Detox Help me get off Oxy (Need Support)

[SimplyTrinity]

Hey guys - starting tomorrow or Mon (going to see if I need half a pill tomorrow to smooth the ween off), I want to stop taking oxy.

Some background, I’ve been on anywhere from 7.5-15mg of percs 2-3x per week. Usually Fri to Sun only but that’s been weakening during COVID when I’m always home. Now I’m doing the same dosage but almost daily. I really want to stop this before I’m too far addicted or worse, starting to do heavier stuff.

I have about 40 pills at home I’ve gotten through a legit source (for severe back pain). My back is going better at the moment, but I do want to keep the pills “handy” as I’ve been in some awful pain situation that come on without any notice and it’s peace of mind to have them.

So my plan is this: tell my wife I am cutting myself off. Give her the pills the hide somewhere in the house. And do not take a perc for at least 2 months (hopefully never again, but don’t want to commit to that). This is less about stopping forever and more about showing that they do not control me and I do not NEED them to function day to day.

This will be hard for me so if it’s ok with the rules of this forum, I’d like to post daily (or close to it) in the beginning. I also plan to seek support if I ever feel weak and needing it.

Really appreciate anyone’s advice on how to deal with the withdrawal symptoms! I don’t have access to any other drugs aside from OTC stuff, muscle relaxants, alcohol, Xanax, fluoxetine/Prozac (which I currently take daily 10mg). Prefer to make it through without introducing a new drug, if I can.

 

[Chem-man]

SimplyTrinity,
I will be checking in daily, you can do this! Now is the time to take control while you are only taking a manageable amount. If you want a ‘scared straight off pain pills’ version you can check my post in this forum.
You won’t need to go through what I have and resort to another prescribed medicine to stop, you can do it on your own and that is much better my friend.
Good luck, stay strong, and I will say a prayer for you.

 

[SimplyTrinity]

SimplyTrinity,
I will be checking in daily, you can do this! Now is the time to take control while you are only taking a manageable amount. If you want a ‘scared straight off pain pills’ version you can check my post in this forum.
You won’t need to go through what I have and resort to another prescribed medicine to stop, you can do it on your own and that is much better my friend.
Good luck, stay strong, and I will say a prayer for you.

Chem-man, just read your amazing story. Power to you and hope things are still going well. I have so many questions about your story, so will PM you rather than side track here.
Very inspiring and thanks for sharing. Good to know other people have gotten through this and found their way.

 

[SimplyTrinity]

Day 1 report...

slept in until 1pm which helped get through a good chunk of the day. Felt lethargic and grumpy all day, but nothing I couldn’t handle. Headaches now starting to set in, but nothing too bad (yet). Proud of myself so far because I gave myself the out to take my last half pill today if I “needed it” but so far have resisted. Worried how restless I will be for sleep tonight (especially with first day back at work tomorrow AM) plus RLS is usually pretty bad for me.

Drinking pedialyte to stay hydrated. Any other tips? Do people find pushing through the symptoms to get some excercise in helps or hurts?

doing my best not to jump down my family’s throats. So far so good.

 

[Chem-man]

Some sort of mindless physical activity is best, like going for a walk or splitting wood. Loperamide of course helps with the stomach issues.
If you are up and about that’s awesome! Don’t expect to feel a lot better for a few days, but after day two or so the worst is behind you.

You know, I recommended in another post to do this because it worked for me. Get the Amazon audible app and download a Bible audiobook by dr. Bill Creasy. The reason is, I couldn’t concentrate on a TV program and my anxiety would shoot through the roof - it seemed like I could listen to him talk through the Bible and it didn’t crawl all over me. Actually found it very relaxing and kept my mind going well enough to help with the RLS. Just a thought, believe me I’m no major success story.
Keep at it, I know you can do it!

 

[SimplyTrinity]

I saw that in your other post. Definitely going to check it out if I have any trouble sleeping or RLS later.
Question is - muscle relaxant, bourbon, or neither tonight...

 

[Chem-man]

Makers Mark is always a nice treat!

 

[Rio Fantastic]

Good luck @SimplyTrinity

The good news is that your habit really isn't that bad. It could have gotten a lot worse, as you have sensibly realized. Quitting while you're ahead is a fantastic luxury that you are so blessed to have achieved. A lot of us don't realize we have a problem until our lives are fucked, and this is basically like you have run the gauntlet of addiction, switched to heroin, lost your job, wife, money and had a needle in your arm and then managed to step in a time machine and go back to the start of the downfall and do it all over again. Don't waste this clarity! I can tell you that I for one wish that I could go back to 8 years ago when I was 19 and just dabbling with oxy and stop the progression there, but it had to go on for a long, long time before I got the sense that you do now!

However, the bad news is that even if the physical withdrawal is mild, you must prepare yourself for the cravings that will inevitably come. You will have euphoric recall where you vividly relive your greatest oxy highs, and suddenly your reasons for why you're quitting will seem irrelevant, you will tell yourself that nothing that bad happened, and your addiction is insidious - it talks to you in your mind in your own voice, so we can make the mistake of identifying with it and thinking that it's coming from us, but it isn't. Since your plan is moderation, if I were you I would definitely continue with your plan of going through a LENGTHY period of TOTAL abstinence first, and then before taking oxy again, set hard limits on when you will take it & how much. These rules have to be fucking gospel - completely rigid & inflexible, perhaps with the support and monitoring of your wife. The moment you let yourself bend those rules at all, even if it's just an extra pill or an extra day or whatever, then they become meaningless, and you can & will then go on to break all of them and end up back where you are now or worse.

I wish you all the best in getting sober. Maybe during your period of total abstinence you can analyse the reasons why you want to take it again and decide if it's really a good idea or not. However, that comes later. For now, just focus on getting through these next couple days. If you are having physical withdrawal symptoms, then I've always found they peak and then rapidly get better after day 3, so you only have to endure another day or two before the worst is behind you. Checking in here for the support & accountability is always a great idea, too. Good luck!!

 

[Burleyitalian]

Hey guys - starting tomorrow or Mon (going to see if I need half a pill tomorrow to smooth the ween off), I want to stop taking oxy.

Some background, I’ve been on anywhere from 7.5-15mg of percs 2-3x per week. Usually Fri to Sun only but that’s been weakening during COVID when I’m always home. Now I’m doing the same dosage but almost daily. I really want to stop this before I’m too far addicted or worse, starting to do heavier stuff.

I have about 40 pills at home I’ve gotten through a legit source (for severe back pain). My back is going better at the moment, but I do want to keep the pills “handy” as I’ve been in some awful pain situation that come on without any notice and it’s peace of mind to have them.

So my plan is this: tell my wife I am cutting myself off. Give her the pills the hide somewhere in the house. And do not take a perc for at least 2 months (hopefully never again, but don’t want to commit to that). This is less about stopping forever and more about showing that they do not control me and I do not NEED them to function day to day.

This will be hard for me so if it’s ok with the rules of this forum, I’d like to post daily (or close to it) in the beginning. I also plan to seek support if I ever feel weak and needing it.

Really appreciate anyone’s advice on how to deal with the withdrawal symptoms! I don’t have access to any other drugs aside from OTC stuff, muscle relaxants, alcohol, Xanax, fluoxetine/Prozac (which I currently take daily 10mg). Prefer to make it through without introducing a new drug, if I can.

I was gonna say a benzo should be Induced during withdrawal along with prescription muscle relaxers I'm in the same boat as you brother only thing is mine is suboxone 100× worse than oxycodone wd Iv been through it before the only thing that got me through it was a benzodiazepine that was prescribed they even upped the dose my other doctor for the sub withdrawal he knows I dont abuse benzos. Get your hands on robaxin. A muscle relaxer that also helps with pain it doesn't get you high it's good it's by prescription only depends on where you've DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL while was it will make it so bad trust me. Gabapentin would work well on day 1- 3 with 1 to 2 mg benzo 1200mg gabapentin. muscle relaxer 2x a day 750mg robaxi spread out but taking the muscle relaxer at the same time with the other meds provides much more relief becareful. I have such mercy and compassion on Those withdrawing from opioids if I knew
You in reality I'd help you your withdrawal would be painless

 

[SimplyTrinity]

Good luck @SimplyTrinity

The good news is that your habit really isn't that bad. It could have gotten a lot worse, as you have sensibly realized. Quitting while you're ahead is a fantastic luxury that you are so blessed to have achieved. A lot of us don't realize we have a problem until our lives are fucked, and this is basically like you have run the gauntlet of addiction, switched to heroin, lost your job, wife, money and had a needle in your arm and then managed to step in a time machine and go back to the start of the downfall and do it all over again. Don't waste this clarity! I can tell you that I for one wish that I could go back to 8 years ago when I was 19 and just dabbling with oxy and stop the progression there, but it had to go on for a long, long time before I got the sense that you do now!

However, the bad news is that even if the physical withdrawal is mild, you must prepare yourself for the cravings that will inevitably come. You will have euphoric recall where you vividly relive your greatest oxy highs, and suddenly your reasons for why you're quitting will seem irrelevant, you will tell yourself that nothing that bad happened, and your addiction is insidious - it talks to you in your mind in your own voice, so we can make the mistake of identifying with it and thinking that it's coming from us, but it isn't. Since your plan is moderation, if I were you I would definitely continue with your plan of going through a LENGTHY period of TOTAL abstinence first, and then before taking oxy again, set hard limits on when you will take it & how much. These rules have to be fucking gospel - completely rigid & inflexible, perhaps with the support and monitoring of your wife. The moment you let yourself bend those rules at all, even if it's just an extra pill or an extra day or whatever, then they become meaningless, and you can & will then go on to break all of them and end up back where you are now or worse.

I wish you all the best in getting sober. Maybe during your period of total abstinence you can analyse the reasons why you want to take it again and decide if it's really a good idea or not. However, that comes later. For now, just focus on getting through these next couple days. If you are having physical withdrawal symptoms, then I've always found they peak and then rapidly get better after day 3, so you only have to endure another day or two before the worst is behind you. Checking in here for the support & accountability is always a great idea, too. Good luck!!

Thanks for this. I’m honestly lucky I found this forum before I went too deep into my own addiction where it started to ruin my life. It allowed me to educate, understand the dark side without experiencing it first hand, and find a community of like-minded people to support me.

You bring up a great point around dealing with future cravings. I’m expecting those, and am definitely worried about them. I also think there is an imaginary line, which so far I have managed to not cross, but know that once I do, all bets are off. So far, I’ve only abused drugs that were prescribed to me through legitimate means by a single doctor. I know that once I start obtaining drugs through any alternative means, the wheels are basically free to come off. I’m keeping a really close eye on this and trying to manage as best I can. The reason I’m trying to cut myself off now is because I saw early indications and temptations to go outside those parameters.

I think you’re exactly right. Cutting myself off entirely is definitely the wise choice. I think I am rationalizing with myself now by saying it will be for several weeks or even months and then I’ll come back to recreational use. My hope deep down is that - once I am clean and have them out of my system - I will realize that I was fine without them, able to derive euphoria and pleasure from other organic sources in life - and will decide to stay off them. In a worse case scenario, if I do go back to recreational use, I plan to be very regimented and stick to a set of rules. And when I go outside those rules, I’ll do what am I doing now - self-induced abstinence for a certain amount of time then try again. The thing is, it’s so much easier to say I’ll stay off them forever once I’ve gotten through the withdrawal versus just starting it. So let’s see how I feel in a week

I guess my big question is - are there actual use cases of people recreationally using opioids without going into addiction, abuse, or other drugs? Or am I chasing a pure pipe dream?

 

[Burleyitalian]

Bro what ever you do AVOID LONG TERM METHADONE AND SUBOXONE USE take it as needed if need be

 

[Burleyitalian]

Thanks for this. I’m honestly lucky I found this forum before I went too deep into my own addiction where it started to ruin my life. It allowed me to educate, understand the dark side without experiencing it first hand, and find a community of like-minded people to support me.

You bring up a great point around dealing with future cravings. I’m expecting those, and am definitely worried about them. I also think there is an imaginary line, which so far I have managed to not cross, but know that once I do, all bets are off. So far, I’ve only abused drugs that were prescribed to me through legitimate means by a single doctor. I know that once I start obtaining drugs through any alternative means, the wheels are basically free to come off. I’m keeping a really close eye on this and trying to manage as best I can. The reason I’m trying to cut myself off now is because I saw early indications and temptations to go outside those parameters.

I think you’re exactly right. Cutting myself off entirely is definitely the wise choice. I think I am rationalizing with myself now by saying it will be for several weeks or even months and then I’ll come back to recreational use. My hope deep down is that - once I am clean and have them out of my system - I will realize that I was fine without them, able to derive euphoria and pleasure from other organic sources in life - and will decide to stay off them. In a worse case scenario, if I do go back to recreational use, I plan to be very regimented and stick to a set of rules. And when I go outside those rules, I’ll do what am I doing now - self-induced abstinence for a certain amount of time then try again. The thing is, it’s so much easier to say I’ll stay off them forever once I’ve gotten through the withdrawal versus just starting it. So let’s see how I feel in a week

I guess my big question is - are there actual use cases of people recreationally using opioids without going into addiction, abuse, or other drugs? Or am I chasing a pure pipe dream?

Dont think so. The opium Poppy and its derivative are so pleasant they have taken down empires nations not something to mess around with bro go look at what it did to the asiatic empires it crippled them

 

[Chem-man]

Sounds like you are doing great! I’m happy for you!
I ignored all the warning signs and thought it couldn’t happen to me, but it really can happen to anyone - no one is immune. And it is so amazingly indiscriminate of race or social status, it is an equal opportunity offender.

Knowing what you know, you know the kind of discipline it would take to keep playing with fire and not burn your house down. I’m afraid that once a person finds their drug of choice (mine was pills) it is hard to do it in moderation.

 

[SimplyTrinity]

I was gonna say a benzo should be Induced during withdrawal along with prescription muscle relaxers I'm in the same boat as you brother only thing is mine is suboxone 100× worse than oxycodone wd Iv been through it before the only thing that got me through it was a benzodiazepine that was prescribed they even upped the dose my other doctor for the sub withdrawal he knows I dont abuse benzos. Get your hands on robaxin. A muscle relaxer that also helps with pain it doesn't get you high it's good it's by prescription only depends on where you've DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL while was it will make it so bad trust me. Gabapentin would work well on day 1- 3 with 1 to 2 mg benzo 1200mg gabapentin. muscle relaxer 2x a day 750mg robaxi spread out but taking the muscle relaxer at the same time with the other meds provides much more relief becareful. I have such mercy and compassion on Those withdrawing from opioids if I knew
You in reality I'd help you your withdrawal would be painless

After 2 almost sleepless nights that were driving me insane, I took a 0.5mg Xanax last night. Had the best sleep I’ve had in a while. Obviously I don’t wanna trade one dependency for another, but this was literally my first time ever trying a benzo before and don’t plan to have it again for a while.

 

[SimplyTrinity]

Day 3 update...

Much easier day today. Really only dealing with listlessness and lack of motivation to get out of bed. Other physical symptoms seem mostly behind me. After a stressful moment today, I had an urge to just pop a pill (old habit I guess, as soon as I get stressed I say f*ck it, may as well feel good). I resisted, mostly just thinking about how much withdrawal sucks and not wanting to start all over.

My only big concern is that the lack of motivation doesn’t go away. Taking low dose SSRI (Prozac) which was supposed to help me with this, but is it possible more time being clean from oxy will also help? I miss being a hungry person who is happy, eager to take on challenges, not defeated by work stress, etc.

Some things that have helped me so far...

Excercise - was tough to get my lazy ass out of bed to do it, but did my first excercise today. Aside from briefly thinking I was going to die, about an hour after the excercise, I did get a natural euphoria. Wasn’t an oxy euphoria, but I’ll take anything I can get! Maybe I can get hooked on excercise next.

Meditation - Been listening to a lot of guided breathing / meditation videos that have helped me briefly forget about discomfort (credit to Chem-man for his suggestion on Dr. Creasy’s Bible audiobooks for this one). Even found my own little thing that has helped totally calm me and give me the chills, which has been awesome. No idea if it will work for others but just in case... I spray a few sprays of whatever scent makes you happy into the shower as it warms up (for me, it’s a scent that reminds me of high school). Then get into the shower but do not go under the water. Stand as close to the hot water as you can without touching it (you should feel a slight mist on you). Do deep breathing for 5-10 min like this. Sooooo good.

Supportive wife - she doesn’t know what I’m doing or how bad my pill popping was starting to get, but she also doesn’t need to understand to support me. She could tell I was going through something and has been caring and supportive, and taking on more with the two kids while I do it.

This Forum - honestly, the accountability of having to report back here often helps a ton. In only 3 days, I probably would have broken down twice if it wasn’t for having to come back here and own up to it. It’s also nice to know you’re not alone in things like this.

RLS Solution - Ok, I can’t take credit for this but I read it online and it works without fail for me. At my worst moments with RLS in the middle of the night, the only thing that gives me enough temporary relief to sleep is... ejaculation. Yep, whether self-induced (and at 3am, it typically is) or from sex, I think it has something to do with the adrenaline injection throughout the body, but it works!

 

[Chem-man]

SimplyTrinity, you are doing great!
Awesome update!!!

Also, congratulations on the other self-therapy.
Three cheers for opposable thumbs!!!

 

[Burleyitalian]

Hang in there bro almost done what is this day 4? dont worry iv been there and alls I used for sleep was seroquel was bed bound for a week straight was a mess. I was taking high doses kratom extract (Be very careful) for a bit didn't think anything of not taking it that next day.twoke up and BOOM shit got real btw I was taking 50 to100$ a day. Bad stuff

 

[SimplyTrinity]

Hey guys, need a little pep talk here. Whether related to withdrawal, my own anxiety problem or just everything going on in the world... today was a tough day. Got in a screaming match with the wife that ended in lots of tears from her. I’m stressed beyond belief with that and work and just kind of wanna take an oxy to not feel it. I know it’s bad because I’ve already gotten through 5 days and I really was already past the worst of withdrawal. In fact, physical symptoms are all behind me... only thing remaining really was a little bit of listlessness and trouble sleeping at night. Otherwise have felt great.

anyway just thinking out loud. Don’t want the oxy to become a crutch for me obviously because that’s how I’ll end up in a bad place one day. But right now it’s tough. Guess this is why I need therapy to learn some coping mechanisms.

 

[Jabberwocky]

your mood is gonna be low for a long while i hate to say. and if you use now its quite possible, even if you keep to just the once, that it will make you rattle again due to the kindling effect, so it will be hard to stop.

if you did tell your wife then she should be understanding, but remember this is hard for her too.

have you thought about why you have been needing a chemical crutch? for me, and many addicts, getting clean is the first step. the hard work is the psychological work to get to the root of the addiction and treat the underlying problems.

 

[Chem-man]

Day 5! That is so awesome!!! You have made it past the physical part which is a tremendous achievement!
The mental stuff and anxiety is next. But you can handle that like a champ! Tell the wife what is going on and promise her a back rub for you acting like a grump.
Great job, you got this!