When I had my hernia surgery the doctor didn't tell me the side effect of opioids was severe constipation. Had to go but couldn't. Had to go to CVS at 3 am, severely cramping the whole time, to get some enema. Had to force it out manually. Made a mess on the bathroom floor. Smelled bad for about a week in there. Never again. I'll deal with the pain before I ever take opiods. Apparently it shuts off the nerves that tell your brain that you need to go to the bathroom. So you have to but your brain isn't telling the muscles that they need to push it out.

 

Geezus, and here I thought I was oversharing mentioning my now absent gall bladder. Holy fck, mummy.

 

That was to help anyone who might have read it to know what they are getting into when they take it. They say that's why a lot of drug users have to take stool softeners. Not to mention the nausea and light headedness. And that was only 5 milligrams. Your mileage may vary, but I will never take it again in my life.

 

I'd say you forewarned anyone reading this more than adequately. Yikes.

They gave me 5 oxy pills, but instead I've been bouncing back and forth between Motrin and Tylenol every 4 hours. I was only going to take the oxy if the pain was unbearable. It's not good, but I'm surviving.

 

I learned *that* lesson when I had kidney stones. ER gave me a bottle of Vicodin which did.not.touch.the.pain. Was drinking liquid laxative with the pills until I got to the urologist, who gave me a shot of toradol(sp?) which is just an injectable nsaid. “Opiates don’t touch that kind of pain, duh”… pain gone in 5 minutes.

sent me home with three needles of the Tor and that got me to the urology OR appointment.

opiates are great for acute postoperative pain- you need like 10 max. Not the bottle of 60 the VA threw at me after a minor operation. 🙄

 

Additional ‘opiates have their place’ - when my appendix ruptured the ER put 3 thumb- thick needles of morphine in me before I could talk. Then fent (in my iv) after I woke up from surgery.

the problem is of course prescribing acute-condition meds for chronic pain. And that we have a work ethic that encourages us to work until something breaks and we *have* a chronic condition. Carpal tunnel, back/spine issues, rotator cuff/labral tears, etc. And that’s for folks that DON’T do manual labor…

</rant off>
currently in a land of socialized medicine… but only for another week.

 

Wooooo, back the truck up. How did I miss this old guy discussion within my favorite Sedan Chat thread? I guess the nauseating jet lag I just experienced flying back from London pales in comparison.

 

My fault. Sorry.

 

All good. The occasional pivot makes it feel a little more like a community around here as opposed to a help desk.

 

An idea is banging around in my head. What if I had my FSTB powdercoated? A deep gunmetal, or black chrome, with a glossy top coat. Yes? No?

 

My connection with polished metals and chrome probably makes me too subjective to answer this one.

 

HAHAHAHA

I guess the intellectual answer is... what is the ongoing color theme of your engine bay? Already have a lot of chrome/polished AL? Then leave it. If none/hardly any... I'd match it to gunmetal/titanium.

Mine is anodized red. Not the same red as the rest of the underhood stuff, which is annoying, but minor. Red/black/polished AL.

 

Years ago, before R2C went out of business, I was in contact with someone there who was willing to take my FSTB and apply the same Black Chrome finish as the mid pipes in my air intake kit. I've been kicking myself all these years later for not following up on that. Pretty sure it's an electroplating process.

I think "black chrome" is another word for "black nickel". No, wait, that's not true. Black Chrome uses Chromium, and Black Nickel uses Nickel. Hmm, OK.

There are electroplating services in the area, but IDK if it's feasible to do a one-off job like this. Odds are the FSTB should be bead blasted first. If it's more than $200 then I'm out.

 

Chrome shops plate in black chrome as well. Nickel is the base used for any chrome job as it enhances appearance and provides a layer of corrosion protection.

 

I think maybe I've got a project here with my FSTB. It might be electroplating it in black chrome, or I might be powder-coating it in the same approximate finish. Either way, I've got some research to do, and some local companies to scope out.

If I powder-coat, then I'm already dialed in with the same business that did my brake calipers last year, after which I just keep the FSTB cleaned and sealed, like any painted surface. If I go with electroplating, that could be more expensive, but more stunning. I won't really know until I collect information.

This is going to sit in the back of my skull for a while. I'm cool with that.