Broke the collar bone tonight

[chupathingie]

Years ago, I had surgery on my throat. My doc prescribed a diet of slim-fast and sent me home with a 16oz bottle of liquid codeine solution. I supplemented that diet with beer. I’d dose for the pain, and after the first day I doubled the dose. I was still hurting. Then I tripled it. Eventually, I skipped dosing altogether and just turned the bottle up every few hours and swallowed a full mouth of it. I still hurt, but I didn’t care anymore. I stayed at that level until the bottle went dry, then had to explain to the doc why I’d gone through what was intended to last 3 weeks in about 5 days. I told him that no matter how much I took, I still hurt, and that the dosage that gave me relief was basically “drink until blotto”. I also told him that the high for the first 2-3 days was awesome, but that now I could hardly stand the mental fog anymore but it was better than the pain.

He wrote me 2 more refills, which I killed off at about the same pace as the first. I’m not cut out to be an opiate junkie, but I think I’m a minority. That stuff would drive me unpleasantly insane with extended use.

[chupathingie]

That “otherwise occupied” feelling is a also good part of why I enjoy long road trips.

That’s a good way to put that. most people dread the idea of 12+ hours x-country. I do them solo, since my wife is one of the above dreading types. I’d much rather have a carful or a damn convoy LOL

[fluffybunny]

There’s something about forced down-time, isn’t there? I think, for me at least, that it’s the complete guiltfree-ness of it; I mean, you literally could not be doing anything else productive during that stretch of time so you might as well just sit back and enjoy the ride, so to speak. That “otherwise occupied” feelling is a also good part of why I enjoy long road trips.

So much this. It’s the main reason I go back to the desert (or forest or mountains or ad infinitum) repeatedly. It cleanses my soul.

[CauseISaidSo]

most people dread the idea of 12+ hours x-country. I do them solo

We lived in NC for most of the kids’ early lives so it was an 18 hour drive home for Christmas. When they were younger, we’d head out about 11PM and drive straight through so that they’d sleep through most of it. Now, anything under 10 hours or so seems like a trip to the corner store.

So much this. It’s the main reason I go back to the desert (or forest or mountains or ad infinitum) repeatedly. It cleanses my soul.

There’s way too much agreement going on here. We’re going to have to have us a midwestern Farktographers meet-n-greet campout at some point.

[Barracuda]

yesterday wan’t bad at all, but only because I had a nerve block done on the nerves in the shoulder. That wore off around 10pm, and have been at a moderate to high pain level since. In fact this is the first time I’ve turned on the laptop all day. Mostly I think it is the incisions that I am feeling, one on the front of the collar bone, and two smaller ones on the back side. I’m staying on the recommended max dose of Oxycontin since midnight last night, decided that if I took one at 6hr intervals, and then a second one 1hr offset at 6hr intervals it would keep the the ends of the dose schedule from being quite so rough. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow, but suspect I won’t be doing much of anything till Tuesday.

[fluffybunny]

So is this where we “ask the stoned guy”?

[staplermofo]

Druggie wisdom suggests taking 1mg of dextromethorphan for every pound you weigh to increase the efficacy of opiates; but druggies are usually more interested in feeling like an anthropomorphic comforter having gentle lesbian sex with a loving, experienced, MILF mattress than pain reduction (or, not to be a bummer, dying from drug abuse).

[Barracuda]

Wasn’t in much of any condition yesterday to spend any time online. Today has been significantly better, but still no walk in the park (unless said walk in the park involves being attacked by killer bees). Hoping tomorrow will bring another marked improvement in my condition and I’ll be able to make some plans to get back to work, at least working from home, starting Tuesday. I’ve run through the rest of my vacation time I had for the year and some of my remaining sick days too. Not sure how the job’s going to treat my time out, but needless to say I”m now rather low on paid days off left in the bank. My wife goes back to her usual teaching schedule tomorrow as well, so if I get bored perhaps I’ll start that “stoned guy” thread after all.

[chupathingie]

Gotta say this is a tough one for patient immobility… any upper body movement will stress that break.

I don’t envy you, regardless of the painkiller bliss.

[Barracuda]

while I haven’t exactly been doing jumping jacks since the break or surgery, having that rod in there is certainly going to be helpful in keeping those bones stationary while it heals. Now I just have to slowly start working on range of motion so I can do the World Wide Photowalk on the 13th. The good news is that I’m kinda-sorta back to work today. I’m working remotely from home for a while till I’m healed enough to get back behind the wheel and sitting at my office desk for 8hrs a day again. Spent part of the day getting things setup to work from here, making a list of things that I can get done from here and all that fun stuff. Suspect I’ll be working from home through the end of the week at least.

In other news, I’m now out of the oxycodone prescription, but never fear, hydrocodone is here to keep the pain at bay.

[Barracuda]

2-week beard growth after not saving since the break. Managed to hack through enough of it to get it trimmed down to a robust goatee for now. I’ll spare you the pictures of the incision and bruising around it.

[chupathingie]

heh… my wife wouldn’t let me within 6 feet of her with that bottle brush on my face! LOL

[Barracuda]

My wife won’t let me either, which is why I’m starting to hack it down.

[Yugoboy]

‘cuda, I know you’re the resident bike expert. Got a question…

I found a bike, and have it almost ready to ride. However, the rear wheel was really out of whack, so I tried to true it up. I got close, but not close enough before stripping the spokes. How would you suggest I get it the rest of the way true? I don’t really want to take the whole thing apart, and I’ve never replaced a spoke, so are there any tricks for this that I can do?

Thanx for any advice…

[caradoc]

heh… my wife wouldn’t let me within 6 feet of her with that bottle brush on my face! LOL

Many years ago, my wife suggested I shave the beard I’d had since we met.

I came out of the bathroom with a naked face and she said…

“Yeah, um… grow it back.”

[Author]

Posts