Anybody know if there's interdose withdrawal from OxyContin?

[Valthinking]

Trolling for information here!

Does anyone know if there's interdose withdrawal with OxyContin? I'm on 10 mg OxyContin and about 7.5 mg oxycodone.

Also, two other questions! I just read one of the moderators say it's not good to eliminate all the RLS feelings. Is that true? What is an acceptable level of discomfort for us? (I mean, I'd rather have none but that's never happened.)

Do I need to take a regular drug holiday so I don't reach tolerance? What would regular be?

Any help would be much appreciated!!

[Rustsmith]

The half life of oxycontin varies between 3 to 6 hrs, depending upon whether it is the immediate or extended release form. This compared to over 24 hrs for methadone. So whether there will be withdrawal between doses depends upon how often you take it. If you are only taking it at night, then there is a good likelihood that you will experience some withdrawal effects the next day.

The comment about not eliminating all feelings may have been me. It is generally suggested that you try to take the lowest dose of your med with a target of trying to eliminate 95% of the symptoms. Trying to achieve 100% elimination reduces the time before augmentation with the dopamine agonists and increases the chances (albeit low) of opioid tolerance.

As for a drug holiday to avoid tolerance on oxycontin, that is not something that is necessary for most who take it. There are a few people who start to develop tolerance to their opioid medication, but this is not something that is common so long as you keep the dose as low as you can. There are people who have managed to stay on opioids for as long as 20 years without increasing their dose. On the other hand, one of the other moderators rapidly develops tolerance to all meds, so she regularly alternates between an opioid and a dopamine agonist during each week so that she can keep both meds effective while also maintaining control of her symptoms. I have heard of others who slowly develop opioid tolerance who do take occasional drug holidays, but only when needed.

[Valthinking]

Thanks so much for the response! It's such helpful information.

You wouldn't happen to know what the withdrawal effects might be? I ask because I stopped taking clonazepam on August 30th, and had a lot of withdrawal issues from that. I'm trying to see if I can parse out what might be interdose withdrawal, and what is a side effect from stopping Clonazepam.

It's all such a roller coaster ride!

[Rustsmith]

The side effects of opioid withdrawal vary a bit between individuals. For my methadone withdrawal, it starts out as a feeling of unease that is hard to describe. It then progresses into a feeling that is somewhat like a mild case of the flu with body aches and increased nervousness.

I was also abruptly taken off of tramadol, which is a bit different because it is also an anti-depressant. In that case, I had the classic opioid withdrawal shakes that lasted for about four hours. I felt horrible and was so weak an unsteady that I could not walk. I curled up into a ball with my back against the wall and shook so hard that I strained a muscle in my arm. Then it suddenly stopped and turned into a major case of RLS where I walked in circles for the next eight hours. Some of that was opioid withdrawal and some was being abruptly taken off of an AD, which the doctors should have known would occur since it was a major error on their part. There were other symptoms later, but those were all due to the AD side of tramadol.