Is there any "over the counter" stuff to help with minor withdrawal symptoms of prolonged Percocet use?

[trigger425]

Is there any "over the counter" stuff to help with minor withdrawal symptoms of prolonged Percocet use? In the fall of 2007 I was involved in an accident with a drunk driver while working causing disc herniation & nerve compression resulting in severe pain. I was prescribed 7.5/325 Percocet....took them for a few months and with P/T & excercise I got better. I remember feeling a little "off" for a few days after  stopping the Percocet, but I returned to work & by the end of the work week, the symptoms past.......felt fine until march of 2010.

march of 2010 I was run over by a truck at work causing severe injuries to my legs, hips, lumbar & cervical spine. It also exacerbated the injuries from the previous accident......as a result I have been prescribed 7.5 mg and 10 mg percocet. I have been taking anywhere between 5 and 8 pills a day for almost a year. I have now decided to pursue alternative methods for pain relief and stopped the Percocet's cold turkey about 48 hrs. ago....I have felt horrible and want to see if  there is anything "over the counter" such as any vitamins or herbs or OTC meds than can help with the process. I had to retire due to my injuries, so I don't  have work to keep me occupied while I withdraw. I have about 10 7.5 mg percocets left, should I throw them away? Or should I use them to ween off? please help.....I just wanna move past the withdrawals and get on with my life....I'm in my early 40's with 2 young children, so I can't just lie in bed waiting for this to pass.....chasing after them & playing with them does help to lessen some of the witdrawal symptoms for short peroids of time.

[quitinoxys]

Just copy your post then go to the "Back to Forum" link above click on it. Then once you are on the forum page click on "Post a Question" post your question this will start a new thread for you. Inside that thread paste the text that you copied

[pebbles360]

Hi just wondering if you can help i no how to copy and paste but were do i go to put my post i get a bit confused were i am meant to write it thanx

[pebbles360]

tThanx yesi have heard tramadol can be worse too come off than codeine...i would try to taper down but its getting enough to do that as iwas taking 45 a day and it is hard to get them now but i seem to manage tho so what do u suggest the best way to go cheers

[Chemicallydependent]

I was a heroine addict for around 18 months. Then one day decided to stop chassing the dragon so to speak and decided to try suboxone...bad idea. They are meant for people coming off serious opiate use and the w/d from that are every bit as bad as heroine w/d. That being said I had to go cold turkey and even though it sucked I did it. Then had to have emergency surgery and was being prescribed vicodin which brought very minor w/da back. You can do it trigger it blows but just do it cold turkey. Do NOT go for suboxone

[j34]

I think maybe the person meant toradol??

[quitinoxys]

This is a really old post so you may want to start your own. Just cut and paste your last post so you don't have to re-type your story again. Also be careful with Tramadol yes it may take away some of the w/d effects b'cause it is an opiate but it may create another problem for you.

[pebbles360]

Hi i have been reading this forum for some time now and couldn't believe there are so many people who get addicted to different drugs mine being codeine panafen plus which i started taking after i had a bulging disc and was left with 3 discs out,i liked the feeling it gave me so i took more than was recommened and now im takin up to 45 in aday 15 at a time but really it dosn't give me much of a feeling anymore ..i decided about a year ago to stop didn,t know about the withdrawlas at this stage i stopped on the saturday night come monday feeling a bit yuk tuesday couldn\t get out of bed vominting diaharria the smell of food yuk couldn't eat couldn't even keep water down so on the 4th day i took 7 and i was up in the shower feeling great but i have gradually gone back up to 45 again..so i went to the doc and she gave me slow release  tramadol and diazapan for the sleep and the tramadol takes away the withdrawals..so i have made my mind up that today i have taken my last lot of panafen and i want to get clean and stop chemist hopping thinking when did i go to that chemist last some chemist take your drivers licence down and the date you brought them other say get a letter from the doc or others just give too you...i just want too be normal again and not constantly think were am i going to get them today i want to get off this merry go round..so if anyone else is going thru this i would love to have some one to talk too and help each other  .Thanx for listening ....

[quitinoxys]

JenJen Tramadol is an synthetic opioid is really messes with your serotonin and your brain. It is also VERY ADDICTIVE just ask some of the members of this forum.

[jenjen281]

tramadol is a non narctic pain reliever. It dont get you high and its mellow on the tummy try that one?

[brians_wife]

Vit c b6 b12 bananas thomas receipe hylands restless legs advil naproxen immodium all these help. Yes subs can and are abused! Its not something I know much about but someone should be along with more info. Hang in there.

[tnchrissy]

My daughter was involved in an auto accident in 2001.  She has been taking pain meds for years.  Her body had become immune to the prescribed dosage so she started taking more and more pills.  Last November she decided enough was enough and she went to an inhouse treatment facility.  They mainly detox and then set the patient up with counseling options and other support groups.  She relapsed by May of the following year.  She decided to try to get clean again this November.  She is on Suboxone.  So far she has done great... But, I fear she is not taking her Suboxone as prescribed!  The medication is expensive and, I fear, more addicting than the opiates she was taking.  She is prescribed 120 Suboxone films/month --take four per day.  She is over a week away from her scheduled Dr. Appointment and is out of her Suboxone.  Her Dr. Told her that taking more than she is prescribed would do nothing for her... Meaning --she couldn't get high off of the extra she took-- I think that her Dr. Is wrong... It seems my daughter is more addicted to Suboxone--- since she has been  out of her meds. She has been in bed day in and day out... She is very edgy and extremely lethargic and nauseous... What can I do to help her until her next appt.?  What can I get her OTC that will help her through until then.  Please help me help her!    I am attaching my email address so you can send your response directly to my e-mail.  Any advice and/or suggestions are welcomed.  Thanks.

***@****

[trigger425]

Day7!!!!!!Yay!!!!!!!

[cathy7871]

Hang in there!!  I feel for you.  You need to stay focused and look at as a minute to minute thing. Did you get rid of all your pills?  If not, you need too.  It is too easy to slip up if you have them sitting there. Hard to beleive how I little pill can make us feel so ggod and then so crappy!!   Every minute without a pill is another minute closer to feeling better.  Do not go back now!!  You can and you will beat this. Keep reading and keep posting.  I found it very therapuetical. Rock on...

[trigger425]

Day 3 and I'm f^^kin' miserable............

[trigger425]

Ok, I've been tapering my dosage, but I feel like crap. Today is the worst day so far, yesterday I was a mess, today more of a mess. Am i going start the "upswing" soon....where I start to feel better? I'm thinking of just stopping the tapering and go cold turkey since I feel like garbage anyway.any suggestions?

I feel so bad that I skipped  going to see one of my favorite bands last night. Today I'm rehearsing with one of my bands, and tomorrow night with my other band(I play  drums) so the excercise from drumming plus the distraction should help.........

[trigger425]

On my next visit to my doctor in march, i am going to ask him if there are any other types of pain meds he can switch me to. something that won't cause me to become "addicted". I am in moderate to severe pain all of the time due to my injuries, and I'm also using any means of non-medication methods to reduce my pain, but they all take time and do not produce immediate results.I've had people tell me that I have nothing to worry about withdrawal wise because I only take the Percocet as prescribed. I never run out,and I don't take insane amounts(I've heard of people that take up to 20 pills a day). But I know that since I've been on it so long there will be some discomfort...thanks for the support, encouragement and advice from everyone thus far...I'll keep ya'll posted on my progress!

[christosm24]

i would definitely start a tapering schedule with the percocet..youve been taking a decent dose for too a long of period to realistically just cold turkey and successfully quit for good, especially if you still have leftover pills at your house. you need to cut down by a pill or half a pill every 4-5 days. dont rush it..the essential goal here is to get yourself off of percocet so you can live the rest of your life not chained to the opiate god, this is your LIFE were talking about here so dont rush itno something dont make unrealistic goals and you do really need to want it. if you dont really want to be off taking percocets you will sabotage your recovery every single time..i battled that for years. go at a pace you can handle, if you do the tapering right you wont feel any wds or discomfort. do the taper until you run out of your supply of percocet. if you successfully taper down to nothing and you still have pills left get rid of them, flush them or give them to someone you can trust. make sure you cut off ties with the docs that write you the scripts as well..the next few weeks after getting off youll be tempted and looking for excuses to go see your doc or go to the hospital cuz your hurt. you got to stay ultra strong, if you truly want it you got to work hard at it. you didnt become addicted in a day so getting yourself clean is a process...

[trigger425]

Ok....everybody's advice, suggestions and support has been excellent! Thank you! That being said I regret to inform you guys that I "relapsed"so to speak. After no Percs for 3 days and feeling a little crappy I felt I was gonna beat the symptoms. then it happened, while playing with my children I slipped and fell halfway down my staircase, striking my spine on the lip of of one of the steps.....Iwas lying on the floor and I could not move my legs or feel anything(As I stated before I have herniated & bulging discs with nerve impingment/entrapment)... I was taken to the hospital where I wasx-rayed,cat-scanned then juiced up with (forgive me if Ispell it wrong) Dilaudid(??)...wow...that stuff went through my body with a warm rush...and thepainwas tolerable....a few hours later I was given 2 7.5/325 percs....then discharged w/ a script for Percocet. I filled it(20 pills)and went to my Orthopedist who then gave me a 30 day supply of 7.5/325 which equaled 180 pills. I've been taking them as needed for pain. The dosage is one every 4 hours.  I don't take the meds for "recreational" puposes...i use them as prescribed for pain, but for other health reasons I want to stop taking them. It just sux that I use them like I'm suppposed too and my body has a dependance  on it now.

I have well over 100 pills left, and I'm still in pain from the fall.....should I attempt to ween myself off of the percocet. Due to the pain I am taking 3 to 4 over the course of the day, not even exceeding the max dosage.Or do I go cold turkey? The last time I went cold turkey I was feeling a bit better after the 3rd day...then I injured my clumsy *** again!

How should I do it this time?  

[bmdad]

Like I mentioned I personally have nothing wrong with sub at all. I think it can be a great aid in addiction although it's not for everyone. In my opinion if someone is taking, lets say, 20 vicodin a day or is constantly relapsing if sub was recommended as an option to someone, fine. But when it's recommended they should list the pros and cons and tell them to do their own extensive research on it. But for it to be recommended to someone that is going through withdrawals because they are physically dependent on pain meds or to someone that just came on here asking if anyone knows if there are any vitamins or supplements to help with withdrawals is ridiculous. Sub is intended for an addict so put withdrawal symptoms on hold so they can work on their addictive behaviors and their recovery until they are better mentally prepared to deal with withdrawals. There's so much more to it than just what I said here and even still it's not for everyone. This is my opinion at least.

As for Trigger425, check out the amino acid protocol. It really does help. Be sure to exercise, eat healthy and push the good fluids also.

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Addiction/Amino-Acid-Protocol/show/15?cid=66

[quitinoxys]

Brian---You & I posted at the same time so I am glad to see someone else with the same opinion on subs.---Rick

[quitinoxys]

trigger---You stated that you have only been on the percs for less than one year @ a dose of approx 60-75 mgs/day so you should only go through the worst of w/d for about 3-5 days. Exercise helps a great deal soooo chase  those kiddies around it will help you feel better. Also plenty of hot showers or better yet if you have a hot tub take a soak. Knarly & Vicki gave you great advice for supplements so I won't reiterate that.

As far as taking subs you would just be replacing one drug for another and the w/d from subs s far worse than w/d from the amount of percs you were taking. Subs have their place but only as a LAST resort. If you do c/t you should be free in a much shorter time and as Knarly said flush the rest of the percs as tapering will only prolong the agony. I know you will make as you sound like a strong person. I will pray for you and your family. God Bless---Rick

[bmdad]

Whatever you do don not go right for a suboxone program. Suboxone is normally used for addicts that have trouble getting and staying clean. I'm not against sub treatment but nobody should start it without knowing everything about it. There are many that say suboxone withdrawals is so much worse than other opiates and they last much longer. It doesn't sound like you are so much mentally addicted but you're physically dependent.

Like I said, I have nothing against suboxone but I wish people wouldn't throw around advice about it like it's a cure all.

Best of luck to you.



Brian

[diagnosemepls]

I forgot to mention the above comments about adding supplement to your diet is crucial!

Your body worked overtime to heal your injuries and process the medication. Especially the tylenol in the percs.

If you try to wean on your own, you'll be back at the doc for more pills in 2 days.

Your body became used to the medication so now you have to get your brain to realize you won't be giving it percs anymore.

Try the Sub program. I've seen so much success.

[diagnosemepls]

The short answer, NO, the long anwser, NO.

Unless you live in Thailand or someplace you can get opiates OTC.

They say it takes 14 days to get thru withdrawl. That's nice thinking but I've seen people dope sick for a month.

Get started with a doctor or facilty that uses Suboxone.

You don't go cold turkey and you don't crave the percs if you do the Sub program the right way. I work with a couple girls who've been on Sub for 3 years slowly tapering the dose.

Once they came off, they went back to perc or oxys so the docs put them back on Sub. Now their both down to 1/2mg every other day.

I know some don't like the drug but every addict is different and only a good doctor knows what's gonna work for you. Just be honest, you're not alone and have nothing to be ashamed of.

Just get what you need to get better. Hang in there, I'll be pulling for you :)