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I don't know anything about the type of medication you are taking so I cannot give info on it. You may want to call your local mental health center and ask one of their doctors or nurses how to go about detoxing. Hopefully they will give you an answer without forcing you to come in for evaluation.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little envious -- Tussionex is the most euphoric form of hydrocodone. Frankly, it's wonderful. 12-hour time-release Vicodin. The Rolls-Royce of Schedule III. I'm glad I experienced it but am, at this very moment, relieved I don't have access to it.
Simply put, you need the full detox-rehab. Coming down from such exquisite stuff is going to be hard. (I'm honestly high just thinking about it -- sorry.)
I'm hoping you have insurance so you can go to a good place that brings you down slowly with tapered doses of Valium. That, plus jacuzi, food, vitamins and regular sleep, will make you feel pretty good.
Now here is the important part: You'll want to leave because you know how good that Tussionex is going to feel after you're detoxed. That's why you need to combine detox with AA/NA in your daily routine during and especially after detox. I haven't a clue how you're going to do it on your own. My advice, AKA The Voice of Experience, is get the Full Monty or you'll be back. If it's your first time, you probably will be back.
If you do return, don't lose heart. Recovery is a process, characterized by slips and recoveries. We drug addicts, recovering or otherwise, are human beings. We have nothing to be ashamed of. Our human physiology makes us inherently susceptible to drug addiction. My hopes go with you. Don't hesitate to post more messages. tom
tom
I am a former addict who has been in recovery for going on three years now and my drug of choice was Hydrocodone. My favorite way to get it was in Tussionex (because it would last for at least 8 hours). At the end, I was using 180ml a day. So, I don't know why you didn't get any responses, but have no fear, YOU'RE NOT ALONE in your use of Tussionex.
I'm not going to give any detox advice since it's been a few years and every time I got off of Hyrdrocodone, I had to do it cold turkey (and the few last times in jail - hell on earth). My only guess is to follow suggestions posted here for those getting off the big "V" (Vicodin), since it's just Hydrocodone in a suspension form. All I can say is hang in there, find Narcotics Anonymous in your area and do what you're told at the meetings.
If you need any help, just post here. This is actually my first time posting, so it shows that people are here and care.
One Day At A Time!
J
Unless you’ve got a VERY unusual relationship with your doctor, I’d say there’s about a zero chance of you getting into a Methadone program with “only” a vic habit to boast about. Last time I checked, the whole Methodone thing was pretty much a closed shop. Non-Heroin users need not apply. Next to Vicodin, Methadone might actually feel pretty good, which wouldn’t be quite the effect you’re after.
Read what I said to “Tussionex Chris” above. A structured in-house detox with tapered Valium and Clonadine patches is really quite effective and not altogether unpleasant. If you have an iron will (which I doubt considering your intake of vic’s) you or a friend could bring you down the same way at home. Add some over-the-counter Imodium for the inevitable runs (NEVER detox from Vicodin without Imodium), daily jacuzzis or hot baths and lots of food (the valium will make you eat like a pig – another reason to use it), and you might just make it to your first AA/NA meet.
Also, go to a health food store and get some Milk Thistle. It will help your liver heal itself after such a sustained assault from the tylenol in your vic’s.
I have used this method to detox myself from a 75 to 100/day vic habit (and you thought you were really out there with 50/day habit!).
Of course, if you’re after a maintenance drug, rather than strictly detox, I have heard some things about Buprenorphin. I have no idea about its availability. I hear it blocks the narco-cravings without any mood-altering side effects.
Honestly, though, once you’re well and truly detoxed from the vics and off the Valium, what you really need is “head support” from a group of fellow recovering addicts. You also need to absent yourself as completely as you can from the environment, people and places around which you’ve been using. The subliminal “cues” to use that you undoubtedly associate with your old haunts will be almost impossible to resist. Many addicts fail because they don’t take this aspect seriously enough.
But I really don’t think you’ll need a maintenance drug (before you ask, Valium won’t work as a maintenance drug – you’ll just become a Valium junkie and have two problems instead of one). Good luck. Post more if you want to talk.
tom
tom