I have a few thoughts, first off Duragesic is a 3 day, 72 hour system, not 4 days. Oxycodone is a medium strength, "short term" pain reliever whereas Duragesic is a powerful "long term" one. You need to get a plan from your doctor to wean off of it or you can have seizures and/or convulsions. You have got it backwards. They typically slowly reduce the Duragesic first then switch to decreasing dosages of Vicodin to lessen the withdrawal.

I was on full strength narcotics for over 2 full months post Tx before I even started the phase out.

Everything else you describe is pretty typical - patience - it WILL get better (and soon).

Welcome home.

Gary Allsebrook
***********************************
Dx 11/22/02, SCC, 6 x 3 cm Polypoid tumor, rt tonsil, Stage III/IVA, T3N0M0 G1/2
Tx 1/28/03 - 3/19/03, Cisplatin ct x2, IMRT, bilateral, with boost, x35(69.96Gy)
________________________________________________________
"You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:14 NIV)