I grew up in the dawn of this new century when the dangers of
recreational drugs were starting to surface. You couldn't go a month in health
class without being shown diagrams and statistics of the horrible life you
would surely lead if you even sampled any of this illegal street fare.
I remember debating with a fellow 13 year old about marijuana. I
couldn't tell you a pot plant from a dandelion but I fought my case with conviction
that smoking the poison would surely ruin life as you knew it!
As we got older the drugs we were warned against suddenly got
equally deadlier and more accessible. We were signing pledges to not sniff
aerosol cans, overdose on cough medicine, or mix up a big ol' batch of meth
with household cleaners.
All the while I was at home popping narcotics to ease the pain
from my interstitial cystitis. I’m sure high school health classrooms everywhere
now have life size posters with giant red slashes warning this decade’s kid
against the very drugs I was regularly taking… I should point out, after taking heavy
narcotics for 10 years I still don’t get the allure of taking them just for fun…
My pain meds have always been closely monitored by my mom. (She
must have heard the thing about taking one pill and next thing you know you're
living on the street next to a hooker named Davenport.) We had long
discussions weighing the good and bad before every dose I took. She never let
me stay home alone when I was "under the influence" and she kept my
medicine bottles in her bathroom. It wasn't that she didn't trust me... It was
just that... Well I'm not sure... There was definitely a good reason.
Over the last 10 years and 20 surgeries I have been on Vicodin,
Percocet, Dilaudid, Fentanyl, Morphine, and even had an Opium suppository
before a DMSO treatment. Thanks to my Mom’s incessant lectures and
completely thought through decisions I learned to respect the drugs, not to
take advantage of them, to use them sparingly and only when absolutely
necessary.
Five years ago after an especially treacherous surgery, I
stopped taking pain meds suddenly when the pain seemed better and I had three
days of intense withdrawals. Hallucinations, vomiting, shivering, sweating, the
whole shebang. I have also learned to wean.
Through all the years of taking different pain medications I had
never found my perfect narcotic match. The drug that I could carry around and
take in case my pain appears out of nowhere and a shower is not accessible. The
pill that I could take without taking an antinausea pill or vomiting. The
medicine that takes the edge off but doesn't make me fell fuzzy and
drugged.
Until now! It’s called Nucynta… Of course it's pretty expensive
and so new that there isn’t a generic yet but it's magical and totally worth it!
It doesn't make me nauseous or constipated. It helps the pain without sending
me directly to sleep. It does make me feel a bit drugged but I can manage to
still do most things. (I haven't tried driving while on it yet, for the safety
of others!)
I had another cystoscopy with hydrodistention and Botox
procedure on Monday and it’s been an expected hard recovery. The pain in my
urethra from the catheter has been excruciating and my sad bladder just aches
from being poked, prodded and literally stretched beyond capacity! BUT,
thanks to my new wonder meds its actually been tolerable.
I am in no way advertising the glories of narcotics! I hate them.
I take them as seldom as possible. Unfortunately there are times in an IC
captured life that pain medication is a necessary evil. This particular blog is
really just for my fellow IC sufferers that struggle with pain as a main
symptom. Debating the merits of narcotics isn't an enjoyable topic for me but I
have to share the news about this drug in the hope that it will help others the
same way it has helped me.
Side note… I was telling my sister about this blog post and she
asked why I named it Crack is Whack. I replied smartly that it was about drugs.
She then informed me crack is a specific type of drug… who knew? I thought
crack was just a term for drugs… Apparently I didn’t pay that close of
attention in Health class… Anyway it’s still a fun title…
