Dear Sanguinaire, you are actually taking a Percocet-type pill, which is a compound of 5mg of oxycodone and 500 mg of acetaminophen (Tylenol). The danger to your liver comes not from the opiate, oxycodone, but from the acetaminophen component of your medication. Clinical tests have documented liver toxicity in people who take more than 4g (4000mg) acetaminophen per day. If you are taking 8 of those pills per day for your pain, you are at the danger threshold. If you haven't already, ask your doctor to run liver function blood work to check that your liver enzymes are within normal limits. Pain doctors now recommend lower maximum daily doses of acetaminophen. To preserve your liver, ask your doctor to prescribe an opiate that does not contain acetaminophen. If oxycodone is indicated for your condition, you can try straight oxycodone tablets (also called Roxicodone) which do not contain acetaminophen. Roxicodone comes in 5, 10, 15, and 30mg strength, if my memory serves me well. Another choice for oxycodone therapy is Oxycontin, a sustained-release oxycodone-based pain medication, developed to be taken every 8-12 hours, which thereby provides a steady-state serum level of oxycodone to your pain receptors. This steady state delivery of opiate pain medication essentially increases the half-life of the opiate, which has been shown to lessen the rate of opiate tolerance. This is preferred therapy used by trained pain practitioners who prescribe opiate-based medications. Good luck with your condition, and keep seeking knowledge about your malady, and available therapies. Many aspects of chronic pain management have changed annually as researchers uncover new facts about this phenomena. I say it's about time we study this epidemic called chronic pain that affects the quality of life and productivity of millions of Americans and their families.