kevin25

i am 25 and have been taking 40mg oxycontin 2 weeks at a time every month for the past 8 months, and i noticed evey time i stop taking the pills. i go a week feeling weak, tired, and have Diarrhea, and i get really moody and sometimes mad.

so i have 6 pills left of the 40mg and i cut them all in half. should i only take a half pill 20mg and ease my self off of the pills? or just quit all together cold turkey?

please if i can get some advice that would be great. because im worried i built up a tolerance.

thank you and god bless!

jane_668

Hello Kevin and welcome to SR. I am 26 and have been on drugs for 8 years. We have a progressive disease that is called addiction. Whatever you are using now , be sure that in another 8 months your using will increase if not double. So congratulations on taking the right decision to quit before things get worse because they will get worse.

Concerning quitting, I had to tapper. I was never able to quit CT. Cutting them in halves is a good idea. Exercise helped me a lot fight mood swings. I would also try to stay busy doing anything. Also, I would not have made it without the support of NA/AA fellowship especially in my early days because it was easier seeing people around me doing the exact same thing I was doing. Another tip that helped me is cutting down caffeine. My mood swings were less.

Tiredofdrugs

Hi Kevin25:

I sent you a PM. Go read it. Maybe you'll understand more about what's going on in your life. You're headed down a road that's not an easy one if you continue to stay on these meds. It will take more and more to acquire the high you get from them. I'm glad you've found this site. Many folks here on SR can help you conquer this road you are climbing.

I never was able to taper off the opiates. I'd take more than I was supposed to just so I'd run out a couple of weeks before I could get anymore. After two weeks of detoxing. I sure as hell wasn't going to start taking them again. That's how I got off of them each time. But everyone's different.

I wish you well and great success in staying off the meds. Just keep a positive attitude and know you'll feel much better one day.

Shellslove

Hi Kevin - I'm not a doctor but (unfortunately) like many others here, I understand what you are feeling each time you stop the meds...sounds like a 'mild' physical withdrawal. I can also tell you from experience that if you keep going down the path you are going.... the 'mild' part is going to progress to much worse...it's really not a word that goes hand in hand with withdrawal in general. You are teetering on the edge and it sounds like you're about to dive head first into the he!! of a 'full blown' addiction if you don't get out now!!! I'm not sure if you started taking the pills for legitimate pain or not, but either way...people don't normally post on recovery forums unless they're at loss as far as the next step goes. The way I see it, you've got 2 options. Continue down the path you are going and these 2 week 'binges' will be a thing of the past (b/c you'll be completely hooked and chasing the high) or get help now. Luckily it looks like you are trying to make the right decision Whether you decide to c/t or taper isn't going to make much of a difference (though you'll learn here that tapering was a disaster for most of us.) At this point, it's probably the mental obsession that's got you more than anything else and luckily the physical part shouldn't be too difficult (YET!) Don't let the mental part fool you though...there really is no simple solution. Have you tried f2f meetings? NA/AA or one of the many other options out there? Have you talked to an addiction specialist? It usually (always) takes more than just stopping the pills to be successful. I wish you the best and hope you keep posting/reading here - you're at the right place!

Ocelot436

Kevin, if you can stop now and NEVER pick them up again. It's a low dose and you can wean half till they are done. It may help. I've been through this.

Your young, quit now. There is no future in any of those pills. They will leave you with nothing.

ultima2

Ive been addicted to oxys too i was clean for 5 months then i recently relapsed, man just prepare yourself mentally you're not going to go through this hel again and get lots of immodium trust me you'll prolly need it, Im wd right now im doing it on my own it sucks but trust me you can do it.

Gixxerjj

Hey Bro,

I feel your pain. At my height i was banging off 300MG of OC a DAY on a bad day. I never did less then 180MG. Anyhow. Your at somewhat of a low dose. So your WD may not be as bad as it is for others! However some people are more sensitive i guess. Again. This is what worked for me.

I went to suboxone. Was on it for 8 months almost. You dont need that, nor do you want it. You get hooked on that crap too. And the WD last longer! allthough not as intense.

Quit CT worked for me. It reminded me why i never wanted to relapse! Plus weaning never worked for me. You still feel like crap and my self control was not on par.

Imodioum!! your gonna need it.. Mudd butt big time. lol. Also i noticed that multi vitamins and 1 5 our energy shot a day worked well... Motrin for aches. Not to much though. Hand in there partner! once you get passed day 3-5 it gets easier.

prodigalson

Hi Kevin;

I am almost 3 months sober, and was abusing narcotic pain killers, steadying my hand for the progression of heroin. Thankfully I never made it there.

In my experience, I found cold turkey to help immensely. I was on 150+mg of percocet or oxycontin for almost two years. That was daily use. Id been abusing cocaine, alcohol, pot, meth, the whole nine for a total of 7 years.

The withdrawals are not anything to scoff at, but the reason I think cold turkey got me this far is because when people say "You never have to feel like that again", I want to believe it. I contemplated using suboxone or just slowly weining myself off. But I wanted to remember the crash I endured. And God do I ever. Everytime the thought crosses my wavering mind, I think back to the week and a half of physical withdrawals, and equate it with death.

Hope this helps, and GOOD LUCK.

baggervance

I dont know if you were snorting the oxy's or swallowing them . If you swallowed them they are time release so if you cut them in half youll be getting the full dose at once. I was doing around 240 mg aday when I stopped so it can be done.