My Oxycodone Is Not Working, What Do I Do? (Top voted first)

I have been on opiates for over 10 years now and after refining the dosage amount finally found at sweet zone at 135mgs Morphine per day. I made a big mistake and asked my Dr if I could get rid of the day time Morphine and try something that would not be so sedative during the day. I was switched to Oxycodone from Morphine (not what I asked). The Oxycodone absolutely sucks as it only works for about 3 hours. I have asked several ways to get it changed and have now found myself being compromised. By me asking so deliberately they have now said they are taking all opiates away! I am freaking out, I am in tears in the morning and have to double dose in the AM to be able to not want to just give up. I started to argue with the Dr. and was just told there is nothing to do as that is the decision. They are tapering down 25mg each month. I do not want to be reduced but do not know what to do. This is the Veterans Administration and I'm just so freaked I do not know what to do. I am at my wit's end, please give advice.

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Many private doctors are doing the same thing, reducing meds monthly to none. The tragic result is people not sleeping and no quality of life due to pain. My rheumatologist is still writing me some hydrocodone for DDD, Fibro and arthritis in many facet joints. I had a laminectomy but the scarring is severe so the doctors that did ablation to those nerves say there is nothing else they can do. I don't live in a state where medical pot is legal. The VA does not like medical pot either as federal law says it's still illegal. It's so unfair to make people suffer when there is relief available.

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I agree with Casey. I also see a Pain Management Dr. Due to the problem of all the illegal drug use, & the misuse of medication by some people the FDA put the ruling dwn that patients are to be weaned off of opiates and/or taken dwn to no more than x amount of milligrams. They want patients to try programs, such as "Calm" look up on internet, and learn how to relax, how to think about other things than your pain. And, supposedly, for the Drs that are not abiding, for every patient they write a script for that is above the alloted amt. of miligrams, the Dr. is required to fill out paperwork upon paperwork explaining his reasoning for it. I got my pain medication cut dwn to the lowest amount & my break thru med taken away. So I feel your pain. It's not right that we have to suffer due to what others have done, plus the government should not be interfering in my personal health care. First Do No Harm..what happened to the oath all these Drs took... So I am thinking eventually your Dr. would have weaned you dwn anyway..The whole thing just isnt fair to the patients who really need the medication & are responsible with its use.

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Please accept my condolences. My VA experience is just the same. I am off the opiates that helped me cope with the intractable pain of degenerative disc disease. Now I just consider terrible pain as what normal life is. I doubt that the VA understands that taking me off my pain meds would kill me faster than any overdose would. I guess nobody in the VA has had non-stop pain and that is not life for anyone.

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Now I know why my community has illicit drugs after all these years. That's why the government forced ACA on people. Avoid a doc, put them out of business. Perhaps they'll stand up for their patients instead of the regulations put on them. Guess we'll start seeing people wander off like an old dog in the woods and die.

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I'm so sad to hear this. They are doing this because you are "acting like" an addict. I've been cut back to 45mg ER morphine, total, per 24 hrs. This act has bedridden me for over a year. If I say anything I'm cut back 15mg for 2 months. I was allowed 1 vicodan per day for breakthrough but it makes me sick so they took it away. The days when you could discuss med changes or voice an opinion are long past. You must calm down or you will be even worse off very quickly, like me. If you are seeing a package ask to see the doc but DO NOT BECOME EMOTIONAL. DO NOT ARGUE, DO NOT BEG FOR HELP WITH PAIN. You will be mislabeled. Gently, calmly, rationally explain that miscommunication on your part has messed up the effectiveness of pain control and ask, ask, that you be allowed to gradually return to the previous dose, which worked better than you thought and they were right all along in their original treatment. Now u must be patient, ask for very little at a time. Ask for help on returning to your previous level of pain free functioning. Never rock the boat again. Never try to discuss issues or make big changes. Go in and be as positive as you can. On your paperwork indicate your increased level of pain. Be honest, be consistent, but never contradict or argue or beg for the real help you need. They aren't trained to detect REAL pain sufferers, just addictive behavior. That the tears and anguish and fear look the same most often on the outside doesn't matter. They will mislabeled you and the more you hurt, lose hope, plead for help the more likely the will be to think addictive behavior, not, patient in need of help so they can have a life worth living. Any for ALL of you lying, sneaking, self absorbed REAL addicts out there who are responsible for this new hell you're putting real, physical, chronic pain suffers through, I pray you rot in hell.

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In agreement about the sleeping issue Maija. U must be hearing me complain! Right now as I write I have been up for ever it seems. I just cannot fall asleep with my neck hurting so much. I'm popping 5 over the counter p.m. pills a night praying that I will fall asleep, but no use. Heat, tens, traction, u name it..I own all my own "tools" so to speak but they dont help. Sadly I hear of people whose dosages were lowered so much or meds changed that now they have become the depressed & the desperate, willing to do anything to take away their pain, going so far as to commit suicide. It just seems as if in trying to fix one problem the government has created a bigger, silent problem, one that they are turning their backs on.

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Hey Jeff,

The Veterans Administration did this same thing to my uncle at the Birmingham Alabama V.A. My uncle was on morphine as well and he pissed his doctor off and they took away all his pain meds. The V.A let him suffer in pain. This man can barely walk and can not use the left side of his body as his shoulder has been rebuilt but does not work right. He's had 28 knee surgeries just on one knee and the V.A just took his pain meds away and made him suffer in pain. This is how thankful our V.A is to Vets... I am so sorry you are going through this situation Jeff. I pray you find someone who truly will listen to you because I know pain is real and it's sad that our men and women go and serve our country and return with injury's and our government doesn't want to take care of them... My other uncle lost both his legs in war and it took an act of Congress to get him a wheelchair...

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Thanks for the thought. Here is what they did - The primary care Doc. said since I have tried everything and nothing worked (a bold face lie!) And they listed all meds that I have tried (really funny as the listed Levites(SP), a meds that I stopped because of renal clearance. Anyway way absurd and lie because I do find relief with morphine SR. I went to advocate and really layer it out (I was really upset and fed up. Now they set up a pain panel to confront the issue. I believe I am fxxxed as the rules out weight how I as a patient feels.

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Hi Jeff , I feel for you after being on pain meds for nearly 30 years I have learnt also it's not always in our favour to be honest talking to doctors etc I have been where you are , what I did was change doctors knowing the doctor I changed to would give me the pain meds I needed I like you take them for pain but once the doctors think you are abusing the drug they turn into unreasonable people that have little time for you and just won't you off the drug completely to be honest Jeff don't tell the docs the truth as you have learnt the hard way I am praying for you hope you get back on the right meds .Would a pain doctor like pain clinic ? Ragee

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Do a search for natural pain relief and find the plants that were given to mankind to relieve many issues including pain....a search on the internet will give you a lot of information.... modern drugs were not around 300 years ago...... hope you can find something to help.... I find it interesting that the govt. gets on public broadcasting talking about pain medications having the same issues as illicit drugs as they are taking pain medications away from chronic pain sufferers... and have gotten much more vigilant about it since war in Afghanistan where opiate production is very prevalent... Who is actually profiting from the restriction of pain meds and the increase of illicit drug use?... Things that make you go hhhhmmmm.

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Hi, I'm not sure where you live but I'm pretty sure you can find another pain specialist. I've changed doctors several times over the years for various reasons and I live in Florida where we are over regulated by the doctors and government. Apparently they know what's best for us who are experiencing horrific pain. Dr. Kevin Cairns in Ft. Lauderdale is amazing. Good luck and keep up the good fight.

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Thanks for the thought. Not saying I have tried everything, but after 11yrs on high dose with the previous 10yrs on rather low doses of darvon and hydrocodone I have always tried to stay in shape. My niece is a Dr. Of Naturopath (SP). I am so tired of the bull, I am feeling just too old this crap

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Hi Jeff. I am the vet that was taken off all pain meds about a year ago for no reasons, just stopped. I did what some of these caring people said and went to search for doctors. Finally found an understanding older pain management doc, he saw the pain I was in and the films, ct scans, x-rays, and multiple mri's done by outside providers bc the VA really is a death trap for really sick people. He wrote me the rx's I needed to help with my suffering. Now pay attention and be mentally prepared, because after you receive your necessary to live rx's you will run into another brick wall, called the Pharmacist. "I don't feel comfortable filling this rx, or we don't carry that medicine (I am personally guilty of that answer, I've been a Pharmacist for 32 years), or I'll order that for you, it will take a week for delivery... big BS, they can get it in max 2 days. Though when you return in a week they were shorted that medication, try next week..... until you die or just go away. Just so you know how hard it can be, I trained many of these "Pharmacists" and they still refuse to dispense pain meds to me. I must have failed somewhere when I was trying to teach focus and concentration, I forgot to make them human with a dash of empathy and a little compassion. But the end all, is when one of them says I am just trying to protect my license. Why have a license if you don't dispense? Just be prepared to spend some time finding a good pharmacist and make him or her understand that this will be the only pharmacy you will go to and to please have a supply in hand each month for your needs.

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Jeff I have been to the pain panel docs through the VA and I was shocked at the stupidity of their decisions. They actually said " if you do the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome, that's the definition of insanity." I don't want a different outcome, I want the same outcome, abate my suffering for as long as possible, let me live or let me die. I have helped close to 2 million people over my 30+ years as a Pharmacist, all I need is some help now. I hope you are the lucky one in the VA and get the help you need.

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I feel your pain. The VA is the worse, I was getting my oxycodone from a VA Doctor and I was on a regiment of 6 10-325 a day. I went in for a scheduled appt and to get a refill and without notice I was cut down to 4, 5-325 per day. He said it was a new regulation and that's the best he could do. So now, not only did he cut down the amount of pills per day he cut the milligrams in half, and that did not help whatsoever. I've had four back surgeries and have been left with numbness all the way down the back of my leg and into my foot and the pain is unbearable. My suggestion to you is find a pain management Dr. that dispenses morphine or the oxycodone (prescription), and that's a question you can ask when you are calling around, they will tell you if they do or not. They are out there, they are limited to what they can but they are out there. It's beyond me that they can't help the people that really need this medicine like myself, it's as if they have been worn that if they write a prescription for the house they will lose their license, it's ridiculous. Good luck.

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Chronic pain is so hard to deal with. The new laws on opiates is making doctors reduce patients on them. I work at a hospital,we have a "pain team" that helps patients with chronic pain get off of opiates. I see them prescribe omega 3, magnesium,D3 which all you can get over the counter. Drink plenty of water! Dehydration is very painful on muscles and tissues.

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Yes, I know what you are going through. It absolutely is overwhelming, have you considered checking into any other pain clinics nearby or setting up an appointment? One thing that helps believe it or not is exercise, by releasing endorphins that hit the same receptors in your brain opiates do. Also by doing this you are basically working through withdrawal which will lower your tolerance over time to opiates. That has to be your goal right now- to lower your tolerance. Lastly, Vitamins and proteins are very helpful.

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I hate to be so blunt but I see one of 3 choices if you can't talk your doctor out of this decision. 1. find a pain clinic or another doctor who will listen 2. find opiate medication elsewhere or 3. find the nearest methadone clinic ASAP!

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OH have I been there, addicted to opiates for years. I have chronic pain. I went to my Dr for them. Your tolerance is going to go up to the point where nothing helps except a shot of dilaudid at the ER. Me, I was tired and always ran out, so my Dr put me on a Suboxone. I am down to a quarter a day with 800 imp. I have to say it won't get better. I feel great when I exercise regularly. I wish u luck.

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Yea never ask for anything when they ask you then you can tell them ,I am not sure what do you suggest. It's very hard to get back.thats called a red flag dr. Is going out of business or he got caught and in trouble with someone.i suggest you start looking for another dr.i am in Texas we were told pain mgmt Drs only I took me over a yr had to pay cash to a few quackery Drs until my insurance company and if you can find pain mgmt with their own pharmacy grab it.they are getting ready to cut us off need to start reading up on it .trump wants to get rid of pain meds too many deaths.drs are also trying to control the qty you take .i take oxycodone 10mgs x 4 a day and morphing sulfate er 10 mgs 2x a day ,that 60 mg per day they want to change and try get you to control that mg per day at least by 10 mgs and keep cutting back so start looking up info,cuz d-day is coming and they are GONNA TRY AND TAKE OUR MEDICATION AWAY! My dr told me to start with local legislators and find out what's up cuz I cannot have surgery and I hurt with and without meds but at least I can get out of bed a few days a week.good luck with everything hope info helped.if you find a good dr.and be honest with them,tell them if it's a good dr they will listen,and I don't know why but male Drs are better I had several female Drs never again!!!!

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