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How can I safely stop taking Fiorinal

I have been taking Fiorinal for 13 years to treat vascular headaches. (2 pills, 3 times a day) I wish to discontinue and have cut back to one pill three times a day for the last five days. I plan to gradually decrease over the next week. I have been experiencing discomfort.(Body aches, and poor mood) Is this safe? At what point does the body return to normal? Should I expect days, weeks, or more? Thank you for your help.
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Avatar universal
To take half a capsule, put a couple of dollops of applesauce in a cup or jar (like a babyfood jar), empty the capsule into it, stir thoroughly, and swallow half the applesauce! Cover and save the other half in the fridge.

I drink some juice with it both to dilute what's going to hit my stomach, and to kill the taste.  
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Avatar universal
Hi-  You could ask your doctor to change the order from capsule to tablet or the pharmacist may do it for you...Are you taking Fiorinal or Fioricet? How many per day?
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Avatar universal
How do I cut down to 1/2 tab when this is a capsule? Thank you. I seriously need to find a way to cut down as I can't miss work.
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Avatar universal
Hi sue!     This is an old thread but I'm glad I saw your post. Listen,there's no question you have some pain issues that need addressing but try to find a different way to manage and a different drug. The amount of acetaminophen you're taking is way over the limit and there are better,more appropriate pain meds to try. I'm happy to talk with you about this and help in any way I can.

I took this drug for a very long time and,thankfully,got away from it! It was not easy as you now know. But, I do believe in pain relief and good pain management so let's talk!
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Avatar universal
Sue, start your own thread by clicking on the post a question icon. I'd like to help and I think there are much better meds for your problem. At the very least, you're taking way too much acetaminophen. Let's talk,okay?
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Avatar universal
i agree and disagree.  We are killing ourselves.  slowly.  How to deal with the pain.... well thats pretty much what put us here in the first place.  "Most" doctors are "clueless".  Is there an answer.... I dont know. I do know that while YES, the fioricet does relieve some pain, it is not a godsend.  
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Avatar universal
I sit here, after just leaving my doctor of 15 years. Thank you, Vicki.  Fioricet withdrawal is one of the hardest things a person can go through.  I take between 15 to 20 per day along with 2 to four valium (10 mg.)  I am tired.  I am depressed.  I am frightened.  And I HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE.  I detoxed in 1996 (home and without a doctors help) from 30 valium daily and over 30 fioricet daily.  How I am here... I do not know.  I stayed off a few years, after going through the very worse 6 weeks of my life.  After the detox... It took me many months to start to "come into myself again".  After, I stARTED to actually feel good for a very long time.  It is 2012.  I am 47 years old with many herniated and buldging disks w/ stenosis/neuropithy/ and nerve damage.  I live in constant and severe pain, but somehow I need to do this.  For me, my family, and most of all my son.  Pray for me please.  God bless you all.  
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Avatar universal
I think it's a matter of opinion and that's yours. Truly, you didn't take very much Fiorinal for very long and it's dabatable whether you were addicted. So, that's your experience but it isn't the experience of most people.

Also, the person you posted to has not been here for ten years and this is a very old thread. You can post your own comments by going to the top of the forum page and clicking on "post a question".
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Avatar universal
i've gotten off a ten tramadol ten vicadin a day habit.. for over 5 years and my doctor actually gave me fiorinal with codeine to get me off the opitates... trust me i've been through both and fiorinal withdrawal is NOWHERE NEAR as bad as opiate withdrawal..anyone on here saying otherwise has not experienced opiate withdrawal.. i took the fiorinal for about 6 months.. 4 a day then down to 2 a day then cold turkey... i felt uncomfortable for a few weeks..similar to quitting smoking..but nothing close to opiate withdrawal so don't be scared the ones who think it is so horrible are the ones who know nothing about opiate withdrawal.
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Avatar universal
LA-  You posted on a very old thread.  Maybe you could start your own thread by posting where the "ask a question" icon is at the top of the forum page.

I understand what you're saying about your addiction but I have to tell you that your addiction will be a huge problem for you if Fiorinal is not available or prescribed to you anymore. You might consider tapering off and finding a different treatment to manage your pain.

All the best!
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Avatar universal
I have been taking Fiorinal for 30 years.  Now all of a sudden "the doctors these days" won't prescribe it (or at least the ones I see don't).  They tell me that they don't give them to anyone.  Interestingly none of my doctors care what I'll have to go through to get off them.  I have pain-causing health conditions and this has been the only drug I can tolerate without major stomach upset.  There comes a time when one should ask "what's worse, the addiction to the drug OR the body pain?"  I personally think that addiction is the very least of my problems ... that if addiction was the only thing I had to worry about in my life then I'd be very happy!  But few people can understand this because those who are not understanding must walk a day in my shoes to understand.  Everyone is different and just because some people think this drug is poison does not make what they believe true.  And, interestingly, last month I had a hepatic test done as well as countless blood tests ... and everything came back "perfect."  So this so-called dangerous drug did not harm me one bit after 30 years!  It's just these young "new generation doctors" who don't want to believe that an old drug (Fiorinal is about 50 years old) can in fact be a fine choice.
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Avatar universal
My father suffered migraine headaches since I can remember. He took fiorinal to treat his headaches and I now am not sure why except that they made him somewhat "high" and better able to cope with the pain. When I was a teenager I became aware that he was not acting right and we would sometimes make fun of him for not remembering my boyfriend's name (someone I might have been dating for a year) or doing silly things, like a person who was high. He would have a headache and then become very "talkative" at times when he took more medication than other times, but would never remember our "bonding session". Other times he kept to himself.

I am now 40. I have found out that he stopped taking Fiorinal finally when I was in my mid-30's. His new wife helped him to stop taking the meds. She told me that he would have blackouts at work - he would have a presentation and blubber on and on about nothing coherent and then forget about the whole thing. For 20 years or more he had been taking at least 12 Fiorinal per day. Now he suffers from pain that was masked from all the years of taking the pain killer. He has degeneration of the spine and constant pain from that (and ironically does not help his headaches). His stomach is now "shot" - he is retired and 65 and cannot enjoy wine or scotch or many of his favourite foods... ever again. He did not have a proper relationship with us since we were small kids. And he could not stay married to my mother. I consider my father a recovered addict and so does his wife. I have no idea what it has done to his organs as he is only recently opening up and owning up (to me) regarding his problem. He has bad arthritis in his knees and hands, which previously went undetected and untreated.

Good luck to you all. Remember your families and you kids and all the time lost with them that you can regain once you get off the meds. And the future that you can enjoy together without feeling constantly ill from the drug's long-term consequences.

This is not a guilt-posting, just another perspective and maybe another reason or inspiration to help stop the meds.
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Avatar universal
I can totally understand being anxiety ridden during withdrawal. I had viral meningitis 20 years ago and have recurring migraines and recurring inflammation of the lining of the brain ever since. After 20 years of taking this medication (Fiorinal #3), it seemed like the answer to the chronic pain episodes. So I ended up taking about 2 capsules 3 times daily since that is the largest recommended dosage. At some point I must of thought that I was taking it as a preventive measure for pain management.  About 5 years ago I decided to quit cold turkey because I was tired of the ups and downs of taking the medication. The first couple of days was not a problem, but as the medication was starting to get out of my system, I had little to no energy, and generally felt like train wreck. At about the 3rd or 4th day I had night sweats for a few nights, and then I started having panic attacks and paranoia that seemed to last all day about an hour after getting up in the morning. This went on for a couple of weeks. I thought it would never stop and thought I was losing my mind. The anxiety was so bad I could barely function and it was all I could do just to get through work. What was weird is that I was paranoid and had anxiety for no real reason at all. Possibly, it was nothing but withdrawal from the medication. Surprisingly taking .5 mg of Xanax several times a day instead of the usual once at night to help me sleep, didn't help with the anxiety. At times I would take my pulse and it would be 100 to 120 and I hadn't been doing anything other than just sitting still. I'd hate to think what my blood pressure might have been.

After going through those miserable 2 weeks I finally started feeling much better and was so relieved the panic attacks had finally stopped. Having had that experience, I gained a healthy respect for habit-forming medications. I have also gained the control back over my life. I tapered back on the Xanax too (even though I was only taking it once nightly for insomnia) until I was completely off that as well.  Now, I only take the Fiorinal #3 when a migraine becomes overwhelming which may be once or twice a week or even once in a 2-week period. Even then, I limit myself to a couple of capsules, and no more than 4 in a week’s time. I can't take some of the other prescription migraine medications out there because of a heart condition.  I had triple bypass surgery 2 years ago, which I had to take a lot of strong pain meds daily (Tylox and Lortab) for about 5 months. I was so afraid that that I would once again go through some type of withdrawal. After the pain of surgery subsided, so did having to take pain meds, and I didn't go through, or suffer any type of withdrawal problems.

I don't think anybody who takes prescribed medications for health reasons, wants to become addicted. Unfortunately the "good patient” that takes habit-forming meds just as the doctor directed, unknowingly becomes dependent on the medication. Once we realize we are dependent, the vicious cycle begins, and we become frightened and scared of what will happen if the medication is stopped. The trick to taking any type of medications such as, pain meds, sedatives or anxiety drugs, would be to take it only as needed, and "needed" meaning just that. Not daily, because eventually you will have problems somewhere down the road. Some people have chronic health conditions that the only answer is having to take something for it either daily or "as needed"  basis.

I guess the bottom line here is knowing that taking more isn't better, and just because the prescription bottle says " take 3 times daily" doesn’t mean to actually do that everyday, it only means you could if you needed to for a couple of days during an extended migraine attack.
When it comes down to it, we are in charge of ourselves, and understanding that a medication could be habit-forming and can become a problem is the key. Then it becomes a matter of safely tapering off a medication, and using a bit of will power to do so. After doing this, and you must still take the medication, you will at least understand the ramifications of daily use and dependency, and you will use the medication with a little more caution and common sense.

Sorry for the long post. I promise that you will eventually start feeling better if you haven't already started to do so, and I wish you and everyone else here good luck and good health. From what I've read here, there is a lot of good and helpful advice. I hope I was able to give you some as well. Take care.

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Avatar universal
Just found this site.  Very interesting.  I am a fiorinal addict, have been for 5 years.  Was on a recent path of self destruction and with 3 children and good husband, they deserve better.  Admitted to psych emerg Sunday was the beginning of withdrawal and admission of problem.  Thought I could go from 10 or more a day to 3 or 4.  Think when blood pressure check showed 150/98 realized I could be shocking my system so I am now following dr. tapering off method.  Usual withdrawal symptoms sweats, neck pain etc. but know I have a long road ahead.  Hoping to enter Transitional Day Program  in Psych at hospital in a few days which will help me restructure my life as right now everything is a blurr and anxiety ridden.  Will continue to keep you informed but from all of the comments on this site, we are all in this together and will be tough sometime but hang in there, it gets better, i know i have been addicted before and tried cold turkey.  Worked but was 20 years younger!  God Bless us all, tina
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Avatar universal
thanks fladdict will do so now :)
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182493 tn?1348052915
As I posted above on 7/19  this thread is quite old.. these posts usually get overlooked by members who don't have their settings to allow these posts to come up..

If you would like support from current members of the forum. Please repost in a new question and introduce yourself or in a post that was started today..

Welcome
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Avatar universal
Hello, just came across this forum, it's great. I have been addicted to fiorinal C 1/2 codeine for over 2 and a half year now. At worst I was taking 13 pills a day until I really realized I had a prob !! I am now down to 8 1 a day and am really taking this seriously from this day on. YES It will be very difficult... will be cutting down 1/4 every 10 days and hope for the best. I take mostly 2 X C1/2 at a time. What a mistake, NEVER do that, rather have a migraine trust me. Worst part, doctor acting as pusher, not helping at all so all in my hands now and am damn serious about this. :) so, if you can encourage me might help, first day tomorrow :)
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182493 tn?1348052915
Hey there.. the thread you posted on was from 2002.. I am sure none of those members are here anymore.. however there are many members who would be happy to help you.. If you could post a new question about your problem on the main page the current members will be able to see it and respond..
I am currently over a month off of vicodin and I did it outpatient at home.. If you think you can taper off then this should not be a problem.. opiate withdrawl is not lethal.. You can do this..

Welcome to the site..
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Avatar universal
I am glad to of found this information.  I am taking 4 to 6 Fiorinal a day and was told i couldn't do it myself and had to go to detox.  I am petrified to go to a hospital let alone detox.  I feel they will just fill me with other drugs than may not work or result in bad side effects, and let me lay there with a pounding head.  I really can't stand when my head pounds, or gets this terrible pressure (i have had scans and an MRI).  I have no doctor that will help me and no friend or family member.  My husband has cancer so he has his own concerns.  I guess my real question is do i have to go to detox or can i continue to cut back on the pills myself - very  slowly.  I an so scared and alone and don't want to die or get sicker.  I used to only take these for PMS migraines and they saved my life at that time.  But then i was only  taking a few once a month and even skipped a month or two.  All of a sudden the headache started coming all day and the doctor just kept giving me more pills.  I need someones help.  Thank you to anyone.  Sherri
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Avatar universal
It's great to hear from you and I think you have acomplished an awesome feat. It is so good to know that I was able to help you and make a difference. Thank you for your great input. We all learn from each other and it is interesting to me to understand how we got here and how we got back. I've listened to some fascinating Dr.s tapes. If we get cut off the page and you ever need support feel free to email me anytime at ***@****. Take care.
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Avatar universal
I'm back for a night again--and checking on you both.  Thanks for all your support Alicia Marie.  You will never know how much this has meant to me.  I am now ready to have my husband dispose of the stash of pills I had accumulated and I don't even care any more.  I have no more cravings to use Fiorinal.  Yough, let us know how you are doing.  I hope they don't delete this page because it seemed so unique and SO very helpful.  I would never have been able to get free with so little problem.  I will be eternally grateful.  And if there is another person out there struggling with this same drug, this is the place to turn.
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Avatar universal
We are at the bottom of the page. I hope we don't get deleted. Good luck k.s. and yough. I think about you and hope you are well.
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Avatar universal
I'm home for a short weekend, so I checked on you guys right away.  Sounds so familiar.  It's been 3 weeks tomorrow since I took my last l/2 Fiorinal and I still want one several times a day.  But it just isn't worth starting again.  I use aspirin when I really hurt, but that should be better for me.  If it takes about 2 months to feel great again, that gives me hope.  It really helps to hear from you two who are going through the same thing.  Hang in there and let's keep up the good work.   We will make it!
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Avatar universal
Hi k.s., It is good to hear from you. I didn't have the craving after stopping. I think the most important thing is to never get to a point where you think you can use it occasionally. It is too dangerous. I'm so proud and happy for you. Thank you for writing.
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