Will Oxycodone help?

[Tom Fisher]

Hey, I am Tom 27 year old male. For the past 4 months I Have been having excruciating flare ups of pain that cause electrical like shocks in the neck and at the base of my skull. The other symptoms that come with this are nerve pain, weakness, numbness, loss of coordination into my arms and legs, and staggered breathing. I have had a history of back problems the worst being a hard tumor on my L4 vertebra that was removed when I was 14. I honestly have no clue what is causing these flare ups but am Scheduled to see a neurologist soon. The question I have is. Has anyone experienced these symptoms and what medication worked for the pain? I was given 20mg of Oxycodone when I was 14 after my surgery and it seemed to work on ALL the pain I had at the time. I also have a fear of trying new medication because of bad experiences when younger so any advice would be appreciated on what to avoid and what works.

 

[Kittycat5]

Oxycodone is an effective analgesic, mostly for pain that isnt neuropathic in nature (which from your symptoms it sounds like you do indeed have neuropathy going on). That being said, opioids can be prescribed for neuropathy and work in some patients, they just arent generally the first agents a doctor would choose. Things like Lyrica, gabapentin, and duloxetine are commonly prescribed first.

But also, you have used oxy, so it technically isnt new to you. Id say go for it if you do it responsibly to get some relief.

 

[Keif' Richards]

^Indeed. Tom, it sounds like it's very possible that your pain is neurological and should be treated with non-Opioid agents. Opioids will help with the psychological aspect of the nerve pain, but as KC5 has said, agents like Gabapentin (Neurontin) and Pregabalin (Lyrica) are much more effective for this purpose. However, it sounds like your pain is more complicated than simple nerve pain, so you will probably require some kind of tandem prescription to totally treat your symptoms.

Tom, you mentioned the fact that you had negative reactions to certain medications when you were younger. This is an important aspect of your case and I would like to know specifically what drugs you were given and which ones produced negative reactions. If it is an issue with the Opioid that you're using, it could be as easy as administering a different Opioid.

If you could get me some of the details, I will write you right back man, but as it stands, I think Gabapentinoids should be your first choice. They are more effective for nerve pain and carry less risk of addiction and dependence.