Should I taper off vicodin?

[Mollyheart]

Hi,  Trying to figure out the best way to do this.  I have been taking 4 vicodins a day for many years.  I am sad and depressed and very isolated (by my own design).  Is tapering best?  I'm terrified to go cold turkey.

[Mollyheart]

Thanks, googzy.  The vics are 5mg.  I take 1 when I get up.  Then 1 at about lunch time,  1 late afternoon and then 1 when I go to bed.  That doesn't sound so outrageous to me.  So, I think you very well may be right about what happened with my doc... and I am going to record our next conversation... great idea.

[googzy]

What dose are the vics ? Even at 10mg it's still a low dose... Four pills a day? That seams reasonable a pill every four hours... Your doctor must have run into trouble dosing someone else that got caught and was abusing.

I would tell your doctor to continue his dose or you'll find another doctor and if he yells at you again you'll report his ***. Take a tape recorder or record it with ur phone as evidence.

[Mollyheart]

Thanks for your suggestions.  I am in chronic pain ... neck and lumbar fusion and yes, a doctor has been prescribing it.  Without any notice, he started screaming at me in an appointment last week that he didn't want me as a patient anymore, that I was taking more vic than a cancer patient and that I was endangering his license.  He had never said anything like that to me... never expressed any concern, always said that I was responsible about how I took it and that everything was fine... for 7 years+.  Then something must have happened because he was just so full of distain and disgust.  He never expressed any concern for me or what I should do... just to find another doctor.  So, I started checking out the Internet about all of this and found this board.  I am going to get free of this and use everything that I learn here to do it.  I also need to find a new doctor that can help me with pain management.

[BIKERDAD1963]

Forgot to mention that I did this taper and it worked great. Very minimal wd at the end.

[BIKERDAD1963]

Taperring would be easy with the little amount of vic you are taking. Ct is another option, like i said you are taking a minimal amount but the wd will be there just the same. Reduce your amount 1/2 pill every week, when you are down to 3 pills a day start cutting the pills in half and take half a pill 6 times a day, then half pill 5 times a day, 1/2 pill 4 times a day, half pill 3 times a day, 1/2 pill 2 times a day. At this point you can 1/4 the pills and take 1/4 pill 4 times a day, then 3 times a day, 2 times a day, 1 time a day and then 0 pills. You need 5-7 days between each taper so your body can adjust to the lower amount. You may need 2 weeks between the last few tapers, your body will let you no. You will have some wd between tapers but it wont be very bad.

[ZJILLIAN]

Tapering is best and you can go very very very slowly. It does take discipline though to do it that way. You can read more about it on this site. Read the other posts. Are you also in chronic pain?

I find that the drugs really really do make you sad and depressed all by themselves especially long term use. I get very isolated, also my style, until I am so depressed I know I need to do something about it. I really believe that the pain of using is worse than the pain of WD. Is a doctor prescribing the vicodin? If so ask the doctor about the best way to taper.

I know a very slow tapering method which I haven't used but it is supposed to be good.
It works in three day clumps. You decrease your dose let's say 3 1/2 pills day one, then back to 4 pills day two and day three, see how you feel. If you feel ok then go down to 3 1/2 pills for day one and day two and day three go back up to 4 pills. See how you feel.

Then go down to 3 1/2 pills for day one, two and three. Stay it that level until you feel normal.

Then take it down to 3 pills day one,  3 1/2 pills day two and three, until you feel normal. Then take it down to 3 pills on day one and day two. Then 3 pills on day one, day two, and day three. Keep it at that level until you feel normal. and so on.

See what other people advise. Good luck and keep posting.