I was very worried because in my job I meet people who got addicted to these medicines and ended up buying them on the street, losing their jobs, etc. People I worked with lost their jobs because of it.
Until this year, I had used narcotic medication once - when I had a tooth removed by surgery. I didn't fill the prescription, but woke up in pain after a nap. I took the medication (coedine), which made me sleep for two days, and swore I'd never do it again.
But now I had a doctor giving me this medication and I couldn't take NSAIDs (like Naproxen or Ibuprofen), because those almost killed me. And without the medications, I could not walk.
My solution was to play with the medications and see how little I could get away with taking.
It was very important to get off the Dilaudid, even if it meant more pain and even if it meant taking another kind of narcotic. The withdrawal symptoms from the Dilaudid are AWFUL!
One of the medications given to me was Percoset. Another one with awful withdrawal symptoms, even after taking only one or two pills.
I am still taking the medications, but have got down to 20 mg of Oxycontin a day. I had been taking 60 mg three times a day with Dilaudid for breakthrough pain. Breaking my sternum was no picnic.
On work days I try to get away with taking 10 mg or nothing.
Excercise is the thing that helps best with withdrawal symptoms.
I went back to 20 mg a day because I can't walk without it. 20 mg and a cane and I can work.
YOUR RESULTS MAY VARY:
I believe that the endorphins I get from exercise are the key to getting off the rest of the Oxycontin. That and my strong belief that I should be able to manage the pain without medication.
I have talked to others and if they are not exaggerating, etc., sometimes it takes more medication for what may seem like less pain.
Also, some people can tolerate some kinds of medications, while others cannot. I had the luxury of being able to choose something that is purported to be less addictive (time release medication).
My withdrawal symptoms are not intense: I get irritable, and feel discomfort - like the inside of my body doesn't fit and itches at the same time. Still not as bad as Percoset, where I had the runs and stomach problems in addition to really intense discomfort. And the Dilaudid was twenty times worse than the Percoset.
ASK ME
I don't wonder why no one talks about narcotic addiction here. There is a lot of shame attached to it. Makes you wonder why the doctor doesn't warn you. No one warned me; in fact they gave me a prescription for 90 Percoset to use as needed. Yipes! Somewhere in my mother's house (she was taking care of me) there is a partly full bottle of morphine, and another of percoset.
Feel free to ask me questions.
I will keep you posted of my progress.
