Positive The Tapering Support Thread v 2.0

[Jerry67]

Wow. It’s like I’m reading my own biography.

I had 5 spine surgeries, starting in 2015. Now I gave 20 screws in my lumbar spine (fusion l3-s1). I have taken up to 500 mg oxy per day (scripted up to 150mg per day). I have been prescribed Ativan, Gabapentin, Baclofen, Lyrica, Dilaudid, Norco, and Oxy. I have used Loperamide and Kratom for oxy withdrawls. I have all of the burning/stabbing/numbness you described in my right leg/foot/toes.

Today I’m down to only taking Lyrica for the nerve pain and Kratom for everything else.

I have tried everything except suboxone.

My first bit of advice is to get off the opiates completely and never go back to them. They CAUSED me more general pain than they cured. It took several months of abstinence to figure that out.

I don’t do PM’s usually because my hope is that my experience could help someone else (you didn’t find us here on BlueLight through private messages, so I guess it’s working). I can definitely help you with dosage information on things like loperamide and Kratom.

And…. good luck. Getting away from oxy is a complicated journey. But there’s plenty of folks here who can help.

Hi, i am perfectly fine not doing PMs, and agree with everything you said. I know very little about how to taper off Oxy and about Kratom and know only a little about using Loperamide. What form is Kratom in (pill, liquid, tea, etc.), where is a reputable source to buy in Philly area, and how do I take it to help me taper off Oxy. I am not on a lot of Oxy as stated early I am prescribed 40 mg per day (4x10 mg little pink pills) and I break these into halves and take 5 mg every 3-4 hours and even sometimes a quarter (2.5 mg). I have begun tapering and surprisingly got down to 20 mg per day for the last 3-4 days without it being too bad (just yawning, watery eyes, agitated, light chills) and when I take my next dose of 5 mg or 2.5 mg these symptoms go away. I see the difficulty in tapering as it requires time, patience, diligence, consistency and it is easy to mess up. I am going to the gym (LAF or PF) when I can usually after a dose cause it gives me energy and I think this helps. Any help or advice on tapering off oxy from my current dose is appreciated. I believe getting off Oxy will end up being better for my pain management and my life as a whole. ty JERRY

 

[OceansState]

I personally buy Kratom powder in capsules. I dont like the taste of the powder so it easy to just swallow a few capsules, and the capsules I get are 0.5g each so its easy to dose. I buy from an online store since it is much cheaper than buying at a local store. The good thing is I can usually feel the effects within 15-20 minutes, see how I feel then take more if needed. I like taking 1.5g doses.

But back years ago when I tapered myself off Suboxone I never heard of Kratom, instead I was prescribed Gabapentin for the withdrawals and Wellbutrin for the depression. For some reason when I stop taking drugs I just feel like a piece of shit and beat myself up over it.

 

[Jerry67]

I personally buy Kratom powder in capsules. I dont like the taste of the powder so it easy to just swallow a few capsules, and the capsules I get are 0.5g each so its easy to dose. I buy from an online store since it is much cheaper than buying at a local store. The good thing is I can usually feel the effects within 15-20 minutes, see how I feel then take more if needed. I like taking 1.5g doses.

But back years ago when I tapered myself off Suboxone I never heard of Kratom, instead I was prescribed Gabapentin for the withdrawals and Wellbutrin for the depression. For some reason when I stop taking drugs I just feel like a piece of shit and beat myself up over it.

Can you share the online store? I don't want to buy from store that I find by Google and it's not legit. I'm down to 12.5 mg oxycodone and I took 0.25 mg of Xanax to help me sleep. I know these are probably low doses but I am being cautious. I have had to wean off gabapentin, Lyrica, duloxetine, Klonopin, Valium, Wellbutrin and now I am weaning off oxycodone. For some reason I like the small KVK pills better than the bigger ones from another pharma company that I cnt recall. Thanks for your help!!

 

[Squeaky]

Can you share the online store? I don't want to buy from store that I find by Google and it's not legit. I'm down to 12.5 mg oxycodone and I took 0.25 mg of Xanax to help me sleep. I know these are probably low doses but I am being cautious. I have had to wean off gabapentin, Lyrica, duloxetine, Klonopin, Valium, Wellbutrin and now I am weaning off oxycodone. For some reason I like the small KVK pills better than the bigger ones from another pharma company that I cnt recall. Thanks for your help!!

Regardless of which avenue you choose (tapering, kratom, loperamide), I advise you to get stable at 12.5 mg oxy if you can. Go back up to 20 mg oxy if necessary, but it’s best to stay at the same dose for 1-2 weeks so that the physical withdrawal symptoms from reducing your dose can go away. This way you can see if what you’re doing is working, without guessing along the way. Otherwise you’ll take the Kratom, question whether you feel better, and then take oxy (plus a little extra ‘cause you’re overdue from the kratom mistake). Pretty quickly you’re up to 60mg oxy per day plus a $300/month Kratom habit and have no idea how you got there.

Using kratom or loperamide for more than a couple of days will significantly raise your tolerance for other opiates. Both options really do work but either one is a mistake if you really think you want to keep using low doses of oxy for pain management. Thanks to Kratom…. the last time I took oxy it was 150mg at a time, maybe 450mg per day, just to ‘relax’. And that was after 3 months without anything but kratom. It’s been a year or so since my last oxy and I’d bet it would take at minimum 100mg at one time to feel anything at all.

If you’re disciplined enough to taper off oxy… you might want to spend the next 6 months doing it that way and avoid lope and kratom.

Loperamide: It takes about 4 hours to start working. So if you wake up experiencing withdrawal symptoms from oxy at 8am and you take loperamide to stop the pain, you’ll be getting relief at noon. Lope dosage for you should be about 1/2 - 2/3 if your current oxy dose. So if you’re stable at 15mg per day oxy, then your daily loperamide dose would be 8-10 mg per day. Search for diarrhea medicine online. If it has loperamide and is 2mg pills, it’s all the same stuff and much cheaper in bulk. At my worst, I think I was taking 90x2mg pills per day. Break your daily doses into 2-3 per day.

Kratom: At your level, my guess is 2-3 grams every 6-8 hours. Capsules are easier to swallow than powder. Powder goes great with any sugary drink (OJ, gatorade, etc), but nothing carbonated!. Powder is a lot cheaper, particularly if you buy online in bulk. You can end up spending less than $0.50 per day if you get the powder online. Use a measuring spoon. One LEVEL teaspoon is 2-3 grams, so go to the dollar store and get a measuring spoon.

Just remember that tapering is a game of percentages, not milligrams. Dropping from 30mg to 20mg is a %33 reduction, not a 10mg reduction. Dropping from 10mg to 5mg is a 50% reduction, not a 5mg reduction. And that 5mg drop might actually feel worse than that 10mg one, because it’s all about how much you were taking yesterday (not last week) vs how much you are taking today. You have to recalculate at every reduction to taper properly.

Having said all that… if you can stick at 12.5 mg for 2 weeks, I say make plans for a week with ‘the flu’ and just cold turkey the last bit. You were tough enough to get off all of that other crap. Jumping off at 12.5 shouldn’t be unbearable. And in a week you’ll feel good enough to start living again. Just be sure to have enough Xanax to kill a small elephant. Sleep is paramount in withdrawals.

 

[Squeaky]

pabotanicals.com

 

[smokeymcpot42088]

My trick (because my memory is horrible): I send a text message to myself. Every time I take a pill, I text myself the medication and the dose. I send tge text and a second later I receive the same text. Later on I can just open my text chain FROM myself TO myself and the information is all there.

i dont and have never owned a cell! but i dont suppose its needed for this, I will find a more solid way.

 

[Squeaky]

I also did this: I always kept my pills in the same place (a drawer in my bedroom). I put a small notepad with the pills. Hand-drawn columns for each medication. Horizontal rows for each date. And a simple system for whole, half and quarter pills. Each time I took a pill I would write the time and circle it for a whole pill, one slash through it for a half pill, and an ‘X’ on it for 1/4 pill.

Once it became habit, I didn’t even notice I was doing it. It was pretty cool to look back on the notes when I was tapering off everything, to see my own notation and see how much less I was taking today 3 or 6 months ago.

 

[smokeymcpot42088]

I also did this: I always kept my pills in the same place (a drawer in my bedroom). I put a small notepad with the pills. Hand-drawn columns for each medication. Horizontal rows for each date. And a simple system for whole, half and quarter pills. Each time I took a pill I would write the time and circle it for a whole pill, one slash through it for a half pill, and an ‘X’ on it for 1/4 pill.

Once it became habit, I didn’t even notice I was doing it. It was pretty cool to look back on the notes when I was tapering off everything, to see my own notation and see how much less I was taking today 3 or 6 months ago.

I absolutely had to keep a daily notebook when I was ending my research with clonazolam. Of course having powder and the use of a mg scale lended to this need.

(ps) According to said math, everytime I made a bottle up I would lose between 5-20mg ish; UNAVOIDABLY! also a zig zag weighs 40 mg exactly (fun fact) and the paper doesn't allow most powders to stick to it.

(actually for awhile I had a straw with like a scoop on the end and I was losing less than 10mg each time (unfortunately fentoin happened) and my scoop straw must have been grabbed up. (with my great grandmothers scapular) *shakes fist* but is greatful to be alive. Never could find another one, the lower I got the more that 10-20mg hurt and the more places I tried to find one.

 

[Squeaky]

the lower I got the more that 10-20mg hurt and the more places I tried to find one

I remember tapering off of 60mg daily oxy (because I had run out of my prescription really early…again). Dropping from 60mg to 45mg was a lot less painful than a drop from 30mg to 15mg. That’s when I came up with my theory about it being a game of percentages.

I had the opportunity to conduct dozens of human trials that all supported my theory 100%. I ran out of my prescription every f’ing month for over a year!!!

 

[Jerry67]

Regardless of which avenue you choose (tapering, kratom, loperamide), I advise you to get stable at 12.5 mg oxy if you can. Go back up to 20 mg oxy if necessary, but it’s best to stay at the same dose for 1-2 weeks so that the physical withdrawal symptoms from reducing your dose can go away. This way you can see if what you’re doing is working, without guessing along the way. Otherwise you’ll take the Kratom, question whether you feel better, and then take oxy (plus a little extra ‘cause you’re overdue from the kratom mistake). Pretty quickly you’re up to 60mg oxy per day plus a $300/month Kratom habit and have no idea how you got there.

Using kratom or loperamide for more than a couple of days will significantly raise your tolerance for other opiates. Both options really do work but either one is a mistake if you really think you want to keep using low doses of oxy for pain management. Thanks to Kratom…. the last time I took oxy it was 150mg at a time, maybe 450mg per day, just to ‘relax’. And that was after 3 months without anything but kratom. It’s been a year or so since my last oxy and I’d bet it would take at minimum 100mg at one time to feel anything at all.

If you’re disciplined enough to taper off oxy… you might want to spend the next 6 months doing it that way and avoid lope and kratom.

Loperamide: It takes about 4 hours to start working. So if you wake up experiencing withdrawal symptoms from oxy at 8am and you take loperamide to stop the pain, you’ll be getting relief at noon. Lope dosage for you should be about 1/2 - 2/3 if your current oxy dose. So if you’re stable at 15mg per day oxy, then your daily loperamide dose would be 8-10 mg per day. Search for diarrhea medicine online. If it has loperamide and is 2mg pills, it’s all the same stuff and much cheaper in bulk. At my worst, I think I was taking 90x2mg pills per day. Break your daily doses into 2-3 per day.

Kratom: At your level, my guess is 2-3 grams every 6-8 hours. Capsules are easier to swallow than powder. Powder goes great with any sugary drink (OJ, gatorade, etc), but nothing carbonated!. Powder is a lot cheaper, particularly if you buy online in bulk. You can end up spending less than $0.50 per day if you get the powder online. Use a measuring spoon. One LEVEL teaspoon is 2-3 grams, so go to the dollar store and get a measuring spoon.

Just remember that tapering is a game of percentages, not milligrams. Dropping from 30mg to 20mg is a %33 reduction, not a 10mg reduction. Dropping from 10mg to 5mg is a 50% reduction, not a 5mg reduction. And that 5mg drop might actually feel worse than that 10mg one, because it’s all about how much you were taking yesterday (not last week) vs how much you are taking today. You have to recalculate at every reduction to taper properly.

Having said all that… if you can stick at 12.5 mg for 2 weeks, I say make plans for a week with ‘the flu’ and just cold turkey the last bit. You were tough enough to get off all of that other crap. Jumping off at 12.5 shouldn’t be unbearable. And in a week you’ll feel good enough to start living again. Just be sure to have enough Xanax to kill a small elephant. Sleep is paramount in withdrawals.

Excellent advice. I read this 3 times to make sure I got it all and I see now that using lope (I was only taking 2x2mg pills 1 or maybe 2x per day but will stop) and kratom will just make it harder to quit the Oxy. And the best way forward is to stabilize at 12.5 mg per day. Note I was at 35 to 40 mg per day about 12 days ago and now somehow I am at 12.5 mg yesterday and hopefully today. My first dose today was at 2pm of 5 mg and I plan to take 5 mg around 8pm and than 2.5 mg at bed time with a 0.25 mg of xan. I know some will say take 5 mg at bedtime but I take 5 mg at 8pm cause it allows me to get some stuff done (like my dreadful taxes). Should I try tapering further after 1 to 2 weeks at 12.5 mg per day or just jump off like you said. I understand the percentage importance but what percent levels are appropriate at this stage? So far my symptoms aren't as bad as I thought other than flu like symptoms, minor cravings but I'm resisting till my scheduled dosing times, hunger for carbs and food in general, difficulty concentrating and lethargy. How is life post oxycodone? I cannot wait to get there. Been taking this stuff for 9 years now for pain management but my pain never seen to respond to it. I think some docs just give out to pain patients as a comfort tool cause we all know it does relax you but the tradeoffs are too high, mainly the feel of being in bondage to a drug. I also heard it mind if matter, try now to worry or think too hard about the symptoms and coming off. I'm trying to do that. I have

I remember tapering off of 60mg daily oxy (because I had run out of my prescription really early…again). Dropping from 60mg to 45mg was a lot less painful than a drop from 30mg to 15mg. That’s when I came up with my theory about it being a game of percentages.

I had the opportunity to conduct dozens of human trials that all supported my theory 100%. I ran out of my prescription every f’ing month for over a year!!!

I will report back here in a few days. Today is day 3 of being on 12.5 mg of oxy. I started tapering 12 days ago from about 35 mg a day. Hope to level off at 12.5 mg per day and let my body adjust to the lower level and then go down or off from there. Ty

 

[Squeaky]

Today is day 3 of being on 12.5 mg of oxy. I started tapering 12 days ago from about 35 mg a day

When you reduce your dose and start feeling the physical withdrawals, they will be worst at about day 3 or 4 since your last normal dose.

Let’s say you went from 35 mg per day down to 20 mg per day in one step, and planned to stay at 20 for several weeks. You should start feeling the wd’s near the middle of the first day at 20mg, with some relief after every pill. By lunchtime on day 2, the wd’s are only going away for an hour or two after each pill and they’re getting more severe. By the middle of day 3 you’ll be feeling basically as bad as you’re going to feel and that might last until day 5. After that it will continue to get better until it gets as good as it will get around day 8-10.


If you’re dropping it by let’s say 5 mg per day, every day for a week, that timeline would be drawn out much further but the wd’s would be less intense.

Just be sure to get sleep. Insomnia creates many of the symptoms you would like to avoid. One of the benefits of doing large drops in dosage and spacing them further apart is that you can take tons of Xanax for the first 3-4 days and sleep through the hardest part without becoming addicted to Xanax. Then wait a couple of weeks and do it again, and again, until you’re ready to quit completely. Even a low dose of a benzo like Xanax can quickly become a dangerous dependancy. Opiate wd’s really suck, but benzo wd’s can be fatal.

 

[kiely]

^^ That's why I will save the xanax for that special moment only.

I just . . . . don't take too much of anything anymore. And I can't anyway.

 

[Jerry67]

When you reduce your dose and start feeling the physical withdrawals, they will be worst at about day 3 or 4 since your last normal dose.

Let’s say you went from 35 mg per day down to 20 mg per day in one step, and planned to stay at 20 for several weeks. You should start feeling the wd’s near the middle of the first day at 20mg, with some relief after every pill. By lunchtime on day 2, the wd’s are only going away for an hour or two after each pill and they’re getting more severe. By the middle of day 3 you’ll be feeling basically as bad as you’re going to feel and that might last until day 5. After that it will continue to get better until it gets as good as it will get around day 8-10.


If you’re dropping it by let’s say 5 mg per day, every day for a week, that timeline would be drawn out much further but the wd’s would be less intense.

Just be sure to get sleep. Insomnia creates many of the symptoms you would like to avoid. One of the benefits of doing large drops in dosage and spacing them further apart is that you can take tons of Xanax for the first 3-4 days and sleep through the hardest part without becoming addicted to Xanax. Then wait a couple of weeks and do it again, and again, until you’re ready to quit completely. Even a low dose of a benzo like Xanax can quickly become a dangerous dependancy. Opiate wd’s really suck, but benzo wd’s can be fatal.

As far as benzo's, I am taking 0.25 mg of Xanax at night during the last couple of days of this tapering, is that level a concern. Could I use 1 mg of melatonin instead. I'm getting around 6 to 7 hours of sleep per night sometimes less. So far the wds haven't been terrible but it's not great. I will see how 12.5 mg a day works and then drop again next week to 10 mg. Thanks

 

[Squeaky]

As far as benzo's, I am taking 0.25 mg of Xanax at night during the last couple of days of this tapering, is that level a concern. Could I use 1 mg of melatonin instead. I'm getting around 6 to 7 hours of sleep per night sometimes less. So far the wds haven't been terrible but it's not great. I will see how 12.5 mg a day works and then drop again next week to 10 mg. Thanks

Whatever’s working (Xanax), just keep using it for no more than 4-5 days in a row. Then take a break for at least the same number of days. The dosage isn’t really important, it’s the length of use that gets you into trouble.

To be clear….. When I say you need sleep, I’m referring to the unbearable insomnia that can come with opiate withdrawals. I have gone 3 nights with a total of 3 hours of sleep. It takes over your life and is one thing that can push a person to give up. If you can get 5 or 6 hours of sleep on melatonin gummies then do that first. The xanax doesn’t need to be your first choice, but sometimes it’s the only choice. Just don’t focus on sleeping like a baby and feeling refreshed in the morning either. After having been opiates for so many years, you’re going to suffer in several areas of life. It’s just that sleep deprivation is enough to drive anyone crazy.

 

[Squeaky]

My first trip down wd lane was a lit like what you’re describing. I was on Norco, 10mg x 3 per day. I had tapered down to 5mg x 3 per day and I made a plan: 15 mg today, 10 mg tomorrow, then 5 mg, then done!

It actually worked well. My legs ached pretty bad and I was exhausted for about 5 days. Not much insomnia. No diarrhea or nausea. I thought I was just ‘tough’.

Second trip on the same bus, about a year later…. I felt like I had Covid and the flu at the same time, and the bus just crashed into a brick wall. I wasn’t wearing a seat belt and it was going 100 mph when it crashed.

The advice I’m giving you is so that you can hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

 

[Jerry67]

My first trip down wd lane was a lit like what you’re describing. I was on Norco, 10mg x 3 per day. I had tapered down to 5mg x 3 per day and I made a plan: 15 mg today, 10 mg tomorrow, then 5 mg, then done!

It actually worked well. My legs ached pretty bad and I was exhausted for about 5 days. Not much insomnia. No diarrhea or nausea. I thought I was just ‘tough’.

Second trip on the same bus, about a year later…. I felt like I had Covid and the flu at the same time, and the bus just crashed into a brick wall. I wasn’t wearing a seat belt and it was going 100 mph when it crashed.

The advice I’m giving you is so that you can hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

Your advice is extremely helpful and I am truly grateful for your time and energy helping me and I hope others. I think hearing how others did it, what worked what didn't work, the details about it is paramount to getting me through this. A big factor is the psychological part especially with all the expectations of how dreadful it is but I'm trying to not think about the dread and only the finish line and how good life will be when I beat this thing and my body resets itself to normal again. I will happily flush all my extra pills down the toilet and not give it a second thought. Thank u so much. I will keep posting updates. It's going on day 5 tomorrow of being on 12.5 mg per day and 13 days ago I was taking around 35 mg a day from my 40 mg per day script. I feel the 1 mg chewable melatonin kicking in now and I hope I sleep. Time to find something to listen to so I can mask my tinnitus which I hope will subside once I'm off oxycodone. Perhaps something boring like Will Durant history on YT.

 

[Squeaky]

Your advice is extremely helpful and I am truly grateful for your time and energy helping me and I hope others. I think hearing how others did it, what worked what didn't work, the details about it is paramount to getting me through this. A big factor is the psychological part especially with all the expectations of how dreadful it is but I'm trying to not think about the dread and only the finish line and how good life will be when I beat this thing and my body resets itself to normal again. I will happily flush all my extra pills down the toilet and not give it a second thought. Thank u so much. I will keep posting updates. It's going on day 5 tomorrow of being on 12.5 mg per day and 13 days ago I was taking around 35 mg a day from my 40 mg per day script. I feel the 1 mg chewable melatonin kicking in now and I hope I sleep. Time to find something to listen to so I can mask my tinnitus which I hope will subside once I'm off oxycodone. Perhaps something boring like Will Durant history on YT.

The less disturbing wds can last a while. My hands kept sweating like crazy for about 3 weeks. Your tinnitus might linger this whole time you’re tapering.

Flushing your pills when you’re ready is the best plan, but don’t pull the trigger unless you’re ready to be bedridden for a week. You might feel fine but you don’t want to give up just because of something big at work that you already knew was happening.

Quitting quitting is easy. Sticking it out is really difficult but worth it. You just might hate life for a couple of days, so be prepared.

Meanwhile, stay with 12.5mg for now. If you don’t feel worse tomorrow, then wait until Friday and try dropping to 5 mg in the morning (to get the day moving) and 2.5 mg in the evening. Roughly every 12 hours.

Also, try not to connect your doses to a happy daily event like dinner or playing golf. It will be a lot harder to quit if you suddenly can’t enjoy something you love because the pills are gone. Quitting oxy means running out of dopamine and relearning how to find it again in things like food and sports.

 

[Squeaky]

Time to find something to listen to so I can mask my tinnitus which I hope will subside once I'm off oxycodone. Perhaps something boring like Will Durant history on YT.

I do the same thing with manufacturing videos from Pakistan. Just the sounds of machinery and clanking metal. It puts me in a coma.


How’s the 12.5 going? Are you feeling like you’re ready for another drop?

 

[Jerry67]

I do the same thing with manufacturing videos from Pakistan. Just the sounds of machinery and clanking metal. It puts me in a coma.


How’s the 12.5 going? Are you feeling like you’re ready for another drop?

Hi ! I'm on day 6 for the 12.5 mg taking 5 mg at noon, 5 mg at 8 pm and 2.5 mg at bedtime (1130pm). It is not easy and the wds are still tough especially around 10 am and 5 pm. I plan to stay on 12.5 mg through Saturday and then drop to 10 mg on Sunday, 5 mg at 10 am and 5 mg at 10 pm. Does it get easier as the dose is lower (I know you mentioned it's a game of percentages but I hoping it is a little easier)? Almost feels like a hangover but worse cause I never been through this oxy detox withdrawal. I've been through a lot of hangovers in the past (I don't drink alcohol and quit years ago when I started oxy). How long should I do the 10 mg? 8 days? Less? I really want to get off this stuff. My other plans depend on getting off this and becoming free! Thanks for your continued help and advice. It's priceless! Jerry

 

[Squeaky]

Hi ! I'm on day 6 for the 12.5 mg taking 5 mg at noon, 5 mg at 8 pm and 2.5 mg at bedtime (1130pm). It is not easy and the wds are still tough especially around 10 am and 5 pm. I plan to stay on 12.5 mg through Saturday and then drop to 10 mg on Sunday, 5 mg at 10 am and 5 mg at 10 pm. Does it get easier as the dose is lower (I know you mentioned it's a game of percentages but I hoping it is a little easier)? Almost feels like a hangover but worse cause I never been through this oxy detox withdrawal. I've been through a lot of hangovers in the past (I don't drink alcohol and quit years ago when I started oxy). How long should I do the 10 mg? 8 days? Less? I really want to get off this stuff. My other plans depend on getting off this and becoming free! Thanks for your continued help and advice. It's priceless! Jerry

You might be wise to switch to a two dose regimen for a day or two and see how it goes. Maybe 2 hours after you wake up and 2 hours before bed. That would make smaller drops easier in the future. Maybe wait until the weekend and try 2 x 5 mg per day.

And, it really doesn’t get any easier. The closer you get to feeling better at today’s dose, the more you miss it when you feel like crap tomorrow. It really doesn’t start feeling like there’s any sort of light at the end of the tunnel until you’re already on the other side of the mountain. The secret is to keep yourself as busy as possible. Otherwise the mind wanders into bad thoughts about how much longer it’s going to take.

What size pills do you get/have? Breaking anything in half isn’t too hard but 1/4’s can be a challenge.