Opioids New Tapering Plan with Oxycodone HCL ER

[bluesteyes]

Some of you have been following my journey in a previous post regarding my attempts is get off of opiate painkillers.

I was taking 30mg of OxyContin 2x per day plus 10mg Percocets for breakthrough pain. Unfortunately, I ended up not sticking to the tapering plan for the Percs, and I used them all up on Friday. The result: a 50mg drop in medication and withdrawals from hell the last three days. However, I am trying to look at the positive and acknowledge that I would be in a lot worse condition if I didn't have the 30mg OxyContin, 2x per day. On the other hand I have been enduring wicked crying spells. I carry a lot of emotional pain from my childhood, and I am mentally ill with GAD and depressions. The quick acting, up and down nature of percs are just awful for anyone who has psychiatric issues, regardless of how serious.

I spoke with my doctor today, and I told him that I want to be off of Percs, period. They are almost impossible for me to taper from because they are so convenient. Fibromyalgia acting up? That'll be 20mg. Having a hard time getting energized for work in the early morning? That'll be 20mg. And there are days when I just want to swallow 30-40mg to escape. I just need to be on a long acting med now for tapering.

Our decision: we going to switch to 30mg Oxycodone HCL Extended Release, 3 times per days. I am finding - and I don't know if others share my experience - that OxyContin simply doesn't last 12 hours when you are tapering. I took a pill at 4am this morning. At 2:30pm at my doctor's office, I was withdrawaling. He felt the best strategy was to use the OxyContin, at 30mg, 3x per day. Hopefully that will keep the withdrawals down....especially now that I am three days into a deep taper with heavy withdrawals. I am staying home from work again tomorrow. I am really hoping that my body gets acclimated to the new opiate dosage when I get the script tomorrow because I need to be at work on Wednesday. I will be getting 30mg of Oxy that I have not been getting the past three days, so that should provide addition relief.

We are switching to 30mg Oxycodone HCL Extended Release as a cost cutting measure. OxyContin is just way too pricey. However, I have had some bad experiences with generics the past few years. Especially with Lorazepam. If I take 1mg Lorazepam pill from Sandoz, I know that I will getting the real deal with good quality. If I get the PurePac variety, it almost feels like a placebo. I get little relief. I realize everybody's body is different, but has anybody had any bad experiences with Oxcodone HCL Extended Release when compared to brand name OxyContin?? Thanks. Would appreciate your input.

P.S. - I hope these crying spells end soon. They are so tough to deal with. I could barely keep it together in my doctor's office, and I was crying all over the place when talking to a counselor on the phone a few hours later. Brutal. You get anxious and desperate with you're dope sick, and when you get just enough to kill off the physical withdrawal symptoms, you get depression from the lack of euphoria you are used to experiencing.

 

[bluesteyes]

Very strange....none of the pharmacies I went to yesterday had any Oxycodone HCL Extended Release in stock. I had to buy brand name OxyContin.

While taking OxyContin 3x a day has helped with some of the physical withdrawals, I am experiencing a lot of depression and loneliness. I don't have family or friends. I have a good counselor who is on vacation (of course). But it just seems like there is this dark cloud that is going to be hanging above my head so long as I am tapering. I have been told to not freak out about it....that it just makes it worse. It's just my mind's natural way of restoring balance. But sometimes I wonder if it will ever end. My mind is so used to the quick shot relief of Percocet.

I have to confess that I have been drinking a lot of IPA beer of late, and I am starting to wonder if the excessive drinking is increasing my depression. I have been going thru a 6 pack a night.

 

[SS373dOH]

I don't know about the extended release, but I do notice differences between the instant release manufacturers, e.g. The A's and the M's always work better than say the 224's. Not sure why though.


- Hopeless

 

[bluesteyes]

This new tapering plan has worked wonders as far as killing off the physical withdrawals, but I don't think I have ever experienced this amount of episodic depression in my life. From about 45 minutes after I take my OxyContin pill until about 8 hours later when I take my next one, I just feel gradually more and more depressed with each passing hour. The first 4-5 hours are pretty good, but when it starts getting to the 2 and 1 hour mark, I just get in a really black mood. Sometimes I start crying for no reason. I just feel lousy. I can't wait for my next dosage. This is especially the case in the early evening. I am technically not supposed to take my last Oxy pill until around 10pm, but I am finding that I am taking it earlier and earlier in the evening. At around 5:30pm I start drinking IPA beers, because I just can't stand my black mood. Then about 7:30pm or 8pm, I finally cave in and have my last Oxy. The combination of the beers and the Oxy gives me about 3-4 hours where I am in a really good mood. Then I go to bed. Fortunately, I am able to make it to 6:30am without withdrawal symptoms, which is usually when I take my first Oxy of the day. It can be a really struggle to get to the 2:30pm afternoon dose. Sometimes I cheat and take it at 1:30pm.

A week and a half ago I was using Percocets to rid myself of these black moods in that 1-2 hr window before my next Oxy dose. As much as I would love to have some more Percs, I just don't want to do it. I have zero ability to resist the instant gratification I get from those pills. But I am also very, very scared about my next taper in 2 weeks. I have to go from 30mg to 20mg of Oxy, 3x times per day. A 10mg difference seems like an awful lot, and I fear minor physical withdrawals and black moods that are even more severe.

I can't wait to get completely off of this stuff. But then I wonder if I will be in a black mood 24 hrs per day. Fortunately I see my new pain psychiatrist later this month.