Dental Surgery

[flex]

Have him tell his dentist that he's in recovery and he needs a pain killer that's not addictive. Have him be proactive.

[flex]

I've had that conversation with my own doctors whenever I've had surgery, which hasn't been too terribly often since I got sober. It's been my experience that docs are happy to work with people in recovery.

you have good reason to be concerned about your H and painkillers. Many of the people I know who were (or still are) in recovery had "slips" which started with misuse of their pain meds, which lead to drinking again.

[malibu]

Aug 25, 2015 13:46:39 GMT -5 lucybrown said:

I survived a root canal/extraction with a combo of ibuprofen and tylenol.  Obviously they numbed it up with something else in the office, but afterward I had no need for narcotics.  The oral surgeon didn't even offer them.  They made me take an 800 mg of ibuprofen before I left, but I drove myself home.  

Beyond that, I agree with the advice of your husband asking about non-addictive pain options.  Good luck!

Not an addict, but I can say that I was given Vicodin after two root canals last fall one week apart. The Vicodin did nothing for me. It was ibuprofen that did the most damage on the pain. Agree with the others that he should definitely mention his need for a non-addictive medication to the dentist/oral surgeon, but honestly, he'll probably be fine with Advil/Tylenol.

[moolarkey]

Had a root canal 2 weeks ago. They numbed it with a local, did the root canal. I took ibuprofin and was fine.

I went in for the temporary crown on that tooth yesterday. They numbed me with a local for that work.

In 2 weeks I go back for the permanent crown, they will not numb me for that. I don't expect to need to take anything.

If they can fill his cavities rather than pull the bad teeth then they will numb with a local. He probably can just use ibuprofin if he needs anything and he might not, I haven't.

If they have to pull teeth then he may need something stronger than ibprofin as the anesthetic wears off.

The only time I've ever taken something stronger than ibuprofin after dental work was when I had my wisdom teeth removed.

You probably know this but they won't do all the work in the same visit? The root canal might be done by your dentist or they may send him to an endodontist. The root canal will probably also mean a crown and that will be in 2 visits after the root canal. The dentist will probably do the crown work.

Your dentist may extract the tooth or he might send him to an oral surgeon, most likely he'll do it himself.

If you have dental insurance check to see how much they cover. My insurance only covers 50% of the crown and all but $200 of the endodontist.
A friend's insurance covers 80% of the crown. It does vary.



The root canal will

[Mashara]

I've only used ibuprofen for multiple dental root canals, surgeries, and braces. The big thing to remember about pain is that you have to stay ahead of it. So make sure he takes some ibuprofen and has it in his system just BEFORE the procedure. Then take doses as prescribed.

[flex]

Aug 25, 2015 13:03:11 GMT -5 @peggyolson said:

H needs major dental work, pending a second opinion. First dentist mentioned multiple cavities, a root canal and an extraction.

Wtf does he do about pain killers? I'm honestly totally fucking terrified of him taking any type of narcotic. I don't want him to be in pain obviously but I have a pit in my stomach even thinking about it.

He's coming up on four years clean in December.

Hi Peggy,

How did it go with your H's dental work?

[sigir]

How did any of you guys handle major surgery and pain killers? I have to get a histerectomy and bladder surgery and am probably going to have it next year. From what I hear it's a painful recovery.

[flex]

I had a c-section when I was 5 years sober. I told the doctors that I was in recovery, so whatever they gave me (this was 22 years ago) worked but didn't make me goofy or give me an urge to use. Like I said in a previous post, caregivers are only too happy to help you out and work with you if you let them know you're in recovery ahead of time.