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Mental Health  (Expert Forum)
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Addicted to Percocet
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Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD), bipolar disorder, dementia, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, stress, transitions, and work problems.
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Addicted to Percocet

by Scared_in_Georgia, May 02, 2006 12:00AM
I am SO glad that I found this site and really hope that there is SOMEONE out there that can help me. I am 29 and recently hurt my back, the weird thing is I had NO idea how I did this. After a couple weeks of the pain getting worse and nothing over the counter helping me I went to the ER. The pain was SO SO SO BAD that I had no choice, I couldn't even walk. While there they did an MRI and found that I did have a serious injury and set me up with a back doctor for surgery. He tried to put the surgery off and hoped that in time the injury would heal itself. During the weeks of waiting he put me on Lortab 10mg and I was treating them like candy(they did nothing for the pain but did give a good buzz). After not sleeping and hurting all of the time I went back and told him this just wasn't working, he then put me on percocet 10mg. I am now taking 4 pills at one time and go through a bottle in 2 days. I finally had surgery a month ago and the pain is still VERY BAD, not from the actual surgery but the same pain as before the surgery. I am taking the pain meds to relieve the pain and they do VERY LITTLE, it just dulls it enough for me to get out of bed. I know until my back is fixed I have to take them, they are all that helps but I also know that I am addicted to them and will soon be taken off.....THAT SCARES THE HELL OUT OF ME. About a week ago I ran out of the percocet and spent a night in HELL!!!! I had NO idea what was going on - I couldn't sleep, I hurt ALL over from my head to my toe, I was shaking, and wanted to die. That was the worse feeling I have ever had in my life. I am now SO scared to come off of this but so badly want a normal life. If anyone was taking percocet and quit PLEASE PLEASE email me at ***@**** with what you did to get off without the bad withdrawals....I have no insurance so I cannot afford detox treatment.



Thank you SO much!!



Bridget
Doctor's Answer

by Roger Gould, M.D., May 03, 2006 12:00AM
Can you ask your surgeon to refer you to a pain specialist...they can help you get through this.
Member Comments (15)

by slandis75, May 03, 2006 12:00AM
To: Scared-In-Georgia
Please get a friend or a loved one that you can trust and who will not judge you to stay with you for a little while during this time of pain - it's amazing what a little mental support and love can do for you.  It is awful to deal with withdrawals, especially as bad as they must have been from your description.  But the bigger thing to worry about right now, the much scarier thing than the withdrawals you will feel today, is HOW BAD will it be if you wait to get off them until your even MORE dependent?  This should scare you into making up your mind about what to do, whether you wait or you get help now, at least you will realize that IF you wait a year from now, or 10 years from now, it's going to be at least 10x harder and more painful than whatever you're experiencing now.  Not only that, but how much of your life would you have missed out on?  How far do you have to go to hit rock bottom before you decide to quit?  It's up to you, but face it - the withdrawals are scary and they hurt like nothing else anyone can imagine, I know from experience, but I also known that in the long run you're going to have to face it SOMEDAY, or you will end up dying or homeless, or ruined without anything or anyone if you don't give it up because you are too scared of a little pain today.  I don't mean to demean the amount of suffering you have today, but it pales in comparison to what you will feel if you are withdrawing a month from now, or longer as your body is more and more hooked on the drug.  Wouldn't you rather do it now, when it's not nearly as bad as what it would be (what it definitely will be) later?  Believe me, you don't know the pain of withdrawals until you've experienced it numerous times - it can ALWAYS get worse, and believe me it will the longer you are on it.  But, there is hope!  Even without health insurance, you can always take yourself to an emergency room when you are experiencing withdrawal symptoms.  Just be sure to tell them the nature of your problem so they don't make it worse and give you a new kind of addiction (like a xanax or a valium, or anything else that's highly addictive).  The benefit, even if the can't physically ease your pain is that you will feel safer knowing that when you are scared and experiencing pain, it will be done in an environment in which you will feel safe. Most of the withdrawal problems are mental - half the battle of withdrawals is being calm.  Knowing that you're going to be okay in the end is the key to successfully getting over it.  You need to find a support system to either be at home with you to watch over you when you go through this or take yourself to the hospital.  Just make that decision to quit now and it will be less scary sooner rather than later.

by Scared_in_Georgia, May 03, 2006 12:00AM
To: Sandis75
Thank you so much for responding to my posting.  Everything you said is true and I know this.  The problem is that my back is still not fixed and without this pain medicine I can't even get out of bed.  I have  had a family member that "said" he had back trouble and everyone in the family (even me) doubted he had a real problem and was sure he was only wanting pain meds.  He has been on these meds for a few years now and will tell you he just likes the buzz.  I on the otherhand do not take them for the buzz, I don't get a buzz at all.  I have been given Diluad (unsure of the spelling) and Oxycotin (unsure again) neither of the two do I take, they don't help at all.  The ONLY pain med that seems to take some of the pain is the percocet.  NO med takes all of the pain but in order to get out of bed and shower I have no choice but to take it.  I have even talked to my doctor and let him know that I am very worried about being addicted to this and he does agree; however, he said until I can have my second surgery I will need to take it if I don't want the severe pain or I can not take it and take the pain (a pain I can not even begin to describe).  I am only 29 years old and very angry that I have to feel this way and have back problems at such a young age.  I feel like I am missing out on life, not from the pain meds but because I hurt too bad to ride or go anywhere.  I almost feel like my life is over.  I don't want you or anyone else to think I am taking and well, I am far from well.  I just want so badly to be fixed, get off of the pain meds and go on with a NORMAL life, a life that I should enjoy.  In your posting you stated that you know from experience, did you have a back injury and have to take the meds or was it something that you just took?



Again, thanks so much for your reply.  It is so nice to know that there are people out there that care for people that they don't even know.

by toyoungforpain, May 18, 2006 12:00AM
I am 24 have have had three back sugeries. I have cronic pain, and was told last month that it wont go away and I have to deal with it. I had been on 80 mg. of oxixontin a day and I told them I wanted off. I would rather deal with the pain (I am not sure how much the meds were working anyway) than be physically dependant.



I am on my third week of tapering and I am worn down. The sweats, insomia, aches, anxiety, depression. I see what all this pain meds. did to my body and I want out. I am young, recently married and unable to work due to all my back problems.



To all out there going throught this, you are not alone. This is harder than my spinal sugery in many ways. I feel as though my body is betraying me. (and I am tired of feeling like I am going to crawl out of my skin becuase I cant stay still.)  I releize that the lack of sleep I am getting is probly making everything seem worse, but that isnt much help!



by toyoungforpain, May 18, 2006 12:00AM
To: scaredingeorgia
I dont know how I hurt my back either. One day I thought I pulled something (My pain is L5, S1) and my husband told me to go to the doc. That was two years ago, and becuase of my age alot of surgeons wouldnt touch me. Lucky I found an amazing surgeon, but he told me there isnt anyting he can do and that this pain I have is it.



I think hopelessness is the word for how I feel. How can my body as such a young age be doign this to me.

by shawnee k, May 29, 2006 12:00AM
Hi everyone; this is my first time in any kind of forum.  I a female, 32 years old and my story begins 3/15/06.  I twisted incorrectly (this is the day I gave notice at my employer that I was leaving to begin another job) and later that night I was unable to walk to go to the  bathroom.  Doctor, Chiro and ER diagnosed as sciatica....about 3 weeks.   I did not for the first two and lived on percocet in order to just get out of bed.  I started the new job and lived on percocet to make it through the day any where from 5-10 pills of perc 10/day.  Finally on 4/7/06 I got over the sciatica for about 2 hours.  I then slipped in the kitchen of my house and  did the splits; I felt things ripping in the groin area and hurt real bad.  Had enough perc to get me through weekend.  Called  doctor; they could not see me; to make a long story short they wanted to send me to pain management doc without even looking at second injury.  My husband got the doc on the phone 9 days later and I went in; she sent me for an x-ray to rule out bone stuff (with my insurance you have to do x-ray before mri).  Everyone from the doc, to the pharm, to even my husband was thinking I was a drug seeker.



I had the x-ray done and low and  behold I had broken the "neck bone" between the ball of the hip and the femur; totally displaced.  I must have cried for an hour; not due to pain but to the  validation that I was taking massive amounts of painkillers for a reason.  I was promptly admitted; now have 3 screws in my hip and due to the fact that the blood flow was  impeded for 9 days am looking at possible partial hip replacement w/in next 1-2 years.  I am without pain at the moment but am going through some horrible withdrawal symptoms from being on such large dosages of percocet for 2 1/2 months.



Any advice on how to handle the withdrawal would be helpful.