Tapering 25 years on opioids. Need to stop, please advise.

[jbow]

Hi. I have chronic pain. I have been told for two decades that it is arthritis and facet syndrome. However recent MRIs of Cervical, thoracic, and lumbar show. “Diffuse arthritis” and nothing major, most importantly nothing at all where I have most pain so I am DONE with urine tests and living a “no life” life. I’ve been on most everything but the last year and a half it’s been MS-Contin. It works but I’m tired of sleeping. Prescribed dose was 30mg twice a day or 60mg a day. I am down to 30mg once a day, twice a day don’t work for me. I want to finish the taper and self medicate with a microdose of good weed and possibly an occasional microdose of shrooms. I think my quality of life will be much better. I do have two half pounds of Kratom but it is a PITA. I have found that I can cut these MS-Contin into halves and quarters with no trouble in cutting or in dosing. (Tip for you): I tapered myself off a 50ug per hour Mylan fentanyl patch with absolutely no withdrawal by cutting off small pieces. I was having to change it every 48 hours. I had 3 Vicoprofen a day for breakthrough pain. I went to four, taken two in AM, 2 around lunch. It worked well. They said it wouldn’t but it’s like a piece of tape.
Anyway...
I am committed but I don’t want to do it wrong and suffer more or longer than necessary. I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia also but you know, pain is an old friend now. A bit of good sativa and I can get distracted from pain. Then a couple of shots of bourbon in the evening and I think I’ll have a better life that just sitting around thinking about all the stuff I want to do but am not motivated to do.
I am male. 68yo.
Any tips or hints. I’m thinking of dropping 3.75 a week but I may drop 7.5 next cut, then 3.75 a couple weeks then just stop,
What to expect after 25 years? I have a positive attitude and am committed to it. I have no reservations. I’ve never run out of meds. I always take z little less when I can so never have to count pills. I have taken A little extra a few times just to not feel like crap every day, but I never think about the next dose... except when I had some Dilaudid, those things made me want the next one, made me try crushing and snorting... I don’t need that.
So I’m stopping. Please help me.

 

[jhjhsdi]

@jbow
Sounds like you have it pretty sussed regarding how to taper down sensibly and efficiently. I'd just keep reducing your morphine gradually, until you are on as little as physically possible to take. Then once you have been doing like 1-2mg a day for a week, try having a day off and see how you feel?
25 years is a longggg time. Be prepared for some post addiction withdrawal symptoms once the physical withdrawals stop.

Oh, and stay stocked up on that sativa and bourbon it will help tremendously with both physical and PAWS. Best of luck

 

[Jabberwocky]

ooooofffff 25 years is a long time!!!

are your doctors not helping you taper? due to the duration of use you definitely need to take it slowly. do also be prepared for the psychological aspect of stopping. even if you're not psychologically addicted, those opiates are having an effect on you mentally so you will need some time to adjust. PAWs will be likely.

unfortunately I have never used any of the stuff you mentioned. i've done heroin clucks but i don't know how the timescales or symptoms tranlaste over, so i can't give you any practical advice but wish you all the best.

 

[Lauren1978]

Hi. I have chronic pain. I have been told for two decades that it is arthritis and facet syndrome. However recent MRIs of Cervical, thoracic, and lumbar show. “Diffuse arthritis” and nothing major, most importantly nothing at all where I have most pain so I am DONE with urine tests and living a “no life” life. I’ve been on most everything but the last year and a half it’s been MS-Contin. It works but I’m tired of sleeping. Prescribed dose was 30mg twice a day or 60mg a day. I am down to 30mg once a day, twice a day don’t work for me. I want to finish the taper and self medicate with a microdose of good weed and possibly an occasional microdose of shrooms. I think my quality of life will be much better. I do have two half pounds of Kratom but it is a PITA. I have found that I can cut these MS-Contin into halves and quarters with no trouble in cutting or in dosing. (Tip for you): I tapered myself off a 50ug per hour Mylan fentanyl patch with absolutely no withdrawal by cutting off small pieces. I was having to change it every 48 hours. I had 3 Vicoprofen a day for breakthrough pain. I went to four, taken two in AM, 2 around lunch. It worked well. They said it wouldn’t but it’s like a piece of tape.
Anyway...
I am committed but I don’t want to do it wrong and suffer more or longer than necessary. I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia also but you know, pain is an old friend now. A bit of good sativa and I can get distracted from pain. Then a couple of shots of bourbon in the evening and I think I’ll have a better life that just sitting around thinking about all the stuff I want to do but am not motivated to do.
I am male. 68yo.
Any tips or hints. I’m thinking of dropping 3.75 a week but I may drop 7.5 next cut, then 3.75 a couple weeks then just stop,
What to expect after 25 years? I have a positive attitude and am committed to it. I have no reservations. I’ve never run out of meds. I always take z little less when I can so never have to count pills. I have taken A little extra a few times just to not feel like crap every day, but I never think about the next dose... except when I had some Dilaudid, those things made me want the next one, made me try crushing and snorting... I don’t need that.
So I’m stopping. Please help me.

Hello,

I had an oxy habit originally prescribed for a back injury, back in the 90's. I took them for over 20 years pretty steadily. At one point I was at around 180mg a day
(6 x 30mg). I had known that it could not go on but wasn't sure how to get off them. A few times I had run out and had to go to loperamide and lyrica, which sort of made it bearable but I DREADED that scenario again. It became a constant stress of making sure I could drive to the doctor's and make sure the pills lasted, etc.

I had done in patient rehab once and that was semi bearable but only b/c they helped with meds for 5 days in a rapid withdrawal and then the really hard part for ME came up.... the PAWS. I recall wondering when I'd be able to laugh hard again or feel excited about ANYTHING and the despair can seep into your cells.

On one hand, I could not really imagine life without any oxy's but I also knew I'd probably die if I continued. And my kids matter a lot to me. I guess I formed a plan in the back of my mind about how I'd get off these but I had not actually done it. I stocked up on methadone ahead of time, (which I do not like to take and thus did not abuse, but which I knew would prevent withdrawal).

I was waiting for the "right time" to taper off methadone when a sudden death in the family jolted me so badly, it motivated me to "get clear" and be fully present.

So the next time I ran out of oxy's, I switched 100% to the methadone and it was emotionally so ROUGH at first, but I was also so sad grieving anyhow, it was kind of okay with me to feel shitty for awhile, if you know what I mean.

After a month on methadone, I began to taper GENTLY - no rush - and I cut the dose by 5% a week until it would get a bit too hard, and then I'd stay at the new lowered dose, for 2 weeks. Then I'd drop it again.
Although it took a few months, I did do it.
I did it without severe physical withdrawals (but loperamide of course was sometimes needed). I also had 2 nerve ablations that helped me reduce my actual back pain. But like you, pain is not the monster it once was. However, an addiction specialist told me that by dropping my dose slowly, I'd be easing my brain chemistry so that the endorphin drop would not be so dramatic when I finally got off them all. He was right.

I'm NOT saying there was no PAWS but by tapering slowly, i did give my brain a chance to prepare and it was definitely easier this way, for ME. Now & then I'd take lyrica for cravings and it helped.

You CAN/WILL be happy again, but those happiness endorphins can take their sweet time returning!

The underlying ennui and semi despair made getting out of bed hard, and then a problem or crisis in life would come as life does, and would have me reaching for what I used to reach for because I mistakenly thought it would make things better---.

Thing is, you must reach for something NEW now. Whatever that might be. (I like adrenaline rushes, so I do things like skydive and singing, that require my utter focus and are definitely done best without drugs, etc.) That helps ME, but you do you.

The lockdown triggered some cravings in me but I really have no access where I am. Yet I began to miss it badly.

Luckily I happened to have some lyrica left and believe it or not, though the physical part of withdrawal has been over for 2 years, taking a lyrica (just 50mg) really took the edge off the cravings. Weird, huh? Also found it mildly sedating, but not in a foggy way.

So I think you CAN do this but my question is, whether you've tried to do this before. If so, what happened? What can you do to prepare for a gentle but steady tapering?

Know that once you get off these, your brain chemistry will freak out for a bit, so I'd urge you to get busy, have as active a sex life as possible, listen to music that soothes OR "occupies" you, take a class, join something and watch comedies.

That's^^ the part of the "pushing endorphins" you actually can do without drugs. Speed up the process of getting your brain chemistry right so that happiness HAPPENS for real, drug free and all. And if kratom or pot or bourbon or lyrica help you too, that's cool.
I got off a heavy oxy habit I'd had for decades. You can do this too.

Keep us posted.

 

[Lawrence Arms]

Hello,

I had an oxy habit originally prescribed for a back injury, back in the 90's. I took them for over 20 years pretty steadily. At one point I was at around 180mg a day
(6 x 30mg). I had known that it could not go on but wasn't sure how to get off them. A few times I had run out and had to go to loperamide and lyrica, which sort of made it bearable but I DREADED that scenario again. It became a constant stress of making sure I could drive to the doctor's and make sure the pills lasted, etc.

I had done in patient rehab once and that was semi bearable but only b/c they helped with meds for 5 days in a rapid withdrawal and then the really hard part for ME came up.... the PAWS. I recall wondering when I'd be able to laugh hard again or feel excited about ANYTHING and the despair can seep into your cells.

On one hand, I could not really imagine life without any oxy's but I also knew I'd probably die if I continued. And my kids matter a lot to me. I guess I formed a plan in the back of my mind about how I'd get off these but I had not actually done it. I stocked up on methadone ahead of time, (which I do not like to take and thus did not abuse, but which I knew would prevent withdrawal).

I was waiting for the "right time" to taper off methadone when a sudden death in the family jolted me so badly, it motivated me to "get clear" and be fully present.

So the next time I ran out of oxy's, I switched 100% to the methadone and it was emotionally so ROUGH at first, but I was also so sad grieving anyhow, it was kind of okay with me to feel shitty for awhile, if you know what I mean.

After a month on methadone, I began to taper GENTLY - no rush - and I cut the dose by 5% a week until it would get a bit too hard, and then I'd stay at the new lowered dose, for 2 weeks. Then I'd drop it again.
Although it took a few months, I did do it.
I did it without severe physical withdrawals (but loperamide of course was sometimes needed). I also had 2 nerve ablations that helped me reduce my actual back pain. But like you, pain is not the monster it once was. However, an addiction specialist told me that by dropping my dose slowly, I'd be easing my brain chemistry so that the endorphin drop would not be so dramatic when I finally got off them all. He was right.

I'm NOT saying there was no PAWS but by tapering slowly, i did give my brain a chance to prepare and it was definitely easier this way, for ME. Now & then I'd take lyrica for cravings and it helped.

You CAN/WILL be happy again, but those happiness endorphins can take their sweet time returning!

The underlying ennui and semi despair made getting out of bed hard, and then a problem or crisis in life would come as life does, and would have me reaching for what I used to reach for because I mistakenly thought it would make things better---.

Thing is, you must reach for something NEW now. Whatever that might be. (I like adrenaline rushes, so I do things like skydive and singing, that require my utter focus and are definitely done best without drugs, etc.) That helps ME, but you do you.

The lockdown triggered some cravings in me but I really have no access where I am. Yet I began to miss it badly.

Luckily I happened to have some lyrica left and believe it or not, though the physical part of withdrawal has been over for 2 years, taking a lyrica (just 50mg) really took the edge off the cravings. Weird, huh? Also found it mildly sedating, but not in a foggy way.

So I think you CAN do this but my question is, whether you've tried to do this before. If so, what happened? What can you do to prepare for a gentle but steady tapering?

Know that once you get off these, your brain chemistry will freak out for a bit, so I'd urge you to get busy, have as active a sex life as possible, listen to music that soothes OR "occupies" you, take a class, join something and watch comedies.

That's^^ the part of the "pushing endorphins" you actually can do without drugs. Speed up the process of getting your brain chemistry right so that happiness HAPPENS for real, drug free and all. And if kratom or pot or bourbon or lyrica help you too, that's cool.
I got off a heavy oxy habit I'd had for decades. You can do this too.

Keep us posted.

I was searching for something else, and found this. Thanks for your while write up, man going on about 12 years or so with opiates myself: hydros, to oxy, to whatever, to morphine for ten years, to heroin, to subs (black market) which is where I am now. That's the most inspiring story I've ever heard of someone successfully quitting opiates, made me tear up a bit actually. Thank you

[Edit - sorry, on my phone, didn't even realize what thread I was in, thought you were OP lol my bad. Good luck to you as well, OP. I would add also that kratom has helped me IMMENSELY, the two times I have made it through the withdrawal. My longest time off of any opiates is 60 days, and I stupidly took a single "celebration" pill (my dumbass was selling them the entire time, still, when I was clean from them...fuckin idiot, right?!) and bam! not even a second thought about it, back to every day use like THAT, man. Granted, I have insanely low self-control, but that still goes to show how powerful the brain can be when it want s to trick itself. This is completely not recommended, but that time, I actually had used meth to get thru the withdrawal. It ended up in bi-drug addiction, where I definitely do NOT want to be. So kratom, though, I would recommend. Sorry for high-jackint, OP, honest mistake]

 

[cjlc72682]

Hi. I have chronic pain. I have been told for two decades that it is arthritis and facet syndrome. However recent MRIs of Cervical, thoracic, and lumbar show. “Diffuse arthritis” and nothing major, most importantly nothing at all where I have most pain so I am DONE with urine tests and living a “no life” life. I’ve been on most everything but the last year and a half it’s been MS-Contin. It works but I’m tired of sleeping. Prescribed dose was 30mg twice a day or 60mg a day. I am down to 30mg once a day, twice a day don’t work for me. I want to finish the taper and self medicate with a microdose of good weed and possibly an occasional microdose of shrooms. I think my quality of life will be much better. I do have two half pounds of Kratom but it is a PITA. I have found that I can cut these MS-Contin into halves and quarters with no trouble in cutting or in dosing. (Tip for you): I tapered myself off a 50ug per hour Mylan fentanyl patch with absolutely no withdrawal by cutting off small pieces. I was having to change it every 48 hours. I had 3 Vicoprofen a day for breakthrough pain. I went to four, taken two in AM, 2 around lunch. It worked well. They said it wouldn’t but it’s like a piece of tape.
Anyway...
I am committed but I don’t want to do it wrong and suffer more or longer than necessary. I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia also but you know, pain is an old friend now. A bit of good sativa and I can get distracted from pain. Then a couple of shots of bourbon in the evening and I think I’ll have a better life that just sitting around thinking about all the stuff I want to do but am not motivated to do.
I am male. 68yo.
Any tips or hints. I’m thinking of dropping 3.75 a week but I may drop 7.5 next cut, then 3.75 a couple weeks then just stop,
What to expect after 25 years? I have a positive attitude and am committed to it. I have no reservations. I’ve never run out of meds. I always take z little less when I can so never have to count pills. I have taken A little extra a few times just to not feel like crap every day, but I never think about the next dose... except when I had some Dilaudid, those things made me want the next one, made me try crushing and snorting... I don’t need that.
So I’m stopping. Please help me.

 

[cjlc72682]

I’m not sure of your goal in your taper. I loved my pain pills. I have chronic pain and other health issues. I have been sober 18 years. I could not have done this if I still used traditional opiates for pain. I got cut off the OxyContin 20 years ago. I was given Methadone for pain not addiction. I was never addicted to anything but booze. I tell you this the pill form Methadone has no euphoria and great pain reliever. 10mg knocked me out first time. My knees were bone on bone. I also use lidocaine patches for break-through pain. Those patches are great. Just can’t use them often. They stop being effective after few days of continued use. So I save them for when it is too much pain. I could not get sober if I was using other things. I tell you this I think that it is great that Marijuana is legal and lots of hope for study of this as medicine.
If anything try some edibles. Maybe you can get some pain relief from them. Best Wishes in you venture in tapering down.