Codeine Addiction - suggest me a taper! Even if it's one you used with another short-medium acting opioid

[soulwentmia]

i ll be 28 this summer and have discovered opioids in september 2020. I did codeine to which I'm addicted now (used from 2020-2022 addicted to 150 in 3 doses then 150 at once, then a pause with using very rarely until april-ish 2023 when i got addicted after a breakup tp 150, then 300 and for 10 months now 600 in either one or two doses), oxy kratom and heroin i also did but more kratom than the others.

The codeine is OTC and i guess that's why i let myself fall so hard. End of december I started to quit gabapentin which I was on too at 3 grams max and as of now i haven't taken any since then.




Last week I tried again to quit codeine and lasted only 3 days or 4 an relapsed with the full 600mg. That was on friday, on saturday I took 300 and sunday another 300. Monday and tuesday until 5PM which is the current time i stayed without but caved in and took 300mg.


I'm thinking of continuing on 150mg taken either once before bedtime or 75 AM 75PM and reduce one pill of 12.8mg every day or every couple of days.

 

[endlessnameless]

A 600mg dose of OTC codeine would constitute ~5gms of paracetamol which is of course a dangerously large amount to be ingesting. Please tell me you're utilising a cold water extraction method and not swallowing 60 Neurophen/Sopodine/Solpodol...

I'll have a look through my notes and try to find my codeine taper regime I used before. You might find it quicker by searching my post history as it would definitely be documented there too.

Last week I tried again to quit codeine and lasted only 3 days or 4 an relapsed with the full 600mg

Cold turkey typically results in a >90% relapse rate when it comes to opiates so yeah, your best bet is definitely to steadily wean down. If you think you could discipline yourself accordingly, you could try using a maximum daily dose of 150-300mg pregabalin to ease the withdrawal symptoms of the codeine. It would wrap things up much quicker than doing a taper with codeine itself.

 

[soulwentmia]

A 600mg dose of OTC codeine would constitute ~5gms of paracetamol which is of course a dangerously large amount to be ingesting. Please tell me you're utilising a cold water extraction method and not swallowing 60 Neurophen/Sopodine/Solpodol...

I'll have a look through my notes and try to find my codeine taper regime I used before. You might find it quicker by searching my post history as it would definitely be documented there too.


Cold turkey typically results in a >90% relapse rate when it comes to opiates so yeah, your best bet is definitely to steadily wean down. If you think you could discipline yourself accordingly, you could try using a maximum daily dose of 150-300mg pregabalin to ease the withdrawal symptoms of the codeine. It would wrap things up much quicker than doing a taper with codeine itself.

600 was my starting dose and i use pills with ibuprofen not paracetamol. Until now i'm good apparently but evidently i wanna end this. So on Tuesday last week i took none until friday afternoon when i took 600mg. Saturday and sunday i took 300. Monday none at all. Yesterday 300 and today jn the morning another 300. I'm thinking of not taking any tomorrow and then taking 230 mg on friday. Hold and continue cutting etc

 

[paranoid android]

600 was my starting dose and i use pills with ibuprofen not paracetamol. Until now i'm good apparently but evidently i wanna end this. So on Tuesday last week i took none until friday afternoon when i took 600mg. Saturday and sunday i took 300. Monday none at all. Yesterday 300 and today jn the morning another 300. I'm thinking of not taking any tomorrow and then taking 230 mg on friday. Hold and continue cutting etc

Ibuprofen while nowhere near as toxic as paracetamol is certainly not nice in overdose. It can really wreck your stomach and also sometimes kidneys at high doses. Are you doing a CWE? Thats mainly what im worried about here as the codeine thing can be dealt with more easily then mega doses or ibu

 

[specialrelativity]

You just got to up and quit. Tapering is just fooling oneself, in my humble opinion.

 

[LucidSDreamr]

i ll be 28 this summer and have discovered opioids in september 2020. I did codeine to which I'm addicted now (used from 2020-2022 addicted to 150 in 3 doses then 150 at once, then a pause with using very rarely until april-ish 2023 when i got addicted after a breakup tp 150, then 300 and for 10 months now 600 in either one or two doses), oxy kratom and heroin i also did but more kratom than the others.

The codeine is OTC and i guess that's why i let myself fall so hard. End of december I started to quit gabapentin which I was on too at 3 grams max and as of now i haven't taken any since then.




Last week I tried again to quit codeine and lasted only 3 days or 4 an relapsed with the full 600mg. That was on friday, on saturday I took 300 and sunday another 300. Monday and tuesday until 5PM which is the current time i stayed without but caved in and took 300mg.


I'm thinking of continuing on 150mg taken either once before bedtime or 75 AM 75PM and reduce one pill of 12.8mg every day or every couple of days.

I can’t give you an exact dosage for a taper.

I’m on a taper right now myself and although it’s not as bad as full blown cold turkey withdrawal. I am suffering. I am useless.

I’ve tapered many times to complete sobriety from opiates. The key to completing a taper is accepting that you are going to suffer during the taper.
We like to have this illusion that a very slow comfortable taper is possible - that kind of thinkings keep you stuck at your dose and you don’t make progress towards 0.

You can go slower if it’s too extreme of suffering. But when you dose, dose the absolute minimum to simply decrease the suffering to a tolerable level.

I’m sorry brother this is a painful experience. No way around that.

So much of it is in your mind. The ability to tolerate suffering.

I wish us both success.