Still struggling with med taper

[melodyl]

I'm really happy for those of you who have recently had ADR surgery and are on your way to a pain free life. I would have posted more positive comments to each of you individually .....but I am still struggling with withdrawal issues that are causing me to feel miserable more than I am comfortable with. I am now almost 4 months from my 3 level cervical ADR surgery and am already relatively pain free.....except for the withdrawal problems. I took off my last (12mcg) fentanyl patch a few days ago. Since I still have oxycodone, I didn't anticipate having such a problem. Unfortunately...even using extra oxy (and some clonidine and lorazapam....recently added to the mix to help with withdrawal symptoms), I still spent the better part of two day sweating (had to change 3 x one night), chills, as well as extreme fatigue and anxiety and depression. I finally pulled myself out of bed and into the shower today and managed to accomplish a few household chores and even got outside into the sun for a little while. I would like to hear from others out there about there tapering or withdrawal stories after surgery....especially from people who have made it to the other side of narcotics and are free from the control they had on you and your life. To anyone who is relatively pain free and no longer having to see a dr. for pain management issues every month....I could use some encouragement. Thanks to everyone here! This group is such a huge source of support for me! Melody

[Terry Allen Blackburn]

Melody:

I would encourage you to see if you can find a physician to put you on Suboxone. Try Suboxone.com - Office-Based Treatment for Opioid Dependence, put in your zip code to find a physician close to you, advise him/her what you are going through and that you want the Suboxone for two reasons, one is for continued pain and the other is to make the withdrawals easier. Hang in there and you can do it.

Terry Newton

[Katie]

Terry, is that the one that my PM doctor told me about? I forgot the name. She really was excited to have access to it up here finally, and had really good things to say about it in regards to reducing or eliminating withdrawal symptoms.

I wish you much luck in getting this under control, Melody. It was one of my concerns until I talked to my doctor about it. I'm glad to know that there is help when my turn comes.

[Maria]

I cannot offer you stories of my successful withdrawl but I can only state that my PM mentioned the same medication Terry did for withdrawls if and when that time comes and I have known of persons with successful opioid ceasation utilizing Suboxone.

Glad to hear your cervical surgery is such a success and sorry the drug withdrawl is so icky.. I know when I've tried to take myself down from an already low dose it's been really nasty for me.

[melodyl]

Thanks Terry, Kate and Maria! Today is a little/lot better! I went to work and other than a little headache, fatigue and loss of appetite, the day seemed like a fairly normal work day. I'm hoping the worst is behind me I DID make an appt.a with a UWMC pain management dr. who specializes in narcotic tapering. I can't get in until May 18....but that is ok...it will give my body that much more time to adjust to no more fentanyl. The closest major pain management center to where I live is over 80 miles away which means a day off of work, but I'm hoping the consultation will be worth it. I'm not sure why, but I feel resistant to going from fentanyl and oxycodone to suboxone. Worried, I guess about trading one problem for another. Maybe I'm naive to think I can do this without using suboxone or methadone or inpatient help....but I've made it this far and if I can do the rest without getting dependent on another medication, I think I'll be happier in the long run. I really dislike having to go to the dr. to get my scripts every month. I'd like to do some more traveling.....and don't like the idea of planning vacations around picking up pills every month. I know there are lots of people here who take pain medication daily....and that has been the story of my life for the last 5 years....but I'm ready for a change. Just not sure my body is going to agree with me on this decision. I'll try to keep everyone updated on my taper (or decision to try an alternative is that is what the specialist and I agree on). I appreciate all of you! By for now! Melody

[Katie]

From everything I know and have seen from others trying to get off the heavy meds without help, it is very hard on your body. Please be careful and ask your doctor about the 'in between' drug, which I've been told is not addictive, just helps your body adjust to the reduction in narcotics. If he doesn't know about it, then find someone who does.

We depend on our bodies for so much...I tend to be kind to mine, or at least not abuse it if possible I want it to last as long as possible, because I have experienced what happens when I treat it badly

I'm glad you are feeling better and hope you continue on the uphill climb!

[fortitudine]

Hi Melody,
I was on a very low dose of morphine. Even so, getting off it was awful. In retrospect I did it way too fast. My doc gave me the 'prescribed' withdrawal regimen for the dosage I was on, but clearly it wasn't right for me. Each time I cut back I had nausea, fatigue and depression that lasted a few days. At first I didn't even rewalize what it was.

In the end I went from probably 5mg per day to 0. Even then I went through the typical narcotic withdrawal, although my doctor was atonished that such a low dose would have any addicting effects. I was in excruciating pain in every cubic inch of my body. I wanted to die. I couldn't eat or get out of bed. I whimpered for hours. When I realized what the problem was I called my doc, who said - go back on morphine and taper slower. My pharmacist said that I was probably more than halfway through the worst and to just hang in there. So I did hang in there as I hated the side effects of morphine. The hell only lasted about 36 hours. However - I had "morphine withdrawal" days for months afterwards - depression, nausea, apathy, fatigue. Some days I just didn't want to get out of bed. I was amazed at how lingering the effects were. At first they happened weekly, then gradually tapered off to nothing after maybe 6 months. Once I realized what they were, and that I wasn't going nuts, I just toughed it out.

Every drug affects every patient differently, so it's hard to know what will work, but my only suggestion is to go really slowly and be patient - you will be drug-free and feel normal eventually. Good luck.

[Maria]

You're progressing! If I had a successful surgery and all that was holding me back was a horrible/terrible withdrawl that was getting better I'd try to tough it out as well because the success of the surgery would be there.

However I am used to getting scripts every month and really the only one I have to worry about is the Methadone but I don't take nearly the prescribed dose even so have enough of this if I want to travel for months at a time if that were ever a possibility.

I cannot because of my animals really unless going to see my father and also because I'm don't have the lifestyle that affords this so it's ok that I'm living the way I am for now I suppose.

I asked my PM about suboxone for me in terms of a clearer mind and he said he didn't really know how it would work out for me to go on Suboxone for pain altho I was welcome to try it altho he thinks it would help with withdrawl should I want to go there.

My pain control is pretty decent as long as I'm not sitting too long but I don't challenge myself much really which is probably why my back isn't blown to bits by now.

Oh well, just really wanting to commend you on your desire to stick to your chosen path of withdrawls and hope it will soon be done and you can enjoy your new spinal life without the medications!

[mmglobal]

I tolerate the meds very well and I think had a relatively easy time with my taper because of that. Even so, I took 4 weeks to go from 120mg/day of oxycontin down to zero opiates and then still had another week of withdrawals after that. I managed my own taper and could crank the withdrawals up or down depending on what I could tolerate. A couple of times, I made mistakes that put me into severe withdrawals for a few hours, but for the most part, I kept everything a mild to moderate. I never tried the drugs the PM suggested that might help with a cold turkey. I did not want to use his taper schedule tha would have taken 4 months. It really sucked, but it worked well for me. I think the trick is in knowing the equivalence of your substitute vs. your previous dose and making the steps you take manageable.

This sucks... but I like what Maria said. If you have to have a problem, how to get off the meds is a pretty good one to have!!!

Good luck... keep us posted,

Mark