I need help getting off my pain medications! Please!

[Mtaylor123]

I really need someone's help.. I am 18 years old. When I was 16 I got into a car accident, I had awful pain & would sometimes take pain medication every now & then just on the days I was in really bad pain... Things had gotten better but a year or so later I started getting awful pain. About 6 months ago i was prescribed Percocet's 10mg & took them as directed.. My dad would also give me a little piece of an 80mg oxy whenever I would ask. I do have legitimate pain but I have now abused my prescriptions.. I ran out of 60 Percocet's in a week .. I know I have a problem. Although I have legitimate back pain (7 herniated disks & spinal stenosis) I know that that is not normal. I know I have abused my perscriptions.. I can't do anything now without taking something. My dad is giving me some of his stuff to help me threw.. I can't stop crying all the time because I feel so worthless.. When I get my next scripts I want to know a proper way to taper it & start getting off for good... Will the pain actually not feel as bad once I'm off for good? Does my pain now just feel more intense because I am dependent on pain meds? Please someone help :( I'm about to start college & I just want to feel normal again :( I live everyday crying & feeling awful I can't believe I let this happen. :(

[Mtaylor123]

Thank you for the kind, sweet encouragement. As I said in 2011 I was in a really bad car accident & it left me with major back problems & I was in the hospital for 2 months mostly on morphine. When I got out they had given me 60 Percocet's 10 mg a month which at first would last for so long. Some days I wouldn't take anything. & as the story usually goes for people I slowly began to up my dosage. My dad started giving me he oxycontins & now I'm here. I think back to the days where I could make it threw a day fine without taking anything at all & now I can barely get out of bed because my pain is so severe. It just makes me wonder if the pills are what makes the pain feel so severe.. Well I want to get off for good so I'm going to take everyone's advice. Took next week off work & going to go out & buy vitimans, Epsom salt, Imodium, plenty of movies & magazines & get my somas filled that way I can spend my first worse days in bed trying to just keep busy. Wish me luck (:

[BanMethadone]

This one is always hard for me, because I don't have any major injuries which would lead to chronic pain. However, I can speak about it from some experience because I have been addicted to methadone for 14 years, and it has wreaked havoc on every last one of my body and mental functions, from my emotions, self esteem, my digestion, my sleep, and my ability to effectively handle stressful situations.

My mother has also been on opiates for a long long time, and she is deep in denial and busy justifying it with how much pain she is in and the fact that she gets it from a legit doctor. The only problem is that she is on Valium, Soma, Morphine, and Percocet... that's not even all of it, and she runs low getting sick every month. She also cries constantly and her life has disintegrated into a mess of tears, pain, and even more anxiety.

I would urge you to do as these people say and get off of opiates while you can and try to find alternative ways to handle your pain. W/d is painful emotionally and physically, but it does pass. Once that happens, you can begin to reinstate your body's own natural pain relieving pathways.

Taking opiates impairs your body's natural ability to handle stress and pain. Circumventing nature will come at a great cost. I say get out while you still can, and look to other, non addictive pain remedies. They may not seem to touch your pain at first, but in time your body will begin to repair it's own natural pain relieving systems. Your body does have ways of comforting you, but it's also a very efficient machine and it will stop doing it when comfort is being artificially introduced. When you withdraw that artificial comfort, your body has to have time to begin taking over again.

Ways to help with this, depending on the extent of your mobility, would be doing thing to take care of your body, repair those systems, and induce natural rewards. This is done by proper nutrition, some supplements can help, like adrenal support, L-tyrosine, and I also take potassium, multivitamin, fish iol, and protein. Exercise... especially anything that will be vigorous enough to create that runners high. It's a longer lasting way to bring endorphin's into the body, of which the opiate addict is deficient. These are the happy comforting chemicals that create a sense of well being. You can get them by doing small things like having an orgasm, eating chocolate, or smelling lavender, but doing some really vigorous exercise makes them stick round longer. It also gives you confidence, and can help you sleep.

To get through w/d, soak in hot baths, use a heating pad, take supplements, but not narcotics, and most of all stay positive, and have your eyes on a goal.

Don't hate yourself, but realize that that horrible feeling you feel will grow and grow over time. There is nothing good down the road of opiate addiction. It's ugly and painful, and getting off when you're 18 will save you so much heartache.

One last thing that I would suggest is cognitive therapy for your pain, perhaps acupuncture too. They do work, but addicts want a magic bullet that just takes it all away, so they often reject stuff like this.

I wish you the best and good luck in your endeavor.

[Mtaylor123]

Thank you so much! It means the world to me to have a place I can come to & talk to other people going threw the same things as me & not feel judged. & my dad has been a huge problem threw out all of this. I do live with him & he is the only family I have other than my sis who has no idea.. I think I might try out a cream tommorow called real time pain relief to use to start relieving my pain .. It's supposed to work wonders so anything that helps! (:

[mamaof4410]

You haven't been on them that long so the wd's might last about a week or so. I was doing almost 150$ worth of heroin every 2-3 days and Friday was my last day. I took 35  10/325 mg Hydros between sat and Sun and Monday morning was in full wd. I stayed in bed all day up until today. Sleep did wonders. The skin crawling and leg tremors were gone by Tuesday morning. But my energy is just returning today. You have to acknowledge that for the rest of your life you will be a recovering addict and you will always have this weakness. Try going to NA meetings even if you don't want your family knowing. I tried doing this alone before and I failed. Now my entire family knows as well as my husband and I have so much support. Im going to church sunday and tomorrow Im starting an exercise routine with my brother who is a Marine. So I will need a nap before celebrating 7 days clean. Yes you will have the poops and your stomach is going to cramp but my advice is hot showers, Orange juice and LOTS OF SLEEP. And start vitamins. And I hate to say this...But you need to stay away from your dad at this point. My mom is my biggest enabler. Wed get high together and during my second day of wd she came in offering me hydros. I said no knowing it would only prolong this process. MY husband was like I know that's your mom but the only time yall get along is when youre getting high together. And hes right. Im detoxing at my grandmas and she lives right next door and she has only came to see me once. If you live with them Id serious start looking into moving.

[Mtaylor123]

Thanks everyone for the kind words of encouragement. I'm glad that I found this site I feel like it will be just what I need. I don't have much family or friends to talk to as my dad is a pill addict for 30 years after he broke his back & has no intentions of ever stopping. I don't want to be like him. That's my main motivation to stop & the fact that I'm going to school to be a teacher & that's not gonna work. How long do the physical symptoms last? I tried to stop once before but I had awful diarreah & couldn't eat or drink anything so I started to take them again after 2 days off.. How long generally do they last? I know it's different for all people but I have been on them for about 6 months taking at least 60 mg of OxyContin or 9 10 mg Percocet's . And also I would like to know if the longer you on the pills the harder it is to get off? Like is it harder for someone's body to get off if they have been on them longer than 6 months?

[mamaof4410]

Sweety you are so young! Im 26 and pills lead to heroin. Stop now and be honest. These pills ruin the best people. And you abusing them isn't surprising but you do not want it to get worse. Be honest with your dr and get away now. Being embarrassed at this point will get you no where. DO NOT BE ASHAMED...

[Bubbleguppie100]

Aww baby girl, you're so young... I am so sorry that you have to go through all of this... I too, was in a car accident a few years ago. I need up breaking my entire back. I stayed at the hospital for months, had to learn how to walk all over again and wear a back brace for years! I was put on hydrocodone for pain. I didn't even know what pain pills were. Lol long story short, I took the pills as needed in the beginning. Than, I started to enjoy them. I became a full blown addict within months... You don't want to go down that road, trust me. Once ur addiction has a hold of your soul, you end up doing really shady things. So, five months ago, I " hit my rock bottom" I was also " sick and tired, of being sick & tired" I prayed to  God to help me get off the pills and found my way to this site. I listened what my friends had to say and did What they told me to do. Follow the Thomas recipe ( minus the Valium) take epsom salt baths as much as possible, drink lots of water, go to meetings, etc. oh yea- my pain since coming off the pain pills- very tolerable. I do yoga, stretch out my back and take walks. If I do have back pain, I take Motrin ( which is a life saver) it s crazy b/c my broken back pain is very minimal. If you need help, please feel free to PM me. You got this! Xoxo

[spider6]

Hon, you are very wise to recognize the problem now while you are young.....you don't want to be my age and still dealing with this.....I've abused opiates for 27yrs. and believe me, I've tried to get off over the years about 100 times.  Don't let it grab you like that.  You CAN get change things, but it will be up to you.  

Keep reading through other people's experiences here.......it really helps to put things into perspective.  Many people with legit pain issues that need pain mgmnt. find themselves in your shoes.  It's a shame.  Doctors should be made to try all the drugs they perscribe......why not? ......don't psych doctors have to have their heads shrunk before they can start shrinking? lol

Start a new thread asking for others to come forward with their stories of how they felt pain wise during opys, then after.......you'll be surprised and pleased.

"Embarrassment"......it's a useless emotion......keeps us sick. ....ditch it.  :o}

hope and hugs.

[Mtaylor123]

Thank you for the nice encouragement. I'm so scared & want to stop this before it gets any worse! I will talk to my doctor about it .. Just will be embarrassing because he gave them to me for pain not to abuse them. Thank you so much. I hope I get better & can stop.

[spider6]

Hi sweetie and welcome to the forum.  I'm so sorry for what you've been through the last couple of years of your young life.  
Your story is a common one love, there will be many coming to support you and help guide you.  We are not allowed to give specific taper advice.  But we can help you with your symptoms of withdrawal.  

First I want to say YES, most people would agree here that your actual pain will probably be more tolerable and manageable once you are off the opiates..
There are some lovely peeps here with all kinds of "sciencey" type info to help you understand why this happens. (Why they screw with your body AND your mind.)

Are you able to acquire a taper plan from your physician and have him/her help you follow through?  There are things you can take that are not addictive that can help you with your pain management.  

Hugs