Need help figuring out a Tapering Schedule

Hi everyone.. I have been reading on this website for a couple of days.. my question is how do I come up with a good tapering schedule... I am a wife, mother of 3 very active kids and about to start school... and I want this monkey off my back.. I take 6-8 norco a day for the last yr and I am just want to be done with this chapter in my life.. I have tried CT before and man wow... so back to my point.. I have 120 10/325 tabs and want/have to get off.. any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.. also what do you need to get through the WD's.  Thanks in advance.. I am determined to be done with this..

[cathy5841]

good for you...i would suggest dropping a pill every 4 days or do till you get down to 3 then dropping a half pill per day....somebody else may have a better plan.  you can find the thomas recipe and the amino protocol in the health pages on the right..they are both great with detox...get plenty of exercise...it helps the most..also eat bananas for the rls...so glad youare doing this...keep posting!!!

[liscamdave]

Cathy is 100% correct. Drop 10% every 4 days, that is the best taper you can do. Your body will get use to each dose and when you are down to .05 a pill, you can stop. The w.d will be minimal.

[SQhopefull]

So I know this sounds retarded.. but just so I understand.. like for the 1st four days take 5 and then go down from there... until I am at 3 pills a day for 4 days and then go down to 1/2 pill for 4 days and then be done with it!!  

By the way Thank both of you so much for responding.. I was so worried that no one would say anything... I just can not wait to be done with this and moving on with my life... so done with being a slave to this ****.. I mean I would rather deal with the chronic pain than go through this..
Ya'll have no idea what your words mean.. thank you again and I will keep you posted on my progress.. say a prayer... I need all the help I can get..

[cathy5841]

when you get to 3 pills per day start dropping 1/2...so take 2.5 pills for 4 days then 2 pills for 4 days and so on....there is always someone around...if you need anything pm me...i will get back to you in a little bit..you can do this...

[BenHawk]

Instead of dropping a pill or half pill per day, what I did was break it down hourly.
If you're initially taking 8 pills per day...You'll have to do the math, but that's about a pill every 2.5 hours...Right? Something like that...
Anyway, what I did...And what worked GREAT for me was...
I'd start tomorrow taking 1 pill every 3 hours...
Do that for 4 days...
Then, take 1 pill every 4 hours...
Do that for 4 days...
Then, 1 pill every 5 hours...
And so on...
At some point, I would drop down to a half pill so your body gets used to the smaller doses every time...
After the 1 pill every 5 hours, when it's time for the next taper, take a half pill every 3 hours...That's the same as 1 every 6, but your body's only getting 5mg at a time instead of 10...

Really it's all up to you...Whatever you can keep track of. Don't be afraid to write things down to help you keep track...

I did it as I explained it to you. I had almost NO physical wds...But, I did have some pretty vicious anxiety. But, every time I tapered down, I realized I CAN DO THIS! I DID IT THIS DOSE, AND I'LL DO IT THE NEXT!

I kept cutting down until I was taking a half pill every 24 hours...I did that for 3 days and then stopped! 24 hours after my last dose I was pretty anxious, but I felt pretty much fine after that. The anxiety comes and goes but it's hard to tell if that's just life or still some lingering wds....

Doesn't matter. You'll live...
;-)
And, you'll be happier for it!

[SQhopefull]

I am thinking the hourly thing will work well for me.. thank you so much for the info.. so far today I have had 4.5 and I am doing ok.. as far as the anxiety I was on Lexipro up until 4 wks ago and learning to deal with emotions has had its ups and downs but its has truely been wonderful being able to feel again.. It's like I have been numb for 3 years.. to me it numbs all emotion .. happy and sad.. Crazy..anyways..  I will keep all posted.. Again.. I can't thank ya'll enough for all the support..

[beatingthis]

I did it a bit differently. I was on 10/325 and was taking 10 to 12 a day.
I went down to 1 3 times a day. Did that for a week
2nd week 1 2x a day also for a week
3rd week took 1 pill cut it in 1/2 took 1/2 in the am and 1/2 in the PM
Then just a 1/2 for a week. You will still have w/d's there is no way to get around it.
I had restless legs and arms, no sleeping, body aches no engery, and a ton of bathroom issues lol! But it will pass I promise. Everybody is different. Just find what works for you.
You can do this. It will be tuff for awhile but it will get better. 65 days for me. If I can do it so can you. Post often there is soooo much support here. Drop me a line if you need anything.

Terry

[BenHawk]

Again, other than the anxiety and a few hot flashes here and there, I was pretty much wd free...But, I dragged it out pretty long and tapered pretty slowly...
I think that was the key...
Terry, to go from 12 per day down to 3 is pretty drastic. Now, we don't all have 120 pills to taper with. SQHopefull does...As did I...

I would strongly suggest not pushing it...Don't get ahead of yourself and try to cut down too much too fast. That's gonna make it that much tougher in my opinion...

Good luck and keep us posted!

[Florida_Guy737]

When I tapered, i stopped taking meds to get a baseline of how long I could go without any first.  My base was pretty weak...50 mins (I was on patches/percs...pretty heavy meds).  So for a taper...I cut all of my percs in half and:

1st 3 days - 1/2 pill every 50 min
next 3 days - 1/2 pill every 75 min
next 3 days - 1/2 pill every 140 min

until I arrived at 360 minutes and just stopped.  

Guy

[worried878]

if u need help..feel free to pm me..i have helped a bunch taper..i have noticed some important things regarding who makes it and who does not..people who pick a QUIT day usually make it..people who r honest and seek support also sseem to make it more often than those who stay inside of themselves..it is important to write it out..and stick to it..flushing a few pills that u dont need is very empowering..many need someone to hold their pills cos they keep cheating..i did...a small dose spread out ever 3-4 hrs is what the best taper consists of...there is an article in the health pages on tapering that is wonderful..read thru the health pages and keep posting

[zeroaddict]

I recently did a quick taper from 80mg a day hydrocodone (I have about a 4 year history with daily use) on Sunday down to 7.5 a day. today on Thursday.  I did 7.5 yesterday too.  I think I'll have to stay at this for a few days, or should I just CT it?  I have a lot to do this weekend and will be taking care of my daughter (2 years) for 5 days by myself.  The WD has been nasty, haven't slept since Sunday, malaise is awful.  I'm hoping tomorrow maybe I can level out a little if I keep on the half in the morning, half at night schedule for the third day.  What do you think I should do from here on?  Or am I looking at another long night/day tonight and tomorrow?  I know that was a quick taper, but I'm definitely not going back up more than the 7.5/day Im at now, I would just be going backwards.

[zeroaddict]

I did buy some valerian root to try and help me sleep tonight.  the RLS is really keeping me up, I can't get comfy and tylenol pm and benadryl make me really sleepy, but the RLS won't let me go completely out.  Any other suggestions would be great.  The anxiety was only bad today, and I'm assuming it will continue tomorrow, but the muscle aches are the worst for me.  Has anyone used ultram as a substitute either?  I may be able to get 5 or 6 of those and wouldn't have time to get a dependence maybe?  Just throwing that out there.

[Florida_Guy737]

I would not use ultram during your recovery; my opinion but you're working your way through right now...it gets better but there are going to be some hard times, insomnia being one of them...

Your body is changing and that's good...you're getting the meds out of your system.  For the muscle aches, I sued OTC meds, e.g. Motrin and that seemed to help some.  Exercise, diet, aminos and some other stress relievers helped as well.

Take Care,

Guy

[zeroaddict]

cool, thanks.  I actually slept some last night.  10 pm all the way to 5 am.  It was glorius even though I usually don't get up til 7 just to have a little sleep.  That valerian root must have helped.  I'm on day 3 of only 7.5mg a day and feeling a little better.  I think I'm going to stay there for one more day, half in the morning, half at night, then drop down to 1/4 in the morning and 1/4 at night for a couple of days before dropping it completely.  I'm hoping I'm through the worst of it anyway just in the 72.5mg drop that I have done since Monday.

[SQhopefull]

Wow what you are doing is so encouraging... I am on day 2 of my taper and I know its a long rode ahead... but just reading these blogs daily sometimes more.. is so empowering and seeing that I am not alone.. Thank you to everyone that has responded.. I hope that one day when I am on the other side of this I can be like ya'll.. able to encourage someone too... like my husband... say a prayer.. we need all the help we can get.   taking care of very sick child but the up side to that is that it keeps my mind on something else... Thanks again!

[BenHawk]

SQhopefull, how are you doing?
Where are you at in your taper?
How many did you take yesterday and how many today?

You don't have to share...
;-)
Just curious how you're doing?

God Bless!

[bklynguts]

I just wanted to put a post up. I have been reading a lot of addiction forums, I just decided to get off suboxone last week. I have been an opiate addict for 10 years. First I started with percs 10mg 11-13 a day. then I moved on to oxy I would take about 3-4 80mgs a day. then i moved on heroin. I was doing two bundles a day. I got fed up of spending thousands of dollars a month. So i went to detox and went onto  methadone program. which made me feel like even worse of an addict. I was doing H on meth so that didn't really help. So i heard about suboxone. I loved it I didn't touch any other opiates for 6 months. but then i lost my insurance. and it ended up costing me 500 every month for the script so i decided to quit. I had no medical reason to start except for self hatred.

The first 6 days were fine I was little antsy but okay. Due the long lasting effects of the drug. i did do a taper. i would take a half of a 8mg tab every other day. then went down to quarters. Then day 7 came. I thought I was dying. day 8 even worse, as well day 9 and 10. But day 11 i was able to get out of the house and see friends and eat dinner. The way i got through it was this. I loaded up on robitussin night time, calcium and potassium for the rls and rss. I also got liquid imodium (immodium), a heating pad. ton of ib profen and lots of water. i didn't have xanax or anything like a seditive  so i drank of lot herbal tea at night and durning the day. i didn't sleep more than four hours in four days. I just took as many hot baths as i could they helped a lot. also walking and exercising does help lot as well. Listening to your fav music also helps.  and eat when you can it does make you feel better. stay away from horror movies or super thrilling tv. I am happy to say I am over the symptoms and i feel like a human being again. It was the hardest thing i have ever done. I even thought of hurting myself just to take my mind off of how achy i was and restless. But i didn't, i just said it will be over I can do this. I deserve this. I just wanted to maybe give someone some hope that it is worth it and it happens to everyone. and it is worth it.

[SQhopefull]

Thank you for the post.. it does help.. it gives me hope..thank you

[SQhopefull]

I am doing ok... I have been taking 6.5 for 2 days.. and I feel ok.. mostly just so glad that I am on my way to the end of this mess.. Also have been taking care of sick family so that helps keep me busy... Thanks again for asking... it means alot.. I will keep all posted...

[BenHawk]

That's great! Keep it up!
Just remember that every dose you take, you're beating it! You're doing it!
If it ever gets rough, know that you did it the time before and you can do it again this time. When you taper down, what's an extra hour between doses?

NOTHING!

You can and will do it!
I did!
;-)

I'm prayin' for ya, SQhopefull...
;-)

[zeroaddict]

im one day clean as of today.  took my last half of a 7.5 sunday and didn't even really notice anything.  I only took it out of habit.  Sleep is still not coming very well, only in 2 hour increments, but that's much better than the 15 minutes before.  the anxiousness is gone, but the legs still hurt a little.  im a week out though, 80-100mg a day down to 3mg Sunday and I'm really proud of doing this.  

[SQhopefull]

That is so awesome.. you give me hope.. I have am just in the beginning stages of getting off and like I said you give me hope.. thanks for sharing.. Hope you have a wonderful day!!

[Kevin_Bacon]

Oh. If you're out of the house all day, remember to bring only what your taper allows. I've found that having a handful in my pocket is not a good thing.

Just carry what you need ...

[zeroaddict]

^^^^

This x 20.  I can't stress that enough.  I actually found a half a pill in my desk at work today and I was going to stay clean all day.  That didn't work.  Temptation was there and it was popped in my mouth.  I'm going CT tomorrow...again.

[SQhopefull]

I hear that... I am down to 6 tabs a day... its been going good.. but by no means is this easy.. it is an every minute decision to stick to the plan.. but felt great today that I made it.. with out going over ... I hope that makes since.. Thanks again for all the postings..

[SQhopefull]

Well.. I really didn't forget about y'all !! (I know I am so southern) Anyways.. its a new day everyday! I have not had any meds other than some great vitamins since June 2nd... I just feel so alive and good.. there are still moments.. but nothing like I had in my head it would be. (nightmarish)  so once again... thank you to all out there for your silent prayers.. I know that I would have never made it through this without the support I have found on here...  SO thanks to all again!!  SQ

[zeroaddict]

yeah, i dropped off and spiked all week last week after 2 days completely clean and past w/d.  I am stopping again today and tomorrow so hopefully the w/d won't be too bad since I did take a little vacation.  I'm really ready to be done with it now.  Had too many family issues going on and my head was not in the game.

[trying2quit]

I am new to this forum and am in the process of tapering. I was taking about five 10/325's per day every four hours. My body is on schedule and expects the meds every four hours. I dropped to 7.5's for a month and now down to 5 mgs- four per day. Just this weekend I decided I am finally going to taper properly and dropped down to 3 5mgs per day for the past three days and today I have taken 2.5 5mgs. I saw a post about shaving 1mg off each pill every four days and I think I will try that starting tomorrow. Not one of my friends or family know about my addiction, have been on the hydro's for about 8 years now. I have a nine year old daughter and a husband....I am looking for support from this forum because I have no one to talk to and this is very hard. If anyone has any advice please tell me!!!! I also have clonazapam from my doctor that I take for anxiety at a very low dose so this helps. I am so tired of my life being controlled by pills! Having to worry every month and every day and even every hour when the next dose is...the money is not good either. Please help!!!