Tapering off Oxy (again)

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mel486

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Had a doctor's appt today for the new pain that started in my back recently and he wants me completely off of the oxycodone so we can evaluate the pain, where it is coming from and what is it's real level. He thought I'd be better off than where I am from my original injury over a year ago and the next step after the evaluation is possibly surgery on my spine. So, I'm tapering again.

The hard part is trying to figure out where my baseline is since I have been taking the oxy at irregular intervals and doses and only when the pain was bad. Yesterday was a bad pain day and I needed 40 mg to control the pain. The day before I only took 10 mg. Today I was able to get by with 5 mg in the evening, but my pain level is already on the rise, but I won't take anymore tonight. I've been taking it only when the pain warrants me taking something. So, I'm going to see if I can get away with 2.5 mg in the morning and then again at night for the next few days and see if I experience any withdrawals. I'll adjust accordingly once I know where to begin and taper down from there.

I am Soooo sick of this pain and taking the pain pills! Maybe the surgery is the right answer. I'm scared of that! I figure I'll be back working from bed by the end of the week, but I need to get this evaluation over so I can plan a future.

So, I'm on the tapering trail with some of the rest of you on the list. We can taper down together.
 
Well I made it through the day today and besides being in pain from head to toe, I think I did pretty good. So far today I've only had 2.5 mg of oxy, but I'll see how I feel before bed tonight. Right now every ache in my body has surfaced and I think most of it is real pain and not having to do with withdrawals. So, I'll see how it goes. Since I was on such an irregular schedule when I was taking it, I'm hoping I can be off of it by the end of the month. I want to get off and drug free so the doctor can evaluate my pain so we can decide what is the best route to take so I can eventually become pain free someday. I am so sick of the pain!!!!
 
I just wanted to say good luck friend with tapering off the oxy. It sounRAB like your doing a good job so far.
 
I don't know what advice to give you right now, but I just want to say that i feel for you. I do have some back pain due to scoliosis, but since I'm only 25, it's not that bad yet unless I do heavy lifting or something. I can't imagine how hard it would be to be in chronic pain AND have a particular problem with opiate addiction. I just can't imagine! I would always think I deserved to be high all the time, and I can see the problem just being extra insidious. Stay strong and I feel empathy for all of you opiate addicts with chronic pain! What a tough situation.
 
Well, I've never considered myself an addict, as much as being dependent on the drug to stop the pain. I have slipped up a few times and took more than I should have, but I took the oxy for the pain and never to get high. I'm just going to taper down and get off of it and see where my pain level enRAB up and go from there. The doctor does have a valid point that he cannot accurately evaluate the pain and where it is coming from while I'm taking the pain pills. So I taper until I can jump off.
 
Just wanted to say hi....I haven't been on the board for a few days so I didn't realize what you were going through. As you know, I was off the oxy for 3 mos. and couldn't live with the pain level. Now I'm also trying to take it on an "as-needed" basis.

I hope there is a surgery that can help you, if you decide to go that route. There is none that can help me, and it is quite depressing. I hope you had a nice holiday, despite all of this darn stuff!
 
I'm up WAY earlier than normal this morning because of some mild withdrawals (racing mind, some shaking, insomnia). So, I figured I'd get some work done before finishing my dishes for T-day dinner. I was able to get by with only 2.5 mg of oxy to get through the day yesterday, which was a big drop from the 40 mg I took two days prior and 5 mg the day before, but I wanted to see how my body would handle it. Today will be another good test and I'll wait until noon before taking another 2.5 mg dose so I'm not in pain during the whole T-day dinner. I'll see how I feel before bed and if the 2.5 mg will get me through the whole day like it did yesterday or not.
 
The pain level is preventing me right now from getting completely off the oxy. I am down to 1.25 mg once a day and I tried the last 2 days to go cold turkey, but I ended up both days getting up at 4AM to shave a small piece off of the pill to relieve some of the pain so I could fall asleep. I was able to get down to the 1.25 mg fast and I think it was because I used the oxy on an "as needed" basis as well - just taking it when the pain got too bad and only enough to manage the pain. That's the only way I'll take it if I have to again.

So far today I'm oxy free and I'm going to take an Arabien in a minute to see if I can sleep all night long. If I can do that I'm pretty sure I'll be able to maintain the cold turkey tomorrow.
 
Hi Found your post after surfing around the boarRAB a bit. I also have chronic pain. My doctor changed my pain meRAB from Percocet to Nucynta. Nucynta is a weak opiate along with an NSRI (norepinepherine re-uptake inhibitor) that auguments the effects of the opiate. I have found it to be helpful (had to have a dosage increase though) without the side effects of the stronger narcotics including sedation and mild euphoria. I was thinking that it might be a good medication choice for some folks with chronic pain but who are trying to stear clear of the stronger more traditional stuff. You might raise this possibility with your doctor. Best of luck to you.
 
Thanks CaliGirl, but I have already tried Nucynta and it did not work as well for me, plus it gave me a euphoric effect with a I would not drive my car feeling. Plus, right now my PCP wants me completely off of all pain meRAB. I have an appt with my PM doctor tomorrow to get his opinion about coming off of the opiates and the possibility of surgery. He was the one that had me try the Nucynta and I tried it for a few weeks and told him that it did not work as well. He put me back on the oxycodone.

Right now I'm into my second day of cold turkey and (so far) no withdrawals. Although, I am in quite a bit of pain at the moment. I just want to get this whole thing over with!!!!
 
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