VA put me on opiates. How do I stop?

[hotmoonsauce]

I've been on opiates for nearly 8 years. I'm sick of them. They don't really do anything for pain anymore, the euphoria is gone, and I'm just generally tired of taking these just to prevent withdrawal.

How do I get off of them?
I currently am prescribed daily:
six oxycodone 15mg
two oxycotin 60mg

I only orally take them. Never abused. I am VERY dependent on them. There have been a couple times over the years where I tried to taper but the withdrawal symptoms were insane.

I assume I'm doing something wrong. The worst symptom is the skin crawling, needling sensation. The other symptoms are terrible too (basically feel like I'm dying). I've never done any other drugs, I've never even smoked in my life. And drink like once a year... if that.

I need help. I hate the VA put me on this long ago. I wish I had never started.

Should I still try to taper? How?
Take something else?
Is there a reputable detox center in Houston?
Can a hospital just knock my ass out? I'd seriously pay the $$ if it were possible.

I'm just at a loss. Please help.

 

[LucidSDreamr]

I have tapered off of and withdrew hard cold turkey from most opioids. The easiest taper and withdrawal i ever did was with the matrix fentanyl patches, i would cut them smaller and smaller each time i put one on until there was nothing. The have sustained release so you don't get the up and down of taking pills.

If you need to do it with your oxy. This is what I would do. Make your dosage out for the whole month in advance one day. lowering by about 3-5 mg a day. whatever is doable for you. So each days dose is smaller and smaller. You need a lot of discipline to stick to your predetermined dosage. you can slow the taper down if you need to. But expect to feel half way shitty for a long time. months even. as you taper.

i would not get on suboxone as its sold to be something you can take to get off oxy. its harder to get off than oxy i think. Since you don't abuse the pills you should have the discipline you need to do a taper and stick to it.

certain drugs can potentiate the opioids you do take and help you take less DXM is one that at 100 mg is very good. but you need good organs to be doing this everyday for a few months. If you are older i would advise against that probably. lyrica is great for dampening opioid withdrawal (don't get addicted to that though, far worse that an opioid withdrawal).

They do have those rapid detoxes whepeole they drug the shit out of you to knock you out for like a week or something. I've heard horror stories about it and people saying the still withdraw hard anyways afterwards. I wouldn't do it.

you might hear people suggest ibogaine. i would advise against that at your age (if you are old). Its a young mang's game to trip balls for 3 days straight on a drug people have died from to bypass withdrawal.

really there is no easy way to do it i'm sorry to say. Since you have a steady script i would just do a slow comfortable taper. detox centers are going to put a mark on your record to where if you ever have cancer, get into a car wreck, or get into extreme pain ever again, you will be denied pain medicine and suffer in agony till you decide to do heroin or kill yourself from the pain. I would do this (get off the oxy) on your own. you can do it. many of us have and we are drug addicts, so somone like you that doesn't even abuse them should be able to do it.

 

[hotmoonsauce]

Thank you for replying. Sounds mostly like just attempting to taper is my best bet. I was hoping there would be something else to help cope with some of the symptoms.
I do have Lyrica actually, just never took it. Would i take that when I'm feeling shitty? Or on a regular basis while tapering?
I'll get one of those monthly pill containers, dose it each month.

Thank you again for your advice. It really does mean a lot.
I'm 42 btw.

 

[LucidSDreamr]

I would only take the lyrica if you are feeling like you withdrawing and can't function or can't sleep. not make a daily thing or you will just develop a dependency to lyrica. start low with the lyrica because you may not know how th combo of the opioid and lyrica will affect you. Granted you will be lowering your opioid dosage but still, you wouldn't want to get overly sedated or high from such a combination.

 

[nuttynutskin]

Kratom maybe?

 

[LucidSDreamr]

if she's not an addict i would say tapering down pharmacutical oxy would be better than ingesting 10-20 grams of (possibly) toxin covered plant material several times a day. plus she'd be introducing a lot of new pharmacology into the mix, whereras oxy is mainly just an opiate. i can see how kratom has an appeal to drug addicts because it can't be abused in the same way oxy can. but i don't see that as an issue here. my 2 cents.