need advice

[Mommyof3cutiez]

Hi I'm new to the site and I have some questions. I'm a mom of 4 kids and happily married to my high school sweetheart and we own 3 local businesses. I have suffered from chronic kidney problems and now female problems and have been prescrbed Vicodin and Percocet over the past 3 yrs or so. I recently attempted to stop taking them and the results were awful-I was off them for a day and a half, couldnt sleep at all, had terrible sweats and chills, was screaming at everyone around me and vomiting everywhere.I had to take 2 Percocets because I couldn't stand it anymore. I believe that I am hooked and need to get off. I have tried cold turkey and it does not work for me. I cannot go to an in-patient facility due to the kids and our business workload, but I've heard there are other treatment options. I do have good medical insurance. I've heard of suboxone therapy, methadone, tapering etc. If anyone knows the details of any of these, can you explain them to me? I need to quit and soon. Thank you for any help, I am really enjoying being on this site

[Flutterby111]

I know as an addict, I wouldn't have tapered.  I would've indulged.  But I've heard negative things about methodone and suboxone and it's addictive qualities.  I know someone firsthand who is HOOKED on methodone now,   It's just as bad as the pill habit.  I'm only on day 9 so I may not be the best.  Cold turkey was hell...Clonidine helped though-got it from my dr.  

[rosebud66]

Well you are going to have to w/d as you are already obviosly addicted.  You night be able to taper slowly then quit to help with the w/d or go cold turkey and suffer for 3-5 days until it is out of your system.  how much and how long have you been taking this? oh 3 years at what level?

[cathy5841]

stay away from methodaone...i have not used but i have heard some horror stories about it...the sub seems like a better alternative.  have you tried the taper?  i quit cold turkey, but lots here have tapered down a little at a time.  i don't have enough will power for that.  with the taper the withdrawals are not as severe.  welcome to the forum, we will be here to support what ever method you choose.
cathy

[rosebud66]

you ok this afternoon?  i was a little worried about you earlier.

[lucyred68]

tapering is working for me. i got down to 1/4 of a norco 4 times a day with no wd symptoms to speak of. it is getting harder now that i am out.  I have heard that percocet is stronger than the norco, so it will probably take a slower taper.  another option is the suboxone thing.  it too is addictive though, and you will have to taper off of it at the end.  Methadone is NOT an option in my book.  it is extremely addictive in itself, and MUCH more difficult to detox from.  been there, done that.  it stays in your fatty tissue forever.  it took me 31 days to detox, 9 months ago, and i still have some major memory problems.  hope this has helped you some.

Lucy

[Chi_Chi_Lover]

If you chose a treatment I would go with the suboxone from all that I read but you will have to come off it someday. Please don't use the Methadone it's so addictive as bad or worse than the pills. I was on 30 lortabs for 5 years and did a taper which threw me into WD everytime I lowered my dose. So finally I went CT that was almost a year ago. I have 2 kids, I'm stay home mom and my husband is VP of huge company. I too would NOT go into treatment at that point. I made my mind up to do it own my own with only my husband and these wonderful people knowing. It's hard it's painful but it can be done and you'll be a better person for it,. Let me know if I can help.

[Mommyof3cutiez]

I take 8-10 10/325 Percs per day. How does tapering work? Is there a specific plan I should follow? I just want to do it the easiest way possible for myself and my family. I feel horrible already. I cry all the time thinking about what I've turned into. no one has a clue that the soccer mom/PTA mom is a drug addict. I blame myself for being stupid and my dr for handing me a script for narcotics everytime something hurt

[Mommyof3cutiez]

thank you so much for being here to listen. My husband knows but he doesnt fully understand. He thinks its much easier to just quit than it actually is. My father is also a chronic pain sufferer and he takes 6-8 Vicodin per day, which makes it worse for me because he readily supplies me with pills when I'm out. He's been on them for over 20 yrs and he will be for the rest of his life, but I dont want to be. He knows I'm addicted, but doesnt see it as a big deal.

[rosebud66]

You are in the same boat as us.  I would try and figure out what works for you by tapering to how you feel.  It will be uncomfortable but just stick with your plan.  Give yourself thirty days to taper. Every two to three days lower your dosage.  Good luck and by the way you are not a bad person, just got in over your head. Doing something about it is what counts.

[rosebud66]

You are in the same boat as us.  I would try and figure out what works for you by tapering to how you feel.  It will be uncomfortable but just stick with your plan.  Give yourself thirty days to taper. Every two to three days lower your dosage.  Good luck and by the way you are not a bad person, just got in over your head. Doing something about it is what counts.

[Chi_Chi_Lover]

I know my husband said just quit, you can't be spending this money on these pills do you really need them. He never takes anything tylenol advil, nothing maybe a few beers on a Saturday night that's it. I too have been very involved in school, team mom, room mom, PTA we have a great house the cars, the kids with sports and good grades. these pills come into my life and it was my little seceret way of escaping and no one had to know. It's not like drinking you don't smell it your just full of life etc. Next thing you know you are having to take more and more and more and there you are a addict. A lot of people can offer you help on taper. If you will message me I'll try to give you more info and others will to. Tell me how many you take a day and exactly what you are taking perks I think,  and some advice that might help you through. I want push you it's your decision and you can't do it till your ready. and everyone is different

[cathy5841]

TO START YOU TAPER JUST LOWER YOUR DOSE BY 1 OR 1/2 PILL  every 4 or 5 days cut it again until you are down to the o level  look for the thomas reciepe on here it has vitamins and things t help you through the process.  keep posting and we will help any way we can.  you can pm me if you need to.
cathy

[lucyred68]

you take 8-10 a day?  start at 8 for f4 days down to 7 for 4 days and so on.  don't try to rush it, and it won't be too bad.  keep busy, which doesn't sound like a problem with your life.  get excercise if you can.  towards the end you may have to go down by 1/2 pill at a time. this way you can keep a pretty normal life.  you will feel some anxiousness whenever you go down by a pill.  just space them out evenly.  you'll make it if you are determined.

Lucy

[flmagi]

Welcome to the forum. I am one of the many people who are on the Suboxone. Have been on it only about 3 weeks now but had researched it and talked to others who have gone this route. I tried the cold turkey a few times, the last one I made it 2 months before relapseing. Because of my job, I couldn't afford the down time again with cold turkey and the months of no energy, motivation and depression (everyones experiance is a little different).
If your interested in the Suboxone, go to Suboxone.com and do some reading, also locates a doctor near you. Only certain doctors are certified to dispence the Sub.
To start on Sub. you must be in withdrawels for about 24 hours or more. That should be your only down time. Once your on the Sub. you can work and carry on with your life. You cannot take pain killers with the Suboxone. You will eventually have to come off the Sub. Is is also addictive, but you will be under the supervision of a doctor who knows how to wean you off them. You can also choose to do the sub. for a very short time, 16-21 days, just to pass the pain killer withdrawels. you would taper off the Sub. very quickly. I myself plan to be tappered off them by sometime in april.
Anyway, read some more info about it. Any questions you have, I'll try to answer, as will everyone else here on the forum.
Keep posting and let us know how your doing and what you decide.
Magi

[toxictome]

Welcome to the forum. This is a great place to get help and support. I would add that while you are tapering...spread the pills out over a 24 hr. period.  If yuo are going to start with 8 pills, take one pill every 3 hrs.  You do not want to spike your dose.
You can PM avisg...she is really good about setting up a taper plan. She will need to know the # of pills you have left to taper with...

Go to GoingToMakeIt journals...the Thomas Recipe is in there. It will give you an idae of the things you need to stock up on to get thru the wd's.(bananas, vitamins,immodium, OTC pain releivers, etc...)
Good Luck!

[MikeWithFamily]

Hi, My name is Mike and I have been on Suboxon for about 11 days now. It actually does work very well; it replaces the active narcotics that you would take on a daily basis and essentially substitutes itself so the body believes it is receiving the narcotics as usual; only with Suboxone you feel nothing. Well, you have a few things such as dry mouth and constipation. Other than that, it allows you to carry out your day as normal. I'm realy glad to be on it. As far as fearing it because of becomng addicted to it. You can look at it many different ways. Sub has harmless effects; whereas the vic/perc do what they do...makeyou feel good. I wouldn't worry about being addicted to it. Magi is right, you are under a doctors care and they know how to wean you off it. Prior to getting licensed, they hvae to take training on how to prescribe and administer it to patients. Anyway, don't beat yourself up either. Many people become addicted without realizing it It just sort of sneaks up on you; while you are caring for your body and tending to the pain associated wtih your illnesses; Your mind very convinces you to increase the dosage because it will help even more, and before you even realize it, you are addicted. Thast how it happened to me, I just one day realized I could not stop taking the pills. Anyway, I wish you the best of luck and like Magi said, if you need anything, don't hesitate to contact the site.
MikeWithFamily

[Flutterby111]

I'm doing fine.  THanks for your concern.  There's not a WHOLE lot of reason to worry about relapse for me since I told all of my dr.'s about my addicition.  I don't have any resources to "score" otherwise.  I'm doing better today emotionally than that past 2 days. Even wearing Makeup today! :)