Can one quit taking oxycodone on his/her own?

No one quits on their own, essentially. Rehab might not be necessary, but she needs some understanding support mechanism.

It’s always better to do it under the supervision of a doctor. But obviously she can do it on her own because that is what she is doing. The doctor might tell her to do it the same way, but you won’t know until you find out. Also, I’m sure there is information about this on the internet. It seems that most sites recommend reducing dependency with a lot of care. Here’s an example, but you can look at many sites and see the same thing.

Apparently the withdrawal symptoms are pretty bad, and some people go cold turkey just to get it over with. I’m just saying this. I do not recommend it, nor do I not recommend it. Some people seem to taper down to a certain point and then go cold turkey. Others go to detox and get other meds to assist with the withdrawal symptoms. Then they go into rehab.

But if it’s working, and she wants to continue to do it that way, and she can tolerate the withdrawal effects and her companions can tolerate her being this way, then it seems like a decent way to go.

They also say to watch out for depression. The drug usually is covering over depression. So without it, there is a danger of her hurting herself or just being able to do nothing, or at worst, having a desire to end it all. It’s better to plan now to get a support system into place—particularly a therapist and a psychiatrist who can prescribe anti-depressant medications.

I would hate to have to do that—withdraw from a very addictive drug and deal with depression right after that. Best wishes.

Coming off medication on your own without a doctors opinion is never a good idea, there can be serious side effects I wouldnt recomend, just safer to go to the doctors

It is possible to quit on your own. Opiate withdrawl can be incredibly unpleasant but it’s not life threatening. The method she is using of gradually reducing the dose is the most commonly prescribed method as it reduces the intensity of the side effects. Having said that it would be a goood idea to talk about it with a doctor (and probably not the one who’s been writing all the prescriptions for the last 7 years and not noticing shes going through them so quickly). The hardest part is often not restarting after you have stopped, particulalry if you still have the pain you were taking the pain killers for in the first place. A good suppport group and an understanding doc who can help you manage the pain with out risk getting addicted again will make staying off the oxycodone much easier.

The physical withdrawal is not the biggest problem she’s facing. If done gradually enough there is no danger.

But that’s just one part of the problem. If she does not begin dealing with the reasons why she chooses substituting an altered reality for dealing with life, the gains will not be lasting.

When someone is taking 3–4 x the normal dosage there are issues beyond mere physical dependence.

Not everyone who takes opiates is an addict but for someone taking that high an amount, it’s pretty obvious.

There are people whose body is physically dependent upon these meds who are not addicts. Once the physical need is no longer there, these people can gradually decrease the amount and leave them behind for good.

But that’s the primary difference between physical dependence and addiction.

Addicts start down the road of gradually taking these meds for reasons other than solely coping with physical pain.

They begin using them for their mind altering properties as well. They do this to aid in coping with the emotional, psychological or stressful circumstances in their lives.

And that’s just escaping life rather than coping with it.

Without admitting that to themselves and beginning to deal with it, there really is no recovery. It’s possible they may wean themselves off physically (but doubtful at that huge amount) but sooner or later they will seek escape again. Usually with the preferred drug but sometimes with another substance or addictive behavior.

Without professional help OR the support of other addicts with a good track record of recovery years under their belt, they won’t have long term stability. Just a repeat bunch of hills and valleys.

This can be summed up best by the simple statement that abstinence is NOT recovery. They are distinctly difference.

It is true that abstinence is necessary in order for recovery to begin. But that is merely the first necessary step in the entire process of recovery. And the easiest one to boot.

I know that sounds a bit strange, but check in with any professional person or recovering addict and they will verify that.

Recovery requires an ongoing process of rigorous self-honesty to prevent relapse. Especially with prescription meds which are not illegal and pretty easy to obtain.

The best thing her husband could do would be to get her to agree to inpatient rehab followed by a supervised sober living program. This is where she will learn to begin facing the underlying trigger issues, get honest with herself and develop the tools she needs to STAY OFF the meds once detoxed.

They will also do a complete physical medical exam to assess her degree of pain and find alternative treatments methods apart from mind alterating substances.

Yes it is possible to do a physical detox at home with medical guidelines. And it will last however long it lasts.

But until she develops the tools to cope with the rest of her life without chemical aid it will be the same roller coaster of quit-relapse, rinse, repeat, ad infinitum.

She has essentially been escaping into a chemical fog for years and will continue to need that escape till she begins to face the underlying issues and learn to cope with life on her own.

Addiction is a complex disease, frequently subject to relapse and resistive to treatment. It’s a disease of denial.

The physical is merely the tip of the iceberg. Someone who has progressed to the huge amounts you mentioned is facing far far more than physical pain. And that’s assuming that those numbers are close to the truth. My guess would be larger than what she’s willing to admit to.

So to answer the question. Yes the conplete physical withdrawal to zero is within the realm of possibility (altho highly unlikely).

What are the dangers to look out for ? Repeated relapse into one addiction or another.

Her husband should really get himself to the nearest AA or Narc-Anon meetings on a regular basis so he begins to realize fully what he is dealing with.

Yes, if she’s down to 3 pills a day then she can keep gradually weaning off. If a person stops cold turkey though, they can have seizures. I know a few people who tried different ways, some with success. What everyone else has written about dealing with the pain that warranted the oxy rx in the first, I echo that being the greatest obstacle to staying off.

I actually had to reread her post to ascertain precisely what was meant.

I think she’s saying that she’s managed to eliminate 3 pills from the total of what she started with. At least that’s how I interpreted it.

@cathlarson72

Could you clarify the numbers here please ?

I also realize I should have asked whether she is taking Oxycontin or Oxycodone (or a medication containing Oxycodone as the primary ingredient) ?

If she is taking OXYCONTIN that changes everything drastically. They may sound similar but there is a critical difference between them.

Could you please clarify that also?

Yes you can if you can if you have one to two weeks to spend without doing anything productive.

@Buttonstc I am not sure if its Oxycontin or Oxycodone… but I want to say it’s the latter. And she was taking 12 to 15 pills a day, now she’s down to 2 or 3 a day. I’ve seen her and she’s shaking all over. She acts like she’s not all there. Completely strange, as it is expected with the addiction.

In what period of time did she go from 12–15 down to just 3 ?

If it’s just a few days she could be in medical danger.

Could you define “out of it” a little more precisely. Glassy eyed? Out of touch with reality? Not her usual self?

Out of it can have a variety of connotations.

How long ago did she start cutting down ?

Is there a particular reason why her husband is so adverse to getting experienced professionals involved? Her reluctance is par for the course, but what’s up with him?

This is a long standing problem. There are no overnight cures. Seven years is a long time.

I’m rather puzzled by this entire thing.

It sounds like she went down too fast for her body to adjust. If someone’s been abusing pills for a while, going to the recommended dose quickly can lead to the withdrawal symptoms, including being shaky and disoriented. It is entirely possible for anyone to quit on their own, but it is also entirely possible for them to do it too quickly. She might benefit from going to the doctor, but its unlikely that she needs rehab.

Bottom line is, even though its nice of you to be concerned about her, its her life and nobody other than her family, significant other, whatever has any business telling her what she should do. You can suggest things, but it would be out of line to tell her what she should be doing, especially based on what some people on an internet site told you. While you might feel like this is your business, odds are it isn’t really.

@Buttonstc I heard that she drastically cut down from one day to the other… from 12 to 15 pills down to 2 or 3/day. I think that happened about 2 weeks ago. I didn’t know her since before she started taking the pills, but as I saw her last week, I noticed she was shaky. It’s very noticeable. She talks nervously, like she has no patience and kinda rude. I know she’s been smoking more now after she cut down on the pills cause she was lighting a cigarette everytime she put one down. She’s like a toothpick, she probably weighs 108lb and 5’8”.
I talked to him and he said she’s doing just fine all alone and that she doesn’t need rehab. I said from what I heard, it’s too dangerous to cut down after so many years on one’s own. He said she’s doing fine that’s all.

@klutzaroo yeah I know I’m not going to offer any advice. I just asked here out of curiosity.

Well, I guess he’ll find out soon
enough whether he’s right or wrong about how “fine” she’s doing.

And, it’s true that you can’t live someone else’s life or make decisions for them.

But if he really is a friend of yours, you might consider finding out about the nearest support meetings along with a phone number.

If you jot the pertinent info down on a piece of paper, they at least have the info handy if the going gets too rough for them. (I’m predicting it will)

This way the choice is up to him or her to use that info or not. Regardless of what he says, it’s pretty damn obvious she is a long way off from “just fine”.

A good friend of mine went through the exact same thing with his former fiancé. He caught he using his ATM card to withdraw significant money from his acct.

She finally admitted her Oxy habit to him. So he helped her tough out the gradual withdrawal and figured that was the end of the problem. As if.

That was on his younger days before he knew anything at all about dealing with addiction.

It wasn’t too long before she was back at it, except sneakier, and pretending everything was just fine.

That was over 10 yrs. ago and she has lost numerous jobs as well a custody of her kids. She is his ex for obvious reasons.

So don’t be too surprised if your friends wife follows a similar pattern. The physical is merely the tip of the iceberg.

Eventually the husband will come to the same realization. Hopefully you can give him a little helpful advice when he reaches the end of his rope.

I have a friend who went through a very similar situation a couple of years ago. He tried to taper down and quit without help and then tried again, and again, and again. Probably 10 times in the span of two years. The withdrawals were always too much to handle. He finally sought the help of an addiction specialist (no rehab, just a once a week appointment with the Dr.) who put him on a medication called suboxone. He claims that it saved his life. He was on it for 1 year and is now off and doing well.

Yep. Addiction specialists exist for a reason.

If they weren’t needed, they wouldn’t exist.

Not everybody goes to rehab. But there’s nobody I’ve ever heard about who beat a long standing addiction without help of some sort. That’s why addiction medicine is such a fast growing specialty. Most of them really know what they’re doing.

Personally, I think that a stint in Rehab gives someone the best shot at sucess, there are other treatments like this. And I’m a pragmatist. Whatever gets the job done.

@Buttonstc thank you for your realistic insight into this. I think he’s not taking it very seriously and thinking she’s strong enough to overcome this addition. But I’ll try writing down the information in case they do need or change their mind about it. In my eyes, he’s too proud to admit she needs to seek help. Especially cause she’s always alone and he’s gone for work a lot. She snaps at everyone, calls him bitching up, yells at her 2 teen daughters. She doesnt do anything around the house, has no job, no friends, no hobbies. That is why I think it will be too hard for her. Her family is in another state, he says they are filthy rich but since she messed up so many times because of these pills, they don’t talk to her much. He says the marriage is about to be over, and she told him she would quit the pills to win him back. But really, this is not the reason she should be quitting. She should be quitting for herself.

oh I just remembered… he said she takes percocet and morphene… i’m pretty sure he said that.

If you really want to do something enormously helpful, find out the information on the nearest Al-teen meetings.

These are groups for the children of addicts to help each other through all the crap and help their parents are putting the family through.

Most kids are unaware that groups like this even exist. They are truly the innocent victims in this whole mess. This may at least give them half a chance at a decent future for themselves. They need to know that they can’t change their parents and it isn’t their fault.

This liberates them to begin to choose a healthier life for themselves in spite of the dysfunction in which they were raised.

If she’s been addicted for seven years, they’ve been basically raising themselves.

Fully half of their lives have been impacted by this. 7 years is a large chunk of a child’s lifetime. These are damaged kids whose needs are not being considered at all.

The sooner they can get connected with a source of help geared just for them, the better their chances of not following in the same dysfunctional footsteps.

AA is listed in the phone book and their help lines are manned by very well trained volunteers. Everything is Anonymous. Tell them about the basic situation and they can steer you to a contact phone for the nearest Al-ateen groups.

Doing this for these kids will help them in ways you can’t begin to imagine.

You really can do little to change the dysfunction of the adults here. They’re going to do what they’re going to do.

But you do have the opportunity (behind the scenes) to throw these kids a lifeline.

I’m assuming neither parent would be thrilled about them being involved with Al-ateen, but there isn’t much reason for them to know.

They’re certainly doing their selfish utmost to screw these kids up for life, so they’ve rather given up the moral high ground.

There are certainly worse influences on their kids lives than a group designed to help them cope with the dysfunction imposed upon them by the family dynamic.

If you want further info or have any Qs shoot me a PM.

thank you @Buttonstc . I am a daughter of alcoholic parent myself (my dad). I went through a lot since I was born until I was about 20 yrs old. That’s when my dad quit drinking. He goes to AA for 15 yrs now and he is diong really good, hasn’t drunk for all these yrs. Yes, I know the impact that an addiction has in the family especially when you grow up amidst these problems. So I will try to look that info up for the kids. It is imperative that they receive support.

@Cath

Percocet is Oxycodone.

The only difference is that Tylenol (Acetominophen) is added to the formulation, hence the CET at the end. Extremely damaging to the liver in higher than recommended dosages (which I’m assuming she is taking)

And she is taking this in addition to the other OXY ?

And there’s something else in the mix as well?

This whole situation really is a mess.

Kindly ignore the posts of people trying to minimize its seriousness. It is VERY serious. Not something that lends itself to a half-assed DIY approach.

A medical professional should be involved. Right now it’s the blind leading the blind.

Her husband may be your friend but he has NO idea what he’s doing, plain and simple.

I don’t want to sound alarmist here, but she could end up dead. Is there any way you can drop him a clue about this ?

@Button Yes I totally agree with you. Yes, I knew Percocet had oxy and acetominophen, so I guess it’s extra damaging to the body as a whole. I know it’s a mess. He does not like or trust doctors, and I keep telling him she’s going to end up dying if they don’t seek medical intervention. I don’t get it how this dr keeps prescribing these pills to her for 7 yrs and never changes anything. Yes, some are there for the money only, but hey! Thats way too much liability on him to be prescribing this stuff all these yrs.
Well he said, she’s doing just fine… she’ll stop it. But I keep urging him to take her to the dr, he wont. Yeah, it’s a big mess. I’ll try getting some help for the kids. Been there as a kid in a similar situation and I still carry scars from it. Anyway, I appreciate your good insights on this. Totally agree with you it’s the blind leading the blind. I’ll keep you posted.

@Buttonstc asked me to weigh in. I agree with him (her?) completely and I really don’t have anything to add.

In all likelihood she is going to more than one Dr.

If he’s at work all day, he really has no idea what’s going on.

I’m guessing but I’d wager that she’s telling him she’s down to only three. Obviously she has reduced it enough to make her uncomfortable but unless he is in complete control of the ONLY source of pills, there’s no telling what’s actually going on.

Likely she has multiple sources for her pills so even if he thinks he’s in control of the supply, that’s a pipe dream.

It’s amazing how many ingenious hiding places addicts have.

I also grew up with alcoholic parents and my Mother could hide more booze than you could imagine. She even put it in a mouthwash bottle and added blue coloring to make it convincing.

This woman definitely needs long term rehab. But she has to want it, bottom line.

I was getting alarmed by your physical description as well as all the different types of pills and the speed of withdrawal.

But I’ve remembered how much addicts can hide and guard their supply. She is in discomfort because of the reduction but I can’t imagine she’s REALLY down to only three OXY. that’s what she wants him to think. Highly unlikely it’s the truth.

Yes, this will kill her one day. Unlikely it will be tomorrow. Until he comes to his senses and puts her under supervised professional care which she cannot manipulate or lie, they’ll just keep waltzing round and round doing the addict dance.

Yea she has cut down some way but there’s no way she’s doing a complete detox. She’s doing just enough to pacify him and no more. Eventually he may wake up to this and either insist on rehab or just leave.

Until he wakes up they just go around in circles.

Hate to sound so cynical but that’s reality. Put your effort into the kids. If they’re too young to drive to meetings, perhaps you can take them.

Who knows, they may even have an Al-anon or ACOA meeting simultaneously. Since you’re a member of the fraternity no one really wants to be a member of (people raised by addicts) you can find a meeting for yourself as well.

BTW the primary reason I consulted @Rarebear about this is because, unlike the rest of us, he has an MD after his name in real life.

Fluther is fortunate to have several resident Real Life Doctors (or thats what they tell us :) who usually weigh in on medical issues.

A lot of us will sometimes shoot them a PM alerting them to any they may have missed.

I wasn’t looking for a rubber stamp agreement but rather a medical opinion from a professional.

Real Life MDs have seen far too many cases that follow the same addiction pattern.

Same song, second verse…..

ok button… I appreciate your words very much, all the enlightenment and consulting rarebear in his medical expertise. It all helps in this issue, for sure. I dont get why my friend is sooo calm about this. I know this is no light matter and he’s not listening. He says she’s a strong girl. It’s a not a matter of being strong or weak, it’s that these drugs are brain controlling and even with all the best of intentions people will need a support system in order to wean off the drug. I will keep you guys posted as I hear more about the story. Thank you soooo very much for your powerful words and valuable information.

I’m guessing his calm comes from the false sense of being in control. He thinks he knows what’s happening but in reality is clueless.

The entire relationship between addicts and their enablers is another entire subject about which volumes have been written.

My shortcut way of referencing it was the allusion to them waltzing around and around in circles doing the addicts dance.

It’s a complex dynamic and will continue until one of them wakes up and decides they want more from their lives.

Until then it’s a repeat of the same dysfunctional patterns.

One-two-three-four; repeat, half turn and back again; one-two-three….....

You get the picture.

Try to give the kids an alternative to this cycle so they don’t follow in the same footsteps.

www.al-anon.alateen.org/alateen.html

I purposely use the terms alcoholic/addict interchangeably as if they are synonymous for a reason.

The details involved in each may differ a bit but the OPERATIVE DYNAMICS involved are identical.

Just because Alcohol is not their Mothers primary drug of choice does not exclude them from a group designed for children of Alcoholics at all.

The pills are just a far more potent form of booze in powdered form rather than liquid form.

The children of pill adicts suffer in the exact same way as the kids of boozers.

The fact that the primary choice of addictive substance varies from one to the other is an almost meaningless distinction for the families and friends of the addicts.

I don’t even know whether they have something titled Narc-ateen. If there were, they’d be harder to find and there would be fewer of them.

Al-ateen will do the job and there are more groups springing up all the time.

I wish I had known about them when I was in my teens going through all my Mom’s crap.

Getting some insight earlier would have made my life far less confusing during that time :)

I just took a closer look at their website. Unfortunately all of their language centers around alcohol.

But speaking from experience, ALL 12-step groups are open to anyone who classifies themselves as needing that groups help.

There is no pass-fail test at the door. Both girls will be very welcomed there. And I’m certain there will be kids of other pill addicts there as well.

With the way the pharmaceutical industry operates in this day and age, it’s a certainty.

@Buttonstc yes I totally understood your metaphor about the waltz… you are right on it. I know that children of any addictive parents suffer the same. I can speak for myself. I never joined any program. I moved out of my country to the U.S. 10 yrs ago and that way I’m not living in the household anymore, although my dad stopped drinking about 15 yrs ago, but still… my mom carries the codependent disease and the dysfunctionalities continue. I have serious problems with self-esteem, perfectionism… and I’ve read many other characteristics of children of alcoholics/pill users/drug users, etc… we are all on the same boat. I feel for these girls. One is bipolar. She’s 13 and she acts like she’s 6 yrs old, very childish and asks him for money all the time. He said she never knew her dad, so he basically raised her. She calls him dad. All she wants is money, to buy ice cream, clothes, etc. He said he’s been the mother and the father to these 2 girls cause the mother herself wants nothing to do with them, just the pills. I hate to be meddling on otther people’s lives but that’s what I hear from him and I offered to help and he said everything is under control. Like you said, the false notion that everything is under control, but it’s all falling apart. Thats why he said he wants to leave her but never does. He said he cant tolerate her anymore yet continues with her. He said its because of the kids. But its not. It’s that sick waltz dance you mentioned.

“But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.” 1 Peter 4:15

Hey Klutzaroo… if you have nothing positive to help out here, keep out, ok? I’m trying to help a friend, buddy.

@cathlarson72 He’s just being a klutz.

he can go klutz in klutzland… not here… lol

@cathlarson72 You are not helping by sticking your nose in. You’re just sticking your nose in and feeling righteous about it. You say “I hate to be meddling on otther people’s lives but” and then seek to justify your meddling, even though you “hate” it. Its not really your place, its not really your business, you said so yourself up at the top of the thread. Whatever interfering you’re doing, whatever feeding off the drama you’re doing, probably isn’t helping the situation at all. If her husband wants to talk to someone, tell him to go talk to some professionals who know what they’re talking about and leave you out of it. That is, if you really want to help instead of just being a part of drama and feeling like a self-righteous busybody instead of just a busybody.

You’re not helping anything by what you’re doing now. Nothing at all.

Btw, I’m a female. Duh.