First, I would like to extend my thanks out to those who have helped me with their support and words of encourgement and advise with my addiction. To inform those who are unaware of my situation, I am an painkiller addict, and when i first came to this forum, I was taking approx. 5-6 pills a day. This was around the end of February and it took me about 1 month to taper down to 1 a day. And it didnt take me long to realize what a powerful addiction this is. It is now April, and i have just now finally got to where consistently take about a half a day. I now this sounds crazy, and shows how truly weak my will is. But I come to this board again, further questioning the mental aspect of this and the things I can do to get off these life-sucking pills.

I have taken advise from those who have given it to me. Though i have not tried walking or running, I have however, started working out and doing sit-ups/push-ups. And my question is, is this a mental idea to keep my mind off taking pills, or does this truly work. I know some of you said it helps natural endorphins get released, and at first, I found this hard to imagine, but now i'm becoming a believer.

And I know I have asked repetitve questions on here, and for that i apologize, but my personality and doubts often question my future success, but I want to ask this again, I guess to assure myself of what I'm dealing with. Now that I have been taking approx. 1/2 a loracet a day for about 1 week, and 1 a day for the previous 3 weeks, will my road to soberness be a little easier? and also maybe even help if i were to be forced to go C/T?? Thanks again, I guess since I feel like I am finally so close, I am getting more doubts.

And another reason why I am making this post is, I would like to offer some advice of my own. It seems one thing that has helped me through this, is thinking about the past, before my addiction started. I have recently bought old CD's and movies that i enjoyed, even in childhood, and I know this sounds wierd, but it feels like this gives me encouragement and helps me some. So, for those who may be reading this who is suffering from the same problem I am having, give this a try, and I wish you the best of luck.

P.S. I finally got the guts to talk to someone about this, my cousin, who was way worse off than I was. It felt good to share this with someone face to face. He really helped me out by telling me that if he could do it, i most surely can.

I do know what your going through. Please be strong and you will win this addiction. I too take/took 5-6 pills a day that was my max never more but never less. I have tried to cut myself back to 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 at night but I still have withdrawls. The sweating, chills, no sleep which would explain why I'm up at 5:51am. I do exercise though I havent noticed a difference but hey I'll keep trying. I could go get a pill right now and end this whole thing but I'm not. I started this with my body and I will finish it. I'm scared to stop completly so I still have my 1/2 not sure why but I do. I think in a couple of weeks you will be completly off and you will realize wow I have a life not controled by anything but me. I hope to be there too. Its a long journey but I must end my love affair and get my life back to the way I was. Keep me posted you can do it!

You are so close! :bouncing:

You are very strong to have controlled your tapering process. I think if you were to stop taking 1/2 a day, you would experience some w/d, but it would not be nearly as tough as going CT from 6 a day!

I would expect to experience some sweating, maybe feeling a little antsy/anxious, possible mild chills, and a small amount of lower back pain. You won't feel 100% but you won't feel like you're dying either. ;)

Working out and staying busy are definitely important in recovery. For me, it was so helpful in just keeping my mind off of things! I found if I had a "to-do" list of errands to run, appointments to keep, etc. it was much easier to keep my mind off the pills. The WORST thing you can do is sit on the couch, feeling every ache and pain, and obsess over what is happening.

Here's an idea: throw yourself into a pet project. It can be:
--- finally getting ALL of your photographs sorted and put in albums or on CD's
--- a really good "spring cleaning" (which could tie in to your recovery! clean the house as you clean your body!)
--- decide that you are going to finish that cross-stitch/knitting/crochet project ~ or learn a craft like those
--- detail your car until it is immaculate (it will make you feel so good to ride around in it too)

Those are just some ideas off the top of my head but you get the idea. It may seem like at first that you can't concentrate on those tasks, but if you just START, you may find that you are thinking less and less about the pills especially as you near your goal. It also gives you something to be really proud about and that ups your self-confidence - helping you avoid a relapse.

You're doing great - keep it up!!! :D

Thanks both of you for advice and encouragment. I am in college, but i'm not working; wish i was working b/c it was times like those, when i was busy, when i'd not think about it much. I'll try to think of some more things to do to keep my mind busy. Yesterday, I noticed i had around 10 pills left, so i sliced them up and scattered them to try to stay on a consistent decreasing pattern.

If I'm reading this correctly, I would do the 1/2 pill for another five days, then 1/4 until you run out. Honestly, if you feel your withdrawls are minimal already, I can't imagine any problems PHYSICALLY.

The walking, running, working out is extremely important to lower body stress while raising endorphin levels, besides, it's really just a great thing to do for ourselves regardless.

I hope I've addressed your concerns.

Cool, cuz i got about 9 left....maybe a little more, kinda hard to tell when they are sliced in 1/8ths lol.....hopefully this'll be my final run....i feel like i have doing this tapering thing forever now...and good news is, i havent experienced any W/D's really. Maybe a headache here or there...but i always got them. No promises, but hopefully this'll make my future more promising. Thanks again

You're welcome.