Throwing up from withdrawls?

[Jmoney84]

Hi all,

So for the last 6 months I have been taking percocet 5/325for pain.  When I started on them 2-3 would get me through a day easily.  Up until yesterday I was taking up to 10-12 a day as 2-3 was really only useful for a few hours tops.  I guess today is day 2 of being off the percs.. but last night I was throwing up and crapping constantly and that would have been less than 12 hours since my last dosage..  Just wondering what the stages of withdrawl are and if the worst of it has passed or is still to come.  My whole body hurts and I have the shakes and cold sweats, as well as a weird heavy feeling in my head that I can't describe... just feels cloudy.  Any help is appreciated.

[Luckytwice]

And after you kick off the subs, PAWS is a certainty.
You see people who have done Heroin for years go onto methadone for years, and taper down slowly to get off that.
Taking  Oxycontin is no different than being a long time heroin addict. I

[Luckytwice]

There really isn't anything else but Oxycodone and acetaminophen or asprin, ibuprophen combo's.
Unless you go to strait opiates, like Oxycontin, fentanyl,  or morphine pills.

So if you need anything, just use ibuprofen or extra strength Tylenol.

As far as tolerance build up goes, that seems to happen at the low dose end of the scale rather than the high doses.  The only time I needed dose adjustments when I got to high doses was when there were changes in my condition  resulting in more pain to deal with. Otherwise I would stay on a dose for years without any trouble.  Oxycontin is better for chronic long term pain as well, because it releases slower into your system rather than all at once like oxycodone. That stretches out how long it lasts a bit so that you are still comfortable at 6 hrs and not twitching around waiting for the clock.

But trust me, you wouldn't want to be on straight full agonist opiates for years and years unless you absolutely had no other choice. You still get sick and tired of taking them, and you always know what's waiting for you if you miss a couple doses. And believe me, what you just went through is nothing compared to coming of a dose that would kill most people. In fact it's just not possible. The wd's would kill you. It's a long slow miserable taper until you can get low enough to switch to subs.  

[Jmoney84]

You just hit the nail on the head lucky.  My bottle dosage says 1-2 every 6 hours.  In reality I know I can take 2 every 4 hours, but tried to stick with the prescribed dosage.  The problem being I was already slightly resistant to the oxycodone, so I had to add an extra 'pick me up' pill in between (because I was at work and couldn't just lie down and sleep).  Sad but true.  I don't know if I'm to blame or if my health care practitioners are for incorrect treatment and prescriptions.  Oh well, it's over now so it doesn't matter anyway.

[Jmoney84]

I'm feeling decent at this particular moment.  Aching all over but really nothing compared to the last couple days / early this morning.

I did try to call in to my surgeon for an increase in pain meds, but he was old school and just gave me the standard 30 5/325 percs, which I had already been on for several months prior ( he was fully aware of this ).  I felt the need to take my treatment into my own hands at that point and in retrospect I guess that was a mistake.  Would have been nice to have gotten something different from oxy seeing as I already had a tolerance built up.  Oh well.

It's actually like I don't even have the pills downstairs.  I don't think about them at all until someone brings it up lol.  No desire to take them, as now my pain (from the surgery) is gone, and obviously taking oxy to relieve oxy wd symptoms is pretty counterproductive.  My head feels really clear right now, and I hope it stays this way.  I'm finally getting back some emotion/feeling that I have been missing, and truthfully, faking, for the past few months.  Sad to admit the lie I was living.  Telling my girlfriend I loved her when in truth I felt nothing.  I know how special she is and how lucky I am to have her, so at least I was never careless enough to push her away.  I guess by hiding my addiction from her I did in a way though...

Anyway, what's done is done.  Time to move forward and move on.  You have all been so extremely helpful and I look to give back to others what you all have given to me.

Gonna try to read a book or something and maybe get some sleep, as I've still only had a couple hours here and there over the last few days.

[Luckytwice]

Yea opiates tend to do that, or rather people tend to develop a tolerance to opiates, and need to take more and more. oxycodone has a short  half life as well, 3-4.5 hrs after you take them, but docs try dose you every 6 or 8, so you get on that roller coaster ride. The way to end it is to take a pill between doses, and that's how people end up taking too many.

[mellie4]

The Hylands Restful Legs can really help with the restless legs!  A lot of people swear by it.  Caffeine can often make people jittery and it can upset your stomach.  Not sure why but I couldn't do coffee, but tea with milk and sugar settles me down.  (Normally I'm a huge coffee drinker.)

Popsicles can be good, and lemon-flavored things can settle stomachs.

Sounds like you haven't crossed over too far with this and you seem to be very aware, which is good.  Taking more than prescribed, though, shows there is a problem.  After one of my surgeries, my meds weren't controlling the pain, but I called and they authorized an increase; they knew I had a tolerance and dependence.  Since you are being honest with yourself, you're certainly heading in the right direction.

It would be a good idea, though, to get rid of your pills.  Or at least give them to someone to hold.  It can be very tempting when they're right there.

Hope your done with the vomiting!!  If the Gatorade isn't appealing, stick with the vitamin water.  (Or like someone mentioned 7-Up or Ginger Ale; they can help tremendously with an  upset stomach.)