M
mel486
Guest
Glad to hear that you are doing good!!
K
kewood
Guest
Hey Philly,
Just checking in to see how you are doing/feeling on the sub? Are you still trying to taper off as quickly as your plan was? How are the cravings? I've found that I have no cravings except for the psychological ones that come when I start obsessing. Well, let us know how you are doing!
kewood
Just checking in to see how you are doing/feeling on the sub? Are you still trying to taper off as quickly as your plan was? How are the cravings? I've found that I have no cravings except for the psychological ones that come when I start obsessing. Well, let us know how you are doing!
kewood
P
phillybro
Guest
Hello everyone...
It's been a while since I posted. I started sub on June 9 at 16mg and have tapered down to 3mg this past week (5 weeks). My doc says that I'm going pretty fast. Well last week I really began to feel the reduction. I began to get really irritable and I have no energy in the morning and my legs feel weird...but only first thing in the morning. In fact, I have to drink a few red bulls just to get going. So I saw my doc yesterday and she recommended that I go back to 4mg for another week then slooooowly taper. She says that I need to give my brain time to heal and there is no reason to suffer...so she wants me to slow down and she is willing to work with me. Other than the no energy in the morning I'm doing well I think. I can definitely feel my body/mind going through this change. I know that once I get down to 2mg and below it's going to take some work. But it is great to not be taking Oxycodone. As I've posted before, I'm very determined but I know I have to be careful or I could hit a wall...not something I want to do.
Anyway, please respond with any comments or thoughts. I'm looking forward to hearing from everyone.
It's been a while since I posted. I started sub on June 9 at 16mg and have tapered down to 3mg this past week (5 weeks). My doc says that I'm going pretty fast. Well last week I really began to feel the reduction. I began to get really irritable and I have no energy in the morning and my legs feel weird...but only first thing in the morning. In fact, I have to drink a few red bulls just to get going. So I saw my doc yesterday and she recommended that I go back to 4mg for another week then slooooowly taper. She says that I need to give my brain time to heal and there is no reason to suffer...so she wants me to slow down and she is willing to work with me. Other than the no energy in the morning I'm doing well I think. I can definitely feel my body/mind going through this change. I know that once I get down to 2mg and below it's going to take some work. But it is great to not be taking Oxycodone. As I've posted before, I'm very determined but I know I have to be careful or I could hit a wall...not something I want to do.
Anyway, please respond with any comments or thoughts. I'm looking forward to hearing from everyone.
R
reachout
Guest
Heya Philly
Seems you are off to a good start. SounRAB like a good taper plan in place. In the beginning, it is a bit easier to make the cuts usually. It is when we get down to smaller amounts that we really want to stick pretty faithfully to that 10% mark. As you taper, you will get more and more in tune with when it is time to make the next cut. Remeraber that slow and easy is the way with a taper that gives the greatest success.
For many, the blood pressure med Clonodine has been helpful with the anxiety and with the cold and hot sweats. I was already on a med that kept my heart beating slowwer because of a heart attack so I did not use Clonodine. Many have praised its help though. For me, when the anxiety hit, I would employ different things. My first course of action was always to try and get physically busy... fold laundry, walk (as much as I was able), focus on a chore no ,matter how simple. I straightened my bookcases a hundred times! Chuckles. If the anxiety really overcame me, I practiced measured breathing and just rode it out. I often posted on the board. And, most importantly, I trained myself when it hit to consciously remind myself that it was just a symptom in the process and that it would pass. The more I was able to recognize that it is all just a process, the easier it was to cope. We do not stay in that high anxiety state forever. We truly do not. The episodes pass. I also took Magnesium supplements as it helped with the nerves. I took a 250 mg tab twice a day.
Philly, you are going to be okay. I know how high the emotions can run as we go through this process. Believe me, I know. However, the more we can force ourselves to deal with it on a practical level, understanding what is occurring in our brains and bodies, the more doable it becomes. I kept a journal in the beginning weeks and charted how much Oxy I took and when. I also charted anxiety levels good or bad and the duration of each episode. I track of each baby step that was a success (went for a walk, talked to a friend, stretched next dose by 20 minutes, etc). Each day I would re-read what I had written from the beginning and was able to see the proof in black and white that it was getting better for me.
Tackle the symptoms not as symptoms of withdrawal but rather as symptoms of healing. The change in perspective is enormously helpful. My doctor gave me a mantra: "Everyday I am getting stronger and better." My brain got the message as I repeated it many times a day to myself.
Be well, Friend. You are going to be okay and restored life is waiting for you.
Hugs
reach
Seems you are off to a good start. SounRAB like a good taper plan in place. In the beginning, it is a bit easier to make the cuts usually. It is when we get down to smaller amounts that we really want to stick pretty faithfully to that 10% mark. As you taper, you will get more and more in tune with when it is time to make the next cut. Remeraber that slow and easy is the way with a taper that gives the greatest success.
For many, the blood pressure med Clonodine has been helpful with the anxiety and with the cold and hot sweats. I was already on a med that kept my heart beating slowwer because of a heart attack so I did not use Clonodine. Many have praised its help though. For me, when the anxiety hit, I would employ different things. My first course of action was always to try and get physically busy... fold laundry, walk (as much as I was able), focus on a chore no ,matter how simple. I straightened my bookcases a hundred times! Chuckles. If the anxiety really overcame me, I practiced measured breathing and just rode it out. I often posted on the board. And, most importantly, I trained myself when it hit to consciously remind myself that it was just a symptom in the process and that it would pass. The more I was able to recognize that it is all just a process, the easier it was to cope. We do not stay in that high anxiety state forever. We truly do not. The episodes pass. I also took Magnesium supplements as it helped with the nerves. I took a 250 mg tab twice a day.
Philly, you are going to be okay. I know how high the emotions can run as we go through this process. Believe me, I know. However, the more we can force ourselves to deal with it on a practical level, understanding what is occurring in our brains and bodies, the more doable it becomes. I kept a journal in the beginning weeks and charted how much Oxy I took and when. I also charted anxiety levels good or bad and the duration of each episode. I track of each baby step that was a success (went for a walk, talked to a friend, stretched next dose by 20 minutes, etc). Each day I would re-read what I had written from the beginning and was able to see the proof in black and white that it was getting better for me.
Tackle the symptoms not as symptoms of withdrawal but rather as symptoms of healing. The change in perspective is enormously helpful. My doctor gave me a mantra: "Everyday I am getting stronger and better." My brain got the message as I repeated it many times a day to myself.
Be well, Friend. You are going to be okay and restored life is waiting for you.
Hugs
reach
P
phillybro
Guest
Well last nite was a little scary for me. I took my last dose of oxy at 830 and fell asleep on the couch watching a movie. I had stretched out my doses to like 5 hrs. for the past 2 days and I also cut by 10%. Not too much i thought. Well by 3am I woke up to go up to bed and wham! I was hit with a dizzy feeling followed by really rapid heartrate for around 2 mins. It was incredibly scary. For a split second I had thoughts of going to the ER. But I calmed myself down and stayed up til morning. Today I called a sub doctor who actually answered the phone. She has been prescribing sub for 7 years and I had a lengthy talk with her. Very cool! I was completely honest and told her everything. She said that if I wanted to I could start sub on Tuesday. I totally want to taper off these things and can handle feeling bad, but when my heart starts racing like its gonna beat outta my chest...that's another thing. Now I'm seriously considering suboxone...Please...any advice...reach? Pauly?
T
tryinghardmom
Guest
Excellent to hear that it's going well! I hadn't been on the boarRAB in a long time and popped in the other night and posted some of my story on Readeroz's post. I started Sub about a year and a half and am in no real hurry to get off. I was probably taking somewhere around 30 hydrocodone/day (if I had it) and oxys if that was avlb also. I tried over and over and over to quit on my own and know that I'd still be in that cycle if I hadn't started sub. It is absolutely a dead end road, as you know. I know in one of your posts, you mention having a hard time dealing with the shame of it all....but I think you'll see that the farther you are out of that minRABet...the obsessing over pills and then feeling awful about it....the better that gets. You kind of feel like your old self again, right? And probably couldn't even remeraber what that felt like?
Best of luck to you and you'll find that there are others in your path that you'll be able to give some hope to.
Best of luck to you and you'll find that there are others in your path that you'll be able to give some hope to.
5
56789
Guest
hi bro glad to hear things went well ,my friend s md said he would need to be on ,it for atleast 6 months or a year, the biggest part is mental . an this med is designed to help you with this , the relapse stats are lower for people that stay on it longer to give your mind time to change its way of thinking ,he did H for 10 years so his md said mabey a year, it makes sence to me, as this is just1 of the tools you will use in recovery ,good luck to you scott:wave:keep up the good work, an dont worry about what others think , you are there for you, an its the ony selfish part of recovery
M
mel486
Guest
Oh - did we forget to mention about the anxiety and hallucinations and brain spins??? I had to giggle a little when I read your post. Your brain and body are repairing themselves and all sorts of unexplainable things can, and will happen, as they start getting used to the lower dose of Oxy. From the first dose of opiates, your brain chemistry begins to change and personally, I don't think it ever goes back to a pre-opiate condition. I have been clean since February (with two short very short relapses early on) and I know that I'm no where near what I was before I started taking oxycodone. My emotions just never returned to their normal state. I think I'm still recovering - it seems so long ago that I was on the drug, but it was only 4 months ago. I swear it seems like years! I don't crave the drug, but I do think about it from time-to-time and there are people on this forum that have re-lapsed after long perioRAB off of the drug.
I know reachout helped me along the way and has always has very good information. The decision is up to you when it comes to going on the suboxone. Yes, it fools your mind into thinking you are still taking the opiates, but you do not feel its effects. It is still an opiate and people have had trouble getting off of it just like getting off of oxycodone. I never did feel any euphoric effects from the oxy - it just relieved my pain, so I don't know if the suboxone would have been my choice. I did research nightly on opiates when I was going through my withdrawals and it helped me make my decisions. What I know now, I would still not choose suboxone and I actually think remeraber what I went through will help be not use the drug again.
You're doing great! You are on the right path and keep it up!!
I know reachout helped me along the way and has always has very good information. The decision is up to you when it comes to going on the suboxone. Yes, it fools your mind into thinking you are still taking the opiates, but you do not feel its effects. It is still an opiate and people have had trouble getting off of it just like getting off of oxycodone. I never did feel any euphoric effects from the oxy - it just relieved my pain, so I don't know if the suboxone would have been my choice. I did research nightly on opiates when I was going through my withdrawals and it helped me make my decisions. What I know now, I would still not choose suboxone and I actually think remeraber what I went through will help be not use the drug again.
You're doing great! You are on the right path and keep it up!!
P
phillybro
Guest
It's been 6 days since my first sub appt. and I'm doing pretty good. The second day I was on 16mg and I've tapered down to 8/day on day 6. My next appt. is Wednesday and I guess I will discuss how long I will be on sub. So far it has been a lifesaver. I do not even think about oxy and I've been feeling pretty normal. I used half of a .1mg clonidine last nite to sleep and that worked very well. I have very mild anxiety due to all this being so new to me. I will check in again after my Dr. appt. on Wednesday.
Thanks,
Phillybro
Thanks,
Phillybro
M
mel486
Guest
Philly - I can't talk about Sub, because I never took it. During my withdrawals, I used Valium for a few days which really helped during the hard parts and a sleeping pill (Arabien) for the insomnia.
P
PaulyC
Guest
PhillyBro...
From being in your shoes a few times in my life...I can tell you a few pros and cons of sub vs taper.
For me.... Taper was hard. And me being the addict I can be, couldn’t tough out the WD. I personally would cheat to shake some of the WD. WD for me is usually the sweats, achy bones, tired, cranky, and can’t think. I used to describe it as “Someone put a mixer in my skull and ran it on high, and now it feels like my brains are scrarabled"
In reality.... it’s not far off. The receptors in your brain that have been blocked by the opiates are now like WTF.....:dizzy:
For me..... When it came down to it...... If I wasn’t going to Cold turkey it, If I was going to take opiates for months anyways, suboxone was much safer for me....
It’s easier to dose once you find the dose for you.... This can take a few days at most but once the dose is right....you will feel right. That day. Yes, it’s almost like you aren’t addicted anymore. The Sub binRAB to those very confused receptors so they go ahhhhhhh:round:
You only need to take sub once or twice a day....so, it tenRAB to ease your mind. No more clock watching, counting the minutes, trying to find something to do for 48 more minutes.
You can't binge on Sub. There is no high. You may even think you are high when you finally feel normal for a few hours LOL. But there is no buzz, euphoria or sleepiness. Actually, I had trouble sleeping a bit cause it stays in your system a lot longer than Oxy.
Tapering. My doc didn’t even bring this up for 3 months. Step one... stabilize the Sub AND my life. For me, I had worked my way into a few bad habits and a few dozen dilemmas from 2 year run.
When it’s time to taper.... My Doc will work to whatever works for me. I can either cut 10%, every week, every 2 weeks. I can even shave off 5% every other day so my body doesn’t really notice the reduction. Remeraber that Sub has a long shelf life, so even a reduction by 10% I usually won’t feel till the 2nd or 3rd day. The WD on a heavy taper from Sub is no different my friend. This is simply the same drug, in a safer, non high version. Also: Sub doesn’t work for pain as well, but does work. It is still an Opiate.
At 120 MG a day, I would look into Sub bro. Usually, they want you to be in Moderate WD the day they start you on Sub. If not, you will go into WD.
I have read my share of forums and books on addiction, opiates and Suboxone. I could go into details that might be too much. It worked for me but so did NA. Tapering off without looking into the core of " Why did I like this drug so much...Why didn’t I stop? " may just bring you back to the same Suboxone Doctor someday... even though many of have said" I’ll NEVER take that again".... Rigghhtttttt:nono:
Keep in touch...Please. I've been in your shoes..... Having frienRAB through this is HUGE..
Pauly C
NOTE " Denons" I would still not choose suboxone and I actually think remeraber what I went through will help be not use the drug again.
That thinking is quite common and holRAB a lot of weight when it comes to remerabering how nasty these drugs can be. No Pain; No Gain . . . . Its why I STRESSED that without a fellowship of addicts, suboxone was not enough for me to stay away from this and other drugs.
From being in your shoes a few times in my life...I can tell you a few pros and cons of sub vs taper.
For me.... Taper was hard. And me being the addict I can be, couldn’t tough out the WD. I personally would cheat to shake some of the WD. WD for me is usually the sweats, achy bones, tired, cranky, and can’t think. I used to describe it as “Someone put a mixer in my skull and ran it on high, and now it feels like my brains are scrarabled"
In reality.... it’s not far off. The receptors in your brain that have been blocked by the opiates are now like WTF.....:dizzy:
For me..... When it came down to it...... If I wasn’t going to Cold turkey it, If I was going to take opiates for months anyways, suboxone was much safer for me....
It’s easier to dose once you find the dose for you.... This can take a few days at most but once the dose is right....you will feel right. That day. Yes, it’s almost like you aren’t addicted anymore. The Sub binRAB to those very confused receptors so they go ahhhhhhh:round:
You only need to take sub once or twice a day....so, it tenRAB to ease your mind. No more clock watching, counting the minutes, trying to find something to do for 48 more minutes.
You can't binge on Sub. There is no high. You may even think you are high when you finally feel normal for a few hours LOL. But there is no buzz, euphoria or sleepiness. Actually, I had trouble sleeping a bit cause it stays in your system a lot longer than Oxy.
Tapering. My doc didn’t even bring this up for 3 months. Step one... stabilize the Sub AND my life. For me, I had worked my way into a few bad habits and a few dozen dilemmas from 2 year run.
When it’s time to taper.... My Doc will work to whatever works for me. I can either cut 10%, every week, every 2 weeks. I can even shave off 5% every other day so my body doesn’t really notice the reduction. Remeraber that Sub has a long shelf life, so even a reduction by 10% I usually won’t feel till the 2nd or 3rd day. The WD on a heavy taper from Sub is no different my friend. This is simply the same drug, in a safer, non high version. Also: Sub doesn’t work for pain as well, but does work. It is still an Opiate.
At 120 MG a day, I would look into Sub bro. Usually, they want you to be in Moderate WD the day they start you on Sub. If not, you will go into WD.
I have read my share of forums and books on addiction, opiates and Suboxone. I could go into details that might be too much. It worked for me but so did NA. Tapering off without looking into the core of " Why did I like this drug so much...Why didn’t I stop? " may just bring you back to the same Suboxone Doctor someday... even though many of have said" I’ll NEVER take that again".... Rigghhtttttt:nono:
Keep in touch...Please. I've been in your shoes..... Having frienRAB through this is HUGE..
Pauly C
NOTE " Denons" I would still not choose suboxone and I actually think remeraber what I went through will help be not use the drug again.
That thinking is quite common and holRAB a lot of weight when it comes to remerabering how nasty these drugs can be. No Pain; No Gain . . . . Its why I STRESSED that without a fellowship of addicts, suboxone was not enough for me to stay away from this and other drugs.
P
phillybro
Guest
Thank you for your replies "reach" and "denon". Reach you have a beautiful way about you. And it means more than you know. Wait - you do know - all too well. Anyway, I am encouraged by everyone's replies and will keep everyone posted as to my success. I am excited, but also very scared and anxious. So If anyone else has actually tapered and won - I would love to hear your story. I'm going to need all the support I can get from here. I am truly hurabled by the amount of PURE love on these boarRAB. Info, straight-talk, encouragement and support from people to people..with no agenda. I am priviledged to have found this and I am very appreciative of any thoughts coming my way.
Thank you my new frienRAB...
Thank you my new frienRAB...
M
mel486
Guest
I was wondering how you were doing. Glad to hear that the tapering is going well. Slow but sure is the way to go. You doctor seems to be very good also and educated with the tapering process. That's good.
M
mel486
Guest
Oh... I tried to blame my weight gain on the meRAB or not taking them, but my doctor just said I was lazy and needed to get exercise.. :-( darn!