need answers

I HAVE BEEN ON OXYCODONE FOR CHRONIC PAIN. I HAVE BEEN TAKING IT FOR 3 YEARS.
I HAVE TRIED TO STOP BUT IT MAKES ME MISERABLE,
CAN ANYONE OFFER ANY SUGESTIONS?

SICKO340

[IBKleen]

Hello and Welcome.

You have a few choices in stopping. You can either go cold turkey, or you can taper. Tapering is quite difficult and you will start to feel the withdrawal when you drop your dose. It is often easier to just quit and go through the detox, which will take 6 or so days. There are some otc supplements that you can use to help you along.

[LQQKThrewU]

It is very difficult to do,but in the end it is well worth it. Those evil pills slowly suck the life out of you.Read the posts here and I am certain you will be able to associate a lot of the struggles that the people on here have with yourself.

[Greatgreebo]

Unless you are a glutton for punishment I vote you go CT. The taper is like cutting your arm off one inch at a time. If you go CT you will get the withdrawals over and done with. Then you can focus on getting your life back together. Remember, opiates actually make your pain worse. You have to ignore the pain and other symptoms of withdrawing due to your physical dependence.  The mental part (your addiction) also needs to be dealt with. You need to make the choice to quit and then stick to it. Keep posting. You will get all the support you need here on the forum.
Good luck,
Greatgreebo

[Coalregion]

You could be me by the sounds of it. I'm at 7 days today after a 3 year solid, everyday  run of Percoset (at least 10 per day) and fentanyl patches for my destroyed left knee. I personally just got sick of chasing pills/patches and never feeling any better no matter how many I took. I gave it up Cold Turkey last Saturday. It sucks for about 4 or 5 days, but you can do it bud. Just put your mind to it.You'll be surprised how much better you'll start to feel after the poisons finally exit your body...

Good luck bud,
Gary

[Greatgreebo]

Way to go on quitting. You are an inspiration...I hope sicko listens to you. You are proof it can be done with a little time and the right mindset!
congrats on getting your life back.
Greatgreebo

[beentrying2quit]

#1: You can do this if you REALLY want to.
#2: Do you need the pills to help control pain?
#3: If you actually take pills to control pain there is nothing wrong with that.
#4: If you quit taking pain pills will you be able to function with your pain.

There are several questions you need to answer.  I take pain meds daily because I have to and dont feel bad about it.  There was a time when I abused them and got into some serious trouble....I graduated to a 75 mic Fentanyl patch every 48 hours and was only supposed to change them every 72 hours.

Dont beat yourself up if you take them for a real reason.... a lot of us do.  OTC pain meds can be very dangerous such as Ibuprofen and asprin.  BEfore I got on hydros I was taking 15-20 Advil a day to help with my leg/feet pain and wound up in the hospital because I had an ulcur perforate during the night and almost bled to death.  Needless to say I will never take one of those again.

If you truly want to quit I think there are a few things you should know.  This wont be easy and it wont be over in 7-10 days.  I dont tell you this to try and scare you but I believe when your body starts to complain it makes it a little easier knowing it is all normal stuff.  What has happened over the last 3 years is your body has quit making it's natural pain reliever and is now relying on the opiates and it will take anywhere from 1 to 3 months for it to restart the process.

Your body will start to react approx. 16 hours after your last pill and will get worse around day 2.  Day 3-6 can be a real b itch with body aches, diareha, headache, anxiety, depression, cravings, flu like symptoms and no sleep.  Day 7-8 is when you should begin to see improvement in your aches and pains and mental state.  You should really see improvement in 12-14 days.

For me the toughest part is the mental aspect of depression and cravings.  There is this thing called the "THomas Recipie" that some here rave about...it never helped me but we are all different.  I would recommed talking with your doc and asking for something like Valium...maybe a 10 day supply.  This will help you sleep and will help with the anxiety..be careful as this stuff is just as addiciting as the pain meds.

Hot baths will help with the body aches..take them every 30 mins if you have to.  This helped me tremendously.  You will also need someone to help you through the first few days.  If you can, I would recommed taking a weeks vacation.  You wont feel like doing anything for 7 days and trying to work might cause you some extra problems.  

I hope this helps.  Keep posting here as I found that it helps to be able to talk about what you are going through and there are bunches of us here that understand and care.

GOOD LUCK!

[avisg]

I disagree with you in pain then taking pain meds is alright . That would be fine if you are not an addict . Pain is the biggest excuse addicts use to use ,heck i have used it .
I am still dealing with pain every day but I cant take pain meds I am an addict ... I have found alliterative was to mange my pain , as many here have . Anyway that my 2 cents.

[Greatgreebo]

I'm agreeing with avisg. Suggesting that an addict can take pain meds is inline with telling an emphisema patient to go have a cig. There are alternatives to drugs for pain. I would suggest that sicko try everything else but pain meds first.

[avisg]

Yes I have never meant a recovery counselor that has said its ok to take pain meds durning recovery ,,,(besides for acute pain when there is no alternative) .If you are addict your an addict. I am not saying this is fair its just the way it is