Can you suggest a sensible and "do-able" schedule to taper off of oxy-contin?

[micaofboca]

There are some great suggestions in these posts.  But if you could suggest a "best chance for success" schedule for tapering off of oxy-contins, without methadone or suboxone, just using oxycontin. I'm medicating with 30 mg little blue generic doses and my pain has subsided so well I'd like to discontinue although I've been using the medicine for 2 years.  Currently I have to medicate with one whole pill (since a half won't do much) every 4 hours which is when discomfort sets in.  So I'm using quite alot at 180 mgs. a day which is much more than I want to be using.  
     I know how erudite and knowledgeable many of you posters are, but I simply need the most "DO-ABLE" regimen to follow that can be accomplished very slowly for minimum discomfort, yet provide a total withdrawal.  Since my goal is the least observable discomfort, and slicing up small pills is not desirable, I was wondering (A) How long will this scheme take to accomplish successfully (B) Since I'm at 30 mgs every 4 hours (6 pills daily # 180 mgs a day) currently EXACTLY what doses should I be taking for the next, say 5 or 6 months, or whatever the optimal performance can be achieved under your suggestion as to the duration.  Thank you so much if you can take the time to help me succeed in this difficult mission that can really help me out.  
     So, this gist is, how long should this program be carried out and at what dosages?  It requires a graph of the suggested doses PER DAY for however long it takes.  It would seem to me the only difficulty is I can only measure out half pills or full pills, nothing in between, not that that would matter.  Otherwise, it seems that as long as you stretch it out long enough, success is plausible.  Thank you so much for your suggestions, reminding you that I don't want any substitute medicines to be part of this.  My personal e-mail is ***@**** if you can message me directly rather than fishing through these posts.  Cheers, to my success and thank you if you'd be so kind as to share your knowledge of these matters with me.

[sinkorswimintoronto]

Much Luck to you....if succesful you will be the first opiate addict who withdrew symptom free...think of the money at the end of that rainbow...there is no easy or pain free way off of this stuff...you project a taper schedule that is simply not achievable to an addict...trying to taper over many months while controlling your own dosage...not what addicts typically do...one friday or saturday night most addicts blast back 2-300mg, then the partys on again...let us know how you make out...xmas right?

[GA Guy]

Like I stated...you're theories would be justified if this was a quantifiable experience. You're trying to make something objective that's truly subjective at best. The reason I say this is that I have a friend now attending the detox center I attended who was taking 400mg of Oxy a day and 40mg of Xanax. His CT withdrawals were moderate at best. Another friend CT'd off of 30mg or Norco and had massive and prolonged withdrawals. In other words, dosages affect people differently. Unfortunately, you're trying a scientific solution on a very unscientific subject. All that being said, I hope your taper works...but, be prepared for mild withdrawals at the least. Also, please do not half your pills. Doing so could be dangerous.

[IBKleen]

I am totally lost. We were talking taper and now I am philosophically confused.

Best of luck to you.

[micaofboca]

Ok, sinkorswim, That's what I wanted to know; the difference between what really happens, and the Real-lfe occurance.  Because it's only logical that there would be no recognition of changes if they were done so gradually as to render them effete.  But, if, as you say the end would never be in sight, despite the low to medium grade w/d pains you agree wouldn't be terribly severe, although uncomfortable.  It only follows that your body would eventually be chemically devoid of most of the drug out of your liver.  To which it would seem full blown withdrawal symptoms are puzzling.  However, the same sophistry applies to the Roulette spinner that logically asserts if he were to very very gradually increase his bets on the red until it only makes sense that red will s doesn't work that way in reality, whereas logic deems it a "sure thing".

[micaofboca]

I really appreciate your posts.  Your  positive assistance can be felt in my pleasure "dopamine" areas of the brain.  It makes a successful attempt at this much more pleasant.  I dunno, but when mean-spirited bloggers take shots it leaves a nasty stink even though "sticks and stones"'can hurt my bones, but names'll never hurt me.  Yeah, right?

[sinkorswimintoronto]

I think you would find your schedule, as outlined would offer you nothing more than about a month of low to medium grade w/d pains followed by the innevitable full blown withdrawal...Ga Guys first suggestion is probably optimum

[micaofboca]

At the rate I suggested after 13 days I would be down to 1 every 8 hours or 3 a day.  Following the same rate, on the 25th day (only 1 month) I would be down to 1 every 12 hours, or 2 30mg pills a day.  If this could be maintained at that dose, so as to minimize cravings and avoid the obligatory "falling off the wagon" episodes, than that seems okay with me.  Of course if I were able to find the inner strength to follow that rate at the same pace, than I would be down to, say 1 pill every 24 hours on the 60th day, which translates to 1 pill a day which seems low enough to attempt discontinuation, unless longer period of say 3 or 4 months is really any better, but 1 pill a day seems pretty well detoxed.  But I bow to your better discretion if I've misdiagnosed a logical assertion in place of a real incidence where the two don't necessarily agree with one another.  However, at this pace it would seem to me very little pain from withdrawl would occur unless the rate should be even slower yet....I don't care.  I just would like to achieve this thing.

[GA Guy]

Oxycontin is hard to  taper simply because the pills can't be split up to lower the dose. The only way to really taper them while keeping the same pill dosage is to do a time taper where you place increasingly longer intervals between doses. I can tell by your posts that you want an analytical answer to a very unanalytical problem. The best way to taper in my opinion is to do a time taper down with the Oxycontin until you get to around 60mg a day or so. At that point..switch to Percocet and taper down from there with a non-timed release medication.

[IBKleen]

You don't need to apologize to me, no harm done. I was just pointing out why your mail did not show up.

Listen, you can try any taper you like. I was simply suggesting, from experience, that is was pretty quick. but if you think it is doable, then I wish you the very best.

Let us know how you are doing.

[micaofboca]

I apologize for the email insertion.  Please forgive me .  It was a stupid mistake.  But I don't understand why a very gradual reduction wouldn't provide minimal discomfort, although reality and logic often don't agree.  Forgive my naivety.  It just seems that if I were to attempt to reduce the TIME, rather than the dose and say go from 6 pills a day at one every 4 hours, ATTEMPT to reduce as slowly as 1 EVERY 4 HOURS and 20 minutes (for perhaps a day or two), to 1 EVERY 4 HOURS and 40 minutes (for another day or two), to 1 every 5 HOURS (for a day or two) etc,etc,etc. Gradually I propose that it follows the same slow rate until it reaches only 1 or 2 pills a day, OR none at all, which seems more difficult and prone to starting up again.  It "seems" that I could live with a dose of 1 pill a day to ward off the thoughts once the physical detoxification were accomplished.  Or do you feel that this is wishful thinking that is better avoided in favor of a doctor's supervision when the doctor is the one who prescribed the medicine in the first place.  And just finding another doctor?  I dunno.  Is your underlying premise that this regimen is tried and proven less than efficacious?  I've never encountered even any mention of a tapering program as I've suggested, let alone one particularly graphed in the fashion I've outlined it's structure to be.  But, if you feel it's not a DO-ABLE scheme, what, other than lettting the doc put me on suboxone or whatever, do you suugest.  A live-in-clinic?  Not really my best environment.

[IBKleen]

Hi & Welcome,

First off, MedHelp does not permit their members to post their personal email accounts for security and safety reasons. You will see that your mail has been blocked. So if you want help, it is going to have to be here. If you keep your questions to this one post we will not have to fish around to find you.

You are on a very high dose and any schedule anyone can give you here will probably not work. Do you know the success rate for tapering? Have you ever tried it? It is hard and for most, does not work.

I really have to suggest that you speak with your prescribing physician for a sensible and doable taper plan.

This is going to take a lot of work on your part and again, it is not easy. You will the help of a trustable friend or family member for example. And the list goes on and on.

Will you consider speaking with your doctor?