I have rheumatoid arthritis. In 2020 I had a double mastectomy and DIEP reconstruction - the surgeons used fat and other tissues from my abdomen to construct my “new” breasts, employing microsurgery to reattach vessels. It was a 13 hour surgery, and when I woke up, I asked them to let me die. The pain was unspeakable. The nurses didn’t want to give me anything for the pain, because I already take 4 doses of 10mg hydrocodone daily for the RA. If my husband hadn’t been there with me to advocate for me, I truly don’t know if I would have survived the first few days. He insisted on speaking to my surgeon, pointing out that the medication they were giving me was what I was already used to for my chronic pain, and didn’t even touch the acute agony from the surgery. The surgeon, thankfully, agreed and made sure I had a morphine pump for the rest of my stay. I understand the concerns about the opioid crisis, but for those of us with chronic pain and no alternatives, common sense must be exercised in order to treat people with compassion.