LM,

The right amount of narcotics to manage pain does NOT make one a zombie. Too much medication can.

The fog from Neurontin or Lyrica is another story. They can also cause weight gain. For me, that turned into type II diabetes. I'd prefer life without those side effects, but I keep taking Neurontin as it is a critical part of my pain management plan.

Hopefully, the surgeon will say that he thinks he can do something that will be curative for your pain from disc issues. Some people get relief from accupuncture, chiro, or PT.

If you are one of us unfortunate ones who end up with chronic pain issues, you will find that there is no easy solution. Most of us have to deal with unwanted side effects from meds or treatments to attain some measure of control over our pain. Someone else may have discontinued a med like Neurontin that cause weight gain because of that side effect, but they are probably dealing with more pain because of that choice. If they could find an easier solution, I'd go for it too. You'll be faced with many choices and often you won't love either choice. Try to do what you think will work best for you. If you can still manage now, without "graduating" to the OxyContin, awesome. If and when the pain becomes worse than your fear of the stigma and side effects of OxyContin, then you talk to your doctor. It's a difficult choice.....and one only you can make. As down as you probably feal right now, at least consider yourself lucy that your doc is offering something stronger if you need it. Many of us are unable to drive, work, or care for our families as we would like. It's because of our pain/disabling conditions. If it comes to the point where you can't do what you want to do/feel you need to do......don't beat yourself up for that. If your body won't let you, you just can't do some things.