Greetings all. Just putting my $.02 worth in on coming off oxycontin. Here's my story.
I've had severe rheumatoid arthritis for over 20 years, but it's under control/stopped in its tracks by Enbrel for the past 6 years. However, plenty of joint damage in my hands, wrists, lower back, knees, ankles, and feet has occured. As the inflammation went away, it became very painful. My rheumatologist did the following:
2003--Percocet 5mg 4x/day; in 6 months, to 10mg 4x/day
2005--Tried Fentanyl patches, 25mcg and then 50mcg; good pain relief, but nasty nausea
2006--Opana ER 20mg 2x/day
2007--Sent to pain management doctor; increased Opana to 40mg 2x/day, then to 80mg 2x/day
2008--Opana's effectiveness declining, very little experience with it rx'd for 3x/day, so converted to Oxycontin 40mg 3x/day; later to 60mg 3x/day
As 2008 rolled on, my wife of 17 years insisted that I was becoming a different person, and she felt it was due to the pain meds. While I felt this was not the case, and believed that it was more due to work-related stress, I had a choice to make: The wife who's stood by me for 20+ years, or the meds? I chose the wife, as should be.
BUT, the biggest difference is HOW I came off oxy. We consulted with my pain doctor, and here's how we did it.
Start with reducing dosage to 40mg 3x/day for 2 weeks; also, VERY IMPORTANT, clonidine 0.3mg (Catapres patch). This drop was tough! Having run out of percs before, and suffered c/t w/d, it wasn't far from it, but still not as bad. The worst of the symptoms lasted the expected 4 days, then it got MUCH better.
Next, down to 30mg 3x/day for 2 weeks. NO, repeat, NO w/d symptoms to speak of. Definitely started noticing painful joints, though; had to restart taking naproxen again (Aleve) to try and keep joints quiet.
Next step, 20mg 3x/day, 2 weeks. Same as 30mg.
Next, 10mg 3x/day, 2 weeks. Again, no real w/d symptoms, just painful joints.
Then, we went 10mg 2x/day for 1 week, clonidine 0.2mg, then 10 mg once a day for a week, clonidine 0.1mg and done. At the end, I had VERY MILD w/d symptoms, but NOTHING like I expected.
All in all, it took 2 1/2 months to come off oxy nice 'n' easy, and it was not that hard at all to do. One thing I would STRONGLY recommend is to sleep in a bed by yourself; the night sweats and the RLS will drive your spouse/partner crazy! Also, do NOT be alarmed by the vivid dreams you'll experience; even though I'm clean since 2/5/2009, I still have these dreams almost EVERY night.
Now, the supplements that will help.
Immodium (loperamide)--VERY IMPORTANT!!! Go to BJ's or Sam's and get the generic stuff; BJ's sells it in a 2-bottle pack with 192 2mg pills. Trust me, you'll need it. I was taking 3 pills in the a.m., 2 at lunchtime, 2 at bedtime. Loperamide is derived from peperidine, and acts upon opiate receptors in the intestines. Even though it has NO analgesic effects, apparently it DOES trick your brain enough to ease w/d symptoms.
B-Complex vitamins-very helpful
Magnesium, Calcium, Zinc, Potassium--ALL necessary
L-Tyrosine, or just Tyrosine--The LIFESAVER. This stuff is an amino acid, and will combat the lethargy we all go through (Yeah, tell me you didn't love the energy boost oxy gave you!). I take 6 capsules a day, split in 3 doses.
Caffeine--if you're gonna be addicted to something, let it be this stuff. I found that if I didn't have my coffee or Coke (the SODA
!), I felt worse...then again, I've been a coffee/soda drinker for years.
So, there you have it. I would like to further say that for those who might question these supplements, just google "Thomas recipe".
Also, for those of you who have successfully come off oxy, how long was it before you got rid of the RLS and the dreams? Also, how long before you actually felt 100% clean, with no withdrawal symptoms, real or imagined? I still have some iffy days, even 5 weeks clean now. I'm determined to stay off these meds, and just want an idea from y'all when the PHYSICAL symptoms will be gone for good. I can handle the mental stuff; I've had ZERO cravings that I've thought about...it's just my body sometimes betraying me!
Thank you all in advance!!!