Positive The Tapering Supportive/Social Thread

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Hi Runningfox,

Thank you so much! I am freakin over here! I've been on it for 17 years and late 40s now. That is good to know about Ambien!

Also, thank you so much about the knowledge around Lyrica! If that happens to me, I will ask for gabapentin. I read that a lot of people gain weight on Lyrica, like immediately. I remember I was on it for 1 month about 5 yrs ago and I gained 10 lbs. Even though it worked, I quit it because of vanity, lol. Now I don't care if I fluff up if I can be pain free off opiates. I have been taking the one 150 mg of Lyrcia daily to help with opiate w/d and so far I have lost a little weight from the w/d itself, lack of appetite and going to bathroom more than usual. So I'm hoping I don't gain weight this time , but I think it's inevitable. I didn't know about the increased risk of suicidal thoughts with Lyrica, so I'll be sure to report that immediately. Good looking out and take care, Runningfox! :)
- SweetLeaf7
 
Hi Painful One,

Happy Holidays and much love to you! I appreciate your brutal honesty and for keeping it real! You're right on the w/d being heavily mental. I have to tell myself the same thing and keep busy. I keep in mind that if this was a elderly person that did not know about w/d and was taken off their meds for safety issues, they would just think they caught the flu but not be focusing on it. So I try to imagine heir mindset and convince myself of the same. I'm happy to hear you're over the hump and feeling better. :)
-SweetLeaf7

What you describe happened to my stepdad. He was taking Tylenol 4s, as prescribed, daily. Somehow, he forgot to take the T4s for a week and he thought he had a flu. He said he just rested and “felt crappy” for several days and then realized he’d not been taking his meds.

Sending positivity your way.
 
^ glad you're in good spirits. dig the attitude thoughts...

Beethoven wrote his late masterpieces with probable lead poisoning and terrible stomach pain, puking into a bucket with chronic diarrhea, and oh yeah deaf because of a loud ringing in his ears 24/7.

kept this in mind goin thru the worst, i guess it helped LOL.;p

Good stuff, JoeTheStoner! %)
- SweetLeaf7
 
SweetLeaf--

I've gained some poundage on the gabapentin but weight gain did not occur until i was into higher doses meaning over 2400mg daily.

I was not on lyrica long enuf to gain added weight (wouldn't have been able to attest to its liability any way considering I was on both the gabapentin n lyrica simultaneously ).

I agree a few extra pounds and non-narcotic pain relief certainly Feels Safer than being on opiates.
 
Thank you so much for the positive vibes, Rainyday107! That proves the theory - we can make our w/ds worse by focusing on it. Sometimes knowing too much is not a good thing, lol. Thanks again for sharing!
 
Hi Runningfox,

That is good to know. Do you know what the equivalent does of gabapentin is compared to 300 mg Lyrica (150 mg twice a day) - since you have experience with both and I've heard doctors don't have a conversion chart for this.

It's all about the harm reduction for me. ;)
- SweetLeaf7
 
I didn't know what the Hell was happening the first time I suffered opiate withdrawal. I had simply stopped using the meds as I no longer had severe pain. That all seemed so simple.

It was crippling anxiety that led me to the hospital in search of help.
 
You sharing your experiences has been so helpful, Runningfox!! Yes indeed it is Hell!! The opiate w/d has been 80% mental for me - lots of anxiety and a few panic attacks. I'm sorry that you had to go through such Hell, but you sound like an incredibly strong and wise woman!
- SweetLeaf7
 
Hello again -

I don't know how I forgot to mention, for those following my journey using medical marijuana (MM), but I continue to use MM with much relief from pain. The strains I have access to don't help much with anxiety. I can only get what I can get until the dispensaries are set up later this year. I vape a Sativa blend during the day and smoke a joint of heavy Indica bud a couple of hours before bed, occasionally vaping some shatter (THC concentrate). This also helps with falling asleep but not staying asleep. During the day, I can do this when I'm not in the office but this will not be feasible or practical to continue during the daytime, hence why I am looking into Lyrica now. I also don't know how my PCP will feel about MM. I think I will leave that part out for now. Hopefully he doesn't do a urine on me as the MM really has a place in pain management now.
- SweetLeaf7
 
^ glad you're in good spirits. dig the attitude thoughts...

Beethoven wrote his late masterpieces with probable lead poisoning and terrible stomach pain, puking into a bucket with chronic diarrhea, and oh yeah deaf because of a loud ringing in his ears 24/7.

kept this in mind goin thru the worst, i guess it helped LOL.;p

Haha! Love this Joe! That helps me too!! Thanks!

Indeed it is true that we are the most open to the divine when we are weak.
Beethoven is a great example of just what we can do while suffering.
Our spirit is strong at those times. The things and cares of this world become hard.
It is a good time to let the world go for awhile and concentrate on higher things!
 
Hi Painful One (n everyone ):

I can't imagine trying to make a pain pills script last a whole month. When I used to take them they were prescribed at perhaps a 7-8 days supply at a time. Even then they never seemed to last that long. And I took them for pain, not for recreation.

Ugh.
Yes the holiday season can make all kinds of Feelings register ten fold. Grief sadness depression loneliness disappointment discouragement anxiety. The list goes on n on. It's the time of year it's most difficult to be Strong I think.

Things are Ok here. I don't have concerns for any personal use or abuse of substances. I'm stabilized at my 1200-1500 mg/ day gabapentin and don't plan to go any lower til the 3rd week of January when my "holiday parties" are over with n I'm able to have time alone to battle any symptoms of the next downward Drop in doses. I do also use Lope as needed for IBS -D . I take higher than recommended doses but not Heroically huge/ dangerous ones.

That's my rap.
That's all I got going on as far as substance use. I consider myself very fortunate n i am grateful, to not be suffering the woes MANY in our BL community are managing.

Blessings to ALL!
Strength n Wellness !

Hi Runningfox,

Thanks for the support and kind words. It is hard to manage the pain medication. It is hard to manage chronic pain/ injuries and all of this. I try to just keep a good sense of humor and don't beat myself up about it when I mess up. I think it is important to keep the attitude of, "oh well, I will try again." I try to look at the positive and give myself some credit where credit is due.

I get so much shit from my family that I sure don't need to give myself anymore grief over anything. I know I do the best I can.
They do not live with the pain and disability that I do now. I did just as well as anyone else in life before this accident happened and I am doing just as well as anyone else could in these circumstances.
All we can do is the best we can. We can all be proud of that. Don't get hung up on your failures my friends. Just keep moving on.
 
You are doing great SweetLeaf7!
Well done on the taper! Glad the Lyrica is helping you some.
I hope you stabilize real soon and your anxiety calms.

I sure do hope your primary care doctor can help you out here.
This is a long way to come in a short amount of time for you but I have confidence you can do this!

Sending you much love and support!
 
Jalara - Backed up for sure. But believe it or not, oxy alone left me more constipated than cycling on and off loperamide. Two days on lope then two days off seems to jump start the bowels for me. Oxy alone would leave me 'not going' for 7-10 days at a time.
Sucks getting old and a trip to the bathroom becomes something to write home about.

I know what you mean my friend. I really know.
Sucks bad!

The loperamide did, after a few days, relieve constipation for me.
I hope I don't feel too bad after taking it for eight days straight.
I did not use over 45 mg a day.
So far, so good. No withdrawal from the loperamide or anything unusual in the digestive area.
I hope I am able to just switch back to the MS Contin now with no problems.
 
^^^ let us know if you would, whether the lope use affected your opiate tolerance.
8 days strait at 45mg or less may not have been enuf to Jack that tolerance up (hopefully NOT ) but it's something to watch out for.
 
Yup thanks Runningfox. The lope is extremely strong. I think I could have got by taking less and skipping days of doses.
I don't want to use it again though. I'm not really sure if it upped my tolerance or not since I have a lot of injuries and chronic pain and the weather, barometric pressure has just been so painful that I can barely eat or sleep. When my pain level gets this high, I have no idea what is from what in my body.

Working hard now to taper, taper, taper and get my dosage down. I want to see if I feel any better and have less disability and pain using less medication.

Hope you all are doing well.
 
I have had a relapse. It has turned downright horrific.

It started like 3 weeks ago with one nod. The most hardcore nod of my life... the type of nod where you just know you are on the brink of death but it feels so fucking good... that was the first time I experienced that ever in my years of abuse. Didn't know my tolerance, took 30mg IR oxy.

Then I got my extended release pills like a week later, blew through them in a few days. It was something like 150mg or 200mg a day and I was nodding like mad. Then, I woke up stressed out of my mind one day and called the pharmacy and somehow, called in my IR prescription a second time only 10 days later for a month supply. It must have been a mistake. They won't give me that shit a single day early if I ask. I know my hustle and charmed a new employee there.

So that is when things got bad, I wasn't sick before this. Maybe hungover after the ER drugs but that's it. Then I blew through 112 pills. This time I didn't flush them after taking the 30mg hit of bliss. It was miserable. I knew I was going to take every last one but I didn't want to be high and my tolerance exploded so exponentially I could take ANY amount of oxy by the end of it and not feel a damn thing but a little short acting euphoric stimulation. Only heroin can truly satisfy me as an addict. Luckily I don't have access to that and now I am back on track.

The first day has been great. I had a long talk with my cousin's husband about occult and ritualistic stuff and certain authors and historical figures and wrote in my journal. I made a pact to act like I'm not sick and do whatever I would normally do, so I went out for a 2 hour walk in the frigid snow. It was amazing, really beautiful and had no withdrawals then. Got so bad tonight I had to leave and go to the mall just to walk around somewhere warm and tea store stoner dude friend knew I was off. Said I looked cold, well he always gives me free stuff and we are like random friends so I told him I was oxy sick and he is def the type to sympathize as we are friends. Got a free tea and some green tea to take home to keep me awake for work.

I am back on track, all I remember is when I was never sick anymore. It was a really long time I was like that and I met a lovely lady, made one of my best friends ever, got a new job, started making money, got a double conch piercing and started getting way more creative and coming up with plans for my future. It was phenomenal, it was so good being clean that all I can think about is getting back there. I'm already there, because I have that mindset. And, I'm acting normally now I'm not going to sit around sick. Going to pick up my book and ignore it, keep healthy too and smoke pot and have healthy snacks too. However I feel like I am burning the fuck fucking fuck alive it has been over 24 hours now but I don't count. I just wait to feel better. The daily walking is really going to help, I've been really super active.

Never thought I'd end up back here it's so fucking stupid. I didn't even have back pain anymore, was loving life. The lack of chronic pain (to an extent) was the most surprising part of all to me but I was really outgoing, making friends and well I still am. I didn't use for long enough to fuck anything up. Essentially I wanted to get high for a while, it wasn't as impulsive as I made it out to be and now I have to deal with the sickness as I knew in advance. It's not worth it though because an addict will always underestimate the agony of being without it.

I'm doing well though. In terms of my life everything is so much better than before from the clean time and I am sort of getting away with it. The girl I like is on vacation and for once I don't miss her. I'd be bailing on dates. Luckily I work from home I don't know if I'd be able to go in. It's really not that bad though, the heroin detox when I was using for so long earlier this year was so much worse. I should just be happy I don't feel like that... lol. I still have my high spirits! Sometimes life gets fucked up! It wasn't long enough to lose my spirit and that's all I really care about! My creativity will be fried for days though I'm sure as fuck not picking up my guitar!
 
Good to hear from you Shroomy.
This is one step back you took. That is all it is. Just keep taking steps forward.
Keep your focus on the positive.

I'm sorry you are burning so badly. I have had that happen before and it really sucked.
As the Phoenix is reborn from the ashes, so shall you be. Hold tight.
 
Tolerance from Loperamide: yes. At the first two days of doses close to 100 mg/day I noticed that I couldn’t catch any buzz from my oxy like I’m used to. It really pissed me off because I was using the Lope to save up some pills, but then when I felt I needed some relief the oxy didn’t do crap.
I’m coming off the lope now. And I’m down to about 15-30 mg oxy per day now. The good thing about the tolerance from the loperamide is that I need off the oxy for my next surgery in a month. Every day that passes where I didn’t get any positive effects from my oxy makes it easier to NOT miss them. And tapering off the loperamide is nothing since it never got me high.
All tolled, the Loperamide has been a godsend. Tapering without it was miserable.
 
Tolerance from Loperamide: yes. At the first two days of doses close to 100 mg/day I noticed that I couldn’t catch any buzz from my oxy like I’m used to. It really pissed me off because I was using the Lope to save up some pills, but then when I felt I needed some relief the oxy didn’t do crap.
I’m coming off the lope now. And I’m down to about 15-30 mg oxy per day now. The good thing about the tolerance from the loperamide is that I need off the oxy for my next surgery in a month. Every day that passes where I didn’t get any positive effects from my oxy makes it easier to NOT miss them. And tapering off the loperamide is nothing since it never got me high.
All tolled, the Loperamide has been a godsend. Tapering without it was miserable.

Yeah, it did up my tolerance massively too. Sorry I led you astray brother but glad to hear it worked on your behalf.
Tapering is miserable as heck. Slow torture. I am really up shit creek now as I have been needing 120 mg MS Contin a day to not be in withdrawl. I was at 75 mg a day and am only prescribed that much.

Help! What do ya all think is best to do? Just return to the 75 mg and wait out the hellfire? Will I get used to the 75 mg again or have I completely fucked myself?
 
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