Tapering off Oxycontin

[cetiya]

Now that I am off the Fentanyl patch, I am left with an addiction to Oxycontin.  I am taking two 20 mg oxycontin twice a day.  I would like to switch that to taking one every six hours for a while, and then try to drop one here and there.  These are capsules so I can't cut them in half.  Is this the best way to taper myself off these?  I found out if the opiate level in my blood gets too low, I start to feel anxious, but have to get off these one way or the other.  I still have some oxycodones left, maybe I can substitute some of the SR's for the shorter acting stuff and cut back that way.  I can't take any more time off work, and I am finally feeling good, so I don't want to screw things up, but how else am I going to get off the oxy's?  My doc knows I am taking them to ward off the withdrawals, I was honest and told him my pain isn't that much, I just can't stop the oxy or I'll get sick. He gave me lots of Oxycontin, so maybe I can taper off one way or the other. He was just gonna leave me on this for a couple months, but don't know what his plan is from there, maybe go down to Vicodins instead of the heavy stuff.  Thanks for any suggestions you may have.

[jjjjzzzz]

Good luck... I thought I was in the clear but this is the worst. Suboxone to detox for me sucked. I was doing about 7 opana 40s a day crushing them and the real deal stuff for over a year. I was to afraid to cold turkey so I went on the suboxone and for me that was the worst mistake. Sure it takes away all the withdrawls and depression and you feel like a million bucks but there is a dark side. I was on 8mg of suboxone a day which is low but felt great then moved from NY to cali and couldn't get any more suboxone so I had 45 pills left and used them to taper from 8mg to 0mg in three months. The withdrawl wasn't bad until I went from 1mg a day to none. I get headaches, can't sleep, can't eat have no motivation and its been 3months of tapering and now 7 days without anything and it keeps getting worse and I am having cravings for all sorts of pills which I know will start me back at square one if I use again. I went cold turkey before and it was hell but only 5-10 ****** days. This suboxone is worse than straight dope for me. Any suggestions?

[MrNewHope]

I would actually beg you to quit or set a plan SOON to quit. I wouldn't wish the withdrawals from oxycontin on my worst enemy.  Try to taper down to a low amount and take 2-3 days off to go through the withdrawals.  You can see your amount is slow increasing and a higher amount along with months, and years of abuse will leave you trapped.  Quit ASAP Please.

Also it's better if you start you own thread by clicking the Green "Post Question" button on top.  You will make more friends that way in my opinion and there are lots of people who are more than happy to help.

[devinsahota]

hey guys i have been snorting oxy cottin for a few months now i do about 1 80mg pill a day half wen i get up half wen i get hone from work just for pleasure and i am wondering will this be easy for me to kick the habit or is this gonna be very very very hard sumtimes i do maybe 1 and a quarter a day i dont go crazzi and do liek 2..ect a day im at 1 a day snorting half at a time i want to kick the habbit casue im not eating properly and loosing weight i started doing it cause people around me let me try it and it felt awsome so prollly been 3 months doing it everyday 1 pill a day i need help any feed back would be great thank u very much guys im scared that i have got my self into sumthing i shouldnt have from reading about this drugg

[herbalgerbals]

****. I need help..
***@****]

I need to get of these oxys.. but my doc keeps prescribing them.. and I cant say anything.
I love them. But I hate them.
Please email me, someone?

[Daveyboy49]

I am on 40mg oxycontin two times daily (2 morning-2night)and also percocet (oxycodone) 5mg 6 times daily...I have been on these for about five years and finally worked courage to ask my Doctor to help me taper off..He started me at 10mg twice a day and 2 percocets once daily.I started two days ago and am starting to really be sick from it.I think coming from basicly 200 mg a day to 25 a day is just to drastic and am calling my Doctor now to see if he can do it a bit more slowly.His plan has me completely off in twelve days! I wish i could but honestly don't think i can do it.This is one powerful addiction.I seriously want this to work but man that is a big and drastic change for me.What do you think? Should i ask the Doctor to go easier or suck it up and be stronger?
Thanks
I have seven bulging discs and shoulder injuries from an accident .

[Florida_Guy737]

Hi...understand.  Please post this as a new question because this is a very old post; the people who answered above are no longer here.  When you post your question, many answers will be sent to you.

Welcome..

Guy

[PGhelpme]

This is my first on this forum. I', so depressed and scared. I have been on 30 mg oxy 2 times a day. I have to try to taper. Going CT is not an option becauseI can't yet share this with my husband and kids, take off work, etc. Please help me. I'm going to get the vitamins and other things described above. I have clonidine for BP and clonazepam. I take an OTC natural sleep med. At this point I am so ashamed and worried I can't do this.

[singintheblues]

Thanks so much for all of your encouragement.  I cant believe i am writing this.  I started like everyone else..chronic back pain..and did not know these demons were addicting.  I kept telling my Dr. I did not want to increase my dosage.. He finally  had a heart to heart talk with me and said...YOU HAVE TO TAKE YOUR MEDS. So ..i broke down and he had me at 80mg 3x day with IR's to help out.  The thing that weirded me out was..why..when he increased my dosage..did the pain not go away? Still dont know why. He informed me one month ago..that he was getting out of the pain med bus..I didnt think he meant me.  I have been on them for 5 yrs. Out the door I was sent. He gave me a paper with other drs. on it.  It took me a week of constnt calling..but finally  got a dr.  Had to wait a month...then...she calls me and tells me ...i am not a good candidate..what the hlllll does that mean.> No ans. Went to my GP..and told them...and left their office and decided i was getting off...(after they told me i had a kidney problem).  I had tapered before ..but the pain was so bad.. i slowly went back...(like you all say)..I dont think i am mentlally addicted..I might be fooling myself..But when i went off before ..i dropped 5mg a week..did great..didnt know any problems..I am determined now...i have no dr. and am not a street person..In one month i have cut my dosage in half..iam on 3 40's a day,, No sleep ..and i have ambien.  still no sleep.. Leg cramps are the worst...i thought to myself.i would try the hot water...i could barely make it into the tub  they are so bad.  I have been dropping 20mg a week...till last week...and the leg cramps were so bad..i am such a bi.....that i hate my husband has to put up with me.i thought ..i will stay here another week or so. Well reading your website.has made me know...to go on down tomorrow. i didnt know about thomas recipe..i will get it tomorrow. I could not do the flush thing..no way..God bless you..I am afraid of some accident happening and not having anything.  I still have stuff from my double knee replacement.  I had a lot of vicaprophen..and gave to an ailing friend that can hardly walk..Read part of your site.and thought i should have kept them..No way..as you say..just exchanging one for the other.  It is hard to imagine only being on for such a short time as many of you have..I wish it were me. I have considered suicide....but as you say...i have a wonderful husband..and so supporting of me... i just hate myself..i dont have the diareaha..i am still on benefiber to go.  but the stomach cramps and legg things..  are bad.. just dont mean to whine..but it does help to vent...you remind me of myself..your good life..i am not wealthy..but am in another way..with my husband.  I pray..i can make it.. I tried ct for one day...was all excited...and could not do it.Bless you all that can..I have had thougths of this or that..I honestly do not get a buzz.  There was a time yrs back i did. Stupidly..my brother told me...crush em up..they will work better...Now.....that feeling...was  good..but i really did not know I was buzzed.  I guess because i was doing them all of the time...The thing i miss the most is i never laugh any more..I am a very funny person..It has stolen my humor...and life...It is over..no more..I never thought I could get "normal" until reading your stuff.  I so look forward to it.Thank you ...all of you....

[Jemmi]

Hi everyone. I'm 10 days off of an Oxy CT. Has anyone else experienced numbness/tingling as part of wd? Twice in the past 3 days my arm and leg have gone numb for about 20min.(first time the right side, second time the left.) Haven't had this in previous wd, but nothing would suprise me at this point. Appreciate any help.

[Thomas050]

Hi Doner,
I wanted to post this in the other thread "depression from w/d" but it was closed.
I just want to say that you tapered down from 80mg of methadone to 10, that you deserve an medal of achievement. I can't give you that but I will give you a virtual high five and hug :)
I was with someone who went on methadone to get free of her pain pill addiciton. Then she could not get off methadone and decided to just stay on it. So I know (in my experience in a relationship with someone on it) how hard it is to get off. I just wanted to say congratulations to you. I have seen a few success stories of people who were able to get off methadone and I believe they are inspiring in that they show it is possible.
I may be trying methadone to get free of my my pain pill use and will know first hand what it is all about. We'll see.

But anyway, thank you for sharing your story. I admire your strong will.
Sorry to interrupt this thread.

Best
Thomas050
(The other Thomas :)

[rush2danger]

i wish i believed in the tapering method.  i should state that i was NEVER prescribed oc's, they sell them on the same block they sell crack and heroin here in sf (well.. one of the blocks) so i was always aware of what i was doing i guess..
so tapering got me into trouble that way.. copping in an urban area holds so many negatives..
i know the pain will go away if i do "a little".. but man, i went from 400mg of morphine and 160mg of oc to just 20 mgs of oc and that **** took 3 months! it was like hell the whole time.. kinda like this.. i felt that it only prolonged the kick..  although i'm sure i would use if i could convince myself i could taper ( funny, even now my little junkie mind trys to allow myself a taper)..
maybe we could hear about some sucess stories from people who tapered and are now completely OFF..
people that abuse, without chronic pain..
i don't mean to come on here and say there is only one way.. if i knew ****, i wouldn't be on here, only 6-7 days clean.. i just know once i got over the fact i was a junkie and i needed to STOP.. i started getting better.. at least i made what i consider leaps and bounds.
things like admitting to people i was using, ending all the lies, getting a job (great sitting in a cubicle while you sweat it out) so i could stop a life of crime to support myself.
i guess i'm jealous of the taperers..
..cuz it would be alot easier with a taste.
btw, people who use valium, or the other benzos.. how do you function? don't they knock you out? i tried this and started straight up passing out at work! they are addictive too arent they? shouldn't i be worried about picking up this habit too?
once again, thank you all for your help and advice

[cetiya]

I am still unsure if tapering the way I want to will work.  What I'd like to do is, instead of taking 2 20 mg oxycontin twice a day, to take one every 6 hours.  Then drop one.  Is dropping a 20 mg oxy too much?  I know with tapering other drugs you have to do it a tiny bit at a time. I thought if I started to get anxious I could take 5 or 10 mg of the shorter acting stuff, at least I would still have cut down a bit anyway.  I am quite anxious to get off these things and dont want to waste time.  Can someone give me an idea how to take less of this stuff? without freaking out too much?  I don't have any Valium or other benzo's to take if I get anxious.

[doner]

I am so sorry about your mom. I almost lost my mom to a car wreck on new yrs eve of this year.Its a miracle she made it.Your mom will be ok too.Dont you worry about me needing to whine to you, you email me anytime ***@****. Im there for you,you have my word. I will pray for you and your family tonight that everything will work out which reminds me, I have to add an extra girl in tonight that is fighting a fierce depression like me.I mean it,if you need to unload just send me an email. Moms are a tough thing. you never expect them to get sick on you. I still run to mine when im sick. My thoughts are with you,write me anytime,Melissa

[doner]

Thanks for the vote of confidence although I feel I really dont deserve it. If I whine anymore someone will have to send me some cheese.I get so embarrassed as I read through some of my recent posts as I get tired of reading MY OWN poor me posts.Kinda pathetic. Anyway, if I were you Id keep tapering so you're not sick and dont fall back. Cut one pill a week,make it as comfortable as you can. Kinda happy to find a friend that believes in tapering. Ive had a few issues w/ that subject today.Everybody has their own way. Most agree they dont have the will power to hold onto pills and taper which I can totally understand. Im kinda jealous, I wish I had it in me to go CT.But the pain sends me running back every time. At any rate stick to your plan (Id keep tapering but it's up to you)and you'll feel proud of yourself that you only took as many as you said you would.Sticking to my plan makes me feel powerful,like I'm in control.It gives me confidence to do it again and again until there's nothing left to taper.Some people think tapering is just dragging out the agony. I feel CT is like jumping into a hot boiling pool of agony.Everybody is different.Do what works for you. Take care and good luck,Melissa

[AlexisInTx]

I've also been successful at tapering.  It's the aftermath I have a problem with -- the mindgames I get into about the 'boredom' and I've learned after numerous attempts (and successful tapers - and I've only been taking pain pills for 2 years - maybe I shouldn't have said 'only') that I can taper just fine, but I think for me, there has to be an implementary program (whatever that may be) and support afterward so relapse doesn't occur.  

I guess I certainly am no expert, because I'm tapering now, and am keeping a journal and am finding this still hard.  I'm going VERY slowly, but the more you relapse, the harder the withdrawal/taper is going to be.  I have a group of support and I'm seeing a doctor next week to ensure that the network that I've surrounded myself with is going to help me.  

I agree that tapering can be VERY successful and that everyone has a different way of going about this, Melissa.  I don't think that there is a perfect way of going about doing this, and I don't believe in a generic protocol, that's why I won't go into in-house re-hab.  I think for many it's wonderful (especially if you find the right re-hab facility), but I don't think they custom tailor a method that specifically suits your own needs, and I've found through trial and error what I need to do.  I've had arguments about this saying that if I couldn't quit before on my own, what makes me think I can do it this time?  Well, I think a person knows instinctively after awhile that relapse will become progressively worse with each time, and that it has to end somewhere - my somewhere is now and I think the quality of life that's to be experienced is way beyond what I'm living now.  The benzo's have a tendency to leave me a little mind-boggled, so it's hard for me to read each post (I read it 5x a piece, it's ridiculous), so I have to apologize for making this so generic but I think that a good taper schedule can work just fine.  I have mine, I'm sticking to it and then I'm going to get busy with outside activities.  My Mom's diagnosis has been confirmed as colon cancer - she just had a stroke several months ago, and she's been a very close person to me, so I'm devastated by this news.  I'm thinking to myself that I won't be good to her or my Father who is taking care of her if I'm not 100%, so I'm going to do this for myself and for her right now.

Just know that you have people thinking about you, and that support your way and have been successful with it.  I think your determination will lead you on the path you want to be on.  If you ever need someone to talk to, please e-mail me @ ***@****.

[tonny13]

Oh yes, switching opiods to evade addiction.  My brilliant a$$ came up with that idea about 2 years ago to justify my pill popping.  I tried taking vics for a few weeks then would switch to tylenol 4s, then darvocets.  My line of thinking was that if I didn't take any one thing for too long I wouldn't get addicted. HA very funny now that I think of it.  Obviously that didn't work out very well for me.

One more tentative testimonial for tapering, I think it may be working for me, I'm down from 7 vic 7.5's a day to 4 and am feeling really good.  Also thanks to the vitamins from the Thomas recipe.  Actually I have a question about tapering from a relatively low dose.  Should you actually taper all the way down to nothing or does there come a time to just do it.  In other words am I down to a low enough dose?  I read of others who just jump off their taper when they get down to 4 or 5.
  
Melissa, hang in there, you're doing a great job!!!! Things will get better, you poor thing.  Email me if you ever need to just ramble please! ***@****

[doner]

Thanks for the encouragement as I needed it for this terrible depression.Since I started to taper I never really craved because it was methadone I was running from. No buzz. This is the first day in 5 months that I actually wanted to take a handful to chase the blues away.I dont know how much more of it I can take,you can only be this bummed out for so long ya know. Its like my mind is in overdrive. Thanks for bein there,Melissa

[hippy]

hi miss, i know a lot of addicts who have tapered,
as you said everyone is different .
i had no luck with tapering.
but tapering is a great way twards getting clean.
it makes getting clean a lot easier,
good luck and keep up the good work.

peace hippy.

[percsnomas]

Hello Doner and Rush2Danger.
.....i had read Rushs' post before lunch, and was going to respond after lunch..........only to find that you had done so very nicely.  Tapering can be a *****(willpower-wise), BUT it sure as hell is possible; in fact many doctors would say it is a preferred method(probably just cause it allows a person to adjust with each reduced amount// in other words, not as much of a shock to ones body(mind-maybe).  I know a great deal of people that have successfully tapered off their meds.

I've always said, it doesn't matter how you do it(taper or CT), as long as your method works for you!!
Both methods offer a chance at reclaiming ones' life!!!

percsnomore

[jack daniels]

Amen Melissa Amen   Jack

[doner]

Hello,My name is Melissa.I just read your post towards the top and wanted to drop you a pleasent and innocent reminder that people can taper successfully.I am in the process and am doing very well. I realize and APPRECIATE some people cant taper and must go CT, but tapering can be successful as well.My point(no offense)is everyone has their own way and to hear that tapering cant be successful is discouraging to a person who is trying wholeheartedly to taper off thier DOC.As I mentioned before,everyone has their own way.Best of luck to you,Melissa

[mrmichael67]

I know anytime I detoxed, smoking pot didn't alleviate the symptoms.  It just helped put my mind in another place, so to speak.  Unfortunately, nothing much is going to alleviate the symptoms besides another opioid.  Certain things like clonodine might help, but you are still in for a ride.  I have honestly never heard of switching opioids to escape addiction.  I do see many say they were addicted to oxycontin and now they are addicted to duragesic or fentanyl or whatever.  The bottom line is you are addicted to opioids, period.  The key word is cross-tolerance.  If you are out of your oxycontin and get, say, dilaudid.....you are going to feel better.  If you are on heroin and are kicking and have to "make do" with oxycontin, you are going to be fine....as long as it is enough of it.  Of course, tolerance will play a roll.  But, if you take an equivalent dose, it will work.  If you are addicted to heroin, or oxycontin, you are addicted to opioid agonists....period.

[truehead]

FYI:  I feel good today.. I am anxious and my legs are restless but it feels good.. it feels real.. i love it.. i will be clean.. i swear.. i have never felt better..

jack.. i am with you.. this will be the single greatest thing i have ever done in my life..

one love.. to all..
-true..

[skipper]

rush2danger:
thankyou for your post...so very few who post here have ever 'detoxed" themselves in jail! the last time i did was in 1975 in
the johnson couty, iowa jail. i had been arrested filling a "midnight" Rx. see i was a drugstore thief back then...went for
over 10 years without getting caught...about the time i thought i never would get caught i did...karma?

when it comes time to kick, (and every junky will) pick the time and place yourself...DON'T let someone else pick it for you. the relative safety of home or hospital sure beats county lock-up where they "allow you" one roll of toilette paper every other day and 2 showers a week.

i was clean off heroin and morphine for 17 years when an old spinal injury litterally came back to haunt me. now i 180 mg. of oxy/a day that is Rx by a kindly old pain doc who is quick to remind me his job would be a lot easier if i had been a junky (clean or not) to begin with! all that dope into my arm and i never even thought about what i'ld do if i ever needed it! i think a lot about it now!

best of luck and keep an angel on your shoulder
kip