In regards to rivers post.

Going cold turkey may seem to be the hardest, but it is not. When you are taking other drugs to help in the withdrawal you are eventually fighting the effects of that drug as well. Every drug has a myriad of side effects which can hinder the withdrawal process. Reading posts it is easy to see that some of you are having difficulty with the withdrawal. I believe that is because ytou are plying yourseves with withdrawal drugs trying to find one that works. When you go c/t you are fighting only what you want to withdraw from and not all the other drugs with their side effects.I know it sounds tough, real tough, but remember you are fighting only one drug or two, depending on what you became addicted to. Not everyone is able to cut themselves off that abruptly and the first two weeks are real hard but so is the jumping from one drug to another in order, as I said "To find the right one."  You are filling your bodies with withdrawal drugs that the body is trying to fight off. In a weakened state from imbibing various pills your body is attempting to find a balance and is embattled by the influx. Just as it seems to have found a proper level another pill alters that and the body is back to square one. my doctor gave me anti-inflamatory drugs along with painkillers and the like and they just inhibited any advance I was trying to make. It was only when I reverted to Tylenol as the only other drug was I able to finally start on the true road to recovery. I withdrew from Oxycontin which, as some of you know, is a rough drug. Now you don't have to take this verbatim. This is my opinion based on my experience with oxy.

[awakan]

I know what you mean that is why I have always tried to just cut it off and suffer whatever comes, It also gives me something to look back on as kind of a good deterrent to wanting to start again. Seems to do something for the mindset but to each their own I suppose Kicking is Kicking weather or not you do it now or at some pre-conceived idea of where a good jumping off place is but then again I am just starting to taste withdrawals. But I suppose I should not say that either it may turn out to be easier than I thought I guess time will tell....
awakan    

[tomanypills]

you mean like that country comedian " getter done " lol

[Brendaz]

I'm sorry but going cold turkey is not always the safest-there is the potential for seziures, kidney and congestive heart failure...I notice it isn't exactly the norm here, but I think that when you are going through withdrawel you need to seek medical help- be honest about ALL the medications you are on- and follow their advice- believe it or not they do have your best interest at heart, as well as a legally obligated interest in maintianing your health- in a safe manner.

[LadySundown]

I usually agree with your posts but this time I have to disagree because of the drug I'm w/d'g from. Fentanyl patches start at 100mcg/hr. No one knows what level the pain is at until they cut you down to the next patch, which would be 75mcg. If the pain is still ok then down to 50mcg...and so on until the patient is where I'm at now. 12mcg. Now I am able to take the patch off tomorrow. My dr. gave me a script for Ultram if I need it, but I'm going to try my best to stay away from it.

This is just my personal story.

Take Care......LS

[Brendaz]

I learned the hard way that certain muscle relaxers can throw you into a faster withdrawel- Ultram is one of them..other meds that will do this are Stadol, Nubain, Talwin Imitrex, Miquin, torodol...etc...please just be careful- I tried many times to go cold turkey- I have seized out, gone into the hospital with congestive heart failure, all while in good health in my 20's...anyway- I'm not an authority- I only know what works for me- and thats all I can base my comments on---thank you for allowing me in-good luck

[tomanypills]

if you say it happened to you then i believe ya but your in a tiny minority,in fact your the 1st i"ve ever heard of

[Mangee]

As I said before, what I wrote was "My opinion. " I never expected everyone to agree with me nor did I expect everyone to toss aside what they believed in. I merely stated what I found to be true for myself and that I believed additional drugs to help me withdraw were of no help. It is clearly a case of " To each his/her own." You have to go with whatever you think is best for you and  in my case c/t turned out to be the only way.  

[grievingwidow]

Hey, I just wanted to say you are so right about the other drugs putting you into withdrawal.  I got a Nubain shot once while I was on methadone and oxycontin, and oh my God, I was so sick within 5 minutes of getting the shot!  I thought at first I was having an allergic reaction to it until I finally realized on my own that I had gone into full blown withdrawal!  I guess I could have just taken some more methadone maybe and I would have been okay, but I had to wait 4-5 hours for the shot to start wearing off - I was so sick I went to the ER, thought I was dying.  I will never do that again, not while I am on these meds anyway.

Love, Cindy