your oxycodone immediate release already IS kind of your BT med? in order for any real BT med to be effective the way you are just taking the more short acting oxy right now, you would almost have to go UP on the strength of the actual narcotic used like with something along the lines of dilaudid/hydromorphone just to be able to really 'hit' the actual flaring or BT pain, ya know what i mean? sometimes simply adding to an already short acting form of oxy with only more oxy does not usually work real well, but it does appear to help more when you are also taking a contin version for some reason? just my own personal experience using it that way for many years?
the only difference between oxycontin and oxycodone is the time released delivery system of the contin vs the codone here? what your doc explained to you was dead on right. i take oxycontin and have now since i hit my PM clinic in 2004? and at THAT time was also allowed only two " 5mg roxicodone' which was my BT med? roxi is like percocet without the tylenol, just ONLY immedate or short acting oxycodone alone with nothing else added, which is what you are currently taking now several times per day(at a much higher dose than i was) compared to when you only had to dose in a more limited way with the contin since it releases its contents much more slowly more thru out your day?
and there just is no way in heck that the contin actually even comes close to actually lasting the stated 12 hours? i and many other people i have chatted with who take this too will usually obtain between 8-10 hours at best in alot of cases, but closer to that 8-9 than 10? when i mentioned this to my then NP at my PM clinic, she simply upped my daily dosing to three times per day instead of the only two? and with no real problems either so i KNOW she was already aware of some peoples real limitations as far as even hitting that stated 12 hours? going to three seems to be becomming more the norm as the PMs are really starting to realize just how crappy this med controls any pain after like only 8 hours start to pass by? so they can up you to three, but that too would depend much more upon what your PM feels about this too? this really would help you alot in just even getting that more consistant "blood plasma level" that just IS what keeps our pain levels more 'stable' thruout day AND night time too? with the short acting you are on now, your overall BPL simply would actually drop down to almost the normal over time passed since you are NOT getting anything to realistically even 'hit' it with once your very last dose gets taken and that usual about 4-6 hour run it only has just hits you over the night? the contin would help to better maintain that really crucial more steady BPL?
"ideally", the way the contin is 'supposed" to work is you would not actually need any BT meds BUT only if the actual oxycontin dose is actually taking care of your pain properly, and YOUR actual pain is just even 'stable" on that current dose? and you do NOT have flares where it just is very needed? its kind of stated that way in the Rxing lit, so thats probably why your doc hit ya with that one? but with me, i simply HAVE TO have something to really even be able to hit the level of pain flares, so i was allowed, after talking in depth with my NP about specific areas of pain, the two 5 mgs per day.
the way it is supposed to go with OC is if you actually even feel you 'need' BT meds, that the OC dose needs to be raised up for you? but as with most patients who suffer chronic pain, that real 'need' to up an entire dose per day of OC really is not always THAT needed, so it just makes much better and more common sense to simply allow the actual patient to be able to treat the flares without having to raise up that entire dose amount? that is unless your overall pain has become much higher thru out your day, then the dose should be raised up?
thats just kind of the way the basics of rxing oxycontin just kind of 'are'. vs short acting oxy? but they truely are two totally different "types" of meds when comparing oxycodone with oxycontin, ONLY by the way they are delivered? short acting/immediate release with plain old oxycodone vs long acting with the OC just is? they also are actually manufactured in two totally different ways as well in order to even be able to deliver the med over a long period of time?
there is a really great pain forum here down below in the "P" section if ya want to pop in there? some really caring and very knowledgable people are there who can truely help you with just about ANY pain med or control method type of questions there? i do hope my answer helped some and did not confuse you more. sometimes that just happens, lol? good luck with the PM, and please DO let me know how things go for you too susy, FB
