I HAVE BEEN RESEARCHING ALOT ON TAPERING OFF PAIN PILLS. A DOCTOR HAS TOLD ME A PERSON CAN HAVE CARDIAC ARREST OR A BRAIN SEIZURE WHILE TAPERING. YOUR BRAIN WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AND YOUR PAIN THRESHOLD WILL NEVER BE THE SAME. WHEN YOU ARE IN PAIN , THE AVERAGE PERSONS ENDORPHINS KICK IN AND EASE THE PAIN NATURALLY. WELL PAIN PILL ADDICTS HAVE RUINED THIS NATURAL GIFT GOD HAD GIVEN TO US. WE NEED TO TRICK THE BRAIN SLOWLY SO DECREASE THE DOSAGE JUST A LITTLE FOR 7 DAYS. THEN DECREASE AGAIN FOR ANOTHER 7 AND SO ON AND SO ON. IT WILL BE 6 WEEKS BEFORE THE BRAIN AND BODY COPE WITH ALL THE ABUSE. BUT YOUR CHANCES OF SURVIVAL ARE EXCELLENT AND JUST A WORD OF ADVICE IF , GOD WILLING WE LICK THIS DEMON, NEXT TIME ANY DOCTORS OFFICE ASK YOU WHAT YOU ARE ALLERGIC TO........ TELL THEM ALL PAIN MEDICATION .
Bronco-
What's your drug of choice? Many folks here say coming off vic's or hydro will not kill you going cold turkey, but there is real danger isn doing so with benzo's or barbs.
Please talk to a Dr., do research and don't let fear of seizures, etc. keep you from quitting. I tapered off barbs, had very little withdrawals, and was lucky.
Unfortunatley the beast is back and knocking at my front door.
What's your drug of choice? Many folks here say coming off vic's or hydro will not kill you going cold turkey, but there is real danger isn doing so with benzo's or barbs.
Please talk to a Dr., do research and don't let fear of seizures, etc. keep you from quitting. I tapered off barbs, had very little withdrawals, and was lucky.
Unfortunatley the beast is back and knocking at my front door.
Mom
You grab that beast by the neck, throw him down, kick him and spit on him.
Are you OK ??
Frank
Frank, I am actually pretty OK. The thing is I function fine on pills, except for the growing debt. I maintain a job, take care of the family, attend church, etc.
At my physical recently, I was actually hoping my liver and kidney tests would come back abnormal; it would have given my a strong reason to quit. I am just procrastinating at this point. Carol (Trideltmom) has threatened to come to Wisconsin and knock some sense into me, it just may come to that!
I don't WANT something terrible to happen, or to lose everything, but I just may be one of those persons that needs to wake up in a dumpster before I really get the program.
At my physical recently, I was actually hoping my liver and kidney tests would come back abnormal; it would have given my a strong reason to quit. I am just procrastinating at this point. Carol (Trideltmom) has threatened to come to Wisconsin and knock some sense into me, it just may come to that!
I don't WANT something terrible to happen, or to lose everything, but I just may be one of those persons that needs to wake up in a dumpster before I really get the program.
I'm not sure about going into cardiac arrest, but I'm not an expert and I'm sure anything is possible, especially if you already have high blood pressure or an underlying medical condition that would make withdrawal more dangerous.
I've had a couple of doctors tell me that the only detox that you need to worry about being fatal is withdrawal from alcohol (though they all agree that withdrawal from benzos is dangerous as well). But I've met people on here who went cold turkey from methadone or oxycontin and the symptoms they describe are so scary that I am quite sure that if someone had heart problems or epilepsy or one of a million kind of ailments, that it would be dangerous to detox without medical supervision.
I didn't have that hard of a time when I went cold turkey from hydrocodone.... I felt horrible & I had a lot of the typical withdrawal symptoms, but compared to what a lot of people go through, it wasn't THAT bad. At one point, though, I was having these electrical "zaps" in my brain & was so dizzy that I was sure I was either going to have a seizure or a stroke. I would wake up with my heart racing, pouring sweat, & would think "Okay, now I'm going to have a heart attack...." These symptoms only lasted two days &, obviously, I was okay, but it WAS scary.....
The only thing that made me feel better was knowing that (a) I was healthy going into this (and I have low blood pressure naturally, so high for me is normal for a lot of people) and (b) I had read so many things that said you could not die from pain pill withdrawal.
One thing that I always experience after quitting pain pills, whether I quit cold turkey, taper, or get on sub, is that my pain tolerance is so much lower than it is supposed to be. I've relied on hydrocodone for so long that my body cannot make natural pain relievers any more.... It's one regular complaint that I have - that when I try to get clean & sober, the pain sometimes gets unbearable because my body does not know how to relieve pain on its own, but that I know, with time, it will get better.
D
I've had a couple of doctors tell me that the only detox that you need to worry about being fatal is withdrawal from alcohol (though they all agree that withdrawal from benzos is dangerous as well). But I've met people on here who went cold turkey from methadone or oxycontin and the symptoms they describe are so scary that I am quite sure that if someone had heart problems or epilepsy or one of a million kind of ailments, that it would be dangerous to detox without medical supervision.
I didn't have that hard of a time when I went cold turkey from hydrocodone.... I felt horrible & I had a lot of the typical withdrawal symptoms, but compared to what a lot of people go through, it wasn't THAT bad. At one point, though, I was having these electrical "zaps" in my brain & was so dizzy that I was sure I was either going to have a seizure or a stroke. I would wake up with my heart racing, pouring sweat, & would think "Okay, now I'm going to have a heart attack...." These symptoms only lasted two days &, obviously, I was okay, but it WAS scary.....
The only thing that made me feel better was knowing that (a) I was healthy going into this (and I have low blood pressure naturally, so high for me is normal for a lot of people) and (b) I had read so many things that said you could not die from pain pill withdrawal.
One thing that I always experience after quitting pain pills, whether I quit cold turkey, taper, or get on sub, is that my pain tolerance is so much lower than it is supposed to be. I've relied on hydrocodone for so long that my body cannot make natural pain relievers any more.... It's one regular complaint that I have - that when I try to get clean & sober, the pain sometimes gets unbearable because my body does not know how to relieve pain on its own, but that I know, with time, it will get better.
D
IF A PERSON IS GOING TO DIE FROM WITHDRAW,I WOULD OF BEEN DEAD 86 TIMES AGO.
vinny,
your just invincable man :P
terrianne
your just invincable man :P
terrianne
I can relate to the desire for bad news with kidneys or liver, thereby forcing me to take action. It is sooo easy to procrastinate - I will quit tomorrow or next week. I am in the middle of tapering off Ultram, and I have read lots of scary things about possible side effects. I am an insulin dependant diabetic and the possibility of low sugars, etc, is always with me. In view of everyone's caution I have slowed down my schedule for tapering. I reduced my dose by half and so far so good. I am meeting my doctor on Tuesday to discuss my plan with him. I only wish that I had been this careful when I started on this crap.
Hi Danielle!
Hi Danielle!
tim,
i agree, yes in your case ultram is a dangerous detox without a dr's supervision. even in a healthy person ultram is dangerous. your health issues would certainly constitute cause for caution.i am happy to hear you are seeking proper attention to tackle this matter appropriately. hang in there it will get better.
terrianne
i agree, yes in your case ultram is a dangerous detox without a dr's supervision. even in a healthy person ultram is dangerous. your health issues would certainly constitute cause for caution.i am happy to hear you are seeking proper attention to tackle this matter appropriately. hang in there it will get better.
terrianne
Bronco,
It sounds like your doctor may just want you to keep you coming in every month for your Lortabs and Soma's. He should know better than to tell you that crap. Seriously! Unless you have some medical issues we are not aware of coming off Lortab will not kill you. Nor will it give you a brain seizure or cardiac arrest. That is ridiculous. If that were true than half the people I know would be dead. I used to know a guy that could easily take 50 Lortab 10's a day and he got arrested for something and was thrown in jail. Do you know how many people with drug problems that go to jail and are left there for days or weeks to withdrawl. Hell most of them don't even get tylenol while they are in there.
My girlfriend is in an Ohio prison right now and she's been there since Jan 6th. She was taking 4 percocet a day and 2 xanax a day for over 2-3 years. She was left to withdrawl with not even taking a motrin. The xanax is dangerous to just quit but she did it she had no other choice.
This message board alone is living proof it can be done... I have done it myself a few times and I have lived through it. I even got through a methadone withdrawl at home alone without a doctor's help. Don't let your doctor scare you so bad that you don't do something about your addiction. Rae
Ps. Look at Vinny he is our poster child for withdrawl and having boners.LOL~ I couldn't help myself Vinny.
One more thing coming off high dose of Methadone,Oxy's or Benzo's can be dangerous and would need a doctor to assist you in detoxing safely. Even then sometimes it is done at home without the help of a doctor or rehab facility. Although I would never suggest it.
It sounds like your doctor may just want you to keep you coming in every month for your Lortabs and Soma's. He should know better than to tell you that crap. Seriously! Unless you have some medical issues we are not aware of coming off Lortab will not kill you. Nor will it give you a brain seizure or cardiac arrest. That is ridiculous. If that were true than half the people I know would be dead. I used to know a guy that could easily take 50 Lortab 10's a day and he got arrested for something and was thrown in jail. Do you know how many people with drug problems that go to jail and are left there for days or weeks to withdrawl. Hell most of them don't even get tylenol while they are in there.
My girlfriend is in an Ohio prison right now and she's been there since Jan 6th. She was taking 4 percocet a day and 2 xanax a day for over 2-3 years. She was left to withdrawl with not even taking a motrin. The xanax is dangerous to just quit but she did it she had no other choice.
This message board alone is living proof it can be done... I have done it myself a few times and I have lived through it. I even got through a methadone withdrawl at home alone without a doctor's help. Don't let your doctor scare you so bad that you don't do something about your addiction. Rae
Ps. Look at Vinny he is our poster child for withdrawl and having boners.LOL~ I couldn't help myself Vinny.
One more thing coming off high dose of Methadone,Oxy's or Benzo's can be dangerous and would need a doctor to assist you in detoxing safely. Even then sometimes it is done at home without the help of a doctor or rehab facility. Although I would never suggest it.
There is a theoretical risk of uncontrolled seizure (status epilepticus) while detoxing from opiates though this risk is extremely low. Cold turkey from high doses of oxycodone are a greater risk than codeine, but again extremely low. Taking pain pills that contain barbituates (Fioricet) increases the risk.
Cold turkey from benzodiazepines, tramadol and alcohol are known to produce seizures. Seizures from alcohol are reportedly 3% of all cases so you can see that the risk of opiates is likely to be less than 1%. Risk is virtually eliminated if under medical treatment for withdrawals (catapres, subutex etc).
Cold turkey from benzodiazepines, tramadol and alcohol are known to produce seizures. Seizures from alcohol are reportedly 3% of all cases so you can see that the risk of opiates is likely to be less than 1%. Risk is virtually eliminated if under medical treatment for withdrawals (catapres, subutex etc).
