Oxycodone not working well

[SleeplessinOR]

I have been alternating between Tramadol and Oxycodone for awhile now. I do pretty well on the Tramadol but after a month or so,, sometimes sooner, it isn’t as effective so I switch off to oxycodone. I don’t do near as well on the oxy and am wondering if it’s a dosage issue, a timing issue, or maybe it just doesn’t work for me. I’m allowed 15mg. I’ve been taking 5mg around 6 in the evening, another 5 at 10 and I go to bed at 11. I manage to sleep comfortably for about 2-2.5 hours and then my legs start flaring up. I am an extremely light sleeper so even if the symptoms are fairly mild they wake me up. Usually around 2:30 in the morning I take the other 5mg. What ends up happening is that I sleep for about 2 hours when I first go to bed, then I’m up for at least an hour when taking the 3rd dose. I try to go back to bed but usually my legs won’t settle down enough for me to stay there and I’m often back up until it starts to get light outside, around 7 a.m., then I can get 3-4 hours of sleep. My doctor won’t give me methadone not Buprenorphine. Do you have any suggestions for me? I don’t know if the dosage is wrong, or the timing or what the problem is. Thank you in advance.

[SueJohnson]

The average dose of Oxycodone is 30 mg but it has a short half-life of 3 hours. I would insist on Buprenorphine which has a long half life explaining this to your doctor. If s/he still won't prescribe it, I would switch doctors.

[Joolsg]

Show your doctor the Massachussetts Opioid Study. RLS patients do not become addicted ( unless history of abuse)or tolerant to opioids usually.massgeneral.org/rls-registry

15mg is a very low dose of Oxycodone. If your Doctor won't increase, try another doctor. As Sue says, that's below average.

Oxycontin didn't work for me so I switched to 0.4mg Buprenorphine. Miraculous.

[GardenGal1]

You may need to find a different doctor, I'm sorry to say. Methadone is the Only medicine that works for me, and I think I've tried them all, before the doctors would try methadone. My RLS is extremely severe, 24/7. Tramadol helped a bit, but eventually caused augmentation, with the RLS going to my arms and shoulders as well as legs. I do understand, and wish I could help more.

[Poe7 in reply to GardenGal1]

Once I finished reading your comment I had to go back and check your username because at first I thought that maybe this was an older post and that it was my commen. Lol

You are the only other person I’ve personally ever seen that had the same thing happened to them.

I was on Tramadol for many years and it just got worse and worse until I was on the max dose (400mg per day) until I finally learned on a another RLS group that I was most likely augmenting.

I finally found a neurologist who is very knowledgeable about RLS and she prescribed methadone.

I’ve been on it for 2 years now and it’s doing great. I rarely have RLS symptoms anymore.

So, I hope you don’t mind me asking how long you’ve been taking it? How are you doing on it? And do you have any side effects?

[GardenGal1 in reply to Poe7]

I've been taking methadone for 14 years. It still works very well. Because the RLS is so severe I need to keep it in my system at all times. When it begins to wear off, I can't even sit or stand still. I am constantly aware about not getting constipated...otherwise it's been a life saver.

[Poe7 in reply to GardenGal1]

Thanks! It’s the same with me. I have it 24/7 in pretty much and my whole body. I take 5mg in the morning and 7.5 @ night. So unless I’ve done something like left the house for the day and I forget to take it before I leave I’m usually pretty good. (I did that once when we went to Disney and we were already there and in the Park when I realized I had forgotten it. And I did my best to hide it. Thankfully we were walking all day. That was a terrible day though terrible )

It’s really kind of a relief to hear that after 14 years it’s still working for you.😊

[GardenGal1 in reply to Poe7]

It is a real blessing! I started out at 5 mg. morning and evening, but over the 14 years, it now takes 30 mg over the 24 hours, and several times a month it takes 40 mg to be able to function. My doctor is willing to prescribe 40 mg., but due to regulations can't go higher than that. We watch everything that comes along, hoping for more help if needed. I think it will come by the time I need it. I expect a pain clinic could prescribe more, but we are 1.5 hours from the closest one.

The rls.org has been invaluable to me and my husband in dealing with this. Sending sincere best wishes your way!

[wildlegs]

I have been taking Tramadol for 15 years and it works 90% of the time. I was taking 150 - 200 mg a day. About three years ago we moved and all of a sudden Tramadol is hard to get. After three months I finally found a doctor who would prescribe 100 mg a day which helped about 80% oh the time. After a couple years of walking I went to a sleep clinic and he kept me on 100 mg of Tramadol plus one mg of Pramipexole. I’ve been using this combination for a year now with 99% results. I understand everyone is different but this combination saved me and even improved my marriage as I can sleep all night now.

Good luck with what works for you. RLS can be a real problem and what I’ve been doing works for me and with zero side effects.

[SleeplessinOR in reply to wildlegs]

Wildlegs - when you were taking 150-200mgs of Tramadol, what time of the day/evening/night did you take it? I’m thinking maybe it’s a timing issue for me. Also, were you taking the 50mg immediate release or the 100mg extended release?

[wildlegs]

I always take them at night. 6pm 8 pm 10pm and go to bed around midnight. Up at 8am totally refreshed. I’m retired and this schedule works for me. I found that spreading them out over 3 or 4 hours before bed time works the best.

[SleeplessinOR in reply to wildlegs]

Thank you, I really appreciate you taking the time to respond. You’ve been very helpful

[Graceman]

see this link and in particular watch everything from Dr Earley out of Johns Hopkins. evernote.com/shard/s151/sh/...

Google everything on Dr Earley he’s one of the true authorities on RLD

His data shows methadone as perhaps most effective. I’ve been taking 10mg for years 3 hours before bed and works well. Without it I’d never sleep. My doc is Dr Buchfuhrer out of Downey Calif. people fly from all over to see him. [phone]. Hope that helps. Don’t hesitate to ask more.

[BeachGolfer]

You might want to try taking Full Spectrum CBD at bedtime and or Delta 8 Indica ( not Sativa) THC. I also take Oxycodone which helps with the restlessness but not the insomnia. I take a 25mg Delta 8 THC gummy about 1 1/2 hours before bed and 100mg of Full Spectrum CBD as I’m going to bed. It takes about 2 hours to feel the effects of the CBD. I still wake up once or twice to use the “ restroom” but fall back to sleep. We all have different “recipes” that work for us.