Fioricet addiction

[Enough101]

I have been taking fioricet off and on for about 20 years, but steady for the past 7, and take up to 14 a day.  This pill has ruled my life completelyl and I'm over it.  I want to quit in the worst sort of way and have been tapering off for the last several days....over the last week I took 3 per day for four days, 2 for the next two days, 1 today, and now down to the last two for the next two days.  Everything I've read about fiorinal w/d said NOT to go cold turkey because of seizures.  Help!  Have I tapered off enough to avoid them?  Going to a doctor, clinic, or telling my husband are all out of the question, so I'm pretty much doing this on my own.  A recent physical showed borderline everything, but still healthy, thank God.

I've been reading the posts and the advice is awesome, which is why I'm turning to you for help.  Thanks in advance.

[Enough101]

Update...as Jade suggested, I cut the pills in half and take 1/2 when I get up and 1/2 later in the day.  Seems to be working pretty good.  I'm going to try cutting back to just a half once a day after this week till I run out.  I feel pretty positive about this.

[vicki595]

Okay...here is the best advice you will ever receive:  Aftercare!

You need it and don't think you can get away with just dealing with it. You need tools to overcome it!

Good luck!

[Enough101]

Amazingly enough, I feel pretty normal.  Some hot flashes and chills, an off and on headache that doesn't last too long, but  no nausea.  The temptation is definately still there, but so far I've been able to deal with it.  Just with I could fast forward to June.

[vicki595]

WONDERFUL!!

How are you feeling?

[Enough101]

So far so good.  I'm down to 2 a day and tomorrow start 1 a day for two weeks then 1/2 for a week.  

[vicki595]

You'll get the navigation thing down quickly. Just keep at it!  And,ask us questions if you're stuck...

Set some very short term goals for yourself. This does not have to happen overnight! As long as you decrease and don't go back up,you're doing great. Right now,if you can get down to 4 per day,that's an achievement!  Then,slowly continue down...

[Enough101]

Jade, thanks!  I've already divided them up so I'm slowly weaning off,but I didn't think about cutting them in half.  I'll definateyl do that.  It's that much less in my system daily and hopefully, HOPEFULLY!, this will work.

Vicki, sticking with me means the world.  Yes, I will keep posting as time goes on and it's very comforting to know I have friends out there that know exactly what I will be going through soon. I'm new to this site and not real sure how to navigate around, but I'm learning.

[vicki595]

Yes,putting them in envelopes is a good idea. Whatever works!!  I know what it's like...I took Fioricet plain by the way...I was never a fan of opiates at all!  Go figure!!!

Jade has a good idea also...just break them in half and go slow. You know very well,those 90 pills will be gone in a hearbeat!!

You do sound determined and I promise to stick with you. I won't chase you though...you need to keep posting and keep checking in,okay??

[Jade59]

Hello.  I am also a fiorinal/fioricet, taker - for 32yrs.  If you get the Fioricet brand that has the line in the middle (I forget the proper term) get yourself a pill splitter and split them and that way, you can wean a little slower.  Slow is good with this drug.  Even if you have the round ones, those can also be split - I do it all the time.  I wish you luck - this is a tough drug to quit.  

[Enough101]

Thanks vicki, that means a lot.  Years ago I went off of Fiorinal w/C when my doictor learned  he wasn't the only one I was getting them from and that was cold turkey without telling anyone.  I went through hell for almost a week and everyone tought it was a really bad case of the flu.  I also quit smoking cold turkey and as hard as it was, that seemed like a cakewalk compared to the fiorina!  Cold turkey certainly isn't a part of my plan, but I know I have it in me to do this.  

I've started my taper and think I have a grip on it.  Last night I sorted out the pills week by week reducing as the weeks go.  I've got to give it a try and pray I can do this on my own without the family, husband included, finding out.   I've don't it before.  Just FINALLY realize this has to be it....no more, period.  

We don't have the money for a doctor since it's out of pocket and I've about put us behind the 8ball with my addiction.  I feel so ashamed, and want to reverse everything like NOW.  Please stay with me and I'll post periodically to give you my progress on the taper.  Mayberry put it in black and white with the breakdown of how it stays in my system and I pray this will work. I have faith like I've never had and know once I break the cycle I will not go back.  My family means too much to me and I couldn't face them again knowing the disappointment in me they would feel.

[vicki595]

There may be many starts and stops while trying to get off of this drug! Don't worry about that. The important thing is to make a plan and stick to it!  It would be great if there was one person you could trust to dole out the pills everyday. That way you wouldn't go over your limit.  

We can't offer any taper schedules on the forum. It's against our guidelines. But you CAN do this on your own. Keep it slow,one pill at a time! Adjust for two weeks and continue. Something like that...It would be great if you could see a doctor. You should have one anyway...Couldn't you just tell your husband you were having a check up?  I know you don't want to tell him BUT I really advise you to...and to tell your family. You think this is something to be ashamed of when,in fact,it's not. It's sad and it's a sickness. Most of us never planned on becoming addicts. It just happened along the way and it IS very hard to stop.

You'll need a lot of support and you need to reach out for it. Believe me,there are worse things in life than being addicted to Fioricet. And don't worry about your Grandson,he'll understand if you explain. There's a lesson to be learned here,as well.

You will feel alone until you tell someone. Don't be afraid...

Keep posting here!

[Enough101]

So many things going on with my life, mostly depressing (I know, it's totally me).  I got 90 more fioricet to decrease the "right" way, and ended up taking 6 today.  not the right way.  I'm worried sick about not having willpower to do this right now.  Please try to understand that I can barely run to the store without my husband going with me and it would be next to impossible to to see a doctor by myself.  

Feeling low and most of the posts in the forum have soooo much support.  KInda don't feel that way, just alone. Just feeling sorry right now and like a failure

[Enough101]

I'll keep posting.  Right now I need all the help I can get and this is a great place to start.

[avisg]

it normal to feel sensitive we all are right when we start . let know know what happens ok ????? we are here to help you .

[Enough101]

avisg, sorry I didn't see your post until now and I appreciate your response.  Very good advice and it's good being able to hear from others that have been through it with this same drug.

mayberry, thanks for putting it in prospective.  I didn't realize how long it took to leave my system.  Yes, I'm out after tomorrow, so I need to figure something out real quick.  Don't worry about the post...i'm just feeling a bit sensitive right now :(

[my_mayberry]

i just re-read my original post. it DID sound rather abrupt and kind of rude. that wasn't my intention. it was late. sorry if it came across that way!

[my_mayberry]

well the half-life is 35 to 95 hours depending on the person. lets say the average half-life is 48 hours....just to make it easy. that means the dose you took 2 days ago is now at half the level of when you originally took it....so during a day where you took 500mg of butalbital, 2 days later that level will have dropped by half. then, you add whatever doses you've taken since then and reduce them by however much time has passed. phenobarbital has an especially long half life of 100 hours which is why death from phenobarbital abuse was so unpredictable.....it built up in the system and there was no way to really know how close a person was to a lethal dose.

understanding that this drug builds up in your system also means understanding that when you go off of it, it will slowly leave your system....so because of this, problems aren't always seen right away.

for me, going cold turkey at a high dose meant SEVERE SEVERE headaches..far worse than migraines. i'm sure i'm lucky i never had a seizure. however, after the initial withdrawal, it can take a few more days for other weird things to start happening. infact, for me....the first few days aren't so bad as far as urges go...it's after the 3rd or 4th day that i start to get REALLY tough urges.

in any event, is there any reason you have to move this taper so fast? are you going to run out? if not...then go slower. let your body adjust to your dose before you start thinking about your next reduction. you don't have much further left to go anyway.

sorry if my reponse wasn't encouraging. it wasn't meant to sound discouraging....it's just that most of the success stories on this site involve a much slower taper with a doctors help. i've yet to find a success story of someone who tapered quickly off this drug without any help at all. thats not to say they don't exist....but i just haven't seen them. slow and steady wins this race time and time again! good luck

[Enough101]

Thank you, Vicki.  What would you recommend as far as tapering?  How many for how long?  This is really the first time I have tried to get off completely (I thought about it for so long), but the w/d and seizures are scaring me big time.  

Did you take the fiorinal with codeine?  I have taken just the straight fiorinal, no codeine.  congratulations to you for coming up on your one year mark.  I'll be soooo glad when I can finally say that!

We moved and I don't have a family doctor, no insurance.  My husband has no idea.  He has suffered two heart attacks and a stroke, not in good health.  We were both users when we got together 30+ years ago and both kicked it (not fiorinal, more recreational drugs) before our first child was born.  He has never used again.  There is no question he would tell our daughter and that would be the worst thing possible.  My 17-yr-old grandson is totally against drugs (thank God!) and it would kill him.  I couldn't live with the guilt/shame.  IF there a way I can do this alone, I'm so ready to try.  Thank you for the advice and I'll continue the taper for a bit longer.  I'm just kind of surprised that taking as many has I have per day, that I don't feel bad at all being down to one.  Sometimes I feel sweaty, but I've been keeping busy it goes seems to go away pretty easily.  I have a slight headache, nothing like a real migraine.   I just want this to end.

[avisg]

Hi!!,
Our members just want you to be aware of the seriousness of this.You have posted yourself that you have been taking alot and did a very quickly stoped taking them.There is very serious risk of seizures that can be fatal .Please tell your doctor .Have them help you make up a taper plan that is good to be safe for you .I know nobody wants to tell there doctor but don't let your fear of telling kill you its not worth it .keep your chin up and keep posting we are all trying to help both vicki and mayberry have been down your road and are try to see you come threw this safely

[vicki595]

I agree with Mayberry.  It's really important to slowly taper from this drug. A one week taper is really fast. It's not a taper at all...I'd stay at that one a day for awhile. But then,I'd see a doctor,too!  Fioricet is a tricky,dangerous drug that hangs around for a long time.

We both have a lot of experience with it. I took it for well over 30 years at over 20 pills per day. I've been clean for almost a year.  You CAN do this but it takes a lot of support and help. I'm glad you posted here.  Please tell your doctor and family.

[Enough101]

Wow, that doesn't sound at all encouraging!  I was hoping I would wake up to several posts saying I was doing it right and would hopefully start feeling better in the a few days other than the usual sweats, cold, restless legs, etc., and I've loaded up on some the recommendations (vitamins, epsom salt) from other posts.

Anyway, thanks for the post.

[my_mayberry]

well i guess you'll find out! doing this without a docs supervision is really NOT the way to go...but you're doing it anyway, so i guess thats that. you're already down to 2 per day? well if you took this for the past 7 years at around 14 per day, then that taper was probably waaay too fast. still, it's done. the only think you can do is stay at the dose you're at or continue. i personally would stay at 1 a day for a little while...a few weeks if possible. thats just me though. why? because this drug stays in your system for a long time, which means it takes a long time to get it out....which means in a few days it may hit you really hard. it does for me, anyway. maybe i'm unique, though. the initial day is hard for me, and then around 4 days later, it hits really hard. this is around the point at which the drug really starts to leave your system. being at 1 a day when this happens might prevent a train wreck. then again, maybe it's totally not needed. maybe you'll be just fine.

i strongly recommend a doctor, though! and if you're not going to do that....then find aftercare and support. keep posting here! it helps. good luck. i know the evils of this drug and have fought it too many times to count....but if you are persistant enough, eventually you DO win.