I've been having a ruff day. Extra pain, emotional outbursts. Just all over crabby. I finally put it together that I reduced my Percocet by half yesterday, and had tried to not take my morning dose this morning either.
I did some research, and it turns out that these are the symptoms of percocet withdrawal:
feeling as though you have the flu
gastrointestinal distress
anxiety
nausea
insomnia
muscle pain
fevers
sweating
runny nose and eyes
I have 1/2 of these symptoms, and they went away after I caved and I took my morning dose. I've only been on the Percocet for nine days after my surgery, but it seems that I've already developed a wee bit of a dependency!
Specifically, the symptoms that I had this morning were anxiety, muscle pain in my pelvic floor, muscle pain in my legs (which should have been my first sign that I wasn't just having a cranky morning!) diarrhea, nausea and depression.
For me, right now at least, I'm glad I have the percocet. I've had a really ruff recovery from surgery, and it was the only thing that touched the pain I was in. I just wish that I knew more about this drug. If I had known more, I wouldn't have gone down from 4 pills to 1 in one day! I would step down more slowly. If I had a heads-up about the potential to cause emotional effects, I would have been able to plan for that, too. I have a long history of needing extra support emotionally, so its predictable with me that I'll probably experience any emotional side effects that any drug might produce. I know how to nurture myself through this, but I was taken by surprise by the percocet withdrawal.
I've only been on the stuff 9 days, so I didn't have a lot of time to get dependent on it. According to the information I got this afternoon, it only takes 5-7 days for some people to develop a dependency.
I wish that I had some warning about this before surgery. Hopefully, this tread will give someone else the information they need about percocet before their surgery.
My plan for dealing with this now is to be super consistent with how I take the percocet. Taking them "as needed" is not going to work for me. I'm going to keep it to two pills a day for the next several days and then reduce it to one pill and then 1/2 pill. And when I reduce the amount I'm taking, I'll plan extra time for self-care on those days. (Big optimism that I will be able to reduce soon! :praying:)

You are a smart and witty girl Coconut I know that you will not stop until you find out what was causing the distress you are experiencing.
I am happy to hear that you figure out what was causing your problems.
I remember that my doctor had me on a pain killer from the same family of oxycontin ( I believe that is how is spelled)after my gallbladder removal and I started to cry for nothing it was really interesting how your body reacts to certain medications.

Hopefully a few more days and you will really start to see the benefits of your surgery. I know you don't want to go back to the doctors but it might help to get them to have a look see to ease your worry. You have all the tools to care for yourself at this time..believe in yourself...we do. Keep on posting how you honestly feel and you will find a way. xxx Pia

Coconut. Don't feel bad about needing them. My mother I. Law was on them for 9 whole months for a terrible leg ulcer. I was sure she would be addicted at that point but she slowly weaned off and is fine now. If u don't like the side affect is there another pain pill that you could ask dr for? I personally have taken tramadol and find it helps a lot If I had terrible pain but not sure if it is as strong. Or perhaps Valium if it is from the spasm pain?

hopefulbutt wrote:Coconut. Don't feel bad about needing them. My mother I. Law was on them for 9 whole months for a terrible leg ulcer. I was sure she would be addicted at that point but she slowly weaned off and is fine now. If u don't like the side affect is there another pain pill that you could ask dr for? I personally have taken tramadol and find it helps a lot If I had terrible pain but not sure if it is as strong. Or perhaps Valium if it is from the spasm pain?

I'm going to stay on the percocet. It works for me and I now that I know more about it, I have a good plan for handling it. Tappering down my dose slowly is a big part of the plan.
Tramadol is the same stuff they tried in the hospital. They gave me three introvenious doses before giving up and giving me the percocet pill, which finally took the edge off the pain.
FYI, for anyone reading this and thinking about taking Tramadol. The maker of that drug is being taken to court by the FDA because they under-reported its tendency to cause dependency/addiction. People on it have been reporting problems with getting off tramadol that are similar in strength and frequency to narcotics like percocet.