Chronic Pain! Is my Oxycontin dosage levels too high?

While taking two 80mg oxycontin per day is obviously a more common dose than is six pills, I would not tell you that your drs are wrong especially based only on what info you've provided in your post. You have had injuries, back surgeries and now are dealing with autoimmune diseases as well. Each of these problems can be very painful. It's impossible as an observer only to say exactly how much medication is right for you. That is why we have drs.

There is one thing we can always do to make sure we are taking the correct amount of RX pain meds. Our minds play tricks on us when we become dependent to addictive medications like oxy. We often convince ourselves that we are in more pain than we really are. Don't misunderstand, the pain we are feeling is real. But addiction can be very painful in itself. If we go a certain amount of time without our meds we basically start going into withdrawals. This can cause lots of pain.

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I found that after I detoxed from my RX opiates (I was also on oxy) that I was not in near as much pain as I had been while taking the meds. And I was taking LOTS more oxy than you are taking. It can be painful going through this detox process but it's the only sure way to determine what our true pain is, or what the amount of pain being caused by our actual problems is. Then we can react accordingly. It may be that you can then make it with lots less or even a much less serious medication than oxy. It may be that you do need the oxy you are taking. But this is the way to find out for sure, without leaving anything to the imagination.

It does kind of concern me that if you continue to keep adding more and more oxy to what you take each day that this could get totally out of control even though you are not acting out as an addict and are only following the dr's instructions. This is exactly how so many of us end up in trouble with our meds. Your story is all too common. Keep posting and I am confident you will receive more replies. Lots of us have been almost exactly where you find yourself today. Good luck and God bless.:D

I am a 40 something male who was severely injured in a mv accident nearly 30 years ago. Over that time, I've had several reconstructive surgeries and joint replacements. Over the last 3-4 years my pain levels have become severe and chronic. Only recently have I been fortunate enough to find a doctor that understands that for me and thousands like me, it becomes a quality of life issue. No one can and should be forced to live their lives in constant pain. I currently take 80 miligram oxycontin 3x/day and (2) 15 miligram oxycodone tablets 4x/day for breakthrough pain. For the first time in years, I feel like a member of society again, in the sense that I can once again try to live my life instead of standing on the sidelines watching it pass by. I've actually gone back to work and enjoy other activities that until recently I hadn't enjoyed in a long time. Like you, I don't take street drugs or consume alchohol.

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Though no one is immune from the drawbacks associated with this type of medication, for many, it means the difference between living and death. Constant severe pain is draining physically, mentally and emotionally. If not for the ability to relieve it, I would have already ended my life. Don't let anyone judge you or critisize you for taking this medication, if you truly need it. Your medical info is between you and your doctor. If your doctor felt this was too much for you, he/she wouldn't prescribe it. Tolerence levels vary greatly from person to person. This is a medication taken to control a serious condition, just like medication taken for diabetes, high blood pressure, etc., and should be treated as such. Hopefully, you can someday get to a point where you don't need as much or any at all, but until then, don't let anyone look down at you like less of a person, for their ignorance runs deep and continuous. Just remember to keep moving forward and try to obtain the things that were in your sights before you were injured. There's no reason you still can't have them. Best of luck to you!

Hi-
I have never before felt compelled to join a forum such as this. However, your inquiry struck me and so I registered solely to share my understanding of OC dosing with you.

First, I would strongly recommend that you refrain from discussing your medications with anyone other than your physician and appropriate members of your very immediate family. Nonetheless, and as your "cat is out of the bag" already (so to speak) I offer the following from my own experience:

I have been under the ongoing care of a Qualified Pain Management Practice for a little over 10 years. My referral to this specialty was from a nationally known orthopaedist when he could no longer adequately address my ever increasing and ongoing pain with the typical application of drugs such as Norco and localized steroid injections; alternating injection sites in an effort to relieve what I thought were the most acute areas.

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At this point in time, I take an extensive "cocktail" of integrated and complimentary medications that are far to numerous to mention here and somewhat irrelevant to the information you seem to be seeking with but one exception which I will mention below.

Over a period of time (years), I was prescribed an incresing dose of Oxycontin culminating in the prescribing of the "upper limit" dose of 8 80mg tablets a day dosed at 2 tablets (160 mg) every 6 hours (640 mg daily; every day).

I reference this as being the "upper limit" as anything above this daily dose amplifies the potential for liver and/or renal damage to name the two I understand to be most probable. I have been at this dose for 6+ years and, surprise to those ignorant skeptics around you, I am still very much alive!

It is my understanding that upper limit dosing is now no more than 6 tablets of 80mg (480mg daily) based on prescribing guidelines and, presumably, DEA pressure to reduce the amount of (tragic) diversion potential of this drug.

Both my Insurance and my caretakers have "grandfathered" my dose as I have been at this dose for many years; well before the prescribing guidelines were revised downward.

It is my understanding that in a general sense, there is no true upper limit to opioid therapy given that ones tolerance for the drug is, in theory, ever increasing. However, there is, of course, a point at which an ever incresing dose would cease to be therapeutic, organ damage would be inevitable and there is, for everyone, an ultimately terminal "upper limit" dose.

As my awareness of my pain continues to increase beyond what can be reasonably treated with Oxycontin I, at the advice of my caregivers, will attempt to tritrate my dosage down somewhat during the warmer spring and summer months so that hopefully, I can again increase my dose back to where I am now during the colder winter months and experience a greater degree of therpeutic benefit. Sorry, a pain in the ass way of saying that they will then hopefully provide me a greater degree of relief when my symptoms (my pain) are/is more acute (severe). The hope is that I will gain a more consistant degree of relief throughout the year as 8 a day is the most my caregiver's feel is appropriate given that more than 8 increases the likelihood of organ damage well beyond any increase in the relief I might feel until I again become so tolerant that more again would be needed to maintain the same benefit. I hope this is making sense!

My liver function, etc. is actively monitored by my healthcare team and thus far no impairment of any systems or damage is discernable. As I have been at this dose for nearly 7 years, it does seem to be the optimum "upper limit" for me.

Anyway, 6 a day is obviously not "lethal no matter what" any more than driving everyday guarantees I will die in a car accident! There are no absolutes my friend so let those pestering you know of my account and tell them that my own research indicates that those who are ignorant and foist their own ill advised "certanties" on others causing further stress and anxiety and thus, exacerbating the pain you feel, will remain ignorant and foolish 100% of the time!

Oh, and by the way, as Norco (8 a day again) became ineffective in treating my breakthrough pain I swithced to Percocet 10/325 and found it to be far more "efficacious!" A fancy word for "effective." Again, I take 8 of these a day. And, in case you aren't aware (and why would you be unless you take them also?) Percocet is "oxycodone 10mg" so I'm really taking the equivalent of 9 80 mg. tablets a day. However, it is important to distinguish than the oxycodone in Percocet's is immediate release whereas the Oxycontin is time release. As a third item for breakthrough pain I have also found morphine to work well although it's half-life is very very short for me. Rotating them seems to be the key so my caregvers switch them out from time to time with the cycles of each typically lasting a few years.

I truly hope this helps put your mind at ease as for sure, stress and anxiety amplify pain. Best wishes to you!

PS I am a person who drinks moderately and responsibly

Have had similar problems -- fractured my thoracic spine, fusion of same, rods placed and then later removed in a 2nd surgery, body cast, etc., etc.
My levels of oxycodone (NOT oxycontin) are high also. People tell me similar things about it being a dose that is too high.
I had been doing very well for decades, only having to take minimum meds, 5mg oxycodone if I had to take it at all. I'd also take 1/2 a pill at times.
I was mainly able to do this because I started studying and eventually teaching yoga. Tai chi chu'an also helped immensely. As a back injury patient, I didn't think I'd ever be able to do yoga. Thank goodness I did my research and began with a gentle class and a teacher who knew of my injuries.
(A good yoga teacher will never push you into doing anything you are not comfortable doing. That is a good way to know if you have found a good teacher.)

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Of course it is important to know when to move forward -- balance is key and you will find that if you decide to give it a try. I was literally suicidal before I started the yoga. I hated taking the meds and was so sick of being in pain all the time.)
Anyway, didn't mean to go on there. My point was that I had been doing very well with lower, occasional dosages of the oxycodone, only when I needed it.

However, I recently reinjured myself when I fell off my bicycle. The pain has been excruciating. I started off at that regular dosage (5mg) but ended up at a 15mg dose. This amount is only taking the pain down to about a level 5/6, right in that range. Some days I have to take one and a half of the pills simply to get any relief at all.
As soon as humanly possibly, I will be cutting down on the dosages as I increase my yoga practice. I am going to basically have to start over, at least very gently anyway. If I can do it, you can too!
Movement is painful at first, but it is the only thing that I have found (after dealing with this for 30 years) that actually gets rid of the pain.
Oh -- and The Miracle Ball Method helps immensely as well.
Check it out -- it is very inexpensive and I bought mine online.

All the best to you and I wish you well in your search for answers.

As I read these stories of people taking dangerous, addicting drugs for pain is simply a band-aid. Pain is all in you head. I have had 19 surgeries and after one of my surgeries (total reconstruction of knee), I was given Vicodin. I took 4 and that was the last pain pill I ever took and have had 15 surgeries since then. I have been offered pain medication in all of them and declined. I even declined the second choice, Tylenol 3. The point I am making is that now you are dependant on hard drugs, what are you going to do when you get old? It is only pain. You are always going to have it and it is never going away. If you cannot stand it, do surgery until it gets corrected. Taking hard drugs on a daily basis to band-aid the problem is just a drug addict that refuses to improve his/her lifestyle. I have a neighbor that has been taking Oxycontin and Morphine for 10 years and when I go over to talk with her she is simply high as a kite. This is why she cannot work.

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All she does is complain. I worked through all of my surgeries except one which was my reconstruction knee surgery that was followed up with heart surgery 3 days later. Again, no pain medication taken outside the hospital. I broke my foot at 9:30 pm, went to emergency room, got home at 1:30 am, went to work at 4:00 am.