Major reduction in narcotic dosage!!!

[seano]

I recently went frm 130 mg. of Mscontin 3x daily, and 15 mg. ofoxycodone 4x daily to only 15mg. 3x daily of Mscontin, and 5 mg. of oxycodone 3x daily. I have the same exact of pain releif atthe lower dosages!  I have been on high doses of every narcotic imaginable for many years. I have a veryhigh tolerance. I just wanted everyone to know that the best dose of your pain medication is most likely THE LOWEST ONE THAT WORKS! I recently had an accident and am thankful that I am on lower dosages now. If I wasn't, my pain would never have been releived enough. Has anyone else had a drastic reduction in dosage with the same pain releif as with a higher dosage???

[sandee1818]

I too am glad your getting relief on the lower dosage.
Too many times we think the higher the dosage the better relief we will get and this is not always the case. The lowest dose is always the best to take when the lower dose works well. Due to tolerance issues medications have to be adjusted periodically and so it is best to get by on on  the lowest dose possible. Some may think there is no limit to what dose you can take but with narcotics this is not true. There is a cut off point and once you get to that point the only choice is to go off all of the meds and start over essentially This is not pleasant to go thru as you could imagine.
I hope the lower dose continues to help you:)

[Mollyrae]

I too am glad that this works for you. In my case though, I would have to disagree. I have tried lower doses only to find that my pain has increased to the point where it's hard to get it back under control. If I let it get to that point, it takes days to straighten it out again.

I have been on my current dose for sometime now and if I don't vary from that, I'm in great shape. I also know my limits to activity so with the dosage and limits, I keep my pain at it's least.

Thanks for your input.

Mollyrae

[Tuckamore]

Hi Seano,

Thanks for sharing you experience. I am so glad that this is working for you. It's always the best policy to take as little medication as possible. It will be interesting to see if others have had the same or similar response to reduced dosages.

I have reduced my dose in the past on my own and found I could not manage on less. But I am not on very high doses nor am I on one of the "Big Dog" meds.

Now interestingly (at least to me) is the fact that I have taken several of the more potent opiates and found very little difference in the pain releif. Only IV or IM (in hospital of course) meds seem significantly more effective for me. I'm supposing my damaged body just does not absorb oral medications very well.

I'll bet not only are you surprised with the results but it should be some what of a relief to find you can do with less. This must be good news for you. Congrats!

Again thanks for sharing.
~Tuck~