I had a dental implant procedure a few days ago. It went fine, the pain was slight, and while I am not enjoying living on puree, gargling with saltwater, polishing the implant with a q-tip, or foregoing my usual alcohol-free mouthwash, I’m more or less complying, or at least not aggressively defying these instructions. So far so good - no pain, practically no discomfort, no signs of infection, and zero concerns to date.
Anyway, I was given a scrip for Vicodin (or the generic, which is what I got), which I filled just in case, but I haven’t taken any.
When I look up Vicodin on the internet, it sounds like a pretty serious drug. So why was it prescribed for an implant that really didn’t hurt much? Is my dental surgeon too free with prescription meds? Or did I get lucky and have less pain than usual?
I’ve had a variety of procedures that came with prescriptions for Vicodin or codeine. I’ve never needed either and after several years of this just stopped filling them. It might be that we have higher pain thresholds than other people but it almost seems like the adult version of getting a lollipop after a visit to the dentist/doctor.
I’ve had doctors give me Vicodin prescriptions for kidney stone pain in the past. I only took the pills a handful of times, but each time I took one, I noticed that not only did it not seem to do as well at stopping the pain, but it also had a decreased effect on my awareness and wakefulness – the first time I took one, it knocked me out for hours, but by the fourth, I didn’t even feel a bit sleepy or woozy.
A decade ago, when I finally had my wisdom teeth removed, the oral surgeon was prepared to give me a Vicodin scrip, as well, but I told him that I seemed to have developed a tolerance for it. I described the above, and he said, “Yes, you’re right, that’s not a good choice for you now.” And, he gave me some other painkiller pill.
One script of vicodin isnt that serious- it’s when you get several then get addicted. Actually the tylenol does most of the heavy lifting for pain, but since you likely arent supposed to take NSAIDs, you might need something. It mainly lets you go to sleep, which is hard to do with dental pain.
Yeah, once in a while it turn ugly and man, then you need some pain relief.
Unlikely, especially if it was for a moderate number of pills that would last only a modest number of days. Hydrocodone is a narcotic but one of the lesser ones as far as danger of abuse.
Your dentist wanted you to be able to be comfortable if you had the most common amount of pain. You were lucky. If you’re not having any more procedures in the near future, take your unused Vicodin back to a pharmacy to be disposed of. Flushing them puts chemicals into the environment, as does throwing them in the trash. A pain, I know but everything counts. Glad to hear it didn’t hurt much-those implants are probably in my future.
Reminds me, I should have said - it was for 6 tablets.
Thanks for the comments so far! I’m beginning to think (at the ripe old age of 62) that I may be fortunate with respect to how my body experiences pain. I can’t think of more than 3-4 times in my life to date when the pain has been excruciating - dunno if that is usual or not.
Definitely your dentist was prescribing wisely. S/he was getting you through a day or two of pain, wisely not setting the stage for getting attached to the hydrocodone. If you had needed more days covered I’m sure the dentist would have prescribed more (people’s pain tolerance and responses vary greatly) but still stayed within reasonable parameters.
Fear not! Before the procedure, one of the dental surgeon’s staff told me that getting an implant is noticeably less unpleasant than having a tooth pulled. This reassuring bit of dental lore turned out to be true. (I’d just had a tooth pulled, so I’m in a position to compare.)
That sort of thing used to be a lot more common; doctors prescribed vicodin and similar drugs for any kind of acute pain greater than what a couple of ibuprofen could handle. Wisdom teeth, dental implants, minor surgeries, etc… Nowadays, they seem to give out less and less often than they used to.
That said, I think the deal with Vicodin and other opioids is that some people get some kind of unusually pleasant feeling from them, and therefore take them/seek them out. I’ve never had that- for me, they just kill the pain and make me sleepy/groggy. Enough to where if I’m not actually in pain, I’d rather not take them as they zonk me out. But for others it’s different I gather.
I don’t think so. They kill pain, and we’re talking small doses here too. You get problems when people are on them for too long and develop tolerances, and a particularly problem causer is abuse, taking them to get high. I usually end up with left over pain-killers, I can tell you that plenty of people never have that happen and I’m sure exaggerate their pain level just to get more. It is difficult to for someone to become addicted to pain-killers by accident, the medical provider will be over-prescribing and/or the patient will be abusing in the vast majority of cases.
Sure, but you have to have some kind of reason to keep on taking them. I’m like you- the times I’ve been prescribed that sort of thing, I’ve usually transitioned off to Tylenol or some kind of NSAID before the end of the prescription as the grogginess outweighs the pain relief at that point.
But for others, there’s SOME kind of reason they’d keep on taking them and even exaggerate pain levels to keep taking them- presumably they make them feel more than just groggy and pain-free.
With six pills, there’s no real chance of addiction or anything like that, you’re right.
I just did the extraction part of the implant and used three of the six Vicodin. And I got dry socket - so the Ibu/Acetaminophen was flowing freely. I may not be addicted, but I’m not sure I’ll have a liver.
I was given 30 hydrocodone for shingles. I took them as prescribed for the first two days, except for the first night when I double the dose then after that took them as needed. There was no addiction issues at all.
So it’s a dosage thing, not a personal chemistry thing? I mean, is it unlikely that the prescribed dose will get anyone high, but tripling up might? Or is it something where different people feel differently taking the same dosage?
I’m sure there are people with reactions far out of the ordinary for a particular dosage, but it is far more likely that people who develop problems will keep taking the drugs past the point they need it, and end up taking more than the prescribed dose. Why they do that must have a lot of answers, but I think it is very rarely a matter of inattention on their part. Sometimes it’s a doctor not paying attention and just keeping the prescription flowing. Sometimes it’s other issues in their lives that would leave them vulnerable to drug abuse of any kind.
I was curious because I’ve had low octane opioids prescribed several times, and never had the least bit of any sort of high or good feeling, other than pain relief and grogginess/drowsiness. So I’ve been somewhat perplexed how people get addicted to them- to me, they’ve always been something necessary, but actually a bit unpleasant because of the drowsy/groggy feeling.
That’s what I’m trying to get a handle on- did I just not take enough, or am I wired differently than those who get addicted?
Could be either couldn’t it? And getting a buzz isn’t the only thing people are after. A lot of drugs make people ‘feel better’ in many ways, blocking out depression and anxiety sometimes, inducing euphoria, or just putting people to sleep. If you keep looking for that kind of effect instead of just dealing with physical pain then you’ll find it when you take enough pills, at least for a while. And a lot of opiates work in this weird way where they sort of make you tolerate or even ignore pain instead of blocking it out. If they can do that to physical pain I’ll bet there’s a lot of mental anguish that can be avoided that way also.
I do believe the pain-relieving efficiency of opiods depends on personal chemistry. I’ve had (small) scripts for Vicodin before that have done nothing for my pain; Naproxen (Aleve) works better for me.
And, to echo what others have said, yes a small script for pain relievers is common for dental procedures. The real problem comes with long-term pain management.
