Aa
What to expect??!
I have been taking 3 Percocet 5/325 for about a year after a bad car wreck in which I fractured my patella in 3 places. As a result I have had 3 knee surgeries. It has been a tough road! I am now walking again and back to work finally! I haven't had a pill since yday morning because I ran out. I don't want to get anymore because I know eventually I will have to get off of them. I slept good last nite and seem to be doing good this morn. I would just like to know if someone can tell me what to expect I don't want to all the sudden start feeling like crap if I quit cold turkey!
Thank u lulu! Just ur support is helping tremendously! Proud of you also! Keep up the good work! :)))
That's great news! You recognized that you were headed down the dark road and stopped yourself before you took the journey...Kudos! The very first opiate I was prescribed was percocet. I liked it too much. I didn't tell my doctor that, but asked to be put on something else because I said I was worried about too much acetominophen. I know that every time I have something with oxy in it that it triggers addiction in my brain. It's hard for anyone to take those pills and not get addicted to them.
Your pain will level out once you have some good clean time. For that kind of pain RICE is always best.
Rest
Ice
Compression
Elevation
and some good ol' fashioned Ibuprophen and tylenol combined.
Your brain will get used to not needing the drugs in a month or so and the non-narcotic pain relievers will work.
Good on ya girl!
Lu
Your pain will level out once you have some good clean time. For that kind of pain RICE is always best.
Rest
Ice
Compression
Elevation
and some good ol' fashioned Ibuprophen and tylenol combined.
Your brain will get used to not needing the drugs in a month or so and the non-narcotic pain relievers will work.
Good on ya girl!
Lu
Thank u all for commenting back. I worked yesterday and couldn't get to my phone to comment back. I don't think addiction is the word for me prob more like scared if I don't have them the pain will be bad! And I ran out if script early once right after I went back to work but only that time. I could tell this past time when I came close to running out I got worried. Never really done that before so that caught my attention. Scared me so I didn't call dr to get anymore. He prob wouldn't have refilled anyway because he told me he wanted me off. He's a good dr and we have grown close over this process. He is def looking out for my best interest. My issue was that if I wasn't hurting I was in a good mood and could function as I needed and wanted. Guess I'm just gonna have to suck it up and learn how to deal with the pain.
Hey Danielle-
Your withdrawal at that dose should be very limited. Don't freak yourself out. It's good that you are getting off of them because your tolerance gets higher, you need more, and before you know it the cycle is out of control. If you are sleeping and it's been over 24 hours since you had a pill, you should be just fine. Tapering from that low a dose would not make a huge difference, but you probably wouldn't feel any withdrawal at all. And if you don't have any pills left, just let them go and be done with it.
Try substituting your doses with plain old tylenol. This will help with the psychological aspect of withdrawal as well as any body aches and pains. Please know that you will experience rebound pain. Long term opiate use causes your brain to develop more pain receptors, and those pain receptors want drugs. The pain level will decrease the longer you are off all opiates.
Drink plenty of fluids and start a good vitamin regime. Long term opiate use is hard on the body and brain, no matter what the dose is.
Omega 3 fish oil
Vitamin C ascorbate
Vitamin B6 and B12 (the best for renewing energy)
Vitamin D
Also, for insomnia Melatonin and if you aren't on any antidepressant meds Valerian root for anxiety.
Congrats on getting off of them. If you continued on, it could get really bad.
I have a question for you. Do you feel you are addicted or just dependent?
Do you run out early from your scrip?
Have you told your doc that you are in pain when you are not, just to get more?
This is important because if you are addicted, you will need some form of aftercare. Otherwise you will find yourself making excuses to take the drugs again, and the addiction will escalate over time. It's important to be honest with yourself.
Take care and keep posting!
Lu
Your withdrawal at that dose should be very limited. Don't freak yourself out. It's good that you are getting off of them because your tolerance gets higher, you need more, and before you know it the cycle is out of control. If you are sleeping and it's been over 24 hours since you had a pill, you should be just fine. Tapering from that low a dose would not make a huge difference, but you probably wouldn't feel any withdrawal at all. And if you don't have any pills left, just let them go and be done with it.
Try substituting your doses with plain old tylenol. This will help with the psychological aspect of withdrawal as well as any body aches and pains. Please know that you will experience rebound pain. Long term opiate use causes your brain to develop more pain receptors, and those pain receptors want drugs. The pain level will decrease the longer you are off all opiates.
Drink plenty of fluids and start a good vitamin regime. Long term opiate use is hard on the body and brain, no matter what the dose is.
Omega 3 fish oil
Vitamin C ascorbate
Vitamin B6 and B12 (the best for renewing energy)
Vitamin D
Also, for insomnia Melatonin and if you aren't on any antidepressant meds Valerian root for anxiety.
Congrats on getting off of them. If you continued on, it could get really bad.
I have a question for you. Do you feel you are addicted or just dependent?
Do you run out early from your scrip?
Have you told your doc that you are in pain when you are not, just to get more?
This is important because if you are addicted, you will need some form of aftercare. Otherwise you will find yourself making excuses to take the drugs again, and the addiction will escalate over time. It's important to be honest with yourself.
Take care and keep posting!
Lu
U truly r doing gr8! Keep it up !!!I too,started with a hospital stay only much much larger dose. I was on six 10/325 plus fentanyl patches. I dealt with the fentanyl first and then got off the perc over the next month by tapering...by the time I got down to the dose u were taking ,the most severe withdrawal was letting up... mostly.restless legs and anxiety,and not sleeping well. I still have some of that 6months out. Everybody is different and ur dose was low... Hopefully if u do hit withdrawal it will b mild... take care... ur making the very best choice for u and ur kids....living a life of dependence is not really living,... congrats,
3 percocets a day is a low amount; your withdrawals shouldn't be too horrible. Leg aches, trouble sleeping, sweating, some anxiety. Or maybe nothing at all.
My advice to you thought: Stop taking them now! Trust me. I took opiates at a higher dosage than you (for pain) for 8 years. Today is 30 days off them and I still feel pretty crappy, although MUCH better than the first week.
These drugs are, to me, like Satan. They're evil..they entrap you and before you know it, you're dependent on them. And opiate withdrawal is not fun. Good luck.
(If your doctor is willing to fill one more script, you might try asking him if you can taper off.)
My advice to you thought: Stop taking them now! Trust me. I took opiates at a higher dosage than you (for pain) for 8 years. Today is 30 days off them and I still feel pretty crappy, although MUCH better than the first week.
These drugs are, to me, like Satan. They're evil..they entrap you and before you know it, you're dependent on them. And opiate withdrawal is not fun. Good luck.
(If your doctor is willing to fill one more script, you might try asking him if you can taper off.)
Idk if I can get anymore. My doctor said he wanted me to stop taking them. He didn't say if that was last script.
Thanks for commenting back...I don't really know if I can get anymore. The last script his nurse told me that he wanted me to just take two a day which is what I did. She said he wants me off of them. I have never had any problems with any kinds of drugs and this is the first thing I have ever taken. Started taking them after my first surgery. I think the point that I am at is they do take the pain away so if I'm not in pain I feel better and if course am in a better mood. At this point I don't feel like I need to jump up and go find any so I hope that doesn't come. I have a job and kids!
Hi, So r u just c coming on a bout 24hrs since ur last dose? If that is the case sometime soon u will start to experience withdrawal symptoms...do u have the option of refilling and tapering off ur current dose? Cold turkey is the only way for some but it is harsh!
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