severe opiate and soma addiction/need advice, ASAP

[makinit]

I have posted to this before but need more information. I have put this off too long!

I have decided to go ct from a heavy and long use of norco and soma. 25 norco(hydro10/325mg)  and 15 soma 350mg. a day for many years. I have tried the thomas recipe with no avail. I have tried to taper with no avail. I do have some items on hand that I may be able to use for this tough detox, but I need some advice. Keep in mind that I want to this in order to save my life. My toughest is my my first couple of days, in past experience. I must make it past this point, in order to make this happen. I do have a aftercare plan set in place after my detox.

These are the items I have that may or may not be of help:
DARVOCET N-100 (15 tabs)
XANAX 0.25 mg (12 tabs)
IMODIUM mg. (30 tabs)
MOTRIN 200mg.
BENTYL 10mg. (90 tabs)
BENYDRYL 25mg. (24 caps)
MULTI-VITIMANS
HERBAL CLEANSER- (contains aloe vera, red raspberry fruit, senna leaves, cinnamon bark, barberry bark, fennel seeds, cornsilk, ginger Rhizome, bitter orange, Dandelion root and Capsicum fruit.
MYLANTA LIQUID
ST.JOHN WORT
B VITAMINS
PRILOSEC OTC
ALOE VERA JUICE
I am locking  myself in my home, given someone my automobile keys,with good spirits and High hopes of making this happen. I am already very uncomfortable and I am actually saying to my self "BRING IT ON AND LETS GET IT OVER WITH' so I can lead a normal and productive life again. Any help is greatly appreciated!!!!

[Precious Pearl]

WOW I liked your last post. I, too, am addicted to Vic. 5/500 and soma for 7 years. I did manage to detox off the vic. like over a month ago for a month and then things happened at home and I went back. UGH BUT when off the Vic. I noticed I took more soma trying to get that "feeling" as you say. I SLEPT A LOT. I didn't like that and was depressed. Didn't like that either. I was thinking of just C/T off BOTH of them sometime right after the New Year...(New Year's Resolution) :) I do not work so I just need to pick a week, like you said, AND DO IT. I KNOW I CAN do BOTH. I am prescribed 4 per day of each but like all of us I have been taking more like 6-8 a day of each. UGH OK so that's my story. Actually when I FIRST started my 1st attempt at getting off the Vic. AND soma at the same time ( I took like 2 somas a day then) I REALLY did feel better by the 4th day. I lied in bed telling the drugs to "GIVE IT TO ME...GIVE ME ALL YOU GOT" and waited. I had a nice Pharmacist who helped me and told me to use an over the counter sleep aid Unisom which really helped with the sleep. I also take big time vitamins and the B12 sublingual under the tongue for energy. By day 5 I felt really good. AM SO ASHAMED that I slipped and have to start all over again. BUT THIS TIME I will do BOTH at the same time and STAY there like you did. WOW 15 years seems incredible. You were on BOTH Vics and Soma you said? How many total a day did you take? Did the Dr. prescribe that many? I can't wait to NOT HAVE to worry about going out of town and will I run out etc etc You know the route. I WANT MY LIFE BACK...OK thanks for the post and hope you can motivate me. :) Precious

[notmenow!]

Hello, Makinit I am going to do my best to make some recommendations based on experience and the effects of the combination of the 2 drugs when combined. You have acknowledged the fact that my scenario of your present situation is pretty much on the money, Many years ago I lived in a small New England town that had one MD who accepted my insurance, After suffering a pulled muscle I went to him for relief of moderate of pain, He prescribed Vicodin ES and Soma 350mg (DAN) you feel me. I discovered relatively quickly that combination of the drugs produced an incredible feeling of Euphoria, AT that time Soma was not a schedule-III drug as it is now. Thank God I was able to catch this drug in its early stages and realized I was only getting that super high on my first dose of the day. For the rest of the day I would spend chasing that high ever rarely catching it again until the following morning, I was using about 6 vic and 5 Soma about every 6 hours. Because hydrocodone is a short acting opiate I need for the Vicodin increased as did the Soma. When I spoke to my DR who was in his 70s about the situation, Back then then there was no fear of DEA tracking as the Internet was still a rumor at that point, His answer was to increase the # of pills. As the older DRs were realy not educated in the signs of abuse or the effects on the brain, What had started out as moderate  pain, Had developed a primary diagnosis of Opioid addiction a treatable chronic disease of the brain. Due to the prolonged use of opiates, this condition is not a condition affecting opiate addicts alone, pain managements or people that become physically dependant through no fault of their own, There's actually much more to my story BUT I would prefer we focus on you,
Being dual addicted as you are my personal advise is to handle the least difficult drug to detox from first and that would be the Soma addiction which you are taking in combination w/hydro. You probably are not using much soma w/out norco, To detox from the soma of coarse you will need to taper but its not a long drawn out taper you could taper safely in a week just by dropping 5 pills every other day, If you are worried about seizures ask your doctor for tegretol to prevent the possibility of seizures and also clonidine a low dose as your BP is going to spike this Soma is not a benzo so a long supervised taper is not necessary. Do not take a benzo to relieve the discomfort you may or may not experience, but expect some sleeping problems initially but they are nothing compared when detoxing off of opiates. Pick a start date and stick to it otherwise you will need an inpatient phenobarbital detox. Which is only about 20% more comfortable anyway Review this plan and let me know if its to challenging for you. I did it over 15 years ago and haven't touched a  soma since. Do not worry about the opiate addiction at this time as this is a two part lifestyle change, Which you will get through if your willing to work for it, I Think its time to make an attempt to get  back to the real world. ASAP to quote your forum question, Like cancer we dont recover completely we go into remission and pray for the miracle if you think you deserve it--------------------NOAH

[formernurse]

Notmenow is right.  Taking more than 1 soma chemically changes the soma to miltown.  Miltown is an old drug that is awful and I'm not sure it is even given anymore or made.  It causes depression and worse of all crazy behavior.  There is an instance of some young people that took lots of Soma in Calif. and it caused them to actually kill. (at least that was what the news reported).  Can act like meth under some circumstances and very addicting.
I took Soma as prescribed and now take maybe 1/4 tab occasionally if I can't relax and go to sleep.  My son was able to stop Soma without physical w/d symptoms, but it was hard for him to relax for awhile.
I did the taper off of Norco over a long period of 2 months with some symptoms (diarrhea, sneezing, craving, irritability,chills off and on, etc).  This worked for me, but it has not worked for everyone.  We are all so different.  I am wimpy and did not want to go ct.  Today it has been 47 days without even 1/4 tab of Norco and symptoms have stopped.  I slept great last night and woke this am without an alarm clock, feeling rested.     Good luck and keep posting

[makinit]

You hit that nail right on the head!!! And I can see you have some important info. here that may help me, but I want to mention 2 things:
   (1)  What do you think is the best way to tackle the soma first?
   (2)  I am set against getting on any LONG-ACTING SYNETHIC OPIATE, such as suboxone or methadone. I have seen to many people end up dead or back on their DOT. Oh yea it does start off like a bed of roses for them, but ask someone thats either trying to come off of them or someone that has been on it for a while, even people with a variety of critical injuries and hear what they have to say. These or the most evil of drugs, in many people opinions. Afterall, I am looking for a life free of drugs, not a subsitute...

Thank you very much for your reply, for you seem to have a good knowledge of what I am going through. This combination/amount/long term use of it, has really got a hold on me. Anymore information you have that can help me, my friend is greatly appreciated.

[notmenow!]

you are suffering from a dual addiction tackle one at a time a would recommend the soma as they are very addicting as they contain a tranquilizer called Miltown, that is the addicting drug in soma and when you combine soma and norco the results are increased euphoria, Taking to many soma will cause you to lose muscle coordination for a short period of time, We use to call this a soma coma, which only lasted about 20 minute's. I  think you are chasing that high you experienced once upon a time when you first started using the two drugs together,
First get off the soma as they wont take you on suboxone while on soma.
When your off the soma go on the suboxone detox or maintenance, but be prepared to spend some money.
Stop chasing that soma, norco euphoria your receptors are burnt out. It not unusual to overdose from soma and end up in a true coma or even death.

[makinit]

My question to you is how long and amounts of soma were you on? When I first started the soma I was taking it as prescribed @ 1 TID, but now @ 3 tabs 3 times a day and sometimes 4 and 5(plus the norco) , it's a whole different ball game. I'm talking the major leagues here for me. This is a deadly combination to kick. They are so dam addicting, especially when taken with the opiate.

                                                                   Congrats! to our recovery....

[makinit]

I understand what you are saying, but as such of the high doses I am on I just thought that using the darvocet @ 2 tabs TID for the first 2 days may give me the edge I need to get me through, those tough 2 days. Afterall, I only have enough for that amount of time anyway. I know that some chemical dependency units, have used darvocet/darvon in combination with a benzo for a short period of time, in order to get you through the thoughest few days. And let me add that I have a family (non addict) that will deal them out to me, in the proper manner. What you think?

                                                                                
I'm just trying the best way not to fail this detox again upon commence.    Thank You!

[formernurse]

I too was addicted to Norco and Soma.  Finally off of Norco, now my 46th day free.  I had no problem stopping Soma, but I did continue taking one each night to relax my tight muscles so I could sleep for about a week after I was completely off Norco.  There didn't seem to be any w/d symptoms when I stopped the Soma and now take a 1/4 of a tab occasionally if I need to relax at night.  Haven't had to to that for at least a week.  Everyone comes off their narcotic their own way.  What works for one dosn't work for another.  I did a taper off Norco and that worked for me.  I had anxiety, cravings, diarrhea, etc.  Anxiety lasted about a week, craving about 3 days and diarrhea about 1 month. Small cravings still come and go, but they are a mental thing and not physical. Vitamins B and a multivit also helped.  
You can do it.  The first step is admitting there is a problem, the second is wanting to stop and the third is having a plan.  

[NautyOne]

If you want to stop both at the same time.....ok.  I would work on the norco first and during your withdrawal try to taper the soma.  Soma helped me a lot during my withdrawal, but now its time to start getting away from it.  I have taken soma for over 10 years, although I don't take as many.......withdrawal from that is nothing more than 2-3 days and for me it's just a little anxiety...........I am not giving advice......this is entirely your call..........just saying what worked for me.  God Luck.

Nauty..................

[FLaddict]

out of your list I would stay away from the aloe vera and the herbal cleanser. it will just promote more diarreah. And the darvocet will just prolong the misery. most of the other stuff can help in some way. just be careful with the xanax.. use it for sleep or massive anxiety only

[makinit]

Went to doctor and they were no help to me, after all thats what HELPED me get here in the first place. As for suboxone, I would only be putting myself into another frying pan! Switching to a long-acting synethic is only prolonging someones habit. That s*** is almost as hard to kick as Methadone. It was derrived from BUPERNEX, which is only avaiable i.e. injection so they came out with subatex/suboxone. Been there, done that. Please understand what you are doing, before you do it, and if you still feel its the right thing for you then go for it. GOOD LUCK! and thanks for your reply!

[makinit]

Mary, I tried to go CT and only made it through my 2nd day. I tried it without anything, but I know the thoughest of the 2 drugs thats driving me overboard is the Soma. I get terrable ringing in my ears and everything is amplified 10 fold, along with many other symptoms that are just unbearable. I am going to take your advice and try it again with SOME of the products I have listed above, in my post. Please pray for me, I'm gonna need it. Thank You for for your reply.

[tammer76]

Why don't you just goto a doctor for dextox. I'm starting the suboxone program 2-morrow.It's supposed to really really great. It takes away your cravings and have 0 withdrawls. I went to www.suboxone.com And you can find a doctor in your area. They are really nice and really understand our addiction and want to help. My first visit 2-morrow is 400.00. They observe you take blood tests, and watch you for awhile on the new medicine. And every other app. is 80.00.I hear it's well worth it.


tammer

[allaboutmary]

Did you relapse ?  I know we have talked before.  First get rid of the darvocet, it will only postpone the withdrawal. Take as little as possible of the xanax. When are you going to start ?