oxycodone withdrawal

[GeorgieG]

Hey I'm new here so I'm not too sure if I'm posting in the right spot so if not I'm sorry.

I have been prescribed oxycodone for a year now and have been gradually tapering down I currently take between 35 and 60mg a day depending on my pain but my pain specialist is out of office and completely forgot to book my appointment before he left so today at 2pm I took my last dose and won't have access to more until he's back in 2 weeks unless I try to go to the hospital which I would like to avoid. My question is I guess being over 9 hours since my last dose wouldn't I be feeling some sort of withdrawal by now? I have had it in the past and usually felt it within 6 or 7 hours... I'm wondering if maybe my dose is small enough that I will have minimal withdrawal or should I expect to wake up in the depths of hell tomorrow?? I'm trying to stay positive but I'm pretty petrified especially because I am out of remission with my kidney disease so my pain will get out of control too so that on top of withdrawal might not be a great few days for me... any advice on withdrawal and chronic illness might be appreciated too

thanks so much y'all.

 

[Keif' Richards]

Georgie, I'm truly sorry to hear that you're having to deal with Doctor bullshit, being a legitimate patient and all, this shouldn't even be a possibility. 2 weeks?! Well, it's the reality apparently, so we're gonna go with it. Oxycodone is a short(er) acting Opioid, when compared to the Gold Standard of Morphine, which has a slightly longer (1-2 hours maybe) duration of action. So, yes, you should definitely be starting to rattle a bit after 9 hours. You know your body and how it reacts to these drugs best though.

Opioid withdrawal is linear for the most part, but I've seen and heard of anomalies in the process previously, including true Heroin addicts who have quit with 6 hours of serious sickness, only to feel totally fine afterward. I've known people who have quit (they say at least) with almost no withdrawal symptoms, when really, a pretty severe syndrome should have been expected.

There are different options available and most of the ones I have in mind don't involved going to the ED to request Opioids. You probably are going to require a prescriber though. At any rate, I think we'll dive into things like symptom control once you start experiencing symptoms.

Feel free to post in the forums or to send me a private message. I'm pretty good about checking my mailbox usually and I tend to try my best to handle folks in withdrawal as fast as I'm able!

 

[GeorgieG]

well now i woke up with def symptoms, watery eyes, crawling skin, nausea, headache

 

[Keif' Richards]

Shit man. I was hoping you would be joing the ranks of "The Miraculous Ones". Alas, that is not the case. Do you have access to a Primary Care doctor or anyone that can prescribe you medications? This is just the first step.

 

[GeorgieG]

No, they can't see me until Feb 1st
Literally the ED is going to be my only option

 

[GeorgieG]

I think I'm going to head in there now.

 

[Keif' Richards]

Yea, that's probably your best bet. It's too bad you don't have a Primary Care doc. Some advice would be to ask for a few different drugs, provided they won't provide you with the Opiates that you need.

Gabapentin (Neurontin) - It's a lifesaver, non-controlled and easy to get. It will greatly reduce symptoms such as Akathisia, Restless Legs and Anxiety

Clonidine (Catapres) - Not as great as Gabapentin, but it is a sedative of sorts. I will reduce heart palpitations and if taken in the evening can make the difference between a night of sleep and a night of rolling around in agony.

Ondansetron (Zofran) - It's a straight anti-emetic. It's going to be greatly more effective than OTC remedies as it acts directly upon the brain's mechanism for inducing vomiting. I've only vomited a couple of times total while under Ondansetron's effects.

Also, you're going to want to pick up some Loperamide. If you have a Costco card, you can get a bottle of 400 2mg pills for cheap, otherwise any pharmacy will carry it. Avoid taking large dosages though, as it can and will mess with your tolerance and potentially make your Opioid prescription less effective.

This is a start and we'll go from here. I'd talk to your Doctors but keep this information in mind. This is coming from a soldier who's waged a lot of Opioid battle in his life.

 

[GeorgieG]

thank you. I actually have gabapentin here already... but hopefully I can get my script because I am in severe pain without.
I really appreciate all your help, thank you.

 

[Relapz]

yeah I would suggest going to the hospital or another doctor, bring your paperwork for your medical condition requiring the medications, explain the situation and try to embark some empathy from the doctors .. They should be able to write you a 2 week - month script of some oxycodone.. It would be inhumane if they don't.

Best of luck man I wish you the best, I've been there.

 

[GeorgieG]

Thanks for all the help though guys.

 

[GeorgieG]

It was only a few day script but it will help I can make it last until I see the new pain dr and urologists and gyne.

 

[Relapz]

I'm glad it worked out man, keep up the fight you got this brother

 

[Keif' Richards]

If you need advive on how to maximize the effectiveness of that Gabapentin for the purposes of withdrawal symptom maintenance, send me a note Georgie. Did you end up at the ED or no?

 

[GeorgieG]

I did I posted a message but I guess it didn't go through. I got a script Friday morning that lasted until Sunday at 7am Now I can see my actual Dr Monday to get a longer script. So its only tonight and part of Monday that I'll be sick, sp thats not too bad. Took some gabapentin tonight only 200mg cause I'm super sensitive and it helped a bit.

 

[cduggles]

Hi Georgie, I have a suggestion that has probably occurred to you.
(Btw, I was on oxycodone for bone cancer and going without oxy for even 1/2 a day was NOT an option).
Usually doctors - even specialists- have someone on call, partners in private practice or a long-time colleague with mutual trust. None of these doctors would fill my prescription because it was high quantity oxy.
So I made a plan with my doctor, which basically involved her informing two of her colleagues who I was and request that they call in my prescription if I contacted them. She chose two to ensure one was available. I had to call twice in one year and each time only one doc was available.Good luck!