2 months now

Hi all,

Thought I would drop in and share a few thoughts and stories after my 2 month point.

For the most part, everything has gone great. I've regained my passion for my job, for music, for my relationships, and for pretty much everything in my life that had taken a back shelf to oxycodone. That passion has paid off in some very tangible ways. I received a significant promotion at work. If I hadn't made a change in life, I would most likely be out of job right now as a huge split occurred in my lab. Without the focus and determination that the subs have allowed me to regain, it's scary to think what might have happened.

Now here is a story that I think some of you will get a kick out of...

When I went to my doctor's to get my refill for month 3, I was told that my usual doctor was very busy and asked if I would see his Dad instead. This is a pretty common request at my doctor's office and I usually say no. But in this case I was really just there to get refills so I agreed. The Dad is an old timey doctor who doesn't like to spend more than 30 seconds on a patient. So anyway, he walks in, says hello to me and immediately begins writing refills (I'm on other meds for BP and triglycerides, etc.). He hands me the prescriptions and walks out of the room.

I look down and the very top prescription says "120, 30MG OXYCODONE."

I hesitate for about 1/2 of a second and in the brief period of time about a million thoughts fly through my head (including the street value of this script).

Then I blurt out "Woah! Um...we don't do this anymore." He turns around confused, looks at my papers, and then gets slightly flustered and embarrassed. He returns 5 mins later with the right script and I go on my way.

But...wow.... I have to admit, I was pretty proud of myself. Of course, there were parts of my brain that rethought that moment later on but I know I did the right thing and I know I am that much further along for having been tested and survived. Of course, I've been offered oxys about a dozen times in the last two months but that is easy for me to reject 'cause I know it won't do anything for me. But a whole giant bottle of 30mgs is another story.

I do still struggle with the physical pain and when the pain gets really bad, I wish I had something to help. Hopefully, I can figure out a solution for that. In the meantime, I can't begin to tell you all how much getting off the oxys has improved my life.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Cheers,
Boomer

Something that occurred to me later on is that my primary doctor could've lost his license over this had I taken the script and filled it. The DEA monitors suboxone doctors very closely. In fact, they raided his office and checked his suboxone patient files on 6 months ago. He's a good doctor and everything was in order. But if they had come across a patient that was on suboxone and getting bottles oxycodone....not good.

This was only a few days ago but when I go back next time I will definitely tell my doc what his dad did. There are definitely people...people I know....who would've walked out of there with that script.

Thanks, Dee. I will keep checking in. I know it is as important to have people post when they are doing well as it is when they are struggling. We all need to see both sides.

Hi Barbara,

Thanks for saying hi! Sorry to hear about your health problems. I hope your biopsy comes back negative. I suppose liver damage is a serious concern with all opiates (subs included). Which reminds me, next time I go to the doctor I would like to request blood work be done. I think we should all be having our liver function checked regularly.

Doctors don't seem to tell their patients about these side effects. We find out by reading up on our own.

In fact, my doctor was "baffled" by my side-effects when I first started on suboxone. He said he had never heard of any complaints...which I find extremely difficult to believe.

The other concern for me has been constipation. At first it was almost a welcome change from the problems I had been having while on oxys. But I can't seem to get a balance right now despite making some big dietary changes and up'ing my fiber intact significantly.

About the arthritis: have you been test for Rheumatoid arthritis? There are some decent treatments for this but it is best to get on it soon.

My pain comes from multiple herniated discs. In my situation, there really aren't a lot of options. I have done acupuncture and it did not help me...but I only tried it once.

Hi Boomer,

Meet me down on non-drug subject section...please.

Barbara