Joined the group

Getting ready to stop... I am (or was) a super athlete. I have won multiple P8n-Americ8n gold metals for Brz!l!an J!u-J!tsu and a slew of other titles. I grew up idolizing my brother who never did drugs aside from drinking here and there. I went most of my life never doing drugs in fear that they would screw up my life. I would smoke a little pot here and again, BBQs, New Years or whatever.  It was never a daily thing. About a year ago I hurt my knee really bad in competition. My doc gave me Percocet. Man, they make you feel good! I was on them for a few weeks. However, I could not stay away from my beloved sport. I kept re-injuring myself. Before I knew it I had to take perks just to get to the gym and train. 3 months had past and I found myself taking the pills even when I didn’t need them. Months had past and my doc had long stopped prescribing them for me. I started getting them on the street... I went from perk 5's to 10's to 30's... I now do nothing but take pills and work. What started out as he taking the pills so I can train has lead me to just taking pills and not training at all.
To the point... I feel like **** and am no where near the shape I was in months ago. I need to get back to where I was for my sake and my family’s. I have tried to stop only to experience the withdrawals... OH MY GOD! That was the worst time of my life! How any of you have done it is beyond me. I couldn’t do anything for 2 days, let alone 7 or 10! My job will just not allow it. I am thinking I need to plan a vacation to do this. I have not been on the pills for years. It has been a little over a year now. I have a lot going on in January so I plan on taking a vacation in February to stop. Any advice would be appreciated.
How long do withdrawals last?
Should I stop cold turkey?
Meth or savoxin?
Anfedimeans for the first few days?
There is so much conflicting info on the web... trying to make sense of it all...
Thanks...
D Slim...

[JDRMinSD]

Hey-
I know how you are feeling, I've gotten through the w/d's with a LOT of help from folks on this sit.  I'm on day 13, feeling pretty good.  Some residual symptoms here and there but WAY better than being on the pills.  It was pretty bad (for me) for about 5-7 days, then got a little better.  Actually, it seems like each day got a little better but maybe I need to go back and read it myself.  That's only my experience and everyone is different.  I'd suggest a taper, (but again, just my humble opinion), then eventually stop on a day and expect a couple of rough days.  Hot soaks do wonders!  I personally, stopped everything within a week or so and so I still get some insomnia and headaches but whatever, every day is also clearer and brighter than I can remember in a long time.  Good luck, I'll keep watching here and wishing you well.  If I can do it you can too and there are LOTs of really helpful and smart people here to lean on for support!
Make it a great New Year.

[SotiredIcantsleep]

"I have not been on the pills for years. It has been a little over a year now"

What do you mean by this, are you on the pills or not?'
I was in a similar boat as you a few weeks back.  I compete in freeskiing events and I got hurt pretty bad skiing which lead me to loratab addiction which turned into a full blown 200mg/day oxy habit.  I know what you mean, at first you need the drugs to get back out there and train hard and then after a while you are too weak without them to train, and then you are too weak with them to train, and then you are just too weak and don't even care about the sport you used to love.  

I'll tell you what, it isn't easy, imagine this drug has you in an arm bar for a week and the only way out is too give in, just don't tap.  I personally (I'm day 19c/t) flushed all my pills down the toilet and flew home to my moms house for a week and just sucked it up.  You could call me weak because I couldn't do it on my own, without being stuck on a farm in the middle of nowhere, no way to get drugs, but the truth is, it helped me get over the hump.  And if I was home around my friends I couldn't have done it (I slept for about 4 hours out of the first 100) the pain was too much.  But then after I got home it wasn't as hard, I was over the "hump" and I'm happy to announce I am back on the slopes training as hard as ever and skiing way better than I did last season when I was high on the oxys.  You can do it, and we can help.  this forum helped me when I needed someone to talk to about it, people who don't use typically don't understand what you are feeling.

My advice to you, is do whatever you know you can do, but don't trade another habit for the one you got, I know it's tempting to just get a different monkey on your back for a while but it's not worth it.  I promise you by the end of day 10 you will smile at how far you came that week and you will have all the willpower to keep going, just be patient with yourself, these things take time and a lot of effort.

[traveladdict]

I am on day 8 of c/t off 12 yrs of morphine and vico.  Thanks to jdrminsd's log I read it every day moment by moment so I would know what to expect next. Thank you JDR your log was invaluable.  It is very hard but if you want to quit you will.  The first 72 hrs are HELL!  But the psychical part will be over.  Then the mental part begins.  On day 5 I had enough energy to go to the gym and swim laps.  Maybe it was to just keep from jumping out of my skin but I was there. Good luck you can do it.  It is possible.  Thanks again JDRminSD.

[marcatj]

buddy, listen - here are your options..

taper if you can.. most of us can't.  if we got the pills, we eat them.

assuming you go cold turkey, use the Thomas Receipe and gut out the first few days - they are the ones that at really BAD.  but after 3 days or so, it let's up ALOT.

if that's too rough, try to get some clonidine.  it pretty much takes away 80-90% of the w/d symptoms.  it's a blood pressure med and it helps ALOT. the downside is it makes ya kinda sleepy...

i would try these things first.  methadone, anphetamines - NO.  don't use that sh**.

then, if for some reason the things above do not work for you, try the Suboxone route.  but i would definitely try the other stuff first.

if you are strong-willed enough to be such a competitive athlete, you can get thru those first few days.  however, strength has nothing to do with STAYING clean, so some sort of aftercare (N/A meetings, counceling, SOMETHING) i would highly recommend.

you won't believe how much better you'll feel even by day 5... really.  then it's a LITTLE bumpy for a few weeks (physically) but totally managable.  it's the mental/cravings part that is the toughest - hence, the aftercare.

load up on viatmins and amino acids too - it helps the healing process (and the energy level) ALOT.

please feel free to post again if you need/want more info.  and posting and getting support on this board is invaluable during this whole process...

good luck, brother.  you can do it...

:)
mj

[avisg]

welcome to the fourm,
I would suggest you do ALOT of research on both sub and methadone .....
We have many people here that have gone threw months of hell coming off of methadone . I don't think it should be used for opiate addictions ...but that is just my opinion.
Lots of people her have used sub some short term just long enough to detox ...Others long term .....
I am sure specialy with your love of athletics that you would want to be med free all together.
Have you tried a taper?
keep posting
avis

[hescot]

I am right now having the worst last 4 days!!!  I was only on 20 mg methadone, then 10 for several months and then 5 mg.  Going cold turkey (the only way I think that I could go, I don't want a different dependence) has been hard but I know it will be better in just a day or 2...  I would NEVER suggest to anyone to use methadone.

[Wes1978]

So sub. Doesn't work for most has any one become dependant on it. If not there has to be somtjing you didn't like about it If so what.

[megpur]

I don't think subs or methadone are a very good idea. I know a good many people who get hooked on those things, they are just as bad as opiates in my opinion.