Oxycontin and Itching-put up with it or is it time to lower the oxy?
 

Hey Guys

I'm after some feedback about the insane itching I deal with all night, every night. Would you take something else to relieve the side effects or do you think I may be getting less tolerant of the oxy itself?

I've been on oxycontin for over a year now, and have been on 80mg a day for about 4 months. I've always had itching (mainly on my face) if I've had a fair dose of endone (ie 20mg), but not with the oxycontin on it's own.

But in the past couple of weeks it's gone from mildly annoying to out of control, with me being awake all night, itching one spot after the other and feeling like I should be in a padded cell! I'm needing to scratch at itchy areas (all over my body, not just on my face like with the endones) every few seconds, for HOURS.

I take phenergan (an anti-histimine)when it gets really bad and that really helps, but I don't want to do it every night. I don't know if it's ok to take that every night.

The oxycontin works SO well for my pain, I'd hate to have to give it up, but these side effects have become too hard to live with.

We tried swapping my other meds to the morning (instead of taking most of them at night) but that hasn't changed anything.

Can anyone offer me any suggestions as to how to deal with this? Or is it a sign that my tolerance to oxy is decreasing rapidly?

Thanks heaps
x Kate

Will they let u take benadryl? I have allergies to hay grasses and trees and it seems to help really well..

If it works for your pain stay on the Oxycontin, just ask your doc about other meds to help contain the itching if your unsure about the one your on, i am pretty sure you can take the one your on every night. I am currently on Oxycontin 80mg 3x daily and its doin zip for my pain and does zip to my body overall. Sorry your itching but i would rather itch than have pain. But definitely ask about other meds to counter the itching as well, If you need suggestions for those just let me know i can give u a few. Wishing the best for ya. :)

Kate,

I am also on Oxycontin (a little over two years I think), but have not noticed itching. However, I had a similar experience with Fentanyl. It worked great for quite a long while and then all of a sudden I had itches all over. No rash or other explanations, just itch. When I stopped the Fentanyl, the itching stopped.

I suppose it might be possible that our bodies will tolerate drugs like this for a certain amount of time and then “rebel” on us. I have switched pain meds several times for reasons like that. The med works pretty well, and then either gives a goofy mild reaction or stops being effective.

Definitely discuss this with your PM Doctor. As Sunshine and LordWood suggested, a simple addition to treat the itch might be the answer. But, don’t just do it on your own, even though it is over-the-counter.

Good Luck

Mike :hug:

Great!
 

Another unpleasant effect to watch for...lol...2 60mg oxy's per day, works fairly well with 3-4 7.5 percs for break through, no itching that I've really noticed. Do have a question though; do oxy's make one more susceptible to sunburn, or is it one of the other pills I'm on? (Serax, Soma, Welbutrin) I have sun poisoning on my upper back, had it before but it never hurt like this, and I was only out for maybe two hours. My 15 month old son had less of a problem. (Yes, I forgot to put sunscreen in his bag.)

Cake: I have a friend that is on Oxycontin 80mg also. He told me that when the itching becomes a problem for him,along with taking the Benadryl he said sometimes it helps to take a paper-towel and wipe the outer coating off. With just a little damp water. I am talking about doing this on the Oxycontin. It does help with the itching. Also it does dot take away the stregh of the pill. I do think you should talk to your Dr about this situation before doing this. I also do think the sun could maybe affect you? However I do not know if you are a sun person? Take Care! Breezy55 :hug:

Hello,

I was told my itching is a side affect of my RSD. I started having horrible head to toe itching about 3 years ago. I take 2 mg. of Periactin twice a day. Sometimes when my pan is flaired I take it 3 times a day. It works great for the itching.
Take care,
Sherrie

Thanks for all the replies.

I'm waiting to see my pain specialist, but it might be a long wait so just wanted some tips in the meantime.

As for the sun issue, I don't have a problem with that. I'm in a very good area of Australia as far as climate goes- it doesn't get too cold or too humid) and direct sunlight doesn't bother me.

I'll keep going with the phenergan for now, but also talk to my local pharmacy and ask what else is available. I don't want to come off the oxy as it's the only med that helps, and I've exhausted the rest of the possibilities. WIthout oxy working, I'm a tad screwed, lol. I'm hoping I can have another infusion sometime soon, but I won't know that until I talk to my PS.

Anyway, thanks for the replies. You guys are just angels! :hug:

Hi Cake
welcome to my world,,my tolerance is down,,you can swap out to another,but once you have a reaction to one opiate,,your bound to have it with another and even with hydrocodone[vicodin]],, if you start haveing a rash itching on your hands or feet,,thats a liver toxicity,,the liver is trying to off load the med because it is in a weaken state.thats the boat that im in ,,your liver may be healthy,a blood test and aldolase test will tell you how your livers doing,,opiates are brutal on the liver and they are horrifying to detox off of,, talk to your dr,,see what he thinks,,but id run the blood work,,good luck to you,,,bobber

Hi Breezy and Cake,
I wouldn't be wiping the outer coating off oxy it is very dangerous. Oxycotin stands for oxycodone continuous release meaning this is a compressed time released med. by wiping off the outer coating which helps delay the release of the med, you are blasting the oxy into the bloodstream at a faster rate which is very dangerous and since you are breaking out now you will really have an adverse reaction because the faster release of the med into your system. I've heard of people who have cut the pills and didn't know you can't do that with this med or have wiped them off, it can be very dangerous and it will only make your tolerance level of the med go higher.