Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Out of Percocet???

Percocets are 5mg's of oxycodone and i take two for breakthrough pain. I ran out! Can I chew a 10mg oxycontin sr instead? I need some pain relief.Scotty...

hey scotty... sorry you're having so much pain! it's a big no no to open, chew oxycodone. i can't tell you to do it, but i bet you'd be ok to just take the oxycodone. if you break it up you will get it all at once and it's meant to be a slow release drug... much safer just to take it whole. hope you feel better soon!

very gentle hugs,
teddi

First off, I'm really sorry you're feeling so poorly. However, Teddi's right Scotty--DO NOT under any circumstances chew an Oxycontin pill. Not only do you risk starting down the road to addiction (folks who've chewed or snorted it say that it took only one dose and they were hooked), but you're also just as likely to become nauseous and throw it right back up, which would ruin any chance you had of getting pain relief from it. Please, do not chew that pill!

If you have the Oxy for long-term pain control and the Percocets for breakthrough pain, which is what it sounds like, then just take one of your Oxy's a little earlier than you are supposed to. That is by FAR the lesser of two evils when compared to chewing it. As an abolutely extreme measure--and I am NOT recommending this--you could take one extra Oxy 10 (ie, take 2 if your regular dose is 1) if you feel you have to break out of the current pain cycle. I must say that I have done this once or twice before as an absolutely emergency measure. If your pain is the type that, once you've calmed it down and essentially "broken out" of the pain cycle, then taking the extra one might achieve that goal. If, however, your pain is such that the extra pill will temporarily calm you pain down, but then it will return with a vengeance once the pills wear off, then it's not really a great idea to take the extra one anyhow, because once you take an extra one, you are now going to come up one dose short somewhere down the line, which will be just as bad as this is.

The bigger question here is why did you run out of Percocet? Was it refill time and you forgot to get to the doctor or the pharmacy? Or, has your pain been so bad that you have been taking more of your breakthrough med than your prescription called for? (Don't get me wrong, I'm not judging you at all if that's what you've done.) If the latter is the case, then you have to get in to see your doctor and explain that the dosage he has you on is not getting the job done, that you are still in severe pain. I would not bring up the running out thing unless you had to, as many doctors will look past the reason you are taking extra and just consider this drug-seeking behavior and drop you from their care. Once you are labeled a drug-seeker, you are really screwed, so you don't want that to happen. Just tell him that when you follow the dosage plan he has you on, you are still in constant agony.

Now, this has to be talked about too, again, without judgment. You need to ask yourself if you have develeoped a problem with the narcotic pain relievers. If you have run out of Percocet early, is it because the pain has been that bad, or is it because the drugs have begun to backfire and you have become too reliant on them, even addicted (mentally, not physically) to them? Only you can answer these questions. When you say you are hurting this badly, I believe you completely Scotty. All I'm saying is that if there IS really a problem, only you can make that determination and decide to do something about it. I tend to see the good in people and believe them when they come here asking for help for their pain, so I want you to find some relief here, but I ask that you be sure this is all happening for the right reasons too. It might not seem like it, but developing an addiction problem will turn out to be much worse than chronic pain in the long run, so it's not worth letting the one happen if you say it's just to help stop the second.

(And to clarify my mental vs physical aside above--I know that everyone who takes narcotic pain relievers, including me, becomes physically dependent on those drugs because that is unavoidable. A physical dependency means your body develops a tolerance for the drugs and expects them to be there; if they are taken away, horrible withdrawal symptoms will occur unless the withdrawal is managed properly. Mental addiction occurs when you begin to rely on the drugs even though your pain is at a minimum or even gone; you feel you have to have the drugs anyhow because of the mellow feeling or feeling of euphoria they can bring. Or, you feel that if you stop taking them, the pain will come back full force, so you keep taking them even though your pain is otherwise under control. It's a sticky, sticky area, but it always needs to be made clear that there is major difference between physical and mental addiction.)

Good luck Scotty--keep us posted on how you are doing.

Brad

Don't Chew The Oxy!

Not only could it be fatal to chew, but once you chew it they don't work as well when you take them as prescibed.

I was told by a friend while I was having major pain to chew my oxy, so I did. Quickly I found relief, but it was the start of a a vicious cycle. It took me close to the point of addiction. Every time I would be in pain I would chew my oxy to get quick relief. Soon I noticed That my pain would be back in about four hours which meant I would need more oxys. Soon I was running out before it was time to get a refill.

I had to go over a week in pain until it was time to see my doctor. I told him what I started doing, and luckly, we were able to work out my problem before it got to the point of addiction. Now, No Matter How Much Pain I Am In, I Will Not Chew My Oxy!

This is my experience, and I hope it helps you

All The Best
Gary

To wolverine. I had an appointment and my GP asked if I needed a scipt for Percocet and I said no assuming I had some refills. This is why I ran out because it turned out I didn't have any refills. Scotty

yo dude...

when the man offers to write a script take it...the way insurance and such is in this world it never hurts
to put a bottle in the medcine cabinet...refill a months' worth every 25 days...your med inventory is something
of paramount importance...would you let your car run out of gas ?

best
aB

Scotty,

That makes sense, thanks for filling in the blank. I'm glad it wasn't because your pain levels were so bad that you had to take extra pills all month. Been there, done that in the past, believe me. Good luck with your pain care.

Brad

Hey hon, I hope your percocet's been refilled. I am sorry to hear your pain levels are so horrible.

Gentle hugs,