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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards

45/mg day hydro-want OUT with minimal w/d

GettinMyFeetWet

Greenlighter
Joined
Feb 12, 2011
Messages
45
Hey Guys,

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I often dislocate my knees due to weak tendons, and when I do, I usually get scripted hydros.(vicoprofen-7.5mg hydro/200mg ibuprof.) The last script I got, for some reason, the doc gave me 5 refills, for a total of 6 scripts of 50 each. I have no idea why he scripted so much. I didn't look at the script until I got in the car and was just kinda like "whoa, that's a lot."

Since the script was written as "take 1-2 every 4-6 hours," my insurance has been letting me get refills every 11 days or so. Of course, while I needed them for a few weeks for genuine pain, after that it was just hard to stop. Right now my usual routine is to wake up, pop 4 (30mg), and then take 2 around an hour before bedtime, for a total of 45mg throughout the day.

The original script was written Mid Feb, so this has been going on for around 6 weeks. I am soon to fill and pick up my last 50, and would like an idea of a way to taper with minimal discomfort.

I have, at my disposal:
the aforementioned 50 7.5 vics

10x2mg sub

about 20 10mg valium (i am rx'ed these for anxiety, and have a very odd relationship with them-some times I can go days without needing one, some days I find I need 20mg). I may be able to get more rx'ed in a few weeks.

30x25mg seroquel

about 20 12.5mg zolpidem sr

some old zyprexa(maybe 10? 2mg pills i think)

some old trazadone (15 or so 50mg pills)

Should I bother with the sub at all, or will that just create a whole 'nother beast?
Ideally, I'd like to get a good taper schedule with the 50 vics-something like 2 days on 40mg, 2 days on 35mg, 2 days on 30mg, etc

BUT keep in mind I only have 375mg to work with, and I don't think my doc would be happy if I called for another script, as I think he expected this script to last for 6 months, and it's been 6 weeks. I also have no intention of trying to obtain anything illicit.

Mods-feel free to merge into the taper megathread if you're so inclined.

Thanks in advance.
 
Hey GettinMyFeetWet, welcome to Bluelight!

I don't think you need to bother with the Suboxone, but it would certainly help, you'd have to use a pretty low dosage. I personally think you could do this without the Suboxone by simply tapering your hydrocodone and using the other drugs you've got to help you out. That's up for debate. If you don't need the Suboxone, don't use it.

The Valium (diazepam) will help a lot with WD (mainly the RLS and anxiety). Take your prescribed dose, or whatever you need to kill the anxiety, whichever is lower.

The Trazadone, Seroquel and Zyprexa are all effective sleep aids. Seroquel the most effective, in my experience/opinion.

I also recommend picking up some loperamide (Immodium), it will help out with the GI issues associated with withdrawal and many of the physical symptoms. Great to have on hand in an emergency.

Should I bother with the sub at all, or will that just create a whole 'nother beast?
Ideally, I'd like to get a good taper schedule with the 50 vics-something like 2 days on 40mg, 2 days on 35mg, 2 days on 30mg, etc

You could do this and then use the other drugs (Valium and Seroquel mostly) to help with the anxiety and sleep, respectively. Taper with whatever schedule you feel the most comfortable with. A rapid taper is possible, but won't be as comfortable/easy to do as a longer taper. I think the schedule you outlined is certainly possible.

Once you get to 10 or 15mg, you may want to extend the time period out a bit. This really depends on your individual reaction, which is something I can't really tell for sure.

I'm going to leave this by itself for a bit, maybe somebody else will chime in, before merging with a megathread. I used to have a problem with hydrocodone (among other opiates, now I only use Suboxone/buprenorphine) so feel free to PM me if you have questions.
 
Thanks a lot for the quick reply.
I'd love to extend out once I get to 10 or 15mg, as you suggest, but if you do the math, I'll be running out by that point. (2x40=80, 2x35=70, 2x30=60, 2x25=50, 2x20=40, 2x15=30. 80+70+60+50+40+30=330) That leaves me 45mg to work with after 2 days on 15mg.

How bad would I feel if I just started at 30mg a day? I know it's different for everyone, but any rough idea? This would leave me more mg to play around with at the back end of the taper.

If it makes any difference, the 45mg/day I am now taking is still getting me somewhat euphoric, but it's starting to lose its luster. Especially the whole bathroom situation. I'm sick of burning 200 calories on the john every day for rabbit pellets. On top of that, the impending "D-Day" (running out) is making every pill I take exponentially less enjoyable, because it comes with the realization that I am that much closer to having none left.
 
Not a problem man.

You could start on 30mg a day and utilize the Valiums for the edginess, and then the Seroquel for sleep if you need it. It may be uncomfortable, but will make it easier in the long run, as you said.

However, like you also said, it's different for everyone. Some people can jump down in dosage even farther, other people have a serious problem dropping 10mg. It really depends on the person.

If it makes any difference, the 45mg/day I am now taking is still getting me somewhat euphoric, but it's starting to lose its luster. Especially the whole bathroom situation. I'm sick of burning 200 calories on the john every day for rabbit pellets. On top of that, the impending "D-Day" (running out) is making every pill I take exponentially less enjoyable, because it comes with the realization that I am that much closer to having none left.

I completely understand. You'll find that once you drop your dose, you'll also drop a huge dump in the toilet, and you will feel a lot better, thats for sure. You'll want to have loperamide on hand, however, because it can get pretty annoying if you drop your dose quickly.

You should capitalize on that realization and start reducing your dosage now. :)
 
Oh, and thanks for the invitation to P.M. you, but I think you have to be up to a certain amount of posts before you earn that privilege, right?
 
Good to know about the P.M.ing.

One thing I forgot to mention-I'm rx'ed Nuvilgil for Narcolepsy, 150mg/day. I take it only when I have a busy day, and on those days, I usually take 1/2 a pill when I wake up and the other 1/2 around 3pm. I know everyone says Amps may help for a while, but you'll be worse off on the crash-how would Nuvigil fare? (Nuvigil is basically one isomer away from Provigil)
 
I've only used Provigil once and I likened it to an amphetamine without most of the side effects. I can only assume that tolerance will eventually develop, but because you're prescribed it for narcolepsy I wouldn't change your dosing schedule unless you notice negative side effects.

If that occurs, I recommend speaking with the prescribing medical professional about reducing dosages or switching drugs, if that is needed.
 
Don't bother with the Suboxone, especially if are planning on tapering. If Suboxone is taken too soon after the hydrocodone has been ingested you may suffer precipitated withdrawals and that is a terrible feeling. I would recommend you taper down 5-7.5mg every couple (2) days. It'll keep you more comfortable then going down 5mg a day. Divide your dose into twice a day to keep it in your bloodstream, take your largest dose in the morning to get you up and going.

For the anxiety you could take the Diazepam twice a day. 4 hours after you wake up and then 6 hours later. Save the Seroquel for night. If you have no tolerance to it 50mg should be enough. Or you could take 2 Ambien. Find out which works better, the Seroquel probably will. And if the Seroquel doesn't work at 50mg try 100mg. Don't mess around with the Zyprexa or Trazodone if your going to do this.

These are just my recommendations. What I would do.
 
Tapering is tough but you sound determined. If I were you I would just start the new script by going 2 pills 2x's a day. It will suck because you won't get that buzz in the morn but it's better than being without. Do that for four days then cut a pill from your pm dose (or am if you prefer). Just keep taking a pill off every 3-4 days till your done. You'll be fine. I wish I had your RX arsenal when I got stuck without after doing 200mg hydro a day! I say this to again let you know you'll be fine not to be boastful in any way, shape or form.
 
thanks for all the replies

Hey Guys,

Thanks so much for the ideas. So far, for some reason, NOW it won't let me fill this last script. I think tomorrow I will be able to fill it.

Here's my question du jour:

I've been using the suboxone, which I got randomly when I dislocated my elbow while body surfing in Maui this summer. I popped it back in but it was pretty swollen and painful, so I went to an urgent care place in Maui, and I think they thought I was seeking or something, so they gave me 15 2mg pills for the pain.
I had 10 left, now down to 8. I've been taking 1mg in the AM and 1mg PM.

Could I just not fill the Vicos and use this to taper? For example, tomorrow try .5mg am and .5mg pm, 2 days later drop down to .25 am and .25pm, then .175 or whatever, and then jump off? Will that be an easier wd?

I know about precipitated w/d-for me I need to wait about 16 hours after my last full agonist to avoid this.

My basic question is which would be easier to "jump off" of: vike or sub. I get no euphoria from sub, it just completely kills any cravings and makes me feel "content." Kind of like how an anti-depressant should work, I guess.
 
You could just keep going with the Suboxone since you're already using it and can't get your Vicodin refilled.

My basic question is which would be easier to "jump off" of: vike or sub. I get no euphoria from sub, it just completely kills any cravings and makes me feel "content." Kind of like how an anti-depressant should work, I guess.

Suboxone will most likely be easier to jump off of, and you can reduce your dosages even farther down or draw the taper out longer since you have a decent amount of Suboxone left and you really don't need that high of a dose of Suboxone to kill the cravings.

Check out The Suboxone Megathread for information on research about how Suboxone was investigated to be just that, an antidepressant. There's a lot of great information in that thread about tapering scheduled and suggestions as well.

Best of luck and let us know if you have any other questions. :)
 
Whatever you do, if you seriously want to get off the shit, don't get on methadone. You're not really at a high dosage, so a low script of suboxodone should do the trick. or you could do the loperamide thing they talk about here.
 
Noneya- I have NO intention of getting an rx for methadone, or even another for sub. My current situation is different than when I was a college kid, I have more people involved in my life now who would be very disappointed if they knew that I had even fallen for the codone trap in the first place, as it's happened before.

(I've had 10 surgeries in my life. My worst surgery, where I had my jaw wired shut for 6 months, I was on 80mg oxycontin a day-when I was 16-for 3 months! Finally, when my DR. gave me 4th month's script, he told me "ween myself off, cuz this it," and I actually tried to circle 4 on the refill section of the pad. Of course, he hadn't circled anything, because you can't refill a C-2. But my dumbass teen self didn't know that. I ended up getting a call from my Dr. where he said I was very lucky he didn't call the police on me, and that I should stock up on Ibuprofen and Immodium, because it was gonna be a long couple of weeks. I went to the pharmacy and sure enough-they had not filled my script and had no intention of doing so.)

Point of that long story-I guess I've been through W/D before, but it was so long ago, I don't remember it that vividly. I mostly remember just missing getting high. Now, I have people who depend on me, etc. I've been hiding the fact that I've been refilling the scripts very well, and no one is the wiser about my stash. If I were to go to a methadone clinic every day, surely questions would start to be raised.
 
and K'd out-does suboxone w/d, while being a bit more mild, tend to last longer? I feel like that is what I've heard. Instead of feeling like complete ass for 5 days, you feel like mild ass for a month. Is that true? If so, I might be better off feeling like complete ass for 5 days.

Finally, one more quick question-does anyone else notice that one muscle/bone that seems to get particularly sore while you're tapering is your THUMB? My thumbs are KILLING me, absolutely throbbing, every morning when I wake up. I've never had an issue with/broken any fingers before.
 
and K'd out-does suboxone w/d, while being a bit more mild, tend to last longer? I feel like that is what I've heard. Instead of feeling like complete ass for 5 days, you feel like mild ass for a month. Is that true? If so, I might be better off feeling like complete ass for 5 days.

Finally, one more quick question-does anyone else notice that one muscle/bone that seems to get particularly sore while you're tapering is your THUMB? My thumbs are KILLING me, absolutely throbbing, every morning when I wake up. I've never had an issue with/broken any fingers before.

I've only withdrawn from buprenorphine for up to 6 days and I was still feeling the withdrawals, although a little milder then days 3-5. So I know the w/d's go at least up to 6 days.
 
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