On the off chance, avoid Prilosec, Prevacid, Nexium and other protein pump inhibitors during recovery. I know someone who's exact same surgery failed because the bones never hardened around the screws. The whole thing fell apart in his neck. He quit taking Prilosec and had it redone with complete success.
Don’t stop taking proton pump inhibitors all at once. It’s like taking the clamp off the fire hose and flooding your stomach with acid. This has to be done in a very controlled manner (ie over a month, alternating a day at a time) and I wouldn’t do it without my doctor specific oversight and recommendation.
And since we’re on the topic of drugs, only 15% of the population is at risk for opiate drug addiction. That means 85% roughly speaking are OK with these meds. The key red flag for any person taking opiates is does it trigger your brain’s pleasure/reward system inappropriately. Meaning do you experience euphoria when taking the drug?. This is not a “normal” reaction.
The normal reaction is drowsiness or even irritability, but don’t confuse the foggy sensation as being “high”. The high actually comes from the euphoria I mentioned earlier. That is an indicator that you will need to wean off the drugs as quickly as possible and not stay on a prolonged use path. Even potential opiate addicts can take for pain relief, but it’s use must be very limited. Also never expect any drug to remove all pain. It is impossible at this point.
Those people who misunderstand addiction as a psychological trauma don’t get that it’s actually a genetic, brain chemistry/metabolism issue of triggering inappropriately your pleasure-reward system via Neurotransmitters (such as dopamine which is often triggered by certain substances for different people i.e. alcohol, cocaine, opioids, amphetamines, benzodiazepines, etc.)
RE addiction: If it’s you, or someone you know - I have a good friend Dr. Kyle Oh who has written a very good book on this topic (Inexpensive, easy to read, very simple to understand) and is easily available on Amazon. If you can’t afford a copy I’ll buy it for you-just ping me off-line via PM.
Why Can't Johnny Just Quit?: A Common Sense Guide to Understanding Addiction
Amazon product ASIN B00L323PME———————————————————
Best regards to Cliff’s recovery!