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9 year Oxy user with question's. first time poster so I hope im doing it correctly.

Riftur

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Joined
Apr 5, 2025
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7
I had back surgery and was fine for 7 years until I hurt it again. I was put on 4x10mg oxycodone IR and 2x morphine ER. Ive been on these meds since 2015. My usage went wacky when my pharmacist left and the new pharmacist did not want to fill my prescriptions. So because I went almost 2 weeks without getting the morphine, I had to take just oxy to keep functioning for work and the kids. So currently I take 10mgx8 a day for about 10-12 days of the oxy and once out, 30mgx3 of morphin ER a day for the rest of the month. When I first started doing this in 2017, I would feel euphoric the first 2 or 3 days of taking the oxy. Then when out of the Oxy, I start weaning myself to a low dosage of the morphine so I would feel the effects of the oxy still. It worked great for about 6 years and 1 day, all euphoric feelings went totally away. There was no slow decrease in effects. It just totally stopped 1 day and never came back no matter how low a dosage of morphine er I take. I went down to 1x30mg morphine ER pill a day for 21 days straight. Got my oxys and even taking 40-60mgs at once it does nothing. I know all about tolerances and everything but the way it happened was really weird. Almost like my body stopped absorbing the medication as well (total guess). Anyone experience this or have any thoughts on why it happened? I am now working to get off the pain meds since they totally stopped working for pain a few years ago. Now I take them to function only and am in a ton of pain. Lyrica is the 1 thing that still works but not enough. I am about to start tapering off the opioids hopefully for good. I am worried about my health rhough and I am very needle phobic. I would just go to the doctors and get all the tests done if I wasn't so needle phobic. I can't go to the doctors for tests unless I am on a lot of xanax. It takes 4-6 mg's (2mg, 2 hours before the appointment so i will actually go. I then take 4mg's right before I leave for the appointment. Even with the xanax I still pass-out when i see or feel the needle even on all that xanax. Wow, this is way longer than I expected and I hope I didn't break any rules or anything.
 
It's "just" tolerance. I remember in my "golden opioid days" taking tramadol in 300-400mg doses (staggered), it would have me energized/motivated during the day while high as hell during the evening & night. This went on for years too, sometimes using for weeks in a row.

I started to think tramadol is just different than other opioids, perhaps even that I am different myself. Somehow I wouldn't get tolerant to the pleasurable effects like others.

Eventually, as any experienced opioid user here probably would expect, that idea didn't work out quite as well as I hoped. I can't remember when it was, as like you I never experienced a very gradual drop-off in euphoria, but at some point the positive effects just seemed nearly 80% gone. The only way I've still been able to get a /really/ nice high is if I didn't use opioids for 3-4 months+ and then my tolerance would rise so quickly I'd be back on my old high doses without any meaningful euphoria within a few days or 1-2 weeks. Ofcourse I'd have the insane depression, withdrawals and what not inbetween dosing then to add to the "fun".

The main advice I can give you here is to stop using Lyrica and Xanax if you are not yet addicted to these substances. Once you finally jump off your 9 year Oxycodone habit these kind of substances can really help you out during withdrawal. They will be absolutely no use if you already have been dependent on them prior, potentially even making things worse if you get rebound-anxiety from them. [as is my experience after abusing xanax, lyrica and similar GABAnergics.]

If you are educated enough to use the darkweb (I don't believe it's available on the clearweb currently) then have a look at SR-17018. It's a new opioid that somehow seems to lower tolerance, be careful while taking this and planning to take your meds again though. When tolerance is super low, overdose is obviously a lot more likely.

I wish you all the best.
 
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Thanks for the replies everyone. Ive been on lyrica for years but have never abused it. I hate the way it makes me feel so I only take 1 of the 150mgx2 daily script i have. I will take more for its help with depressiion and anxiety though. My wife passed away May 30th. I take care of my elderly mother who is slowly dying of cancer. I even lost my dog and had to change jobs at work. My entire life changed within 3 months. So i actually have to take colazapam 1mg twice daily or I would be having panic attacks nonstop.
 
I am really pulling for you and sending you positive thoughts and love. I'm so sorry about your wife.

V
Thanks, I got 2 new dogs and they are really the only reason I get out of bed in the morning. Its hard to find something to live for when you lose your partner of 20 years. Less than a year before she passed she went back to college and got a degree in accounting. She didn't even get to use it.
 
Thanks, I got 2 new dogs and they are really the only reason I get out of bed in the morning. Its hard to find something to live for when you lose your partner of 20 years. Less than a year before she passed she went back to college and got a degree in accounting. She didn't even get to use it.
She never did any drugs her entire life and lived a healthy lifestyle. I treat my body like crap and eat the most unhealthy stuff. If it wasn't for her dinners, I wouldn't have eaten anything healthy, like now. Yet she has a heartattack out of nowhere. It's really not fair.
 
She never did any drugs her entire life and lived a healthy lifestyle. I treat my body like crap and eat the most unhealthy stuff. If it wasn't for her dinners, I wouldn't have eaten anything healthy, like now. Yet she has a heartattack out of nowhere. It's really not fair.
Man, I really feel for you and pray you stay strong for yourself and the others around you.

Myself I don't understand why I'm still alive either, the insane amounts of drugs I've taken and somehow I'm still quite healthy. Others try to live more "by the book" and meet their end much sooner.

Life just isn't fair but I try to be more grateful for the moments that we get these days, I took everything for granted when I was younger. It could all be over tomorrow.

I wish you well my friend.
 
She never did any drugs her entire life and lived a healthy lifestyle. I treat my body like crap and eat the most unhealthy stuff. If it wasn't for her dinners, I wouldn't have eaten anything healthy, like now. Yet she has a heartattack out of nowhere. It's really not fair.
Reminds me of my mother,she got her Lake and beach house, boat,RV,complete health nut,on her death bed I asked her if she was sad she never got to enjoy these things,she said"well at least my dreams came true" She succumbed to cancer at 58.Happy you have some sweet dogs to love.
 
Reminds me of my mother,she got her Lake and beach house, boat,RV,complete health nut,on her death bed I asked her if she was sad she never got to enjoy these things,she said"well at least my dreams came true" She succumbed to cancer at 58.Happy you have some sweet dogs to love.
I am very sorry for your loss. I am dealing with the same thing with my mother. Watching one of your parents die slowly is total torture for them and for their family. 58 is just way to young. my wife passed away at 49. She is Filipino so when people saw her, they thought she was in her 30s.. When i first met her I assumed she was in her mid 20s and i asked to see her license for proof. At the time, she was 30. the 1 good thing was she got to own her dream car (2023 Lexus SUV) for 5 months before she passed. she loved that car.
 
I am very sorry for your loss. I am dealing with the same thing with my mother. Watching one of your parents die slowly is total torture for them and for their family. 58 is just way to young. my wife passed away at 49. She is Filipino so when people saw her, they thought she was in her 30s.. When i first met her I assumed she was in her mid 20s and i asked to see her license for proof. At the time, she was 30. the 1 good thing was she got to own her dream car (2023 Lexus SUV) for 5 months before she passed. she loved that car.
I like your vibe,its so hard to have a good attitude when in so much pain,but my mother laughed till the end,everything was so surreal and ironic,but she she left an indelible impact on me in her dying process,if she can go through that,I can handle it as well,hard to explain but she gave me a gift.I was only 40 when she left her meat suit behind.I do feel shame getting hooked on opiates for no reason at all besides wanting pleasure after all I've experienced later in life, but hey I've been free of the monkey on my back for years now.Thanks for the vent in your trying time,means much,I really do wish you soft landings and the knowing you are loved by these women
 
I like your vibe,its so hard to have a good attitude when in so much pain,but my mother laughed till the end,everything was so surreal and ironic,but she she left an indelible impact on me in her dying process,if she can go through that,I can handle it as well,hard to explain but she gave me a gift.I was only 40 when she left her meat suit behind.I do feel shame getting hooked on opiates for no reason at all besides wanting pleasure after all I've experienced later in life, but hey I've been free of the monkey on my back for years now.Thanks for the vent in your trying time,means much,I really do wish you soft landings and the knowing you are loved by these women
Until a week ago, I couldn't even get out of bed. In all honesty, I'm still in the stage of being mad at her for leaving me behind. I appreciate all your kind words and congrats on getting off the opioids. May I ask how long you were on them and if you had paws, how long did it last? Paws worries me especially without my.wife around for support.
 
@Riftur, unfortunately there is no secret answer man, the sad fact is that if you use opioids, or any other substance really, everyday eventually the magic just evaporates.

There really is no way to fully get it back, you can take a tolerance break, however even if you take a serious break when you start again you will be back at square one very quickly.

There are a few theories as to the exact mechanism of action when it comes to tolerance, receptor down regulation is one and the only way to reverse that is to take a serious break and that likely isn't practical when dealing with chronic pain.

I am not familiar with SR17018 as was mentioned by another member but it may be worth reading up on.

It probably would be worth spending some time reading about opioid tolerance reversal as there are a few things that may be worth trying, low dose DXM comes to mind.

If you have a good doctor you may even be able to try a different opioid at an equivalent dose which may or may not help.

The reality is however that it is unlikely you will be able to get the magic back, the best you can hope for is that the medication gives the pain relief you need to have a functioning life.

You have had your fair share of hardship thrown at you and you are still pushing ahead, that tells me you are strong.

Losing someone like your wife, someone that you shared your life with is never easy and that is a huge understatement, however you still have your kids and they will need you to stay strong.

I have had my fair share of hardship also, I've been a heroin addict since 1994, likely I would be dead or at the very least a full jail bird if it wasn't for the methadone program which I have been on since 2000.

You have to find that certain something that motivates you to keep putting one foot in front of the other, doing it for your kids seems like a strong motivator.

Myself I found spirituality and it is my relationship with the creator that inspires me to keep trying.

You're obviously a strong person as you have made it this far, so just keep doing what you have been doing.

I will leave you with a quote that helps me keep things in perspective and I hope it helps you in some way.

Endurance is the spirit that can bear things, not simply with resignation but with blazing hope.
It is the quality that will keep a man on his feet with his face to the wind.
It is the virtue that can transmute the hardest of trials into glory.
Because beyond the pain, it sees the goal.

Wishing you all the best.
VC
 
that is how opioids work. They are so regulated doctor's cannot write them to keep up with the tolerance and dependence unless you have cancer, are in a nursing home, or hospice where there is not a limit. Also opioids have a baseline value that once passed, more does not always mean better relief of feeling gained.

I have found that adding clonidine and ativan to them makes less more. With oxycodone hcl letting them dissolve under the tongue makes them 3-4 times stronger than PO oral and they last on the receptors 2-3 times longer.

I have been on roxi 30's for 14 years with methadone 10's. I take 3 methadone 10's per day to keep the oxycodone IR from dropping below a useful baseline. If I take more than 7 Roxi 30's per day they do not work as well, so I stay at 6-7 30's per day. The ticket is adding the clonidine and a small amount of ativan at various times of the day. Finally taking a good sedative hypnotic at night that has some carry over into the morning. this is the best pain management I can use at home without it being IV dosing in the hospital & there is room left for surgeries and other medical procedures for them to add opioids for acute pain.

there is no easy answer to this because when the patient is depressed, tired, stressed the meds do not work as well. when they have a good day, happy, grateful day the meds work great. that is the issues with chronic pain turning into chronic pain syndrome. The syndrome adds other factors into the mix turning things into a up down up down life.

the worst issue is a junk pharmacy and junk doctors that affect the patient's life with their personal views without ever being in the patient's shoes or taking the medicine they deal out. my pharmacy allows me to fill 2 days early on schedule II to schedule 4 drugs where as chain pharmacies have some 21 year old telling me have I have to wait til the 31st day to refill and then they forget tell me they are out of stock. Hell no... I bring the pharmacy coffee and dognuts to keep them happy and everything is lovely. I stake my claim and they remember I need mine before a walk-in client is served.
 
Sorry for your loss..

In regards to the Oxy, im going back years because here in Canada we don’t have access to these things really much anymore. I know there are some APO’s floating around for outrageous prices but the last time I tried to IV an 80mg blue, it didn’t even give me a tickle. I strongly believe tolerance isn’t a short term thing. When we use these drugs regularly, they create these neural pathways that deeply engrain themselves. Your best bet is to edge off and hoard your scripts, maybe just take one the day before an appt if they’re blood testing or urine testing you to prove youre taking it; but hoard them for a while and maybe months down the road you’ll get that warm fuzzy euphoria we all know and love. Best of luck to you
 
it is hard to hoard scripts when in daily pain and have to get things done. the physical drain feeling is horrible after being on opioids for decades. it doesn't matter how much oxycodone I take daily, I wake up at 4-5am sneezing. the only thing that helps with that is taking methadone in the evenings.
 
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