Honest Answers Please Switching From Oxycodone To Hydrocodone

I really need some input on this situation. I have dig disc disease, sciatica, arthritis and problems with my left hip all documented by mris, scans and xrays. I am not a abuser of my medications. I have been on every medication out there and am getting ready to go to a new Pain Doctor, I only see one doctor I don't hop around etc., early in December.

My current paid medication regimen is as follows:

200 mg morphine er tables 2 tabs twice daily which equals 800 mg daily

120 mg oxycodone 30 mg 4 times a day

I know it is alot and I don't even really get high, I have been dealing with this disease and opiates for 15 years now. I thought of trying detox, but my dr and my dr at my insurance says unfortunately, in my case, the pain would come back and i would still need opiate therapy.

I want to see what happens and try to lower my dosages slowly just to see if I can maintain on lower doses.

First Step, I start tomorrow. Staying on the Morphine ER the same. But switched from Oxycodone 120 mg daily to Hydrocodone 7.5 4 times daily.

I am horrified of withdrawls because i have had them a few times due to pharmacies having problems getting my medications etc and it is horrible.

Will I feel any withdrawl when I start this new regimen in the morning? I have to try this out until early December and give it a chance. Any honest and experienced information would be so helpful and make me feel better mentally. I was scared to sign up and ask this but what better place to ask than a place where what I am going through is the TOPIC. I wish all of you the best with dealing with pain, it is really tough but I am not a quitter.

Thank you for listening to me. :mickey:

 

yes 120mg oxy a day down to 30mg hydro a day is not a relative drop. too drastic if you have been on those meds for years.

 

Uhhh....dude. I know you've been on them for years and you say you're not abusing them and are rx'd that- but still, if you try to drop to hydro.. you're gonna be in PAIN!!!!

You need to either slowly wein off those medications to a lower dose (much lower) and THEN switch to hydro.... OR slowly wein off a little before you would even do this *just a little, little though* n then switch to suboxone.

 

You missed something.... it was that much oxy PLUS 800 mg's morphine.

 

As everyone said, Slow is the key. I dont have any experience for pain control, I think blues would be the best member to talk too.

 

I saw that. The morphine remained the same whereas the hydro/oxy changed. A tin if morphine to be on though. Is morphine more for pain that's always there? Instead of breakthrough? Or other way round?

 

ever think of suboxone?

 

I agree with everyone who says to decrease your dose slowly. I too have constant pain so I know how you feel. A drop down to hydro might be too much for you even with the morphine. My advice is get the dose of meds you are taking now down as low as you can then reassess how you are functioning. This will require patients on your part because it will take quite a while to lower your tolerance so you get pain relief from the reduced dose.

I know people suggest subs and there is evidence that it might provide pain relief but there are few doctors that will give it to you for pain releif. If your doctor leaves you might end up with a doc who does not believe in using subs for pain and then you will be really screwed. From what I understand withdrawl from subs is far worse than Oxy and lasts a lot longer.

If you work with what you have first and can't handle the lower dose you can go back up. However if you drop to hydro and it fails to control the pain then it might be hard to get your Oxy back.

So my advice get your dose as low as you can then decide where to go from there.

Good luck and I hope you feel better.

 

Hi, I am also on Prescription Opiate pain medications and have bee in Pain Management for a period of ten years. I at one time was for my breakthrough pain, reduced from 90mg a day of Oxycodone to 60mg a day of Oxycodone and I was used to taking the maximum prescribed dose each day for an extended period of time and I did not do well on that change of 30mg less Oxycodone a day after being used to taking the full 90mg per day. So that is the extent of changing of doses of Oxycodone in my experience, I would imagine that going from 120mg of Oxycodone day to 30mg of Hydrocodone a day will be very drastic considering how I felt going down only 30mg of oxycodone from 90mg a day and that was the same drug.

I am wondering is this something you are just experimenting with on your own? Or, is this something that your Practitioner has changed for your program?

I hope this is just an idea you have and to be honest I don't think it is a very good one if it is. If your Practitioner is making the change I would find a new Practitioner or let them now ASAP if you begin to have withdrawal symptoms and intolerable pain, especially if you are used to taking the full 120mg daily every day.

There is just no comparison between 120mg Oxycodone and 30mg Hydrocodone other than like a pebble and a rock. I would really be asking for a second opinion or your pharmacist if this is safe. Hope you find a solution and hope you are able to tolerate the change.

Take Care, Pillhead

 

Since he said he are starting this tomorrow which would have been the 30th, I'm wondering why we haven't heard from painman1. Taking 800mgs of Morphine daily on top of 120mgs of oxy, then changing to 800mg Morphine and 30mgs of Hydro, he is basically dropping 100+mgs of oxy off his daily regiment. I don't see him going into full withdrawals but he is certainly feeling it which may be why he hasn't been back here. Why the DR agreed to such a drastic drop of break thru meds, knowing he has been taking all of it, is suspect at best. He would have been much better off like most said, and tapering down by 30mgs a month until he felt he was at a level of pain he couldn't deal with.

 

My above post was using the conversion of Morphine to Oxy which at 800mgs, is roughly equivalent to around 400mgs of Oxy which would put him at 520mgs of Oxy/day. That's a pretty hefty habit and dropping it by 100mgs, will make him feel it big time!