Vicki, I am hoping that you still are involved with this site?
Where are you? I'm concerned...
Hi there...I'm glad I saw this, I was just about to take off...
Listen to me: Call the doctor back immediately and TELL him you need some kind of meds to cover you so you don't have a seizure. This is very important. A seizure will usually happen 5 days into a cold turkey detox. Maybe more, maybe less. Ask him to help you here, tell him you abuse it, it doesn't matter. If he won't help you then go to an ER or urgent care center. I don't think you have time to wait for an online order to arrive.
Let me know what happens!
I have been taking Fioricet for roughly 5 years in order to help with my migraines. I also started out with very few and they would last me for months. Now as time has gone by, I find my calendar is marked with the days I need to have them filled. When I first have a bottle refilled, I may take like 20-30 pills that day. I take less throughout the rest of the refill, but it is a constant struggle to avoid running out of the medicine and giving myself what i need. I just had it refilled at the end of july my bottle is gone. It has just evaporated out of my house. I am not anxious as I thought I would be, but right now i think that is because i keep telling my self i will be ok. i was supposed to have a refill today, but the doctor is not going to alow it. I cannot get another refill until the end of this month and i will have to pay a visit to my doctor. i am most anxious about this visit. I am also very scared of the cod turkey side effects i may be getting ready to experience as I ran out of these pills saturday (4th). So far i have not had any horrible problems. I am focused on the pills alot. I am terrifeie at the thought of having a seizure. I dont know if I need to try and order some pills from online so I can taper off or if that is even legal. I really need someone to talk to!
Hi again...I'm glad you got some inspiration from me...not everyone does! LOL!
The journal is very good. Write down everything!! I'm going to urge to to find a therapist before the end is near...you'll want that person on board with you! Believe me! Also, are you busy during the day? What's your lifestyle? Start getting busy NOW and exercise. It makes a lot of difference. Vitamins are essential along with good food and just an all over "overhaul"!! I ended up changing everything! I had to. The same old, same old, just wasn't going to work anymore. So start thinking about changing up any and all routines!
Ask me questions and I'll try to answer or find an answer. I respect you so much for reaching out and doing this. It may easily be the hardest thing you've ever done and there's something very noble in that!
Brian, thank you so much for passing my message along to Vicki. And thank you so much for your encouraging words!
No, just the Fioricet, no codeine. Thank goodness for that small thing in my favor. That would make it that much harder, I know. I am surprised that my family hasn't noticed that I seem more lucid and more active lately. It's strange. You are right - I can't wait to not have to chase pills all of the time!!
Vicki, I am so glad you posted. I actually read some of your posts over the last few months, and gained quite a bit of inspiration from them. Your stories were a big part of my courage to take this step and get off of these things!
Actually, it's been decades for me too. I was typing so fast the other night that I left out a whole chunk of my story. I started at 16, as I said. I was seeing a neurologist for migraines. I didn't get hooked on them right away though, and in fact, went a few years without them. Then, my headaches began to get more frequent, so I went back to the doctor. I knew Fioricet had worked in the past, and nobody ever said anything about them being addictive, so I asked for them again - and again and again, etc. In 1998, when I was 29, I started taking them the second I woke up, throughout the day at work, as soon I got home, after dinner, to help me get to sleep, and the daily amounts just kept increasing to the point where, as I mentioned in my original post, I don't even know how many I took per day, but I know it was at least 20 per day for the last few years.
I have worked out my taper so that I take the pills I'm taking each day at a specific time each day, and I keep a journal, so I'm never stuck asking myself "did I take it?" I don't know if that's a good idea or not because when the time comes that I don't take them at those times anymore, my brain is probably going to go nuts. That's another reason why I am choosing to do it very slowly, so that my brain has a chance to adjust to each drop in dosage too.
I think I will look into a therapist to go to as the end gets closer. It's so strange that it would be easier to talk to a complete stranger, isn't it? I guess it's because we don't care if a stranger passes judgement on us, but our loved ones passing judgement just hurts too much.
Thanks so much for your support; I look forward to talking to you some more, as we do have such similar stories. This forum is an absolute Godsend.
Thanks for your support and I will definitely keep posting. Resisting mentally is so, so hard. I try very hard to keep myself busy and my mind occupied, but it's the quiet times that get my mind reeling and when I have to fight the hardest. I will be so happy to make it to the finish line, even though it will be a struggle every day to get there, and a continued struggle to stay there.
Oh, by the way, I'm not sure if the last part of your post was for someone else? I don't have an alcoholic boyfriend, so I'm not sure who you meant that for.
I personally don't have any experience with Fiorcet but will message someone that does. She successfully tapered off of it quite awhile ago and is doing great. She will be able to answer any questions you have. She's also a nurse so will be able to help in more ways than one.
Congrats for wanting to gain control of you life!
Best of luck!
Brian
Your doing great. You have a solid plan, stick to it. Is this the fioricet with codeine? I understand the not wanting your family to know, I was the same. Chances are they know something is different about you (mine did). Stay active and keep your mind busy.Think of how nice it will be to not have to chase pills all the time. Stay strong!
For now I'll just tell you that I could have written every single word in your post. I think I know completely what you're going through. The only difference being that I took Fioricet for decades...
I tapered off and have been without the blasted pills for over 600 days. So, it can be done. The way you are tapering is perfect and necessary. Cold turkey from Fioricet will cause seizures, so you're smart...
Right now I'd like you to think about where you can get some more support. The forum is wonderful but you need more than this. Believe me. AA or NA may be too public for you so think about some form of therapy. You need someone to talk to; one on one. It will make all the difference in the world!
I applaud you for what you've accomplished so far. I know it's terribly hard and sometimes next to impossible. But, you're doing it! 5 pills per day is practically a miracle!! So, hang in there and just know you're going to be fine!! I promise!
to be continued...lol