colodine during taper

[Mike_B_]

I was wondering if anyone used colodine during their taper or is it best to wait until you are not taking anything?  I am down to 2 7.5 hydros a day and tried the colodine but it really makes you weak and tired.  Any advice would be appreciated.  I have a bad back and my nurosurgeon said there is nothing he can do with surgery and recommended that i continue the medication and some excerises may help.

[Mike_B_]

Thanks.  I am going to take it tonight before I go to sleep.  I hope I can sleep all night.  I have not slept to good duing this taper process.  I am off the the therapy, I think they are going to do some devise that streches your back out.  I am going to try my best to get through the weekend without taking any.  Wish me luck and keep me in your prayers.

[Crispy]

Dr. gave me some of that to help with morning anxiety i take it right before bed and wake up not that anxious. Suppose to take a half tablet after i wake up but I dont, im a rebel, lol nah i just dont feel the need if i feel anxious throughtout the day i find something to keep me busy till it passes. Anxiety and cravings only last between 15-45 mins so after you go through W/Ds when u have cravings do something else besides sit there and think about pills and the feeling will pass. But i dont know if its mental but the cloin, has helped me in the mornings.

[PromisedLand]

I would not think you'd have a horrible time with withdrawals at that dosage, though I'm no expert. From comments from others on here, I would think you should have a fairly easy time of it.  It can vary from person to person, however.

Jim

[Mike_B_]

I have been able to not take more than what I am supposed too but even at only 3 a day it just seems like it is so hard to not take them for the pain.  And to be able to go on with life.  I was reading my myelogram report and it says I have a disk problem and problems with the facet joints too.  I start into theraphy tomorrow, i hope that helps some.  

I have been taking the same 3 a day for about 4 years except when my md changed me to a morphine tablet that was an er.  I tried to ween off of them but it stayed in my system so long it was really hard.  I was shaking and sweating and then cold.

My neuro gave me the hydros when I told him what my md had put me on and that I didn't need anything that strong.  So here I find myself taking the 3 a day again and have gone a couple of days at 2 a day.  I wonder how long the wd's will last at that level of dose?  Anyone have a idea?  I am going to load up on advil and see if that can help with the pain.  I go back to the nuro in a week and I have enough to last but I would like to just stop and not have to worry about where the next script is coming from.  Because my md said he wanted the nuro to handle my pain management but the nuro said he is a surgeon and not pain management.  My carido dr said when I met with him that I need to get a new md, and he knows who I go to.  He said he should not have changed the medication as long as I was not abusing it and only taking 3 a day.  Man what a mess it is with these dr's that are scared about the dea getting on them for writing a scrpit for hydro and think they need to change you ever so often to some different.  He even put me on the fentayl patch for about 2 months before I convienced him it was too much.  It was hard going back to the hydros after that.  It took me several weeks to get that stuff out of my system too then it was onto the opana er.  And that is when i decided I needed to see someone else.  So now I am ready to quit just worried about how long the wd's will last at 2 a day.  Any info would be appreciated.

[PromisedLand]

My friend, that is the problem we all faced..worrying about the refills..My doctor would give me 90 7.5's a month with 5 refills..and I quickly learned that my insurance company would approve refills a week early..so over that 5 months of refills period, I'd essentially be out a month early..after several months of that it all caught up with me, and that's when I said "that's it".  I'd find myself counting the days on the calendar until I could refill, and when that day rolled around I'd scream home from work to the pharmacy and could not wait to open that bottle and pop a couple...

I'm so glad those days are gone.

JIm

[Mike_B_]

Thanks for the note,  I am going to try to get through the weekend without taking any at all, and only the clonidine and see if i can make it through a couple of days.  Man these dang things are a love hate kind of thing.  They help with the pain but it's takes over your life worring about the refills.

[PromisedLand]

take the clonidine only as directed..we have had stories on here of people passing out as their BP got too low..I don't know about it being addictive, but my doctor told me to taper off of it.  I got all my advice on Clonidine from GA Guy who used to participate here (note to self to send him an email).

If you're down to just a couple a day, I'd try skipping them and take the clonidine as directed and perhaps get something from your doctor to help with the anxiety which is sure to come..you could experience things like crying for no reason, mild panic attacks, etc..

You're almost there Mike...I've been off them now for 8 months (with a minor relapse a month or so ago).  One day, after 3-4 days you'll all of a sudden say "Hey...I feel pretty good today"..that is a great feeling...and you're not too far from it.

Jim

[Mike_B_]

Are you saying the clonidine can be addictive too?  I didn't know that.  I have taken 1 1/2 today and i hope that is all I need for today to get by.  Last night I started the yawing and my eye watering and then the restlessness set in after that.

I read on here where it takes your body 3 days to adjust to the new level of dosage so I am hoping that is correct.  I would like to be pill free after this weekend going into next week.  

[soreadytodetox]

hey mike congats on trying to taper down. i have been trying to taper back of 512s today was the first day that i havent snorted in a long long time. the clonidine will help with the anxiety, nervousness,restlessness but at the same time take them only as long as you really need them to get through the detox period. i have been through this several times take the amino acids and eat plenty of protien fish chicken eggs also use the receipe it will help. just becareful because they also can be habitforming.   good luck and keep posting  sherri

[Mike_B_]

I think if I can get down to one a day then one every other day for a few days I can stop without a real big problem. It's getting down to one a day that's the hard thing to do.  I will get some of the tylenol pm and see if that helps.  I have all the vitamins I need and the amino acids too.  I ordered them off the internet at purtian pride, they have some reasonable prices there.  Thanks for the reply and the advice.

[worried878]

Ask ur doc for a sleep med or get something otc like melatonin or tylenol pm....people will say your dose is not that high...and it is not comparitively...mine was not really either but it is still a real problem for you...follow the protocols and u will feel better withinn 4-5 days after quitting...keep posting

[Mike_B_]

Thanks for the encouragement.  I know I am being a woose about this because I am not taking that many but as you know your body gets used to what you are taking and I have been taking them for a degenerate disk problem.  I read on one of the posts where it took several days before you will feel better but you do feel better and that gives me some hope.  The thing I hate the worse is not being able to sleep worth a darn.I guess i could take the clonidine at night before I go to bed and that may help but I did that last night and I woke up at 4 and really felt like I had a hangover.

[PromisedLand]

Yes, I quit the vics (had never taken more than 10/day and that was rare) and started on the clonidine.  I took it for about a month, I believe.  Believe it or not, I was able to go
to work the next day.  Within about 2 hours of taking the first pill I began to feel better (withdrawalwise) though of course not 100%..but..I was able to go to work..fortunately mine is a desk job where I do customer service escalation stuff..but a couple times working at home I did doze off for a bit..

But..I highly recommend getting off the vics and taking it..and maybe getting an antianxiety med as well..and a big bag of hard candies.

Jim

[road2recovery]

We can all relate here...You are very lucky to only be taking 3 a day...PLEASE STOP NOW...U caught this early...I went c/t from 15 10mg a day....It was h e l l...My advice to you is to read on this forum as much as u can....
U should not have alot of trouble with 3...then if u can taper down that would be even better.....
r2r

[worried878]

Can u get a few days off work and just be done?...take a long weekend and get it over with...or call in thursday with the flu...this is important to get done if it is ur goal...tapering can prolong this somewhat...do check ur pressure before taking the clonidine...if u plan on taking it it would be worth it to pick up a bp cuff at the drugstore...especially if u tend to run a low bp

[Mike_B_]

I'm trying to do a slow taper.  I just don't want to take these anymore.  My MD had me on some really strong stuff and I told him I could not take anything that strong because it did not allow me to think straight.  So he got upset when I decided to see a nurosurgeon, but I wanted to know what was going on in my back and if anything had changed.  I did the tests but my MD said the nurosurgeon would have to handle my pain management from now on but the nuro told me that he could not fix the problem and said i should continue the medication but they did not manage pain they only did surgery.  So I either have to quit or find another dr that will write the scripts.

I don't take that much.  I take on average 3 a day but I have decided to stop if I can?  I have some clonidine and enough hydro to last me until the end of the month.  I have an appointment with the nuro's nurse because i told them I needed a refil at the end of the month so they made me an appointment.  But, I am not sure what I will do after that.  I think I would rather go ahead and quit now.  I am just not sure how without the sweating and chills that go along with it.  Man I wish I had never started on these but my back just hurt so bad and the dr said this was all i could do.  Now I'm in a pickle.

[road2recovery]

Congrats on getting your life back...i would not take the clododine during your taper unless it was at nite and check your b/p first...I had a blood pressure machine and made sure i checked it constantly...I went c/t and only took it during detox....When do u plan your detox for??  Did u take time off of work? Also look at the health pages and there is alot of info on the thomas recepie that may help...Someone is always here to help too
r2r

[Mike_B_]

So you waited until you were off the pain killer before you started on the clonidine, sorry about the mis-spell in my question.  Did you take them for very long or just a couple of days until the worse was over?

I noticed last night I had cut back from 3 a day to 2 and I took the clonidine about 8:30 and didn't know when I went to sleep but it didn't take long and then I woke up at about 4 AM sweating and got up and took a half a hydro.  I am really trying to stop this things by cutting back, but I have to work and that makes it more of a problem.  I keep reading that it only takes about 4 to 5 days to get this out of your system and then you start feeling better.  I have been taking advil for the pain and it help some.  I am starting into therapy this week and I hope that helps too.  If you would just let me know how long you had to take the clonidine and how long before you were feeling better.  Thanks.

[PromisedLand]

do you by chance mean clonidine?  I started taking it a day after I took my last vic...yes, it makes you sluggish, and combining it with the vics may enhance that (as I found out with combining it with klonopin) and
also dry mouthed.  Keep a supply of hard candies around to pop in your mouth to help with that.  Ultimately, clonidine was a tremendous help
in reducing/nearly eliminating the withdrawl symptoms.  After a few times falling asleep while working (from home fortunately) and while
on a conference call, and late one night just sitting at my computer in the living room, I eventually became acclimated to them and the sluggishness decreased somewhat.

good luck to you

Jim