Why We Have an Opioid Problem

These are the meds I was giving for my hip replacement surgery...7 prescriptions!
Hydrocodone - opioid
Tramadol - "lesser" opioid
Meloxicam - anti inflammatory
Anti-nausea, Laxative, Stomach protector - all prescribed for the side effects to the prescriptions above 
Baby Aspirin - blood thinner for clot prevention

My husband, wanting to be helpful, picked them all up while I was in recovery.  Auto pilot because the doc said so.

There are OPTIONS for pain and inflammation!
Ice is good for numbing pain and is certainly a better choice than opioids but it does slow down the healing process if you're using it as an anti-inflammatory.
Kinesiology tape, massage therapy, elevation, CBD...all are options and are worthy of a conversation.

Should our goal in healing be ZERO pain?  If you keep "staying ahead of the pain," how do you know when you may be taking too many pills?

Overprescribing is so common and it's worth a conversation to at least get to know your options.  Please contact me or comment with any questions you may have!