Would a pill work faster if you grind it up first?

[thedoc]

When it comes to pain management you don't fuck around with your own creative ideas, mate. Such management is specific to each individual case and there are experts who specialise in exactly this field. Do yourself a favour and trust them.

When I had my defibrillator installed, I came out of the operation and the hospital gave me a tylenol based pain killer, when I complained that it wasn't having any effect the one doctor stated "but it's the strongest pain killer we have". I said again that it wasn't having any effect and they changed me to hydrocodone and the pain was immediately reduced. Sometimes hospitals and doctors go by what is most common, rather than what is specific to a particular patient, I need to be careful to let them know when a particular medication has no effect.

Tylenol??? Is that acetominophen (paracetamol)? Hardly a strong pain killer.
Did it have any codine in it. I use "paracodamol" which is 500mg of "Tylenol", with 30mg of Codeine per pill. Two of these babies will strangle off any pain.

Apparently this was a prescription grade pain killer based on Tylenol, but I don't know what else it might have had in it, that was about 5 years ago. The other thing I have found is a morphine drip seems to work really well, and I have never had any inclination to addiction. Hydrocodone is the other painkiller that seems to work, aspirin works as well but my cardiologists have said I should never take aspirin, so that's out.

[Obvious Leo]

It seems that my advice has been misunderstood although I thought I'd expressed myself clearly enough. When I suggested that we trust the medical profession and heed their advice I was referring specifically to pain management, which is a specialised field all of its own. I also pointed out that no two human bodies respond in the same way to the same treatment and that a particular pain management regime needs to be tailored to each individual. Medical professionals are not omniscient and they rely on feedback from patients to fine tune their treatment schedules. Most pain management experts are aware of the fact that the human body has a remarkable capacity to heal itself with only minimal pharmacological intervention and these are the ones we should be listening to. Exchanging chronic pain for a chronic addiction is bad medicine but there is no valid medical reason why anybody should have to endure chronic pain for an extended period.

[Hobbes' Choice]

It seems that my advice has been misunderstood although I thought I'd expressed myself clearly enough. When I suggested that we trust the medical profession and heed their advice I was referring specifically to pain management, which is a specialised field all of its own. I also pointed out that no two human bodies respond in the same way to the same treatment and that a particular pain management regime needs to be tailored to each individual. Medical professionals are not omniscient and they rely on feedback from patients to fine tune their treatment schedules. Most pain management experts are aware of the fact that the human body has a remarkable capacity to heal itself with only minimal pharmacological intervention and these are the ones we should be listening to. Exchanging chronic pain for a chronic addiction is bad medicine but there is no valid medical reason why anybody should have to endure chronic pain for an extended period.

The medical profession can only point the way and show the sign posts. You have to figure it out for yourself.
Pain is the ultimate Quale.

[Obvious Leo]

The medical profession can only point the way and show the sign posts. You have to figure it out for yourself.

I very much agree, as would any pain management specialist. However this is a mature branch of medical science with a rigorous methodology and the good exponents of it know quite well how to interpret the signs which the patient is subjectively experiencing. It is also perfectly true to say that there is such a thing as a pain threshold. Some people simply feel pain more acutely than others, and like all qualia this is unmeasurable. For instance I've suffered from chronic arthritis pain since I was in my twenties but it never seems to have got much worse over the years even though I haven't taken any medication for it in decades. I can truthfully say that most of the time I've become that used to it that I honestly don't notice it any more.

[Dalek Prime]

Well, all I can say is, if I'm dying and in pain, I'm going to experiment the heck out of painkillers. And if I end up killing myself doing so, I was going to die anyways, so no biggy.

[thedoc]

The medical profession can only point the way and show the sign posts. You have to figure it out for yourself.

I very much agree, as would any pain management specialist. However this is a mature branch of medical science with a rigorous methodology and the good exponents of it know quite well how to interpret the signs which the patient is subjectively experiencing. It is also perfectly true to say that there is such a thing as a pain threshold. Some people simply feel pain more acutely than others, and like all qualia this is unmeasurable. For instance I've suffered from chronic arthritis pain since I was in my twenties but it never seems to have got much worse over the years even though I haven't taken any medication for it in decades. I can truthfully say that most of the time I've become that used to it that I honestly don't notice it any more.

I would comment on this one point. When My daughter had appendicitis the doctor said, later, that her condition was much more advanced than they expected. apparently she endures pain better than others so her assessment of the pain was not accurate with what the doctors expected.

[Obvious Leo]

I would comment on this one point. When My daughter had appendicitis the doctor said, later, that her condition was much more advanced than they expected. apparently she endures pain better than others so her assessment of the pain was not accurate with what the doctors expected.

This can be quite a problem for paramedics who often need to make on the spot decisions regarding pain relief for patients. Some patients will obviously exaggerate their pain level but there are also those who tend to understate it and this can create problems when it comes to triage in emergency wards where treatments need to be assigned a priority.

[Hobbes' Choice]

Well, all I can say is, if I'm dying and in pain, I'm going to experiment the heck out of painkillers. And if I end up killing myself doing so, I was going to die anyways, so no biggy.

Makes sense to me.
And no "pain management specialist" (whatever the fuck that is) is going to get in the way.

[Obvious Leo]

And no "pain management specialist" (whatever the fuck that is)

A pain management specialist is a medical professional who specialises in the field of pain management.

[Dalek Prime]

And no "pain management specialist" (whatever the fuck that is)

A pain management specialist is a medical professional who specialises in the field of pain management.

Okay, you just earned your online moniker lol!

[Bill Wiltrack]

.





.................................................................................. Grinding-up pills.







.

[Obvious Leo]

And no "pain management specialist" (whatever the fuck that is)

A pain management specialist is a medical professional who specialises in the field of pain management.

Okay, you just earned your online moniker lol!

There's a lot to be said for keeping it simple but such specialists do exist. My wife works in the area of palliative care and liases closely with a number of them. In this country they are usually attached as consultants to the hospital system but there are also those who operate in private practice on referral from either general practitioners or other specialists.

[thedoc]

A pain management specialist is a medical professional who specialises in the field of pain management.

Okay, you just earned your online moniker lol!

There's a lot to be said for keeping it simple but such specialists do exist. My wife works in the area of palliative care and liases closely with a number of them. In this country they are usually attached as consultants to the hospital system but there are also those who operate in private practice on referral from either general practitioners or other specialists.

I would hope that someone would have taken everything into account for me when I went into the hospital for a serious attack of diverticulosis, I've had attacks before and except for the first one, usually was diagnosed and prescribed some antibiotics that cleared things up. this time I knew that it was serious and needed to go to the hospital. While there the physicians focused on the diverticulosis and ignored everything else, so I was misdiagnosed as dehydrated and because of my normally low blood pressure, some of my heart medications were withheld. I bloated up with #15 of extra water and after discharge my defibrillator went off because the hospital staff withheld some of my medication. From now on every time I need to go into the hospital, I will be sure that all my physicians are consulted for my treatment.

[Obvious Leo]

I presume you live in the US, doc. My thoughts are with you because it's the last place in the world where I'd want to be if I got seriously ill while I was down to my last million bucks, (which I am.) Many third world countries have health systems which I would place far greater confidence in.

[Scott Mayers]

I think in some cases, it would. I'm sure some members would point out some risks to this method.

PhilX

Pills are usually, but not always, designed to take whole for specific reasons. For some chemicals require things like 'delay' prior to being absorbed or to require targeted chemical initiators to 'unlock' them in targeted parts of the digestive tract. So take them as prescribed (if they are), as they can potentially be ineffective or even potentially hazardous. Only unless you are trying to exploit the drug for non-prescribed uses may crushing pills have the 'desired' effect you are seeking.