Stopping my Oxycontin

I personally can't handle Tramadol, it makes me horribly sick, but there are plenty of medications out there. Do some research and see what works for you and your situation. Tramadol might really work for you, as people are different.

Withdrawal is one of the worst feelings in the world IMO, so if you can get through that on your own, congratulations. Does your doctor know that you've decided to stop taking Oxycotin? Withdrawal from drugs like that have the potential to be dangerous if you're not careful and if your body is used to large doses.

Not to mention the Dr can prescribe meds to help alleviate symptoms of withdrawals.

Just be careful and I don't know if going off everything else and relying on the higher doses of tramadol to carry the pain is realistic. Many times more is not better,we see actually less relief and more rebound problems.

I've certainly been following the story of your merry-go-round you seem to be on with your pain Dr. He seems to be confusing as far as what his goals are for you.

Maybe it's time for a serious sit down with him and even if you have to make a extra appt. Tell whomever schedules it that you need to discuss your med and schedule you enough time so you or him will not be rushed.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

Vickie

It all depends on the type of test. The lab that my PM sends out to uses Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry and can detect the levels to the minute detail based on the last week of intake. It's the most sophisticated one out there that is 99.9% accurate.

It's the in-house dip stick type tests that are unreliable and really only show yes/no for certain substances.

Either way, just suggesting that you be careful depending on what type is normally done at your appt.

It sounds like if you are doing a lot better without the medication than it was just too much medication for you to begin with.

We were just saying that it's one thing to just take away the Oxycontin if you don't need it, but expecting the Dr. to raise your Tramadol dosage may not happen as you are on a fairly high level of that already. That is why we were recommending you discuss this with your Dr.

I just think it's quite odd that the short acting Oxycodone doesn't give you the same issue with the fatigue and nausea. It's usually the opposite that people get more side effects with the short acting hitting the system quickly and when they switch to the long acting it lessens.

When is your actual next appt. that you see the PM?

I would have to agree with Snowbunny's advice here. This needs to be done with and through your doctor. Good luck.

David

…glad your feeling a bit better there….and let us know how the next visit goes as well. I do think its ok to take a break if one can.

SE

I thought I would round this out with a report for the one-week point.

Thankfully, I only had some withdrawal right at the beginning -- maybe for 2 days.

Note that I didn't go cold-turkey, but basically went from 27.5-32.5mg of oxy per day (20 of which was oxycontin) to just my BT doses (5 or 7.5 once or twice a day --- or 10mg of hydrocodone in their place).

So, I cut back almost immediately by 66%.

Now that a week has past, here are my observations (good and bad).

1. Feel MUCH better when I wake up -- no mini-withdrawal waiting for my first oxy of the day (would feel horrible for about 30 minutes until it kicked in).

2. yet, more a.m. pain -- sometimes taking my first BT dose an hour earlier than before (note, though, no withdrawal crummy feeling in the a.m. related to this).

3. more pain through the day --- but not hugely more. I'd say that my fairly standard 2 BT doses covers 75% of what it PLUS the oxycontin was doing.

4. no longer dizzy, nauseous from my second BT dose (was feeling that when taking oxycontin & oxycodone alone for BT).

5. less fatigue, especially when I use hydrocodone for my first BT dose and reserve oxycodone until the later afternoon or evening.

6. Over the week, I've had to take an extra BT dose a few times, but (a) the weather has been damp & cold; (b) I've been very busy having to work 10+hrs every day.

7. Some intestinal issues -- mostly discomfort after defecating then sometimes having to defecate a second time (but this happens sometimes to me).

So, all in all, I'd say that the oxycontin was a waste. It was adding 20mg per day into my system and doing only a fragment of why BT doses can do. When I see my PM in about 10 days, will discuss some oxy alternative as I still would prefer a time-release, but one that has fewer side-effects and more benefits.