two surgeries and never took the post-op vicodin the doctors prescribed me. I gave birth with no drugs because I do not tolerate pain meds at all. I also get migraines and have foregone prescriptions for Excedrin and tears because I’m terrified of the side effects. I don’t say any of this as a badge of honor. The truth is, pain meds make me sweaty, nauseous, dizzy and my heart race. I totally recognize there are cases where pain is so unbearable not even morphine does the trick (watched my dad die from cancer), and I pray I never have to be in that situation. Until (hopefully NEVER) then, I suck it up.
I tolerate pain meds and drugs in general pretty well so it doesn’t click with me that other people don’t like pain meds. I had a ruptured lumbar disc a few years ago that was causing severe sciatica for months before I had surgery and was given lots of oxy. I was very mindful of it because my high school had a huge heroine problems so I’ve always been careful with opiates, but I still like them, quite a bit. Getting IV morphine in the ED once for this issue was the best high I’ve ever felt.
I have other pain issues because I have really big boobs therefore chronic back pain and I manage it with weed and CBD. I would recommend CBD to anyone. Right now it’s the wild west with cannabis and its derivatives so if you can get CBD I would recommend trying it before capitalism ruins it.
You know what’s funny about CBD? It put my ass on the couch! Zero motivation, zero drive, my house was messy and I was ordering takeout for my family way too often.
I was that classic “pothead, stoner”’stereotype! I suddenly realized this had all started when I had started taking CBD oil for my chronic pain, at the recommendation of my sister who loves it. I stopped taking it and I was back to my normal busy self. I wish it would have worked out better because the pain relief from it was great.
For me I need CBD with the THC, it works together and I’m productive and chill. CBD alone is alllll the chill. It’s crazy how substances affect everyone so differently. My sister and several friends do not have this “couchlock”’symptom at all from CBD.
I have severe UC and as a burlesque performer, very often perform in pain. Adrenaline and nerves mask it pretty well but as soon as the show is over I’m done. Takes me a day or so to recover.
How come you never post my comments?
Pain meds make me sick to my stomach. Like someone above, a dentist tried to give m out for wisdom tooth removal, I said nope and found a new dentist. This one told me to alternate Tylenol and Naproxen as needed, I was actually fine and didn’t need anything, the most annoying part was not being able to open my mouth wide enough to get food in.
I’m the same, anything related to an opiate makes me nauseous and vomit (A LOT) even when I take anti-nausea/vomiting meds ahead of the pain killer. I’ve tried different ones, all awful, my body just can’t tolerarate them.
Me too. Not crazy about pain meds. I had a few surgeries and was given oxycodone or morphine. Feels good at first but then I feel very weird. I don’t like the sensation of being as high as a kite. Stopped taking my pills. I guess there are some people who’ll never get addicted.
I have awful issues with chronic pain (it was FINALLY diagnosed as Ehlers-Danlos), which I manage with compression gloves, heating pads, a TENS unit, low-dose Naltrexone, and CBD (thanks, California!). I’m really into legalizing and destigmatizing marijuana because I feel it would save a LOT of people from opioid addiction. (My mother came very close to dying from a Fentanyl overdose — a nurse accidentally left an old patch on when applying a new one. That stuff is lethal.)
Pain management is our blind spot as a society, and we badly need to find other ways to treat pain.
Completely agree Jenn, if dope were legal everywhere, the draw to opioids would plummet (as would crime) It kills me to know that it’ll be legalised after I’m gone, and meanwhile I can’t obtain it but have to take dangerous, addictive, and nasty substitutes, for chronic pain.
btw I’m about to try LDN too. I’m so thrilled by the research!
I’m in awe of all these “I hate taking pain meds” comments. Oh how I wish I could say that. I was addicted to them for a good ten years, finally got off of them about a year ago with the help of suboxone and a family doctor who refused to give up on me. But getting to that point was agonizing. I was prescribed percocet after my c-section, and that was it for me. That’s the way I wanted to feel all the time. They gave me energy, made me feel euphoric, boosted my mood like you wouldn’t believe. I fell in love with that feeling. But as the years went by I needed more and more to feel good, then to feel ok, then to keep from feeling absolutely miserable–withdrawal is the closest I’ve ever been to Hell. And when I think of how many thousands of dollars I spent over the years on pills…just unbelievable. I managed to be a “functioning addict” and hold down a professional job the whole time, but I was a mess inside. Making the transition to not getting high was a tough one, as it had been my “normal” for so long. And to be honest I still miss it. But I don’t miss that awful hold they had on me, and that awful, sickening fear each time I’d be close to running out. To be free of that is a huge blessing. I wish I could turn back time and throw away that first refill.
I’ve never been into pain meds and have always done cannabis for pain management. Even before it was legal in my state I would rather do cannabis than prescription pain killers. My mom was a drug counselor and the things I learned…cannabis should be legal federally.