[nymommy]

mnf...ummmmm pizza sounds good

[stepbystep]

Hello everyone.
Thanks to someone that loves me badly and cares for me deeply, has given me that extra push to finally get off the pills!!!! After sending me a hundred and some forum posts from this website to me and wanting to end this addiction for years. I am finally on my way to freedom. I was taking 3 and sometimes 4 lorecets a day. I have weened myself down to 1.5 - 2 a day. I take xanax at night so I dont wake up crawling out of my skin. (But sometimes I still do.) Most of you might say its just psychological at this point and i hope your right. I was drinking heavily during the week because I was bored and just became a habbit.and now i drink only on the weekends. So there you have it. If anyone has been here (at my point of quitting) tell me what to expect so i know how to deal with wanting those damn pills again.

[LISA GIRL]

KDKD.....I went cold turkey for 4 mos last year and didn't get an ambien til day 5 .. it was a Godsend. Finally was able to sleep. I am also taking it now with the sub. Lots of bad press about ambien though... you have to be careful.

I have only had one weird experience...I usually take it and go right to sleep but last night I took it and was up for about 40 min after I took it. I was talking to my boyfriend on the phone and literally like started dreaming! I was conscious but dreaming.. very hard to explain. There are some really scary posts on here about ambien and it can be addictive. See Tammy's posts just a few pages back about her friend who died as a result of ambien abuse.

Your call if you want to use it to detox.. it will definitely help you sleep ( I love it) but easy to get dependant on it.. I think I already am.. my doctor said it was far less of a problem than percocet though, and we would work on THAT once I beat the painkillers.

If you think you can do the surgery without meds than by all means quit now.. I would just hate to see you go thru it all again in a couple of months. Good luck.!

[kdkd81]

Lisa, if i only take the pills for less then a week over a month after i quit, will i become hooked all over again?

[kdkd81]

Lisa, Will I become hooked again if I do take the pills post surgery. I will only take them as recomdneded an for a duration off less then 5 days. Will I then be forced to go through what I am going through right now at hour 26.5

[LISA GIRL]

From what I have read in earlier posts on this thread, yes. But I do not know this from personal experience.

[Osagewoman]

Thanks for the suggestions on my upcoming drug test! NYMommy, no, I am not under a doc's care; the hydros are my hubby's so I don't have my own scrip. Lisa, of course I have already googled it, haha!!! Have discovered that urine can be frozen and thawed for future use, that hydros have a 4-hr. half-life, etc.

Here's what I've decided to do:

Plan A: use my 'clean' friends' urine for the test! I already have it and have a way to keep it body temp all day tomorrow!
Plan B: IF the nurse asks what drugs I take, have a list made up with all my 'legal' scrips with the hydros just thrown into the mix! If she doesn't ask and it shows up later, I'll still have the list.
Plan C: Am going to see my doc Fri. a.m. anyway. Ask him to give me my own scrip, because truthfully, they help tremendously with the migraines I've begun having again! In fact, when a migraine has begun, taking a Lortab 10 AND 4-200 mgs. ibuprofen will knock it down for 4-6 hrs.
Plan D: All of the above!!!

How's that for an addict justifying everything??? Anyway, if the job is meant to be mine, I'll get it pass or no-pass!

Step, welcome to this group! Your use sounds a lot like mine, too! I know that the 1.5-2 pills we pop per day doesn't sound like much, but when you DEPEND on those pills to feel normal, then yes, it's a lot, too much!!! I imagine I will decide to Suboxone in the future; for now I'm not ready. Sure would be easier to figure out a drug test, though!!! TennLady, I told you you'd find support here! And Lisa, I know exactly what you mean about coming here and reading all the posts and craving a pill!!! You sound like you are leaning that way, so please be careful!

Thanks again, will check in later!

osagewoman, i did a drug test just a couple weeks ago..I worried about hydrocodone too....but it was never even mentioned. they are checking for meth, cocain, heroin, marijuana, etc. no worries at all for me, they said I'm clean as a whistle which is funny cuzz I took a bunch of norco and i got really really drunk the night before. hehehehe

so i read about a 4hour half life of hydrocodone....maybe this is why it seems to be 4 hours after my last dose that I start feeling ****py.

[morticia]

my20's~ how are you doing today? how many hours you have clean now?

Lisa, how's it going sweetie, did you decide to go to a meeting? or are you still not sure? i went to a womens meeting last night, and it was pretty good alot of sharing it was about balance i didnt get a chance to share i was gonna share how it feels to have a duel diginois meaning mental illness and an addiction its hard because im on meds for my mental illness and methadone for chronic back pain, its very hard to keep an equel balance between the 2 sometimes i dont which is which whether its my illness or my addcition but the NA meetings really do help i have my home group meeting tonight.

Tam. how are you u? i havent heard from you in a while sweets, are you ok? hope your doing well did you decide to go to a nother meeting?

Patmomma, how are you feeling hun? how's your mouth? is it getting better? i hope so let me know . i am a worry wort when i dont hear from yall. i guess its just because i care about all of you. and i love to hear all your sucess stories.

take care yall hope to hear from yall soon!


[:I]



Clean Date:10/16/06

Just For Today

Luv N Hugs,
Clarkie

[AmyBreeze]

quote:Originally posted by LISA GIRL

Tenn lady. .Welcome.. Don't know anything about Tramadol unfortunately. Nor do I know anything about tapering..I am doing the suboxone thing. I know there was a formula for tapering posted a while back (by Kaidog I think) which gave the percentage to cut down by each week. I know exactly how it feels to not to want to do anything unless you have enough pills to get you thru. It's an awful feeling having your life tied to your pill supply. Hard to believe a doctor wrote you a script without giving you a plan to taper. You might want to try the suboxone if you can't successfully taper.. tapering doesn't work for everyone.. you have to be VERY disciplined. But good luck and we're here to help you!

MY20s.. Welcome to you too! Where are you currently getting your pills? You said you don't have insurance but unless you are getting your pills somewhere for free, the sub is probably a cheaper route.. especially in the long run. I am saving a boatload of money since I quit. If you have been trying to quit for 3 years, without success I would say the price of the sub should not be your main concern. Does anyone here pay out of pocket for the sub? My ins covers it so I don't know how much it costs but it cerainly is cheaper than buying pills off the street I would think??

Osage woman.. The lortab could show up if they test for it. Lots of time they are just testing for street drugs.. pot, cocaine etc but they may test for painkillers since they are an increasing problem these days..sorry I don't know if there is anything you could take to help it from showing up but you could probably google it.. (I google everything.. hahaha.. how I found this board!

Amy.. welcome back. Do you think maybe your sub dose is not high enough if you were having cravings for the vikes while on it? I had/have some cravings but not strong enough to get me to bite.. (I still have my pills too.. keep them for an emergency) OR if you feel like that bottle will continue to haunt them maybe it is better that you have a last hurrah and just do the rest and be done with it.. I think you said you wouldn't be able to get another script.? I tried to do that but had too many pills to take safely before the date I set for myself. But I did try... it was fun while it lasted. I do wish I could be one to safely take them recreationally periodically. But I doubt I am so at least for now, I will forge on. One day at a time right girl?

Everyone else...Mort, Pat Mamma and of course my MNF(HAHAHAHA) NYMOMMY, hope you are all having a craving free, wonderful evening.. Chat at you guys later!

Luckily I have insurance and while I am fighting to get some money back for the doctor I see, it does cover my meds. It says on the sub that my insurance saves me like $385.00 way cheaper than if you're getting vikes off the street My20's.

Lisa, does your insurance cover your doctor? Luckily my doctor was cheap as sub doctors go, but still a lot of money. HOWEVER, worth EVERY penny. I have debated about using the pills and having a last hurrah of the vikes I have....I have like 90. But this doctor can do a drug test if he wants and I go back on the 15th and would be scared it would show up and he would drop me. And no, I'd have to find another doctor to get some vikes. I did the docotor shop thing. I never bought online or on the street. And you are right my friend, ONE DAY AT A TIME!!!

Everyone have a great day! Off to work.

Amy

[AmyBreeze]

quote:Originally posted by LISA GIRL

AMY... Just out of curiousity. How long did you wait after your last sub dose to take the vikes? Did you get sick? I think I heard that you won't feel the pain pills for something like 20 hours after your last sub dose. I only wonder in case I really needed to take something for pain sometime. I wonder what I would do if something should happen and I needed the pills and couldn't feel the effects b/c of the sub. ??

again... just asking for informational purposes only...although all this talk about the pills does make me crave slightly. I hate that! Guess I will go have a piece of pizza...don't need that either but better than a percocet for me.

It was only like 16 hours. I think maybe that's why I got so sick. It wasn't far enough apart. I too have been wondering how long you should wait to take an opiate after taking sub since I know you won't feel it for a certain amount of time. Anyone out there know?

[AmyBreeze]

quote:Originally posted by my20sRgone

osagewoman, i did a drug test just a couple weeks ago..I worried about hydrocodone too....but it was never even mentioned. they are checking for meth, cocain, heroin, marijuana, etc. no worries at all for me, they said I'm clean as a whistle which is funny cuzz I took a bunch of norco and i got really really drunk the night before. hehehehe

My Lortab ES showed up in a test once but once I showed the doctor's prescription, everything was a OK. But I was taking ALOT when the test came about. Just me two cents worth.

[LISA GIRL]

Have to get to work so can't type much but wanted to wish everyone a great day..
Osage.. good luck on the test!!!.. is it today? Be careful though about the use of someone else's pee. I have heard they are on to all those types of things and sometimes they monitor you or search you or something to make sure you don't try something like that. Getting caught with someone else's pee would make you look worse than if a little hydro showed up I think. You can explain that a way... even if you said you took one of your hubby's pills for a backache... I wouldn't risk the other person's pee thing... but just my opinion!

Amy..My insurance covers both the doc and the pills. The doctor first tried not to get me to bill him thru insurance .. I think because they have to take the contractual rate which might be lower than if I paid him outright... but I did finally get him to bill it. I pay $50 per visit. (only once per month) and about $50 for a month's worth of pills. I know you know I am not really suggesting going back on the pills (not really) I just know it's hard for some people to get really serious about their recovery while they have those pills just sitting there! When they are gone, you really have no choice. Some people like NMMOMMY who really really wanted to quit when they did seemto have no cravings.. ME, who quit b/c I thought it was the "right" thing to do, I still have cravings periodically . like last night.. I have to be careful. .. but still can't bring myself to throw out my percs..they are like a safety net for me... a BAD safety net.. .haven't come close to really taking one... I have gone thru w/d once...twice actually and don't want to do it again.

Mort..Haven't made it to a meeting.. Honestly haven't even looked into it yet. Glad you are loving it and you bring so much back from your meetings to share with us!

Ok really running late now... wasn't going to type anything and got carried away!! So everyone else.. will talk tonight.. Love you guys.

Have a craving free day!

Li5a<<<-----Patmamma.. you feeling ok? How's that keyboard? hahaha

[Osagewoman]

Lisa, haven't had the test yet. I have to wait on a call, then they give you 2 hrs. to get there and give a sample! It's random, so I don't know when they will call! I have the samples, but there is no way I could get caught with them! I've heard sometimes a nurse will actually WATCH you pee, so I don't know what this will be like! If I can maneuver it, I'll use the donor pee, but if not, I'll do like you said, tell them I took one of hubby's for a migraine, which would not be a lie! And with my miniscule amt. (.5 mgs until 4:00 pm)it may not show at all! Hopefully nothing will show up and I'll have escaped my 3rd near-miss for the day (#1 was almost hitting a deer on the way to work, #2 was getting stopped for speeding and the cop took pity and let me go)! Everyone have a great day!

[morticia]

I just want too wish you good luck on your drug test today i hope that you wont get caught, my doc told me it takes 3 days for narcotics to get out of your system, so just be careful using someone elses piss just because the ppl know that and this is what they told me in detox they said that most of the time they know how long the piss has been out of the body, just by testing it they know how old it is and they can also if suspioutions come up send you for blood work, in my opoion i would just be up front and tell them that you took a pill for your migraine cuz thats the truth, that way they can just say ok well maybe you should see a doctor for that and just get a little lecture,but i'll be praying for ya [:I]
















good luck!

[:I]

Clean Date:10/16/06

Just For Today

Luv N Hugs,
Clarkie

[kdkd81]

Im on hour 39.5. Main problems is, stomach desress and dizzyness. I believe I am half way though the physical?? I am doing this cold turkey only taking ambiene to sleep. Just figured Id post my results so far incase anyone would like to comment.

[morticia]

KD~
good for you i;m proud of you i asked my doc how long narcotics take to get out of your system he said 3 days the physical w/d will be gone in 3 days so your on your way , good for you hun, drink plenty of water or gatoraide to help wash out the toxins, it really does work, i tryed cold turkey but it only lasted a couple of weeks and then about 6 months after that i went to detox cuz i couldnt do it on my own , so i was there for 5 days they detoxed me with meth and valium vistral and trazadone for sleep, and now i ve been clean 4 weeks and 2 days im on meth for chronic back pain which i go to pain management for. but just to let you know mental w/d can be hard so maybe consider NA it really works

best of luck to ya keep up the good work[:I]



Clean Date:10/16/06

Just For Today

Luv N Hugs,
Clarkie

[kdkd81]

Mort, Thanks for the support. You said you made it a few weeks and then had to go to detox? Do you mean you started using again or just could not take the symptoms anymore? After my day 3 what symptoms shall I be experiencing. If It means anything I Quit cigs over 4 years ago. On the 4th day the physical was gone and I did not have a problem at all with the mental. Im young and still in college so I have a long life to live and do not ever want to have this happen to me again. When I get surgery in december I am not allowing any narcatic into this body, its mine and no one can take that away from me. But please inform me on what I should feel after the 3rd day?

[tamara02]

hi morticia ,Im here,boy I had to catch up on this board,just been home being alil lazy,lots going on I guess the full moon puts everyone in a nutty mood around here,Im going to go to an n/a meeting tonite,hope all is well w/you and everyone else ,still on the sub. im taking a 1/4 less daily then rx'ed to see if that helps.haven't really felt like talking on the computer these past 2 days,ive been on the phone all day yesterday,hate the phone. well anyways im here and im fine , hope you are too I talk to u later after my n/a meeting.tammy

[unclenasty93]

OSAGEWOMAN:

I don't know if you have had your UA yet, but I just wanted to tell you EXACTLY how it will go if you haven't. It is simple! They will have your lab sheet there, it goes to the lab with your pee. On that piece of paper there is usually a place where it asks you to list all medications you are on. All you have to do is write the word "vicodin" on that paper and it is a done deal. You don't need a doctors script or anything else, they just need to know because YES it is gonna show up in your urine. It will just show up as an "opiate", it won't say which one. If you don't tell them that you are on prescription pain meds they may assume it is heroin. There is no reason on earth for you to bring urine with you. This is not a huge deal, simply note on that lab sheet that you are on vicodin and it is covered.

peace.

[morticia]

KD~
i went into detox cuz i used again because i just couldnt take the w/d after the 3 day you should start to feel more like yourself not so sickly, sickly, meaning haveing flu like symptoms, the chills ect, you should be able to sleep on your own, but the mental w/d is a lot harder i quit ciggies for 8 months and i didnt really have mental w/d from them, then hubby picked up ciggies and now im back to smoking... but anyway the mental w/d from narcoti
cs is like your really want the pills so bad but physically you body dosent want them.

expect that after day 3 you'll start to feel physically better but mentally not so great and the mental w/d to me is harder than the the physical w/d.

i hope that helps i hope i didnt scare you off ,

good luck with your surgery let us know how you are doing.

[:I]


Clean Date:10/16/06

Just For Today

Luv N Hugs,
Clarkie

well this time i made it to hour 16 and gave in! d'ohhh!! i didnt get a wink of sleep, even took an ambien, that just seemed to make the "tired but cant sleep" feeling even worse. so i gave in a little and took a 10mg hydro. still cant sleep and still very tired. but feel a little better. about to take another. that would make 2 in the last 20 hours. #/hour my ratio is gettin better i guess haha. what a horrible feeling though. if i dont get a wink of sleep by tonight i'm gonna be very upset and i will give in further. i'll take 2 or 3 at a time and then goto bed. this unable to sleep thing is ridiculous. i mean c'mon, when you get the flu at least you can sleep!! with the flu you may be useless, but at least you can sleep a lot of it off, mostly! but in withdrawl you are even more useless AND cant sleep. great! what do I gotta do just sit there and stare at the wall for 5 days straight???? exercise?? pshhhhh! ok i feel worse then i've ever felt with any flu, do u really think i'm gonna go run around the block? not gonna happen.

anyway, i dont pay for the hydrocos or anything i get whatever i want for free so really i just want to quit for myself, for my own well being and better mental health. but i cant seem to do it. not if i cant even make it one day!! maybe for me the first 24hrs is the hardest? hmmmmm wishful thinking.

osagewoman, about the drug test thing....i had plenty of hydro in my system when i tested, i didnt write anything for current medication and there was NO problem. it was for a beginning employment screening so you know they checked me! so i dont think i'd go with the whole pee borrow thing. you are not a criminal. right? dont worry about it so much.

[kdkd81]

Mort, please tell me that After Day 3 I will be able to concetrate again. I am scared to leave and go to class at 5 30 because I can not concetrate on anything, its like I have a big cloud over my head

[AmyBreeze]

quote:Originally posted by my20sRgone


anyway, i dont pay for the hydrocos or anything i get whatever i want for free so really i just want to quit for myself, for my own well being and better mental health. but i cant seem to do it. not if i cant even make it one day!! maybe for me the first 24hrs is the hardest? hmmmmm wishful thinking.

OK, I have to ask....how do you get them for free? That HAS to be tough when you can have then anytime. I admire your courage for wanting to quit for YOU! That is wonderful. It would be very hard for me if I had them at my disposal 24/7.

Amy

[kdkd81]

3.5 hours left till im at 48 hours since i last took percs just an update still going strong, sides arent as severe as the first day but i am still very unpleasent

[morticia]

kd~ good for you keep up the good work , i know the w/d are hard but your doing an excellent job dont give up your almost there after the 3rd day you will feel better i did after the 3rd day your concenration should start to come back thats what i detoxed was perks 80 mgs a day i hate perks i hate the w/d its one of the hardest w/d to go through besides mthadone and the big H thats why im on meth for life but anyway...remeber to drink lots of water and gatoraide to flush it out. you will feel better after the 3rd day, just get plenty of rest if you can put your fave music on and stay in bed. hope this helps, best wishes!

Tam! good to hear from you im so glad your going to a meeting tonight i am too ill be gone till 9 i would love to hear how it went.

how are you doing ok? do you have more engery after cutting the sub in half? i started to worrey about you but since you posted i feel alot better im glad to hear your fine talk to ya soon.
[:I]



Clean Date:10/16/06

Just For Today

Luv N Hugs,
Clarkie

[LISA GIRL]

AMY! lol. Glad you asked my20s how she got them cuz you know we were all curious! I know I was.Still am since she has answered yet. Damn. I know if I would have gotten them free and unlimited I would have been in danger of NEVER quitting.. not until my liver gave out anyway. Guess it's a good thing I was paying customer.

Osage.. Yeah Morticia is right about them being able to tell how old the pee is. If you ended up getting caught you would end up looking worse than if you had just written it down. Just write it down.. don't offer any explanations.. might just make you look worse. if you get questioned you can handle it then with the headache story.
Missed a deer AND got out of a ticket today? Maybe you should but a lotto ticket!

KD.. how much and of what are you taking again? When I went cold turkey the physical part lasted about 5 days.. do you have restless leg problem? That is a common w/d symptom. After that for a couple of weeks I was REALLY depressed .... didn't want to do anything with anyone... I would just start crying for no reason. .. but it cleared up after 3-4 weeks and I was just fine. I kind of wish I would have gone that route again (cold turkey) Just never think you can take "just one" recreationally again. I did that after being clean for 4 months and here I am!

Uncle Nasty.. good to see my Denver buddy posting again

Everyone else..hope all is well.

Have a craving free night!

Li5a Girl..<<<Patmamma.. I might just permanently change my signature. lol..

32 days clean $1600 saved






KD..

[kdkd81]

Just got back from college, it was a little hard to concentrate but not to to bad. I was on about 150 mgs of perks a day for the last few weeks of my habit, before that it was just and uprise from 10-20-30 and so forth. My only worry is that when I have surgery in 2 months what do I do?? I do not want to have to take an opiate but I am sure I will actually need to. It will really suck if I have to go through this pain again. Yes I get some RLS but I take potassium for it and it seems to help. I do not seemed as depressed now as I was earlier in the day. I feel more alive. Maybe I wont have the dpression problem. Thank you both for your help and support (mort and lisa).

[chrish1]

Lisa, you are correct. Addiction is progressive and incurable. The only way is to quit and stay clean. I've seen first hand testimonials many times from addicts who decided they could handle that one pill - they always end up right where they were, usually within a month or so. OR, they end up in a worse spot. Actually, worse is more likely.

Osagewoman, before you do anything make sure you think it over VERY carefully. When I was in outpatient last year, there was a guy who lost his job because he tested positive for painkillers and he didn't have a script to back it up. Different companies do it different ways. Some test for it and some don't. Some tests can even tell the specific drug used... example: percocet or lortab. So, there is no way to predict how your company is going to test. When I first started going through my divorce, my attorney told me take a UA every week. I remained clean, so I was never worried, and have have many clean UAs. The facility where I did the UA tests had mirrors where they can watch you, and on the wall there was a posting of how many people they caught trying to cheat the test over whatever month it was. I think they usually caught 30+ per month. Anyway, my point is that different UA facilities do it different ways. The one you go to may or may not be like the one I went to, but it is definitely something to keep in mind. Let us know how it goes.

Chrish

Clean Date: 10/11/05

Drugs are a big lie. Don't believe the lie.

***HOW TO FIND LOCAL NA MEETINGS****

http://www.na.org/links-toc.htm