neer addvice

[trying0705]

First off, I just joined this site and this is my first post.  I have been taking percocets now for 3 years. I have carpal tunnel in both hands and I'm a waitress working 2 jobs consisting of a 71 hour work week.  Ok, while i started recreationally , I now need them for the extreme throbbing pain that wakes me up at least twice a night.  All my " friends" started taking them as well except they went on to Roxiccets. I took them once or twice but was scared so I told myself it isnt sa big deal as long as I stuck to my percs.  So here I am now and I saw them go through massive withdrawal only to go back to taking 4 or 5 roxies a day. I take about 4 percocets sometimes 5 when my hands and wrists really hurt. I really don't wanna take them anymore and this is the messed up part......I can push through the day without them. I feel tired and lethargic but have made it through when I so choose. But I absolutely cant sleep at all. I am admitting I have a problem, since that is a sign of withdrawal .  So, after all that babbling,  here is my question......can I slowly stop taking them and eventually stop????!!!! Does that work, is it a possibility? I sm honestly too scared to stop cold turkey

[trying0705]

I don't know if I would call it" detoxing " since kit was only a day or two. Iam down to like 2 to 2 1/2 a day,  but the one at night is necessary so I can sleep. Fear is part of it absolutely. I can make it until about 4 in the afternoon ( that's with waking up at 7 am ) and then I feel tired and take one! And then I take one before bed. Sometimes one in the middle. But I don't wanna feel like I.cant. get through the day without them anymore. Plus, its not myprescription that I take, j buy them and when that person is going to run out is always in the back of my mind....uuuugggh

[staticage]

day 9 off percs here,,IwillDoThis knows whats up,,good advice..tapering helps wd i think,take last dose 1 or 2 hours before bed that helpd sleep for me..WARNING..i taper for two weeks then got my script and went crazy...thats when it hit me that i needed to just quit...good luck and glad u found this site..

[IBKleen]

Hi & Welcome,

Certainly you can taper off of the pills but know that tapering is tricky business. As you begin to cut back on your dose you will begin to feel the withdrawal and that is the thing that we all look to avoid. If you decide to do it that way make sure that you have a good, solid taper schedule before you start. Also, it would be best if you had someone who is clean and can hold them for you and dose them to you according to the schedule. Toward the end of the taper you may want to take some time off from work to get through the detox. We can help you with suggestions for home remedies and otc meds that may help ease the process.

Before you even begin, do yourself a favor and have a plan in place. If you have not taken care of the pain issues, what will you do for that? You need to set yourself for success and a major reason why addicts fail is a lack of planning. I know for myself I continued to relapse because I did not have an alternative pain treatment plan.

Also you stated that your friends also take pills. It is going to be very hard for you to get and stay clean if you are around it so think about that and come up with ways to make yourself as bullet proof as possible.

I am glad you found your way here and hope you stick around. this is a great place for support. Ask any questions you have and someone will always be around to help you. Just be patient---it is quiet on the weekends.

[IwillDoThis]

forgot to mention the lack of sleep - I'm going through it now and I know how hard it is to function when you have no sleep.  I stopped about 15 years of taking ambien two weeks ago and it's rough but you can endure it - you have to.

Dr. Oz mentioned Wild Lettuce extract to help with sleep - I have to order it as I can't find it local anywhere but I'm going to try it.  Melatonin sometimes works for me but not always.  Tart Cherry juice is suppose to have tryptophan in it so I try to drink a glass of that about an hour before bed.  Try to get into more healthy sleep habits this means turn the TV off (which kills me) and no computer - about an hour before you want to sleep you should be in bed reading or doing something soothing - no electronic stimulation.  Some nights when I am miserable and have to sleep I will take a benedry or nyquil but I try to minimize it as I am trying to fix a lifetime sleep problem and continuing to put a band aid on it isn't moving me ahead.

The lack of sleep is one of the worst things we deal with I think but everyone with substantial clean time says the sleep returns eventually but it's usually the last thing to return to normal.

[charliej41]

Glad u posted I now what u are going through I was getting percs for my back pain for 4 years now for me I had to just stop I dident do very good cutting back I get to feeling bad I b eating another but there a lot people that do taper down and someone b by soon I glad u whant to stop good luck

[LostNoMore]

Welcome! Yes, you can get off the percs by tapering. It's a matter of sticking to the plan, which is sometimes difficult. During the taper, people experience
a low-level detox from lowering the dose. Often, sleep is a problem. There are a lot of taperers who will chime in here with more solid advice. I did mine C/T because I found that I was a lousy taperer! Either way, getting clean and free of opiates id doable. You will find many, many people here who have
successfully detoxed and are staying clean one day at a time. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful, but I wanted you to know you're not alone and that this is a great place to come and talk. Take care.

[IwillDoThis]

Trying:  Welcome to the forum, this is a really active supportive place with people who understand what you are going through and will not judge you.

I'm 47 (i think) days clean from hydros and a few weeks off xanax, ambien.  To answer your question while we can't give specific taper advice I can tell you that I went from about 4 10/350 hydros a day slowly down to 1 over a couple weeks and then jumped off - this is called tapering.

While tapering does help it won't let you off the hook with withdrawing.  You didn't get into this overnight and you are not getting out with withdrawal that being said it's 3 days of h e l l and then you will start feeling better.  Try to time your jump off (when you completely stop) to a time when you have at least 2 days off as most people find they need it.

Stock up on immodium, gatorade, some easy food, bananas.  

I also have carpal tunnel and cubital tun in both arms and it is awful so I feel you pain.  I've had two surgeries for it and still suffer unfortunately.  If you can survive without the pain pills (I can) then why not give it a try - see what life is like when you can feel again.

Have you detoxed before?  do you know what to expect?  Alot of people let the fear of it stop them, the fear of stuff is usually much worse.  Yes, it stinks bad but I just kept telling myself I had the worst flu ever and I just had to get through it.  About day 3 I forced and I mean seriously forced myself to walk out to mailbox just to get my body moving again, I lost about 12 pounds and felt so weak but at 47 days I'm glad I did it and my pain isn't anywhere near what I imagined it to be.

I did it and you can to - I started just like you did and things just got away from me.

Post anytime for support or with questions - there is always someone to help.  

Take care of yourself!