So which is the best way to get off Oxycodone?? Taper or Cold turkey???

Question

Im just to the point where I really want off of this S*** I just am having a hell of a time getting there. I watched my parents both be hooked on drugs as a child I dont ever want my children to go through that our witness me detoxing. So how should I do it?? Taper off slowely or go cold turkey... I have a 4 year old and a 6month old and no help at home durring the day. WHAT DO I DO??

jazzzz1965 · Answer

I have been on opiates for 6yrs and now I'm taking 180mg of morphine and 180mg of oxycodone and I run out of that and take another 240 15mg oxycodones on the 4th week of the month..I don't think I'm going to survive c/t and in my opinion suboxone and methadone are just as addictive and the wd's from them are even worse, I don't think there is a way out, well there is one way out and I'm considering it,

tannie32 · Answer

I have been.tapering off of.lortab for about 3wks, i was tking 6 lortab 10 a day for the past eight years. Im down to 2nd a half 7.5 now. This os very hard already, feeling wds, sleepless nights,.chills, leg.jerking. I know this is only tempory, on the posotive side, i am thinking more clear, more determined than what ive ever been, it was hard to get.srarted.I had to let my bestfriend hold them, nd only.give me my dosage for that day. I am worried about full blown WDs. Again I know its only tporary,.nd i will feel so much better, nd feel like me. Good Luck Everybody. Convince ur mind that u can do this, ur body will follow soon,.if u screw up .try harder the next day..

Zezeze · Answer

I have been taking 8 30mg roxxys a day need to get off right away. Or my wife is gonna leave me. What should I do I took a 8mg suboxone but got really sick sweats throwing up etc. The worst day of my life I think I took it to eary please can anybody help asap

RON77707 · Answer

I have cold turkeyed off several meds.  Like xanax on the 3rd day I collapsed, had a 20 minute ceasure that almost killed me. I went through 1 year worth of withdrawls after taking about 6 valium a day--my doctor retired after 10 years and I coul;dn't get any more.  The w/d's didn't start until the tenth day but it wasa hell and I thought I was going insane!!!
 But on the Vicodin and oxycodone or oxycontin it's different.  I CT 5mg. 4 times a day and for a week I was in the bathroom continually, day and night.  It was hard but fast.
I have a severe injury & been on a 100&50 mcg Duragesic patch at the same time.  Slowly droppeed 25mcg. mo & went into Wd's at 25-0.  Now I have been chewing 6-80mg. Oxycontins-AND 6-40's daily with clonzepam
etc  Yep that's 700 to 800 mgs. a day!  I thought I was going mad and the pain got worse.  I've done that for 2 years--started oxycontin 10 yrs. ago.  I've been on vicodin or something for 22 years and fed up.  Had another operation last year and it didn't help.
Last week I started taking the pills the way they were prescribed.  1-80 4x a day and 1-40 4x a day.
2 days ago I dropped off the 40's so that leaves me on 4-80's a day with clonezepam and an antidepressant.
I can't stress the anti-depressant enough!!  Had terrible headaches that kept me in bed today, but might be sinus?  It's all in your resolve to go through hell to get normal, but I have been praying intensely and believe God has helped me this last time and had no mental paranoid craziness.  I nothing at all except the headache today.  I swallow the pills whole etc.
I have had a total of 5 different experiences, but above all the 1 year of valium w/d's was the worse!  The second was the CT of the 5mg. viodcodin, but I had taken it for 5 years.  Hope some of this helps.  OH, I forgot to mention hot tea helps.
Ron

Ballgame · Answer

Taper if you can do it. Not everyone can. Ct is brutal.  With taper you're giving your body a chance.  Ct brings the hurt down. Ct is quicker, but when I tried it I lasted 60 hours.  Every minute feels an 5 hours. 
Good luck either way

bellzy · Answer

I have been taking about 120 to 150mgs of oxycodone daily. Started with the 10mgs about 4 years ago, after about 3 months on them, I was up to taking 5 to get out of bed and 5 more as I left for work.Now I go through about 150- 30mg tabs in about 8 to 10 days. I have tried cold turkey about 3 times a year and it is pure painful insanity to be completely honest. I was on my 4th day the last time about 2 months ago, and the w/d was so bad, I almost lost my mind, no sleep, no eat, no nothing but pain and cravings. Went back on them! Tried weening a few times as well, never worked, ended up taking higher doses in longer periods. I am so f-ing lost and want to get off of these life ruining pills! Has anyone ever went cold turkey and started feeling better withing a week's period? Thanks

GabbersMommy22 · Answer

well I think the reason it isnt working is the fact I went from taking 6-8 5mg oxycodone for about 4 months straight ran out went one day without, and then the dr advised me to take 2 5mg hydrocodone per day. I think he cut me down way to drastically for the tapering to work. I am very disiplined about not taking more than directed I even gave them to my fiance to dispence. Hoever I get migranes from vicodin, and I think cutting me down so fast isnt really the answer.

merrymaria · Answer

i tried to taper back in March but couldn t do it so i did ct in July.  I took 2 weeks off for myself.  it was bad but we get through it.  emotions run high and tears will flow but you can do it.   remember aftercare is important also.   good luck to you...maria

christos24 · Answer

youve got the disease in your blood, its in your genes so to actually get off and stay off oxy's you most likely need to either taper with someone else dispensing them to you or switching for a short period to suboxone to curb the wd's and help with the cravings..either way you also need to have counseling and go to meetings that plays a crucial role in everyone ive talked to in getting sober, and regardless waht you decide to do quitting is the best choice, but also be warned that cold turkey is literally hell. for a week and a half for oxy it is pure terrible insanity, i definitely dont recommend it, ive tried every method in quitting OC and H, but I needed help from a treatment program, but we are all different and the severity of the addiction is unique to all individuals..

Kitten284 · Answer

YOU have totally nailed it too!! As I've been trying to and can't get "started" for the last wk and I do feel totally frustrated and realize just how much of addict I am!  I wish I could have someone hold onto the pills and at least try it that way, but that's not an option.  AND as you mentioned I am on a v high dose so I'm hoping to at least taper some and then prob will end up going c/t because otherwise it would take too long also and motivation I already know would end up being an issue too!  God this is horrible!  I've dealt w/opiates for so long now, I don't know how come this time seems to be so much harder . . . .

Kitten284 · Answer

You've totally nailed (a huge part of) my prob - ". . . . not being disciplined enough to taper w/o doing all the avail med immed"!  That is EXACTLY how I wanted to put it.  You must have tried to do that yourself at one time?  How did you finally do it?

worried878 · Answer

tapering is a rude awakening for many..when u try to do it u see just how much of an addict u r..and can end up being extremely frustrating to say the least...but some can do it..mostly people who have someone holding their pills/or pain patients who r not mentally addicted.. i tried with a friend holding my pills..and still got more on the "outside"/made me feel like a loser bigtime..  unless u r at a high, high dose..it is easier in my opinion to just CT...like 100 mg or less a day it seems...people at 200 mg plus seem to taper a bit then quit but have seen them ct too...depends on whether u like to "get it over with" or prolong it as tapering will prolong the process but a slow ..very slow taper can make it less painful/but not totally painless as a rule...gotta have discipline to taper and also stay on top of it so as not to lose motivation ..however u decide to quit is good cos u r quitting..keep posting

122 Tactical Fighter Group · Answer

Tapering is by far the easiest way to go except for that part about it not working.  Most of us by the time we get to forums like this are just not disciplined enough to taper without doing all available medication immediately...........

Tapering ideally would involve decreasing your dose by about 10% per week until you are finished..................length of taper directly proportional to amount of narcotics in current habit...................

Kitten284 · Answer

I am at the same "point" you are.  I want off the same poison.  I've gone c/t before (not intentionally, but when I've run out) and know how awful that is, so now this time I want to try to taper off too.  With going c/t I know that the "worst" of it is about 5 days total, so as theeagle said, if you could get someone to help w/your kids you'd know when you'd really need it.  I'm sure tapering has got to be better (but the prob w/trying to taper, for me, is that I can't get myself started with taking the lesser dose, and I don't know how long to expect that it should take - 1 wk, 2, 3??

122 Tactical Fighter Group · Answer

For your habit i would say cold turkey .......... cant make any promises about withdrawal - so none will be made.  Can you get someone to give you a hand for days 2-4?  That would help a gob. See what you can come up with and someone will be able to give you some advice ...............