Opioids CPP coming off opiates for a while at least

[lifterpuller]

Hey everyone,

I have been suffering with undiagnosed back pain (tests,x-rays,MRI's showed nothing) for about 16 months now, and have been using opiates for the pain for about a year, somewhat on and off but mostly on.

I have been doing exercises and recently read a book called healing back pain by john sarno which talks about how a lot of back pain is triggered from repressed emotions and stress/tension. I feel like I am at a point where I can function without opiates, I am far from pain free but I am sick of having to take multiple pills a day to get by, worrying about running out early, feeling like an emotionless zombie, temptations to use the meds to get 'high' etc.. The biggest problem is that my doctor is reluctant to increase my dose even though I always see her early because I run out because I needed to use more than I was prescribed because of my tolerance. I was dealing with some pretty bad emotional issues about a month ago and I 'abused' my pain meds to try and numb the psychological pain using doses up to 60-70mg of Oxy per day. This fucked up my tolerance BIG TIME.

My current prescription is 15mg/day of Oxy and 20mg/day of Morphine, for me the morphine is very week and I find 20mg of morphine equivalent to 10mg of oxy or less in terms of pain relief, the morphine also tends to make me feel more zombie like and sometimes nauseous compared to the oxy. My pain levels range from 4/10 to 8/10 depending on the day and is always worst in the morning, I find that even if I take my daily dose all at once it only reduces my pain about 2 points on the 10 scale, which at times is needed but I used to be able to go from an 8/10 to a 3/10 with one 5mg oxy...

So I want to take some time off, possibly forever, since my tolerance is so high I pretty much need to use 2x my prescribed dose everyday to get minor pain relief and not wake up in withdrawls and it's just not worth it anymore.

I'm looking for some help/suggestions and opinions, I know there are other threads that are similar to this but hoping to get some insight in my particular case.

The last time I saw my doctor she gave me 3 month supply of both oxy and morphine, I would say I have about 100 10mg oxy left and 100 10mg morphine. My current plan is to taper down from my current dose ( averaging 40mg/day Oxy and 40mg/day Morphine) as low as possible and then come off completely on November 7th (I have a 4 day weekend so won't need to go into work sick or call in sick). I am going to be staying with my girlfriend during this time, she is aware of my plan and is very supportive of me coming off.

I have some kratom and lope, should I avoid using these during withdrawls since they act on the opiod receptors and just completely avoid them all together? What other drugs could help me during this period? Preferably non RX but Im sure I could get something from my doctor like gabapentin but I highly doubt she would prescribe a benzo.

Looking for any advice/insight at all, everything is appreciated!

Thankyou.

 

[theedeadmau5]

the best thing you can do in withdrawal is sleep because time is passing without you knowing it and without pain. but obviously getting to sleep is the tough part and you can pretty much guarantee yourself a night or two without sleep. but with each passing second, minute, hour, day the closer you are to getting over the withdrawal. you will probably start noticing RLS symptoms when you try to sleep, which IMO is the worst part about withdrawal. if you want to get it over with quickly, it is best not to take anything like kratom, tramadol, or subs. instead of gabapentin i would use lyrica, as it is much more potent and the half life is longer, but it is extremely expensive if you can't get the generic pregabalin. however if you want to draw the process out and limit your pain you can use these things but in a taper form. be VERY careful if you choose tramadol, it works wonders for RLS and will completely get rid of your withdrawal symptoms, but do not abuse it, you will regret it if you do. i can't speak for subs like i can for tramadol because i haven't used either before, but people swear by them. like i said though, getting over the withdrawal quickly with the least amount of collateral damage will require cold turkey.

 

[lifterpuller]

I have gone through withdrawl 3 times, the first time was after 2 months on like 15mg/day Oxy and I barely even felt anything, second time was about the same time frame and dose but this time the worst thing was the stomach/bowel problems, the third time was like a month ago and I was on averaging 30mg day Oxy but the week before was doing anywhere from 40-60mg/day and that was when I got the RLS and just overall restlessness and it was HORRIBLE.

 

[Runtoparadise]

OP,

Your doses of opiates are not that large that you will go through huge wds.

Psychological, yes, but not full body, lucky you.

Take care,
RTP

 

[tricomb]

You can do this. I did this, I am 8+ months opioid free, the longest break from opioid use in my entire life. Chronic pain is everlasting but you'd be surprised to find out just how little opioid therapy was doing for you compared to what it is taking from you.

God bless you, you can do this if you want to. I believe in you. If I could quit, and I did fuckin anyone can. I thought life without opioids was hopeless, I would have rather died than give up my opioids, but here I am.... almost a year later. No relapses to date, a personal best of mine and hopefully a testament to you and other chronic pain patients like us, that this CAN be done.

 

[EarthBounded]

I need to hear this too ^^^ , I am on subs right now but have been on opiods for about a year and they just don't do anything for me, I am going to tell my sub doctor today I am completely done!

 

[tricomb]

YOU CAN DO THIS!!! It's not impossible, no matter what that voice inside you tells you, that you NEED opioids, that you are WORTHLESS without them? That your life revolves around a little pill to make life bearable and worth living?

I waited too long to quit, I lost family, my closest friends, my fiance, my freedom, I lost EVERYTHING to my opioid-therapy pain management. Quit while you're ahead, I wouldn't wish my circumstances on my worst of enemies. There is a light on the other side... It just took me half my entire life to find it.