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You may have been half right, but that may have been a while ago. The doses for OXY come in 10, 20, 40, 80, and I think 160 mgs. Someone here probably knows for sure. But I think there was a 320 mg dosage at one time, and I think they quit making that.

And thanks for your kind thoughts and encouragement. Took the doc and I a year to come to this decision.

OXY at 10 mg is just a few time more potent than a vicoden........ so in large part it's taking one little time release pill twice a day, rather than two pills 4 or 5 times a day. AND..... the big thing..... is that even though OXY IS addictive, it contains no tylenol. So if your pain could be controlled by tylenol with codine, or Vicodin or percocet, then continued heavy use of tylenol is quite dangerous to a number of internal organs, especially the liver. And can even, so I've read, lead to hearing loss. So if Rush had started off with Vicoden or some such thing, THAT, not OXY, may have contributed to his hearing loss. We won't know what happened for sure til he tells us in about 6 months (I don't think 30 days will do it for this kind of addiction - got a bit of experience with my son having gone through 4 different treatement centers for his druggie addiction).

My husband has three ruptured discs in his neck. He has had them for 15+ years and suffers from continual pain. He has gone to doctors for years trying to get relief from the pain. They have prescribed medications but he refuses to take them because of their interaction with another medication he has to take for seizure control. This is all a result of an injury.

Several months ago someone suggested he try a TENS unit. He called his doctor and the insurance company and it was cleared for him to receive a fabulous little unit that has multiple computerized programs. He has used that unit since and is near pain free for the first time in all these years! TENS has been available for many years. My brother had one for arthritic pain. Yet no doctor ever mentioned it to my husband. They were suggesting surgery as the only option, and there was no promise that it would work.

Pain management has not been adequately addressed by the medical community. There are options that work, and not every option will work for each individual. Many people try to live with the pain of bad backs and headaches that are debilitating. I know people who have said they would almost rather die then go through another moment of pain. I have a lot of empathy for anyone who suffers pain. I hope you find relief.