Thread: first time trying to get off of pain meds and I'm scared to death!!!

So over the past 10 years I have become addicted to pain pills. It started out harmless enouch by getting a vicodin here and there and now I have a doctor that I get my pain meds off of and 2 weeks ago I got a 90 day supply of 720 80mg oxycontins and 270 100 mg er morphines. So when I went in today and tried to make up some excuse why I went through these in 2 weeks they told me that they can't prescribe them to me anymore because i'm obviously out of control. So they gave me a prescription for subooxone and pretty much said "good luck, and you might want to take a couple days off of work because its going to be rough" you think!!?? i know what I feel like when i go like 6 hours without any meds. I'm freaked out, scared, confused, and so many other things. depressed. How did it get to this? and how do I get over the first hurdle. Is it betterr to go cold turkey or take the suboxones? I don't want to get hooked onto something else and then just go from pain meds to subs. does anyone have any thoughts on the subject. I'm scared that if I go from taking 25 80 mg oxies and 12 morphines a day to nothing that it will kill me. or am I just making excuses. Please help. I've read many of the posts and it sounds like you guys have a lot more knowledge then I do, so I guess that what I'm looking for, some knowledge and guidence and help and answers and just a way out of this mess. How the hell did I get into this. Also am I just supposed to live with the pain afterwards? is it that black and white. No pain equals addiction and getting clean means withdrawals and then be in pain. Help!!!!

I am not familiar with the sub detox but I have heard it works if u do it short term only. Because u can also get a "dependent" on them. I'm sure someone will be along to maybe help u with a taper. Depression is a major part of it but it will lift in time. Getting clean is the easy part. Staying clean is the real bitcherooni!!!! Good Luck

Thanks, Ya my doctor said that he would like me to be on it for up to a year to "reset" my brain, but I picked up my first weeks worth and with my insurance it was $900!!!! Wonder if he's getting kickbacks? there is no way I can afford this for any serious length of time, so it looks like i'm going to try the subs and then taper off of them. I'm just not sure if it would of been better to taper off of the meds instead of trying to get hooked onto something else and then detox off of that. I can understand the depression part, because I gotta tell ya the truth, i'm not feeling too hot right now. I can't believe I got myself into this mess and I'm not sure if i'm mentally strong enough to kick this habit and then to deal with the pain without the meds afterwards. Feeling at an all time low and thats basically why I joined this, because i'm gonna need all of the support I can get because I feel like i'm going to be doing this alone and I'm scared about what I might do on one of those long nights going through the withdrawals, because obviously i'm not that strong willed, or I wouldn't of gotten addicted to these freaking things in the first place. Thanks Doc!! grrrrr

Now everyone on here has always said to do a short taper. Like week or 2. Again, I nver have taken the stuff so its just an opinion that I have read repeatedly on this ODR site.
U will feel really crappy, low energy, depression, for awhile with sweating, fatigue, muscle aches, all ringing a bell yet? Oh yeah and insomnia and feeling like your body got hit by a truck.
Anywho, do a taper and get off the sht. It will *** with your body and it will *** with your brain.
Been there done that burnt the t-shirt 40 million times!!! LOL

Which route you use to get off the pain meds is really just personal choice; CT isn't going to kill you, but you might wish it would. It sucks the proverbial big one, but you already know that.

The recommendation I always hear for sub tapers is a max of three weeks; it can be done in less than that. I made the mistake of not listening when people told me that, and ended up on them for 5 months; in the end, it really didn't do me any good, as I did not manage to stay clean when I came off of it.

The bottom line is this - either way, you're going to have some WD. It will be less intense with the sub, but will last longer. Like I said, it's a personal choice.

As to the pain issue, my experience is that I had a hell of a lot more pain when I was on opiates than I have without it. Over time on opiates, my pain only got worse. In the nearly 3 months that I've been off, it has improved dramatically. 'm doing things now that I couldn't even consider when I was using.

Doing this alone is way, way hard (impossible for many of us); you should really look into getting some kind of live support, be that NA, SMART, RR, private therapy - whatever works for you. It helps a lot to have someone to call when things get tough.

Hang in there, and keep posting.

Welcome to the forum.

Sorry to be blunt, but your physician sounds like he is either uniformed and delinquent in his duties or he is just trying to "handle" you the easy way by writing another script and getting you out the door.

How much did he prescribe per day? A short-term (2-3) week detox using Suboxone is very doable. However, being on it a year would just leave you addicted to the Suboxone. Also, it does not "reset" the brain. Suboxone is an opiate with some weird attributes but it is still an opiate.

If he wrote the script for 32mg a day which is the max according to guidelines, you easily have enough Suboxone to do a 2-3 week taper without buying anymore. Let us know what you have to work with and we can suggest a taper plan.

BIG WARNING----If he did write for 32mg a day ***DO NOT TAKE THAT MUCH***. In your situation 8mg/day would be the highest dose. I would start with 4 and give it 4 or 5 hours before taking more. Don't expect to feel on top of the world but the Sub can cover most of the really bad withdrawals. (Also, you need to be in noticeable withdrawals to start taking Suboxone or it will make things worse. Taking too much will also make you feel worse. This is called precipitated withdrawals where the Sub binds so strongly in your brain it kicks out the other opiates that may still be active.)

He gave me a script for 30 of the 8mg film. The problem is I was a nice guy and always split all of my meds with my wife so we are both going to come off of these at the same time. She didnt have health insurance and like me she has some medical problems that required pain meds to make the pain more tolerable. So I not only screwed myself and put myself into this situation, I've put my wife into it with me. I guess like they say, you only hurt the ones you love. So basically what I'm or we are working with is 15 strips a piece. We don't have enough money to get another prescription filled. The sad thing is my doctor actually referred me to a pain clinic that wants to put me on a mobile morphine drip for my pain. I'm drawing the line in the proverbial sand, I need to get off of all and any type of pain killers. Like I said in my previuos posts I think I've been on and off of pain meds and suboxone for over a decade, but I've never been without something so I haven't had to deal with the withdrawal symptoms unless I was running low before another prescription filled, and I've heard that they suck. I am reading a bunch of the posts on this site and doing a little surfing on the web trying to figure out how to do it the least painful because the one thing I don't want to do is decide that it's too much to deal with and get back on the stuff, I know that if I do that I will never get off and I won;t ever have the life I want for me, my wife, and my kids. So basically i've taken the rest of my pain meds and gotten rid of everything else that I had at the house. Now all I have are the suboxones. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make it any more tolerable, I work the next 3 days and then i'm off on sun, mon, and tues and so is my wife. I'm thinking that we should use the normal sub dose and then on our days off work on lowereing how much we take since we will be able to be at home and can help each other out and we really would have no reason to leave the house if we don't need to. So far what i've read is exercise, drink lots of fluids, and thats about it. I also think that i'm supposed to wait until i am going throw withdrawals until i start taking suboxones. How bad should I let them get befpre i take one and should I take a whole tab or should i cut it in half or quarters. I tried asking my doctor and he told me to take one film every 4 hours so if i do the math thats 6 a day and if i have 30 of them i will be out in 5 days. wtf??? i don't know if he is getting some sort of kickback from the pharmacuetical company or what, but I can't spend 900 dollars every 5 days and I also have to think about making sure my wife has enough so shes not suffering anymore then I am. Like I said if anyone has any suggestions, comments, tried and true theories or anything I would really appreciate it. I was thinking about trying to find a place for NA meetings but i'm not having any luck so far. Are these a good idea and where would someone find out where the meetings are? sorry, like I said i've never tried to get off of these before, and I'm really really freaked out. Feeling pretty worthless right now and if it wasn't for my kids i gotta say i might just check out early, but thats not an option. Please help. I really really appreciate any help I can get. Thanks!!!

I'd have to wonder if your doctor is high. That is an insane dose of sub, and you don't need anywhere near that much.

You do have to wait until you are in moderate WD before taking it. Use the COWS sale to evaluate that - here is a link to that info:

http://www.heroin-detox.com/faqs-inf...ows-scale.html

Start with 4 mg, and wait an hour or so. If you need to, add 2 more. If you need to add 2 more after another hour, do. Try not to use any more than that, though, especially as you only have 15 strips. Given that, you are going to want to stabilize for a few days at whatever dose you start with, then begin cutting. Try for approx. 25% cuts every 2-3 days. Note that it is easier to make larger cuts at higher doses than it is when you get down around 2 mg. This is a do-able taper, but NOT a painless one. You're going to feel it. But it won't be anywhere near as bad as CT.

To mitigate that, see about getting a script for some clonidine, and maybe one for phenargan as well. also stock in a bunch of Immodium AD, and Epsom salts are also good for hot baths. Magnesium and potassium will also help.

NA meetings are a good resource; you can find locations at www.NA.org - the website for the Fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous.

Don't get yourself too freaked out about this; it isn't easy, but absolutely can be done. And it will get better in time. And I can tell you that pain meds ultimately cause a lot more pain than they relieve. I'm in loads less pain off the opiates than I was while on them, and doing things I never thought I'd be able to do.

Hang in there, take care of yourself, and if you have any questions feel free to PM me.

Great advice Rain. That looks like a do-able plan.