I would recommend it to those who need it and who can handle it properly. Your doctor needs to be involved.
This is my pill of last resort. I start with Tylenol and Ultram and walking. This is all I need most days. If this doesn't help my next step is Zanaflex, and this really does help (but I must be careful of falling). After an hour or so if the pain is still not bearable, then I take the oxycodone and go to bed.
I am never out of pain but I have learned to cope with a certain level (while taking the Tylenol and Ultram). I always wait too long before I take the Zanaflex and much too long before I take the oxycodone. I might take three 4mg tablets a day for two or three days -- and then take none for two or three weeks. I only take them when I absolutely, desperately need the relief they bring.
The need for medication varies so much from day to day -- I know the weather affects my pain level as does prior activity and pressure, and sometimes there seems to be no reason at all why the pain increases.
I am 77 years old and have had Fibromyalgia and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) for twenty years. But I am a very lucky woman who has a cup that is half-full and who can still find much joy in my life. But I dread thinking of how unbearable my life would be without my pain medications.
I would recommend it to those who need it and who can handle it properly. Your doctor needs to be involved.
This is my pill of last resort. I start with Tylenol and Ultram and walking. This is...
... (more)