Am I in withdrawal? Am I tapering too fast?

[CBPA]

Hi all. I'm new here and need some help.

In July of this year, I was diagnosed with extreme chronic tendonitis and was given Percocet 5/325. From that time until mid-August, I only took two tablets at night for the pain. Never during the day, as I needed to function. Then I had surgery in mid-August, after which I was in BAD pain. For about two weeks after surgery, I took FOUR tablets per day. Then around early September I went to three tablets a day (one in the afternoon, two at night). About a month ago, the pain started to become manageable so I started cutting my afternoon pill in half, then in quarters. I left my night time does as is. I did however, start feeling some anxiety and just general unwellness when I started tapering my afternoon dose. Last week I decided I wanted off for Percocet for good (I only have about 45 pills left anyway), and started tapering my nighttime does by cutting it by one-quarter pill each night. So each night, I'm taking about 1.25/81.25 than the previous night. In addition, yesterday was the first day in about three months that I didn't take ANY in the afternoon. SO yesterday I was down to 1.25 pills total. Tonight I'll take 1 pill. Tomorrow night .75 of a pill, and so forth.

I really feel like hell and have for the last 3 weeks or so... anxiety through the roof, heart pounding/palpitations, stomach upset, tiredness but inability to sleep well etc. Given the relatively low dose I was on (even at the height of my dosing) and that it's been about 4 months, am I tapering too fast? Am I in withdrawal? I need to start feeling better really soon. Can anyone share any advice with me?

BTW I should mention I have anxiety issues anyway, and have for years... maybe this is all in my head...

[Leaveurfearsbehind]

Just stay on here and you will get some great advise! I did a fast taper, only 5 days and I was going thru wd the whole time. After I went ct I had some bad days but definitely not the worst I've ever had. I really didn't think tapering for 5 days would help but it did. You're not taking much so the wd's shouldn't be unbearable. I came off of 90- 120 mg of oxy that I had been taking for 9 months. You can do this but you need to make a commitment and stick to it. Good luck!

[CBPA]

Thank you, leaveurfearsbehind. Your comments are very helpful.

Here's another question - given the fact that I'm already at only about 5/325 per day, should I continue to taper or should I just go ct? Keep in mind that last week at this time I was still taking 10/650 at night - would just stopping at this point be worse than slow taper? I just want badly to be off this stuff for good. Surely there can't be that much still in my system anyway. If I didn't have work and things this week I think I'd go ct... it almost seems like withdrawal is slow torture but I just want it over with.

[CBPA]

I actually meant to say TAPERING is slow torture. Man I just can't seem to get the words right... I'm looking forward to more comments as I'm really scared and just want to be over this...

[Leaveurfearsbehind]

Well for me time was everything. I was scared, knew I was in trouble and wanted to stop ASAP! Your at a low dose so its definateley doable. I stopped the day before my off day so I would have a day to rest. But honestly I did better going to work. It kept my mind busy and made the time go by faster. It was a struggle but I made it. After the first week I felt way better, I still have my moments but I'm getting better everyday. If your gonna do this you really need to commit to it. Cut off all access to pills. Make a plan and stick to it. keep posting on here and I promise you will get the support you need!

[Leaveurfearsbehind]

To answer your question. Personally I would go ahead and stop. I tapered for 5 days and was in wd the whole time. It just wasn't full blown but it did make it easier when I stopped. I really believe you can do this since you are not taking much at all compared to some people. A guy posted on here yesterday that he was taking 40 a day! You will have 3-4 bad days to start with then you will start to improve. Wishing you the best of luck!

[CBPA]

Thanks again. I'm definitely committed... I'm just trying to figure out if I should keep tapering at the very low dose I'm currently taking, or if I can just stop. Interestingly, I don't feel addicted to these pills. Quite the opposite. I HATE them and just the thought of taking one makes me ill. The only reason I'm tapering is that I was told that's the best way to get off them and avoid withdrawal... but maybe I've tapered enough?

[Leaveurfearsbehind]

Tapering definateley makes it easier. The biggest thing for me was not being able to sleep for a few nights and the restless leg. I kicked for two nights but it wasn't to bad. Now I know why they call it " kicking the habit" lol. It's really not as bad as we make it out to be. It was literally terrified of wd this time but I went in with a positive outlook and a plan and I'm 16 days clean today. I feel way better than I did while taking that crap!

[Leaveurfearsbehind]

You sound like you are ready to me. There comes a time when you just know it's the right time to stop. If you think your ready and would just go ahead and jump off. Keep posting here and we will all cheer you on. One good thing about this place is, we've all been there and know what your going thru. You will get some awesome support on here!

[vicki595]

Hi there-  I think you should just stop taking the Percocet now. You WERE tapering a bit fast and now you're down to such a low dose that I think you'll feel better if you just stop. You'll just drag things out for too long if you continue.

Be sure you take in extra fluids and be sure to eat properly. I think you'll be just fine and it's great you caught this before it got too far out of control!

[CBPA]

Thanks again for the comments. I think I WILL just stop. At my current schedule, I'd only be taking one pill tonight anyway. I don't need that one pill and certainly don't want to take it. I don't want to drag this out any further, it's eating me up inside. I'm supposed to have my son this weekend and can only hope that by then I'll be in decent enough shape to enjoy his company.

I'm pretty naive when it comes to medications. Lesson learned from all this is narcotic painkillers = NEVER AGAIN. I'd rather deal with the pain.

[Leaveurfearsbehind]

Good for you! I just wished that I would have opened my eyes sooner. Keep posting and we will be here for you!

[CBPA]

I just want to say I'm scared. I'm not being very brave about this. Tonight will be my first night without ANY Percocet in about 4 months. Even though I've gotten down to such a low dose... I'm having an anxiety attack over what awaits me. Or maybe it won't be too much worse than I've been feeling for the past several weeks. Luckily I have some anti-anxiety medication but I'm not confident it's going to help if it I need it.

The doctors who prescribed me Percocet are so cavalier about it. I just got off the phone with them. They told me if I didn't feel like I needed it for pain, just stop taking it. They were incredulous when I asked about tapering. Their advice was to take NO more than one pill every 6-8 hours, then just stop taking when I feel the pain is manageable. I told them I'm already taking way less than that at least the past week, and they were surprised. Clueless. As if it's Tylenol or something.

[Leaveurfearsbehind]

It's ok to be scared! It's amazing what you can do when you feel that way. I was the same way, terrified of what might happen? Ask yourself "am I ok right now?". There's no need in worrying about what might happen. It's like having a dentist appointment, then they call the day before to remind you. What happens? You start thinking about how bad it's gonna be or what they might tell you. Then once you go it's not near as bad as you have made it out to be. Just live in the moment and don't worry about what might happen. I know you can do this if you set your mind to it!

[cleanguy]

Be sure to get out and get the Thomas recipe supplies... they will help. If you aren't on antidepressants, you may want to try 5htp... really helps with anxiety. I still use it. Definitely a fan of ct... you can do this!

[abritt121222]

Well congrats on wanting off so soon cause the withdrawal you are having is very mild compared to what it would be if you kept on taking more and more like my stupid self and many others because at my worst 4 per a wouldn't stop withdrawals it was more like 80-100mg just to feel normal and you DON'T WANT THAT. I didn't read the above replies so I'm sure this has been said but ill say it again if it has. I would go get you a good multivitamin, vitamin b-6 and b-12 for the fatigue , magnesium and potassium for the restless legs, valerian root for anxiety and also to help ya get some sleep and meletonin for sleep.  Oh and at Walmart they sell a med called restless legs I would def get some of that to. Well feel free to shoot me a msg of ya have any questions or just wanna talk or anything n ill help ya anyway I can.

Good Luck and Godspeed
ABritt

[CBPA]

Thanks all for the great replies. Crippled with anxiety, feel like I'm gonna have a heart attack. I don't know that I can do this, even at the low dose I'm on. I guess I've been withdrawing for a few weeks now. Can't take much more, at this point I can barely function. I'm afraid to even go outside. Unreal.

[abritt121222]

Hang in there it will get better. I would really suggest just quitting all together at this point your dose was low so the withdrawal you are talking about now is prob as bad as its going to get and the longer you take even the low dose you are on now the longer you will have to deal with it cause your body is just vetoing enough meds to keep it wanting more so the sooner your body gets used to not having any the sooner you feel better

[CBPA]

Thank you abritt, you make a lot of sense and that's it for me. Yes I caved and took one pill last night... I was scared. But how much will my body miss one 5/325? I hope you're right in that this is as bad as the withdrawal will get. No more, I quit.

[CBPA]

The help and advice I've gotten here so far has been extraordinary, and I thank everyone for it. Still, I have nagging doubt. Yesterday, I only took one 5/325 pill and managed to survive. However I took it a little later at night than usual and I noticed my body getting really jittery before I took it.

As I mentioned probably numerous times, over the last 2 or 3 weeks I've been tapering by one-quarter pill each day. Tonight, I'm not planning on taking ANY - in other words, dropping by dose to nothing by a whole pill. If I already feel this bad doing only one-quarter each day, what will dropping the entire does do to me?

Again, I would love to believe that the w/d symptoms I'm having now are at their worst - I'm really trying to believe that - but I'm still having my doubts. All I can do right now is dread what tonight might be like. I've got anti-anxiety meds and stocked up on vitamins and Valerian tea, but still... I want so badly to do this but I'm terrified. Am I being irrational? Today could be the worst day of my life so far, and I feel it's about to get even worse...

[Colorless]

Try to keep remembering that no matter what your withdrawal symptoms are, the one thing you are guaranteed is that they are temporary!  Your brain is trying to trick you into believing that you can not possibly make it without taking a pill to make it manageable.  Your brain chemistry is not your friend now because it is lying to you.  I cold turkey detoxed from 20-30 10/325's a day for over 5 years.  Many of the wonderful people here have done this and have incredible success stories.  Make the commitment and just don't take a pill for the next hour....then the next hours, and so on.  You really can do it.

[CBPA]

So I didn't take any Percocet last night, first day/night since July I haven't taken any. I actually did sleep eventually, but to my surprise had the restless legs for about an hour or so. When I got out of bed this morning, I felt pretty ok - I was surprised actually at how ok I felt. That was 3 hours ago though - now I feel TERRIBLE. Nausea, dizziness, chills, slight pain/tightness in chest, runny nose, scratchy throat, having trouble thinking straight, etc. There's no turning back now, I guess I'll just have to ride this out and hope that all of these symptoms are indeed withdrawal. I'm glad I took the big step last night - no Perc at all - I really hope I start feeling better soon. I hope to feel better by this weekend, as I really want to see my son. Thanks again to you guys, I've had so much help and encouragement from you already. Please wish me luck as I continue to try to get through this. SICK!

[Pat1956100]

Great job on stopping the percs altogether.  Today is my day 1 without any as well.
I think because of how you tapered you are in full withdrawal right now.
You seemed to be in withdrawal even when you were taking them.  The really bad feeling won't last too long.  I think you will be feeling better by the weekend.
Hang on tight because you have been through a lot for this and if you give in now it will just prolong everything.
Make sure you take imodium and drink lots of fluids.  If you can't get anything down, try the boosts or ensures.
Keep posting and let us know how you are doing.

[CBPA]

Thanks. I have no intention of caving in - I HATE Percocet and just the thought of taking one makes me feel even sicker. My problem is I'm impatient and I want to start feeling better now! I've been feeling like hell for weeks as I slowly tapered. My chest pain and tightness is what concerns me the most. The cardiologist ran some tests and assured me that the pain is not my heart, it's anxiety, but for some reason I have trouble believing that.

Anyway got a little off track there. The thought of this getting WORSE in several days time is crippling. I want the worst to be now while I (luckily) have the time to get through it.

[AMom1st]

You are awesome!  You're now on day 2 with none, right?  It sounds like you have been w/d for a while now.  This is probably the worst of it.  Hang in there.  When you get to day 4 clean you should start feeling better.  Day 5 is even better than that.  I was a Norco 7.5/325 - 6 pills a day addict.  On my day 5 I woke up and the world felt like a totally different place.  I felt good...like I used to feel before the drugs.  Keep posting and keep fighting even it's ONE minute at a time.  Don't worry about tonight or tomorrow.  Its not here yet.  Live for right now making the choice to not go back.  You can do this.  Best of luck!