When is the best time to wean off oxy 150mg+ perday

I've been on narcotics, starting with Heroin at 16. Stopped H in 2003. Since then due to legit chronic pain, I've been on tramadol, Subutex, and for over a year now Oxycodone, approx. 150mg a day. I also take 4 50mg phenergans a day, 4 350mg somas a day, 3mgs klonipin (klonopin) a day, 250mgs of seroquel a day, and other stuff for autoimmune disease, IBS, etc. Way Too much! I am raising my 6 year old son with my husband. I feel like both of them are missing out on a good mommy and loving wife. Part of me does not want to stop completely, cuz I have honest daily mod-severe pain. But, if I could take it on an as needed basis, depending on the severity of the pain, I'd feel grateful. At this point I think I should start tapering and get down as low as possible. This week my son has spring break, should I start tapering, anyway? I was thinking cutting off one 30 mg oxy starting today.has anyone been able to use narcotic pain pills only when it's the last resort, and had success?Thank You!

[bmdad]

Many of us here suffer from chronic pain and had to make the decision to find other ways to deal with our pain. Narcotic pain medication wasn't intended for treating chronic pain. As our tolerance to the pills grows we end up taking more and more to get the same effect. It's also a known fact that they will actually cause us to feel more pain due to the way the effect our brain chemicals. Many of us have found out that we can indeed deal with our chronic pain by other means and that we aren't experiencing as much pain as what we had thought. I'm not saying that we don't have some pain but it's not as bad as when we were currently taking narcotic pain medication.

Most of us started taking them due to a legitimate medical reason. We all end up in a position like you are in now. We realize that they end up doing more harm than good. They change us and make us someone we are not. You have to make the decision on whether you want to continue down this path and say goodbye to the person you use to be or find alternative ways to treat your pain so you can find that person once again. I felt so selfish knowing that my wife and kids were losing that husband and dad that I use to be. I knew I couldn't live like this anymore. I also knew it would continue to get worse and I would eventually die.

What do you mean when you asked if anyone was able to use narcotic pain meds only when it's a last resort? Are you asking if anyone here is able to take them everyday without it being a problem? Are you asking if someone can take one only when needed, maybe like once a week? If you crossed that fine line into addiction I can tell you from experience that it's not possible.

Who do you see for your chronic pain? Do you go to a pain management clinic? If not you need to go to one and tell them that you want to start treating your pain by other means than by using narcotics. There are so many non narcotic pain medications out there nowadays for just about everything. There are also other avenues of approach to treat your chronic pain. I'm sure there are others on the forum that suffer from some of the same conditions that you suffer from and may be able to help point you in the right direction.

The first thing I would do is set up an appointment with your prescribing doctor. Talk to him/her about a taper schedule. The oxycodone doesn't have to be tapered but some of the other meds you are taking have to be. Talk to your doctor and he/she will be able to set you up with a safe taper schedule. Also talk to him/her about other ways to start treating your chronic pain. You should be referred to a specialist or a pain management clinic that will be able to recommend the proper treatments. If you go to a pain management clinic and they try and push the narcotics, find a different clinic. I finally found one that does everything they can to keep their patients from having to turn to narcotics. They said that only about 8% of their patients are prescribed any kind of narcotic pain pills. This pain clinic as a regional Veterans Affairs Clinic so they see patients from 5 states. They see thousands and thousands of patients each month. If only 8% of their patients are prescribed some type of narcotic pain medications that right there proves that there are many other ways to treat chronic pain and that they are way over prescribed.

I'm not saying that everyday is perfect and pain free. I still have good days and bad. But when I taking narcotic pain meds, everyday was bad. I'll take some pain to keep from being that person that I'm not. It's an easy decision in my mind.

You're doing a great thing here. I am proof that there is life after pills even if we do suffer from chronic pain. There are many others on here that will tell you the same. The pills cause way more harm than they do good. Your life can be amazing once again.

Best of luck to you.




Brian