I had a shoulder surgery last year. I definitely learned about constant pain and some tips for dealing with it (with and without drugs). Some random observatio

I had a shoulder surgery last year. I definitely learned about constant pain and some tips for dealing with it (with and without drugs). Some random observations: Meditation can help. My pain was more connected with my emotional state than I expected (much worse when stressed and much better when distracted by an enjoyable experience). Pain and negative emotions reinforce each other. Narcotics often break the concentration that makes meditation reduce pain. Nevertheless sometimes you gotta load up on narcotics so you can attempt to get the sleep your body needs to heal. In my case I went through about 40 percacet the first week. But took 5-6 weeks for the next 40, and then I was off the heavy stuff and stuck to ibuprofin. My shoulder still hurts.