I’ve been on prescribed opiates for several years, due to a chronic pain disorder. My pain is sometimes episodic, in that I recently went for six years in constant severe pain, only to have the episode end about seven months ago.
I’ve been pain-free for seven months now and I managed to taper myself off of a pretty high dose of Dilaudid. I was taking 16 mg. Exalgo (long-acting Dilaudid) 3x daily, along with short-acting Dilaudid. I was able to taper off the Exalgo fairly easily and quickly. I’d been on it for several years and I was surprised at how easy it was to take myself off of it.
I really thought that taking myself off of opiates completely was going to be fairly easy, but I was wrong. It was easy for me to taper all the way down to just one Tylenol with Codiene per day, but I can’t seem to go down to nothing without having pretty extreme discomfort.
My withdrawal symptoms begin to kick in at 24 hours without a codiene pill. For the first time in years, I have managed to go an entire day without a pill, but I get chills, runny nose, diarrhea, etc. By the time I get to the next morning (48 hours without a pill), the withdrawal symptoms are even worse, and I have to take a pill in order to even be able to get out of bed or eat anything.
Now that I’m in a pain-free phase, I’d like to get off opiates completely, mainly to save money, but also to not be dependent on anything. I’m hoping I never go back into chronic pain again, but who knows? I may have to go back on opiates at some point in the future, but in the past I’ve gone as long as 1.5 years without pain. (During that 1.5 years, I was on a small maintenance dose of opiates).
I’ve tapered as far as I can go, down to just one 30 mg. Codiene pill a day. I never dreamed withdrawing from just one codeine pill a day would be this difficult. I know Subutex is an option, but I don’t have health insurance at the moment, so I’d really like to do this on my own. I do have sleeping pills, but no other meds.
Do I need to take off 5 days or so and just lay in bed? I think I can do it, but the withdrawal symptoms really are hellish. Are there any OTC meds that can help with withdrawal symptoms? Any advice about what to try to eat while in withdrawal? How long do withdrawal symptoms last and when can I expect to feel normal? So strange that I was able to taper down to just one pill a day with minimal withdrawal symptoms, but I can’t get down to zero without going into pretty severe withdrawal. Thanks for any advice.
I’ve been pain-free for seven months now and I managed to taper myself off of a pretty high dose of Dilaudid. I was taking 16 mg. Exalgo (long-acting Dilaudid) 3x daily, along with short-acting Dilaudid. I was able to taper off the Exalgo fairly easily and quickly. I’d been on it for several years and I was surprised at how easy it was to take myself off of it.
I really thought that taking myself off of opiates completely was going to be fairly easy, but I was wrong. It was easy for me to taper all the way down to just one Tylenol with Codiene per day, but I can’t seem to go down to nothing without having pretty extreme discomfort.
My withdrawal symptoms begin to kick in at 24 hours without a codiene pill. For the first time in years, I have managed to go an entire day without a pill, but I get chills, runny nose, diarrhea, etc. By the time I get to the next morning (48 hours without a pill), the withdrawal symptoms are even worse, and I have to take a pill in order to even be able to get out of bed or eat anything.
Now that I’m in a pain-free phase, I’d like to get off opiates completely, mainly to save money, but also to not be dependent on anything. I’m hoping I never go back into chronic pain again, but who knows? I may have to go back on opiates at some point in the future, but in the past I’ve gone as long as 1.5 years without pain. (During that 1.5 years, I was on a small maintenance dose of opiates).
I’ve tapered as far as I can go, down to just one 30 mg. Codiene pill a day. I never dreamed withdrawing from just one codeine pill a day would be this difficult. I know Subutex is an option, but I don’t have health insurance at the moment, so I’d really like to do this on my own. I do have sleeping pills, but no other meds.
Do I need to take off 5 days or so and just lay in bed? I think I can do it, but the withdrawal symptoms really are hellish. Are there any OTC meds that can help with withdrawal symptoms? Any advice about what to try to eat while in withdrawal? How long do withdrawal symptoms last and when can I expect to feel normal? So strange that I was able to taper down to just one pill a day with minimal withdrawal symptoms, but I can’t get down to zero without going into pretty severe withdrawal. Thanks for any advice.
