Go Back  SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information > New to Addiction and Recovery? > Newcomers to Recovery
Reload this Page >

Tapering off Oxycodone after 1.5 yrs use, 72 hrs since last dose



Notices

Tapering off Oxycodone after 1.5 yrs use, 72 hrs since last dose

Old 12-29-2010, 06:51 PM
  # 1 (permalink)  
Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Cassopolis, MI
Posts: 1
Tapering off Oxycodone after 1.5 yrs use, 72 hrs since last dose

First off, I'd like to thank everyone on here for your posts and shared information. It has been very helpful in recognizing what I'm going through. I read quite a bit before deciding to join and post my story. From what I've read, the urge to use will come again no matter how much you don't want to so I'm here for support from people who know exactly what I'm going through.

My story: A year and a half ago I was driving home late at night and swerved to miss a deer and lost control of my car, flipped it several times and landed partially in a house, upside down. Happy 4th of July to me!! (Ironically, I lost my independence on Independence Day) 69 staples in my head and a broken neck later, I found myself in severe pain, not recovering, and heading in for surgery on my neck 2 months later, though I am lucky to be walking and did not suffer any paralysis. Continued use of percocets lead to higher doses, eventually topping off at 60mg of Oxycodone 4 times daily (240mg daily). My doctors are the type that think there is a pill out there to help with any problem and will prescribe it no matter how slight the symptoms are. Along with the Oxy I was on 20mg Lexapro daily, and 3mg Klonopin (1mg 3x a day) for "post traumatic stress disorder". I previously took 10mg of Lexapro and 1.5mg Klonopin for anxiety and depression. They assumed my symptoms would be worse after the accident and upped the doses. Almost a year after the accident, I started to feel like the girl on that marijuana commercial who appears to be melting into the couch. That is exactly how I felt, like nothing mattered anymore, not family, not friends, nothing. It was then that I decided that I wanted my life back so I stopped taking the Lexapro and Klonopin, figuring that it was those pills, working opposite since I didn't feel I needed them. I quit taking those cold turkey and it took a month of feeling like total crap, puking daily, constantly nauseated, and no energy to realize that it was not benzo withdrawal, but instead, my body telling me that it was taking too much of the opiate pain killers. My doctor couldn't confirm it but I did find a few others online with the same situation. He did confirm that there are studies being done presently but no results yet. Anyways, the Lexapro, an SSRI, actually prevents your body from fully metabolizing the opiate pain killer. Once I quit taking those, the pain killers felt like twice as much as what I was used to, in turn making me sick. Once I found this out I immediately cut my dose in half to 30mg 4x daily (120mg a day). After doing this research and discovering that I was going to withdrawal from the opiates, I decided the best way would be to taper my dose down as far as I could before quitting. I never though of myself as an addict, but research shows otherwise. I don't like the idea of my body being dependent on anything. It has taken a total of four months to taper down to a 5mg dose 3x daily before taking my last dose just 72 hours ago. I did switch from 10mg Oxy's to 5mg Norco's and the last couple days were Tylenol 3's, trying to get the most of the taper.

My Results: If I compare what I'm feeling to what other people describe after going cold turkey on high doses, this is a piece of cake. My last dose was Sunday night, a single Tylenol 3, yet by Monday evening, withdrawals had set in and so far that seems to be the worst day. I felt like I had the flu, aches, chills, diarrhea, and stomach cramps. I felt the worst Monday night so I took 20mg of Flexeril (prescribed, but I only took it as needed), 220mg of Naproxen and slept all night and half the next day. Tuesday was better than Monday, still had stomach cramps and felt like I had a slight fever so I took another Naproxen and felt a little better. I forced myself through the day, eating very little, still having diarrhea, and only taking the Naproxen. Today is Wednesday and I'm feeling better yet, but still not the greatest. I continue to have a bad stomach ache and diarrhea but managed to eat a full breakfast around noon and a few pieces of pizza this evening. I have had wattery eyes and have been sneezing all day. I just took some benadryl in hopes that will help. Pepto and Rolaids are not helping the stomach ache or diarrhea so I'll get some Imodium AD tomorrow if those persist.

After reading what others have posted after going cold turkey I am glad I chose to gradually reduce my dose. Though it took around 4 months total before I was ready to discontinue use, I believe it was well worth it. Other than Monday being a horrible day, I have been able to function, run a few errands yesterday, even took a short walk today, I have a feeling that the worst is over for me. I haven't seen anything posted by anyone who has weened themselves off of opiates like I did so if anyone has a similar story to share it would be much appreciated. I'd like to know if the worst is over, or yet to come, lol. Not worried too much about it other than wondering if I'll be OK for New Years and starting a new job on Tuesday. Any feedback would be helpful. Thanks again to all of you who have posted your stories for people like me to read.
pookieloo77 is offline  
Old 12-29-2010, 07:23 PM
  # 2 (permalink)  
Juggernaut of self will
 
Dopafiend's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 66
Welp, I can't tell you if the worst is over for you or not, as everybody is different. But, I do want to whole heartedly welcome you to SR. This has been a great place for both support and information.

Hang in there, it does get better
Dopafiend is offline  
Old 12-29-2010, 07:47 PM
  # 3 (permalink)  
Administrator
 
Dee74's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,058
Hi pookieloo

I have no experience with oxycodone - I usually advise people to get some professional medical advice tho.

If you're not satisfied with your Dr, it maybe best to look around for a new one.

You're likely to find more Oxy stories in our substance abuse forum too
Substance Abuse - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information

welcome
D
Dee74 is offline  
Old 12-29-2010, 11:39 PM
  # 4 (permalink)  
Groovy Dancer
 
Ghostly's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: The States
Posts: 4,751
Welcome to SR. Follow Dee's advice. You have soooo many meds you are tryin to quit. Soooo many doses. Like Dee wrote, get some medical advice...a different Dr. you can trust. Either way, I admire your dedication to quit. Some of those meds are highly and dangerously addictive. Good luck and keep us posted.
Ghostly is offline  
Old 01-21-2012, 04:56 PM
  # 5 (permalink)  
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Elizabeth, NJ
Posts: 5
post details please on oxy dosing when weining down

I found your post very similar to the situation I am in now. I am on oxycodone and am trying to taper off of them. Some days I am taking 240 mgs like you were. You said it took you four months to get off of the oxy but how many milligrams did you wein down daily? Any tips for me to get off this medication? I was in a car accident and have 2 herniated discs and two pinched nerves so that's why i'm on the oxy but I don't like how the drug is effecting me and my life if I don't have any more to take. Therefore, I really need to get off of them and I want to do it in the privacy of my own home.

Sincerely,
anonomys
have is offline  
Old 01-21-2012, 05:24 PM
  # 6 (permalink)  
Choosing Life
 
desertsong's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Montana
Posts: 1,435
Opiates are hell to detox from - I can totally relate. Was addicted to Vicodin for almost a year after a serious back injury, and it was the worst year of my life. Almost died from combining Vicodin with alcohol, and the detox was even worse. Nowadays, I'd rather deal with the lingering pain than rely on painkillers again. Nothing good came from it.

Bless your heart and I wish you much success. Very glad you recognized your problem and are taking steps to correct it. You have much support here from people who have been where you've been. *hugs*
desertsong is offline  
Old 01-21-2012, 06:18 PM
  # 7 (permalink)  
Member
 
jocata's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Newburgh
Posts: 868
Hey pookie, welcome to SR. Oxys are tough. I stopped cold gobbler and it took about two weeks for me to start feeling a little better.

If you get too bad, get to an ER. Withdrawals can be dangerous.

Keep reading and posting here.

God bless.
jocata is offline  
Old 02-08-2012, 01:15 PM
  # 8 (permalink)  
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 10
Oxy Taper Slow Going But Successful

Thanks for sharing your story and to everyone else who has posted on the subject of oxycodone. I am 39 and have been on opiates for pain management after back surgery (and the complications that came with it) for around 7 years. I began a slow taper in early November and wanted to post about it because I didn't find many success stories when I looked for them early on. Of course I am not totally successful YET as I'm still tapering but...when I began the weaning process I was at around 150mg a day (20mg 4x a day & 60 mg oxycontin at night plus usually an extra ten oxycodone for breakthrough at some point.) As of this writing I am down to about 38mg altogether a day. It has NOT been easy. But, it's been doable. In the beginning I took tizanidine (which I never see mentioned anywhere) to help with the leg cramping and it did help but made me extremely sleepy and dizzy and gave me horrible dry mouth. I also was having terrible insomnia (despite that sleepiness) and would wake up every couple of hours and stay awake for sometimes 1 to 3 hours at a time. It was like having a newborn except the baby was me. At some point, fairly recently in the tapering process, I feel like I crossed a threshold and it got a lot easier. I would say I am now in LESS pain that I was when I was on 3x the amount of opiates. My dr. says this could be attributed to Opioid-induced hyperalgesia (which I tried to post a wiki link for but apparently I haven't earned that privilege here yet). I suspect he's right. I can't help but feel deep regret for the amount of my life these pills stole (or that I gave away, depending on how I look at it) in that case, convincing me i needed more and more to manage my very real physical pain all the while actually making me much more sensitive & susceptible TO pain. Anyway, I switched from the tizznidine to flexerill a couple weeks ago and that has helped me a lot--I can finally fall asleep and stay there through the night only waking up once or last night I think maybe not at all. This morning for the first time since I can remember I woke up at 10 something without thinking about needing to take a pill. To me that's a miracle and I'm so grateful. I know that I am not out of the woods and wont be until I am completely off, but I finally have real hope for that becoming a reality sooner rather than later. And I would just urge anyone out there reading this that it CAN be done. I tried once before years ago and couldn't do it, partly because I was working in an office and taking the tizanidine then meant I couldn't really function at my job. This time I had the luxury of being self-employed and because my absolute priority was getting off the meds I bit the bullet and allowed myself to do whatever was reasonably necessary (including staying in bed all day) to keep at it. I absolutely think it's like any addiction ( a word which, while I am honestly not so comfortable with given all the stigma attached to it, I accept is indeed what happened to me with these meds) in that you have to be really truly ready to quit. Anyway, pookie, I was originally responding to your post and I'm wondering how you're feeling now. I also would love to hear from anyone with a similar story about what the end stage of their taper felt like, as I, perhaps naively, thought I could avoid the more hardcore symptoms pookie described at the end of hers by coming off so slowly. Thanks and blessings to all of you. This stuff is SO hard and its communities like these, not the doctors by in large, that are helping people reclaim their lives.
Esmerelda is offline  
Old 02-08-2012, 01:25 PM
  # 9 (permalink)  
Administrator
 
Dee74's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,058
Welcome Esmeralda

I think the OP only made that one post.
I hope they're doing well.

You may be interested in our substance abuse forum too:
Substance Abuse - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information

D
Dee74 is offline  
Old 02-08-2012, 06:47 PM
  # 10 (permalink)  
~sb
 
sugarbear1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: MD
Posts: 15,951
strongly advise to seek medical tapers and advice
sugarbear1 is offline  
Old 02-08-2012, 07:18 PM
  # 11 (permalink)  
Member
 
jocata's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Newburgh
Posts: 868
Hey Esmerelda, those pain meds are tough. My hats off to those that can taper off. I tried that and always ended up just taking more. I had to stop, completely.

Wishing you the best in the coming days and weeks. Keep posting about how you are doing.

God bless,.
jocata is offline  
Old 02-09-2012, 07:37 PM
  # 12 (permalink)  
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 10
Hi jocata, thanks so much for the understanding and encouraging words. I am so grateful for how well I'm doing to this point (down to about 33mg today and as of yesterday actually cut out one of my usual doses entirely) but am still afraid of what may be to come when I go totally off. I hope and pray it will be manageable after 4 or so months of tapering which is approximately how long it will have been if I continue at this rate to the end. I will update as I go. Like I said in my first post, I haven't read many accounts of successful slow tapers off oxy so I hope I can be among those to provide one. God Bless you too.
Sugarbear I dont know if you were writing in reply to me but as I said I have sought medical advice and am tapering in accordance with my doctor's knowledge.
Esmerelda is offline  
Old 02-09-2012, 08:07 PM
  # 13 (permalink)  
Self recovered Self discovered
 
freshstart57's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Toronto Canada
Posts: 5,148
Esmerelda, one of our senior members likes to advise new folks to act as though they will be the first in history to get straight and sober from their Drug of Choice, that no one has done it before, and by gum, they will be the first, come hell or high water. It sounds like you could write the book on that idea.

I think you should look forward, Esmerelda, to being the person that can do this, and then help others through their test by sharing your experience, your strength and encouragement. Good for you, I think you are going to be just fine. Keep us posted, please. I think you should get a special hat.
freshstart57 is offline  
Old 02-09-2012, 09:12 PM
  # 14 (permalink)  
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 10
I will try to hold that vision, Fresh, and I very much appreciate your positive encouraging response.
Esmerelda is offline  
Old 02-10-2012, 05:22 AM
  # 15 (permalink)  
dopeless hope fiend
 
augustwest's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Here. Now.
Posts: 1,021
I was hopelessly addicted to oxycodone, oxycontin, heroin....any and all opiates I could get my hands on. this went on for almost four years.

I did multiple medical detoxes, with and without treatment centers. I tried tapering to no avail. never could get more than a couple months clean.

the only thing that has worked for me was quitting cold turkey and giving myself 100% to a 12 step program. the 12 steps changed my personality and I haven't the need for an opiate or any drug in over two years.
augustwest is offline  
Old 02-10-2012, 06:18 AM
  # 16 (permalink)  
dopeless hope fiend
 
augustwest's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Here. Now.
Posts: 1,021
and good luck with your recovery! you can do it!
augustwest is offline  
Old 03-01-2012, 09:24 AM
  # 17 (permalink)  
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Elizabeth, NJ
Posts: 5
Thanks and I love your quote! I believe that I may need to go into an inpatient rehab. I have been attempting to ween down for far too long. I guess it just took me a really long time to realize that I can't just keep myself down and repeat my failures. Every time I try to ween myself down I end up making excuses to take that extra pill. I suppose I could benefit from some intense therapy to help me re think the harm I am doing to my body by staying addicted to prescription drugs.
Yes, I had an episode about two years ago when I mixed shots, beer, zantax and oxycodone. Not a good combination.
have is offline  
Old 03-01-2012, 09:26 AM
  # 18 (permalink)  
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Elizabeth, NJ
Posts: 5
I like your name, "dope less hope feen". that's great!
have is offline  
Old 03-01-2012, 09:28 AM
  # 19 (permalink)  
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Elizabeth, NJ
Posts: 5
Thanks, this is very true.
have is offline  
Old 03-01-2012, 09:29 AM
  # 20 (permalink)  
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Elizabeth, NJ
Posts: 5
Every time I think of going into in patient I get this tight feeling in my chest and my throat. It such a tough decision to make. I know i'll do the right thing though, I always do. Thanks for sharing.
have is offline  

Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are Off




All times are GMT -7. The time now is 08:41 AM.