violetiris
Greenlighter
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2009
- Messages
- 38
Hello Lovely People,
The details are important but not especially needed for my questions. If anyone has any questions about the 'why?' I've decided to quit--because your considering it as well, then feel free to ask...
My questions are specifically for people who have actually QUIT opiates for a period of at least 12 months. I'll try to be short and sweet here but please don't take that for not being sincere, this is scaring the begeezers out of me and I really DO need help! And, I can't begin to express how grateful I am for anyone out there willing to share their story and advice. Like, eternally grateful. Like, I'll be forever in your debt....ever in Florida and need a place to stay? Food? anything! I'll do whatever I can to say thank you for your honest help...
So, a short history. I've been taking Oxycodone for about 7 months every day. I've dabbled with it for the past 10 years on and off with no withdrawals until the past 1-2 years. I started to notice that if I took it for 4 or 5 days straight then I would get a couple days of withdrawals. Then I started taking it for one week on and three weeks off and that went on for about a year. I would have classic but mild withdrawals for about three days after stopping from the one week then I would just have low energy for about another week and a half and then I would feel basically 'normal' for a week or so until I started the process over again.
Then I moved and started seeing a new doctor and the pain issues I was having actually became MUCH worse to the point that I actually needed the medication every day. I finally figured out what was causing the pain, I have almost no cortisol in my body, so I'm taking a cortisol supplement and that has made the pain much more better and I no longer need daily opiates. I want to quit.
Sadly, for the several months that I DID need them, now I'm physically dependant. When I go too long without them--like I sleep late or something, I wake up feeling 100 times worse than I did with my previous 'mild' withdrawals. I don't know how I'm going to make it through this. I'm scared to death.
Here's my 'plan'. I'm tapering down VERY slowly. I have access and I have discipline to do this, so I'm lucky there. I'm down to 60Mg a day and I appear to be 'stuck' here for a while--which is ok. I'll take the time I need to do this right. I plan on tapering down 5mg. every week as tolerated. Like I said, very slowly. Then, I plan on using catapres and immodium (which I have had good success with in regards to staving off some of the pain of withdrawal).
I plan on the slowest taper possible--and going as low as I can, like to .5mg even--a tiny chip of a pill before I 'stop' and then I plan on using the catapres as needed and the immodium around the clock and doing a taper off of it as well--using 1/2 a tables less every three days until I no longer need it at all. I plan on only using the catapres for the first 5 days of acute withdrawal from the Oxy and then, if needed, from the immodium--but I doubt I'll require it since at that point I will have been Oxy free for some time.
I have three questions.
1. Does this seem like the most gentle way to go? Is there an even more gentle way to taper and stop? I have other health issues that make me feel as if I really need to be kind to myself as much as I can. A cold turkey could kill me. I don't have the $ to go to treatment so I have no choice but to do so myself.
2. And this is the REAL humm-dinger...will I ever feel happy again? I mean, after being off of opiates for a year, should I expect to have energy and feel like a 'normal' person again? I'm scared of stopping because I'm scared that I will be depressed and lethargic and filled with anxiety. I felt this way before I started taking these every day BUT I had been taking them on and off so long that I imagine I never really hit the 'reset' button. I want to know if I stay off of them 100% for 12 months, should I feel 'normal'? Those of you who have gone through this know exactly what I am talking about.
3. Last, I know that I am going to require treatment for my ADHD again once I stop taking these--Opiates have also treated this but without them, I require something. Adderall is a but strong to me and so I am considering asking my MD for Provigil. I've never tried it but it seems to be less potent than Adderall. Any advice on when to start this? Specifically, taking something that makes it harder to sleep while going through the acute phase of opiate withdrawals sounds like hell. Should I wait until after this phase to start? I feel like it COULD help with the taper phase as well because I feel low energy during this as well and it makes me want to take something--bad.
Thank you so much. I can't tell you how good it feels to know there are people out there who understand...
The details are important but not especially needed for my questions. If anyone has any questions about the 'why?' I've decided to quit--because your considering it as well, then feel free to ask...
My questions are specifically for people who have actually QUIT opiates for a period of at least 12 months. I'll try to be short and sweet here but please don't take that for not being sincere, this is scaring the begeezers out of me and I really DO need help! And, I can't begin to express how grateful I am for anyone out there willing to share their story and advice. Like, eternally grateful. Like, I'll be forever in your debt....ever in Florida and need a place to stay? Food? anything! I'll do whatever I can to say thank you for your honest help...
So, a short history. I've been taking Oxycodone for about 7 months every day. I've dabbled with it for the past 10 years on and off with no withdrawals until the past 1-2 years. I started to notice that if I took it for 4 or 5 days straight then I would get a couple days of withdrawals. Then I started taking it for one week on and three weeks off and that went on for about a year. I would have classic but mild withdrawals for about three days after stopping from the one week then I would just have low energy for about another week and a half and then I would feel basically 'normal' for a week or so until I started the process over again.
Then I moved and started seeing a new doctor and the pain issues I was having actually became MUCH worse to the point that I actually needed the medication every day. I finally figured out what was causing the pain, I have almost no cortisol in my body, so I'm taking a cortisol supplement and that has made the pain much more better and I no longer need daily opiates. I want to quit.
Sadly, for the several months that I DID need them, now I'm physically dependant. When I go too long without them--like I sleep late or something, I wake up feeling 100 times worse than I did with my previous 'mild' withdrawals. I don't know how I'm going to make it through this. I'm scared to death.
Here's my 'plan'. I'm tapering down VERY slowly. I have access and I have discipline to do this, so I'm lucky there. I'm down to 60Mg a day and I appear to be 'stuck' here for a while--which is ok. I'll take the time I need to do this right. I plan on tapering down 5mg. every week as tolerated. Like I said, very slowly. Then, I plan on using catapres and immodium (which I have had good success with in regards to staving off some of the pain of withdrawal).
I plan on the slowest taper possible--and going as low as I can, like to .5mg even--a tiny chip of a pill before I 'stop' and then I plan on using the catapres as needed and the immodium around the clock and doing a taper off of it as well--using 1/2 a tables less every three days until I no longer need it at all. I plan on only using the catapres for the first 5 days of acute withdrawal from the Oxy and then, if needed, from the immodium--but I doubt I'll require it since at that point I will have been Oxy free for some time.
I have three questions.
1. Does this seem like the most gentle way to go? Is there an even more gentle way to taper and stop? I have other health issues that make me feel as if I really need to be kind to myself as much as I can. A cold turkey could kill me. I don't have the $ to go to treatment so I have no choice but to do so myself.
2. And this is the REAL humm-dinger...will I ever feel happy again? I mean, after being off of opiates for a year, should I expect to have energy and feel like a 'normal' person again? I'm scared of stopping because I'm scared that I will be depressed and lethargic and filled with anxiety. I felt this way before I started taking these every day BUT I had been taking them on and off so long that I imagine I never really hit the 'reset' button. I want to know if I stay off of them 100% for 12 months, should I feel 'normal'? Those of you who have gone through this know exactly what I am talking about.
3. Last, I know that I am going to require treatment for my ADHD again once I stop taking these--Opiates have also treated this but without them, I require something. Adderall is a but strong to me and so I am considering asking my MD for Provigil. I've never tried it but it seems to be less potent than Adderall. Any advice on when to start this? Specifically, taking something that makes it harder to sleep while going through the acute phase of opiate withdrawals sounds like hell. Should I wait until after this phase to start? I feel like it COULD help with the taper phase as well because I feel low energy during this as well and it makes me want to take something--bad.
Thank you so much. I can't tell you how good it feels to know there are people out there who understand...