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Positive The Tapering Supportive/Social Thread

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Squeaky said:
I assume the taper for gabapentin would be the same as Lyrica.
I cut by %50 until I got to 100mg per day. Then I cut by 25mg per day. When I’m taking 25 mg per day , my next move is to zero.
Gabapentin is about 1/2 as strong as lyrica so maybe you would cut by 50% until you get to around 300mg per day, then cut by 50mg, then jump off from 50mg.
The important thing is to stabilize at each level or you will go psychotic. Usually about two weeks for me at each stage. Also, my method involves opening the capsules and separating the powder into equal piles.
Ex: A 150 mg pill separated in half makes two piles of 75mg. Same pill into thirds equals 50mg. So on and so forth.
The piles of powder taste really bad, so be ready with water. And I save the empty capsules to refill for taking on the go(put 50 mg back into an empty 150 mg capsule so I can leave the house!). Also, I can easily take one dose per day with no withdrawals.
Check my posts in the Lyrica(pregablin) mega thread. There’s a lit of good information about tapering and withdrawls. Most everything is basically the same for gabapentin, just the dose is 2-3 times more for gabapentin.-

Gabapentinoids - The Lyrica (Pregabalin) Mega Thread v 2.0

Sounds like a bad idea because you'll mess up with your tolerance and then it won't work as it should. Tolerance to pregabalin skyrockets very easily. You should talk to your psychiatrist and try to get a benzo for ocasional use. But just once in a while, you don't want to be taking too many...
www.bluelight.org www.bluelight.org
Click to expand...

Thank you my friend! I was looking for that Mega Thread but I could not find it.
My attention span is not so good. 😁

I have cut back to two 600 mg pills as I only took three of them for like 7 days.
I don’t think 7 days was enough time to even get used to that dosage.
I was still adjusting to three a day.
So, I just cut it back to two a day and I will stay there for a few weeks and then cut a pill in half and take one and a half a day for two to three weeks.
Depending on if I feel stable. And so forth.

Luckily I don’t have to deal with capsules and powder.
The pills I have, even have a line where half a pill is at, so I can easily cut them in half and even quarters if I need to.

I feel so dumb for letting this new so called specialist get my hopes up!
I knew better! I have already tried everything! Tried all their “treatments“ before and with disastrous consequences!
That is why I am in pain management! It is ALL that can be done for me!
I was just hoping this “specialist “ could help me get my disability benefits finally!
He admitted I was completely disabled but I doubt he will help me with disability since I am never going back to this quack!

This idiot “specialist” told me the other day that I was low on Vitamin D and gave me a prescription to take 50,000 units
Of Vitamin D all at one time, once a week!
If I had taken that, I would have had kidney failure!
That just confirmed my suspicions that this “specialist” has NO fucking idea what he is doing!

I often wonder why do the patients know more than the doctors???
Thank God for BlueLight!
Everyone needs to ask here before starting or stopping any kind of medication!
BlueLight saves Lives!

I would really like to go before an entire group of doctors and show them how many people they have killed or could have killed or just plain fucked up and caused intense suffering to! I would like to show them how the patients know more than they do regarding medication (drugs) and that they need to listen to their patients!
AND SEND THEM HERE FOR CORRECT INFORMATION on medications and (drugs!)
Doctors and “Specialists” should be paying BlueLight for doing their job!!
 
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I may decide to stay on two 600 mg Gabapentin a day, if my pain specialist agrees to it.

I have noticed that they do give me more daytime energy, I feel less depressed/ better mood quality, my sex drive is back, My vivid dreaming problem is less vivid and the dreams don’t “follow me out of sleep” as much.
My sleep quality has improved greatly in fact!
The Gabapentin may be all I needed for my sleep problem.

So, the Gabapentin does help for some of the problems I am having.
I just do not want to be “dependent” on another drug. So maybe I will just use them a few times a week if I can.
I hope that would work for me.

I have enough pills to stay on two a day until I see my pain doctor so I think I will hold off on the taper until I see what he thinks.
If he says no, I can always taper then and he would give me enough pills to taper with if needed.
He wouldn’t just leave me to cold turkey and go psychotic!

That other “specialist“ would do that!
He was already saying “ I am not giving you any more medication until you quit the MS Contin!” All smug.
Like I would say “please no, I can’t live without the Gabapentin! Lol” He saw the Look I gave him, like So? Fuck off then!
And he started to say things like “ I will give you adderall and GHB, and as much Gabapentin as you want!”
I was thinking, “so if I stop taking MS Contin, you will give me a whole bunch of other candies huh?”
Fuck that! It isn’t what I am looking for! I just want treatment to where I am comfortable and can function and live.
That is it! I am not after all the drugs and candies I can get!

It really pissed me off and was SO UNPROFESSIONAL!
When we went out of there, my mom said “I DO NOT LIKE HIM AT ALL!! We are NOT going back to him!”
I said “ I agree!”
 
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High doses of gabapentin or lyrica make me sleep like a dead body. About two hours after dosing, Im out for a solid 8 hours, with no memory of my dreams.
I’m convinced that many doctors are just trying to get their patients addicted to whatever the doctor is himself comfortable with prescribing. Anything like MsContin or Gabapentin comes with strong withdrawals after more than a few weeks of use. Some are afraid of losing their license for ‘overprescribing’ whatever is on the news that day, but they’re happy to get you dependant on whatever their drug of choice may be. Luckily with my Dr, the one that works for me is the one that works for him.
Seems that is the trick..... finding a prescriber who has no fear writing the script you need. Sounds a lot like finding a dealer who has the ‘good stuff’ doesn’t it?
 
Good information to know @Squeaky
Thank you!

yeah, it is helping the vivid dreams etc. as I said above.

Hopefully my pain doctor will be okay with adding it to my treatment.
Although, I really do not want to be dependent on another drug!
Especially one that caused me to go psychotic when I quit it!
But if it solves my sleep disorder, daytime sleepiness etc. problem.
It would be great!

I am never going back to that other idiot so-called “specialist”.

You are exactly right Squeaky, they all have a different opinion of what drugs are bad or good, helpful or useless.
They all have their own ideas of what medications should not be mixed with other medications etc.

I don’t think I have ever seen a doctor who agreed with what another doctor was doing!

I am just done with Doctors! Besides my pain doctor who has kept me stable for 11 years now.

Squeaky, it is time to cut back on your Oxy use so you do not run out and have to suffer!
I am also cutting back with you now so that I do not have to suffer!
 
Every month I promise myself that there is no way I’ll do it ever again. But here I sit,again. For the record, yesterday I took 11 oxys. The day before I think it was 15...... I’m scripted 3. Gee I can’t imagine how I’m running out so fast-NOT!
At this point I would be better off without any pills each month. My pain isn’t solved with the huge amount of oxy I get so I take enough to be comfortable and wind up in withdrawal for two weeks at a time. My day to day pains really suck, but the withdrawals are worse.
Every month I’m taking larger doses of kratom. There's a direct connection between the amount of kratom I take and the lack of effectiveness my oxy has. Yesterday it took 120mg at once to get me a little relief
Hang in there PO. We’re going to make it. Just a little longer.
 
Squeaky said:
Every month I promise myself that there is no way I’ll do it ever again. But here I sit,again. For the record, yesterday I took 11 oxys. The day before I think it was 15...... I’m scripted 3. Gee I can’t imagine how I’m running out so fast-NOT!
At this point I would be better off without any pills each month. My pain isn’t solved with the huge amount of oxy I get so I take enough to be comfortable and wind up in withdrawal for two weeks at a time. My day to day pains really suck, but the withdrawals are worse.
Every month I’m taking larger doses of kratom. There's a direct connection between the amount of kratom I take and the lack of effectiveness my oxy has. Yesterday it took 120mg at once to get me a little relief
Hang in there PO. We’re going to make it. Just a little longer.
Click to expand...

That sucks @Squeaky
I guess that tells us that Kratom is not the answer.
Sounds like it just ups your tolerance.
But...does help WD to be “bearable”.

I have heard Kratom withdrawal is short. So maybe you could try and taper that down or just get through the cold turkey.
Then your Oxy would work again.

IDK. Just a thought.

Too bad this stupid “opiate epidemic” has made it so getting the amount of pain relief we need such a huge problem.
If we were just prescribed enough to be comfortable, life would be much easier.

I hope you are feeling alright today and the pain and WD’s are not too bad!

One day at a time I guess.
❤️
 
I doubt, at this point, that there is an amount that would make me comfortable. It seems that ANY amount is not enough after a day or two.
I have heard too that Kratom wds are a few days as well. I would need to be off oxy for at least a month to benefit from reduced wds on Kratom. I haven’t gone 30 days off oxy since 2015, so I would need to come up with a better plan and stick to it this time.
Right now I guess I’m sort of screwed. I really don’t want to go to a stronger painkiller(like fentanyl), but the stuff I’m taking is only barely working.
I’m trying hard not to think about the fact that I have basically done this same exact pattern of overuse and withdrawal every month for a year. It’s difficult to stay positive
 
Squeaky said:
I doubt, at this point, that there is an amount that would make me comfortable. It seems that ANY amount is not enough after a day or two.
I have heard too that Kratom wds are a few days as well. I would need to be off oxy for at least a month to benefit from reduced wds on Kratom. I haven’t gone 30 days off oxy since 2015, so I would need to come up with a better plan and stick to it this time.
Right now I guess I’m sort of screwed. I really don’t want to go to a stronger painkiller(like fentanyl), but the stuff I’m taking is only barely working.
I’m trying hard not to think about the fact that I have basically done this same exact pattern of overuse and withdrawal every month for a year. It’s difficult to stay positive
Click to expand...

It is difficult to stay positive.

I wish we never had to deal with this chronic pain problem.
We have been through a lot with this crap!

I need to find me something to Netflix binge on.
Keep my mind off things right now.

The winter has my pain spiked.
Plus I am trying to taper down gabapentin!
I do not know why in the hell I got talked in to trying that stuff again!
UGH!
 
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If I tough it through tonight I’ll have 2 oxys left. What I should do is store them away for a rainy day, since all they will do tomorrow is delay my wds by about 6 hours.
I say the same thing at the end of every bottle and I always say ‘Fuck it’ and use them. Lets see if I’m really getting smarter or if I’m just the same dumb-ass I have been for a couple of years.
 
Squeaky said:
....And there there were none.
I guess I'm still a dumb-ass
Click to expand...

Larimar is right. It does not help to beat yourself up.

I am also looking at my MS Contin bottle thinking I have to cut down! Problem is that I can’t cut down or I still get sick and the pain is just too bad right now. The holidays and winter has me in a major pain flare up.

Looks like I am going to have a few days of Loperamide coming up.
 
Can’t get kratom in my state. i have been taking 30 loperamide per day for 2 weeks. I went through 150 hydrocodone in 10 days...well I gave 30 back to my mom and will have to do that again next month so she doesn’t notice it was missing. (She went on vacation.) when people have troutlet with loperamide are they normally taking it longer or at higher doses than I am?
 
Colleen330 said:
Can’t get kratom in my state. i have been taking 30 loperamide per day for 2 weeks. I went through 150 hydrocodone in 10 days...well I gave 30 back to my mom and will have to do that again next month so she doesn’t notice it was missing. (She went on vacation.) when people have troutlet with loperamide are they normally taking it longer or at higher doses than I am?
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2 weeks?! Yikes!
Be careful. Loperamide has a WAY bad withdrawal and lasts for 6-8 weeks.
It is not something you can take for two weeks.

Hopefully, 60 mg a day won’t be too bad but I don’t know.

I would taper that down.

I went through a bad withdrawal from it after taking it for ten days a few years back.

I have not had much of a problem if only using it for 3-4 days max.
 
Colleen330 said:
Can’t get kratom in my state. i have been taking 30 loperamide per day for 2 weeks. I went through 150 hydrocodone in 10 days...well I gave 30 back to my mom and will have to do that again next month so she doesn’t notice it was missing. (She went on vacation.) when people have troutlet with loperamide are they normally taking it longer or at higher doses than I am?
Click to expand...
Yeah, loperamide wds are not to be disrespected. Cut your dose in half asap. It stays in your system much longer than Hydrocodone so you may take a few days to really feel the wds. Just make sure you buy plenty in case you need them. Remember that it takes around 4 hours to digest so don’t get too anxious if the wds come and you take some loperamide to stop them and it doesn’t work right away. You don’t want to take more lope needlessly and start your taper all over again.
I have taken as much as 120mg per day. But that was for only a few days and then I started a taper. I think the longest I was on it was around 2 weeks and I felt the wds every days I was tapering.

Also, just know that lope will seriously increase your tolerance for other opiates, so beware that you will likely burn through your Hydrocodone even faster if you don’t get off lope for a couple of weeks first. It will send you down a rabbit hole of increased addiction where you use way more Hydrocodone, then more lope for longer, then more hydro, then more lope, etc, etc.... Trust me, I have been there. Get off the lope and stay clean for two weeks before starting back on Hydrocodone or you will need a dozen of them just to stop your withdrawals.
People do report taking as much as 200 pills per day for extended periods. But those people are rare and sometimes those people develop serious heart problems and die. And a reasonable taper from that level can take a year or more. DONT GET THERE. It’s an awesome short term solution but it’s very important to recognize that you have to suffer a little to get off the opiates. Nobody can do this forever and the FDA is cracking down on large quantity packaging of Loperamide. A year ago you could buy 400 count pills, now the most I have seen at the store is 48. You don’t want to be needing 100/day and only able to get 12.
 
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I’m at almost one week since my last oxy, on Kratom. Life is back to normal. It seems I spend less and less time each month on oxy to the point now its like 10 days on/20 days off. My oxy wds are pretty mild and only really suck for about 4 days and that part is mostly depression. Kratom wds suck but nothing like oxy wds.
I’m way more positive now than I was a year ago. Getting more projects done, mostly small ones. Missing less work. This week I didn’t miss any work.
It’s getting better all around. Im probably closer than ever to quitting.
 
Squeaky said:
I’m at almost one week since my last oxy, on Kratom. Life is back to normal. It seems I spend less and less time each month on oxy to the point now its like 10 days on/20 days off. My oxy wds are pretty mild and only really suck for about 4 days and that part is mostly depression. Kratom wds suck but nothing like oxy wds.
I’m way more positive now than I was a year ago. Getting more projects done, mostly small ones. Missing less work. This week I didn’t miss any work.
It’s getting better all around. Im probably closer than ever to quitting.
Click to expand...

That is good news @Squeaky
This Message sounds really positive.
I am really happy that things are getting better all around!
How is your pain level?
I have not heard you mention pain for awhile now.
Do you think you could just stick with the Kratom and taper that down?
You might just feel a lot better!
Take your time. Do this slowly and the right way. Then you won’t have PAWS or anything to deal with.

Nice progress! Good job!
❤👍
 
I am on day 2 of using loperamide.
Thank goodness that the Lope does really keep me from the worst of morphine withdrawal.
I would be freaking out right now without it.

The Lope is very long lasting. I find that I can take one large dose of about 60mg to start and then just 20 mg doses here and there.
Whenever I start to feel too bad.
The Lope does last a good 24 hours.

Two more days to go until refill day!

I have been trying to use as little Loperamide as possible and some DXM with it so that I can get my tolerance down a bit.
The combination of Lope and DXM is Holding off morphine withdrawal very well.

* just a bit of documentation and help for anyone out there that may be facing opiate withdrawal and is scared.
Loperamide works nicely in an emergency situation.
Do not use Loperamide for more than 5 days max or you run the risk of having withdrawal from Loperamide and it is heavy duty.
Best to only use Lope for 3-4 days max and remember that this is strong stuff. A little goes a long way and it lasts a good 24 hours.
Also worth noting is that Gabapentin 600 mg has helped for opiate withdrawal a lot also!

I am actually pretty comfortable using the above medications.
 
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