Trying to get off Percocets.......no response from yesterday

[curlygirl2]

Hi there......I'll just cut & paste my question from yesterday, perhaps my title didnt catch anyone's interest yesterday......

Good Morning:
I have been taking prescribed pain meds for quite some time for neurological pain ........its my goal to get off them slowly this spring.......percocets during the day 3x/day and 20 mg oxycontin at night.......Any suggestions on a good way to do it?  I have to find something to help me that isnt a narcotic......I just want my life back....
Thanks!
Dianne
Any response would be helpful.......I have 18 pills left until my refill......and I would love not to refill!!

[rockbottom1970]

Hi curly, It looks like you've already had a taste of what the WD's will be like for you, you experienced it on your little trip up north.  It doesn't get any worse than that and there are things you can do to alleviate the symptoms, I'll tell you what I did a little later.

You asked me how I stopped?  Well let me say first off, this is my fourth time detoxing, the other three times I relapsed.  Its never been an easy thing for me to do and each time I try to quit my WD's were worser than the time before.  My addiction totalled 8 years of my life.  It began with percosets and gradually increased to Oxys the past two years.  My wife didn't know about any of this and when I finally had to tell her she was devasted but was willing and there to help me.  After my last relapse she had enough and I was out.  I lost my wife and two kids not to mention all the other things this drug took away from me.  I continued to use but it was different, I felt so alone this time.  I was alone and I knew I had to do something.  Losing my family was what did it for me.  I made up my mind to kick this thing and I'm doing it.  I want my family back. I want everything I lost these past years back.  This is what made up my mind to do it once and for all.

Now the physical WD's...everyoneWD's differently.  This last time was really rough for me, I did it alone at home.  What I did was get everything I needed before I started quitting because I knew I wouldn't want to go anywhere when the WD's began.  I picked up multi vitamins, gatorade, epsom salts, immodium, heating pad. Hylamds RLS, prepared some food and more importantly I used the forum.  There are great people here who are more than willing to help with your symptoms as they come, just keep posting.  I took a lot of hot baths with epsom salts, I drank a ton of gatorade, I ate when I could (not often) and most importantly when it got really tough.... I toughened up mentally and used the forum for support to push through.  I'm not going to lie, it was rough but each day is better than the first and when the worst is over It feels it feels like I had a very bad flu.

You can do this too.  Just make up your mind that you're going to do it and do it!  I know you can.  You already did it partially on your trip. Everyday does get better.  Dont let the drug take over, I lost 8 years of my life to this.  I apologize if i've left anything out, I'm still not thinking 100% but If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.  Good Luck, I know you can do it and I will help in any way.  Good Luck and keep posting!...K.J.

[Baker3336]

Norco is hydrocodone, same as vicodin but with less acetametaphin..

[curlygirl2]

Hi Kay.....Thanks for your note, I really appreciate it!  Is Norco the same thing as percocets?  I'm not familiar with it......How is Day 2 of the withdrawal for you?  I hope you are not too uncomfortable....what did your doctor say?
Thanks so much,
Dianne

[curlygirl2]

Thanks for your advice......I looked back what I wrote above and its right about the dosage 3x/day 5/mg (but its 2 tabs) each time, sometimes I take more than that if the pain is really bad but I feel I have built up a dependency on it.....I'm scared to death of the withdrawals because I went through something similar when I went away up north for a week and forgot my meds on the counter in a bag at home......The first part of the week was spent in the bathroom with diarrhea and shaking and gagging......The yawning was horrible and shakes and vomitting was awful, so the thought of going through that again I'm scared of......I hope that the doctor will help me come up with a plan.....Not going to lie, the pills help me get through the pain and they make you feel like you can handle things better.....but this spring is my time to face reality.....
How did you stop what you were taking?  Love to hear about it.....
Thanks!
Dianne

[rockbottom1970]

Now this is just my opinion and I am a new member, other members know more.  I feel the dose you are on (35mg/day) is a very good dose to start tapering down from.  I was using approx 4x that amount daily for 2 years.  I've also read here that others have done up to 200mg oxy/ day.  So I tfeel you are at a low enough dose to taper.  I did not have that option but as someone mentioned earlier talk to your doctor and discuss everything with them.  Listen to the advice offered in the previous posts, there is a lot of great advice there. Good luck and best wishes.

[lostlamb]

Hey, I am in day one of ct from Norco.  The fear of getting off has been worse than the wds.  And the pain I have is a nice old friend that I can once again feel. My pain has never made me feel the way the Norco has.  I was able to go to work and loved it even wil my pain. With Norco it has landed me where I do not want to get out in public let alone the house. I just want my life back.  I think for me it is going to be more mental. The wds have been mild sooooo far. I stocked up on items that was suggested by the members on this board. I began taking them last night and I even had a good night sleep.  I do not know what today is going to bring, but I only know I want my life back(! I am praying for you.  Kay

[LeaAnn807]

Hi!  Definitely talk to your doctor.  The WDs are doable, but you need to have a plan for the pain after you stop the pills. Chronic pain that has been dealt with with narcotics just has to be dealt with some other way..Your doctor can probably come up with something else for you to try.

Go to the health pages and look at amino acid protocol and thomas recipe.  They have good info for helping ease WDs.  Nothing will make it completely comfortable to go through, but there are things that help ease it.  Your doctor may have some ideas along this line too.  Just stay away from anything that is controlled.  You can end up with another problem if you're not careful!! : )  

Good luck!!

[curlygirl2]

Thanks to you too....all your comments made perfect sense!  I really appreciate you writing to me.....
Take care!

[curlygirl2]

Thanks so much for your input....I guess what i'm trying to figure out is pain control vs. addiction and for all I've heard, and what i'm feeling from time to time, its time to get some control and get help.  I will talk to my doctor about it.....several months ago, he said "cut them in half", but thats not good so I'll have to have a heart to heart with him.  
I take percocets during (3x/day 5mg)  the day and 1 ocycontin at night (20 mg)

Thanks so much, so glad you are going well!
See ya,
Dianne

[EmmyD]

Welcome!  This really is a great place to come for support.  I too was taking percocet and oxycontin along with demerol for chronic pain. I found that after a while the pain wasn't getting better but I kept taking the pills for the 'high'.  

There really are a lot of options out there for pain control that are non-narcotic.  I went to several pain specialists and they were wonderful but by that time I was basically going because I wanted the narcotics more than I wanted to be pain free.  I was taking, or let me rephrase that, I was abusing large amounts of the narcotics and stopped cold turkey.  I am 10 days clean today.  

Obviously that isn't for everyone but maybe if you talked to your doctor he might be able to give you some options that you didn't know were available.  And yes I still have pain but honestly I feel better today than I have in years even with the pain.

Keep coming back for support we're all here for you.

Emmy

[RnTgotitbad]

hey good luck getting off opiates, were a couple who were snorting up to 10 ea 10/325 percs a day, we started out recreational users but you know how it goes, we ended up have to do them just to function, we had 6 pills left and tapered off when we made up our mind. we did 4 the 2nd to last day then 1 each our last day and started the thomas recipe, its all natural supplements that help with withdrawls, which are pure h**L for five days. its just my opinion but i think 18 is plenty to taper with, we are 26 days without any opiates.. so look on bottom right corner of this page and click on thomas recipe and it runs aroun thirty bucks for everything and it should be enough to last 30 days..it really helps.. you tell doc, he may put you on another drug like suboxone r methadone, which eventually youll have to withdrawl from them as well, thats what weve read about them.. try it yourself ..you have plenty of support on here we are all in this together, we are here for you, post everyday it helps, good luck,and god bless :)

[IBKleen]

Hi,

Sorry your post was overlooked. I see you wrote it quite early in the morning and it may be that no one was awake at that time. Anyway, you're back and that is great.

Before you decide to go off of the pills, I suggest that you speak with your doctor about alternative pain remedies. I hate to see you go off the pills and then you are not prepared for the pain afterward, if there is still pain. Like I said, your doctor would probably have the best answers and there is also a pain mngt community here at MH and the members there could help you out. You can get some answers here but I think it would be best for you to explore all options.

It is just my opinion but I don't think 18 pills is a good taper plan. That is going to be quick and I don't see the point. At that point you could just jump off and get the withdrawal behind you. But if you decide that tapering is best, ask your doctor for a proper taper schedule and follow that. It would also be best to have someone hold the remaining pills and dose them to you according to the schedule. That removes the temptation somewhat.

Have you gone any length of time without the meds and evaluated your pain level? If not, that is important. Most of us suffer from rebound pain during detox and it is hard to separate that from "real" pain. It is best to be off of the meds for a bit to determine the level.

Once you are set with a schedule, we can begin giving you some suggestions that will help ease the process. Many members here have gone through the physical withdrawal and can tell you what they did to make themselves more comfortable.

Stick around and ask all the questions you need to. This is a great place for support.