I have been taking like 8 to 10 Lortabs a day but have now been ordered 40mg oxycodone!?

Question

Do you'll think that it will be too strong or make me sick??????????????? I just had a total hip replacement on Jan. 11th, in hispital they were giving me 2 Norcos every 4 hrs.!!!!!!! so that built up my tolerance ONCE again. I also suffer from severe scoliosis. Lumber was fused in 2005. I am in pain management. They say i am acute/chronic patient but i don't want to start taking too much meds and will stair step after this and back to the Lortab. Please let me know ASAP!!! THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

HELLO VICTORIA L,
Fancy meeting you here....incase you don't recognize me..........it's Sweetness #1 (inpogue)

i thought that you are using F, too....
listen, you take care, ok???

Answer 2

Oxycodone (Percocet) comes in 5mg, 7.5mg and 10mg tablets. Why are you being told to take 40mg of percocet? Does that mean you are directed to take one 10mg tablet every six hours? It makes sense for doctors to prescribe you stronger narcotics if they are needed but I'm a little concerned about the large jump from 12 norco a day to 40mg of percocet a day. It's quite a difference. Just take them as directed and remember that they are highly addictive, more so than hydrocodone, so do not take more than needed and definitely have your docs wean you off when it's time. I've found that combining norco and Motrin(800mg) together eases my pain better than narcotics alone. You can get a tolerance to percocet also and the detox is 100 times worse; after all, percocet is a step below morphine and heroin. Try epidurals, steroids, heat n massage also. You will come to find that once you aren't taking the narcotics anymore you don't even need them. It's funny how the mind works. Taking pain meds consistently keeps you in pain. What other plans do your docs have concerning long-term recovery? You can't (and don't want to) take meds forever so how are you going to heal your condition? Good luck
P.S- Take the meds with food to avoid stomach upset and if you do get dizzy or overwhelmed, lie down.
no alcohol-please
no other meds containing tylenol
Start off taking a half of a pill and see how it affects you
other than that-follow the same directions you followed when you were taking norco (hydrocodone/acetaminophen)
both medications (percocet, norco 10mg) have the same amount of tylenol in them-325mg

Answer 3

Being that you have chronic pain, you really need to get with someone who'll help you manage and find the best medications for you, with the less neurological affects.

Have they tried hypnosis to help your pain? Specialty pain clinics can offer this as an option, it often allows a person to use far less medications.

Also for on going pain there is a seldom used option, yet it blocks pain for up to 12 months, I'm not speaking of a nerve block. This is called Cryo-analgesia. They use a probe to find the nerve, then they literally freeze the nerve. It doesn't damage the nerve like Radio Frenquencing does. If I could afford it I'd have it done for my severe pain in legs and feet, but I can't. It goes about 2,000 and some private insurances will cover it. The treatment lasts between 9 months and 12 months. I've done a lot of research on it and find it sad that Medicare and Medicaid will pay to drug a person, but won't pay for Cryo-Analgesia which has proven to give the person back their life.

Most pain clinics and major hospitals have doctors trained to do this. Make sure if you decide to do this, can afford it yourself or your insurance will pay, that the person has tons of experience doing it as it's a percise thing and something the person needs a lot of training in. It is usually done by a doctor of Anesthesiology. The type that put you under for surgery, but more and more doctors specializing in pain are learning to do this procedure.

Most insurances now days will pay for you to be seen at a pain clinic, if you haven't done this already, look into it.

Take care and hope you find a positive solution for your pain soon!

Answer 4

Be very careful, first off!

I am on Oxycodone (20 mg., 3x day) and have been for 3 years (chronic migraines) and find when I have taken my pills too close together, I have trouble breathing. I started out at 10 mg./2x day and have had to SLOWLY increase because of tolerance. They COULD make you very sick to your stomach as well. Constipation will also probably be a factor.

I would question starting you out at such a HIGH dose with your dr. If you are not used to this drug, starting out at 40 mg. is HIGH!! I would think they would start at the 20 mg. strength.

It is a lot different from hydrocodone. If you took a few of those, you would get good pain relief. If you took a few oxycodone (especially the 40 mg. ones), you could kill yourself!

To lily, poster below: original poster probably has generic Oxycontin. That is why it is 40 mg. I use that and it comes in 10 mg., 20 mg., 40 mg., etc. Percocet is Oxycodone with Acetaminophen.

Answer 5

oxycontins are bad, I have had two neck surgeries from a car wreck, I took all of that stuff for years and now only have to take a very small amount of believe it or not, methadone, it is not the same kind they give to addicts, it is very inexpensive, (I was spending over $1,700 a month on Rx) and is so effective that I am amazed. I was taking three 10Mg Lortabs, four to five times a day, liquid morphine, oxycontins and tried other stuff too, none helped for the deep, bone, tendon,nerve and muscle pain. But the methadone really does help, and after about a week, you dont get sleepy like you do at first. Ask your doctor if you can try it and see if you like it... It is long lasting and doesnt make you feel like you are sick if you miss a dose, or many doeses. That is what I like about it. I do have good days and on those days I dont want to take drugs of any kind, so it is perfect for me, I have the other stuff as back up for when it really hurts. Dont take any steriod injections, you will gain at least twenty five pounds a shot, I tried that and after a year going monthly I had gained one hundred pounds, it is coming off again, it comes off easy after about a year but it sucks having to carry all that weight...

Good luck

Answer 6

A true hospital story:

We had a patient admitted with "intractable" pain. The patient was on the highest dosage of oxycontin, and nothing helped relieve the pain..

The doctor started the patient on a very low dose of Morphine, by injection, but this did not help at all.

Then the patient was started on a slow, IV infusion of Morphine, which the doctor kept increasing when it would not help the patient's pain.

While receiving enough morphine to knock out a horse, this patient jumped out of bed, pulled out a urinary catheter and the IV and started bleeding from both sites, as the patient then crashed out into the hallway, screaming in delerium and pain.

With MD orders, we subdued her and administered Haloperidol (Haldol: an anti-psychotic) by IM injection against her will. We repeated this in thirty minutes and again in another 30 minutes. After a total of 1 1/2 hours we were able to remove restraints from her, and she was given regular doses of Haldol.

For the next two days she received NOTHING for pain, because she did not complain of any pain, and was behaving normally and rationally--as long as she received the Haldol, which has NO true pain relief value whatsoever....less than a baby aspirin.

MORAL of THE STORY: For some people, no matter why they started taking all of these pain meds, there comes a time when a Psychiatric Consult is in order.

You are talking about chemicals of the most powerful and toxic order, and the total effects on human physiology and psychology are either not completely understood, or not completely divulged by the Pharmaco/Medical community.

So, ask your primary care physician for a psych consult so that your care is holistic in nature.

You might also want to include your choice of clergy person in this loop, for spiritual support as well.

G.E.T.
California Registered Nurse (retired)
Certified Neuromuscular Therapist.
Former Psych Nurse.

Answer 7

Well a hip replacement is painful and the pain management is so you don't get addicted to pain pills. SO hey it's more powerful but just take as directed and start dong what they are teaching you in pain mangement. Even if it's painfull every now and then try two tylenol instead of pain medication. AND you cna get by using your mind too. SO good luck.

Answer 8

Lortab can be habit-forming. If you take Lortab over a long period of time, you can become mentally and physically dependent on it, and you may find the drug no longer works for you at the prescribed dosage. Take Lortab exactly as prescribed. Do not increase the amount you take or the frequency without your doctor's approval. Do not take Lortab for any reason other than the one prescribed. Your doctor will adjust the dosage according to the severity of the pain and the way the medication affects you.

Answer 9

You will get better pain control with the 40 mg Oxycontin. Besides, taking that much Lortab is really bad for you because it contains SO much acetaminophen (Tylenol). The Oxycontin is just Oxycodone and no Tylenol to screw up your liver and kidneys.

Answer 10

You might want to find a good chiropractor as they are pretty good with musculoskeletal originated pain. However, with your extensive history of surgery and pain med, you need someone very good. Noone disputes that chiropractic is also one of the best modality for symptomatic relief for scoliosis.

Answer 11

Medication -- alternative......
The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Davies will teach you how to deal with muscles, pain and referred pain caused by the muscles having knots called trigger points making them stay tight.