• H&R Moderators: VerbalTruist | cdin | Lil'LinaptkSix

Recovery 16 years oxy user working up plan to get off for good please help have questions

Broken, if you can coax him into the shower, he will thank you for it. I dreaded it and when I finally HAD to it was amazing! But I agree with P0kemama, which is why I use the word coax. Gently coax!

I like how you think, gentle coaxing is what I've been doing with him. Baby steps. Positive reinforcement. Suggestive ideas.

My older brother was hooked injecting oxy n roxy...he tells me I have a 6th sense in spotting addiction and in being an excellent support. It's funny how we view ourselves vs. How others view us. Just like earlier when I saw myself as soft n squishy but LD pointed out that it was actually strength and good character. This is why we need peeps and relationships!
 
I like how you think, gentle coaxing is what I've been doing with him. Baby steps. Positive reinforcement. Suggestive ideas.

My older brother was hooked injecting oxy n roxy...he tells me I have a 6th sense in spotting addiction and in being an excellent support. It's funny how we view ourselves vs. How others view us. Just like earlier when I saw myself as soft n squishy but LD pointed out that it was actually strength and good character. This is why we need peeps and relationships!


cduggles has great info and is one tough lady she can relate to where your boyfriend is she jumped at a pretty dam high dose of oxy shes been so cool to me she tells it like it is... but kindly.
I just did a slow taper torture for 3 months wasnt fun but in the end when i jumped it hardly had anything for me which i could not believe i was yelling bring this shit on as the hours past i wanted to get it over with after that longass taper but it didnt have much for me just no appt. fuk up sleep which i still have. Hows your boyfriend doin did he get any of the comfort meds we were saying and were you able to get any more roxys to slow the ween down.
 
Pok what dose did start at 6 days ago if you been weening down and now to only 15mgs you will kick it in the ass like i did almost no withdrawals

Unfortunately, I jumped from 20 mg oxymorphone and 0-3 15 mg oxycodone a day. I did taper down to only the oxymorphone, but because I sniffed it, it was too addictive, too hard to taper from. So with 8-9 days free, I jumped to 15 mg oxycodone... it is brutal, I won't lie. But have prescribed clonidine, gabapentin, and ativan to sleep. I know cd: hi there! my friend...I wish you the best last dose, and CD...I will be opiate free sometime in the near future. Peace to you!
 
OH I do have my BP machine set up- spent $$$ in 2013 when I had my first cold turkey and had to go to ER for clonidine patch. The clonidine I have now is working fine...all is good in that department. Just want some energy...would love to shower.. smell like a&^ as well as other things, lol, but am afraid of passing out. Wish I had a waterproof chair, but do not. Being older, and living alone I have to be careful...more so than clean. Maybe tomorrow I will feel more energy to stay on my feet a few minutes under water.
 
LD I came by after work and immediately he asked for percs, which I didn't bring as a solid promise to his mother. I did give him partial xanax and then he for in the tub. He's been vomiting today, that wasnt happening before, I brought anti nausea pills that the doc gave me for after my breast augmentation. Ib never needed them so there are plenty. He doesn't know but I have diazepim and muncle relaxers for when he gets out of the bath. Couldn't get anything else. He will let me check his bp after the bath (so glad he finally decided to do that, can't get him out now!). I take bp meds but idk how helpful aetenelol will be for what he's dealing with. Of course he has no insurance so I can't get him to a dr. But I did discuss going into a treatment in patient with him if he needs it, he was willing to consider it. Says there has been no relief of any sort as of yet and he just feels like it's only getting worse. I think tonight will be a good judge since I can evaluate from outside perspective. God I really appreciate all the support. here. I'm tearing up thinking about it and is odd to me as I've never met any of you and everyone has just been wonderful n is a great place for me to get it off my mind and understand things. Can't exactly talk about this with straight friends or Co workers.

Side note: my brother suggested a documentary called "Bob and the Monster" by famous musician/addict his struggle and then journey to recovery. Apparently he's one of the most respected aND looked up to counselors in the field.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_and_the_Monster
 
Broken: Fentanyl is very hard to detox from. My friend was on the patches.... took her two weeks to feel anything close to better. Days 3-7 were her worst...her husband actually carried her into the bathtub, sponge bathed, her and dried her off. She had 0 energy at all....so hang in there. You may want to research fentanyl specifically.
I know, as coming off of oxymorphone, I face a tougher battle than when I came off of oxycodone and vicodin. You are doing great as a support/loving person....keep the faith!
 
His blood pressure is high. He loved the bath. He also really liked having a warm blanket from the dryer laid over him. He says his muscles ache, all I have is flexoril and I'm not entirely sure it will do much for him, but I did tell him if he wants one to let me know. Really crossing my fingers that the valuim will allow him some shut eye tonight, it's a long shot but I can hope!
 
I have ativan, Broken, and as a different benzo form than valium, found it huge in allowing me to get several hours of sleep. I have been prescribed it for some time, never abused it... usually take less. Just my 2 cents: flexeril, as a muscle relaxer, helps some very much. However, for others, increases RLS, restless leg syndrome. He will have his own experience on it, but if the RLS does increase, at least you will know what is up. What did you give him for his blood pressure, if anything?
 
LD: You are so kind to share your thread! I feel as if you understand what I am going through although you had much more willpower on tapering that I could muster up.
I find that the 1 15mg oxycodone is a huge help... I don't think I could have gone cold turkey at this time. Being able to put aside the oxymorphone sniffing is a miracle.... thank you again for allowing me to post here. By the way... I am taking my time regarding taper down anytime soon on the oxycodone. It helps, I have no cravings, and although no energy most of the day, at least I can eat after dosing, and I get a small bit of energy. It keeps me keeping on, as I am into day 6!
 
Just want to say... I showered, thanks to reading here and getting inspired! Called my daughter to set up safety plan, and all went well.
 
Broken: So happy he got in! It's a great relief from symptoms and heavenly. It's the one, single thing from abrupt discontinuation that I miss.
And it's very kind of you to help and post for him. Trust me, going through withdrawals is tough enough without a drill sergeant. Your temperament is ideal!
Happy to check out information regarding your nausea meds if you provide name. I didn't have nausea, but tld bought dramamine, but not sure he used it. Tld?Valium should help overall.
Per P0kemama, muscle relaxers are hit and miss. For example, I had to go through 4 including methacarbomal, the tapering gold standard for some, to which I react badly to as does tld. So Flexeril is a gamble. It can make things a lot worse. I wouldn't use it.
You're both really doing this bare bones.
Regarding high bp, it's a sympathetic reaction to withdrawal and clonidine shuts it down specifically. If his bp spikes too high (age-dependent and duration-dependent), either try Valium (first) or atenolol.
Unfortunately dosage is also based on things like tolerance, weight and metabolism as well as being able to hold meds down.
Atenolol is a beta blocker, which clonidine is not. It is used to lower bp, but with a different biological mechanism.
Without knowing bp numbers and dosages (and I only have experience with oxy taper), I don't feel comfortable advising anything except Valium, low-dose atenolol and supplementary opiates, the last which is highly unusual for me, but this is a major jump and you have non-ideal meds.
If you have to make mom promises and he is willing to do this, then maybe she'll help more? Without being there, that's the best I can do except say check his bp and get him to an ER if it's too elevated too long. It's easy info to find blood pressure info on internet.
But don't assume meds are interchangeable so easily. For both your sakes!
Keep us posted!
 
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P0kemama: hey there! I was thinking about how much I wanted you to be able to shower! As mentioned in my long post above, I miss that heavenly feeling. I'm so happy you were able to, particularly with a safety plan in place. After major surgery (to the bone, literally), the bathroom just seemed like one hard surface calling my name!
I'm so glad you are monitoring bp. Clonidine has a rebound effect that can elevate your bp temporarily. So it's important!
But most of all, I'm sure you will break the opiate chains. And I'm relieved you've got the right meds. I'm right here for you mama! :)
 
tld: got a chuckle picturing you calling on the opiate gods to do their worst with clenched fist!
 
Broken74: I've looked around and some people do use atenolol instead of clonidine for opiate withdrawal but I don't want to be reassuring about it. It's not the same class of drug and no one recommends it.
My best advice is to message a moderator like Keif' Richards or Smoky who can put you in touch with someone whose gone through fentanyl withdrawal. It's not called the "freight train" of opiates for nothing and maybe his mom needs to understand that people can die detoxing and help both of you out.
I'll do what I can (no offense intended- I came here for the same reasons you did) but you don't have a lot of knowledge about meds and that isn't good. What a doctor prescribes for surgical implants (nausea?) isn't the same thing a doctor would prescribe for opiate withdrawal.
And - again- bp medications work differently.
Keep us posted!
 
Unfortunately, I jumped from 20 mg oxymorphone and 0-3 15 mg oxycodone a day. I did taper down to only the oxymorphone, but because I sniffed it, it was too addictive, too hard to taper from. So with 8-9 days free, I jumped to 15 mg oxycodone... it is brutal, I won't lie. But have prescribed clonidine, gabapentin, and ativan to sleep. I know cd: hi there! my friend...I wish you the best last dose, and CD...I will be opiate free sometime in the near future. Peace to you!

OMG Poke, you jumped? Where the hell have I been - I missed it!?! That's amazing! Congrats. I need to go to your thread and catch up ASAP!

LD - Keep on rocking! I'm so impressed and so, so happy that you feel well. I have so much hope for you going forward.

- VE
 
Great info CD! Broken i would defintely try the atenolol if his bp is high between that and valium he will get some relief clonidine is the best like CD said atenolol is a beta blocker but i have read before some getting relief from atenolol maybe just lowering bp safely will make him feel better and safer. Just monitor results from first dose he gets and i would give him the nausea med you have you dont want him to dehydrated i drank gatorade thru withdrawals i had draminine too but didnt get any nausea. best! im praying for him



Poke, please use this thread np and keep us posted im not young either sounds like you have the comfort meds ready. If you get a couple hours of relief from one 15mgs roxy that is great! Just the fact that only 15mgs helps is so promising your close but i would still take your time and use all the 15mgs up i truly believe as i was going down that low of a mg and getting withdrawals i was also making final withdrawals easier. I dont know if its possible that when your that low of dose during taper you begin to fill your receptors naturally this is my own belief only cause i got off too easy in end. I almost regret now not jumping at 15mgs dose because 7.5mgs wasnt so easy getting to because getting under the 15mg dose was beating me up. keep us posted brotha praying for ya!
 
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Lots of good advice here, I will p.m. someone with more fentanyl experience.

He asking asking for the percs. They are only 10mg and I feel like if he takes them, then has to cut from that he will have more WD symptoms and the finger pointing from her would start at me.

Would he go back into WD all over once he cut from the 10mg percs at 5/day???

He's not taking flexoril. He did say the diazepim helped somewhat. I think I caught him sleeping a bit! Good point about the meds being different than what you would use them for ---- WD vs surgery. They had me on morphine so I *figured* it was ok since both opiates and Dr said it would make me sick coming off it. Morphine made me feel super human. Like I never even had surgery. I have drained too, but so far he hasn't been sick anymore after the nausea pills. (I'm going to look at the bottle and update you with the name in a bit here)

The bp was 173/80

She has the machine to check it, so I'll let u know if it changes when she checks again. I definitely don't have all the answers, I'm just trying to help with some type of comfort, aND keep him on focus to staying clean. I don't know the ppl within the circles to come up with alternatives and he won't go to the dr. Since no insurance. It's not passed me to phone an ambulance if need be though. It's hard hearing him say there's only one thing I want.....and knowing what he's referring to. ?

I know he was injecting because I've noticed veins getting darker. And then a weekl later a new vein getting darker. His hands suddenly stated becoming extremely painful to close. I was massaging them nightly and then boiling water and tossing hand towels in the water, letting them slightly cool and then wrapping his hands. Been doing this for a couple weeks now. It was the only relief he could find. And the swelling and pain was intensifying in how often of occurrence. He may have some carpal tunnel from his type of work (cutting down trees with chainsaws) BUT...I feel like injecting magnifies that or the hand pain may even be directly from injecting altogether. A month ago he cut his arm open with a chainsaw, I feared then it was during a nod off. Not 2 weeks later he was driving and nodded at the wheel I look up to see us head on in the wrong lane about to take on a parked vehicle. He was falling asleep with cigarettes almost hourly. I was literally exhausted baby sitting to make sure we/he lived and not sleeping, so needless to say I'm elated this is coming to an end. He's such a super guy, and I've been missing him for a while now.
 
The good news is that ondansetron (zofran) is a highly recommended anti-nausea for opiate withdrawal. That's about it.
Can you post his weight and age or look up normal to ambulance bps?
Atenolol is usable. Try the Valium or Xanax or other benzodiazepines first. DO NOT give him large doses unless he's got a tolerance for them.
If his heart is racing, bp is high or he's still really anxious then use atenolol in low to increasing dose.
I've looked over some posts here and on other sites and they suggest that kicking fentanyl is relatively fast although not pretty. It can be kicked cold without comfort meds like Lyrica or gabapentin.

As tld has said, I'm going to be honest with you. If he's begging you for drugs and his mother basically cut him off, he's got a problem he might not be ready to solve.

I'm of the mind that if you give him more drugs (and that's exactly what you're asking about) it's only going to prolong his withdrawal and, more importantly, if you give him one he's going to want more. It's his withdrawal, not yours.
I'm not alone in this thinking, but cold turkey is admittedly tough. Use very sparingly if at all to keep symptoms under control, not because he wants it.
No one wants to go through withdrawal. It's hard and you have to want to be clean if you're going to stay clean.
You're in a tough spot. You're between your man and his mother. And he isn't helping. Unless she's an uncaring b- , and those mothers usually don't provide cars, phones, etc., he has a serious addiction issue and getting clean is just step one. The fact that you're posting and he's not says as much about him as it does you.
I don't want to pile on you at all. Actually I feel bad for you. It's wrong of him and his mother to lay this on you. They should be very grateful. Very.

My best recommendation is Keif' Richards (you have to spell it exactly like that). Injecting is way out of my experience zone. Addictive behavior is not. It would be helpful if you knew what and how much he's trying to quit. It's possible something other than fentanyl is involved.
Best of luck. CD
 
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