Want to get off Pain Meds by Tapering

Even though I have chronic back pain, I know I'm addicted no my pain medication!  I really want to taper, but not many people even know I take as many as I do.  I was on Vicoden 5/500 then 7.5 and now Norco 7.5.  I take sometimes more than the prescribed dose of 6 a day.  I just want to back up.  I saw BenHawk, Day 6 no Norco and it really got me thinking.  Could I taper like he did.  I wonder how long it actually took him.  He made a reference to 1 month.
Any feedback would be appreciated.

[122 Tactical Fighter Group]

Some other folks here are better at tapering advice than i am ...... but standard school of thought is to reduce the dose by 10% every week or 10 days..... let your body adjust to the lower dose before you reduce the dose again. A very common mistake that people make is to try and do it too fast .... and they arent successful. Good luck to you.

[Ella789]

I was able to tapper while others say they just had to jump when their meds ran out.  Mine was a pretty quick tapper, would advise one that is longer than 2 wks.  That is not always possible for some.  If I had it to do over again I would just jump when I was out.  Within 24 hrs you will be in w/d and hopefully have the things at hand that you need during detox.
Best wishes for a quick detox!

Ella

[worried878]

tapering is hard for a true addict..and only u know if u r or not..being physically addicted is not the same as being both mentally and physically addicted...tapering slowly is the least painful way to go..like mentioned above..5 mgs every week or so is how many do it...but if u r a true addict ur taper will often fail unless u r truly very disciplined or let someone hold ur pills...good luck to u and dont let the pills get hold of u!

[christos24]

Hey there, you are not on a very high dose of hydrocodone so your idea of tapering is a very possible and reachable goal. You said you take 6- 7.5mg norcos a day, so even if you take maybe up to 10 a day its still going to be doable and in the long scheme of things easier than what you are thinking. The most important thing you can remember is when tapering to not only be fully ready to get off the meds, you need to be fully honest with yourself and know that you are ready to be completely off of opioids all together, if you feel 100% confident in that then you can move forward in tapering, if not you need to slow it down a bit and figure out which people at this forum are like family they will help you reach that point. If you are ready to fully get off the other biggest thing to remember is TO GO SLOW. When tapering you can never do damage by going to slow, but going to fast will either cause you to give up, relapse and go right back to where you were or cause you to drop your dose to fast and go through wd's which tapering the whole point is to avoid wds by tapering.
Like I said since you aren't on a very high dose of a moderate opioid this is doable. If you are ready you need to go from 6 a day to 5. Dose yourself at 5 per day for 5-7 days. If you feel alright which I really doubt you wont then the next week go down to 4 a day. By taking five to seven days taking that dose it allows your body to adapt to the lowered dose and its not to extreme to where your body will react with wd's or discomfort, that what needs to be avoided. If you end up going faster or dropping your dose more so and you feel wds or discomfort you need to go back up a little , at first try a half a pill if you still feel sick then go back up one, but your overall goal obviously is to go down, just slowly as to avoid wd completely, which is completely obtainable with your case. Even if you stopped taking your norcos today all together for good, you basically go cold turkey, your wds wouldnt be too severe, you would have hot/cold flashes, some goosebump flesh, minor aches in the legs and body, headache, trouble sleeping or being really active, and feeling restless. If you had a small benzo script like valium or klonopin and some clonidine you would barely feel a single thing at all. They would erase all the symptoms altogether, but even easier is what you are thinking of doing and that is tapering down to avoid wds all together. Like I said done properly you wont even feel any wds so just go slow. Go down by one pill per week till your at 2 pills. Then cut it in half. Take the two pills cut into four parts 4 times throughout the day. That will at least give your body a better and easier chance to taper your daily dosage and keep you good throughout the day. And once you get down to two a day and lower that is where you need to pay close attention to your body and what it is telling you. This is where you could go to fast and end up feeling wd which aint fun, but at this low of a dose even if you did have that happen it would be barely noticeable, it would feel like you played a long game of football. See how you feel after 1 week of the two pills per day, if you feel alright then cut down to taking just 3 of those pieces one in the morning, afternoon, and one at night. Again see what your body tells you when you know you are all good go down to two pieces, then one, and by the time you are taking a half a pill of hydrocodone you wont have to worry about wds or wanting to take it. Its such a low amount you not only wont get a buzz but you wont have any wd effects from stopping taking it.
In the simplest put way, go slow and dont taper to fast, listen to your body and brain what its telling you about your tapering schedule, if you encounter problems try going up a little, but dont get stuck in the middle of the taper just going back and forth for months on end. If your going to get off stick with it and get off. Also the best way to keep yourself off opiates once your tapered off completely is to go to NA meetings, see an addiction specialist. Those two are crucial in keeping your mentally addicted brain on track, giving it a chance to heal your opiate receptors so you can actually feel pleasure once again naturally, bet of luck to you -christos

[worried878]

good advice christos..but i get the feeling this poster may want to continue to use at a lower dose..get the addiction under control..i have no real advice for this..as i have never seen a true addict be able to do this..to control their addiction...just not do-able..for most..it is either quit them or keep going...no in betweeen for most..course there is always the exception to the rule..and we r all different..so maybe this poster can defy the odds and taper down to their prescribed dose and stay there...who knows?  not likely tho...

[worried878]

the title of this post did state the poster was planning to get off...there is a article in the health pages on tapering..it is a great article...good luck to u

[ChronicPain1]

there is a difference between dependence and addiction, and anyone with experience with these drugs including doctors, knows this.

Just because you've been on them a while, doesn't make one an addict. There is a huge difference between dependence and addiction. It's sad to see so many people calling themselves addicts because they take a drug that helps them, when they really aren't. I used to think the same way until I learned the difference.

[worried878]

I agree cpain1...only if u begin chasing pills..running oput early..losing control as far as te pills go...do u become an addict..and many may not consider this addiction/and that is their right...to me it was//cos the pills caused me more pain than my back..they were a pain in the rear end at the end...everyone has their own beliefs and behaviors..and only the person themselves knows whether they have a problem or not..I did..and I am a chronic painer..but I know i did and will always have a problem with pain pills...and this i accept