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

That should be manageable. Pay attention to how your body is feeling. You may need to slow it down or take a week off here and there from the taper once you get around 75mg/day, but you will see. You may be able to get down to 20mg before you start really noticing anything.
 
Thanks DKW, Thats a good amount to start your taper, but you should always give yourself a week to adjust then a week to normalize some before weening further so atleast two weeks before each reduction sometimes i waited longer you dont wanna beat yourself up. TPD is right when you get down to 20 or 30mgs is when i would get wds a couple hours before each next dose, i was still working at this point so its very doable. Trust me stick with a taper in the end wds were not bad at all this is after 20 years daily on oxy. A friend of mine is tapering shes down to 40mgs a day from doing a couple hundred mgs a day, i saw her yesterday almost brought me to tears when she told me i was so happy for her. She has been on oxy daily longer than i was she keeps telling me after i wd that i inspired her, today she said it will be her last pain man. appt she was so happy i remember that exact feeling. Any info you need let me know. TLD
 
Tld, hey buddy!

Dkw, I think you've got a solid plan on place.. Should be a pretty comfortable transition I think. Good luck and keep us posted.
 
Hi TLD,
Just wanted to say hello, and let you know I am on DAY 4. How are you doing? I have been reading about your nerve pain in your feet, and your upcoming job ending at the end of March. With these issues, I am so proud of you for not wanting to use opiates... they are the devil. As you may have read, I did a brutal taper, 75% cut, before jumping off c.t. I had to... b/c I was sniffing, I could not keep tapering. I would get sick instead of stabilizing, and I could not function. I was such an idiot...oh, well, I have a new grand baby, so lots of motivation to stay on this good path. Thanks for keeping in touch, and SIXX said we could hang on his thread, he is awesome!!
 
Hi TLD,
Just wanted to say hello, and let you know I am on DAY 4. How are you doing? I have been reading about your nerve pain in your feet, and your upcoming job ending at the end of March. With these issues, I am so proud of you for not wanting to use opiates... they are the devil. As you may have read, I did a brutal taper, 75% cut, before jumping off c.t. I had to... b/c I was sniffing, I could not keep tapering. I would get sick instead of stabilizing, and I could not function. I was such an idiot...oh, well, I have a new grand baby, so lots of motivation to stay on this good path. Thanks for keeping in touch, and SIXX said we could hang on his thread, he is awesome!!


Hi Sista!! your not alone with weening it seems most cant stick to it so dont feel bad besides your kicking ass!!. Congrats on your new grand baby!! and yes sixx is awesome.
 
TLD -

You are doing so great. I am sorry to hear about the nerve pain dragging you down and keeping you from feeling 100%. I'm glad that the Lyrica helps but certainly understand your reluctance to take it regularly.

Poke -

Day 5 for you! You are getting close to the acute phase easing up. I know what you mean about tapering - I couldn't do it to save my life. I know it's the "better" way to go, but it just isn't for me.

How do you feel at day 5? Are you getting any sleep at all? Days 5-10 are usually my really bad insomnia days. Lack of sleep can be a HUGE drain on your fortitude and commitment. At least for me.

Congrats on the grand baby! I hear those are awfully cute. I'll bet yours is the cutest of all the cute grand babies, right?

Poke, do you have your own recovery thread or are you still on your tapering thread on TDS? I don't get over to TDS often, due to my limited time on BL and SL being my first home. I'm so glad you are still moving along in the right direction. It gives me hope to see so many of us still trying!

- VE
 
Hey VE:
It is 2:59am and I am wide awake, lol! So very nice to hear from you...it seems like you are our lady "dragon slayer" when it comes to kickin butt on our addictions...kudos to you!!
You asked a couple of questions: let me see if my cognitive functioning is such that I can read them and respond: At day 5, unfortunately, my physical withdrawal symptoms are pretty bad.. that is what I get for sniffing oxymorphone,. If I did not have baclofen and gabapentin, I would have raging RLS, especially in my arms, as they twitch slight, but do not flail. I actually just slept for 1 hour straight, which is huge... it has been only 20 minutes to 45 minutes here and there for weeks now, as I did a taper.

Thank you for your sweet words re: my new grandbaby. I think she is the sweetest, cutest in the world, but I am a bit biased, right...?

That is a good idea to start my own recovery journal. I did not even think of that, TBH. It felt so welcoming to have SIXX invite me on his, as I have isolated myself for such a long time.

Yes, I will definitely seriously consider starting my own this week-end.

Thanks... VE... and I read you are re-assessing your home situation... I send you compassionate thoughts during the process.
 
Thanks VE!


Poke Sista, hang in there your accute stage will start to lessen and sleep will get better little by little.
 
TLD: I searched for your thread, because I wanted to tell you how much I appreciated you posting about listening to music and how awesome it sounded once you quit the opiates. I too had the same experience, but a bit later, probably about at 5 weeks clean!

My son taught me about Spotify, and I now have it on my new Smartphone and on my laptop at home!! It is a great motivating tool, helps ease depression and keeps me distracted!

So, how are things going, jobwise or taking a break and collecting? Are you good? I would love to hear! Happy Easter if you celebrate.
 
How does everyone get clonidine from your doc? Are you informing them your addicted? What does that conversation look like? Thanks and again, I'm so happy for you!
 
Yeah, asking for it specifically to treat opioid withdrawal. If you have an issue talking with your doctor about medical needs, I suggest you try and find a doctor you feel more comfortable with.
 
Thank you so much. I applaud all of you, and you all bring me such hope. I've been researching and reading all on this site about everyone's experiences. It makes me so amped to do mine. I honestly can not wait to get my new script and taper.
 
TPD is spot on... re: the clonidine. I told my doctor I had become physically dependent and he was very supportive... he also gave me gabapentin. I was fortunate to find a compassionate doctor who had lots of experience weaning patients off of opiates. Good luck with your taper... I would encourage you to document your journey with your own thread at BL... it is good to have a journal of what we went through!
 
And the good news is that professional, compassionate, competent doctors are a lot more accessible than they have been at least in my lifetime, so finding a doctor willing to work with you is easier than ever. I mean, it still can take a bit of effort if you don't luck out with the first one you try, but most people professions (like licensed medical professionals) working in the field (particular when attached to a program associated with a major university or teaching hospital) are much more willing to work with drug users and people struggling to move beyond substance use disorder than there were ten years ago.
 
I'll say this with the upmost certainty it is the best with pink grapefruit juice and I hate both grapefruit juice and Keaton but together they get it done and it's good and it absorbs qiuckly do your self a favor get one of those single drink blender s and put in enough juice to cover blades then Keaton two tablespoons roughly mix and drink fast it is the only way to drink either one if you ask me
 
I'd really like my dad to get off oxycontin 80mg. He survived esophageal cancer - his esophagus and voice box was removed, shoulder muscle removed/moved(?) to make room for his stomach pull-up and he has his trach tube and he also had to have surgery to untwist his small intestines. He's doing pretty well considering his new anatomy, conditions, and all that he's been through; he's been on oxycontin for more than a decade now too. As long as we tell him not to worry about the future, he takes life easy and doesn't show signs of his anger management problems.

He started on vicodin but doctor at the time stopped prescribing it at the dosage needed because of liver damage studies. Next, he tried another ineffective med that was supposed alleviate inflammation which we later found out that studies showed it was bad for peoples' heart. Then he had injections in his back, tried immediate release oxycontin pills but they made him throw-up. After learning what didn't work, he was finally put on oxycontin - he tried high doses and low doses and is on 80mg right now. This has all been paid for while my mom had group health insurance at a national company. My mom is retired now so for medical, my dad is on medicare and I'm also making sure he has the supplement. Medicare Part D benefits are not comparable to pharmacy benefits on the group insurance health plan.

Is it evil for me to tell my dad he can't afford oxycontin so that our family doesn't have to go on medicaid? I also have to consider what it will do to his personality. I'm not sure we could tolerate living with him if his pain is not managed. So seriously, what are the affordable real alternatives and how do you go about it without causing chaos in the home? My mom already got psychosis from the time she was laid off for a year.
 
It sounds very much like your dad depends on his current medication. If that's the case, surely you wouldn't take it away would you?
 
Morphine Extended Release is a more affordable option. I was prescribed 5 80mg/OxyContin per day (approx a $1,500.00 Rx) and I suddenly lost my military Rx coverage. The agony I endured for 5 days until it occurred to me to ask the Rph what is an affordable option was horrible He said 4 100mg MS Contin (extended release morphine) per day. I was actually able to comfortably take 2 per day 1 in the am and the other in the pm. It brought the cost to approx $250.00 I believe. That was awhile ago. I no longer take prescribed opiates.

But, why do want your dad off of them if they help him? I'm not sure if I understand your question of "Would it be evil if...?" If you are lying- yes it would be evil. If they help his pain-yes it would be evil. If he is worse off without them-yes it would be evil. If I missed something by way of his behavior is wretched due to abusing them, etc- I apologize. I read your post above only. Best of luck to all of you.
 
I'd really like my dad to get off oxycontin 80mg. He survived esophageal cancer - his esophagus and voice box was removed, shoulder muscle removed/moved(?) to make room for his stomach pull-up and he has his trach tube and he also had to have surgery to untwist his small intestines. He's doing pretty well considering his new anatomy, conditions, and all that he's been through; he's been on oxycontin for more than a decade now too. As long as we tell him not to worry about the future, he takes life easy and doesn't show signs of his anger management problems.

He started on vicodin but doctor at the time stopped prescribing it at the dosage needed because of liver damage studies. Next, he tried another ineffective med that was supposed alleviate inflammation which we later found out that studies showed it was bad for peoples' heart. Then he had injections in his back, tried immediate release oxycontin pills but they made him throw-up. After learning what didn't work, he was finally put on oxycontin - he tried high doses and low doses and is on 80mg right now. This has all been paid for while my mom had group health insurance at a national company. My mom is retired now so for medical, my dad is on medicare and I'm also making sure he has the supplement. Medicare Part D benefits are not comparable to pharmacy benefits on the group insurance health plan.

Is it evil for me to tell my dad he can't afford oxycontin so that our family doesn't have to go on medicaid? I also have to consider what it will do to his personality. I'm not sure we could tolerate living with him if his pain is not managed. So seriously, what are the affordable real alternatives and how do you go about it without causing chaos in the home? My mom already got psychosis from the time she was laid off for a year.

Other than morphine, he might look into methadone. That can work really well for pain and is generally pretty cheap, certainly no more expensive than morphine (and if he can get it as pain management, it will be even cheaper).
 
Well done for cutting down already! Ive been takibg Oxy for 10 years and currently take around 300mg a day. I've got a chronic pain condition and it's all that has really helped. I really desperately want to get off them but I can't get under 200mg a day and that I feel horrific. So depressed and tired and bite everyone head off! I'm going to keep checking your progress and I'll out anything if I manage! Good luck!
 
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