Positive The Tapering Supportive/Social Thread

[Squeaky]

My pain level sits at around 3-4 all day and shoots up to a 12 at least once a day.
Lately it seems my new direction is learning to ignore the parts that hurt perpetually and deal with the flare ups when they hit. Complaining was not helping, so I’m trying to stop doing that as much.

 

[Squeaky]

Nobody’s paying me to complain.
They get it for free

 

[Ihmbcm]

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.

Hi,
I am new here, you commented on one of my first threads that I've since deleted, thank you. Now I understand why I got the reaction I did. I got a bupe rx so I wouldn't have to go through this kind of thing....

 

[Ihmbcm]

This thread should be renamed "Baby me and hold my hand every month once I blow through my rx."

 

[Painful One]

This thread should be renamed "Baby me and hold my hand every month once I blow through my rx."

Haha! Yeah, that is kinda what it has turned into for poor Squeaky and myself.
We baby each other through our bad days every month.

There were others on this thread who all managed to taper down and are off.
Either that, or we just have not heard from them.

Looks like Squeaky and I are the only ones who did not manage to taper off.
But we both have severe chronic pain to manage.

My goal has always been to just hold steady! No increases and no decreases.
I am going to hit that goal again this next month!!

Seems like every December and January are hard for me. With the Holidays and the Winter.
I actually did make it through December this year without a problem,
It has just been January this year.....I am working on changing that.

❤

 

[Painful One]

Hi,
I am new here, you commented on one of my first threads that I've since deleted, thank you. Now I understand why I got the reaction I did. I got a bupe rx so I wouldn't have to go through this kind of thing....

Hi,
Were you the one who had the thread where you were using patches and ran out a few days early?
I thought those were fentanyl patches. I didn’t realize that bupe came in patches.
Hence, my stupid advise to try some bupe. Lol!
sorry about that.

Were you able to get your prescription refilled on Wednesday?
I have been worried about you and prayed for you.
I hope you are feeling better now.

There are some threads on here in the “Recovery” forum, about people tapering down really super slowly off of bupe.
There have been a lot of people who were able to get off bupe that way.
Since you don’t need it for pain any longer.
That may be something you might want to consider.
I think if you did it super slowly that it would allow your brain to adjust to the new pathways that opiates form in your brain.

We are here if you want to talk about it or need some support.

 

[Squeaky]

This thread should be renamed "Baby me and hold my hand every month once I blow through my rx."

I had planned on getting this under control a couple of years ago when I first posted. But, yeah, it has gone south a bit.
Now I’m sort of using this thread to document my daily struggle in the hopes that it will 1)get me to quit screwing up, and 2) maybe provide some help for someone starting where I did to not end up where I am.
Me and PainfulOne are sort of holding eachother’s hands through this thread. It is helping me a lot to not feel so isolated in my whining
There is tons of great information here for anyone willing to read 200 pages of us rambling. Loperamide, Kratom, bupe, etc. it’s all here.

 

[Colleen330]

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.

 

[Colleen330]

I have tapered down to 8 loperamide per day. I saved 4 5/325 hydrocodone for doctor appt Wednesday. Will the loperamide being an antagonist prevent hydrocodone from showing up in my urine? I plan to take the 4 I have prior to my appt (possible drug screening that would need to be positive) and then complete tapering. I can not refill hydrocodone until feb 20th. This appt is just a two month check up.

 

[Squeaky]

I have tapered down to 8 loperamide per day. I saved 4 5/325 hydrocodone for doctor appt Wednesday. Will the loperamide being an antagonist prevent hydrocodone from showing up in my urine? I plan to take the 4 I have prior to my appt (possible drug screening that would need to be positive) and then complete tapering. I can not refill hydrocodone until feb 20th. This appt is just a two month check up.

If you can avoid the loperamide that’s best, but it doesn’t stop the Hydrocodone from passing through and being metabolized, which is what the drug test looks for. Loperamide just stops you from feeling the Hydrocodone. They want to see that A: you’re not over-using your prescription and B: you’re actually using it and not selling it. If they want to count your leftover pills..... you’re screwed. Be ready to admit you had some bad chinese food and horrible diarrhea two days before your drug test to explain the lope in your urine. And prepare a story about losing the remainder of your prescription in an unfortunate boating accident.
If the Dr is drug testing you then he will be keeping an eye out for obvious signs of withdrawal. Don’t show up shaking, sweating, nauseous, etc. Take the smallest effective dose of lope about 4 hours before your visit. And, again, an embarrassing story about crapping yourself thanks to some questionable Kung Pao Chicken will get you out of trouble at least one time-but don’t use it more than once or he will see your hiding something more sinister.

 

[Squeaky]

Also, be prepared for me to be totally wrong and the Hydrocodone gets you stoned out of your mind. I am speaking from my own experience regarding the lope blocking other opiates, but maybe you’re different.

 

[Painful One]

I had planned on getting this under control a couple of years ago when I first posted. But, yeah, it has gone south a bit.
Now I’m sort of using this thread to document my daily struggle in the hopes that it will 1)get me to quit screwing up, and 2) maybe provide some help for someone starting where I did to not end up where I am.
Me and PainfulOne are sort of holding eachother’s hands through this thread. It is helping me a lot to not feel so isolated in my whining
There is tons of great information here for anyone willing to read 200 pages of us rambling. Loperamide, Kratom, bupe, etc. it’s all here.

We have had quite the adventures on here haven’t we my friend?!

Anyone who has chronic pain and doesn’t yet know anything about opiates could learn a lot from our mishaps on here!
Hopefully, we have helped some others through all of our trials by fire here @Squeaky

You have kept me company and make me feel less alone with all of this, that is for sure my friend!
I am so glad you have been here and continue to be here.
Thank you for being such a great friend!

I got my prescription filled today. YAY!
I was feeling really bad. I have had The Flu virus on top of no pain medication and a bad pain flare up.
I felt like I was going to die yesterday.

This IS The Month @Squeaky !
Let’s get this situation turned back around!

Sending you lots of Love and encouragement!

 

[Larimar]

Yes this thread helped me tremendously when I first joined blue light and when I had to quit when I found out I was pregnant . Learned I was not alone, learned how to get thru withdraw , taper , and all the support from others . Never stop posting y’all !
What ever happened to the Shroomy guy how was battling benzos , used to enjoy his introspective posts

 

[Larimar]

Update on me.. My baby is 14 months now, even though I quit for pregnancy , sadly I got back on the oxy a few weeks after having her because of the stress and sleepless nights and I missed it so much . That’s what is scary about the oxy, will I ever be happy again with out them? Thankfully because of availability and financials I am able to keep a low tolerance and being a good functioning mother and have a job. Still at about 40mg oxy a day and occasionally I can cut back the oxy and use adderall for energy , the adderall is like a cold cousin to the oxy , gives the energy but not the “everything is right with the world, walking on a cloud “ feeling oxy gives but it helps. Had a rough weekend because our guy didn’t get his script till today , hubby on the way home with our weekly allotment right now, I’m feeling like a kid on Xmas . This weekend I got by on like 7.5 oxy a day and was feeling a little restless but help is on the way. A lot of people bitch about the new formula oxy ER , but I love them cause they last a lot longer than the IR ones I had this weekend, they only lasted like 3 hours . Take care everyone and just keep swimming swimming swimming

 

[THECATINTHEHAT]

It's great to hear that that you got so much support and guidance from bl and that it helped you so much. Thankyou for coming back with your positive message and to vocalise how this place helped you because it encourages people to get involved more.

Sorry to hear you've started using again. I'd just encourage you to question the idea that you can be a good functioning mother whilst addicted to oxy. You can't be properly emotionally present in a relationship when you're addicted to opiates, they affect the emotional response you have to everything that is happening around you. An opiate addiction also has to come before everything else, maybe you've kept it going for a while but the wheels will come off eventually. Eventually you'll be faced with some bullshit decision like having to choose between taking your daughter to the doctor and going to score (or something like that, it's just an example) and you wont be able to make the right choice because you rely on the opiates to be able to function and do everything else.

Keep pushing to live an opiate free life, you've seen that it's possible now. You've done it before and you can do it again.

 

[Squeaky]

Update on me.. My baby is 14 months now, even though I quit for pregnancy , sadly I got back on the oxy a few weeks after having her because of the stress and sleepless nights and I missed it so much . That’s what is scary about the oxy, will I ever be happy again with out them? Thankfully because of availability and financials I am able to keep a low tolerance and being a good functioning mother and have a job. Still at about 40mg oxy a day and occasionally I can cut back the oxy and use adderall for energy , the adderall is like a cold cousin to the oxy , gives the energy but not the “everything is right with the world, walking on a cloud “ feeling oxy gives but it helps. Had a rough weekend because our guy didn’t get his script till today , hubby on the way home with our weekly allotment right now, I’m feeling like a kid on Xmas . This weekend I got by on like 7.5 oxy a day and was feeling a little restless but help is on the way. A lot of people bitch about the new formula oxy ER , but I love them cause they last a lot longer than the IR ones I had this weekend, they only lasted like 3 hours . Take care everyone and just keep swimming swimming swimming

I believe in many ways I am a better parent when I have my pills. I am calm and patient. I am energetic and positive. Etc etc etc......
The truth is that my child enjoys me more mainly because I’m in less pain, but I don’t remember a lot of our interactions. I have looked at a few pictures in the last couple of years and had no memory of when they were taken. You have to be good to your kids in order to be a good parent, but it’s all pointless if I don’t remember any of it.
Lately I have been getting better at handling my pain without the pills for lots of reasons(mainly because I ran out). But a nice side effect is that I have gone back to enjoying my kid’s childhood.
And yes, happiness returns after oxy. It takes a while though and life is really hard with a newborn. When you have taken at least a small dose of opiates every day for an extended period, you stop production your own “happy” brain chemicals. It takes months or even years for that to fully return.
There’s a great book called “Baby Wise”. I went from a devil baby who cried 24/7 to a child who slept through the night and would go down for a nap on his own in 3 days.
I was ready to kill him before. It saved both of our lives.

 

[THECATINTHEHAT]

Good morning everyone.

I'd just like to post about how I woke up this morning drug-free and am excited for the rest of my day. I'm free to do whatever I want and spend it with whoever I want and that feels amazing. I can (hopefully) engage in actions that make me happy and healthy today and it feels really good to be abler to make that choice.

I remember so many days of waking up and either just being pissed off that I was still alive and had to do life, or having this seemingly endless process of tapering/trying to get clean stretching out in front of me that I couldn't see past it all. I found it impossible to visualise myself and my future positively but I am now free of that.

Good luck to everyone who is working towards a better life and wants to get well whether they believe in their ability to achieve that atm or not. This shit does get better, it does feel amazing to wake up and be positive about my future and it IS possible to get there and you don't have to have the perfect recovery to do that.

 

[Painful One]

I made a big mistake by trying this gabapentin.
This stuff is the worst!

Has anyone tapered down off this stuff?
please advise.

 

[Painful One]

I have cut the 600 mg gabapentin tablets in half and am now taking a half of a pill twice a day.

That is helping. I think these 600 mg ones are just too strong and I am not reacting well to that medication.
I will be glad to be off it.

I am going to hold at the one pill, taken in halves, twice a day for a few.
Then I will really carefully take small cuts and wait for weeks in between before I do another cut.

It was great to hear from @THECATINTHEHAT
Excellent work! I am so glad to hear you have successfully tapered off medication and are feeling good!

I hope everyone is doing good today!

 

[THECATINTHEHAT]

Sorry unfortunately I have no experience with gabapentin, I've used pregabalin as an opiate detox aid (its a wonder drug) and that's it.

I would have thought following the same protocol as for benzos would be close to the mark due to their similarities, but hopefully someone with proper experience can chip in.