What Is Stronger Dilaudid Or Oxycontin 40 Mg? (Page 14)
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I have been on Dilaudid for over 2 years now and I can't seem to get off of it. I'm under a doctor's care, but anyone who is on it knows it's very addicting! I think like everybody else, it's no good if you take it orally. It's only effective other ways. I always run out of Dilaudid before my prescription is ready to refill and recently I filled a script for oxycontin 40 mg to see if they could replace my 4 mg Dilaudid. However, I took 1/2 of a 40 mg. and felt nothing. An hour later I took my 4 mg Dilaudid and it seems to have worked. But they are very short lived, that's why for chronic pain they like to give these stupid time release pain pills. How many mg.'s does equal the same amount of Dilaudid? I also would like to know if anyone has ever tapered off of Dilaudid? You get really sick when you try to get off of it, really intense vomiting and stomach pain that lasts forever. I have never stuck it out, I always end up in the emergency room. All they do is give me a pain shot of Dilaudid and a prescription for it as well and send me home. They think there is something wrong with something else. I have even tried to tell them but they either don't want to get involved because I'm under a Dr.'s care or they are just stupid. I hope someone has the best kicking advice, I'd rather be straight or just be one of those once in a while users (RIGHT)!!!

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To TRPebs - There are LOTS of other, stronger medications you can try! My best suggestion for you would be to get a new "pain" doctor immediately. I've had severe fibromyalgia with terrible pain for 20 years and for the first 6 years I was given either nothing or given weak pain relievers which didn't help at all while being told by doctors that there was nothing else they could do. I also tried Lyrica for two years which did absolutely nothing for pain relief--just gave me now permanent tremors and "jerks", even though I've been off it for over a year. The manufacturer's own research found that Lyrica helps 20% of those who use it SOME of the time. That's not a really strong recommendation for it in my book! I think that sometimes prescribing Lyrica just allows the doctors to pat themselves on the back because they can pretend they're helping! For pain as severe as yours and considering its cause, Lyrica is a TERRIBLE choice. Anyway, I take 8 mg of Dilaudid every 3 hours for breakthrough pain but not as my primary pain medication. My primary pain relief comes from 60 mg. of Oxycontin every 6 hours. It's timed-release, unlike the Dilaudid, which is short-acting but takes effect more quickly. Since they changed the formulation of Oxycontin to make it more difficult for addicts and abusers to misuse it, it takes 2-3 hours to take effect when it used to take 1 hour--another example of pharmaceutical and insurance companies and the DEA putting the problem of addicts and abusers before the needs of the actual pain patients so they can appear to be addressing the "drug problem" and be perceived as politically correct. (Of course, the addicts have already found ways to continue abusing Oxycontin and the only ones actually affected by the change and left suffering for the extra couple of hours are the legitimate pain patients.)

This is helpful to know so that, if you're prescribed Oxycontin, you don't panic and think it's not working because it takes so long to give relief. Especially when my pain is really severe, I have to use one Dilaudid to "bridge" the time when I'm waiting for the Oxycontin to work so I don't have to writhe in pain for those 2-3 hours. I've talked with my doctor about this problem so he is aware of it and and is fully supportive of using my pain meds in this way. My point is that your doctor is lying when he claims there's nothing else he can give you or do about your suffering. You could try Oxycontin, starting at one of the medium strengths perhaps (it comes in 10, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 160 mg) and increasing the strength if the one you're isn't strong enough. And don't believe it if your doctor or pharmacist tells you it lasts 12 hours--it doesn't. MAYBE 8 hours, more likely 6 hours, is a more realistic period of effectiveness before it wears off. You could "layer" the Oxycontin and Dilaudid or take them alternately. There's also morphine or morphine-based pain medications you could try and probably many other medications to try also. I suspect your doctor is telling you he's done all he can just because he doesn't want to give you stronger narcotics; if you asked about Oxycontin or morphine, he'd probably rattle on about becoming addicted. HOWEVER--it sounds like what you have is not going to go away or get better; your pain is a permanent condition and it's severe so strong opioids are very likely necessary. And there's a difference between being DEPENDENT on opioids and being ADDICTED. The first is a physical issue--your body gets used to these meds and you would have to slowly wean off them IF the time came when you didn't need them which doesn't sound likely. The second (addiction) is when one takes these meds for their psychological effect, for a high, rather than taking them for pain relief. Right now, getting pain relief is the primary concern. If the day comes when you no longer need these medications (though this doesn't sound likely), you can deal with weaning off them then. I've been taking Oxycontin for about 12 years now; for the first 7 years I still had a fair amount of pain because I wasn't taking enough. Five-and-a-half years ago, I got a new doctor who very gradually titrated my dosage up until I actually had true pain relief. Now my dose hasn't changed in 5 years and I'm still getting the same relief I had when I initially went on this dose. (I should probably mention that I have NEVER had any kind of "high" or "buzz" from taking any narcotic medication--they just take away the pain which is usually the case when you actually NEED them for pain.)

It has meant the difference between struggling just to exist and actually having a life. You, and just as importantly, your children deserve far better than this so-called doctor is giving you. Allowing you to suffer so badly when help is available is unforgivable and medically unethical; I'm certain that if his wife was dealing with what you are, he wouldn't be saying that nothing more could be done and just allow her suffering to continue. (You may want to ask him about this!) Also, I know from experience that sleep deprivation and pain aggravate each other significantly. Obviously, it's impossible to sleep when you're in so much pain but severe sleep deprivation, such as you are experiencing, will also increase your pain tremendously. I know how difficult it is to address all this with your doctor when you're suffering so badly; it doesn't help that some doctors can often be bullies when told that they're "failing" you. If possible, I would suggest that you take someone with you to your next doctor appointment to advocate for you--preferably someone who can be firm! It's hard to be strong when you're devastated by pain. If this doctor won't help you, I hope you'll be able to find one who will. If it's possible for you to do so, I'd like to stay informed about how you're doing and if you find any help. I am REALLY concerned about you.

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I've been on 8 mg. of dilaudid for about 3 years now for various pains. I was just diagnosed with a connective tissue disease that is attacking my organs (the ones that haven't been surgically removed), joints, tissue, and bones. The 8 mg of dilaudid every 3 hours became completely ineffective 3 months ago when trying to relieve the pain of 2 protruding discs and a vertebrae that's sticking out of my neck along with all the pain from the impinge nerves, as well as ulcerative colitis flares. This new pain management doctor put me on lyrica and I had a bad reaction to it. He then put me on the butrans patch at 5mcg per hour. I am on my 8th day and 2nd patch. Sadly I have yet to receive any significant relief. It has created daily headaches, breathing difficulties, nausea, dizziness even when sitting, and terrible acne at the age of 33. I have also been having a really hard time remembering things as 2nd nature as my nephews names and I talk to my brother daily. I've been reading the posts to see what else I can ask my doctor about as he claims that butrans "is his last resort" when it's only his 2nd prescribed med. I am allergic to a LOT of medicine and classes so it's a bit challenging. However, I cannot walk, change positions without assistance, turn my head to the right, open my mouth wide to yawn or bite something that's not in tiny pieces, swallow without pain, etc... I have a 9 and 10 year old who are just watching me lay in pain and wish for death. I get about 15-30 minutes of sleep before the pain awakes me. Is there anything stronger than dilaudid and butrans that anyone can suggest. I'm at my wits end here. Thank you =0)

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Agreed

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Dilaudid is as good as it gets, if you take it more than once every 6 hours, you're going to run out! You need to have your doctor put you on oxycodone 30 mg. for Invertive breakthrough pain, then you're good to go. Take the 8 mg. Dilaudid, & never get suckered into buying Malencroft, it's the worst generic there is. If you must buy generic, get Lannett!

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I have done every opioid out there including H and dilaudid is the closest thing to it, other than oxycontin, but Dd are truly stronger. 8 mg of Dd is about 60 mg of morphine to about 40 mg of oxycontin. You only took half of it and the only reason the Dd felt stronger is because you layered the drugs. I am going to be on a pain med soon I hope for my severe osteoarthritis and my first choice would be Dd 4 mg because they have NO Ibuprofen and less filler than the other drugs. Also if you taper off gradually the withdrawal is not too bad, but, it is good to have flu medicine and maybe a valium or sleeping pills. The miracle drug I have used is Subutex or Suboxone both are opiates and mild pain killers that will block other opiods from getting you high and withdrawal is a breeze if you step down every 2 days from 8 mg to 2 mg by the eighth day. I prefer Subutex as it does not have naloxone. The danger of Buprenorphine or Subutex is that if you take it while you are still on an opiate medication you WILL get severe symptoms of withdrawal. It seems to take a week of symptoms and cram it into one night. So wait at least 12 hours, I was on H once and waited only 8 hours and I was throwing up non stop for a few hours but...the symptoms only lasted a day or two instead of a week or more.

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I have crohns disease and deal with pain very often that is very unpleasant. I do believe it is ignorant for people to try to judge other people's feelings whether pain or mental. I'm relatively new to taking opiates. ...about 2 years now. But like others have said you can live in pain for ever and be miserable or live in no pain for shorter time but have a great life. I'm 26 and I my opinion I'll take the 2nd route...BUT!!! I also have learned the powerful consequences of being addicted to pain meds. I know it's not my fault or yours most likely but just another thing in my life I am responsible for. And for that I'm trying to taper down off these drugs to see where I'm at with my condition both physically and mentally. Dependency is a lot of times not a good thing Cuz when you do not have that thing you depend on......then things become complicated. None of you are bad people because of your addiction. ..Neither am I. I am sorry to you all for your unfortunate luck with your pain...but you do what you gotta do. Just keep control!!!

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Try Methadone, it does not get you real high, helps with pain and takes away withdrawl!

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To UNFORTUNATE USER: You cannot possibly be taking "Oxycotin" because there is no medication with that name. More likely, you're taking "OxycoNtin". It's always good to know how to spell your medications. If you're getting any "rush", as you say, from taking the Oxycontin and the Dilaudid, you're probably taking more than you need. I take Oxycontin, Dilaudid and Xanax-- 60 mg. Oxycontin 4x/day and 8 mg. Dilaudid up to 6 times/day for breakthrough pain; I'm also allowed up to 4 mg. Xanax/day. On the majority of my days, the severity of my pain requires that I take everything I'm allowed which is a pretty high dose. In spite of this, I have NEVER been buzzed, high, la-la, groggy, fuzzy, had a "rush" or any other type of reaction besides pain relief. I've been on the Oxy and Dilaudid for 15 years and the same dosage of Xanax for 20 years and they still work just fine with only a couple of minor increases in the Oxycontin dose years ago because I was still having severe pain and it took a while to titrate up slowly in order to find my effective dose. Now it's been several years since I had any increase. I take what I need for the reason these medications were prescribed for me and am grateful for the pain relief so I can have a life without thinking about how I could abuse them to feel high. Doctors don't prescribe these medications because they WANT the patient to get "addicted"! (What an ignorant statement.) I was titrated up VERY slowly and, with previous doctors, had to fight for an adequate dose over many years that actually controlled my pain. Because of moving several times, I've had a number of different doctors over the last 20 years and NONE of them were eager to get me on opioids. In fact, my experience with all of them was that they were very cautious about putting a patient on these drugs and I was always required to sign a form on which I agreed to take the narcotics under very definite guidelines. It took a long time to build a trust relationship with my doctors so they eventually knew I wouldn't misuse these meds and that I would respect the guidelines. They realized, of course, (as did I) that I would become PHYSICALLY DEPENDENT on the narcotics which is totally different than addiction (do some reading about the differences between addiction and dependence.) Of course, I don't spend MY time contemplating how I might be able to abuse my meds for some "recreational" purpose. As I said earlier, if taking the pills gives you anything besides pain relief you may be on a higher dose than is needed to address your pain. A FINAL NOTE: I don't understand why you would write here to talk about how you'd like to abuse your narcotics because they give you a great rush and how it's too bad you need them for pain because that means you can't use them to feel high so you're "stuck" having to use them legally for their intended purpose but at least you get to go to the hospital periodically and get a great rush on Dilaudid. I don't know how old you are but this sounds very immature. I can't say it often enough--it's people like you who make it difficult for legitimate pain patients who need narcotics in order to have any kind of life. You help create the false idea that any patient who takes narcotics, even to address severe pain, is really just taking them to enjoy the buzz. I'm not making this up--I actually heard a supposed "pain expert" physician from the University of Wisconsin say of fibromyalgia patients who need narcotics for pain relief, "Of course, they just love their high." Please, don't contribute to this incorrect idea by speaking/writing as you did here.

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Yeah, im on dilaudid for break through pain and take 8mg 4x a day, oxycotin 40s 3x a day, soma 3x day, and xanax 2mg every 4 hours. its all legit, no doctor hopping, no pharmacy hoppin, just one doctor for pain management and another doc for anxiety. i dont know why they would prescribe all this medicine if they DIDNT WANT ME TO GET ADDICTED, i mean c'mon. i just take them orally though, ive really wanted to try and do them other ways but i do need them for chronic pain and everything ive been though im not just trying to get f***ed up on them and strung out on something that i dont even need. i mean i need these pills but f*** sometimes it occurs to me that i want to try it another way...banging it will def f*** me up for life i already know that bc when i have to go to the emergency room and when i stayed at the hospital for 2 months they had to give me dilaudid and i just ABSOLUTELY love the rush i get from it, so i know if i try banging it i would be hooked...im stuck

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I have an incredible opiate tolerance and dilaudid is much better than oxycodone as a pain med. I can't even feel a 40 milligram opana but 8 milligrams of dilaudid makes me smile for hours. I am prescribed both. Those of you who say dilaudid is no good orally are either burned out from abusing it or you have tolerance levels that are unheard of.

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Hi I think that methadone is the only way to detox off an opiod drug, I think it works cause u dont feel any of the stomach pains, and a doctor can detox u, or a clinic can detox u so that u r comfortable,

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Oh my goodness, Alex! As Tanya has said, opioids are narcotics and narcotics are opioids--just two different names for the same thing Also..."Oxycodin"? Oxycodone is the "generic" name of a particular narcotic. In it's plain form, it is known as oxycodone and is short-acting. When it is in a time-release form, it is Oxycontin; Oxycodone with Tylenol is Percocet; oxycodone with aspirin is Percodan; Dilaudid is "hydromorphone"--and so forth and so on. All of these medications, plus many more, are opioids/narcotics. Except for the "Oxycodin" you mention--not sure what you're talking about but there is NO medication called Oxycodin!" Talk about the uneducated....

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Dilaudid is an opiate which is a narcotic!!! WOW!

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First of all, Dilaudid is an opiate not a narcotic as you stated. Dilaudid is used for short term pain relief and Oxycodin for long term. They are OFTEN used together under the supervision of a health care professional. Beware of taking advice from the uneducated!

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I've been on the same strength and amount of Oxycontin and Dilaudid for many years. I NEVER take more than I'm prescribed and I NEVER run out nor have I developed a tolerance for the meds I'm taking at this dosage. They're still working very well and I don't anticipate needing more. You're misusing your medication by taking more than prescribed, presumably because you still have pain at the dosage you've been prescribed. This probably means that you're in pain for the last part of your 30 day prescription (however many days that is). Secondly, it means you're violating your doctor's trust in prescribing these meds to you which could become a serious problem. If you're not getting adequate relief with the amount of pain medication you're taking, a better idea would be to talk to your doctor about the inadequacy of your current dosage to relieve your pain. If your doctor won't give you sufficient pain medication to control your pain--you need to find a different doctor. A doctor must take controlling a patient's pain just as seriously as they take controlling the patient's blood pressure and/or other basic indicators of serious health problems. To do otherwise is certainly unethical and, in my opinion, malpractice; the impact of untreated, severe chronic pain is tremendous and overwhelming. I know it's hard to fight for this when you're hurting (sometimes you need another person to act as an advocate), but sometimes it's the only way to alleviate the pain and prevent it from further destroying your overall health.

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That's a fact pain like discitis can only be managed with pain meds an k8s seem. To work as well as anything but with all drugs your tolerance gets higher and you will run short ever month

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I've never used an internet pharmacy so can't recommend an alternate source. There are mail order pharmacy, like Express Scripts, but I'm not sure that you can get opioids through them. I know I need a new written prescription each month to fill my pain medications and have to pick that up at my doctor's office; it can't be mailed and the prescriptions can't be called in to the pharmacy. Wish I could be more helpful!

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I don't trust internet-based pharmacy's, has anyone had any positive feedback when dealing with these sources?

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Olivia, you can reach me if you can read between the lines: {edited for privacy}. Maybe spelling things out that way will help. I just have a few other questions that I'd rather not "air out" in this type of setting.

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I need help with obtaining an rx on line or through an alternate source for dilaudid. Pharmacies around here are super expensive if you don't have insurance and require name brand.

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