Need help figuring out a Tapering Schedule

[SQhopefull]

Hi everyone.. I have been reading on this website for a couple of days.. my question is how do I come up with a good tapering schedule... I am a wife, mother of 3 very active kids and about to start school... and I want this monkey off my back.. I take 6-8 norco a day for the last yr and I am just want to be done with this chapter in my life.. I have tried CT before and man wow... so back to my point.. I have 120 10/325 tabs and want/have to get off.. any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.. also what do you need to get through the WD's.  Thanks in advance.. I am determined to be done with this..

[zeroaddict]

I recently did a quick taper from 80mg a day hydrocodone (I have about a 4 year history with daily use) on Sunday down to 7.5 a day. today on Thursday.  I did 7.5 yesterday too.  I think I'll have to stay at this for a few days, or should I just CT it?  I have a lot to do this weekend and will be taking care of my daughter (2 years) for 5 days by myself.  The WD has been nasty, haven't slept since Sunday, malaise is awful.  I'm hoping tomorrow maybe I can level out a little if I keep on the half in the morning, half at night schedule for the third day.  What do you think I should do from here on?  Or am I looking at another long night/day tonight and tomorrow?  I know that was a quick taper, but I'm definitely not going back up more than the 7.5/day Im at now, I would just be going backwards.

[worried878]

if u need help..feel free to pm me..i have helped a bunch taper..i have noticed some important things regarding who makes it and who does not..people who pick a QUIT day usually make it..people who r honest and seek support also sseem to make it more often than those who stay inside of themselves..it is important to write it out..and stick to it..flushing a few pills that u dont need is very empowering..many need someone to hold their pills cos they keep cheating..i did...a small dose spread out ever 3-4 hrs is what the best taper consists of...there is an article in the health pages on tapering that is wonderful..read thru the health pages and keep posting

[Florida_Guy737]

When I tapered, i stopped taking meds to get a baseline of how long I could go without any first.  My base was pretty weak...50 mins (I was on patches/percs...pretty heavy meds).  So for a taper...I cut all of my percs in half and:

1st 3 days - 1/2 pill every 50 min
next 3 days - 1/2 pill every 75 min
next 3 days - 1/2 pill every 140 min

until I arrived at 360 minutes and just stopped.  

Guy

[BenHawk]

Again, other than the anxiety and a few hot flashes here and there, I was pretty much wd free...But, I dragged it out pretty long and tapered pretty slowly...
I think that was the key...
Terry, to go from 12 per day down to 3 is pretty drastic. Now, we don't all have 120 pills to taper with. SQHopefull does...As did I...

I would strongly suggest not pushing it...Don't get ahead of yourself and try to cut down too much too fast. That's gonna make it that much tougher in my opinion...

Good luck and keep us posted!

[beatingthis]

I did it a bit differently. I was on 10/325 and was taking 10 to 12 a day.
I went down to 1 3 times a day. Did that for a week
2nd week 1 2x a day also for a week
3rd week took 1 pill cut it in 1/2 took 1/2 in the am and 1/2 in the PM
Then just a 1/2 for a week. You will still have w/d's there is no way to get around it.
I had restless legs and arms, no sleeping, body aches no engery, and a ton of bathroom issues lol! But it will pass I promise. Everybody is different. Just find what works for you.
You can do this. It will be tuff for awhile but it will get better. 65 days for me. If I can do it so can you. Post often there is soooo much support here. Drop me a line if you need anything.

Terry

[SQhopefull]

I am thinking the hourly thing will work well for me.. thank you so much for the info.. so far today I have had 4.5 and I am doing ok.. as far as the anxiety I was on Lexipro up until 4 wks ago and learning to deal with emotions has had its ups and downs but its has truely been wonderful being able to feel again.. It's like I have been numb for 3 years.. to me it numbs all emotion .. happy and sad.. Crazy..anyways..  I will keep all posted.. Again.. I can't thank ya'll enough for all the support..