[lilbri]

hello my name is brian im 52 years old and i have been on percocet 5-325 for about 8 years and oxycontin for the last 2 years 3-40 milligrams a day with 2percs in the morning when i get up then i cut the oxys in half and take one half every 4 hours i think ive had enough this all started when a tree fell on me two back surgerys later i think i feel better but i dont know so i would like to try tapering .could someone give me a good tapering system to get off this ********************. i have taken the first two weeks in sept off to do this so i have time to ween myself down. thanks 5 weeks ahead of time brian

[lilbri]

boy not mutch help here

[nichole123]

Hey,
I know it's tough, but if you can, think about doing a rapid detox..Check out their website, it's helpful.

www.opiates.com

Best of luck.

[lilbri]

thanks nichole123 but im in canada and thats a little too mutch money for me brian

[lolly_on_maui]

HI there.

You do know that by cutting your oxycontins in half, you release the time release portion of the drug, which is what its all about, meaning it has a great time release feature. (so never cut or chew them!

I took them for a few months, only the 10 mg ones. I took them as directed and they worked well for me. Unfortunately, my insurance company decided they are only for terminally ill cancer patients. geez

Hopefully you won't be taking these too much longer. I wish you much good luck!

alohas, lolly

ps. i am 50 years old and have been taking 3 - 4 7.5 vidodins a day for about 7 years.

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by lilbri

hello my name is brian im 52 years old and i have been on percocet 5-325 for about 8 years and oxycontin for the last 2 years 3-40 milligrams a day with 2percs in the morning when i get up then i cut the oxys in half and take one half every 4 hours i think ive had enough this all started when a tree fell on me two back surgerys later i think i feel better but i dont know so i would like to try tapering .could someone give me a good tapering system to get off this ********************. i have taken the first two weeks in sept off to do this so i have time to ween myself down. thanks 5 weeks ahead of time brian

Hi Brian ...don't know how I missed your post. I'm on here all the time. Someone usually responds quickly. I usually do.

I don't approve of cutting up the oxy but you know better so I am not going to judge or lecture. You shouldn't be doing that. We will leave it at that. You had an accident like lots of us. So many of us get started because of injury. It's so easy for it to happen. You haven't been taking an enormous dose of oxy or percs so this could be worse. It's a significant dose but not enormous. Won't be pleasant but could be worse for sure. Glad you are stopping before it does get worse.

If you have five weeks before you have to stop you should have this made. Just do a VERY slow taper. You won't suffer if you can do it. I always had trouble controlling myself with the meds. I would always blow it. But if you can do it more power to you. Best suggestion is to start tapering off both the oxy and percs at the same time. Just cut back about 20% on your total dose each time you taper. I would reduce about every 5 days. You have five weeks to stop. IF you reduce 20% of your dose a week even then in five weeks you will be down to ZERO. That is pretty simple. If you fall a little short then you can make it up in September. You are allowing yourself lots of time so you should be fine.

Just remember that getting clean is just the beginning. Staying clean is tough. You will need to continue to focus on this long past the detox. Good luck.

[lilbri]

thanks robert325 my doc gives me 60 perc's every 20 days but i got worred about taken two mutch tylenol so i buy the oxy 40s if i should not cut them how long will one last insted of a half. and how would i taper on this.sorry im a one finger typer it takes me so long to do this mabey i should have this taper typed on my forhead so i get it right thanks brian

[lilbri]

robert could you give me some help here on the taper please with what i just told you thanks brian

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by lilbri

thanks robert325 my doc gives me 60 perc's every 20 days but i got worred about taken two mutch tylenol so i buy the oxy 40s if i should not cut them how long will one last insted of a half. and how would i taper on this.sorry im a one finger typer it takes me so long to do this mabey i should have this taper typed on my forhead so i get it right thanks brian

Hi Brian ... you are running out of time if you still want to be done with this by 9-1-08. I would try to not live by the calender. You need to do this slowly. The oxy 40mg last for 12 hours, but at a lesser strength than when you cut them. They are not the best med to detox with.

I would not do this taper with the 40mg oxy. They are extended release and the percs will be easier to taper with. It doesn't really matter about the tylenol if you are tapering down anyway. Extended release meds stay with us a long time and it's just easier to detox with an instant release medication. I would suggest you get rid of the oxy and stick with the percs for your taper.

Do you still have the perc script? I need to know if you can still use the percs or is it oxy 40mg or nothing??? I will watch for your post and then we can move forward. If this takes you a while to reply I will be leaving for a few hours shortly. Will be back home around 9:00 CST or a little after. Later.

[lilbri]

ok robert i bought the oxys because they are cheaper then percs . i get 60 percs from my doc every 20 days and im up to about 150mg a day im trying to stay below 150to 120 a day. im off work last week of aug and first two weeks of sept if i dont by oxys then i pay $4 for percs so this is goin to cost me more.eather way come last week of aug i have to start this let me know what you think would be my best way.thankyou brian.

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by lilbri

ok robert i bought the oxys because they are cheaper then percs . i get 60 percs from my doc every 20 days and im up to about 150mg a day im trying to stay below 150to 120 a day. im off work last week of aug and first two weeks of sept if i dont by oxys then i pay $4 for percs so this is goin to cost me more.eather way come last week of aug i have to start this let me know what you think would be my best way.thankyou brian.

Hi Brian ... Think about how much you will blow over the next six months regardless of whether you take oxy or percs. The oxy being time released is not a med that you can control the dose with. You take the whole pill and that is the end of it. How do you taper doing that? You don't, you have to skip entire doses. That isn't fun. With percs you can more easily reduce your dose. You could even use hydrocodone if you want. That is cheap. If you were my patient and I was in charge of your meds I would NOT do a detox with you on time released meds. Even if you had been on them for a long time with no percs I would take you off the time released oxy and put you on a fast acting med for the taper. That is my recommendation for you. Spend the money so you have a better chance of succeeding at this. If that sounds workable to you then let me know. All you have to do is reduce your perc dose by 15% or so a week. Or switch over to hydros. Then at the end of the month you will have no trouble with the time off. That is the way to do this. Good luck.

[lilbri]

hi robert can you tell me what hydros are i dont think we have them in canada. but if i do the percs that would be about 26 a day. what if i cut the oxys in to 1/4ers would that work. sorry am i driving you nut's yet. brian

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by lilbri

hi robert can you tell me what hydros are i dont think we have them in canada. but if i do the percs that would be about 26 a day. what if i cut the oxys in to 1/4ers would that work. sorry am i driving you nut's yet. brian

Hydros are simply vicodin. It's just the generic name. If you want to cut time released oxy into 10 pieces that is your perogative. I would not do that. I already explained the reasons why but it's your body and your call. Good luck.

[lilbri]

ok robert i just got my 60 perc's from the doc it's fri aug 15th if you can help me with a taper great but eather way i stop this on sat aug 23 if i can i will try and let you know how it's going i dont know what kind of shape i will be in sorry if i wasted your time wish me luck brian

[Robert_325]

hey brian. I was hoping you would go ahead and get the percs. Figured I probably pissed you off with my last reply. But you got the percs so that is what is important. I don't think you could have done this as easily with oxy, not that this will be easy.

So what I need to know is this. You've been doing the percs and oxy, so tell me exactly what you've been taking say for the last 30 days. Then I will share with you what I think would be best.

I can tell you now that with only a week to do this you best be ready to suffer some. A week is barely enough time to work even if you go cold turkey. So how much you been using and we will go from there.

[thecuz1122]

Originally Posted by lilbri

hello my name is brian im 52 years old and i have been on percocet 5-325 for about 8 years and oxycontin for the last 2 years 3-40 milligrams a day with 2percs in the morning when i get up then i cut the oxys in half and take one half every 4 hours i think ive had enough this all started when a tree fell on me two back surgerys later i think i feel better but i dont know so i would like to try tapering .could someone give me a good tapering system to get off this ********************. i have taken the first two weeks in sept off to do this so i have time to ween myself down. thanks 5 weeks ahead of time brian

Brian I am doing something similar rite now . Take the full 2 months and cut down just a few mill every 2 or 3 days like 5 to 7 mill and start spreading the hours out 1 or 2 hours the same time frame . People have to understand it is not shamefull to take these drugs to ween off slowly the achs and pains are one thing but doing it nice and slow will eliminate the depression that will come . It has been 3 weeks for me dose is in half and I am starting to feel the withdraw further and further apart it is the proper and safest way

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by thecuz1122

Brian I am doing something similar rite now . Take the full 2 months and cut down just a few mill every 2 or 3 days like 5 to 7 mill and start spreading the hours out 1 or 2 hours the same time frame . People have to understand it is not shamefull to take these drugs to ween off slowly the achs and pains are one thing but doing it nice and slow will eliminate the depression that will come . It has been 3 weeks for me dose is in half and I am starting to feel the withdraw further and further apart it is the proper and safest way

I agree with your post cuz. Reducing the dose while simultanesouly lengthening the time in between the doses is an execellent plan. I usually suggest tapering by 10-20% of the entire dose at a time. That is kind of a standard that the medical community goes by as well. Adding to the time between doses should work for almost anyone. We just have to see how we react to the dose and the amount of time between doses as we are all a little different. You are right that there is nothing to be ashamed about in tapering off these RX opiates. Sure beats continuing to do what we usually do.

[lilbri]

OK GENTLEMEN i think i have blown my tapering schedule. so i now get ready for cold turkey. By the way CUZ1122 i am a little concerned about the depression and what i can do about it any ideas. ROBERT i have been taking about 150 mg a day like i said 2 perc's in the morning at 40clock when i get up for work then half a 40 mg of oxy every 4 hours. but i have been stretching it out to 5 hours that was how i was trying to taper i am down to about 130 mg a day. with your help im going to switch over to the painkiller addiction forum after this thread so i can pick up some tip's or trick's to get through this withdrawl. I have gone through this one outher time when i ran out of pill's for 3 day's it wasn't nice so i have a rough idea of what i will be going through. I have picked up some imodium / milkthistle / melatonin /vitamin's. Ireally want to stop this so i have blown all my holiday's to do it. This thread took me about 1 hour to type so if i sound incoherent while in withdrawl's please understand. brian

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by lilbri

OK GENTLEMEN i think i have blown my tapering schedule. so i now get ready for cold turkey. By the way CUZ1122 i am a little concerned about the depression and what i can do about it any ideas. ROBERT i have been taking about 150 mg a day like i said 2 perc's in the morning at 40clock when i get up for work then half a 40 mg of oxy every 4 hours. but i have been stretching it out to 5 hours that was how i was trying to taper i am down to about 130 mg a day. with your help im going to switch over to the painkiller addiction forum after this thread so i can pick up some tip's or trick's to get through this withdrawl. I have gone through this one outher time when i ran out of pill's for 3 day's it wasn't nice so i have a rough idea of what i will be going through. I have picked up some imodium / milkthistle / melatonin /vitamin's. Ireally want to stop this so i have blown all my holiday's to do it. This thread took me about 1 hour to type so if i sound incoherent while in withdrawl's please understand. brian

Hi Brian ... if you are taking 130mg per day then I would suggest that you reduce that by 20mg per day immediately. That is about a 15% reduction in the total dose per day. I wouldn't do any more than that initially or you will feel it for sure. You can reduce one of two ways. You can either reduce the amount of each dose so that you have eliminated 20mg by the end of the day, or you can put more time in between the doses but take the same amount at each dose. I have seen people do better I think by trying to put a little more time between the doses at first. That is also easier to plan.

Once you get the total daily amount down to a reasonable figure like 40mg a day then we can start working on reducing each dose. Instead of dosing every five hours try to make it at least six hours at first. We can try to jump up to seven hours between doses after we see how you are doing in about four days.

I would stay at that dose for at least four days. You have been doing this a long time. This needs to be done slowly or it will be the same as a cold turkey. I will be happy to talk with you daily if you like and see how you are doing. I am on here every day so we won't miss each other. I kind of want to see how you are doing with this for a few days before we make a month long plan and then have to change it needlessly. Need to see how you are holding up as you progress as that will be the determining factor in what I suggest for you to do.

You said that you thought you had blown it with the taper. What do you mean by that? I don't understand what happened. Talk to me. I can tell you right now that this is going to be frustrating as hell after taking the oxy for eight years. You know that without me saying it I am sure. But we won't abandon you, don't worry. If you want to move to the PAINKILLER ADDICTION forum that is fine. You will get replies there I believe. That is an old forum. Let me know what you want to do.

[marast]

You gotta do it straight up cold turkey in my opinion.

[lilbri]

Hello robert i was not on oxy for 8 year's it was perc's. I AM on the oxy now for about 2 years. I talked about cold turkey because i ran out of time to taper. I stop cutting my oxy's up and taking 2 40's a day instead of 3. Plus 2 perc;s in the morning. How's that for a taper. I still have to stop by aug/23.brian

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by lilbri

Hello robert i was not on oxy for 8 year's it was perc's. I AM on the oxy now for about 2 years. I talked about cold turkey because i ran out of time to taper. I stop cutting my oxy's up and taking 2 40's a day instead of 3. Plus 2 perc;s in the morning. How's that for a taper. I still have to stop by aug/23.brian

hey brian ... I just wanted to verify exactly what you are taking. I think the taper you are doing is fine but with only until the 23rd left to do this and today being the 19th ... well honestly if it was me at this point I would drop off big time. You say that you are going to get to the 23rd and have to go cold turkey. So you are really spinning your wheels now. Four days just isn't any time to do anything resembling a taper. I think that if you can't put more time into this then going cold turkey is your best bet. Know you don't want to hear that. But we first talked about this some time ago. I also realize how easy it is to procrastinate about stopping. I did the same thing for years. I was going to quit for about 4 years before I finally did it. You are in a tough place dude. You can do this though if you make up your mind and just go for it. Let us know if we can help further. Good luck to you.

[lilbri]

Thank's robert i will try and post. brian

[Robert_325]

Hey brian ... I have been thinking since the last post about your detox. I hate that we have talked almost a month about this and really haven't accomplished anything to amount to much. I wanted to make one more suggestion about this detox for you.

Have you done any reading on this forum about the Thomas Recipe??? It's a really good workable plan for a cold turkey detox. I've seen quite a few people come through this forum who have used it and ALL the feedback I've heard about has been very positive. I know it helps ease the pain of detox.

If you had a little longer I really believe the taper would work for you. But with the time getting so short you need another choice. I think The Thomas Recipe would be worth considering very seriously. Just wanted to share that with you. Let me know what you decide. Take care.