Positive The Tapering Support Thread v 2.0

[kris66]

It's great you have been able to keep a low dose after 10 years. I was on Norco for over 10 years and although I tapered I was unable to quit completely until my Dr didn't renew my prescription.

It's been 2 years without Norco now and although I feel much better I do have significant leg pain. I'm currently tapering lorazepam. I wonder if that could be causing the leg pain?

 

[Iceman1216]

@kris66 Thanks for the feed back!! I m sitting here Sunday AM thinking about what you just said. "Did Not quit till Dr ended script"??
How bad do I want to Stop? Well not bad enough to tell Dr I NEED to quit???

 

[kris66]

@kris66 Thanks for the feed back!! I m sitting here Sunday AM thinking about what you just said. "Did Not quit till Dr ended script"??
How bad do I want to Stop? Well not bad enough to tell Dr I NEED to quit???

I totally understand. There are still times I need a stronger painkiller than ibuprofen or tylenol and wish I had my script back.

Is your pain under control with the amount you are taking? Mine really wasn't. Every month I ran out of pills a few days early. I don't miss that at all.

With all the talk about how terrible benzo withdrawal is I found opioid withdrawal worse. I had to have major surgery after I had been off Norco for about a year and was afraid I would end up in withdrawal again after the painkillers ran out but it wasn't bad at all. That time I was able to taper off easily. (I had taken Norco about 3-4 weeks.)

Good luck on your tapering. Go with what works for you.

 

[Iceman1216]

Thanks.
My pain is manageable with my script yes. I do not take my full dose of my RX ( so as I fight tolerance , mild withdrawals often) I do not run out.
I just have guilt of my situation?? I am a cancer survivor Throat cancer 16yrs ago. The problem with cancer is if you do nor Die ( A very good thing) the long term side effects suck and only get worst!!
chemo has its own list of "Fun Things" that it brings to the Party. But for me Radiation is a long term Bitch!!!
so that is where I am now.
I feel that i could survive on OTC pain meds ( a fair amount of them yes??) Yet I , as everyone else feel better on my Norco. I take no more than 30mgs/day. I was put on Oxy back in the day when this started, and that ended Very badly.
I am an alcoholic in recovery ( been sober 15years) and attend daily AA meeting for that addiction. Alcohol is my DOC . I have been going to AA since 1982 ( wow that's a long time)
So I have double the guilt that I am not "Clean"???
I have this battle going on in my head :
Medicine is not Drugs!!!
Are we as Alcoholics Condemned to Pain that can be monitored with medicine and DRs???

 

[Squeaky]

@kris66 Thanks for the feed back!! I m sitting here Sunday AM thinking about what you just said. "Did Not quit till Dr ended script"??
How bad do I want to Stop? Well not bad enough to tell Dr I NEED to quit???

I wanted DESPERATELY to quit. 100 mg/day oxy prescription. Roller coaster every month. My life wasn’t my own any more. It was hell and I wanted out!!!! But it took me something like 18 months to finally cancel my appointment and start stopping.

It’s not about wanting it badly. Opiates create such a feeling of safety that we keep going back, even though it’s hurting us and we know it. It’s more like a wife going back to the guy who hits and cheats on her, again and again. The bad times really suck but when it’s good, it’s really good.

Be strong Iceman. You’re a lot closer to the finish line and a hell of a lot stronger than you realize!

 

[Squeaky]

Thanks.
My pain is manageable with my script yes. I do not take my full dose of my RX ( so as I fight tolerance , mild withdrawals often) I do not run out.
I just have guilt of my situation?? I am a cancer survivor Throat cancer 16yrs ago. The problem with cancer is if you do nor Die ( A very good thing) the long term side effects suck and only get worst!!
chemo has its own list of "Fun Things" that it brings to the Party. But for me Radiation is a long term Bitch!!!
so that is where I am now.
I feel that i could survive on OTC pain meds ( a fair amount of them yes??) Yet I , as everyone else feel better on my Norco. I take no more than 30mgs/day. I was put on Oxy back in the day when this started, and that ended Very badly.
I am an alcoholic in recovery ( been sober 15years) and attend daily AA meeting for that addiction. Alcohol is my DOC . I have been going to AA since 1982 ( wow that's a long time)
So I have double the guilt that I am not "Clean"???
I have this battle going on in my head :
Medicine is not Drugs!!!
Are we as Alcoholics Condemned to Pain that can be monitored with medicine and DRs???

The opiate wd’s cause significant pain, randomly throughout the whole body. You’ll need to be off them for several months to be sure of where your pain actually exists, versus the phantom pain that the pills have been creating.

 

[kris66]

The opiate wd’s cause significant pain, randomly throughout the whole body. You’ll need to be off them for several months to be sure of where your pain actually exists, versus the phantom pain that the pills have been creating.

This is so true! I never would have believed my pills were actually causing some of my pain. It is insidious and creeps up on you.

Congratulations on stopping Oxy and canceling your prescription. That's really hard to do. My Dr canceled my prescription, I don't think I could have ever canceled it myself. I was convinced I needed it.

 

[kris66]

Thanks.
My pain is manageable with my script yes. I do not take my full dose of my RX ( so as I fight tolerance , mild withdrawals often) I do not run out.
I just have guilt of my situation?? I am a cancer survivor Throat cancer 16yrs ago. The problem with cancer is if you do nor Die ( A very good thing) the long term side effects suck and only get worst!!
chemo has its own list of "Fun Things" that it brings to the Party. But for me Radiation is a long term Bitch!!!
so that is where I am now.
I feel that i could survive on OTC pain meds ( a fair amount of them yes??) Yet I , as everyone else feel better on my Norco. I take no more than 30mgs/day. I was put on Oxy back in the day when this started, and that ended Very badly.
I am an alcoholic in recovery ( been sober 15years) and attend daily AA meeting for that addiction. Alcohol is my DOC . I have been going to AA since 1982 ( wow that's a long time)
So I have double the guilt that I am not "Clean"???
I have this battle going on in my head :
Medicine is not Drugs!!!
Are we as Alcoholics Condemned to Pain that can be monitored with medicine and DRs???

Congratulations on being sober since 1982! Don't think you aren't sober because you need a script for pain medication!! You are not a bad person for needing a painkiller! You are a cancer survivor!

Don't let society tell you that you have a problem. You are doing awesome to not go over your prescribed pills every month. That's something I could not do.

If you want to see how you would feel on less medication or stopping it then you can taper. Of course as you know it's not easy but If you really want to then you can do it. But what Squeaky said is true, it took several months for some of my pain to go away.

Do what works for you but I don't see any reason for guilt from what you said. You are doing awesome!

 

[Iceman1216]

@Squeaky , good morning brother, Hope this finds you well?
Hows the sober path treating you.. well?
Thank you for being here all this time and being so generous with your Knowledge

 

[Iceman1216]

So let the games begin!
Ii have made it till 2;00 here in NY , and caved ( I have taken 2.5mgs of NORCO.
last night as not fun , so up and start the day @5:30AM could not sleep any way!
I have a ?? when you guys stopped , did you get light headed, and a little dizzy when standing up??
I have been having that??

 

[Iceman1216]

I have made a Dr appointment, because I am not a young man any longer 63. How the fuck did that happen so Fast??
But just checking with you guys.

 

[Iceman1216]

I felt like shit yesterday ( only took 1.5 mgs) took a nap I never do that!!
I have this wonderful taper plan drawn out, and have many times been clean for 2 weeks, then pick up again.
So I was like fuck it, Just stop????
Well not so easy after 10 years on this road

 

[kris66]

I had a lot of shortness of breath and a rapid pulse when I stopped Norco which did make me lightheaded. I ended up having to taper, I was not able to go cold turkey.

The following year I ended up with open heart surgery so it's a good thing I didn't push it. I'm also in my 60s.

Be careful; if you are having dizziness I would suggest tapering. Is your pulse rate rapid? When they say opioid withdrawl is not usually dangerous I think they mean in a healthy individual with no cardiac issues.

 

[Iceman1216]

So getting off this shit does Suck! Could be much worst I know that!!
As this is the taper thread , and please do not give me the UTFS, because I have!!
how do I use my comfort meds?
I have gabipentin 300mg a shit load (400)
Imodium
I have a THC vape pen
THC gummies
Amdein
Thanks
so I have used 7.5mgs so far today

 

[Squeaky]

So let the games begin!
Ii have made it till 2;00 here in NY , and caved ( I have taken 2.5mgs of NORCO.
last night as not fun , so up and start the day @5:30AM could not sleep any way!
I have a ?? when you guys stopped , did you get light headed, and a little dizzy when standing up??
I have been having that??

The only way to quit is to decide for yourself that although you may not be an ‘addict’, you are definitely addicted and going back even one time means going right back to the hell that you find yourself in right now. Tapering only works if you have either insane self control or someone to hold your pills for you. I always said I’ll get back to my tapering schedule tomorrow, then tomorrow, then tomorrow….. The only way I could quit was to have no access at all.

As for the lightheadedness? Yes. I had every imaginable problem. It’s part of the reason I kept going back to the pills. The Dr said withdrawals would mean a few days of sleep problems, and a little bit of muscle aches. It was more like 6 months of spinning the wheel of death, 100 times per day. The first week was the most physically painful, but things like headaches and lightheadedness lasted for months.

 

[Squeaky]

So getting off this shit does Suck! Could be much worst I know that!!
As this is the taper thread , and please do not give me the UTFS, because I have!!
how do I use my comfort meds?
I have gabipentin 300mg a shit load (400)
Imodium
I have a THC vape pen
THC gummies
Amdein
Thanks
so I have used 7.5mgs so far today

Careful with the Immodium unless you plan to switch 100% to that instead of Norco. It takes about 4 hours to start working but it is actually a strong opioid. It will hijack your tolerance for all other opiates and shoot your tolerance through the roof.

I could give you the whole history of Loperamide (Immodium) but I’ll just say that it was introduced in the 1960’s as a pain killer, then later rebranded as an anti-diarrheal med because it took so long to stop pain.

 

[kiely]

I love Squeaky Inspiration. You help a Community. And Center the Wellness. . . above and beyond that call !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you.

 

[Jnowhere]

The biggest problem with nicotine is that it’s something to do. The gum doesn’t just make the cravings go away because there’s something about a cigarette or chew that transcends the drug itself.

I used chew from my early teens(13) till later 20's. I started smoking for real( not just when drinking) in my later 40's or about a year ago.
I love movies but haven't been to a movie theater in over 20 years, because I went to a lot of movies as a teenager and always used Kodiak, Skoal fine cut Wintergreen or silver creek(2 for 1 deal always and tobacco was cheap). Movie theatre's and chew go together.
Cigarettes, there is something satisfying ( which is probably the addiction and the first few hits) I love and hate nicotine, if that makes sense.
Nicotine is a terrible drug. It is bad for you and really only gives you a tiny buzz when you start. Also it is, from my observations, so many try it and are hooked. It seems to be so highly addictive.
But I was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver 8 and half years ago. I can barely eat, but cigarettes help control hunger because even though I am hungry, I have to force myself to eat and I am losing weight that I don't need too.

 

[Jnowhere]

It's great you have been able to keep a low dose after 10 years. I was on Norco for over 10 years and although I tapered I was unable to quit completely until my Dr didn't renew my prescription.

It's been 2 years without Norco now and although I feel much better I do have significant leg pain. I'm currently tapering lorazepam. I wonder if that could be causing the leg pain?

Everybody is different. However 1mg of Ativan = 10mg of Valium. I was on 2mgx3 times a day. So 60mg Valium( diazepam) equivalent and last year I asked my doctor, who is very knowledgeable, to switch me to Valium
10mgx3 times a day.

Basically cutting my use of Ativan(lorazepam) in half in one day.
I had no issues really and I had done a one week taper of morphine er and stopped using it at the same time.

Yes I had comfort meds for that and an extra oxycodone added. I had been on the morphine er longer, but the pain I had lessoned. No issues noticeable issues.

Basically, I cut my opiate intake in half( the state of Michigan considers oxycodone 1.5 times as strong as morphine). While cutting my benzo intake in half.

Now to get off the other half, hmm that could be an issue, I still have legit problems, just not as bad.

I am not sure that the Lorazepam taper is causing the pain, but I could be wrong.

 

[kris66]

Everybody is different. However 1mg of Ativan = 10mg of Valium. I was on 2mgx3 times a day. So 60mg Valium( diazepam) equivalent and last year I asked my doctor, who is very knowledgeable, to switch me to Valium
10mgx3 times a day.

Basically cutting my use of Ativan(lorazepam) in half in one day.
I had no issues really and I had done a one week taper of morphine er and stopped using it at the same time.

Yes I had comfort meds for that and an extra oxycodone added. I had been on the morphine er longer, but the pain I had lessoned. No issues noticeable issues.

Basically, I cut my opiate intake in half( the state of Michigan considers oxycodone 1.5 times as strong as morphine). While cutting my benzo intake in half.

Now to get off the other half, hmm that could be an issue, I still have legit problems, just not as bad.

I am not sure that the Lorazepam taper is causing the pain, but I could be wrong.

Thank you for the reply. I guess everyone is different but for me I have to taper slowly with my lorazepam. I wish my Dr would switch me to Valium. I have heard that is best for tapering.

Over a period of a year I have cut down from 1 mg lorazepam a day to .25 mg a day. So I'm still not done and I have had a few concerning symptoms so I'm just keeping it slow.

I'm actually upset my Dr ever started me on this. Of all things it was for migraines. So unnecessary. Now I have to get off before he retires or decides to stop prescribing it. It is worrisome at my age.

Good luck with your taper. Go slowly if you are cutting back the Valium.