I need some input. I've been dealing with a screwed up back now for about a year, and have been on a pain management regimen for almost that long until they figure out how to fix what's going on with my back.

I've been taking Percocet for about a year, and as expected, my body has developed a tolerance for it. At my medication evaluation appointment last week, the spinal clinician decided to change my medication to MS Contin, which is an extended release morphine. I began taking it in place of the Percocet on Saturday, and my body is having a really bad reaction to it. Not only is it not dulling the pain at all, it's given me a constant pounding headache, severe nausea and vomiting, and just the general feeling of ickiness. I have a call in to my clinician to discuss possible alternatives, as this medication clearly isn't working.

So here's my question. Does anyone have experience with Oxycontin? I know it's a potentially dangerous drug if used incorrectly, but I'm very vigilant about my pain medication and never ever abuse it. Frankly, Oxy scares me because of the horror stories we hear all the time, but I'm getting to the point where I'm willing to try anything. Has anyone here ever used it, and if so, what was your experience like?

Thanks.

I can't take it because it makes me ill. It was prescribed after knee and wrist surgeries, and I felt worse taking the drug than I did just dealing with the pain.

Sorry you're in so much pain. I hope they find a fix quickly!

No kidding...

Saw a report on "medical marijuana". A lady in Colorado was prescribed it by her doctor (she has stage IV cancer, is taking chemo and gets sick from the normal pain meds...percocit, lortab, etc.). The marijuana relieves here nausea and pain, the other drugs didn't work.

Now that doesn't help you if you live in Utah or a state w/o the medical marijuana law.

Generally the opium based pain meds will produce some headaches, some nausea and not work all that well for some people. Have you tried TRAMADOL? It is not opium based...and works decent for moderate pain. I take it for back pain (screwed up back from a screwed up left leg).

...it gave me massive anxiety attacks.

a pill for nausea might help. It is a perscription med so ask your doc. percocet comes in higher doses why didnt they increase the dosage? I started out taking 5/325 percocet three times a day and after 5 years I take 10/325 up to five times a day. I also take methodone for pain 10 mg three times a day. Methodone is less adictive than percocet and acts as a low level constant pain reducer. i also get spinal injections which are helpful. Something to look into.

Pain docs try to stear away from too much Tylenol. It will destroy your liver.

i am now taking gabapentin for neuropthy.... i never knew how much pain i was constantly in till it went away with the Gaba....not that Gabapentin will help....
i too get nausious from the opium based stuff..... i say talk to your Pharamcist!! along with your clinician..... my Pharmacist is a PhD. ...so i talk to him alot about my meds and alternatives and side effects!! good luck...Pain sucks!

try magnet therapy. i'm not kidding.
it works like a charm.

i had back pains for a while. i threw up a couple of times out of pain. pills made me even more sick.

Ask your pain clinic about CYMBALTA. It's an antidepressant which has been found to be a miracle for some types of chronic pain.

I went from constant knee pain to ZERO. I'm still flabbergasted.


~VOW

I was addicted to prescription codeine for a long time.

You can try pain control techniques -there may be a pain control specialist at your hospital- and pain control devices can help.

Oxy makes me so sick I can barely stand up. Bleh. Norco works pretty well for me. some mild nausea if I take a higher dose, but nothing terrible. Demerol is A-MAZE-ing, but good luck getting it prescribed. No idea why that's the magic drug that makes them think you're a junkie, but doctors are not too generous with the scrips.

Lately I've been doing flexeril for my pain issues with pretty good results. Granted, I don't take them every day. I can still deal with my pain most days, and because of that tolerance issue that you're now running into I don't want to start on daily meds until I can't function without them. I find that benzos do wonders for occasional muscle pain because they relax the muscles that are spasming, but all the benzos have insanely fast tolerance building if you take them on a regular basis.

Good luck, bro. I know how much it sucks to be in pain all the time. Hope they find something that works for you.

So sorry about your pain.

I am off work due to tendonitis. I was first on Tramadol which had so many side effects with me I no longer cared about pain (severe spinning sensation, severe dry mouth, severe headache). Switched to Vicodin. I have pain, know where it is but do not care so much. Doctor gave me some Cymbalta just today to try, so I'm glad voweaver commented about it. That gives me hope. Never took oxyxontin but my sister was on it for awhile and let the prescription run out. She says she understands why someone might break into a pharmacy to get it...and she is not an addictive type.

Hope you get the help you need. I have had a hard month myself and can relate.

Lori

http://www.percocet-addiction.com/percocetwithdrawals.html

"Percocet dependent patients will experience discomfort when they abruptly stop the drug after prolonged use. The Percocet withdrawal symptoms they will experience match those of most narcotic medications:

Aches and pains
Anxiety
Cold or flu-like conditions
Diarrhea
Goose bumps
Hallucinations
Headaches
Insomnia
Loss of appetite
Mood swings
Nausea
Pain
Rigors (fever chills)
Sleep difficulties
Sweating
Tremors
Upper respiratory symptoms."

I'd call the MD right away, for four reasons:

1. To discuss the symptoms you're having which _could_ indicate withdrawal from the Percocet, which you'd like to avoid;

2. To get Rx advice about continuing the Percocet, perhaps with a higher dose to bring the pain back under control, and then to a detailed schedule about weaning off it more slowly (in order to start another med or any other treatment plan re meds) (I'm assuming you suddenly stopped the Percocet and started the new Rx?);

3. To avoid spiralling into uncontrolled pain that is hard to eradicate if it gets to that level (as you know); and

4. Because you deserve to be treated so as to live as pain-free as possible.

Have you seen an MD pain specialist? And/or an internist-type MD? Either one can evaluate your condition and the meds you are taking and make expert recommendations about the best route to go. Often they find that a combo treatment works best, perhaps some short-acting as well as longer-acting meds, combined with expert physio or other adjunctive treatments and other non-medicine-based therapies or strategies.

I wanted to say last time that surgery is not highly guaranteed to relieve pain and, in fact, can make things worse. You definitely need a firm diagnosis and a specific anatomical "pain generator" identified that if operated on has at least a 50% chance of addressing the _cause_ of the pain and alleviating it.

Here's hoping you have top-notch MDs on all fronts to achieve the best outcome possible for you.

I wouldn't hesitate to call and say that you're having these symptoms and also no pain relief. Focus now on getting the pain back under control, then see if there's anything else you can try or anybody else you can see to address your condition once you're back feeling more comfortable.

Seemingly conversely, activity and exercise can often help as much or more than pain meds, although when in pain we usually tend to curl up and lie there suffering. Getting the muscles and soft tissues as strong as possible helps in the long run but it's a challenge to move when pain sets in.

**This does not constitute medical advice as I'm not an expert. Also, in this case I'm not sure if taking another narcotic painkiller will prevent symptoms of withdrawal from the first Rx. I could be off base about the withdrawal but it is a possibility so I'd definitely check it out. Merely the fact that the new Rx isn't kicking in is reason enough to put in an immediate call.

Again, good luck with this challenging situation.

I've been under the care of a spinal/pain management clinic for almost a year. I've been on a fairly high dose of Percocet for quite awhile which is one of the reasons they decided to switch me over to something else. I wondered if I was going through some Perc withdrawals, but everything I've read about this new medication I'm on, I'm experiencing almost all the negative side effects with absolutely no pain relief. I have a call in to the clinic, I'm just waiting for them to decide what they want to do and call me back. Right now, I'm shaking so bad I can barely type, my whole body is drenched in sweat, and I haven't been able to pee since this morning. This is very very very very very bad....

Sounds like you need immediate help/advice. I'd call again or even head over there. I'm avoiding suggesting the ER after the great debacle there last time.

One of the spine specialists I work with often says "everybody's in pain" to explain why it's inevitable that even pain is not a priority at times, depending what else is going on. He's not being insensitive, just realistic.

Tis true that the squeaky wheel gets the grease - the patient who persists in asking for quick action usually gets it before they might otherwise have done.

The clinic may have so many phone messages (everybody in pain) that yours doesn't stand out as being more urgent than others.

Call again or get a ride over there. Somebody needs to give you some immediate advice about what to do right now.

They are having me come down there this afternoon and are changing my prescription to roxycodone...which is like percocet only without the tylenol, and it's NOT time released like oxycontin, so it's safer. It's also a bit stronger than percocet. I just have to give them my prescription for MS Contin so they can destroy it. Here's hoping this new medication works.

So sorry you're suffering so.

I've taken oxycontin several times over the years. Usually after surgery. I find it to be very good at treating pain. I know a couple of people who became addicted. They both told me that they were taking oxy after their pain was gone simply because they had some left. I never ever take pain medication when I'm not actually in pain.

The most effective pain medication I've ever used was something called a durogesic patch. It's morphine in a patch that you stick on your arm. Very strong medicine. The dr gave it to me when I broke my hip. It does have a negative side effect in that it gets you high as a kite. Still when you're in agony and can't do much of anything you might as well be high.

The only pain drug I've taken that made me sick to my stomach was vicodin. I can't tolerate them at all.

My own experience with Oxycontin, is that it helped alleviate the pain, with the side effects being dry mouth, mild diarrhea, and weird, intense dreams, but your reaction might be different. Personally, I'm severely allergic to demerol, but that is the only pain med that my SIL can take. I would suggest giving it a try, but monitor it carefully, and give the Pain Specialist full details of your experience. Good Luck.

Oxycontin is basically perocet with out the tylenol and time released.

So if your body tolerates percocet it should be okay with the OXY.

If you have managed you meds for a year you seem to be a good candidate for pain meds. I am sure your pain doc did a profile up front. I am still managing a year out with norco. Take some neurontin lately at night to help my tolerance and it helps my legs.

I hope you get a hold of the doc soon, sounds like you are in withdrawal. Give the OXY a shot if they will give it to you.
I agree with the other poster who said to not let your pain get to severe.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/29/2011 04:38PM by Susan I/S.

Oxycontin

Add hypnosis to your treatment mix as it can be quite effective. (It helps unlink subconscious associations due to chronic, long-term pain.) 3X/week for several weeks will probably do the trick, and afterwards you will need reduced meds or no meds at all.

I can't say whether you are reacting to the MS Contin or going through percocet withdrawals. Oxycontin might be a better choice since you are used to the drug oxycodone in the percocet rather than morphine sulfate. I took OxyC for three years for headaches and chronic post-vas pain. But they changed the formula by adding polymers to prevent abusive tampering. Whatever was in them caused major illness for me which I didn't overcome until about a week after the last dose taken. At that point my doc put me on Opana (oxymorphone) which not only has fewer and gentler side effects than the original OxyC, but is a far better painkiller.

You have my empathy in the symptoms you're currently having. There is some OTC help if it is withdrawals rather than bad reaction to MS, such as benedryl, alleve, dxm (in Robitussin), and Immodium. I wouldn't mix anything though.

I personally suspect that you're either basically allergic to MS or have to let your body get used to it. Either way, let doc know all symptoms. IMO MS is a somewhat inferior painkiller. I doubt the doc will just tell you to ride it out till you get used to it. My doc was happy to switch me from OxyC to OxyM when I told him the new formulation made me sick.

I'm a MD with a back issue also. Reglan seems to counter some of the opiate side effects, Neurontin a good idea for neuropathic pain, Nyucenta a new opiate like selective receptor agonist, with seratonin and noreepi activity. Direct spinal blocks of various types work very well. Can give additional input when at a computer rather then I-phone. I really feel for you and have studied this more then the average condition.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/29/2011 06:58PM by Susan I/S.

Well, that sucks. I hope you can tolerate the Roxi, I couldn't for some reason, I tried it when the Lortab didn't cut it. I still take Lortab, up to 6 pills a day, but I have pain.

I am curious where you are going? I have been to both pain clinics in Utah county, Nexus and Utah Valley. They would not give me narcs because I had been suicidal (while still a MO), so it was very frustrating, as if I did they would do random tests, etc. Plus it was very expensive.

Some people swear by Suboxone too. I took it and was addicted, and went through horrible withdrawals when I decided it wasn't good enough and I couldn't afford it.

I live local here, by you in fact. So just curious. I don't know how you manage to work. I hope you get it figured out.

I took Oxy for a back injury. I threw up everything I put in my mouth for three weeks until I said, "enough, already". Vicodin works well for me; Percoset doesn't touch the pain.

Did you make any decisions about surgery?