Can the LL medication they give you cause permanent organ damage?

Edit Post

As I head into this surgery I want to cover all my bases and make sure I understand every risk aspect.

One thing I hadnt really given a lot of thought to is the toll the medication you take every day could have on your body, specifically your liver/kidneys.

Anyone know about the standard drugs and what the potential long term risks are?  Surely opiates cant be good but also blood thinners, muscle relaxers, etc.

Also Id like to get off any opiates as soon as possible.  Did anyone do lengthening without them?  Or is that pretty unreasonable considering the pain levels.  So many people get addicted and I dont actually like how they make me feel.  I took 1 or 2 in my life for something else. 

Edit Post

Quote from: RealLostSoul on January 04, 2023, 03:07:19 AMThat question is one of the few ones I actually must say is an underrated instead of overrated concern. The medication took a much bigger toll on me and my body than I ever thought and nobody on here said anything about this. I am in my early 20s so being young wasn’t it.

Now to answer. Can the meds damage organs (to what extent is the question but let that be put aside for a moment)? Yes. Definitely. No doubt it’s bad for your stomach liver kidneys.
You take stomach protectors but it’s still hard on you.
There are very very few people that do lengthening without any medication. Realistically you will be on some dosage of opiates until the end of lengthening. But most likely after the first 6 weeks or so you will reduce the dosage, and probably get rid off some meds. The less the better. And a lower dosage goes a long way. When I was taking so many pills a day in the first month I felt it took a huge toll on my body. I even had bad stomach pain a few times (never skipped the stomach protector). After reducing I felt much better. Reducing the opiate was the worst though, withdrawal is definitely underrated here (but since you only take a WHO II opiate you can do it with just feeling terrible for a week or two instead of needing methadone - someone asked me this. No you won’t need methadone obviously).

The protocol is pretty standard for most major surgeries you would get but you do take opiates probably for longer. The liver can recover well from this. You won’t get cirrhosis of it. I think in the end you won’t have long term effects but it does take a toll on you more than I thought it would.

Appreciate this very detailed feedback; its a huge help.  Does all the meds make you loopy?  Like would you sound a bit off on a phone call with your family?  Im going to call my fam but am debating how long after surgery I should wait to not ring any alarm bells.

Edit Post

Thanks for this.  Glad there isnt huge withdrawl symptoms.  Im going to try and limit my meds as much as I can tolerate.  But also understand that lack of sleep is detrimental to your health as well.  So will just find the right balance I suppose.