fioricet addiction

[Connie51]

I have been reading this forum for a couple weeks. I have admitted my fioricet problem to my husband and am ready to help myself. I have tried before but am now determined. There does not seem to be much online about this drug but am desperate to find someone who has had the same addiction. It has a barbituate it so it is tricky to come off of but I hear it can be done.
Anyone who has been there it would be a miracle to hear from you as I have never met anyone with the same addiction.
A bit of information as to where I am at.
I am 51 and have been addicted to them for around 7 years. I take between 8 and 10 EVERY day. It started from needing pain relief from migraines and took off from there. The migrains are no longer a problem.
I am in very poor condition in the morning till I take two.
Please if any one knows of a tapering schedule or has been there I will appreciate anything you have to say. I am aware of seizures. That is why I need help from another fioricet addict (recovering)or on a taper. The people on this forum are so kind, I am so glad I have found you all.
Thank you

[Kat49]

After reading your post on how you control your use of the pills, you must be such a strong person! I could never control my use of that drug in such a manner (the tape thing). I did slip late last nite and used just one. That was 18 hrs. ago. I had such a major migraine that Imitrex and Amerge didn't quite do the trick.  I had tons of stress at work and a problem at the homefront with my youngest son in college.  I know that's no excuse, but too much Imitrex can have major consequences and I don't want that!  I have 3 in an aspirin bottle for emergencies that are very bad. I still think you are amazing that you want to get off 2and 1/2 per day. If you can manage your headaches with only that, I personally don't think that's abuse or wrecking your physical/mental being.  But, the only thing is, you get slurring speech, etc. on only 1 or 1/2 and you probably should get off them.  If I take 1 it is usually the trick. If I took 1/2 it would be like taking nothing.  The l pill that I take has led to take l more a few hours later and then some closer together, so THEN I start to slur and all that.  Well, keep up the good attitude and incredible willpower.  I have no desire to take any - just last nite my head was so bad that the "big guns" did nothing.  And our E.R.'s around here don't give Imitrex shots for migraines - just a good dose of demerol! Can you believe it? And they never have asked about a drug history either!  Just don't have it in the ER and that's that! I asked my friend back home in Mass. who's a supervisor in the ER trauma unit and she said the same thing.  I don't get it - they'd rather zonk you out with a narcotic instead of listening to your pleas that the Imitrex would do the trick! No wonder the narc addicts go to the ER for a fix!  And by the way, demerol does absolutely nothing but give me a hangover when it wears off with a migraine.  Well, have a nice weekend everyone!  And Connie if you're around, please post.  You are one of the people besides Golden Slipper that convinced me to "jump in".  Kat

[Kat49]

You guys are all an absolute riot!  Our stories could make a weeks' worth of sitcoms! I've never had the F w/codeine - does that make severe painful headaches better? I usually had gotten 100 w/no refills and could get them once a month. Then I supplemented that with 30 w/3 from my OB/GYN every 2 months - sometimes less. My doctor lives directly across the street so I can't use the "vacation" excuse. And the pharmacists around here ALL seem to be cops in disguise. I don't know how long the Butalbital stays in your system for sure. I know codeine is so different with withdrawal, but dangerous on your intestines if abused and wounds don't heal, hearing loss starts, etc. My son gives me a little info (he's in premed neuro) when I ask, but mostly I read his medical books he's left at home. The ones on drugs and how they affect your brain and body would flip everyone out here!  Anyways, will post tomorrow because I'm exhausted from 12 hrs. of work today.  Keep up the good stories they give great support.  I still want to know why nobody here gets physically sick (vomiting until the cows come home) when detoxing? I am like a heroin addict when I've detoxed - except this time when I've used Valium.  Talk to y'all tomorrow.  Kat

[FiorinalJR]

Wow, this forum is heating up!  I have my "stories", in addition to the ones posted (to get more F)...... When I was taking F with Codiene, one local pharmacy had a pharmacist who blew a fuse.  He was filling prescriptions wrong, undercounting, etc.  I got a refill of 100 Fiorinal #3's, then I went out to my car and dumped out the pils and put in regular Fiorinal's in the #3 bottle.  Marched right back in to the pharnmacy and said "Hey, these are not F #3's"  and they apologized, gave me back my money and gave me another 100 #3's.  Also, I have used the excuse that I travel a lot and left the bottle in my hotel room, and it "disappeared".  I think my best one was saying that I took my botle of 50 F's and was getting two out over the sick, and damn - they all fell out and went down the garbage disposal!  The doc actually beleived it once, and another time I used that line on the pharmacist.

Talk about sick!

Welcome, Dancing in the Dark - you are a riot!  If you are having a pproblem with codeine, relax.  It only stays in your system for 24 to 48 hours.  Yes, you will have diarehha (how DO you spell that?) - but it passes (no pun intended) within a couple of days.  The damned butalbtal in the F is the worst.  It can take months!

I have never binged on F, because I was always afraid of running out.  And, I cannot do cold turkey - I am very slowly tapering under a doc's supervision and it's working for me.  Yes, we're all different.

Glad to see that while we're going thru this hell, we can keep our sense of humor!  It helps.

Pilot - you're doing well, but if you get a mother of a headache, you gotta do what you gotta do - just go back on your plan the next day.

Everyone, it's great "hearing" from you.  We'll all make it.  Let's stay in touch, and for now, have a good weekend!

Best,

JR

[pilot116]

Hey there,

Well, I quit binging, but I have yet to kick the habit.  I still take them on a daily basis, but I am tapering down.  The goal is to take none.

As for not binging, you would be amazed at what I had to do.  It is crazy.  Part of it was determination.  I did not want the ups and downs any more.  I couldn't handle it.  Neither could my family.  

I would count them out, put them in seperate bottles, then tape the bottles shut w/1/2 a roll of tape, and put a to be opend date on them.  My goal was to get thru 1 week on 1 bottle.   I would set daily goals (not more than xxx) Sometimes I would have to count the bottle daily because I had forgotten how many I had taken.  In the end, I finally managed to stick with daily goals instead of binging.   Of course I was able to keep the taped bottles locked up at work so I could not get to them on the weekends, but I have a badge to get into work...I just had to sneak over here.   So, sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn't.  I actually put one in a safe deposit box one so I couldn't get it.

Now I am on a "reduce the daily goal" plan.  Ohhh fun!

But in the long run, I am sure it will be worth it.  

Just Curious.  About how old are you?  I am 33.  I do not live alone (sometimes I wish I did).  I am married (we were actually divorced for about 3 years) with 2 kids, 3 dogs, a cat, 2 fish, 1 bird and 1 frog.  Sound like enough of a zoo??

How many do you get in a script at once?  Is it enough that you can split out the script at home and save some for later?

[dancinginthedark]

Just awoke from a 13 hr. sleep & am a tad fuzzy in the head.  Off the binge...well, here I am again.  28 gone in 3.5 days.   I'm in rebound hell from quitting the codeine.  I have to wonder: Why was codeine so easy to quit(apart from 3 days of withdrawal & these incessant headaches added to my usual lot)?  In thinking about binging, I realized I must have been using the codeine to fill in the btwn the binges headaches.

Well, Kat, I DON'T THINK ;-) I get cranky after the fiorinal is gone but I live alone! As long as the cat has food & can sit on me at his leisure, he's happy!  Obviously, as a writer, I spend a *lot* of time alone & I'm not someone who gets lonely really, yet I truly enjoy people's company - in small quantities & not too often.  Lord, I sound like a misanthrope but I'm NOT!  I'm more of an introvert & when I do go out or when I was a conference planner, I never shut up & always have a lot of fun talking to everyone.  After serious socializing, I am emotionally fried if that makes any sense.

Back to after binge (hmmm title of a movie?)  In thinking about this, I don't often go out w/out fiorinal.  It's easier to be "myself" (HA! I'm thinking of Pilot's last post!).

When I run out (like today) I feel listless, tired, less sociable, less able or willing to work (if I don't push me it doesn't get done, game over).  Actually, I used to get really bitchy when I was on 75-100 a wk., NOT bingeing.  As in, brutal, biting sarcasm & I was often mean, I'm ashamed to admit.

After F, I tend to sleep a lot (13 hrs. last nt.) but then I didn't go to bed at all the nt. before & worked thru until 6 last nt.  But I finished 3 articles, started another & joined this grp!  Apart from that, it's life as usual.  In fact, last wk. apart from nasty post-codeine (and my regular) headaches, I was feeling positively fantastic w/out fiorinal.

I hate to be the only binger...:-(  All I can think is I'm trying to get that high & then when I get it, I can't resist more.  If I get the pharmacy to give me 4 a day, it's $10. a day w/out insurance. I get my refill last Tues. & I'm thinking how you all have done it & we're all addicted no matter how you slice/take it, right?  And Pilot is very inspiring in that she stopped binging & took up jogging.  I could ask a friend but they are all out & about a lot & I can just see me freaking out to get my drugs!  And I've a long way to go. My doc wants me to stay here for 10 wks. as I dropped 12 in 5 wks. & quit codeine script as well.  

I feel as though I need to do this for myself somehow.  Maybe I'll try & really analyze this...always helps.  I know I'm chasing a bigger high but the truth is I get a bigger headache & too high to even sleep & work myself into a frenzy which isn't good for me.  There, I started!

Any thoughts on how to stop bingeing?

Take care & have a great weekend!

Dancing

[pilot116]

I was horrible about 12-18 hours after my last pill.  I am a very happy, productive, outgoing person on them.  And when I would binge, it would be about 5-6 a day in the more recent binges.  The early on ones were more like 8 a day.  Anyway, I would be fine for aboutr 12-18 hours.  Then I would get cranky, nasty.  I wouldn't want to get up, I was ill, had a headache.  Not a pretty picture.  And try convincing yourself to go jogging with a headache.  But heck, 1/2 way thru my jog my headache was gone and I started feeling much better.  I also would drink at least 64 ounces of water to try and get the junk out of my system quicker.