In 2006, ?I was diagnosed with lumbar facet degeneration and spinal stenosis. ?I had been suffering with intractable lower back pain for several years. ?After trying some non-narcotic pain medications with no significant relief, my doctor chose to treat me with oxycodone. ?Call me naive, but I had no idea how addictive this drug was and my doctor did not explain this to me up front. ?After several months, I had to sign medical agreements and starting being asked for urine tests. ?Eventually, I realized from news coverage, etc. how badly this drug was being abused as a "street" drug for people just wanting to get the high. ?I tried to wean myself off the oxy several times but the withdrawal was just too unbearable for me. ?And believe me, it is BAD. ?My prescribing doctor told me that I would probably never be able to stop taking the oxycodone now that my body was so dependent on it. ?Well, finally in 2013 (just recently) I made the decision that I would NOT be a slave to this drug until I was on my death bed. ?So I found a clinic in Seattle that can detox you as an out patient in 4-5 days in a reasonably comfortable fashion. ?So ?I scheduled with them and came out 4 days later with a clean brain with no narcotics hanging onto my brain receptors any longer. ?I have been clean for 3 days as I write this story. ?I will admit that there is a mental adjustment afterwards and you have to be determined to stay away from narcotics for good. ? And I am one of those people that will never again be a slave to any narcotic even though I was truly taking it legally by prescription for my back pain issues. ?I hope that this helps someone who may read it. ?There are clinics that can fairly comfortably get you off these narcotics if you really set your mind to do it. ?My clinic of choice was not covered by insurance and the cost was around $7000. ?But I will never regret spending the money to be free of narcotics. ?It changes your personality and outlook on life in a negative way when you take narcotics. ?I feel much more motivated now and it is great. ?I will deal with my back pain in a more safe and reasonable way. ? Good luck to any of you struggling with this dependency/addiction. ?