Yeah I've read that it's pretty shit orally, but I'm not really willing to go the other routes even though they are superior. I used to take 5mg Oxycodone for breakthrough years ago, but that level like the 15mg morphine didn't do much.
I've only had Oxycontin once and it was before my knee surgery, it worked swimmingly but that was also before I started on the morphine as well. Back in those days Percocet/Vicodin/Tylenol 3 at their lowest levels had me drooling on myself and floating on Cloud 9. That feeling doesn't happen anymore as is the case with most people.
From what I've read, the new formulation of Oxycontin doesn't work well because they've messed it up to deter abuse. The name would probably scare my doctor (and no he's just a Primacy Care Physician who's going on recommendations of the pain clinic) and make him think I was a drug seeker.
I make it a rule to never ask for specific drugs because I feel like they see that as a red flag. I may ask for something different though, except Fentanyl because it didn't work for me at all and I got violently ill. The ER said it wasn't because of the Fentanyl but why else would I have become that sick on the same day I switched to it?
Okay, I see your situation with a little more clarity. I am glad to hear you take the meds via the (ROA) Route of Administration they are supposed to be taken. You are right again about asking a PRIMARY doc for specific drugs like oxycontin. Not a great idea unless you have a great relationship with the doc and he knows you are not a drug seeker, you are simply in a lot of pain.
I do not know how things are where you live but it is becoming more and more the norm for Pain Management Doctors to operate as a specialty outside of General internal or Family medicine. If your doctor is getting recommendations from the pain clinic why not get a referral to the pain clinic? Primary care physicians in my area would not even touch prescribing morphine unless there was a barrier preventing you from being seen in a pain management setting. They stay away from prescribing the types of medications you seem to need due to new laws, regulations, the DEA, etc. etc.
I think it is wrong but it is due to doctors that were prescribing meds like oxycontin without monitoring their patients and some patients began abusing them, selling them, what have you which led to a dramatic increases in OD's and addiction problems. Huge lawsuits were filed against the manufacturer -Different subect.
Doctors will usually use whatever worked for you in the past without much hesitation. If vicodin worked before then hint that you might need something a little stronger for acute flare ups but go with Norco which is the same drug only less acetaminophen than Vicodin. Tell them about your experience with Fentanyl and your desire to stay away from it. Percocet is just oxydodone with acetaminophen (tylenol) and I think acetaminophen is one of the most hepatotoxic medications out there. I use oxy without the Tylenol. I am trying to get away from oxy because of the rapid tolerance I seem to develop and I am tinkering with Buprenorphine, another opioid that is usually only prescribed at pain clinics.
See, I told you I would start throwing a bunch of medications at you. Sorry. I have been through a lot since entering pain management. My orthopedic specialists had exhausted all of their tools to help me and they gave me my first referral to a pain clinic about 7 years ago. I do not know if it is something you want to look into but I will give you a general overview of pain management.
If you can get a referral to the pain clinic then take it if your insurance will cover it. The best pain clinics I have found are run by doctors with an MD in Anesthesiology and further certification in pain management. They can offer injection therapy along with other comprehensive treatments including medication management. They have far more power to prescribe meds like Oxycontin or Opana.
You usually have to be a good little patient and pee in cups randomly and in my case bring my flipping meds in and have them counted randomly. The latter has never happened yet and probably will not as long as I pass all my UA's. But I do not rule it out. I could go on about why things have become so strict but that doesn't help you much. Pain clinics specialize in treating
chronic pain and try to focus on the entire individual as relates to the pain they are encountering.
It is up to you to be your own advocate and say "Hey man, I am in living hell and the medication is just not doing the job". I am rambling so to conclude I want to clue you in to this bit about oxycontin not being the same. It most definitely isn't. I remember taking it before the reformulation and it took the pain away faster than anything I have ever used but it made me manic so I stopped using it. They reformulated it for the reasons you mentioned. It can no longer be smoked crushed into a fined powder or manipulated the way it used to be.
After I had been through methadone, hydromorphone, hydrocodone, combining this with that and not getting sufficient relief, my pain doc finally went with Oxycontin, the new OP version. IMO it is not as effective as it was before but it is still, for me, the most effective baseline (extended release) med. I just wish its analgesia would last longer and not create tolerance as quickly as it does for me.
I wish you luck as chronic pain can completely ruin one's life. Again, be your own advocate and do not let the doctors take complete charge of your care. If something isn't working then speak up. Sorry for the megapost. I should have gone into law where rambling is the norm.
because of two more attempts at fusing my spine together but I dream of the day of getting back into my practice. It really changed my life in a matter of months and made my back pain tolerable without heavy narcotics.