mumbai78

YouTube - Mark on this morning

lostbutterfly

Am I the only idiot who has never taken codeine for pain?

That is how I have been tapering, drop a pill a week, and I've got to say, it feels OK. The first few weeks, I messed around terribly, like took a week's worth in a couple of days and drank on top!! But I just got so sick and tired of myself.

These past three weeks I've been solid! Good as gold! But I've had to behave "as if" I'm clean - do all the recovery stuff I would do if I wasn't on anything, because it doesn't feel like I am on anything.

I put the pills in old vitamin pill bottles and just take them with my real vitamin pills so there are no triggers - the red and silver box they come in is a terrific trigger for me coz it reminds me of the relief I used to feel when I had a full box in my hand!

I feel sane, and guilt-free and physically stronger every day.

Faerie

No LB you're not the only one.

Whilst I first started using codeine for genuine physical pain I now use it mainly to numb emotional pain. I still have the physical pain but ibuprofen and physio is helping.

Now that I am getting help for the sexual assaults I have found the strength to start weaning myself off with my Doctor's help.

I'm not dropping down as quickly as you as my doctor wishes for me to do it more slowly but have so far managed to cut my pill consumption from @ 40 to 16 a day.

Once my doctor feels I am ready we will drop the dosage again.

That video was really good, I'm gonna share it with my parents.

Much love,

Faerie

mumbai78

11 years since I got off codeine. had a very brief relapse again the next year but that was it. Never went back to the stuff again.

Started relying heavily on alcohol after that for many years.

LB - How many mg are you on currently ?

lostbutterfly

Wow, Faerie, I thought my taper was slow! It's the psychological addiction that is so hard to deal with.

******, I take 40mg in the am and 40mg in the pm. Not that I would feel anything if I took the lot in one go, but I just think it's better to space them out a bit.

I actually forgot to take my pm dose the other day.

Faerie

LB, Dropping one pill a week is amazing, you are so strong.

I want you to know you are one of my role models here.

I hope when I'm in a better place I can drop down more quickly too.



Much Love,

Faerie xx

mumbai78

[QUOTE=lostbutterfly;2345072]******, I take 40mg in the am and 40mg in the pm. Not that I would feel anything if I took the lot in one go, but I just think it's better to space them out a bit.

QUOTE]

That is good.When i started tapering a few weeks before I quit I was down to 100 Mg a day.
Taking it in small does help, it did for me. The comedowns are a little better that way.

lostbutterfly

No need to rush things Faerie, I've always been in a rush to get off them before, and then gone stark staring mad, lol!! This method is keeping me pretty stable.

I think slow is good, but the only way I can do this is to work at the recovery side of things. I have never successfully tapered this long before.

At the start of the taper, I only got two days pills at a time. Now I get a week's worth, so it's quite a lot of pills to have floating about!

christin1225

LB,

You are doing something that is quite remarkable. I know that you are aware of that fact. It certainly isn't something that I would readily suggest that an addict attempt. However, you've got some really good experience in AA and you're not waiting to incorporate your recovery program, but have been working it from the start.

I just wanted to say and to give you .

Keep up the good work!

Hugs,
Christin

lostbutterfly

I wish I could have gone on some kind of substitution therapy, like subs, but they are too strong for codeine (I think). So this is the next best thing I suppose.

Just like you can mess around with subs and methadone, you can mess around with tapering. I think you have to be ab-so-lute-ly sick and tired of the whole run around to even attempt this.

Weirdly, I crave alcohol, even tho I don't like it on it's own. Haven't been craving pills so much (I guess coz I'm still on them, d'oh!)

vicodaniel

Hey Lostie,
Nice job with the taper keeping the dose low, your liver will thank you. I always say is you can't quit someting at least slow down a bit.

lostbutterfly

Well, the idea is to quit, but in slooow motion!!!

I dropped my dose today. Went for a 30 minute run - by the time I've tapered to nothing, I shall be one fit mother! Even tho it's such a tiny drop in dose, I do feel achy in my joints for the next few days, legs a bit restless (well, last week, I couldn't keep still for a night). I didn't expect to notice the drop at all. That's why I go running!

I think I've got another 5 weeks, but I try not to think about it, just do as I'm told.