"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&#039;ve never had it before or since, but absolutely credit it with some major pain relief the one time it was administered. it&#039;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&#039;m still on the recovery path for the surgery and have been using an oral med. next will be ibuprofen, then nothing, i hope."