How to start getting clean

[moomooclan]

I have no Idea how to do this forum stuff or posting things I dont feel quite comfortable yet I guess with people knowing what well how much or how I am doing my meds so far. I need help on how to stop doing them then more help on how to manage the pain with Fibromyalgia with out using oxycodone and dilaudid. I have health issues at this time that prevent me from using Nsaids and Im tired of using that excuse to keep using, but its the truth. I am lost on everything right now and need someone to help me get started and to talk to about what I am doing at this point and the best way to taper off cause I have 4 kids I tried cold turkey and Its not fair to them to be around ME. SO how ever this works with emails or messages It would be a god send for any info support what ever I have to do. THanks

[moomooclan]

The advice you gave claire was a great help I didnt think about taking 1/2 every 2 hours at the end of tapering I could see my self sitting there counting the minutes till I could take the next full dose. I am sleep deprived today due to construction outside my house and no sleep last night til 6 am up at 9 am . Tomorrow I am gonna start taking 1 less pill a day, well see how thats going to go. Anyadvice on an anti-inflammatory that I can combine with lovanox with minimal bleeding risk? I cant even have asprin at this point due to the blood thinners and am just at a loss right now I have a dr appt Friday and want to have something to bring up that can replace the opiates that wont interfere with the Lovanox. My one worry is how much pain I am gonna be in from the vascular damage in my leg since I havent felt my leg much in the last year due to the pills.I have a Kpad which is a huge heated water pad that has helped me alot with muscle spasm in my neck and my leg in the beginning it heats the water to 107 degrees max that will help if I have spasms from tapering till I adjust I think I am thinking the right way?
Thanks again for all the advice and not letting me feel like Im crazy!

[Greatgreebo]

you are doing the right thing....you will start feeling better. you just have to give your body time to heal and make it's own pain meds!! Good job on tapering. Perhaps take a WHOLE pill when you get up in the morning or even 1.5...NOT an amount to get you 'high'..just enought to get on top of the pain and then figure out how many you have left (6 or 6.5?)....figure out how many hours you will be awake....14 hours? So...doing the math and saving a WHOLE pill for bedtime (so you don't wake up completely miserable in the a.m.) you can take a half pill ever ~2.5 hours-ish. Figure it that way. give this method a shot. It will help with the WD's and at least help with the pain a bit more. Keep the supply in your body steady-not spiking and you will be okay-In a few  days 3-5, once you start to feel 'normal'er at that dose cut a pill of two our of the schedule....I personally would cut my pills into 1/4's near the end so I could have a 1/4 every 2.5 hours versus waiting the 5 hours for a 1/2 pill....anyway-you get the idea

You can do this!!
You will feel better in the long run. Trust me.

stay strong
Greebs

[clairemarie526]

Just wanted to say to hang in there...I'm tapering as well. I was taking upwards of 15-20 Norco 10/325 a day...for my FIBRO. And a thank you to everyone posting on her question...it too, is giving me answers I need. I'm down to 12/325 p/day... it's hard but I cut by 8 pills in 1 day . I'm on day 3 of my taper. Fibro pain is immense...Good idea on taking one at a time every few hours. I was considering taking my usual 3 to combat this pain. But that's what got me in this mess anyway. So I will try what you said above. Thanks.

[Greatgreebo]

you are not alone...breath.
I've got an autoimmune disorder which makes my own immune system attack my body-I hear ya' on the pain thing!! My problem is I spent 10 years abusing pain pills and didn't catch on so I've actually made the problem a whole lot worse because I couldn't accurately gauge my pain or my emotions or anything....Kick, get a realistic assessment of the situation and then we can help you. The word 'doesn't' and 'can't' need to leave your vocabulary (that's the drugs talking honey!)...you do and you can and we will start looking for help for your pain on that note.
Neurontin? or...?? don't give up- you will find the right mix-but you need to do it without the opiate rollercoaster you are on.
First and foremost you need to taper and kick the opiates. we can help you. You will hurt a bit and it will take a while BUT there is hope and light at the end of the tunnel.
Bottom line is YOU CAN NOT KEEP DOING THIS TO YOURSELF....(not yelling-just emphasising)......
Like I said, you need to either taper or flat out CT...I vote CT, you know-get it over with.
Once the drugs clear your system and you are eating healthy we can work with that.
So-trust us
let us know and remember you are not alone...I've been fighting this battle for a while-I feel for you!!
stay strong
Greebs

[moomooclan]

I cant take cymbalta or lyrica due to bleeding risks and Im on lovanox not coumadin due to allergy to it There for even NSaids are out of the question I have only been diagnosed in the last 3 months with fibro and my pain isnt ALL the time but the burning like my skin is sunburned is always there around my neck and down left shoulder. 3 more months and Toradol for my headaches will be a life saver. I feel like im stuck between a rock and a hard place. My husband says he needs to buy a spare to replace all the parts going wrong with me He knows about my addiction and Is scared and doesnt know what to do he is willing to do anything at this point so am I.

[worried878]

I have fibro as well..it zaps ur nrg..any chronic pain makes us very very tired/and no one understand chronic pain unless they have been there....my parents preach to me like there oughta be sumpin to "cure" it..like i just hurt to get attn or sumpin..so eventually it becomes a secret/much like addiction/cos no one understands it..neither addiction nor chronic pain..It is like DAM..if i knew how to fix i would!  I dont tell guys I date about my pain..rarely mention it period to anyone...no one wants to hear it anyway/so why bother//pain is very isolating//as is addiction//it sux to have both..it really sux!

No one here judges anyone..who on earth r we here to judge..we r a bunch of addicts who r trying to move forward..and we can..we just gotta do the work and continue the work throughout our life cos this addiction stuff never really goes away..it can go into remission..but it sits and waits for u to have a dark time in ur life..so it can edge its way back into ur brain...almost like it grew a spider web with transmitters planted in the web in ur brain...waiting on a signal to pull u down again..it is a battle/a true war for many

Narcotics r not the DOC for Fibromyalgia...first line drugs are Neurontin, lyrica and cymbalta/i only tolerate neurontin but have tried all three
narcotics really do nuttin for a fibro patient as far as pain relief..they make us not care that we hurt..no work on the source of pain at all//and tolerence makes them very dangerous/addiction as well
muscle relaxers, gentle stretching or moderate execise, yoga rox for fibro! ice, heat, massage, anti-inflammatories, and some need injections and such to the source of pain

But all of this is better than giving up ur life to an f-ing pill...pills caused me emothional pain and stress/where will i get more?  gotta make these last?/stress aggravates my pain...i was in severe emotional pain and depression...it outweighed the pain relief the pills gave me and i was at double to triple my prescribed dose

keep posting..we r here

[moomooclan]

I have Bloodclots in 5 veins in my leg due to BControl pills and fibromyalgia supposedly from a herniated disc surgery 5 years ago, the issue I am having is I cant take anything but Tylenol and the pain is excrutiating, I totally understand the opiates can make it hurt worse like a reverse effect. I was taking 60 mg oxycodone not contin 6 times a day, and get 8 mg dilaudid for severe migraines allergy to almost every migraine med out there. I take 2 of the dilaudid for the headaches at home if It gets to the bad point I go to the ER get 2mg IV and the headache is gone. I realized I had a problem a year ago when I would get mad and grab a pill to feel better started with percocet 10 mgs. slowly had to take more and more to feel better physically I scared myself  3 weeks ago, A friend of mine told me you could shoot up dilaudid and it would help my head ache and I wouldnt have to go to the ER which was only when my neck would flare up maybe once every 3 months. Well I went from the 60 mg oxycodone 6 times a day to 4 mg IV dilaudid 3 times aday in a matter of a week I was doing 8 mg 2 times a day cause I felt like I was having withdrawl symptoms, I have recently stopped using my arm and gone back to 15 mg oxycodone 4 times a day to not have that pain or Wdrawl. The thought of my children seeing me using like I was made me realize Its time to stop making excuses. I have 3 months till I can start taking Nsaids again I dont wanna use anymore I wanna taper down and stop so I can become part of thier lives again and not live on the couch in my Pjs all day. Does that help with what I was taking to get any advice with tapering off?

[Greatgreebo]

It's late tonight but keep posting and you will get plenty of help. First off-please realize your level of pain can actually be increased by using the opiates you are losing. Your body loses the ability to produce its own natural pain killers so things will actually feel worse before they get better BUT the good news is once you get off the drugs you will start feeling better....trust me. I suffer from a condition which causes chronic pain and I HURT all of the time....but I can tell you, I hurt far worse when I was dealing with drug addiction AND chronic pain.
We can help you with a taper plan or you can cold turkey-first we need to know exactly WHAT you are using and HOW much and WHEN you are using it.....
You gotta be honest....................
You are here-which means deep down you know there is a problem. Let us help you...........like I said, it's late but you will get LOTS of useful feedback if you are honest and keep posting!!
So-take a big breathe and be honest with yourself and with us..........90% of the battle is admiting there is a problem.
Here is some advice that will come in handy....give it a read. Hang in there....and make the decision to get your life back!

Time for some technical talk... One of the things which increases "dependence" is a spike in drug blood plasma levels. Addicts do this on purpose to get a "high". They do it by Snorting (Very fast delivery), IV Injections, Chewing up meds and taking on an empty stomach.

The above all produce the most amount of drug in the blood in an attempt to get a buzz. These spikes are one of the reasons we addicts get hooked faster than a COMPLIANT Chronic Pain Patient.

Being compliant means they take only as directed. The goal of compliance is to maintain an even blood plasma at the minimum amount to treat PAIN and NOT to produce euphoria (a high).

Since the blood plasma levels are lower, the levels of dopamine at the synaptic cleft do not spike so the receptor sites do not downregulate or decrease in number in response to the initially MUCH higher level of dopamine released as a result of spiking.

Addictive dosing behaviors, the large doses associated to Spike the blood plasma level, vs the lower low dosing and more often which is the KEY factor to the physical changes the brain makes which cause dependency.

Dependency is the actual physical changes to your body which cause withdrawal. Addiction is the BEHAVIOR of taking the drugs to get high, not as prescribed, and when not needed for clinical reasons. It is the un-manageable behaviors associated with lack of control.

Which comes first... Dependence or addiction? Usually it's addiction, but it can be the other way, but the key issue which causes the progression of addiction are the behaviors.

Addiction is what makes you take more and more, spiking doses, etc. This in turn increases dependence. The higher your dependence the higher the tollerance... Round and round you go. The addiction merry-go-round.

How to break the cycle? The only way is to change the behavior. That is a very difficult thing. Pain is usually a very good motivator. So is Euphoria. When the pain out weighs the euphoria one starts to consider breaking the cycle. Unfortunately the pain being eliminated by the drug is a driving force. Then the addict associated the RELIEF of th pain to the drug instead of the drug being the CAUSE of the pain.

SOoooooooo what to do? Break the cycle.

Many have to hit bottom to do that. That's the point where the pain of using overwhelms the relief of using. It's an emotional point which is different for different people. Not every one has to hit a bottom to quit. The sooner you quit the less pain and suffering you have to experience.

For folks who are on smaller doses and their disease has not progressed very far, they have not felt the extent of pain addiction can cause. Only conceptualizing how bad it can get may not be good enough to motivate a person early in addiction to quit.

Intellectually we know what lays ahead. We hear the truth from others, but yet we continue to use. It is not until we get a glimpse of the pain that lays ahead do we become to believe we need to quit. One HAS to believe that in fact addiction does lead to the loss of everything and eventually Jails Institutions and Death.

Addiction is a lot easier to nip in the bud physically but maybe not emotionally because one has not experienced the pain first hand. Some need more pain than others to quit. Some don't make it and end up end stage and their addiction wins.

If you want to get off of the pills you have to change your behavior.

1) STOP SNORTING your pills!
2) Stop spiking your dose!
3) stop taking enough to get high

You will never quit until you do that. Weather you can or not is up to you.

You have to come to a point where you make the decision you want to quit. The en you have to make a plan then you have to execute that plan. SIMPLE .... but not easy.

The solution from a clinical point of view for you at your point of addiction is so easy. A simple taper, and change the behavior. In short break the cycle.

How to do a taper is easy. Changing the behavior is the HARD part, but you have to want to change.

If you are taking 6 pills a day... then start taking them in even doses and don't take like 3-4 at a time. 24 hrs divided by 6 = 4 hrs. So only take one pill every 4 hrs. Then take 5 pills in 24 hrs. That's 4.8 hrs. Then 4 pills a day... break pills into 1/2's so you have 8 1/2 pills. and take 1/2 a pill every 3 hrs. Etc.

If you can't stick to a taper give the pills to a friend to dispense.

Mean while .. you have to start changing the way you think and the things you do... You should educate yourself... Good place to do all of that is NA or AA. It's FREE and takes up time. It forces you to be doing something other than sitting around with nothing to do and just thinking about using.

It's not the only way, but it's a good place to start. Take what you need from it, and leave the rest.

If you take the same amount or less every day and don't spike your dose you will eventually quit.

30 mg of Hydro can be tapered to 0 in 2-4 weeks painlessly. The PAWS will be minimal too.

The ball is in your court. We can not make you do anything. Only YOU can.

When you are ready is up to you. If you need to stay "out there" using and see for yourself how bad it will get that's up to you.

My recommendation.. Start to QUIT now! It will be a whole lot easier.