I've been on Oxycontin 15mgs for about 18 months now for chronic pain, with Oxycodone 5mgs as a breakthrough pain reliever for whenever I get an acute pain that I cannot resolve with Paracetamol.

When I had surgery recently the anaethethetist increased my breakthrough Oxycodone from 5mgs as required to 10-20mgs, 3-4 times daily as needed.

Luckily for me the highest dose I've ever taken was 10mgs, because yesterday my GP told me she's going to stop the Oxycodone all together. I'd be pretty scared if I was taking 20mgs and had to stop really quickly, but luckily I'm not.

She is increasing my twice daily slow release dose from 15mgs to 20mgs, and said I will no longer need any scripts for break through pain relief.

I'd be more than happy to get rid of all opiates from my life, but what happens next time I'm crying all night long from severe pain like I've done in the past?

We talked for quite a while about the 5mg increase yesterday because I wasn't happy to increase it in the first place. I was quite concerned about a rise in the dose as I didn't want to be labelled a druggie in any way. She spent about 10 minutes explaining to me that people like me who have genuine pain need appropriate pain relief and that includes opiate pain killers. That's why she wants to increase my SR daily dose.

And then.......all of a sudden she tells me she's taking away my safety blanket of Oxycodone 5mgs, for when things get really tough. 20 X 5mgs Oxycodone tablets have always lasted me at least a month, very often longer.

I just don't understand!

Do you have a respiratory problem?

She should explain exactly why she changed her mind. You have to be pushy to get good medical care. THAT is a sad fact of life.

I hate all opiates and have been VERY lucky so far. I took heavy doses of Oxycodone for around a month and did not miss them at all when I quit them. They really tear my respiratory system up, BUT when the pain hits 7-8 on McGill pain charts, I am glad I have them. I may go a month without one, then REALLY need them, like for the oral surgery I had.

I wish I could quit all of them. Good luck...

No respiratory problems! Not one! Don't smoke.....nothing!

When she asked why I was reluctant to increase my daily dose I told her that I was concerned about the "druggie label" and that I was trying to manage my pain on the bare minimum opiate dose.

That's when she gave me her talk about genuine people like me, who really need good pain relief getting the right medications for their pain. She went on to say that people like me aren't the one's that give drugs like Oxycontin a bad name, and then in the next breath she tells me she's stopping my Oxycodone!

I am not addicted to the drug, and I can do without it. Even if I was an addict, the SR twice daily rise would take care of that, but I'm not. I can go for weeks on end and not take one single tablet, but when I need them most they're no longer going to be there.

What worries me is when I wake up at 3am one morning in screaming pain and no I longer have this security blanket to fall back on. It's taken over a year to get my pain management to a stage where it actually does work for me, then 5 months ago I had to change GPs.

I'm one of the minority of people where an opiate actually helps their nerve pain, and when you get a nerve pain.......there's not much that is going to make it go away.

You are right about the nerve pain. My memory is shot, so when I have nerve pain, I started taking the magic marker and marking where it started and what pathway it took. I was surprised when my Neurologist looked at them for a minute or so and handed them back, saying intermittent pain like that is hard to treat or diagnose. I admitted I had not had these pains in a month or so (I was on so much Oxycodone I guess if I had the pains, it masked them). Then he ignored it.

I know what you mean about wanting a "safety net" when you need it. I can ask to be taken off the Oxycodone, but .... I don't know what to say. IT WORKS FOR PAIN. The Pain Med Dr. suggested I use more morphine. I don't know what to do. If I raised my Avinza intakes to 90mg a day I might be ok, but .... my goal is to get off the stuff. Like you, I don't WANT it, I NEED it for pain. I return my excess meds to the Pain Med Dr. and they dispose of them as "toxic waste" (so I am told). We are a little afraid someone might be standing next to me at the Drug Store and overhear what I am getting. With all the crazy people around, I try to be careful.

You mentioned you switched GPs --- my PCP prescribed my pain meds for about a week, I OD'd on Fentanyl and he quit that. BUT if you go from one pain med dr. to another, you can get to be classified as a "drug seeker". Even though I was trying to get off the morphine when I did it. Go figure.....

Good luck with the Oxycodone. I would certainly complain to the doctor about it. Maybe you are on the edge of a medical condition like mine? Or some other problem your doctor saw and is trying to protect you from??? It doesn't hurt to ask.

Thank you for taking the time to reply.


I didn't have a choice in that as hubby and I moved from one state to another.


I did ask, and she told me that I simply will not need any Oxycodone with that 5mg Oxycontin rise.

Good luck to you as well. I hope you get your pain under control soon.

I have said this before, but I will say it again .... I might go for a few weeks without taking Oxycodone, but after the oral surgery, infected jaw bone and root canal, I had taken enough oxycodone (max 90mg a day on top of 60mg of Morphine) that I forgot how to wake up and I had one spell where I could not remember how to swallow liquid (Chicken Noodle Soup). I leaned my head forward to let it drain back into the bowl, then I poured it out.

Both times it was very scary. Did Oxycodone cause it? I don't know. I asked my Pain Med Dr. and they approved it me doubling the dosage. Go figure. I don't "blame" anyone because you might take the same dose and need more.

But NO ONE ever told me something like this could happen. Maybe I am the first human on Earth to have this happen. I don't know.

Best wishes in resolving your pain meds..........

Thanks dllfo and I hope you're doing better than you were.

In actual fact my pain has been better controlled since the increase in the Oxycontin, and I've only needed the Oxycodone (10mgs) twice in the past 3 weeks since I posted this.

My doctor did end up giving me a script for a box just in case, and I've hardly used any at all.

Guess I was getting worried for nothing! :o

Native Sacramentan here
 

Born and raised in Sac before moving to Texas as soon as I could. Wish I was back home because in the UK you don't get pain management. Well you do, but it's only physiotherapy and no medication. I'd give anything to get as much meds as y'all.

Be careful and comply with your PM doctor. Know how lucky you are. I'm in advanced stages of CRPs and have permanent bodily injuries and all sorts of stuff and they literally do not care that without meds I'm completely homebound. My head was clearer when I was on meds in TX than it is without, and I was still able to do some things.

Pain medication shouldn't be, but it is, a priviledge, so please don't abuse it.