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Opioids Need help and guidance getting off oxycodone

B

Babeston

Greenlighter
Joined
Aug 6, 2012
Messages
17
Guess Ill start at the beginning. Originally, I was prescribed Oxycodone 5mg tablets back in the fall. In the spring, I realized when I woke in a panic that I needed to quit. I felt I was taking them too much. I dont remember now exactly what I was taking when I quit cold turkey, but it was a couple days of misery. At the time, I wasnt working, just going to school, and most of my classes ended by that point, I just had 2 classes that met twice a week. My children were in school during the day, so it was doable. The bulk of it fell on a weekend though, and the kids were already planned to be spending the weekend at a grandparent's house.
Fast forward to May. School lets out for the semester and I find a waitressing job. The problem was...the job made my back act up. So, you can guess what happens. I go to the dr, and we start my script back up. Depression has set in, however, and Im frustrated. I feel that maybe...these oxycodone pills are the reason why. I went to my dr a few weeks ago and told him I was depressed [something thats been a problem all my life.]and asked if the pills were why and what could be done. he felt I should stay on them, but switched my anti depressant. Im on Viibryd now. The way this works is for a week you take a ten mg pill once a day. The next week, its a 20 mg tablet once a day. The third week and beyond is 40 mg pill a day. Im on the 2nd week of 40 mg a day.Now, for the oxycodone, Ive got myself down from about 6 5mg oxycodones a day to 4. I was starting to feel a bit better...more like myself. The other day, a took 5 though, and the day after was 6. It seems that, even though Ive been back to 4 for a few days, Im still in a miserable funk. Is it because my dosage went up again? I really dont know. All I know is, I want that hope, that happiness, that I had. so here is my plan:
Wednesday I go down to 3 and 1\2 a day for 5 days. then 3 for 5 days. then I take out another half for 5 days. On Ill go until Im down to nothing. My questions are, with this sort of taper, will I have a hard time with Withdrawl? Im hoping its minimal, because by the time Im to nothing, Ill be back in college, and working, and caring for my kids. I know some ppl would suggest cold turkey, but I just cant. Its a bad idea not just because of my depression [if its bad now, what will happen in a full blown withdrawl?] but also I have to work. Secondly, as I lower my dosage, will the antidepressant finally work better?
I tried to call the doctor to ask him why exactly the anti depressant seemed to be working, then stopped. I got no call back. My dad, who visits with me daily says that, even though Im depressed, Im still much better than I was before I got on the new medication and just do the taper. Im just frustrated and terribly lonely. Any adivce or anything would be great. Sorry If I posted in the wrong place. Im new!
 
oxycodone is the only thing that really takes away my depression but i have to take a high dose and when i'm out of it i'm very depressed
 
I would say that if the taper is what feel comfortable for you then go with that, WDs should be fairly minimal. By all means, get off if you think it's adding to your depression, so long as you are being honest with yourself (and it sounds like you are) you know what's going on with a situation like this better than any doctor could.

Also, on the topic of depression, that could also be adding to the pain you feel. It can take going through a lot of different meds for depression before you find one that works well for you. It's not a pleasant process, but a necessary evil with that form of treatment.

Don't feel alone, plenty of people out there care about you, and you can always come here to talk openly. All the best and I hope you get to feeling better. :)
 
mrflower- my depression is apparently chemical which would explain why the oxy doesnt work like that.

bronson- thank you. Its just so painful. Sometimes I dont think I have the strength to go on. I started the anti depressant journey at the age of 17. Im now 32. It took awhile, but I was put on prozac and it worked up until I was 30. Lexapro then worked, but since I dont have insurance, my dr had to put me on something else. Citalopram. It worked for a short time, then stopped. part of me wants to say "why bother tapering? Im already in hell, might as well go all the way" but deep down I know it will be much worse. Im no where near "balanced" and it would be playing with fire. Its the rollercoaster from hell.
 
yeah i think my depression is mostly situational cause no anti-depressants worked on me i've tried prozac zoloft paxil effexor wllbutrin cymbalta celexa lexapro trazadone remeron but i'm also bipolar type 2 and lithium did shit i tried to kill myself on in by taking my whole script if you know anything about lithium i should have died but 3 days of dialysis i came too and promptly sent to the nut hut
 
Never took lithium. If you are bipolar, you definately need to be treated. as for the situational depression, i understand that. i think some aspects of mine is brought on by my situation. i DO have a depressive disorder, but I know there are some parts of my life im miserable about and want\need to change
 
Babeston,
You picked the perfect place for your thread. OD is generally where we have discussions regarding opiates/opioids :)
I too take oxycodone, but in much higher (prescribed) doses...60-75mg every 4 hours as needed along with 100mcg Fentanyl patch.
I don't know what to say about your depression.
As for getting off the oxycodone-taper, taper, taper!! The more slowly you do it, the better. It (in my case, anyway) DOES ease the pain of withdrawal. I ran out of my oxycodone ir early once-11 days early. I knew it was going to happen, and I struggled with the same decision you are...to go cold turkey or taper.
So I went from about 240mg/day down to 180/day for a few days...Then I had to take a major leap to 60-90mg/day at the end.
YES, it was a rough time.
But not nearly as rough as the next time I ran out early (just 5 days or so, figured it'd be no big deal). I did little, if any taper, and it was hell unlike anything I've ever experienced ....except for the time I forgot to put a new patch on after showering.
Anyway, I think your schedule sounds great and very doable.
Feel free to PM me anytime.
Cat
 
what exactly do you get rx'd the percocet for? im assuming pain, lower back maybe? anyways, since you have only been on them for 3 months you have a way better chance of kicking now than if you wait. i think your taper plan sounds good. the reason i ask about why you take them is bc if it is treating some type of reoccuring pain you will probably want to find another type of pain relief option and if your dr thinks you need oxycodone, im thinking getting a bottle of extra strength tylenol wont cut it.

the WD alone should be quite minimal. try and stay hydrated as much as possible and maybe get some kind of good herbal tea to help calm your nerves in the evening. one of the things that made it easier for me in the mornings when i was kicking oxy for the first time was drinking coffee in the morning. the caffeine gave just enough of a pick me up, but wasnt enough to cause anxiety, sweats chills ect...

what kind of WD symptoms do you get?
 
thanks guys for replying. I need all the help and back up I can get. Cat, Im hoping a half pill every 5 days is slow enough, cuz Im ready for better days. My depression has been all my life but is typically controlled with meds. My dr feels that the pain meds are def causing me the depression. Wow though, I can imagine your WD was awful!!! med Cabinet, I get them for back pain and neck. You are right that OTC meds dont help. I tried that for over a year before giving in and going to the dr. Ive had problems with my hips also ever since my daughter was born, but never even got anything for it, because it was tolerable. I never touched pain meds before this, other than when ive had surgery. And just for the most minimal time frame. I was quite cautious. As for water, should I be drinking a ton during the taper to flush the excess meds out? Would it do any good? Im bad at drinking water...I drink a ton of caffeine. My WD symptoms before was diarrhea [but I get that when Im upset and stuff anyways] insomnia, but very tired. Sweaty. Anxious and depressed. All that type of stuff.
 
I would like to suggest a couple things from personal experience. First off I would speak to your doctor about changing you over to hydrocodone. It's very similar to oxy but the withdrawals are lighter. It's what you should have been on in the first place. Hydrocodone=Vicodin or lortab. Another major thing when actually taking these for pain ignore the directions on the bottle and simply use them as needed. By that I mean when your trying to relax or finish a shift and your back hurts so much you would almost rather bang your head against the wall than feel any more back pain. My wife went through the same experience where about 5-7 days a month she struggles pretty badly, yet after continuous use of oxycodone 4-5 times daily she felt like crap everyday now and every morning/night when they wore off. She told her doctor and in his vast wisdom the idiot gave her roxy 15mg 4x daily! I'm a recovering opiate addict so I went to his office personally and told him to write a 3 month supply of Vicodin 7.5 and she will never be going there again. She tapered down over 3 weeks, had a couple icky days and recovered.

Now she only takes about 10 a month and only on the days she absolutely needs them. The way doctors should be writing the directions
 
Sorry I havent been on. I had to decide to push back going to 3.5 until tomorrow because my time of the month arrived. Just dont feel well and am even more depressed. I discussed it with my dad and he just felt that maybe it would be better to not add to things and keep it all where it is for the time being. Sunday, back to work. I start at 3.5 5mg oxycodone a day for 5 days. Part of me wonders what if I just "jump" to 3, and then cut down in half pill increments every 5 days until done?

Cotillion, Im will Fire and Water there...I mean, hydrocodone has never really done me any good.
 
To the OP, goodluck, I wish u the best, and I know from experience u CAN do this w/ minimal discomfort so hang in there!

Your plan to go down half a pill every 5 days is good, but I do have some suggestions:

To make it even more gentle, I'd go down by a quarter pill once your at the 10mg (2 pill) per day level. So go from 2.5 pills to 2 pills, and then after 5 days (or maybe more...) go down to 1.75 pills. Then to 1.5 to 1.25 to 1 etc...

Also, don't treat the 5 day period as fixed/written in stone...it will be MUCH easier in terms of w/d symptoms if you wait longer between each dose reduction, especially at the end of youir taper. Once your down to 3 pills, I'd wait 7-10 days before going to 2.5, then I'd wait 10 days or more b4 going down to 2 pills/day. Then another 10 days until 1.75 pills. In fact, I'd just use the 10 days (or whatever) as a suggestion, but really use your body as your guide. Take however long u need for ur body to adjust to the new lower dose--u may feel fine after 5 days or it may take 15 days.
But if you wait ntil ur feeling normal b4 jumping down to ur new lower dose it will make any w/d u feel much weaker than if u had jumped b4 u were ready... So once u don't have any w/d symptoms at ur new dose, wait a day and then drop again. And when u don't have any symptoms at that dose, wait a day and drop again etc...
When your are taking half a pill or a quarter pill per day (and yes u should taper down to that low a dose) wait a good 10-15 days before dropping again or jumping off completely. That way u will ensure minimal w/d when u do stop.


Also, be cognizant of what time u dose and how long u wait to redose. I don't know when and how many pills/mg's u take so I can't comment specifically, but consider taking more smaller doses throught the day as part of ur taper. It will let ur mind get used to not being flooded with opiates while still keeping a constant level of opiates in ur system so u don't have extreme ups and downs.


Lastly, Immodium (loperimide) can be very helpful for w/d symptoms. 6-10mgs will get rid of diareha and intestinal/stomach discomfort. It will also moderately help wwith other w/d symptoms. Don't take more than 10mgs b/c u really don't need to, and don't take it daily, I'd say only take it for the first 1-4 days of a new dose. (So 1-3 days if ur waiting 5 days btwn dose drops, and take it for 2-5 days if ur waiting 10 days between dose drops)



Goodluck and hang in there! It won't be as bad as ya think and once its over ull be so happy TRUST me its worth it!
 
Waldo, thank you for the advice! I didnt think of cutting out lower amounts once I get to that point. Now, Sunday when I finally start this, would it be ok to take out one pill, or should i just half it? right now, at 4 pills, I take 2 in the morning, 1 in the afternoon and another at night. I plan to do morning, noon and night with 3. Here's my biggest issue though. My depression. I think either, these make me depressed OR, the anti depressants cant work properly because of these oxycodones. I wonder...when i begin lowering, because of this....will my depression lift?
 
waldo has some great advice. Also when you go threw withdrawals, ask your doctor for Clonidine its a blood pressure medication and will help alot.
 
Martin, the only problem with that is....my dr doesnt want me off the oxy. I know I need to though. This depression is a nightmare.
 
waldo777 said:
To the OP, goodluck, I wish u the best, and I know from experience u CAN do this w/ minimal discomfort so hang in there!

Your plan to go down half a pill every 5 days is good, but I do have some suggestions:

To make it even more gentle, I'd go down by a quarter pill once your at the 10mg (2 pill) per day level. So go from 2.5 pills to 2 pills, and then after 5 days (or maybe more...) go down to 1.75 pills. Then to 1.5 to 1.25 to 1 etc...

Also, don't treat the 5 day period as fixed/written in stone...it will be MUCH easier in terms of w/d symptoms if you wait longer between each dose reduction, especially at the end of youir taper. Once your down to 3 pills, I'd wait 7-10 days before going to 2.5, then I'd wait 10 days or more b4 going down to 2 pills/day. Then another 10 days until 1.75 pills. In fact, I'd just use the 10 days (or whatever) as a suggestion, but really use your body as your guide. Take however long u need for ur body to adjust to the new lower dose--u may feel fine after 5 days or it may take 15 days.
But if you wait ntil ur feeling normal b4 jumping down to ur new lower dose it will make any w/d u feel much weaker than if u had jumped b4 u were ready... So once u don't have any w/d symptoms at ur new dose, wait a day and then drop again. And when u don't have any symptoms at that dose, wait a day and drop again etc...
When your are taking half a pill or a quarter pill per day (and yes u should taper down to that low a dose) wait a good 10-15 days before dropping again or jumping off completely. That way u will ensure minimal w/d when u do stop.


Also, be cognizant of what time u dose and how long u wait to redose. I don't know when and how many pills/mg's u take so I can't comment specifically, but consider taking more smaller doses throught the day as part of ur taper. It will let ur mind get used to not being flooded with opiates while still keeping a constant level of opiates in ur system so u don't have extreme ups and downs.


Lastly, Immodium (loperimide) can be very helpful for w/d symptoms. 6-10mgs will get rid of diareha and intestinal/stomach discomfort. It will also moderately help wwith other w/d symptoms. Don't take more than 10mgs b/c u really don't need to, and don't take it daily, I'd say only take it for the first 1-4 days of a new dose. (So 1-3 days if ur waiting 5 days btwn dose drops, and take it for 2-5 days if ur waiting 10 days between dose drops)



Goodluck and hang in there! It won't be as bad as ya think and once its over ull be so happy TRUST me its worth it!
Click to expand...

Waldo,
GREAT advice!
Babeston, I agree that cutting back in quarters over a longer period would be helpful in the long run. I mean, you obviously really want off this, and the last thing you need is guilt from being unable to follow your schedule.
Don't be hard on yourself here...Not to belittle your situation, but many people get in much deeper than this before having the courage to try and get out. You are smart to realize where this is going, and you have the humility it takes to succeed:)
Yeah, take it slow. It's good that you aren't in a situation where you have X amount of pills to try and ration out, lol.
Keep us posted.
Cat
 
hello, cat. No your not belittling this, I appreciate each bit of advice. The doctor feels I need this, and I know my pain is bad... but my depression is worse. I want ME back again...for better or worse. Ive seen the road these pills can take you on and I dont want that. The pain is bad, but losing myself is worse. I want to have happiness again...and hopefully staying the course will give me that again.
 
Babeston said:
hello, cat. No your not belittling this, I appreciate each bit of advice. The doctor feels I need this, and I know my pain is bad... but my depression is worse. I want ME back again...for better or worse. Ive seen the road these pills can take you on and I dont want that. The pain is bad, but losing myself is worse. I want to have happiness again...and hopefully staying the course will give me that again.
Click to expand...

Babeston,
Forgive me if this has been addressed already. I'm in a bit of a rush, but I'd like to ask you a question ( that may have already been answered here somewhere lol).
Has your doctor indicated that you should try a different narcotic for your pain? It's clear that a bottle of advil isn't going to cut it. I wonder if maybe another drug could give you the pain relief you need without the depression that your current medication is giving you.
it's clear your current med is not right for you, but you have a legitimate pain from what I've read, and I don't want you to feel as if all opiates are going to make you feel this way. I don't want you to resign yourself to a life of untreated pain.
For example, I have tried hydromorphone, Oxymorphone, Meperidine, and Morphine. All of these gave me side effects I couldn't deal with-namely,depression, and with the Hydromorphone sheer anger and aggression. I found oxycoodone to be the drug for me. Obviously, it is not the drug for you, but maybe something else will be perfect for you!
Again, I apologize if this is already been addressed here.
Cat
 
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