Quitting opioids…

[Rick]

Evening all.

So tonight marks 48 hours since I last had a cocodamol 30/500mg.

This is my 3rd time coming off long term max dose use, however this was the longest period of 4 years. Previously 18 months was the longest.

I’ve made this decision to stop, not because my pain is lessening or my condition is getting better, but because I’ve come to realise I cannot sustain the rest of my life eating 240mg of codeine every 24 hours.

Also, the GP/hospital really don’t want to know anymore. I feel like I’m pestering every time I speak to a health professional. I’ve had people tell me they’ve seen people with worse scans, living good lives, and I’ve had people who tell me there’s stuff wrong, but won’t do anything because of my age, and the fact of if I were to have surgery, it would be my 3rd back surgery by the age of 35.

This time last year I was on 7 different pharmaceuticals, approx 20 pills a day, using cannabis illicitly with no steady supply. After gaining a steady (although sometimes slow) supply it’s enabled me to, finally, come off all the pills and start to try to manage my pain purely with medical cannabis.

I’ve come to realise this is probably me for the foreseeable and for that reason i wanted to try and completely stop opioids. I’m not sitting round for 5 years, eating pills, until my age is satisfaction for their stats for surgeries.

This is my 3rd time in this position, first op when I was 21, second when I was 29, I’m now 35, medically retired from the post office, and unemployed and in 24/7 chronic pain.

So far so good, really bad stomach, headaches, but not irritable or snappy and in good mental spirits. Trying to keep myself busy so I thought I’d come here with a little story time for everyone.

Any tips / advice welcome! Anybody had similar experiences?

 

[Rick]

Yeah, no, staggering doses doesn’t work for me, I’ve always been a cold turkey man, 2 weeks and it’s done and dusted. In 2018 I was on 2.7g of gabipentin a day and I cold turkeyd that too. I find it fairly easy especially with cannabis to help.

I swim every other day to the best of my ability. I can only manage around 500m before I have to stop coz of chronic pain. Then the hot tub starts to call my name .

 

[Rick]

If cold turkey works for you and you can tolerate it then on you go I'm similar in that when I've been on long term opiates I've little issues stopping.

500m in the pool is bloody good, I have issues walking that far much of the time without using oxygen (but then I'm in the process about seeing whether I'm a suitable lung transplant recipient )

I can walk about half of what I can swim, using my stick, take a break then carry on. The pool is one of the only places where my pain does actually lessen.

My pain all stems from sciatica and degenerative discs, so gravity is my enemy, when in the water, and buoyant, there’s less pressure pulling down on me. It’s horrible stepping out of the pool as with each step more body comes out and is attacked by gravity lol. The pool and then the heat in the hot tub & sauna is my best friend.

I’ve been trying for a long time to up what I do but I just hit a wall each time and approx 26x18m laps in about 45 mins is my limit it seems.

But it’s better than nothing and as you say I’m able to do better than a lot of people out there. It’s enough to keep me from seizing up is how I’d explain it. Especially as 4 years ago I was walking 14 miles a day as a post man.

 

[Bruce Nolan]

Evening all.

So tonight marks 48 hours since I last had a cocodamol 30/500mg.

This is my 3rd time coming off long term max dose use, however this was the longest period of 4 years. Previously 18 months was the longest.

I’ve made this decision to stop, not because my pain is lessening or my condition is getting better, but because I’ve come to realise I cannot sustain the rest of my life eating 240mg of codeine every 24 hours.

Also, the GP/hospital really don’t want to know anymore. I feel like I’m pestering every time I speak to a health professional. I’ve had people tell me they’ve seen people with worse scans, living good lives, and I’ve had people who tell me there’s stuff wrong, but won’t do anything because of my age, and the fact of if I were to have surgery, it would be my 3rd back surgery by the age of 35.

This time last year I was on 7 different pharmaceuticals, approx 20 pills a day, using cannabis illicitly with no steady supply. After gaining a steady (although sometimes slow) supply it’s enabled me to, finally, come off all the pills and start to try to manage my pain purely with medical cannabis.

I’ve come to realise this is probably me for the foreseeable and for that reason i wanted to try and completely stop opioids. I’m not sitting round for 5 years, eating pills, until my age is satisfaction for their stats for surgeries.

This is my 3rd time in this position, first op when I was 21, second when I was 29, I’m now 35, medically retired from the post office, and unemployed and in 24/7 chronic pain.

So far so good, really bad stomach, headaches, but not irritable or snappy and in good mental spirits. Trying to keep myself busy so I thought I’d come here with a little story time for everyone.

Any tips / advice welcome! Anybody had similar experiences?

Love the honesty and I really wish you all the best in your journey. I’m sorry I can’t relate in regards to pain management but I can relate with the use of narcotics. For about 10years I used cocaine on and off, long story short I used medicinal cannabis and peer support groups like NA to get myself clean. It’s been a long journey but I have finally cracked it and it will be my first time 100 days clean next week. It was daunting to think about life without, I had found comfort in the chaos. I kept a diary and gave myself task each day to keep myself busy even just going to the shop at certain times ect
What I’m trying to say is it will pass, and the more you work at it the quicker it will be.

 

[Bruce Nolan]

Yeah, no, staggering doses doesn’t work for me, I’ve always been a cold turkey man, 2 weeks and it’s done and dusted. In 2018 I was on 2.7g of gabipentin a day and I cold turkeyd that too. I find it fairly easy especially with cannabis to help.

I swim every other day to the best of my ability. I can only manage around 500m before I have to stop coz of chronic pain. Then the hot tub starts to call my name .

Don’t cold turkey please. Talk to your GP

 

[GrownHealth]

Evening all.

So tonight marks 48 hours since I last had a cocodamol 30/500mg.

This is my 3rd time coming off long term max dose use, however this was the longest period of 4 years. Previously 18 months was the longest.

I’ve made this decision to stop, not because my pain is lessening or my condition is getting better, but because I’ve come to realise I cannot sustain the rest of my life eating 240mg of codeine every 24 hours.

Also, the GP/hospital really don’t want to know anymore. I feel like I’m pestering every time I speak to a health professional. I’ve had people tell me they’ve seen people with worse scans, living good lives, and I’ve had people who tell me there’s stuff wrong, but won’t do anything because of my age, and the fact of if I were to have surgery, it would be my 3rd back surgery by the age of 35.

This time last year I was on 7 different pharmaceuticals, approx 20 pills a day, using cannabis illicitly with no steady supply. After gaining a steady (although sometimes slow) supply it’s enabled me to, finally, come off all the pills and start to try to manage my pain purely with medical cannabis.

I’ve come to realise this is probably me for the foreseeable and for that reason i wanted to try and completely stop opioids. I’m not sitting round for 5 years, eating pills, until my age is satisfaction for their stats for surgeries.

This is my 3rd time in this position, first op when I was 21, second when I was 29, I’m now 35, medically retired from the post office, and unemployed and in 24/7 chronic pain.

So far so good, really bad stomach, headaches, but not irritable or snappy and in good mental spirits. Trying to keep myself busy so I thought I’d come here with a little story time for everyone.

Any tips / advice welcome! Anybody had similar experiences?

Ola Rick ,hopes your good /winning , I got some of them kilners just waiting to fill em now, there sound . They've created a thread for you.lol.

Thread 'Meanwhile at Royal Mail...'

24th Sep, 2024

View attachment 82
"Postman Pot, Postman Pot and little stoned cat"

View attachment medbud-postman-pat.mp4

• Muiredach
• Replies: 10
• Forum: Off-Topic Discussion

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Bet you've got story or two.

 

[BudWarrior]

Don’t cold turkey please. Talk to your GP

Coming off opiates needs care, or at least to make sure how much care needed, titrating, etc

 

[LunaDracarys]

Evening all.

So tonight marks 48 hours since I last had a cocodamol 30/500mg.

This is my 3rd time coming off long term max dose use, however this was the longest period of 4 years. Previously 18 months was the longest.

I’ve made this decision to stop, not because my pain is lessening or my condition is getting better, but because I’ve come to realise I cannot sustain the rest of my life eating 240mg of codeine every 24 hours.

Also, the GP/hospital really don’t want to know anymore. I feel like I’m pestering every time I speak to a health professional. I’ve had people tell me they’ve seen people with worse scans, living good lives, and I’ve had people who tell me there’s stuff wrong, but won’t do anything because of my age, and the fact of if I were to have surgery, it would be my 3rd back surgery by the age of 35.

This time last year I was on 7 different pharmaceuticals, approx 20 pills a day, using cannabis illicitly with no steady supply. After gaining a steady (although sometimes slow) supply it’s enabled me to, finally, come off all the pills and start to try to manage my pain purely with medical cannabis.

I’ve come to realise this is probably me for the foreseeable and for that reason i wanted to try and completely stop opioids. I’m not sitting round for 5 years, eating pills, until my age is satisfaction for their stats for surgeries.

This is my 3rd time in this position, first op when I was 21, second when I was 29, I’m now 35, medically retired from the post office, and unemployed and in 24/7 chronic pain.

So far so good, really bad stomach, headaches, but not irritable or snappy and in good mental spirits. Trying to keep myself busy so I thought I’d come here with a little story time for everyone.

Any tips / advice welcome! Anybody had similar experiences?

Well done good on you and I am older than you cough coughing but I am the same as you trying to come of opioids and the doctors they don’t want to know only to make things worse for me, so I never use MC during the day still worried about it and only time I use it is night time but I would like to see and from tomorrow I will start nit taking Codien during the day and vape some MC flower and see how I go about it but reading this is so encouraging.

 

[LunaDracarys]

Don’t cold turkey please. Talk to your GP

I agree with you buddy and I did try to do this managed 24 hours and the pain went extremely bad but I will try again once I have the MC strain that helps with chronic pain sciatica and damaged spine well full body pain

 

[utopiate]

I agree with you buddy and I did try to do this managed 24 hours and the pain went extremely bad but I will try again once I have the MC strain that helps with chronic pain sciatica and damaged spine well full body pain

It is likely you will not get a sound perception of MC's effect on your pain until you have completed the opioid withdrawal. Please be aware that MC could in fact just heighten your perception of the withdrawal. Work with your GP on a reduction plan.