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After Surgery in Germany, I Wanted Vicodin, Not Herbal Tea

nytimes.com

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Re: After Surgery in Germany, I Wanted Vicodin, Not Herbal Tea

#2
Hi, I read your article and many of your experiences are - sadly - the normal behaviour with pain and pain killers in Germany. In the south of Germany even more than up in the north (from my experiences). But there is hope... I would recommand that you search for a new doctor - in the best case a young doctor fresh out of the university. The reason is simple. Pain management have only recently become a major topic in the professional training and myths and wrong behaviour are strong. younger doctors understand more and more that pain means stress and stress make sick and is a negative influence to the healing process. I hope that more and more doctors in Germany understand, that feeling pain is not a guide - it's a burden that nobody should carry. Wish you the best. Quazni (I hope my english is not as bad as I think it is.)

Re: After Surgery in Germany, I Wanted Vicodin, Not Herbal Tea

#4

Hi, I read your article and many of your experiences are - sadly - the normal behaviour with pain and pain killers in Germany. In the south of Germany even more than up in the north (from my experiences). But there is hope... I would recommand that you search for a new doctor - in the best case a young doctor fresh out of the university. The reason is simple. Pain management have only recently become a major topic in…

I think you completely failed to read between the lines - the article is a criticism of rapidly increasing number of people addicted to pain pills in US and their excessive consumption across the country.

Re: After Surgery in Germany, I Wanted Vicodin, Not Herbal Tea

#6

Hi, I read your article and many of your experiences are - sadly - the normal behaviour with pain and pain killers in Germany. In the south of Germany even more than up in the north (from my experiences). But there is hope... I would recommand that you search for a new doctor - in the best case a young doctor fresh out of the university. The reason is simple. Pain management have only recently become a major topic in…

I think you missed the point of the article.

Re: After Surgery in Germany, I Wanted Vicodin, Not Herbal Tea

#7
I had jaw surgery recently... while I wouldn't describe it as incredibly "painful", particularly since everything was numb (they have to slice through nerves for this procedure), it was really uncomfortable and stressful for a couple of days afterwards.

I wasn't at all ashamed to take percocet after the surgery. Could I have lived without them? Sure. Did they turn me into an instant addict? Of course not.

This story isn't about the crackdown on opioids since it sounds like it's more just a cultural thing in parts of Germany, but it does strike me that people experiencing legitimate pain are becoming casualties of our crackdown on "inappropriate" prescribing.

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