No More Oxycodone nor Wig

Although it's taken four months and help from a few of my friends, as of last Friday I am off of oxycodone.  I weathered a couple of days of relatively mild withdrawal symptoms after I took my last, miniscule, dose.  It's now been four days and I feel much better.  In communication with my Pharm.D. friend, W.H., pharmacokinetically-speaking, the dose I was on was so small that I should have been able to stop taking it a couple of weeks ago.  However, in order to be successful, W.H. encouraged a weaning schedule that depended upon how I felt. I am fully aware, (as I'm sure W.H. is also), that I was, initially, physically dependent on this drug and then somewhere long the way, it became a head game for me.  W.H. told me to hang in there and be patient because it is common for patients to fall off the wagon near the end of the weaning plan.  I'm sure that's because the process is really long and most unpleasant.  During the last four months, I was so nervous that I would experience unbearable withdrawal symptoms, that I made sure I had my prescription bottle with me at all times, just in case I needed a little oxy to "take the edge off".  The good news is that I can now leave my house without it.  

My hair is growing back, which I'm really happy about.  It's still short and thin, but long and thick enough to make wearing a wig really hot.  Last week the Chicago area had some hot and humid days that forced me to summon my courage and leave my house without my wig or a hat. Since my hair was growing back in patches and irregularly, I had it trimmed today.  My hairdresser says she can see lots of little hairs starting to erupt and that it should get thicker soon.  I've been taking biotin, a vitamin that supports hair, nails and skin.  (I'm told that other cancer patients swear by it.)  So without further ado...

Ta-dah...