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472671 tn?1207533245

have i been there

been on hydro for several years. trying to taper. I have been off and then on. I know the trip. I'm now down to one and a half to two norco per day. its tough. I cant lose time from work, dont want to lose energy, but it will happen.  are there any suggestions for tapering.  I have done this before and wish I hadnt gone back but getting busted up by a horse and put in the hospital, the first thing they do is stick an oxy in your mouth.  Then Its back to the game. this is a serious demon, one to stay awaqy from and now i have to fight this demon off again. I will try to go lower mg everytime i see dr. then one day I will have to go through, aches,pains, diareaha, sweats, nerves and the mental anguish that is associated. can anyone give me some tips on the best way to handle this problem again.  I want to be normal, whatever that is
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472671 tn?1207533245
Thanks You can contact me anytime.  
Helpful - 0
182493 tn?1348052915
You have a good additude about this Dakota. You will beat this one way or another.

I found this concept of tapering very easy. I hope it helps you get past this hurdle you have hit. It helped me since the lower doses seemed to be so much harder than the bigger ones. Should you need help with this or just some encouragement feel free to PM or email me.
Helpful - 0
472671 tn?1207533245
I have come from four a day to two a day, now I just need to start breaking them in half and taking a half at a time.  I truely think That I am not very bad in respect to trying to get high. Im just trying to not go through the dts so harshly.  I've been there, I know what its like. And I appreciate the information that you layed out for me. It is a routine, and it must be broken  I Must thank you for your input.  I have quit a lot of addictions, even this one a few times. But something always happens to give the demon a chance to take over again.  I dont mind the pain of working and when Im working hard I dont think of this.  I will break this horse. and I will never ride it again.
Helpful - 0
182493 tn?1348052915
The change I make to this is I do it by the 16 hours most people are awake. So 16 divided by 2 pills is 8 hours. So start by taking one pill every 8 hours. Or you can split them in half and take one half every 4 hours.  Which I think is the best choice, makes it much easier to drop doses when doing it by halfs.After a few days then you go to 3 halfs. So 16 hours divided by 3 is every 5 and a half hours. then to 2 halfs. So one half every 8 hours for a few days.

Does this make sense? Or something you think you can do?
Helpful - 0
182493 tn?1348052915
So 2 per day about 4- 6 hours apart.  I would start by spitting those 2 pills in halfs.  Here is an aritcle I found on tapering that made a huge difference for myself and others here that have used this concept.

Time for some technical talk... One of the things which increases "dependence" is a spike in drug blood plasma levels. Addicts do this on purpose to get a "high". They do it by Snorting (Very fast delivery), IV Injections, Chewing up meds and taking on an empty stomach.

The above all produce the most amount of drug in the blood in an attempt to get a buzz. These spikes are one of the reasons we addicts get hooked faster than a COMPLIANT Chronic Pain Patient.

Being compliant means they take only as directed. The goal of compliance is to maintain an even blood plasma at the minimum amount to treat PAIN and NOT to produce euphoria (a high).

Since the blood plasma levels are lower, the levels of dopamine at the synaptic cleft do not spike so the receptor sites do not downregulate or decrease in number in response to the initially MUCH higher level of dopamine released as a result of spiking.

Addictive dosing behaviors, the large doses associated to Spike the blood plasma level, vs the lower low dosing and more often which is the KEY factor to the physical changes the brain makes which cause dependency.

Dependency is the actual physical changes to your body which cause withdrawal. Addiction is the BEHAVIOR of taking the drugs to get high, not as prescribed, and when not needed for clinical reasons. It is the un-manageable behaviors associated with lack of control.

Which comes first... Dependence or addiction? Usually it's addiction, but it can be the other way, but the key issue which causes the progression of addiction are the behaviors.

Addiction is what makes you take more and more, spiking doses, etc. This in turn increases dependence. The higher your dependence the higher the tollerance... Round and round you go. The addiction merry-go-round.

How to break the cycle? The only way is to change the behavior. That is a very difficult thing. Pain is usually a very good motivator. So is Euphoria. When the pain out weighs the euphoria one starts to consider breaking the cycle. Unfortunately the pain being eliminated by the drug is a driving force. Then the addict associated the RELIEF of th pain to the drug instead of the drug being the CAUSE of the pain.

SOoooooooo what to do? Break the cycle.

Many have to hit bottom to do that. That's the point where the pain of using overwhelms the relief of using. It's an emotional point which is different for different people. Not every one has to hit a bottom to quit. The sooner you quit the less pain and suffering you have to experience.

For folks who are on smaller doses and their disease has not progressed very far, they have not felt the extent of pain addiction can cause. Only conceptualizing how bad it can get may not be good enough to motivate a person early in addiction to quit.

Intellectually we know what lays ahead. We hear the truth from others, but yet we continue to use. It is not until we get a glimpse of the pain that lays ahead do we become to believe we need to quit. One HAS to believe that in fact addiction does lead to the loss of everything and eventually Jails Institutions and Death.

Addiction is a lot easier to nip in the bud physically but maybe not emotionally because one has not experienced the pain first hand. Some need more pain than others to quit. Some don't make it and end up end stage and their addiction wins.

If you want to get off of the pills you have to change your behavior.

1) STOP SNORTING your pills!
2) Stop spiking your dose!
3) stop taking enough to get high

You will never quit until you do that. Weather you can or not is up to you.

You have to come to a point where you make the decision you want to quit. The en you have to make a plan then you have to execute that plan. SIMPLE .... but not easy.

The solution from a clinical point of view for you at your point of addiction is so easy. A simple taper, and change the behavior. In short break the cycle.

How to do a taper is easy. Changing the behavior is the HARD part, but you have to want to change.

If you are taking 6 pills a day... then start taking them in even doses and don't take like 3-4 at a time. 24 hrs divided by 6 = 4 hrs. So only take one pill every 4 hrs. Then take 5 pills in 24 hrs. That's 4.8 hrs. Then 4 pills a day... break pills into 1/2's so you have 8 1/2 pills. and take 1/2 a pill every 3 hrs. Etc.

If you can't stick to a taper give the pills to a friend to dispense.

Mean while .. you have to start changing the way you think and the things you do... You should educate yourself... Good place to do all of that is NA or AA. It's FREE and takes up time. It forces you to be doing something other than sitting around with nothing to do and just thinking about using.

It's not the only way, but it's a good place to start. Take what you need from it, and leave the rest.

If you take the same amount or less every day and don't spike your dose you will eventually quit.

30 mg of Hydro can be tapered to 0 in 2-4 weeks painlessly. The PAWS will be minimal too.

The ball is in your court. We can not make you do anything. Only YOU can.

When you are ready is up to you. If you need to stay "out there" using and see for yourself how bad it will get that's up to you.

My recommendation.. Start to QUIT now! It will be a whole lot easier.
  
Helpful - 0
472671 tn?1207533245
one int eh morning  one in the afternoon
Helpful - 0
182493 tn?1348052915
How many are you taking per day? How often do you take them?
Helpful - 0
472671 tn?1207533245
yes
Helpful - 0
182493 tn?1348052915
I have some suggestions for tapering if that is what you would like to do.
Helpful - 0
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