opiates

[wannabclean241]

Have been on prescription hydro off and on for about 2 years off and on. I am up to 12-15 7.5's per day now. I really need to come off these w/ the least amount of withdrawal pains I can. I have went cold turkey before and it was terrible. Please tell the best weaning off method for this. Plus every time I quit ct and get through withdrawals I soon find myself calling in for another prescription. Please help.

[NautyOne]

tapering is very hard.  I dragged it out for 4 months lost 40 lbs. gave myself some heart issues, passed out twice in the shower made myself a walking disaster.  I was a total believer in the taper, but after what it did to me I totally disagree with the long sloooww taper I used to brag about.  the longest I would taper would be 4 weeks max, but everyone is different..........gl

Nauty............

[GoingToMakeIt]

Just wanted to encourage you. Taking a look at where you are is a huge step. You are doing good. Acknowledging a problem is so hard to do at first. Then it feels so good you wonder why you didn't do this a long time ago. Getting clean is that way too. Wow, I could've had a V-8! :-) Stay on this road and real soon you will be thanking yourself and everyone. It is worth it.

[broknbck]

going to make has a good point. you really have to get things in order for after you're done taking pills. otherwise its a daily battle over the same reasons you took them in the first place. i made changes this time before quitting and i have no mental cravings at all!!

[bmc1976]

I was the one that mentioned nuerontin or gabapentin(the generic name) I'm on day 4 and feel great! It was actually prescribed for pain but did not help. I read about it and it said it has been used for withdrawals. I can't believe how well it has worked. I wish someone else would try it just so I can see if it works for others! I guess you can have withdrawal effects from it too, but I don't plan on taking it for more than a week. I actually haven't even taken one today but probably will at bedtime because it helps with sleep. I have not even had the shaky leg thing and I was taking over 25 vic's a day! It has been a life saver for me. I have went cold turkey without the gabapentin before so I know how difficult the withdrawals are.

[want2bmeagain]

i was takin 15 a day before as well...except the 10/325....i went from 15 to 4 quickly which was rough...but im not feeling as horrible as i was expecting once i went cold turkey after 4 a day....u can try to decrease by 1 a day..15-14-13...if u feel better its all up to u on the tapering.......bmc1976....probably best bet...good luck

[bmc1976]

Tapering is by far the best way to lessen withdrawals. It is also the hardest too. I was able to taper once and had little to no withdrawal effects. The other times (including this one) I went cold turkey. It was just so hard for me to taper when there was a bottle of pills sitting there. You're tapering schedule kind of depends on how many you are taking. Since you are taking 12-15 a day. I would cut back to 10 a day at first. Do that for a couple days and then go down to 8. After that cut it down to 7, then 6, then 5, then 4. Start cutting them in half and continue cutting down. By the last few days just take a half in the morning and half in the evening. Then just take a half a day. It is still going to be difficult but so much easier than cold turkey. If that taper schedule doesn't work for you, switch it up to make it work for you. Everyone's body is different. The schedule above worked for me once. It is spread over a long period of time but worked wonders for me. If you have someone to hold on to the pills for you, do it. Best of luck and if you need anything don't hesitate to ask.
Brian

[GoingToMakeIt]

Getting off is the easy part. Staying off is the hard part. If you do a slow tapering of your dose reducing each day or every few days you will be done in a few weeks or so. You will still have the mental cravings do deal with. 12-15 is a healthy habit. Have you had your liver enzymes checked? That is a lot of Tylenol your taking.
    Have you considered NA or counseling? Also there are drugs to help you off them. someone here mentioned Neurontin being extremely helpful during the w/ds. Others did Suboxone, but it is expensive.

Welcome to the forum.

[broknbck]

i think weaning is the least 'uncomfortable'. it just means dedication. i got my last bottle of 10mg. hydrocodones (92 pills) and made them last 1 month. i usually took 9 a day. went down to 1 a day then they were gone. i picked my last day ahead of time and made sure my doctor wouldn't give me anymore. i didn't experience any withdrawl after quitting.

[IBKleen]

If you don;t want to go cold turkey..how about a taper? Of course you will need a schedule and you will have to adhere to it. You will also someone to hold and dispense your meds for you. Can you do that?

[ernieballesp06]

i dunno if this will help , but the Neurotin can be bad , or well i dont know about with you , or even with the addicion thing , but doctors prescriped it to my grandma for fibromialga if thats how you spell it , and she went off her rocker literaly , she started halucinating , and not being able to walk , and tring to drink a glass of tea out of her purse , like seriously wierd **** **** man , this may not happend to you and proly wont , cause i know my friends moms takes it , and she perfectly fine , just letting you know if you take it and start feeling odd , or halucinating , you might want to stop taking it.

it could have been she had a bad reaction to it as well , hey if it helps you good luck man , i know im having hell coming off hydrocodone

[wannabclean241]

I don't plan on dragging out the taper for a real long time either. Still need to get some things in order before I start. Work and such. Also going to check into the Neurotin

[wannabclean241]

Sorry it took me a while to answer back. I posted the message quickly and had to leave for awhile. I am going to do like "goingtomakeit" said. Get some affairs in order and start the tapering process. I will take the suggestions also from others and give someone I trust the pills so the temptation to dip into them will not be possible. Also will have liver enzyme's checked. Since I used to drink quite a bit also. Got that habit licked just to get started on these things. Going to consider the nuerotin also. Thank you all very much for your help and support. Will keep you posted.

Thanks
wannabeclean241