Can hard drugs be used for pain relief/anesthetics?
STORY STUFF! I write horror and similar genres. I promise I have no intention of carrying this out in real life because... yowch
Anyway, can hard drugs like coke/heroin/meth/opium/etc., be used as pain relief and/or anesthetics during and after a major operation? Think something like a C-section/hysterectomy. Additionally, the drugs/substances must have been available or popular during the 1920s-50s (because historical fiction is my jam).
Let's say a female mc wants to perform surgery on herself pertaining to the female reproductive system (lol); would she be okay on just the drugs alone, albeit zooted out of her mind, but still able to perform the surgery okay? Or would she falter from the effects of the drugs?
I am thinking back to Stephen King's short story "Survivor Type" where the mc uses heroin to stabilize himself during an amputation... But that's still fiction. I'm wondering if this has ever happened in real life/would be feasible in real life?
Thanks!!!