Opioids Switching back to OxyContin: Question

[bluesteyes]

I have been trying to get off of opioids for quite some time. I had gotten down to 10mg of OxyContin, 3 times per day, but a number of bad situations in my life caused me to increase my dosage until I ran out on September 11 (of all days) and went into crazy withdrawals. I went to my doctor on September 13 after 2.5 days of withdrawals, and he gave me a 10mg Percocet script, 3 times per day, that was supposed to last a couple of weeks. Well, the Percs just don't last long enough for me, and so I have been averaging around 50mg per day and will run out of script in the next day or so. Today my doctor graciously gave me a 15mg OxyContin script, TWO times per day, for the next couple of weeks.

When I originally started taking OxyContin after having taken Percocets for several months, I was given a 30mg script for 2 times per day, but I discovered that the effects of the OxyContin were tapering off after about 8-9 hours. So I was given a 30mg script for 3 times per day. I continued weaning down the OxyContin until I got down to 10mg, three times per day, before I got off track on 9/11.

My question: I have not had any OxyContin since September 10. Again, I have been probably averaging 50mg of Percocets per day since September 13. Sometimes I take 40mg, sometimes I might take 60mg (never more than 60mg). I am going to take my first 15mg OxyContin tablet tonight, and my next one 12 hours later. Do any of you think that I will experience any significant withdrawal symptoms as a result of the change? I don't know how I am going to adapt to just taking two OxyContin tablets per day. Perhaps now that I am at a lower dosage level (15mg) I won't experience a drop off after 8 to 9 hours. I have no idea. Please also note that I did go through a 2.5 day withdrawal before I saw my doctor on September 13. I am scared to death of major withdrawals. The fact that I also suffer from depression makes them worse (I am now being medicated for depression, but I am on a non-therapeutic dose right now).

I have a big bottle of Klonopin and a few Clonidine tablets. I don't have many Percs left, however.

 

[BeachBum4u]

Dude, you need to make those pills you got last! Otherwise you'll be chasing your tail every month. And yes, you may very well feel the need to redose at the 8 - 9 hour point but try to power through to 12. I know it's tough. I heard somewhere that Purdue actually admitted the pills only last 8 hours and you'd need 3 a day to really do it right. However, with all the scrutiny they received when they rolled out OxyContin (it was a serious full court press on doctors!) they were afraid to say you'd need 3 a day, so told the big lie that the pills last 12 hours. Total Bunk!!! Do you best and I'm sure you'll be OK.

 

[ZacherySwan]

@bluesteyes I do not know the size of Percocet you are tapering down on, but watch the amount of APAP you expose your liver to. I always took Mallinckrodt 5/325 mg generic's.
(Endo) or, the majority of us, probably 90% take the generic Percocet, and, I am very familiar
with the Mallinckrodt 5/325's. It is a matter of tapering down, even, to the point of keeping a chart, on a sheet of paper, or any kind of planner, or, daily reminder diary, and, the
reality, of, I did not want to quit, cold turkey, from dosing the Perc'shrma firms. 4,000 mg has caused death, when taken all at once, and the liver takes a lot of damage with
2,500mg to 3,000 mg per day of Percocet. 12 x 5/325 is 3,900 mg of APAP daily dangerously close for liver damage.




g

 

[kleinerkiffer]

^This
Look up Cold Water Extraction

 

[ZacherySwan]

@bluesteyes

Quote {pain Pill addiction is somewhat different than other addictions. Once patients get through the Acute Withdrawal Phase, it often followed by a period of
POST ACUTE WITHDRAWAL, lasting weeks to months. In post acute withdrawal from opioids, patients feel persistently unwell. Though they don't feel the misery
of acute withdrawal, they don't feel persistently well. People describe feeling low grade, persistent fatigue, depression, and irritability. The likelihood of post
acute withdrawal probably increases with longer duration of opioid use and larger quantities of opioid drug use. The PAWS can be draining. many newly
recovering addicts relapse during the first weeks or months of complete abstinence from opioids.Unquote

PAIN PILL ADDICTION A PRESCRIPTION FOR HOPE JANE BURSON M.D. 2010 DOG EAR PUBLISHING ISBN 978-160844-698-8

 

[ZacherySwan]

Detox is not enough

Quote: A week or so is not enough time for detox, now termed "withdrawal management" but that's not long enough to teach patients the skills they'll need to remain
drug free. Relapse rates with detox treatment alone are as high as ninety-six per cent in the first year. Most relapses occur within the first month" unquote page 20

Source: Pain Pill Addiction Jana Burson M.D. ISBN printed in previous thread above @bluesteyes