Went to the doctor. Starting on July 14 I am going taper down to 20mg of OxyContin, 2 times per day. I am at 30mg right now. In between now and July 14 I need to start tapering my use of Percocets. I have been taking 10mg in the morning with my OxyContin. This is going to be the hardest one to eliminate. I usually don't sleep well, and so I get up exhausted and in pain. I like the extra kick that the Percocet gives me in the morning. I also need to eliminate the 10mg Percocet that I usually take around 4pm when the morning OxyContin dose starts to wear off (OxyContin tends to last 10 hours for me). I tend to get depressed when the OxyContin starts wearing off. I also need to eliminate the 5mg Percocet tablet that I take with my evening OxyContin tablet. This should be the easiest one to eliminate.
I expressed to my doctor my concerns about withdrawal symptoms when I go from 30mg to 20mg. Especially since I will be starting the taper on a work day. He said that it's really important for me to taper down the Percocet usage. He also gave me a script for Clonidine. It's for the pill kind (not a patch), and it's the lowest possible dosage. He told me to take one if I felt withdrawal symptoms. I have never used Clonidine before, so I have no idea what to expect. He said it shouldn't make me sedated. When I switched from taking Percocets all day to 30mg of OxyContin two times per day, I went through 4 days of mild withdrawal symptoms which were unpleasant. I had bad anxiety, shakiness, and I sweat like a hog. I felt at times as if I were hyperventilating. Fortunately, I didn't have nausea, diarrhea or restless legs. I somehow got through it. After 4 days, I felt normal. I am hoping that if I experience similar withdrawal symptoms on July 14 that the Clonidine will help make things easier for me. I also have an Ativan script, but I have been taking Ativan for some time, so my tolerance is up there. Still, 2mg will help calm me down a bit.