This is my first time on this board and I'm not too sure how this all works yet. I have a question that I've been researching the answer to and haven't had much in the way of luck. I've had to live in severe chronic pain since 1999. I am no longer able to work and I have been on SSD for about 6 years now. I was injured in a fall and herniated my L-5/S-1 disk and have had 2 failed spine surgery's and one 8 hour reconstructive surgery that left me in critical condition for 4 days. Within 6 months of the lsat surgery I had developed severe scar tissue that impinges on the nerve root. As if all of that wasn't bad enough, I had another bad fall almost 2 years ago in my home and landed directly on my back where I had my surgery's. Since then I can feel and hear crunching in that area of my spine. And although I had already been in a great deal of pain, it has now increased significantly. I have also been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, among many other things such as arthritis, etc.. After I had my 2nd surgery, I was put on Oxycontin to control the pain. This helped quite a bit and kept me on a level 5 on the pain scale. After the 3rd reconstructive surgery, my Oxycontin dosage was upped to 240mgs twice a day. It took me over a year to heal and recover from this surgery and left me in severe pain. At that point I had become very used to that dosage and I stayed between a level 6 to 7 on the pain scale. Since my fall 2 years ago I am now at a level 8 to 9 on the pain scale. Here is my question. Although my Pain Management Doctors feel that there is no problem with the particular dosage of Oxycontin that I am on at this time, I have other people in my life that are making me miserable by telling me that this dosage is unheard of and that I should never be any higher than 160mgs per day. My body has obviously become quite tolerant to this level of Oxycontin, and I personally have never been worried about this dosage. I don't mix it with any other medications except for a few that have been prescribed by the same doctors and I don't drink alcohol. Yet, I continue to be told that this is an abnormal dosage and that it will kill me. That it would kill anyone no matter what. Does anyone have any knowledge or experience on this type of dosage with Oxycontin? Is there anyone else who takes a similar dosage or even higher? Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm at my wits end here, my life is already stressful enough without always having to defend myself to others. Help!?
Sincerely,
Jewels:(
Chronic Pain! Is my Oxycontin dosage levels too high?
Answers (3)
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.
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
Dear Robert,
Thank you for the reply. I would like to add that I was actually on an even higher dosage about 4 years ago but had it lowered to the dose that I'm on now. I also don't "want" to have my dose increased, I would rather find other means in which to help control the pain, such as PT, RF, etc.. I'm currently looking for another Pain Management doctor who will take a more active approach to my health. My current PM has been rather negligent in this particular area. Since I have to go to a city to find such a doctor, it's not going to be easy. I can't drive for 3 to 4 hours one way without falling asleep at the wheel due to sleep deprivation. I haven't slept for more than 30 minutes to 2 hours in 7 years. My husband works out of town for months at the time and there is no one else to drive me, so it's a bit of a quandry. I hope that I figure out something soon. Again, thank you for your insight, it's very much appreciated!
Sincerely,
Jewels
Jewels,
You can try to taper down your dose of oxy. It's obviously not easy but it will be better than continuing to increase the dose. The standard rule of thumb is to reduce by 10-15% of your entire dose at a time. Do that for maybe 10-14 days at a time. Don't push it and make yourself sick or you will blow this off. I know it would be best to try to get off the oxy and see how you really do then. By reducing or tapering like this it will take a while but you can do it if you can remain focused. We are here if we can help. Good luck and God bless. :D
