Opioids One year stuck with Oxycontin...

[masked_hero]

Hi all, new here.

I have a few questions...

I have been taking anywhere from 60mg to 160mg of Oxycontin everyday for the last 12 months. All of my subscriptions are from 1 doctor and 1 chemist and all legal. I have been given this medication, along with Lyrica because I have an annular tear and ruptured spinal disc between L5-S1.

I also suffer from PTSD - so severe anxiety and depression.

SO a year ago I used to take 60mg swallowed hole every morning, along with 300mg Lyrica and my pain would probably go down by 60%. I did this for about 3 months. After 3 months I began reading that if you break down the pills into tiny bits, you would get all of the dose in one go and it would be a lot better for pain. So I used to break it into tiny pieces with my teeth, put it on a bit of paper, then take out all the Lyrica powder out and put it over the Oxycontin and I tried it. I was light headed for about 2 hours and I suddenly got this urge to play video games. I played video games for about 16 to 20 hours straight and I would feel sleepy intermittently from the 1-2 hr point of taking the dose.

After doing this for several months and come to the present time - I feel the effects of the same dose does no longer make me feel like playing video games or enjoy life - but it does suddenly remove all anxiety.

However in the last couple of months I have been taking 20mg every 2-3 hours because I felt the effects wear off so fast. The 20mg does still is enough to remove anxiety. However now I start to feel sick if I don't take Oxycontin for 5-6 hours and it affects my sleep. When I used to just take one big dose first thing in the morning, this wouldn't happen. If I take my last dose, say 9pm and I go to bed around 1am, by the time I wake up at 9am I can barely move my body - I am full of muscle aches and pains that I can barely stand up. I also feel as though I am a lot more heavier than when I went to bed. I also wake up with slight nausea and a runny nose which all goes away as soon as I take the 20mg dose - well it does take 30-1hr for it to kick in fully.

1. What did I do that made me suddenly not go without Oxycontin for 5-6 hours and why is it affecting my sleep? Why am I getting such massive muscle aches when I wake up? Am I getting withdrawals that fast while I sleep?
2. The effects used to last all day and make me sometimes stay up for 24 hrs, but now I feel as though "something is missing" or "slightly depressed" within taking even 80mg in one go. Why is this happening?
3. Since I am not able to increase my dose, what happens if I stay on this dose "forever".
4. I am currently taking 560mg PER WEEK. Yes per week, not per day (as I have read for some) - would it be easy to get off Oxycontin for life?
5. I can put up with the withdrawls in terms of muscle aches or nausea - however when I have tried to stop even for a few days - I start to feel mentally "hollow". I feel my thinking is affected, I cant concentrate and I get huge levels of anxiety. How long would this feeling take to go away because it's the only reason I usually go back to using my script. I am happy to just deal with my pain than to deal with the prison sentence this little 20mg pill has given me.

Cheers and thanks for understanding,

MH.

Ps. I just want to add that I know someone very close to me who has had a direct family member die from an Oxycontin overdose suicide (among other things) and which is why I also want to stay away from this pill.

 

[tnvol44]

I have been in your shoes.I did completely detox from the contin,it was not easy to say the least.The anxiety you mention is by far the worst wd symptom.I started off by reducing the amount per day weekly.The first week I took as directed,the second week I reduced by 25% and reduced by 25% each week until I was taking a miniscule amount.When I got to a manageable amount I jumped off.The only two things that really helped me were having a large amount of gabapentin and about twenty blue footballs(xanax).I was the same as you as far as having overwhelming anxiety,that was by far the worst part.If you do the same thing as I did be careful with the benzos and only take them when it is unbearable,you don't want to face a benzo withdrawl!Good luck and you can do this,you will definitely thank yourself if you manage to quit the contin even if for a couple months or so,it's worth it.My tolerence had gone so high so quick,I was taking 2 20mg er contin and 100mg total oxycodone ir a day.Since detoxing I have had to go back on the ir oxy for chronic lower back pain but now manage quite fine with 4x10mg per day.It's a viscious cycle but unless you detox every now and again your tolerence will do nothing but skyrocket.I would suggest you ask your dr to rotate meds every six months,maybe trading the oxy for morphine and then switching back.Good luck my friend and let me know how it works out.

 

[BeachBum4u]

1. What did I do that made me suddenly not go without Oxycontin for 5-6 hours and why is it affecting my sleep? Why am I getting such massive muscle aches when I wake up? Am I getting withdrawals that fast while I sleep?

I believe there are a couple things going on here. One, you're needing the meds sooner and more often because you're developing a tolerance. Also, my experience with Oxy is that it has a sort of "uppy" component in addition to the regular painkiller stuff. If I took one of my 80 mg pills anywhere after 8:00 pm, I'd be up till at least 2:00 pm and usually later than that. It's just what it does. What I think is going on with waking up in so much pain is something I've heard happens with regular use (several years) of pain med usage. It can actually cause an increased sensitivity to pain, called "hyperalgesia". Little aches can become major pains etc.. It sucks but the experts swear it's something that happens to pain patients.

2. The effects used to last all day and make me sometimes stay up for 24 hrs, but now I feel as though "something is missing" or "slightly depressed" within taking even 80mg in one go. Why is this happening?

Again I think this is the build up of your tolerance. Once the medicine starts to leave your bloodstream, there's a depressed feeling. I believe this is due to your serotonin levels being dropping off, thus depression. At least I think that's how it works. I know it sucks but it is what it is.

3. Since I am not able to increase my dose, what happens if I stay on this dose "forever".

Eventually it will do very little for your pain but I promise, you will still "need" to take it or your body will scream at you (withdrawals). Sort of the deal where you hear heroin addicts talk about needing to do this shot to "get well". Not necessarily able to get high at a certain dosage but just to stave off W/D's and the addict will feel better (well).

4. I am currently taking 560mg PER WEEK. Yes per week, not per day (as I have read for some) - would it be easy to get off Oxycontin for life?

At 80 mg a day, you will definitely be uncomfortable withdrawing but it could be worse. Just follow a gradual taper over 4-6 weeks and you should pretty much be OK once you get to the "jump off" point. It will not be a "walk in the park" but you can definitely do it. Good Luck if you choose this route.

5. I can put up with the withdrawls in terms of muscle aches or nausea - however when I have tried to stop even for a few days - I start to feel mentally "hollow". I feel my thinking is affected, I cant concentrate and I get huge levels of anxiety. How long would this feeling take to go away because it's the only reason I usually go back to using my script. I am happy to just deal with my pain than to deal with the prison sentence this little 20mg pill has given me.

For starters, I'm certain that much of that feeling is due to your serotonin levels dropping off. This will definitely cause a sort of depressed state in most of us. As for the anxiety, I'm not sure how that ties into things but it'd be a good idea to ask your doctor. I've heard that this depressed feeling can last much longer than the physical part of withdrawing from pain meds. I think most of the physical part is over in 30 days for most folks but that depressed feeling can last much much longer. It sounds like you may be at a crossroads with your pain meds. I'd urge you to talk all of this over with your doctor and hopefully you can come up with a good game plan moving forward. I wish you all the Best!