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MedHelp Member's Question

Is there life after Oxycontin?

by gene10, Jun 24, 2000 12:00AM
I am going in for Detox this Friday for Oxycontin addiction.  I have read many many messages here from people addicted to painkillers & people recovering from that addiction.  

I have been snorting 240-360mg of Oxy per day for about 1 & 1/2 years now.  I told my family doctor about my abuse & he was very supportive & referred me to a center that specializes in drug addiction.

They want me to get detoxed first & that is what I plan on doing starting Friday night at an inpatient facility.  I was told that I wll be on various medications to ease the withdrawal including methadone.  But I have read here & elsewhere that methadone is not a good treatment for addiction to opiates.



My wife was quite surprised when I fessed up to her about my secret problem but she is also very supportive at this time & I am puzzled by some posts here from women whose husbands threatened to kick them out if they relapse.



I found a gtreat site at http://www.prescriptionabuse.org.  Their FAQ section is very helpful.



There are a lot of desperate messages from people here who are hopelessly addicted to painkillers & want to stop.  If you are truly in constant pain & need to take opiates for relief, then you are not addicted & need to find a good pain clinic in your area.  Try the newsgroup alt.support.chronic-pain for help finding pain relief.  Also go to http://www.widomaker.com/~skipb/panic.html for an incredible website dedicated to getting people help who are in pain.



If you are taking painkillers now because you cannot stop & can't handle the withdrawal, then you are in my shoes & need to find professional help.  Look in the phone book or talk to your doctor or call a local chapter of Narcotics Anonymous.  NA is also on the internet at http://www.na.org



I have been fortunate to find a sponsor & will be leaning on him as well as followoing his advice as I make the transition from drug abuser to recovering drug addict.



I am petrified about going to detox this Friday but I have to take control of my addiction before it destroys my life!!



Please reply with any & all comments.
Member Comments (56)

by Brian to Sick and Scared § ALL you guys, Jun 24, 2000 12:00AM
Congratulations on taking back your life.  Detox isn't easy, but it sounds like you really have good support from your wife, sponsor, etc.  Methadone or Buprenorphine would be the most appropriate choices to detox you.  As you are aware, you are addicted to a very high dosage of oxy.  Accordingly, you will need a long-acting narcotic to taper you down, and methadone is a good choice.  Remember, millions have done this before you.  Good luck and post to let us know how you're doing.  Brian

by Gene to Joanne, Jun 24, 2000 12:00AM
Thanks Brian for the words of encouragement!  I have read in a few places that there were better drugs than Methadone to detox with & that Methadone is extremely hard to get off of.  But I have to let the attending physician make the decision I guess since he is the so called expert.

by Gene to Joanne, Jun 24, 2000 12:00AM
I just wanted to add that I only discovered this group last night & I have read through almost every message there is.  I can't believe how many people share my problems of addiction to pills.  I started with Percocets in 1986 after a back injury & knew that I had found my new drug of choice.  After 12 years taking Percs, Vicodins & Lortabs, as well as Valium, I made the awful jump to Oxycontin.  I thought that I'd be better off without all the Aceteminophen and Oxy's were cheaper than Percs on the black market. (only if you take equivalent doses os Oxy-which is a joke as I increased my Oxy intake to 320+mg a day all through the nose)  I do suffer from chronic pain but not enough to warrant so many painkillers.  I LOVE Oxycontin for its positive effects but I hate it for the addiction & cost in dollars & time seeking it.



I gave up Cocaine in 1983 after 3 years of abuse & that was a cakewalk compared to getting off Oxy! I also stopped smoking pot after 27 years last November.



So I have decided to make the great leap to the other side - the sober side.  It's a hard thing to do but my recovering friends tell me it's worth the effort.  Wish me luck & thanks to everyone for putting into words what pills are doing to their lives & making me realize that I am not alone in my agony of drug abuse & dependency!

by To Nancy from Elizabeth, Jun 24, 2000 12:00AM
I am(like all of you) dealing with this evil addiction, and I was wondering, if I were to taper off of about 200 mg of Hydrocodone per day, what would be the amount? Say, i am taking 5-6 at once 3-4 times per day, would I just cut the dose in half or taper off a few pills per day I just have no idea???? I would also like to know, if anyone knows, can it be dangerous for me to quit cold turkey from such a high dose? Thanks for any answers!!!

by tom to Elizabeth, Jun 25, 2000 12:00AM
The real danger you're in is from the forty 500mg Tylenols you're ingesting in order to get the hydro! People have died from taking much less. I assume you're not drinking with that or you wouldn't be alive to post a message. If you are, well, a gun would be faster.

As for getting off that dosage (I got up to 75 Vics per day and somehow lived). But the withdrawal, especially when I did it cold turkey, was god-awful. If you have any kind of access at all to a medical setting to detox, run, don't walk ... You'll need all the detox meds you can get to come down from that much. But, really, Elizabeth, the Tylenol will kill you deader than dead. You're already taking enough to suicide -- and death by liver failure is not one of the better ways to go. After your liver fails, you'll die slowly over several days, with plenty of time to think about how you threw your life away just to catch a buzz. Face it, because of your tolerance level, your fling with hydrocodone is over. The next place you're going is the morgue if you don't get professional help. I'm watching my 9-year old nephew die of cancer as I write this. I know he'd love to have the chance you still have to live. Don't **** my nephew off, Elizabeth, save your life while you still can. Just pick up the phone, you'll find help somewhere. Do it now. God be with you.

by Gene to Joanne, Jun 25, 2000 12:00AM
Tom is right Elizabeth,  the Tylenol, or Aceteminophen as the generic name goes, is deadly in large doses, especially over 4000 milligrams a day.  However, there is something that can help your  liver cope with that drug as well as other ones.  It is called Milk Thistle and is available in any health food store or vitamin section of a pharmacy or even online.  This herb can & does help heal the liver & can help it deal with the toxic effects of alcohol & drugs such as opiates & Tylenol.  I take one every day justto keep my liver working while I abuse pills.



As far as tapering from 200mg of Hydro, it can be done very slowly over a long period of time.  I'm no doctor so I don't know the proper schedule or amount to use to taper off.  The best place to get help is from a drug clinic or a doctor who specializes in these things.  It's no shame to admit you have a problem & seek help.  My doctor warned me of the dangers of quitting cold turkey from large amounts of opiates.  He has a patient who almost died when he stopped taking Oxycontin cold turkey! It took me 14 years to go from user to abuser to help seeker.  I feel a lot better asking for help & there are a lot of places out there that specialize in helping people like you & me!  I am going into detox this Friday & am quite scared of what lies ahead for me but at least I know that things will get better & that I have a future without seeking, buying, hoarding, lying, hiding, and taking large amounts of narcotics just to maintain what I thought was a normal lifestyle.  There has to be a better way & getting straight & getting involved with Narcotics Anonymous is going to be my savior.



Good luck and write back. Don't give up hope!!

by Brian to Sick and Scared § ALL you guys, Jun 25, 2000 12:00AM
I have tapered several times from amounts greater than yours.  It takes having plenty of pills and LOTS of willpower.  Generally, you want to taper by about 10% every few days.  So, instead of 5 pills 4 times per day, take 4.5 pills 4x day for about 3 or 4 days, then 4.0 etc.  The key to a successful taper is going slowly, which gives the body time to adjust to each reduced dosage.  TRY NOT TO CHEAT!  It is hard, but can be done.  Better yet would be to get yourself into a detox program (outpatient) which uses buprenorphine to detox you.  It will detox you with little or no withdrawal.  I've also used that several times for detox and it was the easiest and least painful.  With respect to the acetaminophen, while it is true you are taking toxic levels, many people do with no damage.  However, to be on the safe side you should have a liver screen done to determine if there has been damage.  Furthermore, Gene's suggestion regarding milk thistle is a good one.  Several studies have shown its ability to limit and even reverse liver damage.  Finally, no matter how you detox just remember, that is the easy part.  Staying clean really does require some sort of structure like NA.  Hopefully you won't have to relapse numerous times like I did to learn that lesson.

by To Nancy from Elizabeth, Jun 25, 2000 12:00AM
Tom, your post really opened my eyes even if it was just while I was reading it!! You said some really strong statements, and I am pretty sure they will stick in my head for awhile! I am sorry about your family member with cancer, that really does make me feel like a fool, my cousin has been sick since the day she was born and about 6 yrs ago she had a kidney transplant and I see her going through all that and it makes me feel like a real ass!! She also takes Hydro's and she really needs them I on the other hand don't really need them and I take 3 times as many as her while I see her set around in alot of pain because her M.D. will only give her 30-40 per week because he does not want her to get addicted!!! It's so crazy !!! Thanks,all of you for your comments don't worry about being too tough I know it's what I need!!!

by tom to Elizabeth and Gene, Jun 26, 2000 12:00AM
Gene, thanks for mentioning the Milk Thistle. That was a very important point that I somehow overlooked. After identifying the disease, it's nice to know there's a way back.

Gene, Elizabeth, NA and/or AA can and will save your life. I understand and identify with your fear about what lies ahead. However, if you aggressively sample and then focus on the NA/AA group that works for you (they're all different, but you'll know the right group when you find it), there is indeed a way back