Starting my withdrawal from Lortab- again- need support

[bayeez]

Hi All,
I am so glad I have found this site. I have visited others before, but this one seems to be much more supportive. I starting taking lortab about a year ago, after my 2nd baby was born. I had a lot of stressful things happen personally while pregnant and after. The lortabs made everything ok. I then had a few more legitimate health issues which kept me on them for the next year. I have been off a few times and I know it feels better to be off. But, those dang refills get me everytime. I tried to stop cold turkey and made it almost 2 full days. I took 1.5 10mg lortabs just to get rid of the lethargy and pounding headache I have been having. I was up to 6 per day while on them. My problem is that I CANNOT miss work. I have 4 more pills to take .5 during the day if I need to next week just to make it tolerable. Did I mess up everything by taking the 1.5 pills tonight. The thing is, they didn't even make me feel great. Usually, they give me so much energy and make everything better. Not this time. I am ready to be feel good again, but I am so scared of withdrawal. I knew the 3rd day of withdrawal was coming tomorrow- the worst day, and I think I just didn't want to deal with it. Can one taper by taking the pills like every other day or every 3rd day? I have xanax, skelaxin, and clonidine to help with withdrawals. I have heard a lot about amino acids to help with energy. Do they really work? I am really worried about next week at work and the feeling of not being motivated to do anything, but know I have to just get through it to get to the other side. Any advise is appreciated!

[bayeez]

Day 2 at work. Still haven't needed to get into my security stash and I feel good still. Phew. I am so grateful!

[Dav125]

Thats a very good sign..Great news!

[bayeez]

Well I made it through the whole day of work. Didn't even have to take one of my halfs! Yeah. I actually feel really good. Please tell me it will stay this way!

[bayeez]

So much for feeling like a normal person, lol. My stomach feels like it is about to explode and I cannot eat anything- no appetite. I also have been drinking so much water and gatorade that I am in the bathroom like every 2 minutes. I think I am just not going to drink anything for awhile. I finally took an imodium for my bowels as well. I finally had to succumb to a xanax too as I am just feeling shaky and not right. Definitely feeling worse than yesterday and the day before. Ugh!

[Dav125]

Try not to scare yourself too much..I did some amazing things on day 2 and 3 physically because I decided, regardless of the wd's, I was going to get some things done and not allow the wd's to keep me in misery on the couch or bed like my 8 day experience back in April..Which revealed the full extent of how dependent I had become to this stuff...

Your attitude sounds great,,,Hold that head up and make your way thru this. I am :)

[bayeez]

Hi Everyone! I am doing ok. Trying to be strong. I am just trying to pretend I am normal, doing normal stuff anyone would do on a Sunday afternoon. I watched Hot Tub Time Machine (pretty funny) had one beer with my husband, now I am going to lounge in the sun. I just hope tomorrow at work goes ok. I am so scared of not being able to cope. I know you all want me to flush my 4 pills, but I cant. I am so scared of not being able to work that I need them in case of an emergency. But, other than that, I have only had 1.5 pills in 3 days. I hope I wont need them, but I feel ok knowing if I do, I have a little reserve to get me through next week at work.

[laurel453]

Hi bayeez, welcome here.

yes, this a very special good and fantastic place !! stay here and keep posting.

i would take the supplements like magnesium+calcium and potassium and leave those which can interfer with your antidepressant like sam-e, 5 htp and so.

the B's complex will help you also with the lack of energy, some protein shakes could help you here too.

but most of all, your mind and keeping it positive is what is gonna make the difference, feed it with positive thoughts now, pls and it will pay off, Good luck :)

[optimus22mac]

If the bowels are acting up at work...don't hesitate to try immodium! But take it JUST until you stop having problems...because if you continue to take it like as a pro-active just-in-case, you may sort of go the other way....and start having a ton of trips to the bathroom.  
I would get rid of the rest of your pills (the lortabs)...especially if you have the xanax and clonidine to help you through.  I am a chronic pain patient who is very dependent on my meds, and due to medicine changes/surgeries/being ill, I've had to go through withdrawals a few times.  I've also looked here at this forum for advice on how to deal with all of the symptoms, and many of the members here will give you great advice and support.  If you keep taking a half pill here and a half pill there, your mind will not fully commit to your ultimate goal....to stop taking them altogether.  You have 3 very strong medicines to help get you through this, which many people  don't even have the chance to use.  You really must be careful with taking them though...don't replace your addiction with a new one.  
I wish you luck, and congratulate you on your decision to stop!

[bayeez]

Well Nevermind. I found the health page and it says for some not to take if you are on SSRI and some not to take if you have anxiety. It is all so confusing, I just wont worry about all that.
I was feeling ok this am, but now the diarhea is back. Ugh, Just have to get through this day somehow.

[bayeez]

Thank you everyone. I wished I didn't take that pill either, but I am not sure how much damage it did. Today I still just feel lethargic. I will just take .5 pill at work if absolutely necessary- like I absolutely cannot do my job, but other than that, I am committed to this. I told my dr. I was tapering off, so I am not expected to get any refills. That is a good thing!!!
So, I have a question, I am interested in the amino acid therapy for energy and getting my body back to a normal state, but can I take them if I am on an anti-depressant?

I have an anxiety disorder, and the anti-depressant helps tremendously, so I cannot go off of it.

Thanks!

[Tab57]

Welcome to this site and congratualtions on deciding that you wan to live clean. Tapering off works for some and others chose to do it cold turkey. Taper may reduce the WD symptoms severity but they willl still be there. The best thing to do is to stick with the plan that you dvelop. Once you taper it is best to not back up. THis just prolongs the withdrawls. Good luck your efforts and please continue to post.

[boredstill70]

If you can stick to a taper,then it does help some people. Iknow this from some trial and error. Dont beat yourself down for just taking a little bit. i try that at times and like you said. you didnt even get anything out of it. to me thats a blessing. just be careful not to keep taking more to get that energy high.for me its never gotten back to when i first started, and you'll try more and more but its never really as good as in the beginning. take just enough to settle down the wd's and learn to rely on them less. good luck

[Dav125]

Its a shame you couldn't have gotten thru the worst of it this weekend.

Be careful with the clonidine. My doctor gave me some of that to help with wd's but made it clear to me not to take more than he said to.Reason being is that it lower's your blood pressure and if you lower it too much, a person could have a stroke due to lack of blood flow...He was very direct about that concern....

I'm afraid your in for a rough week with what pills you have. They will give you some brief relief, but your probably going to stay in a state of semi- withdrawal. I know it isn't what you want to hear, but thats pretty much the way its going to be......