text: Good suggestions. Let me add two comments.
  
  First,  Oxycontin is not "long-acting." It has "delayed absorption." The medication itself (oxycodone) is no more long-acting in this formulation than in any other. This has practical importance. Once the medication is fully absorbed, it will be eliminated at a more rapid rate than a truly long-acting medication. In other words, it appears to be long-acting up to the point of full absorption (and time to full absorption varies a lot), and then it becomes shorter acting. The result is a more rapid onset of withdrawal symptoms, including hyperalgesia, and greater addictive potential than with a teuly long acting drug.
  
  Second point is that if lower doses are better for many patients, then what about the lowest dose? The lowest risks of constipation, sedation, overdose, addiction and other problems are when opioid drugs are avoided entirely. Learning how to do so in practice, whenever possible, should be the top priority in ending this epidemic.