pain
"Following a knee replacement surgery, I had breakthrough pain (I had a nerve block in place) the first night that was about a 9 out of 10. I was not due for my oral meds at the time but for some reason, I was eligible to receive an IV dose of Dilaudid. I would say within one minute, the pain was minimal and I was able to get some sleep. It did make me drowsy. I've never had it before or since, but absolutely credit it with some major pain relief the one time it was administered. It's a shame that we have to almost beg for pain meds and often are made to feel like drug seekers when we do. I'm still on the recovery path for the surgery and have been using an oral med. Next will be ibuprofen, then nothing, I hope."