Opioids Has anyone ever had a successful long term relationship with prescription opoids?

Hi there. I have the opportunity to be prescribed oxycodone long term for chronic pain due to a heart condition. The actual reason for the prescription would be chest pain, but the main reason I benefit from oxycodone is that it helps with other issues I have. Normally I feel very uncomfortable in my body. I'm always tried, groggy, and slow. I feel as if I'm always weighed down by something, and no matter how much sleep I get, I'm tired. Oxycodone lifts this weight and makes me feel like what I imagine normal people feel like. I was on it for 3 months consecutively and during that time my performance improved at work, I made better use of my free time doing things like free online classes, and I was in general more happy and comfortable. It was honestly the best 3 months of my life, and during that period I didn't need to raise the dose *much* to get the desired effect.


The problem is, it's hard not to abuse. I was prescribed 180 pills a month and it felt like so many that I felt like it was no big deal to take an extra one here or there to feel even better than usual. And I feel like that's the only reason I needed to raise the dose at all; because of my own mistakes taking more than I was supposed to.


But I want to know, if I was able to have complete self control, and only take the pills when I really needed them, is it possible to be on oxycodone long-term without raising the dose? Probably not. What do they do to get around this for people with permanent pain issues? I wouldn't mind taking one day off a week if that would keep my tolerance down, but I'm sure that's not enough.


Sooooo, my question is, does anyone have an experience where they were able to be on oxycodone for legitimate reasons, long-term without it spiraling out of control? If yes, please describe. If the answer is no, how long were you on it before you lost control and what do you believe caused you to lose control?

Any family or people close you can trust who can lock your pills from you and dispense them to be taken as prescribed? If you can manage that in the long run if needed it is very possible.

It is possible. I have used Vicodin (generic hydrocodone 5mg/325 APAP) for many years for back and neck pain due to spinal stenosis without increasing either strength or frequency of dosage.

I use the opiates when I am in severe pain and ibuprofen and heat/ice isn't doing the job. I am currently on the same prescription of 90 tablets that was filled better than a year ago. I may take 1.5 tablets in a day. Then go a month, take .5 tablet, and go another month (see other post about opiate sensitivity).

I also have been on a low dose of Lorazepam and a high dose of Temazapam daily for ten years without increasing or abusing those meds. While those meds should never have been prescribed in that manner, and I live in fear of withdrawing from them in the future, I have never abused them or increased them/played around with dosages.

The big difference is that i have a fear of being "out of control". I do not like the sensation of being high for the most part. I did my share of experimenting in my late teens and twenties, which included trying heroin, luckily smoking it, as otherwise I'd have probably killed myself. I liked it so much that i swore never to go near it again and haven't.

I think it isn't so much a matter of the so-called "addictive" personality as it is a matter of having the specific sort of physiological makeup that leads to development of a tolerance, which is something that likely will happen with regular use and should be handled with your pain managment team, and whether or not you get (and enjoy) the euphoric sensation opiates can give.

Personally, I find opiates to be a huge pain in the ass. They do a great job on pain, but I have to take Zofran with the tiny doses I can tolerate so I don't puke up my lungs, get so fucked up I can't drive and am walking around holding onto the walls so I don't fall over, and in general am non-functional.

For me, I'd much rather they'd come out with a magic pain killer that could be used "whenever" that worked on pain as well as opiates do, without the "high".

OTOH, it'd be nice if they'd come out with something that had the heroin high without the risk of addiction and habituation and all that goes with that, as I still remember that.

ETA: I have a friend who has had 3 failed back surgeries and has been on opioid pain meds for 20 years. While the strength of her pain meds has increased over the years due to increasing severity of pain and development of tolerance, she has never increased dosage or frequency on her own. She has gone from Vicodin to oxycodone/apap, to morphone with oxycodone for breakthrough pain. she is under the care of a pain management specialist and her treatment includes therapeutic modalities other than meds.

I fucking love the name of the this thread. Haha! Movie and Television gonna buy you out one day.

But seriously, long story/answer short - I'm fine on a lifetime of tramadol, but give me daily codeine and I'm fucked. I think it's the the LEVEL of abuse potential the opiate has, the consumer will eventually or accidentally reach it some day and would've been better off without. It's an interesting question though. I'm one of the ones who claims self medication with whatever I self medicate with (tram, mostly) is a healthier option than smashing back a variety of other drugs of times gone past. If you get what I mean.. I'm working, happy, productive. Not high.

The vast majority of people who use prescription opioids for legitimate medical purposes will not become psychologically addicted. Unfortunately for you - judging by your post - it seems highly likely that you fall into the group of people, myself included, who will most likely not be able to use script opioids without developing an addiction. The minute you start using your script to allieviate psychological symptoms you start down a very slippery slope.

The best things you could do for yourself right now are: 1) go back to using your pills exactly as prescribed and never abuse them again, or if that doesn't seem likely, 2) tell your prescribing physician what you have been doing with your pills and see what possible solutions she/he presents. If you continue using your pills to make you happy I can almost guarantee it will get out of control - sooner rather than later. Unfortunately people like us rarely do what is best in these kind of situations, at least not the first few times. Good luck with everything man.

I'm successfully addicted to oxycodone. It was a piece of cake really.

I've been on Percocet for two years now to manage a truly gnarly case of fibromyalgia. I haven't had to increase my dosage, though I did have one exceptionally nasty flare that Percocet couldn't control following a car accident (Soma was called in for emergency purposes). The key, though, is that I take it intermittently, and never on an every 4-6 hour timetable. 40 tablets of 5-325 Percocet lasts me a month, usually more like 6 weeks. The max I've ever taken in a 24-hour timespan is 3 and a half tablets, and that was during an exceptionally bad flare. Oxy isn't ideal for long-term chronic pain, but Hydrocodone has never been effective for me, and I'm seriously allergic to Neurontin/Lyrica. One of the factors that helps me is that I don't particularly like the way Oxy makes me feel. I do get some mood enhancement from it, but more of a "thank god I'm out of pain" instead of a "damn this feels good" kind of way. And yes, I'm under the care of a pain management doctor and do other things as well to help alleviate pain. Cymbalta has helped - it hasn't lessened the severity of my pain, but has kept it mostly confined to my left arm. Prior to going on that, it was equal intensity in both of my arms and one of my legs. I also do acupuncture 2-3 times a month - acupuncture by itself has never done anything for me, but the supplemental techniques like hot cupping and gua sha are good treatments for trigger points. I also get trigger point injections as often as I can without getting too much cortisone, ususally about every 3-4 months.

As others have pointed out, using a narcotic to alleviate psychological symptoms is where the slope gets very slippery. I would recommend a psychiatrist for the other issues you mention. Something like Remeron may be a good option to help you get better quality sleep and to function better during the day. If you keep your use of opioids confined to managing pain, you'll be fine. Once you start using them to manage other health issues, the streams get crossed and bad things happen, regardless of your best intentions.

SK...Did you get my PM?

^yep sure did DC! Replied earlier with subsequent installments yet to come cos typing on my phone is restrictive to say the least.

some posters on this thread dont seem to understand what OP means..OP takes oxy not just for chronic pain but also because oxy heals some psychological pain or unease..the people on here that have taken scripted opiods for years and not ran into problem DON'T LIKE the way opiates make them feel, they take them strictly for pain relief..OP likes or loves the way opiates feel, they make him/her feel comfortable..i would say the chance you have OP of taking scripted opiates long term without running into problems is maybe around 5%..you already said you are abusing them and you havent been on them that long..just imagine 3-4 years down the road, your tolerance will likely go up even if you are a strict user for the most part..

By the sounds of your original post, you should head for the hills now!! You will become addicted unless you take them 2 or 3 days a week your going to get hooked. I thought like this (why I relasped for 2nd time) figured I could live my life taking the normal prescribed dosage of the opiate but nope I'm 23 and like to party so that lasted a few months then went all hay wire on me. If you honestly never been addicted before, then you can take them on Monday Thursday and Sunday 1 a day. Now of course on a bad day take more but watch out for those bad days don't miscontrue a bad day with pain!!!!

One suggestion I would make (and this only works if you have someone who you trust 100%) is to have someone else hold the meds. They would give you your 6 every morning and you'd have to make it work. This guarantees you won't run out or be tempted to take more than you should. Trust me, when you get to day 30 of your script, it's a great feeling knowing you don't have to cut back your daily dosages to be able to "make it" till your next refill. I love it. Again, you need to have someone in your life who could serve this purpose and I realize not everyone does.

As for successfully navigating a narcotic script long-term. Believe it or not, I used to take 80mg x 4 of Oxycontin OPs and I managed on them quite well for 6+ years until I was forced to find a new doctor since old one was retiring. The new docs would have nothing to do with OxyContin, so I was switched to Opana ER. So far, so good with the new med and it's been about 4 years. So, yes it can be done, creativity not withstanding.

I've had a Percocet script for the past 3 years. But I only get 40 a month and that's plenty for me. I have MS so something always hurts, plus I have an old fused ankle that probably needs redone or something. But the most I ever took on a regular basis was up to 4 a day when I had severe nerve pain in my arm - 1st ms symptom 5 years ago. So I took about 4 a day for about 2 years. I was afraid I'd get addicted but as the pain subsided, I was happy as hell to stop taking them. So yes, I've been able to keep it under control for a long time. But I do like them and I don't want to give them up. I often go a couple weeks or more without taking one. After reading some other responses, edit to add: I do love how they make me feel. I've taken 1/2 a perc with 15mg adderal before and that was nice. I'll sometimes take a perc before bed but I try not to do that too often. I've never been addicted to anything but I do enjoy my percs.

My dad has taken Oxy 10's (Percocet) for many years. He has severe orthopedic problems and it, in conjunction with cannabis, helps him a great deal.

I don't know about a recreational relationship, though.

SWIM would be like , he'll ya.. but he's a crazy mofo.. he got no sense.

If you don't like them too much. If you only use them for medical purposes. Then again if you don't need them for medical purpose or like them that much, why enter into a long term relationship with them? It's not like they have that much to offer then.