How Long Does The Withdrawls/Pain Last

[secretsout]

Hi everybody!
I have been taking Tylenol 3s for I think about 8 years now.  I used to take over 100 a day and I have been able to bring that down to about 49 or so, depending on how bad a day I am having.  I take 7 at a time, and try to keep it to no more than 7 times a day (7 tylenols at a time 7 times a day)  I originally started taking them because of this surgery I had on my mouth, and during the surgery, they nicked a nerve, so I am in pain 24/7.  The degree of pain every day is different, but I am always in pain.  I did get a 2nd and a 3rd opinion, and I was told by all 3 that the only way to fix this would be to have brain surgery!  And even then there is no guarantee the pain will stop.  I also have chronic pain in my back and my joints due to 3 car accidents I had in 2007 as well as having rumetoid arthritis (Not sure how to spell that).  I have tried one time quitting, and the pain and the withdrawls were just a little too much for me to handle, but I am not a believer in programs as I have gone trough many for alcohol addiction and ended up quitting on my own.  I have not had a drink since March 11th, 1999.  This howeve is a whole new type of pain for me and as much as I would love to be free of tylenol 3s, I just don't know if I can do it.
So, my question is, has anybody out there gone cold turkey and exactly how long and what are the withdrawls?  Is there an easier way of getting off of them?  I realize from being an alcoholic and drug addict that nothing comes easy. but am I going to be in worst pain then I am in now?  I take the 3s to take some of the pain away, I do not take them to get high.
Thanks for listening!
"secretsout"

[cleanmom]

Thats great! Use as little as possible, that way when the time comes maybe a little easier for you. Im glad that are having you attend counseling. I think you will probably sleep a bit better being free from craving. God Bless.

[Iwant2Bclean]

Tomorrow I go back and see the Dr and figure out my dosage. The program is 8 months and you have to go weekly for counseling. I have alot of people that are my support group as well. I don't want to stay on it very long. I want to be free from it all. I would have went the CT route but knowing that I have addictive personality I knew CT was not my best route. I don't like that I had to get on another drug to get off one but I will not let myself forget that Sub is a narcotic too! The only problem I am having right now is where I haven't slept for 4 days now and that is not from the Sub! I can tell tonight is gonna be such a wonderful sleep!!! I got sent home at 10am with 4 pills and at 520 I have 3 left!

[pharma9]

You can still remain clean even with drugs in the house....its not easy,but it can be done.I deal with drugs and narcotics every day and am not even tempted to take them anymore.I have found that I can function without opiates in my life and am not tempted to take them.Don't need them...therefore don't crave them
Your hubby is in a different position...we don't know what it is like to fight in a war and see death all around us...It has to affect us in some way.
He also has some real injuries that may or may not need opiates for pain control.We can not judge his pain from his injuries or from his war experiences.
Perhaps when he sees you clean and sober he will decide to try to deal with his physical pain with otc pain meds and be surprised at how well they work.
I wish you both the best in life and feel if you both stay here you will be able to do the best that you can do in your circumstances..

[cleanmom]

I know you feel good now, but please remember to get some recovery care for yourself. Someday you will have to come off the suboxone and i figure thats when the real work will begin. It is a crutch no matter how you look at it. This is only my opinion, i have never taken suboxone. I am 21 days in cold turkey and its a lot of hard work. I see a therapist every week. Depression is a effer. I am just hoping you are taking other steps to ensure your recovery. Best of luck to you.

[Iwant2Bclean]

I know now that it is not too late for me to change anything I want. At one point not long ago I felt like I was too far gone and I couldn't see that light at the end of the tunnel and I wonderd Why do I even bother? I am not gonna be able to beat this so I see no reason for me to keep fighting a battle I am gonna lose cause I go in with my hands tied behind my back. Soon after I was thinking of ending my pain and the pain I was causing my family and friends I got my wake up call.I am not going to lay down and let this addiction kill me. I know that I am not gonna recover from my addiction today. It is gonna be a battle everyday since I will have my DOC in the house with me. My hubby was injured in Iraq in 2005 and last May he had a horrible motorcycle wreck and broke 9 vertebras, clavical, shoulder and his hand. He is in alot of pain but he is also a drug abuser. I would have loved for him to have gotten clean with me but since his back is not healing very well and he still needs them I wasn't going to try and talk him into getting clean. He says he wants to get clean but I don't think he really means it. It is easy to say you want off them. The hard part is convincing your mind that you mean it!

[pharma9]

I thoroughly understood your post...The only person you were hard on was yourself...not anyone else.You were using yourself as an example.
I still say it its never too late to change and with the right attitude you can do a complete turnaround and recapture the life you once had.In fact it will be better because you will have learned about the value of life and family.
Stay with us and we will help you along.

[jstntime]

Hey again,

It was my POINT to scare you.  Codeine was my doc for many years and I recall a doctor doing a double take when I told him I was taking 10 t-3's per day.  His first warning was about my liver.   My dose was 10-20% of yours at its worst.

I can't fathom a doctor writing a prescription for 3000 t-3's just to get you through the month.  I agree that meth, morph and oxy's are probably worse than codeine but your problem is addiction, not codeine.  I merely suggested something without tylenol to give the liver a break.

Starting at a pain clinic is an excellent start.  If that doctor there doesn't do a MAJOR DOUBLE TAKE over the amount you now take, then run out of that place!!!!!

Have you thought of NA or AA??  Or addiction specialist??  You've mentioned numerous substances that you have abused in the past, until you are ready to truly stop this insanity, you will always switch substances.  

The liver can heal but that won't happen as long as you keep taking that many pills.

I am extremely happy you are acting NOW before it's too late.

You are worth it, please do everything you can to stop this, we are all pulling for you.

bob

[Iwant2Bclean]

I read my post again and I don't see where that would have been taken as me saying I was the only one in the world that has not had an easy life with the addiction.Did you see something I didn't where I was being hard on him? Yes I am hard on myself cause that is something I find that helps with keeping me on the right path.  I am not here to judge or make anybody feel bad about themselves I came here like everybody else did looking for somebody to talk to through the recovery process. But anyways I am not going anywhere! I started Sub this morn and I walked out of there feeling like there is nothing I can't do! I am so ready for this addiction to be a thing of the past. Past is the past for a reason cause it wasn't good enough to make it to your future! I am excited about doing all the things I used to do b4 I got so bad on the pills. Camping Fishing 4Wheeling Horseback riding. Cant wait for my son to ride a horse for the first time. I am getting my lil man a puppy for easter. He is not gonna know what to do when he sees it LOL. Anways I am gonna go for a walk and clean up the house and find something else to keep me entertained for the rest of the evening, Hope you are having a good day
Krissy

[pharma9]

I understood what you were saying...you were saying that you chose the wrong path .Even if you did...it is never too late to change and continue your life in a better way.It takes a lot of determination and desire to get and stay clean,but it is possible.Many people have done it.
The past is the past and you can look forward to an even better future because you have learned the value of your life and family .
Please stay with us and get and remain clean

[Iwant2Bclean]

Did I mean that as a low blow to you? Absolutely not. You said you wouldn't have taken them if you knew SAME HERE! Yes that choice was mine and mine alone to keep taking them. Now I made the choice to put them down. WOW I didn't think it would get heated over my opinion of what I would have done if I only knew!!!!

[secretsout]

Once again I want to thank you and the others, you have given me a lot to think about and I will keep you informed.
I appreciate your support!  You have mine if you ever need it!

Although I am not sure I want to be here much longer tonight, so I will say goodnight!

Good Luck To All of You!

[secretsout]

WOW!  I am sorry you are having such a rough go at this!  I certainly did not mean what I said the way you just went off about it!
I was simply making a point.  You can be pissed off at the world of you want, like me you made the choice to keep taking them, just because I don't take them to get high it does not minimize the addiction!  You really are not the only person out there that is having a bad life due to addictions!
I simply meant that had I been told how hard it would be to get off of them and how much it would hurt, I would never have taken them.  Don't be so hard on yourself, or me of that is what you were trying to do.  Sarcasm is not necessary!  
Thanks to everybody else for your patience and your help!
Sorry your are so pissed off Krissy!
I certainly did not come on this board for this kind of treatment!

[cleanmom]

What the.....???

[vicki595]

To: Iwant2Bclean...What?  I think you're a little off point here...

To: Secretsout...Wow!  The tooth thing is wild...OMG!

No offense taken..I knew you were joking...

Okay...good...get on that tomorrow

Keep us informed

Vicki  xo

[Iwant2Bclean]

I was sitting here since I have all this time to do nothing but let my mind go wild. But I thought what if that Dr that gave me the pills the first time set me down and without sugar coating one word of it said KRISSY TAKE THIS PILL AND LET ME SHOW YOU YOUR LIFE AT ALMOST 27. HERE YOU ARE A WIFE AND MOTHER WHO IS SO PISSED OFF AT THE WORLD AND WILL PICK A FIGHT WITH THE MAN SHE FELL HEAD OVER HILLS IN LOVE WITH JUST BECAUSE GETTING RID OF SOME ANGER INSIDE ME MAKES ME FEEL A LIL BETTER ABOUT THE PERSON I TURNED INTO. DON'T HOLD BACK THE HURTFUL THINGS YOU SAY MAKE EM HURT BAD! NOW  THIS BABY YOU HAVE ALWAYS WANTED FROM THE TIME YOU WERE VERY YOUNG HERE HE IS AND INSTEAD OF HIM HAVING YOUR UNDIVIDED ATTENTION FROM MORNING TIL NIGHT HERE YOU ARE NOT WANTING TO GET OUT OF BED CAUSE YOU ARE SICK FROM NOT BEING HIGH OR YOU ARE HIGH AND YOU JUST DON'T WANT TO GET UP OK LOOK HARD.

NOW YOUR LIFE HAD YOU NOT TAKEN THE PILL  HERE YOU ARE THE HAPPY WIFE AND MOTHER WITH THAT BIG SMILE ON HER FACE ALWAYS LAUGHING JOKING AND MAKING THE MOST OF EVERY MOMENT AND LIVING LIFE TO THE FULLEST. OUTSIDE PLAYING WITH YOUR SON TOGETHER AS THE HAPPY FAMILY YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN

To take the pills or to not?Keep them damn things i will take that happy life that seems like only something you might read about. Me and my husband had that love that made ppl sick and so jealous cause they have never had a love like that.Well I am  Sorry you can't have this happy life you longed for so long cause you decided to take a ride on a rollercoaster of fun and good times that could only be found in the pills. ENJOY

[secretsout]

This is me calm!  LOL!  I am a very hyper person by nature!  As for my nerve healing itself, if you can imagine, when I was drunk one night, I went to bed and allowed myself to fall flat on to the bed, thinking I would clear the headboard on my waterbed, NOT!  I got it under my nose and above my lip.  It hurt for about a year before I finally went and got it looked at.  I found out I had a third row of teeth growing in above my top teeth, so they cut behind each tooth and pulled it down, dug in and tried to remove them, they were growing root to root instead of tooth to root.  With that said, I went to 3 different specialist, oral surgeons and they all said the same thing, the nerve is now a ball of nerve and there is no reason there should be any pain.  The only thing that might work is if they do the brain surgery and either cut or remove the receptor that is sending the pain to my mouth!  I find it all just a little too extreme for me, so I decided against it.  I think that is how they explained it to me, I was drunk back then!  My memory is not the best.
And yes, I can tell there are a bunch of smart addicts on this board.  I was not trying to be insulting, I hope you all know that?
Again, thanks for your help!  I will look into pain management tomorrow!

[secretsout]

Thanks for taking the time in sharing what you did!  I HATE methadone, in fact my mother was taking that and lucky she stopped taking it as she too would have been addicted to that as well as everything else she was taking at the time of her death!  I REALLY hope you can get off the meth and I appreciate the info on about how long it would take for the feeling of death to ware off!
I hope no one thinks I am making jokes about this because I am not, I have found with the life I have had, the only way to still be here is to laugh about things, including my addictions,.  Not that they are funny, but I am sure you understand what I am saying!
I think I might try the CT way, as I have never liked programs!  None have worked for me, and not because I did not work them but because programs work for some people and not for others, and they did not work for me.  Besides, like I would want anybody to see me like that!  YUK!
Thanks for sharing!  I will keep you all posted!

[vicki595]

We're (mostly) a bunch of smart people,as well.  Calm down and take some action.
Find a new Dr. Get new lab work. Damaged livers(if you have one) can heal. It's a remarkable thing. But,the toxins have to go.  Codeine is available without Tylenol but there are so many meds that could help you.  As,I said,start looking for a pain management Dr. tomorrow.
  

Vicki  xo

[secretsout]

Ok!  Now you are freaking me out!  I am now as surprised as you are that my doctor would allow me to go on taking this medication, and he has been my doctor for over 5 years.  He actually has never once mentioned liver damage to me, and I have been hearing more and more about how tylenol can really hurt my liver and I am very worried about it.  Is there anything anyone could suggest I start taking in order to save my liver?  I do not want to die!
This is actually weird, because I was doing a search on the web looking for the damage 3s can do to you and this is the first site that popped up!  Go figure, a site with a bunch of addicts on it! Lol!  Just kidding, it's just what the doctor should have ordered!  Thanks!

[vicki595]

Glad to hear your liver and kidney function tests are normal. Hard to believe...you are very lucky.  Are there any other organs affected?  Well,yes,your precious brain.

Well,you've gotten some opinions here and they're good ones.  You're taking too damn much T3 and cutting back won't do much for your pain.  So,the issue is coming down to pain management.  I agree,with nerve damage you need something...

It seems apparent that although you're addicted you don't take these to get high.
Have you thought about a pain management doctor?  You might look for one.  You really need to get squared away here. And,I'd have another set of lab work done.

Also,that nerve that got nicked...I know that's painful but in time a nerve will heal. Try to see an oral surgeon.

Whew!  You've got a plateful to deal with...Start making some calls tomorrow...

Vicki

[kc156]

Hello. I was taking about 20 T'3's a day plus 2 codeine contin (200's) ,which are like 7 T3's. This went on for about 12 years or so.It was for an injury that stopped hurting about 11 years ago, taking only for a buz
  Went to a methadone clinic 4 years ago and never took a T3 again.Big mistake cause now got a meth habit that's real hard to quit.Am tapering off the meth now and will be clean in May.
If I had a choice I would do cold turkey from T3,withdraw is about 5 days, and that is the end of it.Taper down first,that will help.
                                                                                all the best karl

[secretsout]

Well, I don't want to kick you, nor should anybody else want to.  My reason for not wanting to take something stronger is simple!  I do not want to get addicted to that as well!  Taking less or more, would end up the same for me.  I have a VERY addictive personality, and know I would easily get addicted to another drug.  I never have done anything half way, and I am terrified of getting off 3s let alone Oxy or something even stronger.  I will take what you said into consideration and see what there is out there I could take that would not do as much damage as the 3s!
Thanks for you input!  Not too mention scaring the crap out of me! BIG SMILE!  I know it's dangerous, that is why I am reaching out!
Any information I can get will help me in the long run!
  

[jstntime]

As has been mentioned, that's a toxic level of tylenol on your liver.  The morphine would quite frankly be a SAFER alternative.  I can't believe a doctor would be aware of that level of misuse and allow it to continue.

I seriously thought you made a typo when you stated you took 100 per day.  You are going to die if you keep doing this, please figure this out.

I agree with cleanmom, get something stronger without tylenol and give your liver a break first and foremost, then plan a taper from your new drug.  The tylenol has to stop, I can't stress this enough.

Your time to act is now.  Do it fast.

Godspeed,

bob

[secretsout]

I appreciate your opinion and your honesty!  I actually just went to the doctors about 2 weeks ago and had my blood work done, and as far as I know my liver & my kidneys are still OK!  Is that the only organs it effects?  Keep in mind that the doctor I go to, as far as I am concerned got his license in a cracker jacks box!  I am not saying all doctors are bad, he is just one of the exceptions.  I actually started going to see him when my mother was alive to get her off all the drugs she was on.  I told him the first day I met him I was addicted to 3s and that day I walked out with a prescription for them.  I know, people will say why don't I go to another Dr?  I go to him because I need the 3s and he gives them to me.  I do not believe Dr's are not aware of what they are doing to their patients!  I am a firm believer that if there is even a remote possiblility someone can become addicted they should do everything in their power to help you be aware of that as well as the choices you have once you are addicted.  Not throw you away, cut you off, and give you no choice but to go to the streets for your drug of choice.  My doctor offered me Moriphine to get off the 3s.  Meanwhile, that is the last drug he gave my mother 3 days before she died.  I don't mean to go all dramatic about it, but I am tired of Dr's getting away with the stuff that they do.  Yes I made the choices I did, but I honestly preferred drinking!  Then I was introduced to tylenol 3s after my surgery, and here I am today!  I blame myself for continuing to take them, but I would never have tried them on my own!
As for what you said about feeling crappy, and having the willpower to do it?  I have quit everything on my own, cold turkey, including coke, alcohol, and acid/mushrooms, nothing even comes close to the pain I was in when I tried to quit 3s.  So, I guess all I can do is start cutting down even more and I will keep you posted.  You really seem like a nice person!  I appreciate anything you can help me with, and your words of encouragement mean a lot!  Thanks for caring!