Hello everyone I hope I am not imposing by joining this forum.
First of all I am a survivor of osteo sarcoma I guess that's a diff type of cancer and I find no where else for the type of questions I have.
So hopefully I can get help here and hopefully help others in return.

I am 34 yrs of age, I lost my leg as a teenager to this awful illness.

My problem is the painkillers. I have been on and off them for as long as I can remember and I am scared of the damage it is doing to my body.

I currently am HIGHLY addicted to Tylenol #1's.
I have been on them for a good solid 2+ yrs maybe longer.
My dosage was based on pain and when my body told me I needed them.
About a year ago my dosaage has increased to the point where I now take 6 pills every 2 hrs.

2 days ago I started for what may seem as the 8th time to quit this addiction and the withdrawals are at times hard to deal with.

My body is going through alot of different cycles as it beats me to give it what it wants (the pills)
I can't do this with the help of a doctor out of fear of the stigma attached and I'm 100% postive I will not be "weened" as I have made calls to local clinics and hospitals in my rural area.

So hopefully I can get through this and reclaim the life I once had as an active outgoing outdoorsy type. At the moment I'm chained to these pills but I will keep you informed if u like.

My question I really need answered is how long will I go through the withdrawals and are they ever going to stop?

I noticed when I eat or drink I either vomit or do a #2 and this is within seconds of eating.
I have cold sweats constant muscle pain headaches and cramps and am very very depressed.

I need help......

Hello. I was diagnosed with spinal stenosis and degenerative disc disease around 10 years ago. I had surgery around 6 years ago and because of my allergy to IVP dye was left with nerve damage to the left side.

During this time my nerve endings started to die and my muscles atrophy so the pain was beyond anything I could imagine. In the beginning I was on Morphine and later went to Hydrocodone on a constant basis for 1 year. I was also on Xanax and muscle relaxants.

It scared me too. What I did was to start cutting the dose. I never even cut one pill at a time but half a pill. If I took two in the morning I would take one and one half. I did this for 2 weeks and then cut out the halfs and eventually only took a half. Now I take one only as needed which is in the Winter when its worse.

Part of the quitting is not only the addiction to the med but the pain you remember before the meds. I know its scarey buttry cutting back a tiny bit and see if it works. It did for me much as mixing tiny amounts of decalf to regular coffee til it was all decalf.

May God give you strength,
barbara~

I am saddened to hear of your self-professed addiction. You are on the right path in making the decision to rid yourselves of this ugly habit. However, it is not likely you will be able to without the help of your doctor or professionals trained to assist. As Barb explains, you could very easily do this by cutting your dosages back every few days. However, from the tone of your post it does not appear to me that the physical addiction is your worst enemy. I see the signs you are communicating in justifying your addiction even though you characterize it as "HIGHLY" addicted. This is a pretty obvious indication that you need to find a more structured process to tame your addiction for the rest of your life.

If you are taking 6 tylenols every 2 hours, it is a miracle you have not totally trashed your liver. This is way too much acetomenophen for anyone to take and your doctor(s) should have seen the signs long before now unless you are churning through a plethora of doctors to feed your habit.

I am truly sorry to hear of your lifelong struggles and I can't imagine how tough it would be to lose a leg at such a young age. If you value your life, do whatever it takes to get this monkey off of your back. You are caught in a viscous cycle now between addiction and depression and you will never be able to determine which one is causing the other.

As far as physical addiction, I have seen people die in 2 days from heroin withdrawal and less from methadone withdrawal. They, too, felt they would avoid the shame and do it on their own. I also saw someone who made his friends tie him to the bed for 4 days while he kicked his habit and he was one of the lucky ones that lived through it only to overdose years later.

You have tried 8 times and found that it is not as easy as you thought. How many more times will it take to convince you. You were given a gift of life many years ago with your battle with osteo sarcoma. Use this to make something of your life. You have made it this far.

Feel free to email me if you want to talk about this more. I hope I didn't sugar coat my message to you.

Ed

Dear Newb, Some 15 odd yrs. ago, when I was a little older than you, I, too, was addicted to pain pills. Darvon for debilitating back pain and migraine headaches.Lots and lots of Darvon. Because I was connected to the medical profession, it was easy to get them. It took me 2 years to finally get off of them once I admitted that I was in a deep hole. You will need help, but you can do it if you really want to. Good Luck. Amy

I thank you for your quick responses and yes I do want to stop this habit and I am doing t a little differnt this time around. I have my sister staying with me n monitoring me as I go through this.
So far I am coping and I think the physical part is almost over now. I'm handling the restlessness by working out til I drop lol and the sweats n useasy feelings with cold/warm baths n it makes a world of difference.
Not eating much tho and I wouldnt be too sure what I can hold down n what not anyway.
The good news is I'm feeling positive about doing it this time. I'll post again sometime later with a progress report.
Again I thank you for advice and wisdom.

well done newb keep up the good work, pray to god it happens this time. good luck prayers and hugs your way best regards maz

Newb,

Dig deep enough and you may find the resolve to see this through. Getting through the roughest is only the first step but hopefully it will be memorable enough that you will always have the reminder to help you avoid the same path. Best wishes. Oh yeah, I should be saying "Eh?" more often

Ed

Newb, one day and one step at a time. Keep going