don't know what to do

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plezhelp

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Hi all. I have been on oxycodone for 16 months. I take 30 mg a day. I need to get off of this stuff, but do not want to be in pain. I meet with my pain doctor on the 12th. is there anything out there that is like oxycodone but not as addicting?
 
There is a drug called Suboxone that some doctors who are trained can prescribe to help get you off of the oxy without withdrawl symptoms. Some docs use it for short perioRAB of time for just detox and others for maintenance. I've been on it for over 4 months now and it really helps with cravings and allows you to get on with your life in recovery while still functioning, working, taking care of family, etc. things that I wouldn't have been able to do if I had tried to go cold turkey after 2 yrs of hydrocodone us, 180-200mg daily.
Are you using the oxycodone for pain? Sometimes suboxone works for pain but I'm not really sure about the details of treating pain patients with it.

kew
 
Hey kewood.
my prescribed dose was 60mg a day for each month, but would only last me for 2 to 2.5 weeks. It works great for my back pain and makes me feel happy and easy going. Once i'm out of my meRAB my mood is lousy, depression, anxiety and pain and am just done right tired. I feel out of control and cannot trust myself to limit my take of the meRAB. I know i'm addicted but am not 100 percent that i want to stop.
 
Hello plezhelp - welcome to the forum. If you are in legitimate pain, then you are not addicted, but dependent on the pain medication, just like a diabetic is dependent on insulin for their condition. Almost all pain blocking medications are opiate based and thus addicting. I don't know if suboxone will relieve pain, since I have never tried it.

Having legitimate pain and taking the pain medication as prescribed does not make you an addict. I am currently taking Percocets for my reoccurring pain and there are others in the forum that are the same. There's a new drug on the market called Nucynta that is suppose to have less addicting and withdrawals effects than other opiate-based products, but it still is opiate based and therefore, I believe, will have the same effects. I took Nucynta for a while, and you can real my post here if you would like my personal opinion.

For pain, there are few substitutes than opiate-based drugs, but there are alternatives like Tramadol or other lower dose drugs that you might want to talk about with your pain mgt doc. Talk to them and your pharmacist for additional information. They may be familiar with other drugs that will relieve pain. My pharmacist takes the time to talk about different drugs and their uses.

Sometimes long term use of opiate based drugs are a reality that we have to consider. I'll have pain for the rest of my life, or until I decide on surgery, so I take the Percs as needed for pain. You may want to consider tapering back until you take just enough to stop the pain or are at a pain level that you can tolerate. I don't shoot for no pain, but for reduced pain that I can tolerate. Hope that helps.
 
|Thanks Denon for your reply...

|My concerns are that I take more than I'm prescribed in one day. than I'm out before the end of the month. I like that when I'm on this I'm not in as much pain, and it makes me feel happier.when I'm off it for a day or more I'm a complete different person. I'm a recovering alcoholic (7yrs) and really do not want to be addicted to another thing.Reality though with the disc disintegration and bulging and arthritis and facet joint problem....I've been told pain will be there for my life time:( |My wife is going with me to the pain doctor tommorrow.....|I just wished i didn't feel al this guilt!
 
Well, (as I sit here twisted and hunched over in pain), I think I can relate to your condition. I have spinal stenosis of various degrees through out my spine, plus 3 bulging discs in my cervical spine, protruding disc in my mid-back. The 3 bulging discs occurred Sept 2008 and I was able to get to the point where the pain was mostly gone after 5 months, so I detoxed (poorly) off of the Percs (that's how I got to this group). In August this year, I casually stretched my neck and heard a pop and I was in pain all over again and I'm still in pain today. Pain doc said I'll be in pain on/off for the rest of my life. Tried Nucynta, which didn't help and I'm back taking the Percs again. I don't really count how much I take because I only take it when I can't tolerate the pain anymore. I always half the pills and start with 1/2 pill to see if it will work. When I had the bulging discs I took way more than prescribed to deal with the pain and I was taking up to 80 mg a day.

That was why I asked if you were able to drop down to lower levels and see if you could tolerate the pain and still lead a somewhat normal life. Possibly consider taking the pills only when you start having the pain and not on a daily regiment of every 4 or 6 hours. For example, so far today I have not had a Perc (but I will soon), since I was inclined on the couch most of the day watching football. I have mostly been able to postpone taking any pills until evening or at night before bed, but it depenRAB on what I have been doing during the day.

Of course, your pain level may be more than mine and need to take more to resolve it. I would suggest when you take your doses, take 1/2 and see how long you can go until you need another one. You may have to experiment around a little to see when you need to take them, plus taper down as required. I found that I started withdrawals about 10 hours after taking a pill if I stopped taking them. That's what we say here to taper down to lower doses.

See if that might work for you to get you down to lower doses. You shouldn't feel guilty. I don't because I need the medicine for my condition. SounRAB like both of us will be taking the Percs for a long time. Let us know what the pain mgt doc has to say.
 
Thanks Denon....I will let you know what happens tomorrow.I really appreciate your taking time to talk with me!
 
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