^ Seconding that and Sam's thoughts. Won't belabout the point cos you know yourself, MDB. If you can see it coming could you maybe just try to at least skip a day or two here and there?
Also sorry to anyone who thinks this might be a bit tame that have gone through much worse. But just know ive gone through a shit load with other things at least.
No need to be apologising - addiction is addiction and withdrawal is withdrawal. We don't make judgements about what the addiction happens to be to - they're all shit and withdrawals are horrid no matter what.
It looks like you have the basic all-purpose cluck kit to hand - all of those should help to some extent (and a warm bath works wonders too for RLS and general grottiness). Other than that it's basically just doing it. Are you planning on tapering down or stopping CT? Dropping half your dose overnight is a bit drastic but good on you if you did it okay. It's generally the final stages of a taper that are trickiest. Receptors will (grudgingly) get by on less than they're used to as long as there's still plenty sloshing about but once your dose is down to dregs you're gonna get some w/d symptoms no matter what. Shitty but just the way it is.
From what I recall you haven't been using for all that long in the grand scheme so it shouldn't be
too bad (of course these things are all relative and it's unlikely to feel like it's "not
too bad" at the time, unfortunately). Symptoms get worse each time you go through an addiction-w/d cycle. If you can take anything from the experience that's not a bad thing to be taking: it only gets worse each time you relapse so relapsing is best avoided if at all possible.
W/D symptoms can be minimised by doing a gradual taper down but the flipside is that it's more drawn out. Different people prefer one method over the other - some prefer a long, slow taper down with a lil bump back to Earth at the end and others just like to get it all over and done with as quickly as possible so opt for CT. I'm in the former camp but it really is all down to what suits the individual.
The plus point of it being your first opi-w/d is that it should be fairly well controlled and managed with the OTC meds and supplements you already have. Try not to overdo it with the benzos cos we all know they can become kinda moreish themselves and they're not necessarily gonna actually get you to sleep at night so much as help with the anxiety that is a common feature of w/d and generally take the edge off things. They definitely help but they will not actually block out the w/d effects so much as ease them. Loperamide I've actually never used but anything to help with the GI stuff is a massive bonus cos lawdy does that get unpleasant 8(
Basically, you're good to go whether you opt for a quick taper, a slow taper or plain ol' CT. Try not to expect the worst and you may find it's not quite as bad as you think first time out after a relatively brief period of use. No fun at all but eminently doable. And do please report back whenever you feel like doing so and make good use of the facilities here to vent and bitch and whine or whatever you feel like doing. Plenty here know exactly what you're going through and it really can help to compare notes and feedback and general support. It's unlikely to be the greatest week of your life but it is only a week at most - usually more like 4-5 days for codeine - and it will pass.
And good luck with it
