having a hard time

[kittykat58]

I was doing really well tapering down, wanted to taper before my hip surgery which was supposed to be this coming monday. I got down to ~60mgs oxycodone/day from ~120 but then last friday I had to stop taking the anti-inflammatory (DC 1 week before my surgery) -- when I stopped the anti-inflammatory my pain became so severe that I upped my narcs, back up now to ~100-115mgs/day. I am so disappointed in myself! and I still don't have very good pain control. my surgery also has been postponed so now I have ~12 days to go before the opersation, not 3.

my doctor said I don't really have to taper down before the surgery but I thought I would do better with post-op pain if I tapered and had a lower tolerance, and I really wanted to. now I'm almost back up to my original highest level of OC and not getting very good pain relief, either. I started the anti-inflammatory again but it will probably take at least a few days to kick in -- and then I'll have to stop it again on wed (1 week before surgery).

what should I do? I can't seem to taper back down b/c my pain is so bad, and I feel like I've lost my resolve to taper. should I try ct? I have the house to myself for the next 2 days (fri & sat) but I don't think I'd make enough progress with ct in two days to make it worth it. I don't want to be in the middle of full blown wd when my kid and hubby come back from their trip. I also still have meds and doubt I will stick it out.

any advice? I basically want to lower my dose down to about 30-40 mg/day but my pain is severe and I seem to have lost my willpower. I'm very discouraged with how hard this is.

[kittykat58]

yes, they know what I am taking, I have been upfront with them this whole past year. I will continue to do so. I just worry they won't be =able= to manage my pain if I am taking this much before surg, but pharm said during my preop testing that they have ppl come in for surgery on much higher levels. (??)

I don't have shame, I'm taking these meds for legit reasons. I've nbeen trying to taper b/c I'm afraid they won't have a big enough bomb to hit me with post-op! it wasn't that I was trying to taper so they wouldn't know how much I am taking, it was just to try to have better pain control after my operation.

I've been back on the anti-inflammatory only 6 hours and I already feel so much better. I wish I could keep taking it right up to the day of my surgery...  :(

thanks again again again r2r, GTMI, lily -- you all are sooooo awesome,  :)

and lily, I've been sober from booze a long time -- I wish you the best!

[lilyput]

oh yes i agree with road: you MUST be honest with your docs while in the hospital. everyone has the right to have their pain managed - even us addicts. again....addiction is a DISEASE. they have no right to make you suffer just because you have a disease the etiology of which is not well understood (YET). just calmly explain to them how much you take per day so they can adjust your pain management accordingly.

hold your head high and know that you will be ok once you get these obstacles out of the way. everything in due time...

lily

[road2recovery]

As long as you are totally honest with your doctor and your antesiologist....That way they both know, and then when u are in pain after they know they can possibly give you more pain meds then the next person...honesty is best..Also this is your life..
I wasnt' honest and I suffered so much in the hospital after surgery...The nurse came in and gave me 1 lortab 7.5 and told me i could have one every 4 hours....I think i started crying....I was taking so much more then that before surgery, and I payed the price..
you will be fine
r2r

[GoingToMakeIt]

Worry about tapering after the surgery.

[kittykat58]

nice nice nice lily thank you for being there... :)

[kittykat58]

ohhh..you are so nice. that is so reassuring, thank you for answering. I may be getting myself whipped up into a lather over nothing, but I just don't want to be in agony after my surg b/c I have too high a tolerance. I will definitely be discussing it with my doc, though, so...thanks again.

I've just been feeling really nervous with it creeping up again.

actually, creeping nothing -- it went up like a rocket.

[lilyput]

kittykat i'm sorry but i don't have any experience tapering off oxycodene. my drug of choice is alcohol so i'm in the dark. however, please don't be too disappointed with yourself. the point is that you are at least trying!

i don't know what to tell you, but it seems like you picked a difficult time to taper with your pain level, and upcoming surgery. you might just have to wait until after surgery until you can try again. i know you don't want to be in withdrawal in front of your hubby and kiddo, but you may not have any other choice.

i'm sure they'd understand if you told them the situation.... sometimes our families can be a lot more understanding than we think. you are human and you have a disease - addiction.  i looks to me that you are trying to do something to help yourself, and that's all you can do right now.

good luck and god bless!

lily

[GoingToMakeIt]

I would not try to taper much. There is no real point. Your pain med tolerance won't change that much. Just make certain that the Dr knows your situation. Get them to commit to you that they will make sure your pain is under control.

[kittykat58]

bump