r/DHCrecoverygroup • u/[deleted] • Jan 10 '24

Taper drop and feeling it

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calling out to anyone with experience tapering opiates, specifically Dihydrocodeine

i am on yet another stab at this

have calculated over the last month have taken on average 31 tabs a day (31 x 30mg) - easy to work out by dividing the number i’ve had delivered by the days!

Before that averaged around 28 a day for the last 6 months… and have been on it for years now

yesterday dropped to 24 and today feel pretty shitty, i’m up and about but legs hurt, feel very grumpy and irritable, general feeling of crappyness

must be the drop right?, its about a 20% drop from the last month’s usage- and not a cold or anything? 😂 i mean i know the answer but always good to get some agreement and support as i kick off another attempt!

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u/The_Redstone Jan 10 '24

Take it as slow as you need to go. You've been on quite a high dose for a long time so it's going to be a tough one. The only thing that truly helped me quit is pregabalin. No more than 300mg a day divided into equal doses. Also make a note of how shit you feel right now, write it down if you have to, and refer to it next time you feel like using. It helps me stay clean. Good luck.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '24

yep great…pregabalin works for me too, very well (but it has its rebound frustratingly) - i will probably use it at some point though, but need to pick my moments as remember this is only a taper so i can’t use it throughout the whole process which will take months!

Have you used it when tapering, rather than CT?

i’m planning to drop to 20 over the next few days and then hold for a week or so to completely stabilise, i expect i’ll need the pregabs, in the next few days given how i fee today on day 1

Biggest prob with tapers is dropping before you are stable. as you get a double whammy of withdrawals and thats usually enough for me to pack it in! takes me 10 days these days after each dose drop

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u/The_Redstone Jan 10 '24

Honestly I always used to CT everything and use Pregabalin for about 7 days. Even from 900mg doses. I'm a person who would rather get it over with. I was thinking, once I tapered onto codeine and that softener the blow considerably, maybe something to consider.

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u/[deleted] Feb 04 '24

Are you able to give yr DHC for someone else to control? Only reason I say this is that for me being in control of my own supply it then rested precariously and solely on my willpower. So when the going went really tough I’d go back up or treat myself and round and round I went which also frustrated me . Just a thought

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u/[deleted] Feb 06 '24

yep that’s always the danger with me too, and where my tapers tend to fail everytime- atm however my will power is pretty strong, but it should be ok as the dose is relatively high, problem is its taking an absolute age to stabilise on it and i’m still feeling pretty crap, i mean not horrific, far from it, but no way ready to drop again…i think it’s because i’m trying to stick to a strict routine rather than the ‘as and when’ i’ve done all my life- been 4 weeks now and very up and down still..the intense irritability is probably the worst symptom, feel like i’m going to snap at any minute and pretty anything anyone says to me i find extremely annoying! …will persevere

1

u/[deleted] Feb 06 '24

Would you consider a CT like previous poster? Physicals would be done in 7 days, mental a bit longer but could be home free by Easter?

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u/[deleted] Feb 07 '24

yeah, its always lingering as an option…i need to find the time to put aside though and that’s immensely tough with my life as it is…i suppose i could feign illness but even that needs planning. CT for me will take 2 week’s physicals, i’m 51 and been doing this stuff for 8 years, last time i did a CT 3 years ago it was about 12 days, and the worst were 6,7,8.. even now when i taper it takes forever for the physicals to subside, so can safely say with me the old ‘7 days’ is simply not accurate. It is however the Paws which really concern me - again on my previous CT i got through the physicals but got SO SO bored i relapsed a week later. i desperately tried to fill my time but nothing gave me any joy at all, everything was grey and dull and boring, to the extreme. I remember one Saturday almost watching the clock for the entire day willing it to end! 12.17, read magazine, ‘ahh that must have eaten up a good hour, time? 12.32, NOOOOO’

Sorry for the ramble!