Aa
need advice
I have been on 40mg of oxycontin twice a day and 10mg of oxycodone twice a day (total 100mg of medicine) for four months now, prescribed by my doctor for back/leg pain caused by nerve damage/disc degeneration. I want to get off this medication and am considering the taper method as I do not want to increase my dosage. My current dosage is not providing the kind of relief as when I first started it. I intend to consult my doctor about doing this, but I would like to get some advice from the community about what my taper/detox will be like. I understand that since I have been on the medication for only four months, it might not be as bad as others who have been on it for years at higher doses. Is that true. I did go without the 10mg of oxycodone for one day, but the initial symptoms of the decrease drove me to going back on them. I would sincerely appreciate any advice/information from anyone who has gone through a situation like mine to help me get through this. Thanks to all for any help you can provide.
No, not really anything at all. I tapered for a long time and very slowly and that makes a difference.
I suggested the OxyContin first because you said you could really feel the loss of the the two 10 mg Oxy and that the other didn't work so well. So it sounds like you may benefit from the shorter acting opiate while you cut back on the other.
It's just an idea...there are diffent ways to handle this. Your doctor may suggest eliminating the contin completely and increasing the codone for a short time and then tapering it. It's all about what you think you can handle. Often, we imagine wd's to be far worse than they really are...
It's just an idea...there are diffent ways to handle this. Your doctor may suggest eliminating the contin completely and increasing the codone for a short time and then tapering it. It's all about what you think you can handle. Often, we imagine wd's to be far worse than they really are...
Just wondering why the suggestion of tapering the OxyContin first -- not questioning the suggestion, just wondering why. Also, the OxyContin comes in a 40mg tablet that is not supposed to be cut or whatever, so it would be hard to break that up into smaller doses or whatever. Thanks!
Okay. I can only speak from my personal experience. I tapered off and did fine and have been clean for over two years. I tapered over 9 months.
Some folks are not successful because they cannot taper down. It's very difficult to do, mentally. It does help if someone else holds the meds and doles them out.
No, I don't think the wd's come on strong after a proper taper. Physically, it should be next to nothing. As always, the mental wd is what's so tough. Again, I don't think your wd should be that strong after four months but...it is what it is. Maybe you should try to taper the OxyContin first...
A taper works reasonably well if it's done properly and you can drop those small amounts over time. You need to be strict with yourself and not go up on the doses ever! Your doctor will have some good ideas and won't be as vague as I am!
I think you'll do fine with this so keep in touch. We're here for support!
Some folks are not successful because they cannot taper down. It's very difficult to do, mentally. It does help if someone else holds the meds and doles them out.
No, I don't think the wd's come on strong after a proper taper. Physically, it should be next to nothing. As always, the mental wd is what's so tough. Again, I don't think your wd should be that strong after four months but...it is what it is. Maybe you should try to taper the OxyContin first...
A taper works reasonably well if it's done properly and you can drop those small amounts over time. You need to be strict with yourself and not go up on the doses ever! Your doctor will have some good ideas and won't be as vague as I am!
I think you'll do fine with this so keep in touch. We're here for support!
The symptoms were anxiety and nervousness and a headache. It also seemed that when it was time for the 40mg dose of oxycontin, it did not provide as much relief as usual. I guess that might have been due to the fact that I did not have as much meds in my system as I had grown accustomed to. What do you think?
I'm also quite afraid of going to see the doctor and getting on the taper, because I've heard of the taper not working for some people. But maybe that was because they were trying to taper without seeing their doctor and doing it the right way. Do you know of people who were successful at tapering? And I heard that even once you get down to 10mg or so a day, once you quit totally, the withdrawal symptoms come on strong. Do you know if that is true? Thanks for your help!
I'm also quite afraid of going to see the doctor and getting on the taper, because I've heard of the taper not working for some people. But maybe that was because they were trying to taper without seeing their doctor and doing it the right way. Do you know of people who were successful at tapering? And I heard that even once you get down to 10mg or so a day, once you quit totally, the withdrawal symptoms come on strong. Do you know if that is true? Thanks for your help!
To answer your question: Yes. Your body adjusts and you feel good at the lower dose. Tapers need to be slow so this will happen...
What were your symptoms when you didn't take the 20 mg for a day? Because I would recommend dropping that completely and then starting a taper with the other.
What were your symptoms when you didn't take the 20 mg for a day? Because I would recommend dropping that completely and then starting a taper with the other.
Vicki: Thanks for your post. I was unclear about the 10mg drop. I actually meant that I dropped TWO 10mg doses of the oxycodone, for a total of a 20 mg drop in the same day. But I understand your point that it was too much to drop at one time and that's what made me feel bad.
I don't really know how I will manage the pain without the meds. I had been hoping that the bulging disks may have had time to shrink back and the pain may have gone down a bit, but I spoke with a neurologist Friday and he said that the pain would still be there. I'm still hoping that the pain would not be quite as bad as it was before I got on the meds (quite severe and constant), but maybe I'm being too optimistic because in addition to the bulges, I have some arthritis and degeneration there too.
Anyhow, I know I have to get off the meds because if I don't, I know that taking more for a longer time would lead to bigger trouble in trying to get off of them down the road. The neurologist advised me to get off the meds (he said it wouldn't be too hard to do that, but maybe easy for him to say, I hope he is right) then to try physical therapy, OTC pain relievers, etc. The next thing to try would be nerve blocks and if that didn't work, surgery. But he said surgery would only be a 50-50 chance of any success and even then there would still be a certain amount of pain I would have to live with. I don't have any insurance, so surgery would be hard to negotiate, financially and otherwise.
I'm going to my primary care physician soon to ask him about the specifics of the taper.
One other question -- when you do taper, does you body adjust to that lower dose and does that new, lower dose after time make you feel okay at that level? Thanks a million!
I don't really know how I will manage the pain without the meds. I had been hoping that the bulging disks may have had time to shrink back and the pain may have gone down a bit, but I spoke with a neurologist Friday and he said that the pain would still be there. I'm still hoping that the pain would not be quite as bad as it was before I got on the meds (quite severe and constant), but maybe I'm being too optimistic because in addition to the bulges, I have some arthritis and degeneration there too.
Anyhow, I know I have to get off the meds because if I don't, I know that taking more for a longer time would lead to bigger trouble in trying to get off of them down the road. The neurologist advised me to get off the meds (he said it wouldn't be too hard to do that, but maybe easy for him to say, I hope he is right) then to try physical therapy, OTC pain relievers, etc. The next thing to try would be nerve blocks and if that didn't work, surgery. But he said surgery would only be a 50-50 chance of any success and even then there would still be a certain amount of pain I would have to live with. I don't have any insurance, so surgery would be hard to negotiate, financially and otherwise.
I'm going to my primary care physician soon to ask him about the specifics of the taper.
One other question -- when you do taper, does you body adjust to that lower dose and does that new, lower dose after time make you feel okay at that level? Thanks a million!
Hi there- Unfortunately, we're not allowed to give specific taper advice on this forum. But, I can give you some vague advice: The best tapers are very slow, dropping by small amounts of the drug. When you dropped that 10 mg of oxy it was too much and that's why you felt badly. Drop a smaller amount, wait for your body to acclimate, and then drop some more. It might take weeks but at least you'll feel half way decent.
It's true that after only four months it shouldn't be too bad for you. Frankly, I'm surprised that the 10 mg drop affected you as it did. We're all so different in our reactions...
It's a very good idea to consult your physician about this because I'm wondering how you'll manage your pain without the pain med. Or...are you just planning on a drug holiday? Some folks do that to get there dosage down...
It's true that after only four months it shouldn't be too bad for you. Frankly, I'm surprised that the 10 mg drop affected you as it did. We're all so different in our reactions...
It's a very good idea to consult your physician about this because I'm wondering how you'll manage your pain without the pain med. Or...are you just planning on a drug holiday? Some folks do that to get there dosage down...
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