I had shoulder surgery twice in the last 2 months. The Doctor prescribed Oxycotin and percocet for pain. Now I want to stop the pain killer but I get extremely sick when I back off. I am very dizzy with a nausa stomach every time I back off. I need to know how to get off the drugs. Does any one have a natural pain killer? Thanks Jay In NC

-- jay vance (jay.l.vance@worldnet.att.net), November 25, 2001

Answers

I would suggest contacting your doctor.

-- Ardie/WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), November 25, 2001.

1. Call your doc.

2. self-hypnosis

-- Rose (open_rose@hotmail.com), November 25, 2001.

Please call your doc.,you may need to cut the dose alittle at a time instead of all at once. Willow is a pain killer but get off the prescrition first.

-- renee o'neill (oneillsr@home.com), November 25, 2001.

Addiction to prescription medications can be just as bad and as deadly as addiction to "illegal" medications or drugs...

Your doc should be able to help you wean yourself from these medicines. If he won't help, DO NOT cut the Oxycontin, crush it or in any other way break it into pieces. We have had several young people in our area DIE from Oxycontin overdoses because they crushed the pills for a bigger high and got the full time-release dose in one big rush....So PLEASE BE CAREFUL!

Probably the best way to wean yourself off Ocycontin is to lengthen the hours between the doses. If you take one every four hours, change that to every six hours; or if you take one every 8 hours take one every 10 hours. etc. Lengthen the time between the pills or capsules every day until you are basically off them. The same came be done with the other pain drug.

I have worked as a drug counselor (even tho I am a 21 year newspaper reporter) so if you have any other questions e-mail me here...but you really really need to talk to a doctor who will help you with this because I can't give you real recomendations, just SUGGESTIONS. best wishes. suzy

-- Suzy in Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), November 25, 2001.

I don't know of my own experience, but I did some searching and it's evident that these are closely related and highly addictive drugs - both closely related to morphine and heroin. I doubt in Australia any doctor would even consider prescribing both at once to anyone who wasn't in the terminal stages of cancer. Most of the items about them I found on the web were about addiction to them. Certainly you need close medical supervision to ease off these drugs, and if you don't get co-operation from the doctor who put you on them I'd be looking rapidly for another doctor. You have probably signed some sort of waiver which at least theoretically absolves the first doctor from responsibility, but it's apparent that in fact a fair amount of the time you spend under medical care will be because the first doctor addicted you to these drugs, and you now need medical treatment to get off them. I see no need for the original doctor to benefit further from what he's done to you, obviously without warning of the likelihood of addiction. However, nor do I see any reason why you need to bear the cost of overcoming the addiction he's subjected you to.

-- Don Armstrong (from Australia) (darmst@yahoo.com.au), November 25, 2001.

I would uggest you call your doctor and discuss it with him. Like said before you probably need to taper off slowly. Oxicontin is usually used for big time pain and addictive. So call the doctor as he put you on it and can help you get off it.

Renie

-- Irene Burt (renienorm@aol.com), November 25, 2001.

I am a 71 year old Georgia pharmacist. I agree with everything Don Armstrong (above) writes. Tell your doctor the truth, that you are addicted. If he won't or can't help, get help somewhere. You "only" could lose your job, marriage, even your life.

-- Charles Haddon Jr (Buddybud@csranet.com), November 25, 2001.

I live with back pain and I was on Oxicontin for a while...It made me sick. The only thing I can take that dose anygood is loratab. As for the addiction part, I either live in pain that dose not allow me a full life or I live on the drug which dose allow me a better life...In my case I have to opt for the pill. I was told not to just stop the Oxicontin before I talked with my DR. when I did she told me "Just stop taking it" But please talk to your own DR first

-- grant (organicgrange@yahoo.com), November 25, 2001.

After reading your thread last night, I noticed an ad in my local paper about contacting a lawyer if you or a loved one has suffered from OxyCotin addiction. They give a web-site www.injurync.com This might give you some additional info.

-- Bren (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), November 26, 2001.

Please consult your physician about tapering off the meds, then try black cohosh and feverfew for the chronic pain, take two to three capsules (depends on body weight, will say on label how much) three times day, they are available at Walmart.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), November 26, 2001.

Both Black Cohosh and Fever few will lower your blood pressure. I found that out when I took some and my pressure dropped. Mine is extremely low anyway, but wanted to warn you just in case yours was too. My neighbor takes those two things every day without a problem. That is where I got the advice.

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), November 26, 2001.

oxy is rapidly becoming a serious street drug. They should stop making the stuff. I got sick of taking percocet for my back(ruptured L5-s1) and had the dr prescribe me a TENS unit. I don't like prescription meds and won't even take otc pills other than aspirin. A TENS kills pain by electrical impulses. Worked better than any of the drugs they gave me and no side effects. You can also condition your body to deal with pain if you just bear with it for a while and not run to the painkillers.

-- Dave (something@somewhere.com), November 26, 2001.