Stopping Opiates Cold Turkey (Prayers, Good Wishes Welcome)
 

So a little back story. Basically I have been addicted to hydrocodone since I had my wisdom teeth out last June. At my peek I had been taking upwards of 50mg per day. I have recently been cutting down (10-20mg per day) - and now I have decided enough is enough.

Day 1 - Complete. It's been over 24 hours since my last 5mg dose. Today was not fun. I tried to watch the Royals game, but that didn't put me in a very good mood. :rolleyes: I mowed grass, spent some time with my girlfriend, tried everything in the book to keep it off my mind. I'm tired, lethargic, dizzy, but I'm not giving in. I'm going to make it through this. Any thoughts, prayers, and good wishes are welcome. I've tried this once before and fell flat on my face day 3. I'm determined to not let it happen again.

How were you able to keep getting them for that long? All the doctors I've dealt with get freaky about writing more 'scripts after the 1st refill.

Good luck, JD. Try chewing gum or something.

Admittedly I don't know much about this, but good luck. Persevere, and ye shall overcome.

You're right. I never even went back to the doctor after my surgery. Unfortunately I found other ways to obtain them

Kick it to the curb dog. Don't be a slave to that shit.

Good luck

PM me on how to do this. Please be as detailed as possible. TIA.

Feel free to make light of the situation. I wouldn't wish any addiction upon anyone. This is one of the hardest things I've ever done. I'm not sure why you would make fun of someone who is battling something so difficult.

Would you be acting the same way if I said I had cancer? How about ALS?

if it becomes a life or death things there are 12 step programs out there for drugs/pills you would have to make quitting a #1 thing in your life, but you should know they exist.

Those damn things stole 5 years from our family's lives. My daughter has been clean more that 2 years. Best wishes kicking those bastards. Don't be afraid to get professional help if you can't do it alone.

Thanks cdcox. I've gotten a little help - Was given some clonidine to help with the side effects. Only problem with that is the damn clonidine has some pretty unpleasant side effects of its own.

On the street? If so, how much were you paying for them?

Thanks for this information as well. I don't feel like I need to take this step yet, but I do realize they are there if I need them

I haven't spent a dime.

Exactly, avoid clonidine if possible. Find something that is more important to you than the pills and put all of your attention and focus into it for the first few weeks. It helped me.

YOU'RE RYAN LEAF! I KNOW YOU! YOU'RE RYAN LEAF!

WTF? Stealing them? Hell I probably don't even want to know.

Prayers sent your way, JD. Addiction is such a beast to overcome, but you've got what it takes to do it. If anyone can overcome adversity and seemingly hopeless situations, it's a Royals fan.

No. I was not stealing them. I'm not disclosing any information about how I got them. That's not the point of this thread.

Prayers sent. Be tough. Be strong. Don't let something like getting your wisdom teeth pulled de-rail your life. Fight.

Good luck.

It' scary how easily I became addicted to these. :shake: I am not one to do drugs, drink tons of alcohol etc. I'd same I'm a pretty normal young guy who just got overpowered by these stupid ass little pills.

God I want one right now.

I was addicted to percocet and xanax for about 4 or 5 months last year. It sucked when I stopped, but after a week, it was easy. Good luck.

Percocet is even tougher to kick from what I hear. Right now I find it's more of a mind thing. If I keep my mind occupied I'm fine. But if I have time to sit around and think.... that's when the demons creep back in. It's encouraging to hear that some of you have faced the same issue and have overcome it.

Isn't it dangerous to quit opiates cold turkey?

Man, a little cannabis would have seen you though that wisdom tooth. Shame they gave you such a harmful alternative.

You've made it this far, you can do it!

Best of luck JD369, I advise locking yourself in a room for a month with nothing but food rations, poontang and a PS3.
You'll come out a new and improved man ready to face the world and anything it throws in your way.

BTW- did you notice that Claythan can't spell "I've"? (check out his sig)

Yes it can be. Probably not at the dosage I was taking though. If someone were to be taking something like 100mg a day and completely stopped cold turkey it might cause them some major issues. For me it's just going to be uncomfortable for a few days- I hope it's only a few days anyways. About 27 hours in right now.

Do you live with your girlfriend?

Nope. We're looking for a place together though.

Ahh. Spend as much time with her as you can, your friends too.

When I was trying to get over it, being alone was the worst thing.

You should be concerned about the amount of acetaminophen you've sent to your liver as well. Yikes. You're lucky you're not on a transplant list by now.

The most acetaminophen I would take in a day would be 1500-1600 mg. Each tablet was 10-325. So even if I took 6 in a day (which I never did) that would still only be 1950 mg. That's not even half the maximum daily dose. I understand the prolonged time period I took the acetaminophen- but I'm sure there is people who pop a couple tylonel a day for a headache and then go home and down some beers too.

Doing my best. Today I was being a total dick, and I just kept reminding her it was the medicine talking, not me. Somehow I ended up with a BJ out of the deal. Turned out ok actually. ROFL

You're lucky you were on the low dose and not the 5/500 or the 7.5/750.

I'd milk this deal as long as possible.

Stay the coarse, shit ain't worth losing all you love over.

Very true. I'm fairly educated when it comes to pharmaceuticals, so I was being somewhat cautiously reckless if you will. (The acetaminophen worried me more than the hydro itself.)

Acetaminophen can be some nasty stuff. Personally I think they should lower the maximum daily dosage to 3000mg. I know there was talk of lowering it from 4000mg daily, but I don't know if anything ever got done.

Looks like I need to get addicted to something and then quit real quick. :D

I have 19 years of hospital pharmacy in my back pocket so you're not telling me anything that I don't already know. :)

While I understand some times CP is a great place to let loose and some times share personal things....i dont understand why people get all whiny when someone has an opinion or joke about their personal situation.


I'm addicted to porn. Please help.

I go on that stuff periodically (degenerative disc disease & multilevel bilateral neuroforaminal stenosis). Kicking gets easier after you've done it 5 or 6 times. I just resign myself to some discomfort & console myself with the fact that it gets better every day. Very useful stuff, but ya gotta pay the price.

Opiate addiction has two outcomes. You recover or you die. That's hilarious, bro.

Funny, I didn't crack the joke, bro.

This.

They did limit the combo doses to 325mg of acetaminophen, supposed to come into effect sometime this year I believe.

You wondered why people get bent out of shape. Some things are funny, this isn't.

I will be making sure this thread is on page 1 every day, so you better not **** up you sorry sack of shit and i mean that with my best wishes

Hes sharing it on a message board filled with strangers. This is chiefsplanet. Not for the light hearted. A joke or two is most certainly to be expected.

Hang in there, dude. Much respect for taking responsibility and then doing something about it.

Not when you mark it a "prayer request". The peanut gallery is supposed to stay out of those threads.

Noted.

Yeah, but its not opiates that CJ is addicted to...

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lh55nwui8Y1qgo8qe.png

Industrial grade sandpaper isn't a joke.

A lot of Dr.s will keep writing them it will keep you comin back
I know a few Dr.s who had to downsize their offices because the recession forced them to foreclose on their buildings.
They be slangin weight yo.
perc by da pound

Hang in there, JD...

I have been where you're at years ago. After a prolonged bout with a very painful disease I found myself going crazy when I had to give up the pain meds.

I'm telling you right now, the first couple of days are the worst. Just make it past those and you'll begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Don't give up now, because you can do it!

Good luck, and don't stop fighting that shit!

What a puss ! I've been taking them several times a day for over 10 years and I'm still not addicted.

How about you eat a dog dick and choke on it...

You've got a looong way to go.
You're gonna have to fight....every day. Maybe for the rest of your life. the fact that you can get them so easily, and with, what seems to be, little consequence, is very troublesome.

I have to admit that wasn't something I had to cope with.

After a couple of months I had recovered from the disease I was fighting, and the doc just just cut off the prescription all at once. I wouldn't have known where to get any more even if I had wanted to.

I had no choice but biting the bullet and getting through it.

Prayers sent don't let addiction own you own it take it by the horn and **** it hard and make it humbled.

I don't have any experience with this so I wish I had something more thoughtful to say but all the best man.

Give it hell.

May I recommend a strawberry milkshake, one a day, for every day you don't indulge? It worked for me with cigarettes.
Yes, your next hurdle will be weight loss.

Otherwise, I don't know what to say except good luck...

So far so good. The physical withdraw effects haven't been all that terribly bad thus far. It's more of a mental battle right now.

I know somebody mentioned earlier that this was a public place, and that I am telling my problems to complete strangers. While that may be true, reading the good luck posts, and reading how people have overcome in in the past give me hope. You may all be strangers, but you're helping me along in this process. And for that I truly am thankful.

old country style. seriously good luck with it. this battle is 1 decision at a time even if there are 15,000 decisions every day.

Just keep going, dude, and soon the worst will be behind you.

If a weak-willed SOB like me could get through it, I know you can!

If it would be ok with the powers that be (Mods) I may keep this thread alive for at least a week to 10 days. Odd where you find motivation from, but this thread is actually giving me a lot of encouragement.

I don't think anyone is going to have a problem with this staying on the front page. If they do, fuck 'em.

SERIOUS BIDNESS!!!!

Good luck, JD369. Try taking a B-12 supplement or get some 5-Hour Energy to help you deal with the lethargic feeling.

Sorry to hear JD. Here's hoping you kick their ass

I wish you the best of luck beating the addiction.

I, personally, turned down my prescription when I got mine pulled. I hate hydocodone. I've only taken them twice and I hated it. It barely numbed the pain and made me all kinds of ****ed up and sick to my stomach.

That shit sucks, ruins life.

Smoke a bowl.

Hang in there and keep fighting.

Last year (Feb 2011), I got laid up for about three weeks with severe lower back pain and was given a prescription for hydrocodone. I took it as little as possible because I was so paranoid about getting addicted (I have a very addictive personality).

Last summer, I had a genetic test done at 23andme. One of the traits that they gave me was that I genetically had "Substantially higher odds of heroin addiction." It isn't much of a stretch to think that would apply to any opiate so I guess I was right to be paranoid.

On the 23andme page, they say "Twin studies indicate a significant genetic component to heroin addiction." If this also applies to things like hydrocodone, you may be fighting a genetic trait. Obviously that isn't a reason to give in; it just means that you need to be extra cautious.

http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=208986

Some great people with great advice in this thread.

Keep it alive and updated! If we don't hear from ya, we're sending somebody to your house!! :D

Seriously, keep at it!

JD saying a prayer for you man....

Now about 48 hours in. Today was about the same as yesterday, maybe just a little better. Luckily I took the week off work so that I would have time to rest and take it easy this week. Been taking the clonidie pretty steadily (keeping an eye on that blood pressure) as it seems to help with the side effects of coming off. The clonidine makes me feel a little draggy, but I'd rather feel like that than restless and unable to sit still. Slept in, got up and did some housework, mowed a lawn, played with my 2 dogs. Then I turned back to the Royals again tonight.... Lord--- at least they provide some comedic relief and give me something to ***** about. Thanks for all your support. Day 3 was my downfall last time- but I am confident it won't be this time

Two days of clean under your belt. Two days closer to feeling like the real you. Way to go.