Tapering??

Hi Everyone.  I have been lurking in this forum for about two months now.  I have been reading a lot of posts regarding tapering.  From what I have read it doesn't seem to work for many.  I have been taking meds for over 15 years.  I worked my way up to 10-15 5/500 vicodin per day for 15 yrs.  I started my taper 12 days ago.  I do not have anyone holding my meds and its going ok.  I made an almost 50 percent drop on the first day and am currently stable at 5 per day. it hasen't been a cake-walk by any means but its so much better than cold turkey.  My prescription allows for 8 per day, but it seems that I really dont need that amount.  My question is ......am i doing well? given all of your experience's with tapering because i hear that so many cant even make it more than a couple days.  Is it possible to take the meds on a daily basis without abusing them...realisticly after abusing them for so long.  It just seems too easy and that scares me.

Nawty............

[philip123]

Your right,5 pills a day IS better then cold tukey like eating a half a cake is better then dieting,,from 8 pills to 5 is the very very beginning of taper,,good luck,keep posting

[lady_m]

Yes, I am one of the ones who says tapering works.  I quit c/t on 6/30 and didn't last three hours.  Sicker than I have ever been in my life.  Got some more and began tapering over the next week.  After only a week of tapering I stopped.  I am going on 43 hours and sitting here at work (same thing yesterday).  I have never quit and been able to work, and I wouldn't quit long enough to get through the first day without caving and getting more.  I have always had the WORST w/d, and more times than I care to count.  But after tapering for one short week, I am living through it and handling it - actually much better than I expected.  I still have w/d symptoms but NOTHING compared to my past w/d.