am gona get off the codeine.will you help me?

[ctg]

Hi people.

i think i last posted here a few years ago. lol that shows how long i last visited.
well since then things havent got any better.
2 years ago i went on a course for 3 1/2 months of subatex of buprenorphine.
i tepered off and was clean for 2 weeks , then i kicked off again and mow just last week i was on between 60 and 80 30 mg codeine phosphate per day.
but i have now got fluid retention on my legs and just 2 weeks ago had fluid drained off my knees.
so now i am going to do it the hard way
a total stop and *** i hope i can do it.
i only took 20 yesterday and then only 16 this morning. but now i havent got any left and sent text messages to 5 of my friends telling them NOT to give me any in the future if i ask.
bloomin hell that was hard but i think it better for the best.
so tomorrow is gona be my first day with nothing.
i will be back on tomorrow and give you an update.
wish me luck. i think i will need it from what i have read it's gona be the hardest thing i have ever done.
i have even stocked up on the immodium as i hate getting dioreha when i havent had a good intake.
i have just started getting the cold sweats this safternoon and am dreading tomorrow. but i will be back.
if anyone has any advice on how i can over come my 8 year codeine addiction i will look forward to you advice.
i think thats it for now. i will be back tomorrow and tell you how i got on.
c u 2mara
davey

[reachout]

Hello CTG

Good to hear you are trying again to rid yourself of the codeine. Smart thinking, smart move. It is going to be hard, but others have done it.

Guess my advice is that you spend some of this "down" time thinking about how you are going to provide yourself the support necessary to stay off for good. Life style changes have to be made. Different changes for different people. If you have spent time using with your friends or getting your supply from your friends, then changing who you hang with is going to be a must. If you have been using them to mask some pain in life, then you need help to find a better way to deal with it. Etc.

It is hard to make life changes, but it has to be if we really want to stay clean. Repairing yourself must be your top priority.

And to answer the question posed in your thread: Of course folks here will help you! The board is full of caring people... not only those who are struggling to get clean, but also those who have made it and stay about simply to help others along the way.

You have made a good start telling your people not to give you any. You have to cut off your sources as a safety net. And you must have a plan of support to help you. Both things.

Wishing you well

reach

[kadee]

Hi davey
How was your night? Did you get any sleep? You are in for a ride, but don't be too scared or you might waver. Stay strong in what you want to accomplish. Can you take a week off where you are not around anyone so you can go in and out of the lou.. You mentioned you stocked up on the immodiam, I suggest you leave that alone for as long as you can bear. Of course if you have to leave the house, it's a good idea to take them with you. Your body needs to rebuild itself naturally as yukky as that is. Drink 8 to 12 glasses of water per day, you will be severely dehydrated, don't eat any spicy and fried foods you might get indigestion,, stay away from heavy citrus foods, tomotoes, grapefruit, don't eat bran, dates or prunes, caffine or eat chocolate it will promote diaherah, you don't want to make that worse, take a multivitamen, vitamen c, calcium every day, after the severe diaherah is gone apx 3 to 6 days- you should buy some milk thistle and take that for a month to cleanse the liver. Keep drinking water all month, drink lots of herbal tea and soups, in the second or third week start getting exercise, find a support group and start weeding out your people whom you think are your friends. It's all about change.

For me, cold turkey was the only way to do it, I tried taper with codeine but I just kept tipping the scale. This board helped me tremendously, I came to the board on day 3 when I found Mike doing the same as myself, we spoke to each other almost daily about what was going on for us in our first 30 days and others joined in, you might want to read the post, it is rather long, maybe 13 pages but it will give you an idea of what is to come. The post is called 'day 3 clean'. I am here for you, and others are too. You have come to a very helpful place, even if you do falter, you are still in the right place, don't beat yourself up, be easy on yourself, just keep the faith and remain and remember what you want to accomplish.It will happen because you want it to, If it dosn't happen now, it will happen later, we all recover differently
take care
kadee

[ctg]

Hi people.
well wht a hell of a night i had.
i was woken up at 4 in the morning and had to run to the toilet.
it was horrible and i was there for a good 3/4 hour.
but the horrible thing was that i just couldnt cope with the cold sweat and the shivers and the runs.
i think i had better try a tapper first rather that give it a total stop.
i think for me a total stop is going to be too hard.
so i did the wrong thing and told the one and only person that i adent to not give me any if i ask was my neighbour.
so i told him i was short until friday and so could i lend some off him.
i got 2 strips of 10 and took them straight away.
ohhh how i am sorry and i feel like i have let you down. but i havent given in yet.
i do think that when i was taking them ig time like on an average day i would have taken about 60 x 30mg tablet and on a day when i might have got 2 loads of people and i was flush i may have taken up to 80 or 100 on a day. so i think the best thing for me to try to do is try a taper fist.
after today i know that i havent got any coming in at all so i need to prepare myself for the worst to come.
i cant even go back to the drug and alcahol centre in the hospital i live near because i found it hard to do the dayly issue if subatex because of my shift work.
and with me knowing how against drugs and stuff my wife is , i just cant tell her.
a few reasons why is the worry of might happen and then the other os the shame i would bring to her, i love her to bits and cant do that to her.
i have even tried ringing that talk to frank number but they couldnt do much for me and just refered my back to my doctor
does andyone know if there is anyone on here who would be prepared to actualy talk to me about my situation ???


it's 5:35 in the afternoon here in the uk and already i am dreading going to bed tonight with the worry of not getting to sleep and then knowing that tomorrow i have to go a full day with nothing.
bloomom hell i aint got a clue on how to do it. but am gona try.
that for listening and sorry for doing what i did , but i will try harder today for tomorrow and get back with you tomorrow night
thanx
dave

[kadee]

hi dave
It's OK, don't beat yourself up. You are travelling at a high speed with those things, it's going to take time to gear down. You are in an awkard situation to c/t with your shift-work and with your lady not knowing just how badly you are wired for sound. I think it would be better and easier on your bio-rythum to taper down. Doing shift work is hard enough, but trying to regulate your insides to your outside environment!, I beleive would take longer, the withdrawl would seem stronger because you have to keep fighting, and your work would be affected. I was lucky because I was able to W/D in the comfort of my home without anybody around for the first yukky week.

Alternatives you might consider
1) get honest with your lady - set up a support group for her so she can understand what you and others like you are going through, you are not the only one, it's not about shame, try to explain - you are not to blame, you are a sick person trying to get well.

2) take time off work, lets say Monday go in a little dope sick and let everyone know you are coming down with something, then on Tuesday phone in and say you are sick.Don't go in for the rest of the week, that is IF only you do the C/T, you would have to let your lady know if you decide this way.

3) Does your work have employee programs set up for addictions if they do -let your work know you have an addiction problem and need to go to detox then rehab - If they don't keep treading - with your taper.

Hope this is somewhat of a help, sorry I don't have any phone numbers you can talk to in the UK, I am in Canada. But I firmly beleive in the NA Way because it has helped me and so many other success stories arise of living clean and sober from following their principals and traditions, and if you look one up in your area, you call the hotline number and someone will get back to you and talk with you. There is no fee for this, just the fee of your ball and chain that you want to break.,Let us know what you are going to do
take care
kadee