percocet to oxycontin

hellothereitsme

Do you take the OC once per day or twice?

When you took the Percs, the med was released instantly so it hits all at once giving you maximum effect. With the OC, it's time released so a little bit released periodically over 12 hours. It is normally Rx'd twice per day, or every 12 hours. Some take it three times per day.

You should talk to your Doc about your pain and maybe he'll adjust it accordingly.

10sox

Just this week my Pain Management Doctor switched me from hydrocodone 7.5/325mg to a long acting medication, Opana ER, 5mg. He told me to keep on taking the hydro if I continued to feel the pain. He said it takes about a week for the Opana ER to begin working. If after one week I am still taking my regular dosage of hydro's, then he wants me to increase my OpanaER to 10mg 2x per day. He wants me to give the Opana ER a good month. If I am not getting enough relief after one month, then we will talk about trying something different.

Good luck and I hope you find some relief soon.

Marsha1998

He prescribed it twice per day...but i cant sleep at night on it......

Thanks for replying.

Marsha1998

thanks for replying......It's been just over a week...I see my doc on Wed....**REMOVED***and I think the pain has made me really depressed. Yuk! I feel like absolute crap. The percs were working fine.....should have stayed on them I guess.

zach88

Marsha,

I can totally relate to where you're coming from, as I have been switched from medication to medication, short acting to long acting and back again, countless times over the past two years. I'm sorry in advance if I ramble at all, but I'm just trying to offer some help.

Life, I'm in no way trying to usurp anything you've had to say, but just because I've had some experience specifically with this, I'd like to add to what you have said. Tylenol is a painkiller, so technically, it could work somewhat as an anti-inflammatory because it is intended to treat general pain. However, unlike Advil and Aleve, Tylenol is not a NSAID, a typical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory. The NSAIDs are much more effective for inflammation than Tylenol is. Now, that being said, there are several reasons for Tylenol to be added to a narcotic, some of which I'm sure I'm not familiar with, but I do know that two major reasons for this are to a. prevent abuse by adding the Tylenol, which you can absolutely take too much of, and b. to act together with the narcotic in something that is called "drug synergy."

In thinking about it in the past, it's made much more sense to me to forgo any kind of potential liver damage from long term use of Vicodin, Percocet, or any other narcotic manufactured with Tylenol and go with a short or long acting medication that solely contains the narcotic (i.e. Roxicodone, Dilaudid). I really never thought the whole concept of "drug synergy," was that effective, at least for me.

Personally, I have tried so many different narcotic painkillers, but for whatever reason the only thing that has really touched my pain has been Hydrocodone, which is the active narcotic in Vicodin. Of course this is very strange because it has proved to be more effective in making me comfortable than Dilaudid, Methadone, and even Fentanyl, all drugs that are thought to be considerably stronger than Hydrocodone.

So, after having been on Norco for almost an entire year (Hydrocodone + Tylenol), I asked my doctor to check my liver enzymes because I was worried about the prolonged use of the Tylenol. Some of the levels came back elevated, which is nothing to be worried about, just something I need to keep my eye on. This prompted my doctor to write my next prescription for a compounded version of Hydrocodone without anything else in it. As soon as I started taking this new compounded version of the medication, I found it to be much less effective than the Norco I was taking. I was very confused, and after having given myself a week or so to adjust to the new version of the medication, I tried one day taking the Hydrocodone with just one Advil. It really made all the difference for me. I am getting much better pain control now. Whether it was because my body was so accustomed to the Hydrocodone being combined with the Tylenol, or if my body actually just reacts really well to Hydrocodone synergized with Tylenol or an NSAID, I've found it very helpful to add just one or two Advil or Aleve a day (because of course I want to avoid the Tylenol because of my liver, even though a more recent test has shown that everything is back to normal). So, I think there definitely is more to "drug synergy," than I thought there was a few months ago.

Again, sorry this is so long, just thought that maybe this would help. It's definitely a possibility that you're body is responding differently to a long acting medication, but maybe there is something to "drug synergy," and I certainly think when it comes to managing pain that it's definitely worth a shot. Good luck with it all - I know how hard it is to not get sufficient pain relief, and I wish you the best of luck. Let us know how everything is working out, and I hope you start to feel better and get the right amount of pain relief.

Zach

niap

I too go to a pm doctor...

\ I bet everyone that has taken oxys before agree when I say oxys only last 6-8 hours per tablet. Also the generic are considerably less effective than the brand. So since then I have been told that I have two more bulging discs since my fusion surgery I had 1 year ago. So my point is that oxys only last 6-8 hours and not 12 like the dr. and the pharmacy claim. Also, remember that everyone is different and each med. will effect everyone different. Good luck and keep us posted.

Marsha981

Well, I'm back on the percs. You are right about the oxycontin not lasting 12 hours. I hate the percs because of the liver risks, but my doc told me that on the dose I'm on....(4 5mg per day)there is no risk. I never drink which he said is a plus as well. Some docs are so understanding re pain meds.. Others are totally against them and will tell you things to scare you off them....they suggest massage etc....not everyone has the money for massages and acupuncture! Thanks for all your help everyone!

katlin09

Marsha,

Was your doc not willing to increase your Oxy dose to see if that worked before putting you back on Percs?

kat

Marsha981

Well, I mentioned to him that I didn't want to go to <up in dose>
without speaking to him first....he didn't reply...so I took that to mean he didn't want to. I also asked him if it was true that if you take oxycontin that 1/2 is released than another half 6 hours later......he said no...it you take 10 mg...that it keeps you at that level.......I don't know if that is true or not?? Maybe if you take the oxy in the am and pm...but I couldn't take it at night...couldn't sleep on it.

Marsha