2orking while withdrawling

[tony791]

Hi guys, ive been taking 7-8 lortabs per day, for about 5 years now, blue ones, yellow ones, white ones, I need to get off these, costing me alot of money, I never take more then this because cant afford to, at this point im guessing I would have to take 5 of them to feel anything and thats too much money, I just take them to prevent that withdrawl horrible feeling.i work full time 40 hours a week, im a waiter so I need energy when we are busy, my sister thinks cold turkey will work but I cant imagine working through this, so should I take time off, I got maybe 9 days vacation to use.ive been trying to taper the last 5 days but not really doing good with that to be honest, should I try harder to taper off?

[Sonrissa]

Hi Tony, and welcome to the forum. You will find lots of advice and support here. In my opinion, cold turkey is the best way to quit. Most of us, myself included, were simply unable to taper.  If I had any access to pills, I took them.  You will probably feel pretty rough for the first few days, at least. If you can, take a few days vacation to get over the worst of it. There are things you can do and take which will help ease the symptoms. Check out the Thomas Recipe, the link is at the bottom of this page, for more information.

Also, if you are truly ready to quit for good, be sure to cut all of your access to pills. Delete phone numbers, tell your supplier, doctor, etc.  This is a critical step. Otherwise, in a week moment, it will be far to easy to relapse, and flush all of your progress down the drain. Also, consider getting some kind of aftercare such as counseling, AA/NA meetings, etc. This will also help to prevent a relapse.

Take care, I wish you the best. Keep posting with any questions or if you need support.

[VICourageous]

This is my opinion because I c/t off of 3 meds over a year ago and it was no cake walk at my age.
I would hand them to your sister or someone you trust..Do a nice easy taper..Let the body adjust a few from the drop of each one. We can not give a taper schedule on here..THEN when you get way down to like one half take your 9 days off..Meanwhile start drinking lots and lots of water to help flush them out of your body. Make sure you start taking LOTS of good Vit/Min. The more on the natural side the better. You can order a great liquid one that comes in one bottle for VIT and one bottle of MIN. I think this site advertises what I get..It is the WELLNESS. You could also get some protein & electrolyte powder. When you go through a w/ds you can come here and we will tell you more of what we used to help with sleep and the rls. You can do it. You have to really fight to stay clean at first. Wanting the energy like you get from the pills will not be there for a while..This is where most people will fall due to no energy or the mental part..Just know that it takes time for the Brain to re-adjust back from the removal of these Stims..I hope this will help you a bit..
Bless

[molly1923]

I was able to work during my cold turkey withdrawal but you will need to be able to be close to the bathroom. The first several days feel like the flu with nausea, diarrhea, fatigue and muscle aches. But, everyone is different.

There are lots of people on here with way more experience and knowledge than me. I'm 24 days into this and feeling pretty good. I have found that I actually have much more focus and energy at work. There are times that are worse than others but you can do it!

[ROSYouralright]

Either try really hard to taper or just bite the bullet and cold turkey it! Its like a week of the nasty flu.... Maybe less! Either way, you CAN do it