Please help with Percocet Withdrawal questions.

Hi.  Well I've read a lot of posts in the forums and I guess comparatively I'm not all that bad off yet but in my mind I am.  My usage of prescription pain killers started about 7 years ago due to bad knee, arthritis, bursitis, bone spurs in heel and shoulder, etc.  It started out with Vicodin 5, then Vicodin ES, then Percodent 10 2 x's a day and now up to prescribed Percocet 10 5x's daily.  I caught myself over the last few months taking 7 or 8 Perc 10 mg a day.  I realized I had a problem and talked to my husband about it.  He started to help me by keeping back what meds I had left and only allowing me 3 a day (for about a week now).  I went to my doctor today (the one who prescribed all this stuff) and was very open and honest with him about it.  He just about blew up in my face and made me feel like the lowest of the low.  I thought that being honest was a good thing.  I was asking for his help.  Well all he finally said well take 3 a day and come back in 5 days and we will re-evaluated.  Ummm well I don't have enough for 3 a day for 5 days.  I'll be about a day shy of that.  So what I am wondering is...can I drop down to 3 1/2 tabs for a day or two and then quit?  Or should I just quit outright?  Should I even go back to this doctor who said "If it was anyone else I would drop them as a patient".  I just didn't feel he was being supportive at all.  I have some Ativan, Super B Complex and also some muscle relaxants.  IF the advice is that I should just quit, forget the doctor...will any of those meds help with the withdrawal?  Thanks so much for listing to me rant.  I'm still so upset over the way he acted...I can't quit crying.

[kmw6]

Well I guess no one has any suggestions.  I thought I'd try.  bye

[badshadow]

Hey, someone is listening.  That Dr. was an A**.  Withdrawals are bad not matter how you cut it.  Some of the things you have can help a little.  Be very careful with the Ativan though, because it is Highly Addictive, and if you use Too Much even for a few days, you'll find yourself having to Detox off the Ativan.

It Will Get Better.  You will feel pretty sick for at least a week.  Taking Hot Baths with Epsom Salts, Potassium Supplements I've read help with Muscle Twitching.

If you can stand a few sleepless nights, it's better than using the Ativan, if you feel like your really going crazy, take the least amount possible.

Find a New Dr. Do the taper like your doing and just mentally prepare yourself for a Hellish Week.  Once it's over, it's over, and you don't have to go through it again.

Keep Posting.

[WCHMD]

Sorry, but you have become what we call "opiate refractory" or "opiate dependent."  Your doctor was completely inappropriate in his or her reaction to your reporting of your med use.  It is very easy to gradually get into this situation.  You have a lot of company. You don't seem like an addictive personality but it is hard to tell everything from an internet forum.

You do need to gradually and I mean gradually, reduce your opiate use.  Set your own pace, as this is one that you can keep up with.  Use a very simple log book of daily use and a pill minder box. You will lower your meds gradually and without withdrawal.  It does take discipline and it is easy to kid oneself.  

If you still have real pain at your original pain site, it may need further investigation.l I'll save that discussion for another time.

Your case is probably a bit more complex than you nay have posted, so this answer may be incomplete.

Good luck.  Do not be intimidated by outbursts from doctors who got their ego in the way.

[jstntime]

Hi and welcome,

If you are down to 3 a day for the past week, your body has likely adjusted to that dose.  It isn't too large of a dose and you could quit now and flush the rest.

Do you WANT to quit???  Or do you plan to get more pills???  You need to want this to be successful.

You could continue tapering.  If you don't have enough for all 5 days, simply split them accordingly so you don't have to go a day without before speaking to your doctor.  He sure does not seem very compassionate.  Most doctors would try and help someone who is being honest about a problem that is very difficult to speak about.  Maybe you should "drop HIM as a doctor".

Be very careful with the ativan and muscle relaxers, not a good combination to take together.  The thomas recipe can be found at the bottom right of this page.

Don't cry, you did the RIGHT thing, you have no control over how he acted.  

We are all here to help, keep us posted!!!

bob

[avisg]

Welcome,
there is tons of support here but Fridays around dinner time and the weekend can be slower.
I think I would just jump off now and be done with it .I am sorry your doctor treated you badly .
If it were me (this is just me I would go off them myself then go back to the doctors clean and let the doctor know that it was really disappointing that he//she did not help.

You are going to have about five bad days but that's about it then it gets better we will be here to help you threw...

[kmw6]

Thank you all for your responses.  I feel much better now knowing that I'm not the only one who thinks my Doc was way out of line.  I've opted to split the pills I have left in half and go to 3 halves a day tomorrow, 2 halves on Sunday and then quit.  If for some reason I do have withdrawal symptoms that are too bad my husband will give me a quarter of a pill to help edge it off for the first day or two.  Then I will return to the doctor and show him what I accomplished WITHOUT his help, pick up my chart and find someone who is more supportive of their patients.  It rather surprised me as he was always nice and kind.  He went on a rant about how I was "abusing" etc.  Well I don't consider it abusing quite yet...but I was heading there and when I recognized that fact I asked for help.  I want to quit.  I thought okay...the doc should like this.  WRONG.  I don't know if I really have an addictive personality or not but I live in fear of having one since my brother and father are both alcoholics (one recovered and one not).  Also, I LOVE being pain free...but I don't want to get to the point where I'm taking 20 or 30 pills a day just to be normal.  
  Thanks again so so much!  Ya'll have given me much more support than my doctor did.  I will post back next week and let you know how it went!
  

[worried878]

I am sorry ur dr blew on u when u were only being honest/which many never actually do/even when they try and stop the pills//telling ur dr is a huge step cos it means "cut off"  u meant business and I am sorry.....Being in the medical profession, I do see why he reacted as they are held legally when folks abuse them..u were not as all u took was RX-ed from him...there r huge legal reprocussions for physicians these days tho...but I agree his RXN was totally off base and I am sorry this happened to u

Ur dose is do-able...CT or whatever..I was at 100 plus mgs per day for 5 yrs and in the end I ct-ed...runs and sluggish for 3 days..back to work day 5..made it without writhing around on the floor for days and vomiting as I had imagined..I have had the flu way worse than this as I am a chronic painer and get sick alot due to drugs/injections that I have had to take/non-narcotic/so I can work
Either way will probably be ok for u unless u r of extreme age or have life threatening cardiac issues on ur plate///if so i would taper slowly with a dr's care..if not/narcotic wd does not kill folks...it is usually more of a mind game than a physical challenge...and it is most often the brain thing that causes relapse
u didnt state if u r an addict or not..only that u wanted to stop..and it is really here nor there for the physical portion of this//which is virtually a no brainer compared to the mental portion...and the mental aspect hits only addicts as a rule

[kmw6]

Okay well here I am attempting to get some work done.  Luckily I work at home so it doesn't matter if I look like crap and feel even worse.  I've got some shakes and lots of anxiety.  I'm determined though to kick this thing and, once I'm reasonable okay again, go kick some doctor butt.  The more I thought about it this weekend the more mad I got....he SHOULD have been more supportive. My pharmacist is in shock...she told me my doctor is one of the worst in the area for prescribing (and over-prescribing) narcotics.  She even told me she's "called him on it" a few times.  Maybe that is the reason he wasn't very supportive....all he probably heard was a patient saying hey I'm too dependent on these please help me and maybe thought he was in a situation where he could lose his license if I said something to the "wrong" people.  Which probably is true but I wouldn't do that ... though I'm tempted at this point but it isn't my personality.
  Anyway, wish me luck.  I have several tabs left but gave them to my husband to lock up.  He is only to give me 1/4 or 1/2 IF it looks like my symptoms are getting too bad.  Right now I'm adjusting the amount of my blood pressure medication because it was going up a bit and I am taking my Ativan (but not as prescribed...much less than what is prescribed).
  I hope I can do this...What I want to do is to wait until next week to see that doctor...then walk in and say look...see what I did WITHOUT your help.  Then I will talk to my pharmacist who I am sure will be able to recommend a good supportive doctor to help me with my other issues and my pain management.
   I'm praying for all of us...those who are currently going through withdrawal...those who are thinking about it and those who have succeeded.

[kmw6]

Well, 2 1/2 tabs today....so that means a total of 10 mg for today.  Does anyone think I can quit CT now without any real huge withdrawal symptoms?  Have I weaned off good enough over the last week or so?

Thanks for any info.  I kinda think I should be okay ... maybe some more anxiety, cramps, etc...but not hugely sick???

[jstntime]

Hi again,

Yes you can jump from there!!!!  Your dose is quite low now and your taper has likely taken some of the discomfort away.

You should be fine.  Keep pushing and understand everything you feel is normal.  Don't let your head make this worse than it has to be.

You have made a positive life altering decision and you should be very proud of yourself!!!!

bob

[kmw6]

Day 1 without any drugs in system.  My last 5 mg perc was taken over 20 hours ago.  The weaning process has probably helped to a degree but I find that I'm still very anxious and I also have been sleeping a lot during the weaning process.  I hurt like crazy but I think that my mind is probably playing tricks on me.  I know that some of my pain is legitimate but not quite this much.  I had to tell my husband (who hates to see me suffer) to leave it be...he's had a transplant and has his own pain meds so he wants to give to me but I tell him nope...he can't do that.
I'm also extremely emotional right now...cry at the drop of a hat...but I expect that will get better.  I'm going to go take my good multi-vitamin and my super B complex and try and get some work done.  If it gets real bad I'll go take a hot bath and try to take a nap or something.  
Thanks to everyone for support...I'll try to check back in later

[Florida_Guy737]

Hi kmw6,

Congrats on your taper and stopping your meds; I did the same thing you did a couple of years ago.  One thing I would highly recommend is to read the PAWS information contained in the health pages on this site.  PAWS is an abbreviation for Post Acute Withdrawal Symptoms and this can last up to two years.  Trigger points for relapse are 30, 60, 90, 180 days, 1 year and 2 years.   I used this forum for support, exercised and ate healthy.  I also work from home and that has helped with the stress as well.  

PAWS is very real and why so many people relapse.

Take Care,

Guy

[NorcBgone]

Congratulations on your progress so far. I commend you for your strength and determination. I'm 6 days clean off Norco, and I feel I've finally turned a corner. I feel better today than I have in a while. I know there are ups and downs, but so glad I used this forum for support. Keep posting it sure does help! Best of luck to you.

[kmw6]

Hi everyone!

I'm sorry it has taken me a bit to come back and give a progress report.  First off, I went to see my non-supportive doctor yesterday.  The first words out of his mouth when he came into the patient room was "Please don't be mad at me".  We talked for quite a bit and he did give quite a good apology.  I live in a pretty small town where after a while if you don't know someone by name you certainly know them by sight.  Apparently the day I saw him he'd had a new patient who came in and was up to 30 tabs of something per day and wanted my doctor to help him get off of them and my doctor refused...said that he needed to either see the prescribing doc or go to detox...apparently it turned into quite a mess.
  I came in not too far after that and barely got the words out of my mouth that I was concerned I was perhaps becoming too dependent.  He over-reacted.  At any rate he's not happy with my decision to quit because I really do have some issues that cause me to hurt like crazy.  I cannot take anti-inflammatories (I wish I could ... they work SO good on me!!).  He's afraid if I quit altogether that I may not be able to do my work (which could be true ... I couldn't raise my left arm yesterday).  
  We did reach a solution...we are trying some non-narcotic methods to see if they will help.  IF and only IF something is needed my husband will give me the lowest dose possible for the pain.  The meds are locked up.  I told the doctor originally I had come in to ask him for his support.  #1 don't give me a ton of meds and #2 help me go down safely on these.  He did say because of some other issues I have I was going off of them too fast and that was his fault.  However, I'm off of them so oh well...it worked out lol.  Also, I'm going back to physical therapy (I'm at 2 surgeries now and really want to avoid the third on my shoulder because I've been told I can get most of my mobility back but that the pain won't be any better because of my arthritis and bursitis issues).  If I can get partial mobility back thru non-surgical methods that is much better I think
  Thank you for all of your support.  I will be back now and then...if not for support for myself ... to give support to others.
  

[kmw6]

p.s.  One of the non-narcotic methods is the use of Lidocaine cream and patches.  Anyone know anything about those?