How do I detox alone at home?

[crystalseyes]

I am 30 and a mother of one.I am so tired of these pills controlling my life.I want to stop NOW,but need info and support.Please help me!!!!!!

[iwannawin]

It has been a couple of months since I posted. Been putting off the inevitable of quitting Vicoden. I have been advised by a counselor and former addict who took 40 Vics a day until he quit.

He recomended Subtex as opposed to Suboxine. He said to only take the Subutex for 4 days. It is sublingual, (put under the tongue to dissolve). The main reason he suggests Subutex over Suboxon is that the Suboxon has an "antagonist" in it. I forgot what that meant, but he was greatly opposed to Suboxon. He said taking Subutex will avoid the bad DTs and withdrawl symptoms. I have read other forums where people who used Suboxin said they felt "like themselves" within 1 day of taking it.

Anyone here tried Subutex?

[Florida_Guy737]

Hi...I tapered for 3 weeks and then stopped (percs & patches).  Tapering was definitely less traumatic for the body...let me know if you need help with this.

regardless...you need a plan to follow.

Guy

[Cal311]

I would recommend cold turkey.  I started out taking 8-12 lortabs a day for about 3 years.  I would try to taper over and over and it never worked.  I went and asked my pain doctor for suboxone and he lauged and switched me over to percs.  I then started taking 12-15 percs a day and still tried the taper method many times but it never worked.  My doctor, who should be locked up, thought it was a good idea to go to OXY and Roxy which I had been buying on the streets for a while anyway.  He started giving me 2-80 oxy and 3 -15 Roxy's a day.  I did this for a couple of years until I was finally able to get off of it cold turkey.  It SUCKED but it was the only thing that worked for me.  I have a big tub so lots of hot baths and showers, and just sitting outside helped me out a lot.  I did the thomas recipe, don't know if it helped any, lots of smoothies with energy shots, but I just had to go through it.  good luck and let me know if you have any questions.

[sw9281]

I posted my comments to Kim but they are really a direct response to you. If you can taper your drug without Suboxone that is the way to go. I could not do that I did suboxone for 64 days then stopped and Monday will be 5 weeks off the suboxone. The only other advice I have is to have a realistic taper period. From my research you need to allow your brain to adjust to lower levels of any drug especially narcotics.

I wish you the best in this challange.you are off to an awsome start. Just remember Rome was not built in a day.

[kim715]

Good for you hon...thats a big accomplishment,great willpower!!!!

[crystalseyes]

It is about 6 pm and I could have already took up to 12 already and I have had 6 and plan to have no more.So that is a accpomplishment for me!!!!!Thanks for your support.

[kim715]

So whats your plan? Are you thinking about tapering or going cold turkey? The majority of addicts can't taper.I know I never could.If I had them I was going to take them.Some have been able to do so successfully though,I am just not one of them.By you saying the more you have the more you will take,it sounds like cold turkey may be the route for you also.You can look up the thomas recipe in the health pages here,top right.In order to do this successfully you are going to have to get rid of your supply you have right now,flush them and cut off your future supply by coming clean with your doctor or simply telling him/her you don't want to take the pills  so not to prescribe them to you anymore. You're going to feel like you have the super flu for a few days.It's rough but it's doable.The physical part is easy once thats over the real battle begins.The mental part is much harder so you will need to start putting a recovery care program in place.Find some meetings in your area or some counseling or both.Keep posting here and post often in the beginning.It helps to know you're not alone and as long as you are here you won't be.You have to do the real work but we will be right here to help see you thru.All the best...YOU CAN DO THIS.....Kim

[sw9281]

I was in a similar situation. I was on Percs for 5 years and tried to taper several times, only to fail on each attempt. When I started needing huge quantities I said I either have to stop or take the next steps in my addiction. I too did not want to go to detox. So I went to my Dr and he sent me to a pain Dr. that put me on a drug called Suboxone. I was on the Suboxone for 64 days and have been free now for almost 5 weeks. There are plusses and minuses to Suboxone. I will tell you first hand they work. The problem in a lack of information that most doctors appear to have that subscribe this drug. They are only required to take an 8 hour course and it is not enough to teach them the full cycle of the drug. If I was to start over today I would go on the Suboxone but find a Doctor that really is well versed in proper tapering scheduling (so you get off the subs in as quick as possible fashion that works for you as everyone is different), that this doctor starts you on the right dosage of Suboxone (I started at at least 2x what I should have) and as or more importantly understands the side effects of the w/d process (restless legs, sleeping issues etc). If the doctor tells you that you will be on subs for years or maybe life and does not have a taper plan in mind I would move on. If you ask the doctor what the w/d from subs is like and can only tell you they are much better than the w/d from opiates I again would move on and find somene else.

I am a 53 year old man that is about 40 lbs overweight. I did not have any health issues other than the trials and tribulations of making it thru the taper period and then the w/d period. I learned what I needed from this board not from the Dr.

The last piece of advice I have is the day you start any treatment get rid of ALL your drugs, flush them down. That way as you are going thru w/d and having some hard days you will not relapse if you have no access to your drug.

Many are anti subs on this board, but I have written strongly about the lack of education about the full process that we go thru. It is not easy it can be done. Good luck.

[crystalseyes]

Thanks for your support my problem is lortab.I have been taking them for about a year and a half.I could take anywhere from 8 to 12 a day.Yesterday I took 7 and I have only had two so far today.I do have a RX for 3 a day but that gets me no where.The more I have the more I will take.I AM ready to go back to the old me!!!!!!Any advice will be helpful!!!!

[jlinch3]

I just want to say that I see many posts on various boards that tell people yes, you will be miserable, it will be hell to go it cold turkey at home but you will live, blah, blah, blah, however, I was in an inpatient program and was told that it is actually very dangerous.  At least what I was taking which was tramadol is.  You could suffer seizures or a stroke from a spike in your blood pressure.  My blood pressure did go through the roof and they gave me medication for it, I don't know what would have happened to me had I been going it alone.  Anyway, this is my first post and I know people are leery of that and I don't claim to have much experience with this subject or any medical knowledge, I don't, that's why I am here.  I recently went through getting off of a 2 yr. Tramadol addiction, was taking up to 20 of the  50 mg. a day, I was told that's a pretty bad habit. I really don't know, like many of you it all began quite innocently and didn't consider myself a substance abuser or an addict.  I was told I was lucky I didn't have seizures on the amount I was taking.  I did an inpatient taper and just wanted to put that out there, that they stressed to me the danger of going cold turkey.

[kim715]

Hi hon,welcome to the forum.Whats your doc[drug of choice],how long have you been abusing,and how much? This is a wonderful place for help and support.Keep posting...Kim

[Josephtyler]

Also, I dunno if there is a section or guide, but, some drugs are compeletely safe to go cold turkey on, others are not. From what I know, most straight opiates like Heroine, Oxycodones, Oxycontin, Percocet, Darvacet, Roxycodone should be completely safe to cold turkey on. However there is a few that are not. Ultram and most morpheine types I know are not safe. Someone should make a guide just so everyone knows.

If it is a safe drug cold turkey is the ONLY way if you are a real addic. If you are someone who has just become dependant on something, then tappering is for you. For instance, my GF never takes all her pain meds, she only does when she needs them. She can easily tapper off and be done with it. I on the other hand, would rather pour pills down my throat faster than I can get them, leaving nothing behind. So I have to go cold turkey. there is a BIG difference between both of us. I am an addict, she is just dependant physically.

I think peopel that first come here have to ask themselves, are you an addict? Or just dependant? (most are probably addicts, that is why they are here)  If you have pills at the end of the month left over, chances are your nto a real addic. If you find yourself out of pills 2 weeks before hand, or buying them on the streets, you are probably an addict.

Sorry for the lengthy post.