5 years on hydro 10's up to 15 a day,how can i quit

[hopsing94]

I need some help, I have been taking 10mg hydrocodone tabs, 10-15 a day for about 5 years now
I want to quit but cant seem to get through the withdrawls. Is there anything that can help with
the withrawls? mainly the fatigue and restlessness and the freaking anxiety, I feel like i'm gonna
come out of my skin if i just quit for half of a day. I've got to quit before I loose everything.HELP!

[hopsing94]

Hi Lynn
I dont know exactly how to beat it because I have'nt yet. The closest I got was when my doctor tapered me down. I was taking 12-15 a day. She started me out at 10 pills a day,watson 501's
10/650 hydrocodone. I did 10 a day for a week,then down to nine and all the way down to 6. Then she changed them to 6 7.5's a day. At first that was tough for a couple of days but not bad. Took that down to 4 a day and then switched to 5 5's a day down to 2 a day and I was able to quit with very minimal withdrawls physically. Quit completley for 2 days and then on Monday feeling a little tired I got 1 pill from a friend for a littlepick me up and guess what happened. Right back up to 10 a day again. STUPID huh. Well now i'm gonna taper down again and this time I plan to stick with it. I'm just so sick of feeling like this and wasting all this money. Tired of hiding it from my kids and lying to my wife. Just want to enjoy life again like it should be. Good luck to you. Don't know if this will help ya but it did make it pretty easy physically.

[Lynn411]

i understand what you are going through i have had a problem for years with pills and everytime i try to quit It might last for half a day if that. so do you have access to a therapist I have heard that they can help support you. if of course you have the money to pay to see one it seems as if is addiction is the hardest thing in the world to overcome. my blessings are with you. if you beat it please let me know how .

[hopsing94]

Man yall are great cause you really feel like your alone in this hell but I can see i'm not. David your right I dont get the high anymore unless I take 3-4 in half an hour and mix a soma or two in with it and then a few beers on top of that. I have to take them throughout the day just to function at workand yes I am sick and tired of this sh**. I'm glad I finally registered on here,i've been reading posts on here for about a year and a half now and kept telling myself that's not me i'm not and addicct but i know now I am and i've got to quit before I loose my wife and kids,she's had about enough of it. Thanks to all of you for the advice and help. Feel pretty determined this time. Merry Christmas to all of you.

[broknbck]

I've tried to quit in the past and blew it. This time I made a list of all the reasons I use and made some changes. Alot of things were just impossible without some help from drugs. I think the changes I made have made all the difference. I am amazingly happy and have never felt better and this is day 6. All I'm taking is Cymbalta (an anti-depressant) been on for 6 months, all the amino acids, good food, exersise, good tunes and totally positive things.

[Stacy79]

Yeah, if it's possible to do it another way, you should definitely try that first.  If ALL else fails, and it is impossible, Sub is another way to go.  Yeah, you'll have to get off of that eventually too, but it will be under the care of a doctor, and when tapered correctly, there is almost no withdrawal.  It's also a good way to buy time, to get to the root of the problem, and to get rid of all the 'addict habits.'  But by all means, if tapering or C/T work for you, go for it!

[david0263]

You do not need sub to get down from where you are at.  You have to be truly sick and tired of the pills, the way they make you feel and the things they make you do.  I'll bet you don't even get high from them anymore, I know I did not.  You can do this.  Make a decision that you want to stop and then stop.  I personally could not taper.  I tried many times.  I had to cold turkey from up to 25 10mg hydro a day.  I did cold turkey many times, and the last time I was so tired both physically and mentally that I had enough, that's it I can't do this anymore.  You'll be sick for no longer than a week.  It's no fun but it's not that bad either.  I had to have support as well so you'll want to think about that.  I go to NA meetings and have surrounded myself with recovering addicts.  When I want to use I call one of them.  You can do this you just have to want it bad enough and be willing to do whatever it takes.

david

[hopsing94]

Ya know they weren't kidding when they said the longer you do these the harder the withrawl but you reach a point where the withdrawl is better than the drugs and worth going through to be normal again. The last time I tapered I was so close to quitting that I am so mad at myself for starting again but that just makes me want to quit even more now. thanks for all the advice and i'll post again in a few days let yall know how it's going.

[FLaddict]

Did you read the article in there about tapering?? It could help you finish yours. Let me know if you have any questions or need help setting up a taper schedule.

XOXO

[broknbck]

Tapering before u quit really does help. I was on 9 10s a day. This is my 6th day with no drugs and never felt better. FLaddicts profile has alot of helpful info. I used it. Like u said, I use to think I'd lose my mind if I went without for half a day. 4 years addicted.

[hopsing94]

Thanks for the link. I dont really want to take another drug to get off of a drug. Pretty sure I can taper down to 4 a day then take a few days off from work and just do it. When i'm done i can make a nike commercial lol. JUST DO IT

[FLaddict]

Here is a link to the Suboxone FAQ that I have posted here many times. Hopefully it will help.  In that journal there is also an aritcle on tapering off pain meds, that may help you as well. I would give the taper a good try before deciding to do the Sub route.  It is just another med that you have to taper and quit.  Copy and paste this link in your browser and let me know if you have any questions

http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/597

[hopsing94]

I've heard the sub has it's own withdrawls when it's time to quit that. Has anyone used sub and quit taking it and how long do you have to take it?

[Stacy79]

Try Suboxone.  No withdrawals.  Simple.

[hopsing94]

Well we shall see. I am gonna try again and hope this time does it. I am so sick and tired of being sick and tired and the hot flashes the restlessness the grinding of my teeth,the horrible edgey feeling every morning when I wake up and the lying and hiding I am doing to my wife and kids. Maybe this time will be the right time. Thanks to all of you and good luck yourselves.

[GoingToMakeIt]

Do you have someone around that can monitor your doses? It is so hard to regulate when your mind & body  want more. Tapering is easier on the body. I agree with Trout. When you get down to a small dose, take the plunge and quit. It's not fun, but then it is over with. a week or so later you will look back and say it was doable. Hard but doable.

[hopsing94]

Trout
Thanks for the post. I think you have got the right idea. I'm gonna try to drop 10mg a week each week and then see if I can get some 7.5's or 5's when i get down to like 4 a day to taper even lower. maybe if i can get down to 4 5mg tabs a day then it should'nt be so difficult. I am just so sick and
tired of waking up needing a pill to get going and then not being able to sleep at night. I just want to feel normal again ya know.

[Lotsatrout]

You're probably going to have to stretch out your taper period.  You can't just cut it in half one day... let's say from 100mg to 50mg then to 25mg the next day.  I would recommend that you take it slower.  Take your time if you need to especially if you got the goods.  I'm no expert at tappering because I simply can't do it.  However, I do not have a surplus and I usually run out early so I know that I HAVE to go through the WD's.  

If you're down to 7 from 10-15 then you're doing pretty good.  Stay on the 7 a day for a couple of days and let your body adjust to the lower dosage.  When things start to "stabalize" then cut it down to 6 a day or 6.5 a day...  This will make the WD process a little easier but I would recommend after you get down there a ways to just go cold turkey.  Yeah, you'll feel like **** for a few days but not nearly as bad as if you were to cold turkey from 100mg's-150mg's

I can't imagine trying to quit when there "is never a shortage".  That has got to be tough!  Good luck and keep posting!

Trout

[hopsing94]

Yes i do, thats part of the problem, theres never a shortage. I have tapered down to as low as 4 a day before and after a couple of days without cant seem to take it anymore and start back with just a couple a day and then back up to 10 or so a day. currently i'm down to 7 a day and trying to taper again.

[Lotsatrout]

That's a pretty healthy habit....  Do you have enough surplus that you could taper down to a reasonable dosage before going cold turkey.... let's say down to 15mg - 20mg a day?

Trout