• HEALTH & RECOVERY
    Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules Thread Directory 1 Thread Directory 2
    Mindfulness Links Addiction & Mind
    Sober Living Partner Program (SLiPP)
  • H&R Moderators: VerbalTruist | cdin | Lil'LinaptkSix

Help / Advice Tapering From Oxy

N

Nyc782801

Greenlighter
Joined
Jan 5, 2017
Messages
14
I am looking for help coming up with a reasonable taper plan to get off Oxy. I started taking oxy about a year ago for pain related to dental surgery, but quickly realized how much I enjoyed it. I started taking 7.5mg percs but continued taking it after my prescription ran out. I was able to source 30mg oxycodone, which I started taking in pieces, like 15mgs every few hours. I was able to continue like this for several months before the magic wore off...before I knew it I was needing a full 30mg to get the same effect. This increase in dosage spiraled very quickly and before long 30mgs was no longer enough...30mgs became 60mgs and 60mgs became 90, etc until today where I now need 400-500mgs per day just to feel normal.

This past weekend, I decided that I had enough. I decided to start tapering, with a plan to use only (eek) 300mgs per day, with the idea of cutting back 25% every few days. However, I was absolutely miserable. Going from 400-500mgs per day to 300mgs per day felt like absolute torture.

Does anyone have suggestions on how to start a proper taper? I'm willing to have some discomfort, but as a father of 4 young children, I need to be able to function. If 400-500mgs is the daily dose I need to get me to normal, what should I start with? Any suggestions would be greatly helpful. Also, I no longer have the 30mg oxycodone pills, but I do have 60mg extended release OxyContin. Could the withdraw I experienced this past weekend be due to switching from the 30mg oxycodone to the 60mg extended release? I've been able to function on days where I took just 300mg of IR oxycodone, but 300mg of ER seemed to be very difficult.

Any advice???
 
Tapering is very difficult. Unless you have extended will power. Opiotes mess with your reasoning and tell you that you always need more. All though the physical discomfort of tapering is very real. I think the mental is kicking your ass.

Taking ir pills you're getting that euphoric rush that your after, extended release should give you a steady supply of it and hold you over better, but you will lose that glow that you're seeking.

Try dropping 25-50mg and hold there for 3-4 days, see how you feel. If you're feeling discomfort still then hold another day or two. If you're OK the drop another 25-50mg. Slow and steady brother.

Keep us in the loop. We're all here for similar stuff..

Sixx
 
Sixx- thank you for the advice. I will take your advice and give it another try. If I'm not able to do it, I will go CT and get it out of my system.
 
I'm not an expert on Oxy (heroin has always been my thing), but a couple things strike me about your post, @Nyc...

First, if I'm not mistaken ~400mg/day is a pretty big habit. So as you map out your taper, you're going to need to temper the urge to go quickly in favor of being more gentle on your body and mind. In other words, go slow! To my thinking, your initial attempt had two main problems:
* Cutting your dose by 25% per step is too much to take on in a sustainable way. Other folks will suggest more appropriate reduction steps. But you're really putting yourself in a tough spot with such big steps.
* You probably need more time between steps. Decreasing every few days is going to have you in a state of nearly constant discomfort. Instead, during a taper, you want to give yourself a bit of time to get used to each new dose.

Again, others will speak up with more details soon, I'm sure. Mainly, though, I'm just saying: I totally understand your wishes to be off as quickly as possible. But keep in mind, this is a big project, and you want to think about the long-run outcomes. Give your body time to heal, and be good to yourself!

Oh, also, as for the ER vs IR...again I'm not expert on Oxy. But I believe that in fact the ER's may be better for tapering, once you figure out how to use them. I say this because, by design, they should keep the blood levels of the drug steadier than IR, leading to slower ups and downs, both of which will be therapeutic in a tapering sense.
 
@simco, I believe you are correct. I got the 25% number from other posts that I've read, but perhaps coming off such a high dose will require to go a bit slower. Thank you for your reply
 
I wish you all the best. Im at 39hrs of CT 250mgs/ a day and sometimes more cause I couldn't taper. Your dose is twice mine was. I know you want to be free from the oxy, I get it really. I too have young children.Just don't beat yourself up cause it wont make it easier. If you have a strong mind and will, the slower the better. Like a 10% drop each week or 3 to 5 days and see how you feel. And maybe once you've stabilize enough you can jump at a lower dose.Mine were oxynorm IR. I dont know about ER. I was so scared, but Im still alive. Anytime you need to chat, Im available. Best of luck, you can do it!
 
Sunrise, thank you for your thoughts! Awesome job with the CT so far. How are you feeling?

In thinking about the fact that I was able to get by on 300mg IR, but had a much tougher time with the same dose of the extended release - Im guessing that a lot of the withdrawal was mental because each time I took a dose of the IR, I felt a buzz which made me feel ok, but the ER doesn't give me that same buzz - so even though my body is getting the same amount, there is no reward. There is no short term relief from WD with the ER. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but i might be better off taking more twice a day, rather than less 4 times a day (so take 150 in the morning and 150 in the evening, rather than 75 twice per day)

It's amazing how quickly my tolerance jumped. This stuff is scary and I get a pit in my stomach thinking that I did this to myself.

Sorry for the rambling...just speaking (typing) out loud.
 
Nyc, I think youve just responded to yourself. Your after the good feeling, like all of us. But if your trully fed up with this, youll have to stop chasing the buzz. I think that twice a day its a good idea. Youll just have to figure what dose is comfotable at th given moment. Dont go to fast.10% drop is the standard taper. Yes tolerance build up very fast. Make a plan and stick to it until youll slow enough to jump. It is possible, and with all the OTC meds and all, the CT is something duable. And again, the worst is beating yourself up. Be kind.
 
Does anyone have experience with taking significant amounts of Imodium? I've read mixed messages - some people say it helps with WD, but there is no medical evidence suggesting it actually works...

What are the OTC meds you are referring to?
 
You may want to check out my thread http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/801736-Thoughts-on-a-tapering-supportive-social-thread for some anecdotal information on tapering.
However, it is a social and support focused thread as well, so you may have to skip some posts along the way if you are looking for good factual information.

Bottom line: after doing much research and also due to my own experiences, the gold standard for any taper plan off of opioids is: 10% drop every 3-5 days. If you are not feeling stable, with only a few minimal withdrawal symptoms, then stay at that dose a day or two longer before you go decrease 10% again. If you are at very high doses, you may be able to drop as much as 25% or even more, but as the doses get smaller most people will use the 10% recommendation.

Saying all that, my experience, and the experience of many people is that tapering is incredibly difficult due to the immediate reward we get from dosing, especially using IR types of drugs/routes. You can do it... just stay focused. Also I recommend documenting your journey in detail... what time and how much you took at every single dosage, with a private journal or blog, whatever. Otherwise, our minds can trick us into "thinking" we may not have dosed yet, etc. etc. Also, it will give you a record of how successful you have been as you refer back to it after some months, and seeing how much you have reduced the dose you had taken in the past. Good luck to you!!
 
Day one meaning no opioids/oxycodone?

What kind of comfort meds do you have to work with?
 
I only have Xanax and Advil. What else would you suggest?

I plan to taper. I've never tried before and know it's difficult but figured I would try and ease the discomfort as I wean...if I don't have the self control, then I will start cold turkey.

Suggestions?
 
My humble advice is to try taper to a lower dose, a 10% drop or a 25% every 3-5 days like pokemana said. And you can rely to other meds to paliate the discomfort maybe? It might be duable if your really up to it. Tapering is very very difficult because we all want the reward. Keep a journal like mentioned above. Of all the dose your taking, how your feeling etc etc. And then when you think you can jump, then youll know youre ready. Make a plan. Thats what Ive done. I tried to taper but couldn't. I want the buzz. So I gave everything that I had left to my husband and since sunday I didn't took anything. Clonodine is a god send to me. And some benzos and loperadime. Hot baths and showers. I was at a very high dose but yours is twice mine. Keep safe. Have a look around on the links mentioned above and all. Its going to help you, at least it help me. Come back here, people here are great. Youre not alone, Im doing it, 58hrs in and alive! Youve got this! ( wich day is it?)
 
After spending some time reading all of your thoughtful posts / links and reflecting on my recent history, I have chosen to start tapering versus cold turkey. Given that I was able to successfully survive on a greatly reduced daily dose on oxycodonen (previously mentioned that I cut back significantly using oxycodone, but seemed to experience WD using the same level of OxyContin ER) I believe I should be able to use that as a starting point for my taper. I bought a new journal to record my thougjts, feelings and planned doses and i intend to drop 25% every 5 days (with some flexibility if 25% seems to difficult). As I mentioned, I don't expect it to be easy, but I am mentally prepared and ready.

Today is day 2 of my taper and i honestly feel completely fine, however I believe any side effects of WD will take longer to show up given that I'm taking ER oxy. Sunday I will drop another 25% and I'm actually looking forward to the jump, but I don't want to get too far ahead of myself.

Please keep the positive vibes and suggestions coming.
 
I think youve made a pretty smart move. Yes journal everythings that comes to mind. Even all of the discomfort etc. But don't go too fast. And if you can you can rely on some comfort meds to help with the discomfort of tapering. At what dosages have you started your taper? ER means youll have oxy for longer period in your system right? Thats good I guest for tapering. Keep up the good work Nyc, youve got this man! You can do it! Im doing it and Im on day 3 and so far its duable. Keep posting, it help tremendously.
 
I have started my taper at 300mg.

Does anyone have experience using Tianeptine during a taper? I have read mixed results in BL, but thinking it would be worth a shot if it was helpful at all. Wondering what the effect would be if Imodium was taken alongside of Tianeptime?
 
Don't use Tianeptine during your taper unless you want another dependency. A much larger one. I'm not at all inclined to support the use of that stuff because it won't do much but increase your tolerance of all opioids (the opposite to taper) if you use it while also continuing to manage your oxycodone taper primarily with oxycodone. There is only one exception, and that is if you were to switch off oxycodone completely and switch onto tianeptine complete, and only take the latter for seven to ten days tops. But frankly there is a good chance you'll just end up struggling with that.

Instead of using tianepitine, get yourself some clonidine and gabapentin. Those two meds will work infinitely more effective at keeping you on track to achieve your goals as comfortably as possible. Do you have any meds to work with other than oxycodone?

Tapering off short acting benzos like oxycodone using short acting opioids (also in your case oxycodone) is VERY difficult for most people. Is there no chance you can get some buprenoprhine or methadone, or even codeine?

In terms of the oxycodone taper, try reducing it by 20mg a week until you're around 180-100mg, then reduce it by 10% a week. That isn't 10% of where you start slowing down your taper, it is 10% off each week you do so. So if you start the 10% reduction off 100mg, the first drop will be 100mg - 100mg*0.1 = 90mg; the following week it will be 10% of 90mg, not 100mg, leaving you at 81mg; the following week it'll be 10% of 81mg, and so on and so forth).

Remember that these is no sense in being too hard core with this, sticking to your taper like a madman. If you have to go up a few mgs for a week or two, that is fine. If you have to take a couple weeks off tapering to stabalize, this is highly recommended. The point is, no matter how slow it may be, you want to keep making forward progress from where you start the taper at.

EDIT: SHIT, I misread the word tianeptine for a totally different opioid substance. From the little research I just did, it sounds like it may help. If you can get on it and work with a doctor, it sounds like something worth trying.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Toothpastedog - thank you so much for your input. As is normally the case, I came across tianepitine while looking for anything that wasn't oxy to stay ahead of discomfort as much as possible. The mind becomes trained to look for the easy way out. The reality is, I didn't get to my current state quickly so I should expect for the opposite to happen either.

Honestly, I think the best thing for me is to keep it simple. Eat healthy, exercise and taper slowly. It's sort of like dieting...crash diets rarely work by taking a miracle supplement. Those who lose the weight and keep it off are the ones who commit to taking it slow.

So far, it's been 3 days and I feel fine and I'm happy not to push the boundaries too much. I have a target for the day and don't use until I feel some mild discomfort, that way I know for sure I'm cutting back (obviously the mgs would tell me the same thing, but allowing mild WD keeps me honest)

Stay tuned!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top