high dose

It seems so many have this opiad addiction.  I am no different.  I am a 56 year old male.  My story is much the same as so many.  I started 10 years ago with a 5mg once or twice a day.  Eventually after surgery, I started 30 mg timed capsules and 3 or 4 10/325's a day.  I think the real change came last summer when my doc prescribed 3X30mg oxycodones and 2X65mg timed a day.  Since just last summer I am up to 4X100mg timed hydrocodones and 9X30mg oxycodones.  I don't even know if there is a difference between oxycodone and hydrocodone.  All I know is that together that is 600mg a day of this horribly addictive stuff.  When I asked the Pharmacist if he thought I was s druggie, he said he knew a guy taking 15 of the 100mgs a day.  I can't comprehend that, but a year ago, I couldn't comprehend what I am taking.  It is bankrupting my family, as it costs over $600 a month now.  I have decided today to stop this madness, and so I found this website which is giving me some hope.  I just want to ask opinions of whether I should try to bring my dose down to somewhere in the realm of reality before trying to detox.  I may be the first casualty of detox coming down from such a high dose.  The trouble is...my doctor is willing to just write more prescriptions with no hope of ever quiting or dealing with the pain I have in a different way.  Surgery is not an option anymore, and I am hoping that some miracle herb will come along, but I doubt that.  I worry that even if I do detox, the pain will be debilitating, so that I will be unable to work.  I still have to work physically, as I don't have the luxury of a desk job, so I don't know if I can deal with the pain.  I know I am full of worries and excuses, so I just need to get some direction.  So if anyone has an opinion on how low I should try to get my daily intake before detox, or if I just need to start where I am, I would appreciate any advice.

[feelinbad42]

Hi, welcome to the community.  I don't have any answers for you, but I'm sure others here will soon.  Just know that you are not alone.  I am detoxing right now, had a relapse and starting over again.  It's 1:00 am and I can't sleep.  I would imagine you should taper down, don't think I would c/t off that high a dosage, but that's just my opinion.  Maybe you should get a different doctor too.  Good luck to you.  

[TysonRed]

Well basicly if you're able to taper your dose down before you eventually quit, then by all means do so. Generally with any opiate the lower the dose you come off at will have an effect on the length of time and intensity of withdrawals. You should talk with your doctor about your desires to get off the pain medication. If he's not willing to help you then obviously I would try and find a different doc that is. Theres really no reason I could see your current doctor be unwilling to help you start cutting back your dosages, other than him not wanting you off the meds for his own financial benefit of having you as a patient. For information purposes I was looking at an opiate comparison chart in mgs and 1mg of hydrocodone was equal to .67mgs of oxycodone, so oxy is a little bit stronger per mgs. So your taking 400mgs/hydro xr and 270mgs of oxycodone. Are the 30mg oxy's percocet or oxycontin? EIther way your taking 670mgs of oxy/hydrocodone every day according to your post, thats quite a bit. I also suffer from moderate chronic pain, it varies quite a bit pain wise and most of time its bearable, but sometimes I have flare ups that cause severe nerve pain. Anways I found out that along with tolerance that causes us to need more medication, its also the addiction that causes basicly fake pain. Constantly using opiates eventually leads to our brains relying upon them for any pain, it will stop producing its own natural chemicals that deal with pain. So what Im saying that when you do start to taper and eventually quit, alot of the pain you'll feel will be due to that fact. Now are you considering stopping all opiates for pain control, just cutting back, looking for cheaper replacement pain control. The key way I got my pain more under control without opiates was because of excercise. I started out slow right after my detox just taking walks, started going to the gym (swimming, lifting, cardio, spa, sauna) . After about 4-6wks I would say my overall pain was reduced by 80%, its woked better than any medicaiton Ive ever tried. So Im assuming your wanting to quit cause your talking about detox but if thats not the case are you planning on having to take some kind of opiate for the rest of your life? Because not only are you on a high dose of hydro/oxycodone but your also injesting large amounts of aceteminphen which over a long term can cause serious liver damage. Theres definetely some better alternatives to handle your pain, regardless of its and opiate or other means of pain control. Keep us posted, and if you new welcome to the forum, you've come to the right place to get some support that you can benefit from. Take Care.

[outotown]

Im 45 I was badly injured at work in 04, I had r/rotor cuff surgery, c5,& c6 replaced in my neck, dislocated my l/shoulder, & hernatied T11, & T12 in mid back, I was off work 3 years and I got off a bigger addiction than you are on, and went back to consturction work and was able to do it, however I fell off the wagon and went into an even bigger addiction and wanted too die and TRIED, so I woke up in rehab, and with the help of a doctor that was not a legal drug dealer I was on oxy 10mg I was taking 60 every two days ( not persribed ) soma 350 6 to 8 per and kolonipin dont remember dose but would go thur a scirbt in about three and drinking bad everyday, but rehab and God's Grace saved my life if your doc wont listen as mine wouldnt find one who will, ask about SUBOXONE treatment you wont have too cut back on the other meds you should be able to stop them at once. But Sub. is an opiete and you can weane off of it easier im 7 days TODAY WEEEEEEHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! YOU CAN DO THIS BUT GET THE HELP OF A DOCTOR OK!!!

[Totsie59]

I glad you found this place. I think it saved me..I am on day 16 clean and feeling great. My dr. was also willing to give me more and more. When I talked to my pharmacist, she was like "I was worried." and she asked me what she could do for me. I told her to never fill my hydro again. I am new here and I can't give you any advice, but you hang in there. I do agree about seeing another dr. if yours won't help you. Good luck..

[eakim]

Thank you all for your advice and good will.  I know I can't keep going like this.  I have recently joined the unemployed, and have very little income.  I do have a wonderful family, and still have 2 teens living at home.  My wife knows very little about addictions, and has never taken addictive substances before, except possibly after surgery for a few days.  She doesn't even take tylenol unless she is in terrible pain, so she doesn't relate with the stuff I am on.  I have recently tried to talk with her about it, but as much as she tries to relate, she really can't.  I suspect I have hidden my ups and downs pretty well, but then again, I have always had the stuff around.  I have never taken more than prescribed, but that doesn't matter anymore.  I know when I need to face this, and the time is now.  I can't justify the expense, but really, the problem is deeper, as I know I can't live with the thing on my back all of the time.  Please, if any of you have experience in the high doses I am taking, tell me of your experiences.  I will listen.  I appreciate all of you, and as I read the many posts, I am so sorry for all of your pain and mine.  This is a wonderful place where we can talk without fear of embarrassment and shame.  Really, most of us were given this stuff by a licensed doctor, and even if we weren't, it doesn't matter.  We all need support and positive reassurance from each other.  I have never been able to even talk with anyone about this, and now I feel like there are hundreds of you who know exactly what I am feeling.  So, I promise to be completely honest, even if I fail in this, and I also promise to keep trying.  I will also try to help any of you who I think I can.  Thanks to each of you who have written encouraging words.  I will keep you informed.

[TysonRed]

First thing I would do is talk with your doctor about how you want to get off these medications, he should be willing to help you set up a tapering schedule so atleast you can get to a lower dose before you quit. Theres always the option of just going cold turkey and getting it over with, the w/d's wont be easy but more than likely within about 2 weeks you should start to feel better. Me personally Ive always been able to taper my doses down before I quit, some people dont have the discipline to stick to a shedule but you sound like you probably could handle it. Like you said you only take whats prescribed to you, so if your doctors willing to help and he prescribes less and less, all you have to do is follow is instructions. If for some reason he doesnt want to you could always go find another doctor or preferably an addiction specialist that can give you some alternative medication to help ease some of the symptoms that come along with w/d's while tapering. Another option is to look into suboxone treatment, although I would try and quit by other means first, but it can be a useful tool for opiate detox when used correctly. Before you get into that make sure you do your research about the medication and finding a good doctor who truely cares about your recovery is key, there are alot of money hungry sub doctors out there looking to benefit from others addictions. I personally used suboxone for about 5months and overall compared to many others I  had what I would call a positive experience, although it wasnt easy, but I wasnt expecting any sort of miracles. So first thing you need to do is get some sort of plan that you think will work for you, let us know what it is that you decide. Just for your information at the height of my oxycontin addiction I was taking 320-400mgs daily, sometimes less, sometimes more. It eventually became way too expensive for me to keep up so I went to methadone which is way cheaper, but its also one of the hardest opiates to kick, if not the hardest one. At some point your going to need to sit down with your wife and try to explain the extent of the problem and how its affecting you. You dont want to try and combat this problem without the support of those around you. So figure out what kind of plan you want to try, let us know what you decide. Until then take care.