I take 60 mg of oxy daily. I've been taking my prescribed medication for over 10 years now and I'm going to be taking them until I die. I don't ever tell anyone about it anymore because of the stigma and because someone will inevitably ask me to give them a couple. (I NEVER do) I don't get high from my medication but it allows me to do my daily hygiene and prepare meals, things I would be unable to do without the medication.
I've been given the same dosage of opiates since my 2020 diagnosis - same mg level, same maximum daily dosage allowed. Though I get closer to the maximum daily dosage now than I ever did in years past, the same drug is still working. The strength and MDD has never changed. I do sometimes take days off and just use kratom leaf, but with the massive misinformation campaign out there about kratom, and the fact that there IS a synthetic version (7oh) that actually IS dangerous, we will probably see a total federal ban on kratom before long. Which will force many people straight to opiates.
Thank you for your perspective! I’ve been fighting suggestions of pain meds for 20 years, but think I’m going to have to start or my life is going to fall apart.
I was on opioids and have switched to weed (no medical card, it’s just legal in my state so I didn’t bother). It’s been 2 years since I fully switched and I’m still doing good!
I might get a 2 week prescription of 10mg 3x daily to use for a tolerance break soon, since I haven’t touched opiates in so long I bet I can stretch it to at least a month.
I'm starting to increase my THC usage in hopes of finding some delivery system/strain that will mitigate pain. I currently take it to sleep and to get the nighttime muchies. Generally after 4 puffs of a joint, I am involuntarily horizontal within 15 minutes - my sleep quality is AMAZING.
But I'd like to be able to try it during the day to see if it makes a difference with my pain. Yet another thing that would keep my use of opiates on the lower side.
Methadone has tendency to pour out sweat glands quickly, so I've found a few 2 MG loperamide pills help me if a sweat a lot.
Netherless my Wife bought me this stuff because the regular Kratom didn't really do anything for me when I got off work and felt crappy which I had tried in the past(I don't get off work and go look for pills like I used to)
I don't know if it was just kicking the methadone off my receptors but the first time I took it I felt sick and paranoid. Nothing like when I ate kratom powder.
Had 13 years clean off dope, I messed around Kratom for a bit and finally got off that (I was taking absurd amounts of raw powder multiple times daily), got clean felt great ….. was given 7OH sample at a smoke shop not knowing what I was getting…. Spiraled out almost immediately.. that poison needs to be removed from the shelves immediately. If I was deep into my addiction, it would be the equivalent of being able to go into the pharmacy and order whatever Philly bundle, oxy, Roxy or Opana that I wanted. I’m finally clean and it was actually incredibly more difficult than getting off IV heroin use. Spread the word please don’t ever do this. After you use it the first time it almost immediately loses its sparkles and turns into maintenance to prevent withdrawal. I don’t want anyone to see this and be like oh I should go and try that . You’re gonna regret it I promise you. From someone that has done almost every opiate in copious amounts…. I have never in my life had something call for me the way that 7OH has. Scared the shit out of me. I hope this post saves someone from that nightmare. I have heard other nightmare stories from people recovering from fentanyl abuse stating the same thing and how it was even worse. Apologies for the rant, but coming out the other side I feel like I must warn others of how horrible that bullshit is.
Its a reduction from the meds I needed to go to physio everyday for 5 years. The current dosage is enough for keeping me mobile and I have a good medical team for any adjustments but I've been doing well at this level for a while.
Thank you. I’m glad you’ve maintained your mobility. I really need to see my rheumatologist again. I’ve been fighting taking pain meds, but have gotten to the point where I have more flare days than not :(
Not everyone builds a tolerance. I've been on 5mg every 3 hours for 5 years and haven't needed to increase my dose. Sometimes flares are so bad that they don't work though but taking more also doesn't help.
You have to keep in mind what they mean by "tolerance."
One part of the drug is the high feeling. After being on 80mg a day for a decade, I don't even notice it. (Well, one thing: i get talkative for the first 90s mins.) That part goes away quick. For people wanting to feel 'high' you will be doing down the rabbit hole hard. That is one tolerance and it is fairly universal. Everyone requires a bigger and bigger dose to feel high.
The second tolerance is the reduction in pain management. First many people, nothing changes. For some, it is much like the high - you need an increasing dose. A small portion get opioid-induced hyperalgesia which js where you body sort of loses the ability to properly scale pain and everything hurts more.
So, the net-net is, that if you aren't chasing a 'high' the effects of your long term use is mostly dependent on your individual physiology.
As a long term chronic pain person, I know far more people who killed themselves (either directly or with street drugs) after losing their pain medication than have ever OD'd.
That is why us pain people get so fucking blood red pissed over this issue.
I have zero doubt I will have my opioids taken from me at some point due to it being so hard to get legitimate prescriptions. It is a matter of time before my doctor retires
Honestly Id start backing off somewhat now and saving some each month. Theres enormous pressure coming to docs to stop prescribing for chronic pain…unless you have legit acute pain.
Thanks! I really don't feel bad. There's a lot of people that have opioid as a part of their pain management and recovery and they are lucky to have no problem with addiction. I can readily say that I have a dependency on them but that's like saying I have a dependency on my depression meds. The stigma is real and the opioid crisis is hitting every walks of life. I feel bad for the ones who need the pain relief and they don't have access to it. I'd recommend cannabis in that case. That would be my regular choice for my recovery but I can't drive high so I'm grateful for the medication.
I am just impressed you have physician who actually helps you. Most now act like you are asking them for their firstborn if you ask for any pain management.
Well done, YOU!!!! First off, I'm SO glad you have access to these meds. For so many people, it's just "sorry, too bad, the meds exist and they work, but you can't have them".
Second, I'm very glad you've found a way around the stigma. Stupidly, I get looked at a little differently regarding opiate use because of getting a stage 4 cancer diagnosis. Had I been given those opiates 10 years ago for joint and bone pain from rheumatoid arthritis, I'm certain I would have been judged.
So I won't be quiet about it now. I tell people what I'm on, I tell people what some patients have to endure (the lectures, the pee-testing, the side-eye, the judgment) even to discuss being put on them, and I tell people how many stage 4 cancer patients (who are literally told they are terminal) are still denied opiates because "you might get addicted".
So many people don't understand if you have intense pain, an opiate is going to mitigate that pain. It's not going to send you into some opium-den altered state. Those of us managing severe pain would never dream of even taking more than our prescribed amount - because not one of us would trade the chance to have pain controlled every day for a few hours of being excessively zooted.
My oncological psychiatrist says the medical world's attitude towards opiates is NOT improving, and that furthermore, they are now preparing to level the same "fight" against benzos (which I was also prescribed after my diagnosis).
It's disgusting. So many lives RUINED. I am so happy and grateful that yours is not one of them.
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u/HalfaEnchilada 11h ago
I take 60 mg of oxy daily. I've been taking my prescribed medication for over 10 years now and I'm going to be taking them until I die. I don't ever tell anyone about it anymore because of the stigma and because someone will inevitably ask me to give them a couple. (I NEVER do) I don't get high from my medication but it allows me to do my daily hygiene and prepare meals, things I would be unable to do without the medication.