Quitting pain pills..need some support

[cathy7871]

Hi, My name is Cathy and I have been trolling around here the last couple days. Like alot of people it started out taking pain pills for legit reasons and snowballed out of control. I have lied to my family, friends, coworkers, Drs, and to myself. I am ready to get back to normal, whatever that is anymore, and I need some help. I have been taking mostly hydro 5/500 and some tramodols for years.  Last week I decided to basically quit cold turkey. The last pill I took was Fri morning, a hydro 5/500. I have not taken anything since.  My withdrawl symtoms suck as I am still having the chills and the restless legs. I ended up taking today and tomorrow off of work and then I dont work until Fri, so I am hoping to be over the hump by then. Is that possible?  I guees I never did say how many I had been taking. Anywhere from 5 to 12 hydros a day, and when they ran out I would take tramodol until I had my refill. It also ***** that I live next door to my Dr clinic and could walk over and get a refill in a heartbeat.  Everyone in this small community calls him Dr. Feel Good..lol..  I guess I just need some words of encouragement..Please help me, I dont know what else to do. When will the sleepless nights go away?   I hate the way I feel now, but, I hated the way I felt a week ago also.  Hard to beleive how much a pill can control someones life.  I will win this.

[larbec7]

I have gone cold turkey from hydros 8 10/325 a day for 3 years and you will be feeling batter by Friday and able to work...keep busy and if you can work out.  The more you get your own endorphins the better you will feel.  Go for a walk or tread mill.  Also, look up the Thomas recipe and that will help.  Take hot baths for your muscle aches and Advil, get something to stop the diarrhea.  I hate to tell you but you will not feel GOOD for a couple more weeks but everyday will be a better day.  I will admit tapering is the best.

I have been on morphine sulfate for the past 2 years and I am weening off of those now.  I started at 400 mgs a day PLUS 15 mgs of hydromorphone 5  a day to 60 mgs of MS and 4 Hydromorphones a day but it was a taper.  I get 6 hrs of sleep each night so far so that helps me.

BTW, I am in pain management

Keep it up, you can do this!!!.

[packerman1957oh]

i take tramodol also they take the edge of the pain.they say they are nonarcotic.they help me

[packerman1957oh]

stay busy cathy if you think about them instantly think of something else hot baths helped me also ive been clean for 2 mts now. i was taking 12,000 mil a day

[cathy7871]

Freezing cold tonight, but yet sweaty and clammy hands at the same time. I guesss its about time for another hot bath. It been a little over 3 days since I have taken a pill, and already my mind somehow seems not so foggy. I guess thats good. I will keep chugging along and see how the rest of my evening goes. If it was not sooo cold outside I would go for a walk. I could use some fresh air.

[sudie58]

im really glad you are cancer free now, bless ,and i hope you do stick to the cold turkey route, you probably feel really rough but have some of it behind you now. its mad when you read posts on here .just how many people are addicts! i find myself looking at folks now and again , wondering if they are just like i was! i know it sounds mad but i was shocked i had become one!   all my best wishes  sudie

[cathy7871]

Thanks for the good wishes!!  I could write so many things, but my thoughts are kinda a jumbled up mess right now.  I think it is funny how you say it happens to the most normal people.  I consider myself one of them.  U know, I have a good job, nice place to live 3 daughters, drive a nice car and I am sure not one person I work with suspects a thing. I get a sick feeling in my stomach when people comment about someone elses appearance and says "he/she looks like a druggie'...I have always wanted to say, how do you know what one looks like?  Do I look like one, cause I am!!!  Crazy how one pill can mess a person up. It makes me sick to realize one day, when this is all just a bad memory, that I am going to realize how much I missed out on. All I can say to you is take that leap now. I know you want to cause you are already here with us. I will help you in anyway I can.

[ltrain408]

Hi there,

You are not alone...You should be sooo proud of yourself. I hope you stick with it. It is encouraging to me and a lot of other people. I am trying to get up the courage to quit...and as I have been reading posts on this site, I feel better..Not so alone. This addiction with pills happen to the most normal of people....moms, dads, business people, educated people, ect...I think it is the devil..I wish you the best and much success.  

[sudie58]

hi cathy,im glad you have decided youve had enough and want to get clean.i tried to taper , but did it cold turkey in the end, that was about 2 months ago, it wasnt easy but definately worth it.  the worst symptoms lasted about 2/5 days, was sweats, restless legs,shakes, bad flu type symptoms, probably what you are experiencing now. i dont think tramodol are good for you ,ive only heard bad things about them.  at about day8/9 i did slowly start to feel a bit better, i drank plenty of fluids, took immodium,(for stomache cramps etc) made sure i ate something and tried to get some fresh air by doing some walking, which did help. its going to be hard for you ,especially as you have the dr so close! but as you get further on in your withdrawals, i hope you feel as if it would be a waste to go back on them, you need to have a good recovery plan. such as na/aa .i hope you stay strong, you will get through this, and my prayers are with you.
    good luck , sudie,  p.s there is a lot to read on this site to help as well.

[cathy7871]

Hi, and thanks for the quick response. I actually tried that once before and all was going good for about 2 weeks. I went back in for a check up and another 2 week supply, when he told me that my kidney surgery I had the month before had shown I had kidney cancer. Of course I started crying cause I was scared and he told me to go back to my kidney doctor and handed me a script for 120 pills and sent me out the door. He never once even talked about why I was in his office in the first place and that was to taper down some more on the pills. So the cycle started all over again. Ughh.. I know I could go see a different DR. but, I really wanna do this on my own. Oh, and I am now cancer free, my kidney Dr. missed the biopsy , but when I went to see him he assured me they had gotten it all. I now have a cat scan yearly, just to make sure.

[LeaAnn807]

Hi!  Whatever you do, don't look back now!  You are almost over the worst of the physical stuff.  At least the really hard part.  I know it's a pain in the butt to go through this, but if you go to a doctor now and start a taper, that would not make any sense.  So I guess I don't agree with pmacca here.  48-72 hours from your last pill should be the peak and worst part and slowly get better from there.  I PROMISE you that it doesn't get any worse than what you are experiencing now.  

Do you have some imodium?  If so take some now.  Take 2.  Take a dose of nyquil tonight.  It can decrease RLS a lot.  There is also something called Hyland's Restful Legs.  It's OTC.  It helps lots of people too.  

Good luck!  Please keep up the work.  It's so worth it!

[FassFeat]

I quit CT 6 months ago from a 30 per day hydro habit. You are doing the right thing and you are correct in that you will be over the hump by fri. Not to disagree with the post above, but tapering is tough in that you are in WD for a long time. Everyone has their own way and as long as the end result is being clean, it is all good. You are almost through the worst of it. I encourage you to look at the health pages on this site, in particular the Thomas Recipe and the Amino Acid protocol. These will help, also there are a couple of other things to get. Hylands Restful legs, a three in one vitamin called Cal-Mag-Zinc (both will help with restless legs) also Melatonin for sleep and most important is Hot soaks in tub or hot showers.. will help greatly. Hang in there, you are doing great. Hope that helps some. Just focus on today and you will be fine. Andrew

[pmacca486]

Quitting cold turkey is usually the hardest way to stop an addiction, i would never reccomend doing this because of the restless sleepless nights you will get like you have explained; the best way that i think could help is by simply admitting to your doctor that you have an addiction to pain pills, and by the doctor gradually decreasing the amount of pain pills you will take in one day.

I belive the way you have stopped is the hardest and most stressful way to deal with an addiction and i strongly reccomend you go to see your doctor and take my advice