In need of withdrawl info please

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girldoodle

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Hello,
I've just discovered this site, and it's awesome.
I have just a little addiction that I've decided to kick. I've been taking between 40 and 60mg of oxy a day for the last six months or so. The year before that I was taking about 30mg of hydrocodone a day. I would like to know what to expect as far as withdraws go. I'm planning on tapering, but as quickly as possible. With the relatively small dose that I've been on, what kinRAB of symptoms can I expect? How long will they last?
I really appreciate your help. I can't afford to let this go on any longer, but I'm scared that this will be uncomfortable.
Thank you so much.
girldoodle
 
Welcome to the board!

You are in the same exact place I was 1-1/2 months ago. I was taking 60+ mg/day of oxycodone for about 5 months. I am now day 8 drug-free! I'll save you some trouble, so you don't make the same durab mistakes that I made.

I was anxious to taper off and I went way too fast and ended up with lots of withdrawals and had to increase my dose a few times to stop them. Don't drop more than 10% at a time and allow your body to get used to that dose before you drop 10% again. I found it was easier for me to go from 60 mg/day to 10mg with some moderate withdrawals in about 1 month's time. Going 10 mg to 5 mg was hell and below 5 mg was a nightmare! I was tapering too fast. Stick to the 10% rule even near the end where you may have to cut tablets into pieces to reduce your withdrawals. Let your body become used to the lower dose before dropping again. That is important. That was where I was durab and ended up suffering. It will be the toughest time of your life and you have to make a mental commitment to become drug free. When you are having the withdrawals it is easy to lose focus of your goal, but you have to keep pushing forward.

The withdrawals that I experienced in my too fast tapering plan was: cold shivers, hot flashes, yawning, muscle cramps and spasms, violent shaking, insomnia, flu-like muscle aches, spinning mind, anxiety and agitation. About the only symptom I missed out on was diarrhea. It took me 4 weeks to go from 10 mg to zero and I finally went cold turkey at 2.5 mg. I was just about ready to check into a detox center at that point, but I gritted my way though with a little help from Valium at night to take the edge off so I could sleep.

You'll get lots of help here in this forum. Ask questions and you will get answers!
 
Welcome girldoodle,

I think it's GREAT that you are doing something about your addiction... Any addiction is dangerous.... no matter how much of something you are taking... there is a HUGE potential that things will get worse and it usually always does so good for you for taking a stand!

I am sure you will feel some discomfort.. I tapered and to be honest was miserable the whole three weeks.. Others, experience hardly anything at all when they taper so it really is a case by case thing....

I wish you much success and I also hope you have the strength to really kick this!!! We are here for you.
~Secrets
 
Thank you both for your input.
I wanted to do this really quickly and have it done in a week or two, but it sounRAB like that may not be the way to go. I'm already feeling strange: hot and cold, lots of yawning, no appetite, I've been sleeping most of the day, and feeling kind of...noodle-like? I feel kinda brain-dead, which is not conducive to studying. Perfect for a grad student.
I feel better having your input. It doesn't seem quite as scary.
Thank you very much
girldoodle
Congrats on being off this crap.
Oh, when did you really start having the most withdrawls?
 
Hello Girldoodle

Glad to see you ready to do something about the addiction and coming aboard. Oxy.. (whether oxycodone or oxycontin) is a powerful opiate and is something that too easily gains control of us if we do not control it early on.

I am going to play Devil's Advocate here and say that it is not 'just a little addiction' there. This is not in judgement of you, merely in recognition that 60mgs of oxy is a significant dose. Even in tapering, there will be withdrawal symptoms and I think you are a wise girl to investigate before pluinging ahead.

Denon is right on in stating that it is best to stick to the 5%-10% rule when tapering... never make a cut higher than that and let your brain and body level out before the next cut. Denon pretty much covered all the symptoms that usually appear. Part of my own strategy was to learn to look at the symptoms that came not as withdrawal symptoms, but rather as symptoms of healing.

For instance, the yawning.... opiates depress the respiratory system andd yawning is a symptom of repair that the body is making. When I first realized I was yawning, it dawned on me that I had not yawned in years! At first, the yawns were only like half-completed yawns. Annoying. Smiles. But as my doses went down more and more, real true yawns started happening again. Good sign of restoration.

Go slow, seek support here and in live, 3D people. Read the second thread on this board titled "Sample Home Detox" for ideas on things that will help. Whether tapering or cold turkey, the suggestions in that thread are beneficial.

Wishing you well and signing of with all hope for a great future for you without drugs...
reach
 
You're right, I'm probably minimizing when I say its a little problem. Actually, I'm a pharm D student, so I'm pretty aware of the pharmacokinetics of oxy, so it's the really the emotional and physiological aspects of recovery that I'm investigating.

Your perspective about considering these symptoms healing is interesting. I'll give it a try. And I'll definitely look at the posts you suggested.

Thanks for the input. It's really helping me out.
girldoodle
 
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