DOES TAPERING HELP? (Hydro 5/500)

[thalia45]

...or when you get to say, 1 pill a day, are the w/d still going to be as bad as if you just ct it?....?????

[Comeback Kid]

(1) 5mg hydro??? Jump already That really is nothing. You may sneeze twice. All kidding aside, im serious just ct it. You will be mildly uncomfortable.

[SuzieOf]

...or when you get to say, 1 pill a day, are the w/d still going to be as bad as if you just ct it?....?????

How many are you taking now? If I understand your post you are wondering if you should jump now or taper to one pill?

[SomethingImportant]

I have a question.Are you mentally ready or are you still playing with the idea?I am asking because my worse withdrawals came from 5/500.I have gotten off 10/650 oxy's and went through less than the 5/500.The dose was less but I was not ready to come off and did not want to at all.I had to come off because I ran out of my supply and was left with nothing.So I think your mind has to be on your side to make the withdrawals less.You can jump off right now and or when you down to 1 a day but you will still have some kind of withdrawals.Just know it will all be worth it,trust me.Sober living is truly living life.The bad really isnt that bad and the good is 10x better because you can actually feel.Anyways jump off and be strong,now is always better than tomorrow.

[thalia45]

No, I want out of ALL drugs, including alcohol. (Which I have quit -w/d there too). But I am/used to be a very active person with legit script for Hydro, except it makes me dizzy - and I have plenty left-also too much work to do, so I need to keep functioning.

I am taking 6-5-500 now; would like to avoid as much as possible, w/d (been through this before). Opinions?

[caughtagain]

Thalia, I am just going to offer my 2 cents... In my case, Tapering was a time not a word for me... Meaning, I would always say " I am going to taper" when I was running out of pills... But in reality, I could never do such thing. For me it was just as much mental as physical. My attitude was If I had em, I would take em. When I decided to get clean for good, the best decision for me was to have ALL of my meds gone and my ability to get them gone....therefore, I had to only think/obcess about one thing.... getting/staying clean... For those that can taper... more power to them, but the quickest way to do it is to go the CT route. Now that being said, this is for opiates... NOT benzo's or Tramadol... That is a whole different ball game.... All my best, Reid

[thalia45]

Can one take L-Tyrosine (for energy) with a Hydro taper?

[caughtagain]

yes.............

[thalia45]

Thalia, I am just going to offer my 2 cents... In my case, Tapering was a time not a word for me... Meaning, I would always say " I am going to taper" when I was running out of pills... But in reality, I could never do such thing. For me it was just as much mental as physical. My attitude was If I had em, I would take em. When I decided to get clean for good, the best decision for me was to have ALL of my meds gone and my ability to get them gone....therefore, I had to only think/obcess about one thing.... getting/staying clean... For those that can taper... more power to them, but the quickest way to do it is to go the CT route. Now that being said, this is for opiates... NOT benzo's or Tramadol... That is a whole different ball game.... All my best, Reid

Thanks C-G, my DOC (alcohol-preferably from 1940s, white carpets) martinis, but because I even KNOW about this time tells you my age.... BUT the Dr. prescribed Hydro (happy element not eliminated, that's what got me started on THIS path...

I am still (kinda foxy) and I don't know what to do ... very old in mind husband ...would like to "change" things with clarity of mind....

[Catrina]

I'm with Reid. I tried numerous times to taper but I am a classic addict. If I had them, I'd take them. Actually, I wouldn't just take them, I'd gobble them sort of thinking of it as my last meal. Enjoy them, I'd tell myself and when they are gone then I'll face the music. Only problem was that the problem was still there. I was addicted and terrified of withdrawal so I'd just get more pills. Being able to taper, in my opinion, takes alot of self discipline more than I have for sure. I have done cold turkey after consistent use of various amounts and kinds of opiates. Sometimes similar to your daily dose and at other times 5 times that amount. Each withdrawal was similar in terms of symptoms and lasted for pretty much the same length of time. Everyone is different and so I won't be surprised if others disagree with me. I'm just saying that for me neither the length of time I was using nor the daily dose really make a huge difference in the withdrawal.

At some point we just have to decide to jump in with both feet and deal with the consequences. We as adults all have responsibilities and being able to deal with this is going to interfere with your routine. If I waited until I could check out of my life for a week to detox, I'd have never done it. I suppose look at it this way, if you were to get really sick and truly unable to work or function you'd have no choice but to disrupt your life until you felt better. This is exactly the same thing. At some point we have to stop finding excuses to put this off. It's too important. It's your new life.

If you want to try and taper, all the more power to you. There are others who have quit using this method, and I have the highest regard for them and their self discipline. Just know it's hard to do and if you can't taper, you are among some of the best of us. It doesn't matter how you do it, just do it.

Peace,

Cat

[iloerose]

Thalia,

I am not trying to minimize your problem here, but you have been going back and forth about this for a month on different threads. You can taper. Taper at 25% every 4 days. You are not taking that much vicoden. You cannot squeak at every little symptom that you think is w/d. Tapering involves some w/d until you're stable on the next dose, etc. I'm being dead serious: people have worked in high pressure jobs, with just as much stress, etc. and gone c/t from a habit 10 times worse than 25mg. of 5/500 vic. Will you get out of a vic habit w/d free? Probably not. Deal with it. Either you want off or you don't. Bottom line is you're scared to come off of the vics. I can appreciate that. But every time you start a new thread, you are going to get the same answers. Either you're ready to commit or you aren't. The w/d from 25mg. c/t is not that bad. Getting clean isn't the issue for you, staying clean and wanting to be clean is. You need to come to terms with this before you even start. Do You Even Want to Quit? Don't give me the "How will I know when I'm ready? or the "I'm not ready yet and I'll just relapse" stuff, you need to either suck it up and do or don't.

Iloerose

[SuzieOf]

It will be like a 5 day flu where on the 5th. day you will feel better and continue to feel better each day. You have to commit to going through it no matter what and not have any pills in the house. It's the fear of the unknown that gets us stuck but we have all been through the flu so it's best to think of it that way. Also, I don't think it is wise to take something for energy until after the 5th. day as it is likely to manifest itself as anxiety more than energy while going through the w/d's. I find it is very helpful to change what I tell myself from "I am scared" to "I can do this"!! Good luck and think of all the things you have done in the past that made you proud of yourself and this will be another one you can add to the list.

[moon6748]

Thalia, I was never really able to taper down to almost nothing....because if I had something I would end up taking it and just say to myself "I'll start tomorrow". I did taper down to about 30 mg of oxy the 1st time I tried to quit (down from 150 mg a day). I'm quite sure that jumping off of 150mg of oxy would have made my WD more uncomfortable....BUT....once I did jump I wished I had done it sooner. The tapering was prolonging my WD....and so I was feeling mild WD symptoms for a while instead of just getting the worst of it over in a few days.

If I read your post right, your taking about 30 mg of hydro a day? To me that's a good jumping point. Quitting is just as much about breaking the mental obsession with the pills in your head as it is about getting through the physical WD. When I was tapering I still thought about the pills ALL DAY....waiting and wishing for that magic time when I could take a little sliver. Once you stop completely, every single hour that you don't take a pill you are getting closer to breaking those mental bonds with them.

WD is uncomfortable and stinks....but I think you'll hear alot of people on here say that the fear of them was worse than the actual thing. Even if you've gone through them before, I guarantee this time around won't be identical to the prior times. Don't psych yourself out, put on your game face and go for it.

As far as the "clarity of mind"...I totally get that. And you are right...you have no clarity of mind while addicted to the pills. There were so many thing that I thought bothered me SO much when I was on the pills, that don't now. It's so weird...I thought the pills were helping me cope with my life...but in many ways they were stopping me from living it, which was making me edgy and unhappy.

You can do this if you want it badly enough!

[moon6748]

Just wanted to agree with what Catrina said....

If I waited until I could check out of my life for a week to detox, I'd have never done it.

This is very true...and while it sounds good in theory to be able to just tune out of your life until the worst of it is over, I don't actually think that's the best thing. Too much time on your hands gives you too much time to dwell on all your symptoms and the days will seem VEEEERRRRYYY LOOOONNGGGG....

This time around I battled the WD while taking care of my child, working 2 small part time jobs and having a horrible head cold all at the same time. There were hours when I was literally dragging myself around. But I did it and I swear it helped. The days didn't seem to drag as much as they did the 1st time I tried to quit...when I had MUCH less to do. Also, I think being so busy during the day contributed to me getting a reasonable amount of sleep at night. I was so exhausted that I think my body had no choice but to pass out for a little while....

[thalia45]

Just wanted to agree with what Catrina said....



This is very true...and while it sounds good in theory to be able to just tune out of your life until the worst of it is over, I don't actually think that's the best thing. Too much time on your hands gives you too much time to dwell on all your symptoms and the days will seem VEEEERRRRYYY LOOOONNGGGG....

This time around I battled the WD while taking care of my child, working 2 small part time jobs and having a horrible head cold all at the same time. There were hours when I was literally dragging myself around. But I did it and I swear it helped. The days didn't seem to drag as much as they did the 1st time I tried to quit...when I had MUCH less to do. Also, I think being so busy during the day contributed to me getting a reasonable amount of sleep at night. I was so exhausted that I think my body had no choice but to pass out for a little while....

I agree. I wish I didn't have "experience" with this, but laying in bed is the purer ????! Moving is the best. ...better? A week in bed weakens you and just gives you time to think the "if only if..."