Weaning off Hydrocodone

Just a comment to consider. I too take 10mg but of Oxycodone. I've been cutting the tablets into quarters for many years. It spreads the effects for me. Especially the side effects. If you want to cut back back, it's a good way to start. If you don't have a pill cutter, buy a good one that has a lot positive reviews. They are all not created equal. I got lucky with a $10 one off eBay about five years ago. Very sharp, no crumbled cuts. Good luck...

Thanks! I did wean back to half a pill for a while, but the pain is rough so have gone back to the full dose. Have a good pill cutter. Great advice! And hoping I can start weaning again soon.

I'll share one more thing. Last Thursday I got some shots. It felt so good that night. I hadn't felt that good in many years. Now I'm in that wait and see time frame. It was through my pain mgmt doc. But what I really found interesting was waiting to get the procedure. I had a fairly long wait, close to two hours. I watched the people coming back to recovery. It was all in the same place in a surgical center. They all knew the nurses and it was obvious they were all avoiding surgery. I was near the end of the line. All the others had been sedated, then me and another fellow ended the night. As we walked out together he told me his story. He was a big guy, like pro football lineman big guy. He has serious spine issues and recently ankle and foot problems. He works in heavy equipment and construction for the DOT. He's 52 and has been missing a lot of time. He reminds me of the end of my working days except I knew when to quit. He said "I'm a pin cushion", the company sends me to doctors that can't tell me what's really best for me. "The company puts me on light duty but it's the same heavy work because I'm big." I didn't ask him about opioids. He might have started his tour too late for the company doctors to prescribe them. That whole waiting room experience and meeting people like me, in different stages of wearing out. I wanted to ask that big fella for his info so I could keep up with his status. But I know better. These are individual battles. Pain vs pills and what the end looks like. The pills make it so good in the beginning. My first was after a shoulder rebuilt in 1996. The pills made me feel so good I went back to work after two weeks. I could have stayed off six weeks. I was so bored I had to go back.
What am I saying? At some point we have to live with the pain because at some point the pills will be worse than the pain. And finding a middle ground between pain and how many pills we take is a constant challenge. I think I've found it. For the moment anyway. It can take a long time to face up to our limited options.

Going off opioids adds another level of pain along with many side effects that are unpleasant. The “book” on the CDC that they adhere to is that there are too many suicides contributed to opioids: my statement is that the suicides could just as easily be due to lack of pain relief.

Possibly so…we now have an environment in which doctors are fearful of prescribing pain meds, period. It’s a tragedy.

I get your situation. Here’s the deal - if your cannot pinpoint the cause of your continuing pain think twice about eliminating this tool.
If you go off the medication most likely you will not be given it again. You can ween off of the opioids using suboxone (one approach).

If you are already seeing Pain Management they should be offering options.

You might consider looking into buprenorphine for your chronic pain. I too was on Percocet for about 17 years following back surgery. But due to the acetaminophen in the medication I was concerned about my liver. I first switched to long acting morphine sulfate pills following the Percocet but they didn’t tamp my pain sufficiently. I went to a rehabilitation/pain doc who prescribed buprenorphine patches. The drug in pill and film form is used in addiction medicine while the patch is used to treat chronic pain 24/7. Please read https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4675640/

Several have suggested this. My pain management doctor did not think this would be a good option for me but I will ask him again.

Is this doc a pain specialists? If not find one.