Opana ER / Oxycodone questions

[Hate to Feel]

Hi, all. Yesterday I made my first post on the forum and several of you were nice enough to let me know that my thread may not have been posted in the most applicable section. Here was my thread:


For the past 4 months or so, I have been experiencing lower back pain. Sometime the pain is very severe, at best, it's always sore. I've brought this up to my family doctor and they wanted me to get an MRI. The results came back showing degenerative disc disease in my L4/5. I was immediately referred to a pain management doctor. Before being referred, my family doctor gave me a small script for viocdin 7.5 until I could be seen.

About a week later, I had my first appointment with my pain management doctor. The guy and his PA were both very nice and they took the time to review the results in depth with me. Long story short, I told my PM that the vicodin that I was taking weren't cutting it, so he
prescribed me percocet 10mgs 3 x per day and referred me to physical therapy. I just completed my 2nd week of therapy and it's a little to early to predict if that is going to be the answer. I have my first follow up visit with my PM doctor next week. The percocets definitely help to make the pain more manageable, but I generally double dose when my pain is severe. One 10mg dose just doesn't cut it when I get a "back attack" as I call it.

While I like the perks, I'm not sure if I shouldn't be on something even stronger. I always experieince pain in my lower back to some
degree. I'm either going to ask that I be raised to 4x per day or ask about oxycontin or opana.

Do any of you have lower back issues or have degenerative disc disease? If so, what do you take? Do you think it's too soon to ask my doctor for something stronger? I don't want to come off sounding like a pill seeker - which I'm not. But I would like to take whatever is needed to help me in leading a normal life.

Would an ER be better than an IR? Like I said, I'm always in pain. Sometime it is just more severe than others.

The more I think about it today, the more I'm thinking about asking to be placed on Opana 5s or 10s ER and take my percocets for breakthrough pain only. I would just like some feedback from those who are more experienced with these drugs or someone who suffers with degenerative disc disease. Would asking for Opana ER and staying on perks for breakthrough seem like a reasonable request? The fact that I always suffer from some type of lower back pain leads me to think that I should be on an ER? If they decline giving me an ER to add to my perks, I'm going to ask that they at least raise the dosages from 3 per day to 4 since they only seem to provide relief for 4.5 hours. Thoughts??

 

[nAON]

Not allowed to make threads like this. Just be honest with your doctor if you're in too much pain.

 

[Hate to Feel]

Not allowed to make threads like this. Just be honest with your doctor if you're in too much pain.

I apologize in advance. I'm really not asking how to get harder drugs as much as I am trying to find a way to take fewer pills in a day.

 

[nAON]

Ah, I sort of misread your thread title as 'How should I ask my doctor for Opana ER'

Otherwise, I don't really have much experience with this sort of stuff, hopefully someone else can help you more.

 

[Oxide]

Hi there. I went ahead and changed the title of your thread for clarity.

This is a little borderline, but as you obviously are asking for advice and opinions on the subject and not how to get better drugs, I'm going to leave it open for now.

In my opinion I think you should discuss these concerns with your doctor, but if I had to advise you one way or the other I'd stay with percocet, and talk to your doctor about increasing the dosage if need be.

 

[Beachcat]

Well, I have experience with degenerative disc disease and lower back pain. My advice is to be very honest with your doctor. While you logically want something stronger, if you can get by staying on the perks and maybe doubling up when your back flares, do it. It is a slippery slope, and opana is a dangerous drug. It makes your tolerance super high.

Personal example, before I took opana, i was fine on perc tens, occasionally taking two. Then I went on opana. I am off of it now. But just tonight I have taken 150 mgs of oxycodone, and I am still in significant pain. It was the opana that messed up my tolerance.

I would think long and hard on whether you want to go down that road, and above all else, tell your doctor everything. That is the way to get the best outcome for your particular situation. I hope you are able to find a solution that works for you, back pain sucks ass.

 

[Hate to Feel]

Hi there. I went ahead and changed the title of your thread for clarity.

This is a little borderline, but as you obviously are asking for advice and opinions on the subject and not how to get better drugs, I'm going to leave it open for now.

In my opinion I think you should discuss these concerns with your doctor, but if I had to advise you one way or the other I'd stay with percocet, and talk to your doctor about increasing the dosage if need be.

Thanks for the feedback and being lenient by not closing my thread. Like I said, I'm just looking for feedback and I am fully aware the doctor is the best person to discuss this with.

I tend to agree that upping my percocet dosage from 3 to 4 times a day might be the best.

Lastly, since I'm new to the whole pain management doctor / painkiller thing, is it ok to tell your doctor that you take more than recommended (ex. 2 instead of 1 when the pain is REALLY bad) or do they tend to frown on those things? I want to be honest.

 

[nAON]

I think saying you take extra occasionally due to pain would be a good idea, as long as you don't make any allusions to recreational use.

 

[Hate to Feel]

Well, I have experience with degenerative disc disease and lower back pain. My advice is to be very honest with your doctor. While you logically want something stronger, if you can get by staying on the perks and maybe doubling up when your back flares, do it. It is a slippery slope, and opana is a dangerous drug. It makes your tolerance super high.

Personal example, before I took opana, i was fine on perc tens, occasionally taking two. Then I went on opana. I am off of it now. But just tonight I have taken 150 mgs of oxycodone, and I am still in significant pain. It was the opana that messed up my tolerance.

I would think long and hard on whether you want to go down that road, and above all else, tell your doctor everything. That is the way to get the best outcome for your particular situation. I hope you are able to find a solution that works for you, back pain sucks ass.

150 mgs?? Holy hell.

I'm not judging by any means, but you just convinced me than sticking it out with the percocets is for the best. I'm sorry and truly sympathize with your pain. Back pain DOES truly suck!

 

[Chainer]

i had no issues with opiates whatsoever and was on both vicodin and then roxies for about 2 years on and off for a broken jaw and a few other injuries... then I got on opanas, lol. The w/ds and quitting was out of this world: my advice is take what you feel you really should. Like others have said, slippery slope. Even with the broken bones I had, I knew the oxymorphone was way to strong but I didn't care. I know what you mean about being a pain patient and working up the opiate ladder in a way though, but just like Beachcat said, it really fucks your tolerance fast. I was blowing probably 150-200mgs each night in IRs and 40 ERs by the end of it, and quitting was god awful... So think a bit in the long term, I'd aim for what you and your doctor decide is appropriate. It's easy for oxymorphone to get out of hand fast.

 

[Pjkt2501]

Personally, I prefer -codone to -morphone for my pain management. I've had multiple cases of lyme disease and am always working on cars (currently doing a full rebuild/resto-mod of an 80's european car - laying on my back for hours at a time grinding, welding, etc SUCKS!). I can't sit cross-legged for more than 10 minutes without significant pain spikes (actually true about ANY position, I have to keep changing, and I'm NOT ADD in the slightest, opposite by a long way).

Just throwing it out there. the -morphones always just make me "numb" but the -codones make the pain go away and keep me content with living my life. I however am young enough that my doc thus far hasn't wanted me to get anything "proper" so I'm stuck paying street prices, and getting rx'd ibuprofin...

Good luck in your battles! Try to keep your doses below 60mg/day (I find this to be a personal "ceiling dose" in that more just makes for a much shittier come down / week ahead if I try to take a break). I can go cold-turkey from 30mg oxycodone/day to 0 with just my rx'd benzo and some weed, at least if it's warm out. Cold weather and hell no.