Percocet Addiction

[Doll88]

Hi,

I have just signed up and am wondering if someone can offer any feedback or advise. I was in a bad car accident 2 years ago and suffered cervical spine injuries and have chronic pain. I have been taking Percocets since June 2010. I I have such a serious problem with them and no body knows. I probably take up to 35-40 a day... Should I taper off or go cold turkey? The withdraw symptoms that are the most unbearable are the restless legs and the hot/cold. I don't even know what else I can expect??? I have quite a few Valiums, should I try to taper off and use those?

I feel so alone and so desperate to get off these things!

Thanks for listening,
D

[sudie58]

im sorry you ended up in hospital, and to hear about your liver problem, i am glad you are getting the help you need, look after yourself, and keep posting, god bless,  sudie

[Doll88]

I was admitted to hospital yesterday. They took blood and the results came back with bad news. My liver is enlarged, and if I continue I would/ could have liver failure. I quit cold Turkey since yesterday, I was given a prescription for restless leg syndrome which has worked amazingly!!! I am taking the valium I have, and fever medication thats not over the counter to help with the hot/old sweats. Today is going to be a long day but amazingly the combination that I am taking is helping. Thank you for all the support.

Doll

[Silleestarfish]

Welcome! You're in the right place! Keep posting and you WILL get tons of support! I've been ammember for a little over a week now and the folks on here are just amazing. I second what everyone else has already said in this thread. Just wanted you to know that you have support.

Stephanie

[Dav125]

Doll, I'm not sure if your aware, but taking as many pills as you are is not good whatsoever..

It is not the oxy pain med in the percocets thats of major concern, its the  " tylenol " intake..You are consuming 3 to 4 times the max recommended dose per day depending on the pill..If its a 10/325, then 12 pills is the daily max per warnings about tylenol. If a 10/500, then 8 pills is the daily max..If drinking any alcohol in conjunction with the pills, that raises the stakes even higher...The tylenol will cause liver and kidney problems resulting in serious health risks if taken in excessive amounts long enough..

I strongly suggest you get an appointment with your Dr and let him/her know whats going on...Getting some blood tests to check kidney and liver functions would be first on the list..Second would be devising a taper with him/her switching to a straight oxycodone med that doesn't have any tylenol to work that daily mg use down. From my experience getting away from my oxycontin use which was reaching the 300 and 400mg daily level last Fall, a week and a half taper getting down into the 10 to 20 mg daily dose in the preceding 2 days before quiting is the minimum amount of time to make a difference in the physical withdrawals once you quit. I did a fast track taper of 4 or 5 days last August using 10 mg percocets but it wasn't quite enough time to make any substantial difference..I still got hit hard with night sweats, aches, and diarrehea..This past Christmas though, with the week and a half taper, I was literally void of the sweats,aches, and only had stomach problems for a day which I used Immodium to help with..I only needed the Immodium for a day..I still had anxiousness, headaches and insomnia issues, but overall the wd's were mild compared to my previous cold turkey from 120mgs in April and the short taper quiting last August post surgery I had in June..

You really need to get with your Dr though. Continuing to injest that amount of tylenol is deadly..Its not a question of "if". Its a question of "when"..

[sudie58]

also we can suggest things to help with the restless legs etc, good luck

[sudie58]

hi, you are not alone, its awful being tied to pills, and its good you want to be free, you seem to be on quite a high dose, have you decided to go cold turkey, or taper,?have you seen a dr, or could you see one and get their help? i did my withdrawal ct, but some do need to taper, i think you need to make some informed decisions, so we can help you further, also before you start using the valium, although they can be useful for sleep, have you read through this forum, i hope you post again and tell us what you decide, god bless  sudie

[squirrelsnest]

Welcome Doll!!  

You've made an incredible first step in what is sure to be a victory for getting your life back, by speaking up and reaching out to this community.  I too have suffered from unbearable pain due to accidents/injuries and there's no shortage of doctors out there handing out prescriptions for the pain.  The worse part is, there are very few doctors out there that actually follow up with pain management to ensure that their patients aren't falling victim to addiction.  Percocets are very powerful (as you know)....I loved them once myself.  Would you mind sharing how many milligrams are in each of the 35-40 pills you're taking.  That definitely sounds like a lot but hey, you won't get ANY negative judgement from anyone on here!!  We've all been there and done that, so please know that you're NOT ALONE!!

Depending on how many mgs you're taking every day (again, sounds like a lot), I would personally recommend tapering off for a little bit so your body doesn't go into shock.  Once you're down to 5/day, I would then recommend going cold turkey ASAP.  There's a wonderful "recipe" on here, which you can find at the bottom right-hand corner of the page called Thomas' Recipe.  The fact that you have some valium on hand will be helpful to you when following that recipe.  There's no shame in tapering, there's no shame in going cold turkey.  I personally cut down from a large amount of norcos, then followed the recipe and I've managed to stay sober longer than I ever have in over 10 years of painkiller abuse.  Checking onto this website, sharing my thoughts, fears, and just talking to other people, has been INCREDIBLY helpful.  I honestly don't think I could have lasted this long without the support from this site.

A friend on here recently pointed out another very important aspect of recovery to me, which is getting additional help, either in the form of psychotherapy and/or NA.  I'm personally in therapy and it has been a tremendous help to me.  Please know that I am NOT a doctor, although I do have a degree in Psychology and I can tell you (which you probably already know too) that addiction runs far deeper than your physical dependency on the pills.  I hope you're able to get off the Percs ASAP and in the most healthy way for your life.

Ask as may questions as you need to on here.  Like Rockbottom said, there are a ton of people on here who have experienced long-term recovery and I'm sure they will have more to share that will be of great help to you.  I wish you the best of luck and again, please check back in with us!!

Squirrel

[JJanny]

That was so kind and so powerful and just so...... amazing as a response.

[rockbottom1970]

I really feel your pain.  Detox can be really rough. I know that some people on this forum have detoxed CT off of up to 200mg a day oxycontin habits.  It probably can be done but it would be better to get some more information from some of the senior members of this forum.  Just stick around and there will be plenty of people willing to help you out with support, advice, information etc.  Just curious...What is the dosage of the percs you are taking? ...K.J.