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Experiences with Taking a Drug "Holiday?"
I take liquid oxycodone through my feeding tube for pain management of neuropathic and GI pain. I also have rescue meds for migraines but I've gone off my preventative meds, Topamax and Gabapentin, as my husband and I were trying to conceive. I really would like to stay off the neuroleptics for a bit longer, but I'm concerned that I'm becoming overly tolerant of the oxycodone. I want to ask my pain management doc about taking a "holiday" off the oxycodone to cut back my tolerance, but I'm worried that I won't be able to cope with the pain if I do so. One of my friends mentioned a friend of hers who had this issue and was put on ketamine temporarily as an inpatient until her regular pain meds were out of her system, and then returned to her pain meds with much greater efficacy. As I understand it the ketamine would prevent excessive pain and withdrawal symptoms during the drug "holiday."
Does anyone here have experience with taking a break from opiates to increase their efficacy, and if so, how did you do it and what was it like?
Does anyone here have experience with taking a break from opiates to increase their efficacy, and if so, how did you do it and what was it like?
Best Answer
No problem -- most of us that answer posts don't care one way or another. I found that if I have anything "vested" in my responses, I'll drive myself nuts. Therefore, I just post my answer. And, "it is what it is."
More importantly, we all want you to be careful, to wean carefully AND successfully, and then when you post back how well you did and that you succeeded, then THAT will be the REAL "best response!" :-)
More importantly, we all want you to be careful, to wean carefully AND successfully, and then when you post back how well you did and that you succeeded, then THAT will be the REAL "best response!" :-)
Ugh, my stupid neuropathy laden fingers hit the 'best response' thing ... totally accidental ... both responses are great. I wish we could disable the best response feature so I wouldn't have to worry about it ... lol
My dear, I admire your desire to have a child. This is a big decision and can be richly rewarding.
Because opiates pass through the placenta to the fetus, children born to opioid dependent mothers are also opioid dependent. It is wise to wean from opioids before pregnancy.
Withdrawal is a poorly understood phenomenon, but experience shows that if your doses of oxycodone are relatively low (<= 40mg/day), you'll have an easier time with weaning.
Weaning should be slow -- no more than 10% per month -- to avoid severe negative side effects of withdrawal. Medical treatment of withdrawal symptoms should be provided. These may include treatment for runny nose, diarrhea, etc.
Hyperalgesia is a common symptom of opioid withdrawal. While symptom fades with time, in the early months of withdrawal it can be quite debilitating depending on your underlying pain condition. Wean slowly and work with a skilled board certified pain management expert so that withdrawal keeps hyperalgesia to a minimum.
Please be patient. Do not allow your physician to wean you too quickly.
Best wishes with your plans and good luck.
Because opiates pass through the placenta to the fetus, children born to opioid dependent mothers are also opioid dependent. It is wise to wean from opioids before pregnancy.
Withdrawal is a poorly understood phenomenon, but experience shows that if your doses of oxycodone are relatively low (<= 40mg/day), you'll have an easier time with weaning.
Weaning should be slow -- no more than 10% per month -- to avoid severe negative side effects of withdrawal. Medical treatment of withdrawal symptoms should be provided. These may include treatment for runny nose, diarrhea, etc.
Hyperalgesia is a common symptom of opioid withdrawal. While symptom fades with time, in the early months of withdrawal it can be quite debilitating depending on your underlying pain condition. Wean slowly and work with a skilled board certified pain management expert so that withdrawal keeps hyperalgesia to a minimum.
Please be patient. Do not allow your physician to wean you too quickly.
Best wishes with your plans and good luck.
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If you're not patient, and try to rush things, your tolerance will bounce right back up to where it was before you started to wean. And, in some cases, with all the stress on your body (from rushing things), you might end up needing and taking *more* meds than you were on in the first place.
So patience is the key. And, I would seek the advice of a physician skilled (with lots of experience) in the weaning process.
If done properly, carefully, and patiently, you may find you don't need to mess with the ketamine.
Good luck, and hats off to whoever had the idea to do the try out your plan.