how do yoy taper off opiates

[chrissy82667]

im a single mother of two and about 8 years ago,i started gettind bad headaches so my doctor started me on lortabs,then they tested me and found i have a disc problem so now i realize im opiate dependent and i want to be off of them cause they make me feel horrible i just want my old life back i went to my dr and told him i had no energy and just felt bad his answer was take more up to 8 a day and then he sent me to pain mangement which made it worse well since my tolarence was high when i would get low and my dr would give me a script so pain mangement kicked me out i truly didnt know i was doing wrong since he sent me there and he acted like lortabs were nothing he just didnt want me on percs so last pain mangement they put me on percs 7.5. now i want to be opiate free how do i taper down with these percs cause i have no help from anyone and i need to work

[chrissy82667]

no i don't really have anyone here to talk to and i cant afford rehab in other states  i am determined to do THIS. its a bad feeling knowing your an addict and never meant to be one treatment started out fine until my body became tolarant to the drug i know my dr meant well but he acted like percs were bad but lortabs wer ok and the i get online and fine out all this info i shouldve looked things up myself i feel sooo dumb for not doing that  the dr thought i was addicted to percs and then just kept on prescribing lortabs  then two years ago i find out i have heriated discs back problems run in my family my sister has spinal stenoius and is on many meds and i dont want to end up like that there has to be a better way

[salsinator]

We all put our trust in others and there is no reason why we should doubt the care of our doctors.  Most docs are good and mean well and while I don't know your complete history, I have to assume that your doc had good intentions when he started your treatment for the headaches.  Opiates are OK for some and not for others - like us addicts.  Hang in there, you do have options.  I don't know what kind of rehab is available, but you mention none in DE.  You are in a small state, are there other options in neighboring states that you may be able to take advantage of?  Have you looked into any detox programs or outpatient treatment?  Do you have any friends in AA/NA that could take you to a meeting with them?

[chrissy82667]

thank you and i will be back cause i want my old life back i know this is my fault cause i didnt ask my dr the right questions i gave him my full trust one time i8 only got one script from pm or percs and he flipped causing i was feeling bad said i was addicted and tried to find a rehab but here in lower de we have none but yet he was happy with me on lortabs and that time he had put me on cymbalta casuse he said i was depressed i did not feel depressed well anyway i had a bad reaction to cymbalta and had to take myself off i just feel kinda of dumb cause i let him control my health im 43 and he is only the 2nd dr i have had in my life i shouldve asked more questions

[salsinator]

Hi Chrissy,  Welcome to the forum and congratulations for you desire to get clean.  Tapering can be difficult, especially if you do not have anyone who can help you - many of us addicts cannot taper because when we start to feel withdrawal kick in, we just take more.  However, it can be done.  Tapering is just reducing your opiate intake.  We are not doctors here and cannot give you dosage information, but start by taking the least amount you can and not feel completely horrible.   If you can cut back to 3/4 or even half your dose and maintain that for a few days, that's good.  Then also see if you can go longer in time between your dose.  When I have tapered, I would start to feel withdrawal and would go as long as I could tollerate it, and then only take what I needed to feel a little better.  Get to the point where you are down to 1-2 per day, then start cutting that in half - so taking half doses.  Then - pick a date as your final stop date - get rid of any opiates that you have around, and stop.  Read some of the info int he health pages - suppliments and the Thomas Recipe - there is a lot of good information there that will help you too.  Keep posting and consider going to some meetings as well.  Best of luck

[sway1]

welcome to the forum. tapering can sometimes work, but many times it doesn't. it's not allowed for folks to post taper schedules on the forum. but it's mainly a common sense thing, kind of like a progressive diet plan. in my humble opinion, you should just quit. on the lower right hand side of this page are some ways to ease the suffering. remember you will suffer either way. there's just no way to quit without suffering. tapering just takes longer. the thomas recipe and the amino acid protocol are both great to use while you go through withdrawal. good luck! sway