Update from Dennis & Bonnie Slothower
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus,
Well, the time has come that we always knew we would one day need to face, together; detoxing from the Oxycodone that I have been on for the last almost two years. And I say we because Bonnie will be going through it as much as I will, to watch and be the caregiver that I will desperately need her to be.
I have now been officially diagnosed with chronic pain. It appears that the underlying issues (complications) from the surgeries that I have had over the past two years I am now recovered from. However, I now face the need to rid my brain from the need to have the Oxycodone to continue to function somewhat normal again. I am not addicted to this pain killer as some are, but my brain is dependent upon the Oxycodone. The way I understand it is that there are receptors within my brain that have been coated with the Oxycodone to tell them not to respond to the pain signals that my body is sending them. This is all due to the complications related to the surgeries and procedures following the removal of my prostate, which was full of cancer. As time went on there were no proper procedures done to remove what was causing those signals to be sent to my brain. Thus, the coating of Oxycodone just kept building up due to the fact that what was once a level of Oxycodone that was able to block those receptors was no longer strong enough, and therefore, the need to increase the amount of Oxycodone to give the same results, became a reality for me.
Since the beginning of this year, I have been on eight 5mg Oxycodone pills a day; taking two every six hours, at 2 & 8am as well as 2 & 8pm each day. None of the doctors in Maryland or in Pennsylvania have been able to give me a way or a schedule of how to come off this medication or detox from it. And as I am finding out, there are very few doctors, if any, who will advise as to how to detox from this medication. While there are many ‘detox’ centres across our nation they are geared toward detoxing from addiction and not from dependence, two entirely different things that need to be addressed in different ways.
Anyway, I have tried, over the past two or three months to detox myself in several different ways and each one of them was a total failure with the pain becoming so severe that not only could I not walk anymore but I could not function at all. The crippling pain was just as bad, if not worse, than what I had from the complications of the surgeries which landed me in the hospital many times during the last six months of 2024. And every time I left the hospital, they sent me home with more pain medications which did nothing to solve the real problem, it just covered it up for a time.
Now for the first time I have two doctors, my PCP and my pain management specialist, who have helped me come to the point where I do believe there is a plan of withdrawal that has a chance of working for me. While my PCP will be overseeing my detox it is the pain specialist who has come up with a plan to help me. He said this will be a long and painful detox but it is achievable if I have the correct support behind me through this process.
I am to have in place several differing facets to combat what I will face. First is a reasonable amount of reduction in the amount of Oxycodone I take. I will be cutting out ½ pill each day for the first week, then another half pill for the next week and so on. This part of the plan will take four months to complete. I know this is a long time but taking it slow is major component of this plan. The second major component is from a spiritual standpoint. I am to have an active prayer and accountability group around me and of course that is where all of you come in. Your prayers for both Bonnie and myself will be a major part if this plan is to work. We will strive to keep you updated on how the detox is going from week to week; the victories and the new prayer requests.
The next major facet is from the physical standpoint and I am scheduled to start training with a physical therapist to assist me with managing the pain, as much as possible, through proper physical exercises and moving of the body in ways to help lessen the strength of the pain in my body. Then the last component of this plan is the emotional / mental aspect for which I am now scheduled to start meeting with a specialist to cover these areas as much as possible.
Surly God would not have us go through this if He did not have a plan for it, and while we do not know that plan and may never know that plan, we need to stay ever so close to Him and trust in His all knowing, ever powerful wisdom. So, we are not praying for Him to take us out of this but instead to help us through this and if need be, which I am sure will be the case, carry us through it as well.
This was a far a we got with this update before things got side-tracked as my body tried to adjust to what I was attempting to do. This first part was written several months ago. And as you will see, things did not go as we were praying for them to go. For reasons I will not get into now, we were not able to send out more updates or even to finish this one. However, I will now attempt to finish this update by bringing it up to date with what has been taking place. Forgive us for the long lapse in these updates.
First let me say that Bonnie is doing amazingly well with her transplant and the transplant team is very pleased with her progress. However, for me it is a different story. I did start my detox plans as mentioned above. And by God’s grace I made it almost half way through it before the bottom fell out. I found out that it is a very hard thing to tell the difference between the ‘real pain’ resulting from the surgeries and their complications and the ‘non-real pain’ resulting from the use of oxycodone and the constant need for more of it. About two months into my detox the real pain that I had hoped was no longer there reared it ugly head up with great strength. Literally overnight, the real pain broke through the oxycodone I was then taking and I was forced to go from one pill four times a day back up to two pills four times a day once again. And there were even times when I had to take a third pill just to be able to function.
Since that time the pain specialist tried a number of different treatments. Some have worked for a short time but the pain kept returning. The step we are now moving toward is to have a spinal cord stimulator implanted in my back. This would be tied to specific nerves in my spine and block the pain signals from them going to my brain. There is much more to all it does but that is the basics. On a side note, if any of you have had this done I would love to talk with you about it if you are comfortable with sharing that with me.
But there is more to this story as the nerve issue is only one thing that God is allowing me to deal with at this time. Along the way I was tested and was informed that I have neuropathy in both legs resulting in numbness in both feet and it seems to be getting worse. Then there is an issue with my bladder, this goes back, once again, to the surgeries and resulting complications from my prostrate removal. And I am now scheduled for yet one more surgery relating to bladder problems.
Last, is the side effects of some of the meds I am on in relationship to all of the above with some of the worst being lack of focus in doing things, fatigue is a constant issue I face and lack of drive to get things done, such as this prayer update, as a prime example. I have always been the type of person that I loved taking on projects and seeing them through to completion but God has other plans for me at this stage, not sure what He is doing but I am sure He does, and we all know that He does all things well as we are told in Mark 7:37.
As a challenge to all of us we will close with this, even though we are reading of two very positive things that took place in the life of this man in Mark 7:37 (the ability to hear and speak once again) the truth of what is taught here is that God does ALL thing well. Which would include even the negative things He allows to enter into our lives, like Bonnie and I are going through at this time. Have you ever just sat back and reflected on what God is doing in your life, both positive and negative. In 1 Thessalonians 5:16 we are told to (Rejoice), in 5:17 we are told to (Pray) and in 5:18 we are told to (be thankful) – why, ‘for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for YOU’ and ME. What an amazing and powerful truth is taught to us here. And all His children say, Amen!
Your Brother and Sister in the Lord,
Dennis and Bonnie
Well, the time has come that we always knew we would one day need to face, together; detoxing from the Oxycodone that I have been on for the last almost two years. And I say we because Bonnie will be going through it as much as I will, to watch and be the caregiver that I will desperately need her to be.
I have now been officially diagnosed with chronic pain. It appears that the underlying issues (complications) from the surgeries that I have had over the past two years I am now recovered from. However, I now face the need to rid my brain from the need to have the Oxycodone to continue to function somewhat normal again. I am not addicted to this pain killer as some are, but my brain is dependent upon the Oxycodone. The way I understand it is that there are receptors within my brain that have been coated with the Oxycodone to tell them not to respond to the pain signals that my body is sending them. This is all due to the complications related to the surgeries and procedures following the removal of my prostate, which was full of cancer. As time went on there were no proper procedures done to remove what was causing those signals to be sent to my brain. Thus, the coating of Oxycodone just kept building up due to the fact that what was once a level of Oxycodone that was able to block those receptors was no longer strong enough, and therefore, the need to increase the amount of Oxycodone to give the same results, became a reality for me.
Since the beginning of this year, I have been on eight 5mg Oxycodone pills a day; taking two every six hours, at 2 & 8am as well as 2 & 8pm each day. None of the doctors in Maryland or in Pennsylvania have been able to give me a way or a schedule of how to come off this medication or detox from it. And as I am finding out, there are very few doctors, if any, who will advise as to how to detox from this medication. While there are many ‘detox’ centres across our nation they are geared toward detoxing from addiction and not from dependence, two entirely different things that need to be addressed in different ways.
Anyway, I have tried, over the past two or three months to detox myself in several different ways and each one of them was a total failure with the pain becoming so severe that not only could I not walk anymore but I could not function at all. The crippling pain was just as bad, if not worse, than what I had from the complications of the surgeries which landed me in the hospital many times during the last six months of 2024. And every time I left the hospital, they sent me home with more pain medications which did nothing to solve the real problem, it just covered it up for a time.
Now for the first time I have two doctors, my PCP and my pain management specialist, who have helped me come to the point where I do believe there is a plan of withdrawal that has a chance of working for me. While my PCP will be overseeing my detox it is the pain specialist who has come up with a plan to help me. He said this will be a long and painful detox but it is achievable if I have the correct support behind me through this process.
I am to have in place several differing facets to combat what I will face. First is a reasonable amount of reduction in the amount of Oxycodone I take. I will be cutting out ½ pill each day for the first week, then another half pill for the next week and so on. This part of the plan will take four months to complete. I know this is a long time but taking it slow is major component of this plan. The second major component is from a spiritual standpoint. I am to have an active prayer and accountability group around me and of course that is where all of you come in. Your prayers for both Bonnie and myself will be a major part if this plan is to work. We will strive to keep you updated on how the detox is going from week to week; the victories and the new prayer requests.
The next major facet is from the physical standpoint and I am scheduled to start training with a physical therapist to assist me with managing the pain, as much as possible, through proper physical exercises and moving of the body in ways to help lessen the strength of the pain in my body. Then the last component of this plan is the emotional / mental aspect for which I am now scheduled to start meeting with a specialist to cover these areas as much as possible.
Surly God would not have us go through this if He did not have a plan for it, and while we do not know that plan and may never know that plan, we need to stay ever so close to Him and trust in His all knowing, ever powerful wisdom. So, we are not praying for Him to take us out of this but instead to help us through this and if need be, which I am sure will be the case, carry us through it as well.
This was a far a we got with this update before things got side-tracked as my body tried to adjust to what I was attempting to do. This first part was written several months ago. And as you will see, things did not go as we were praying for them to go. For reasons I will not get into now, we were not able to send out more updates or even to finish this one. However, I will now attempt to finish this update by bringing it up to date with what has been taking place. Forgive us for the long lapse in these updates.
First let me say that Bonnie is doing amazingly well with her transplant and the transplant team is very pleased with her progress. However, for me it is a different story. I did start my detox plans as mentioned above. And by God’s grace I made it almost half way through it before the bottom fell out. I found out that it is a very hard thing to tell the difference between the ‘real pain’ resulting from the surgeries and their complications and the ‘non-real pain’ resulting from the use of oxycodone and the constant need for more of it. About two months into my detox the real pain that I had hoped was no longer there reared it ugly head up with great strength. Literally overnight, the real pain broke through the oxycodone I was then taking and I was forced to go from one pill four times a day back up to two pills four times a day once again. And there were even times when I had to take a third pill just to be able to function.
Since that time the pain specialist tried a number of different treatments. Some have worked for a short time but the pain kept returning. The step we are now moving toward is to have a spinal cord stimulator implanted in my back. This would be tied to specific nerves in my spine and block the pain signals from them going to my brain. There is much more to all it does but that is the basics. On a side note, if any of you have had this done I would love to talk with you about it if you are comfortable with sharing that with me.
But there is more to this story as the nerve issue is only one thing that God is allowing me to deal with at this time. Along the way I was tested and was informed that I have neuropathy in both legs resulting in numbness in both feet and it seems to be getting worse. Then there is an issue with my bladder, this goes back, once again, to the surgeries and resulting complications from my prostrate removal. And I am now scheduled for yet one more surgery relating to bladder problems.
Last, is the side effects of some of the meds I am on in relationship to all of the above with some of the worst being lack of focus in doing things, fatigue is a constant issue I face and lack of drive to get things done, such as this prayer update, as a prime example. I have always been the type of person that I loved taking on projects and seeing them through to completion but God has other plans for me at this stage, not sure what He is doing but I am sure He does, and we all know that He does all things well as we are told in Mark 7:37.
As a challenge to all of us we will close with this, even though we are reading of two very positive things that took place in the life of this man in Mark 7:37 (the ability to hear and speak once again) the truth of what is taught here is that God does ALL thing well. Which would include even the negative things He allows to enter into our lives, like Bonnie and I are going through at this time. Have you ever just sat back and reflected on what God is doing in your life, both positive and negative. In 1 Thessalonians 5:16 we are told to (Rejoice), in 5:17 we are told to (Pray) and in 5:18 we are told to (be thankful) – why, ‘for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for YOU’ and ME. What an amazing and powerful truth is taught to us here. And all His children say, Amen!
Your Brother and Sister in the Lord,
Dennis and Bonnie