Expert: Gareth Stubbs - 2/24/2009

Question
QUESTION: I HAD A WICKED CAR ACCIDENT AND GOT CAUGHT UP ON THE OXY FAMILY.  BEEN SO LONG i CANT MAKE A BOTTLE OF 120 PILLS @ 80MGS. MY PERSON 2X'S MY SIZE HURT HIS FOOT, WENT ON THE SAME MED. NOW THERE'S 2.  I HAVE NOT HAD OXY'S FOR APPR. 2/12 WEEKS.  ALL I GET IS SWEATY CHILL AND "NO SLEEP"  HOWEVER, MY PERSON, NOT EVEN 9 MONTHS ON HIS OXY, CLAIMS HE'S SICK AS A DOG. HE WONT GET UP, CLAIMS HIS LEGS HURT, VOMIT, RUNS, AND AGITATED. HE JUST RAN OUT FRIDAY, 22ND. OF THIS MONTH OF COURSE.  i TOOK NOTHING, NOT A THING TO GET BY.  I AM A MERE 100-103 LBS. HE'S 216 LBS.  WHY? IS HE JUST SAYING THAT? WHY AM i NOT SICK AFTER 5 YEARS ON THEM...80MGS....4X'S A DAY???  i NO GET? SOMEONE, EXPLAIN, PLEASE.  I'LL BE HERE ALLLLL DAY.
THANKS,   BILLIE

ANSWER: Hey Billie,

Well done for being off the pills for the time you mentioned - that is good work. The only reason that I can think of to explain this to you is that different people have different tolerances to drugs, even though they may be different sizes. The fact that a person is heavier has no relevance on the amount that they consume, yet at the same time, as your friend is larger, he may have also been taking more to get rid of the pain, and considering he has been on them for 9 months, this could have a big impact on the way that he is feeling right now.

The good news though, is that the withdrawal symptoms do not last too long and as the time goes by, they do get less and less. Make sure you are well hydrated and try and get excercise as well - even if it is just walking around a bit - this gets your circulation moving more which helps to get the toxins out of your body. The body will hurt because it is no longer coping with the relaxing effects of the medication, and this will also explain your friend feeling so ill - encourage him to try and move about because the more that he does, the easier it becomes. Having been in the same position, I know how awful it feels and how ill you feel - but keeping myself hydrated to flushy my body, and also moving about made a very big difference, and like yourself, within a few weeks, things were not as bad as they were in the beginning when I stopped.

Just as a note - these tablets are produced from the same stuff that heroin is made of, and I am sure that you have maybe seen movies or read about people coming off heroin - they do get quite physically ill as their body gets used to not having the "fix" that it is used to, so it is quite normal.

I hope that this gives you some understanding and if you need any more info, or someone to talk to about it, please feel free to get back to me.

Gareth

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Gareth,
Thank you so much for your insight. I rate you way over a 10.
Now, may I ask, Am I now a bonified drugger? I do not drink, smoke     gamble whatever. I asked you in my reply to you what are your thoughts on Fentynal Patches?  I was given a 75 mg. and NOTHING. Absolutely nothing. It seems to me that all the medications I go on, they neeeeed to be double dosed or they don't work, and lots make me blow up because of fluid retention.
I go to my Primary Dr. the one who knows me best, tomorrow. I understand they have pulled all generic oxy's out. The cost is $600  almost $700 with my insurance, genics I pay $4.  When They pulled out the generics, Dr. gave me a $60 coupon, so in edition to that, the stores or store I've found costs $60 WITH coupon. Store told me, when they run out, no more oxy's for me.
I've heard of Methadone USED ONLY under supervision, it is a pain killer. True?
My Dr. sees me  every, every 30 days. NO WAY ESCAPING HIM.. Checks me out to see if I'm doing thing right. He's a great caring Dr.
Will you help me with these questions?   I hope I do not become your nightmare.
Thanks so much. You ARE a 10 plus
Billie D.

ANSWER: Heya Billie,

I think when people are going through a lot of pain and having to deal with things like this, it does make us feel like we are going crazy at times, because we can feel our bodies aching and are unable to do thing because of the pain and sometimes, not much seems to help, so dont worry about thinking you are "nuts" at all.

Depending on how long you have been taking the pain meds makes a very big difference,and like you say, your tolerance is obviously really high which is why you would "need" more to "get rid of" your pain.

Now, I am not a medical practitioner or anything, so this is all based on my own experience in this so I hope it gives some insight into it all. Fentynal (from what I know) is one of the most powerful meds out there at the moment, and based upon your history, it honestly does not surprise me that they do not seem to work because your body has got so used to the Oxycotin that it does not really want anything else if you know what I mean, so naturally when you change meds, it will seem like it does not work. Methadone is a synthetic opiate which was made to help people come off heroin and opiates, as when you stop using Methadone, you do not get as much physical withdrawal as you would with coming off the other stuff, so what some docs do is prescribe Methadone (as it is very controlled substance) for a short period in order to stop the large withdrawal symptoms. It is also a mild pain killer and does take pain away, but again, it is used under strict control. They usually use it in rehabs and those kind of places as well.

As to whether you may be a "bonified drugger" - that is a question that only you can really answer. From your questions, and based on the little bit that I understand about you, it sounds like you have been in quite a lot of pain in the last few months, and often, people do need meds to get them through these periods. You have (from your first question) spent some time without the meds, and you do seem to see your doctor regularly, which is a good thing as far as I am concerned. However, I would suggest that you just be extremely careful and really "monitor" your pain if you know what I mean - ask yourself the question "could I go without the meds for a while longer" and see how you go. If you can manage it for a significant period without "going slightly crazy" for the pills, then I would suggest you are well on your way to sorting yourself out.

Another suggestion is maybe looking into an alternative pain relief system. I know for me, it helped a huge deal and I found the mild hypnotherapy made huge changes for me. I also kept asking myself over and over again about the pain, and if I needed the pills and gradually, I found that it got less and less - I have three crushed vertibrae and also broke some ribs in a diving accident and was put on the meds, to which I then got severely addicted, so I know what you going through, but at the same time, I know that you can get through this and feel good.

Hope this helps

Gareth

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I'm sorry, I'm contorted on the couch. I think I was about done any way.I thank you so much for being here for my inane questions. However, when I see my Dr. tomorrow, what mega strength medication should be put on the table? What would you do? If I didnt jones out on these oxy's, what would be better? I have right now, a broken Knee cap and It's really painful today. I want to take Benadril to sleep some of it off, but, no can do. As I mentioned, I cant follow asleep easily. I want the sleep badly,but dread trying to sleep.
Will you help me again? My name is Stevie. Billy's my uncle! So, If you want, well, either name I'll respond to.
Again, I do need a strong person, and the more I read from you, you seem to be quite knowledgable in my world. I love that.
So, now I'll share you with others worse off than myself.
Good Day Gareth,
stevie

Answer
Hey Stevie,

Unfortunately, I can say what meds should be put on the table as only your doctor can prescribe that sort of stuff for you. The only suggestion that I can make is that you just try and be careful of how much medication you do take, because the more you take, the more you will need and it just becomes a really bad cycle that you do not want to get stuck in. Your body gets so used to having "stuff" in it all the time and completely messes up your system so when you either change meds or try and cut down, it does go a bit mad at first and the pain does appear worse, but I do know that it does keep better as long as you keep going at it.

I know that the pain is really bad, and that the sleeping situation does not help much either, but from my experience, if I focused on that sort of stuff, it made things worse so even though it was difficult, I made every effort that I could to think about other things and held of on my meds as long as I could. It gradually became easier and I managed to stop it altogether. Also using the other methods of pain control helped me a great deal.

Hope that helps and bit.

Gareth