Posted by ed_uk on March 16, 2005, at 13:35:49
In reply to Percodan/Percoset Experiences??, posted by cubbybear on March 14, 2005, at 5:03:24
Hi Cubbybear!
I hope you're anxiety's under good control at the moment and that the Parnate's working well.
>I'd like to hear from anyone who took either of the above analgesics (oxycodone) for short or long term use.
I've only ever taken codeine and dihydrocodeine.
>Do you think it's as addicting as the websites say it is?
Regular daily use of oxycodone is very likely to result in physical dependence. This essentially means that withdrawal symptoms commonly occur if the drug is stopped abruptly, even after it has been used for a relatively short period of time. People who have used the drug medicinally should taper the dose gradually. 'Rapid detox' techniques are only really necessary for people who've abused the drug so much that they can't be trusted to taper the dose.
True 'addiction' is very unlikely unless the drug is abused for its euphoric effects, euphoric effects are likely to occur if the dose taken is higher than the dose required to give decent pain control. If the drug is abused, true 'addiction' is very likely. If the dose is titrated against the degree of pain, euphoria should not generally occur. Careful dose titration is very important, always starting with a low dose. In the long-term, some patients need much higher doses than others.
If a person has taken oxycodone daily for several weeks/months/years, but has not abused it, tapering isn't usually too difficult if they're are not in pain. If the source of a person's severe pain is still present, tapering may be impossible. If oxycodone has been regularly abused, it can often be very difficult to discontinue.
As Larry said, complete relief of pain is rarely possible with opioids, the dose should be high enough to provide decent analgesia but not so high as to induce euphoria.
The maximum dose of Percocet must not be exceeded because it contains acetaminophen. If a higher dose of oxycodone is necessary, oxycodone tablets which don't contain any other drugs must be used.
Oxycodone is very similar to morphine in most ways, yet some patients have a preference for one or the other. Morphine is cheaper! In the treatment of chronic severe pain, the usual dose of oxycodone immediate release is 5-100mg every 4-6 hours. There is no 'true' maximum dose of oxycodone, although the manufacturer has suggested a 'usual' maximum dose which rarely needs to be exceeded. Patients *must* be started on a small dose, usually 5mg every 4-6 hours, the dose is then increased in appropriate steps. Profound tolerance develops to the respiratory depressant effect of oxycodone as the dose is gradually increased. Patients who take high doses of oxycodone for the treatment of chronic pain may be quite happily taking doses which would rapidly kill a person who wasn't taking oxycodone. As I mentioned earlier, the maximum dose of Percocet must never be exceeded because an overdose of acetaminophen is likely to cause liver failure.
Percocet is often useful for the treatment of non-cancer pain. Pain which is rapidly worsening (eg due to an expanding tumour) is best treated with OxyContin or oxycodone IR tablets because the dose will need to be escalated as the pain becomes progressively more severe. Although a certain amount of tolerance to the analgesic effect of oxycodone can develop, rapid dose escalation is not usually necessary in patients with non-malignant pain. After an initial period of titration, many people with non-cancer pain reach a relatively stable dose at which they can remain for a long period of time. In a terminally-ill cancer patient, rapid increases in dose are commonly needed as the tumour(s) grow.
I hope this information is helpful.
Ed.
poster:ed_uk
thread:470781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050312/msgs/471724.html