Please Help With This One?

Hi.  I feel terrible.  I have been taking Tylenol 4's now for about a year.  Yes, they were prescribed to me.  I was on a heavy dose of 6 tablets a day.  They were given to me after I had a horrible accident falling down the stairs.  I have since stopped taking them about 6 days ago.  I feel extremly tired, sleeping a lot, feel weak, no energy, little appetite, and have really bad diareha.  Taking Immodium for it.  Today is the first day in 5 days that I have stayed up and awake for longer than 5 hours.  Okay, I realize that by taking them, I not knowlingly became an addict.  I refuse to take them anymore unless the pain comes back as bad as it was.  I am mentally ill and the Clozapam is helping with my mental anxiety and now as well as withdrawl from Codiene.  When I decided to stop taking the Tylenols 4's, I did my best to wein myself off.  I started with 6 a day for a week, then 5 for a week, then 4 for a week, then 3 for a week, and then went to O a week.  Yes, when I took them they took the pain away and also made me feel "good".  Now I feel terrible, but not as bad as two days ago.  I refuse to go into rehab just for Codiene.  I am also NOT on any other narcotic drugs legal or otherwise.  I am taking my regular meds exactly as prescribed.

Can someone please tell me how much longer it will take to this stuff out of me?  Also, I would appreciate any suggestions on how to feel a little more "up beat again"?

Thank you from a guy in Canada.

Boomer2uall

Hi Kitt. Thank you for getting back to me. Oh yea, I had exactly what you described. I just feel "blue" and don't really want to do anything at all at this point. Like today I did eat a little, but don't have a huge hunger like when I was on them. Like I said, I honestly slept for 4-5 days straight just getting up to the washroom and drinking a lot of water. I have however really stopped taking anything with caffine.
I just feel really "blue" and have no energy at all. I am just eating a lot of small meals and trying to stay awake as long as possible. I don't want to be an addict on anything.
Thank you so much.
Boomer2uall

Hi Kitt. Thanks again for getting back to me. Nope, I haven't went to bed yet again. I have just been trying not to think about it and keeping myself busy but at a very slow pace since I really do feel weak. I honestly newer knew how strong and addictive those Tylenol 4's were. I mean they were great to great rid of pain, but again I really never knew that I was also becoming an addict since they also made me feel really "good". I am basically at this point just relaxing as much as possible for as long as it takes. The Clozapam is really helping with the anxiety and thus, I am not trembling or vomitting. I just feel a little "blue". And I am NOT going to be doing any other drugs of any nature except the ones I am supposed to be on. Some people have mentioned that Meth. might help with the withdrawl, but for Codiene? I think I will be able to get out of this without rehab or turning to another drug. I am also going to be seeing my doctor next week and talk to him about it and maybe he has some suggestions. I don't blame him at all, when I fell, I really hurt my back big time. But my back seems to feel okay at this point and don't really need to take them anymore. I just didn't think that I was also becoming an addict. So, I am going to stop and if I feel "blue" for the next bit, I now know why. I am not putting down painkillers at all, but I think I should have only been taking them when getting up was almost impossible without pain or have cronic pain. Here in Canada, pain medication is a little bit easier to get than in the U.S. I mean if I wanted too, I could walk into any drug store and buy Tylenol 1's with no questions or problems. Mind you, Tylenol 1's only have 8mg of Codiene whereas T4's have 60mg each.
It could be worse though. I know one person who has been on a lot of narcotic painkillers for many years and becuase of her age and general health, if she was to quit, she would probably die from the withdrawl.
I just hope you are correct that I will feel better being off them after awhile. But if you did it, than I can do it right....lol?
Again, thanks
Boomer2uall

Hi Boomer!
You may wanna do some research online about natural treatments that can help you feel more upbeat. Many people have found that fish oil supplements are excellent for mood stabilization. I'll see if I can find other info for ya!
Take care!
janet

Hi to all that have replied and helped me with this one.  I have completely stopped taking the T'4's and other than the extreme diarrhea that I am getting, I am not really having severe withdrawal but rather just the "blues" now.  However, for the first few days I just slept and slept.  I don't have pain anymore but it all honesty really liked the feeling of euphoria from the codeine.  I do think though that the Clozapam is really helping with the anxiety from stop taking them.  I just carry a ton of Imodium now and just try to continue doing things that I would normally do.  I can't work for mental reasons, but I am a "big brother" to a kid that is 7 years old and has Autism.  I took him to Toy's R' Us today and the thought of Codeine didn't even cross my mind.  Today I felt great!!!  I just hope that the "blues" don't come back from the withdrawal.

Boomer2uall

Hi Kitt.  Thank you so much for the kind words.  However, I must say that I am very saddened that your son passed away.  Just remember, God only takes the best.

Yes, being a big brother for a child with Autism can be a very big handful.  One minute he is completely fine, the next he is throwing a super tamptrum over something very small.  Yet for a 7 year old, he does have a very high I.Q., IMO, from what I can see.  Trust me though, being around him in the past few days has really helped with the codeine withdrawal.  I mean for the first few days there, I had to cancel seeing him becuase well, I was just sleeping.  I don't know where I am on the withdrawal stage from codeine now.  I mean at first the diarrhea was just unstoppable.  I was taking a lot of Immodium.  It's been about 10 days or so since I last took a Tylenol 4, but still seem a tiny bit "blue".  I just hope that the codeine will hurry up and get out of my body.

And again to anyone who is on any painkillers, I am NOT putting them down if you really need them for pain.

Boomer2uall

 

Thanks Kitt.  I sure do hope I forget the Codiene.  I find on Sundays (today) I am thinking about them.  I just liked that "haze" that seemed to make me feel, well, "good".  I feel like going to the store and just buying some Tylenol 1's and taking a couple.  So, I just called up my dad and told him to come over and take my car keys for the day and I will just clean the house and stay in my P.J's.

Boomer2uall

Hi MyGlamMa.  Thank you very much for your support.  I read your reply but am not sure if your withdrawing from anything.  If not, good!!!!  In any event, last night I drove myself to the hospital because I just can't stop the incredible diarrhea from codeine withdrawal.  I saw a really good doctor and she told me it is very dangerous to stop taking codeine as fast as I did.  I explained my situation to her and she took some blood.  She said going onto Meth. would not be a good idea at this point because, well, she said Meth. is really good for heroin addicts and a person with drawling from heroin could actually die.  So she gave me a prescription for believe it or not, more codeine.  But she gave instructions on the prescription that the pharmacy only dispense 5 tablets of Tylenol 2's a day for two weeks, and then to dispense 4 tablets a day for 2 weeks, and then 3 tablets a day for 2 weeks. She went on to say that by this time I will have lowered my codeine count a lot and then to see my family doctor.

She also gave me a prescription for Imodium, which I have been going through like candy.  So at this point I am not sure what to do?  I can take the Tylenol 2's (15mg of codeine per tablet) or just keep on going the way I have been.

However, I am a "big brother" to a child with Autism.  How do I explain to him why I can't see him because I am well, feeling really depressed and because I have become an addict?  The Clozapam really does help with the anxiety that I normally have but I find that it is really helping with the codiene withdrawal as well. But the doctor told me that it would be very uncomfortable to stop taking the codeine as fast as I did.  I miss the "little man" (the child with Autism).  On Thursdays I take him to EB Games where I buy him a couple of E rated games for his Gamecub and then take him to Toy's R' Us to let him "run wild" and pick out something small.

 

Boomer2uall

Hi Kitt.  Thank you for getting back to me.  Although I have never had to take Valium in large amounts (the most I ever took was 2-5mg tablets-the little yellow ones in a day), I honestly never really felt anything on them like the "WOW" I got from codine.  However I know of people who do get the "WOW" from Valium and I think that you are doing a heck of a job coming down from 40mg to 6.  Good for you!!!  But once again I have no problems taking ANY medication that will help my anxiety dissorder.  I take the Clozapam.  But anyway, I did go to my pharmacy and gave them the prescription.  And yes, they filled it exactly as prescribed.  I brought the Tylenol 2's home and took 2 tablets as directed every 4 hours.  And yes, I felt "better" again.  I hate to say it, but yes, I have become an addict after being on the strong ones for that period of time.  So I am really, really hoping that this works so that I don't feel "blue" by the time I am done.  That doctor that I saw last night was really nice about it and she was very professional.  I told the pharmacist why and now I have to go in person everyday to pick up my doses.  They were very good about it and even gave me some small hints on how to manage so that I don't "pop" more than 2 at a time.  So I finally got a pill box (which they gave me for free that has Monday, Tuesday, etc).  They put the T'2s in the sockets and told me when to take them which was really nice.  But I do have to go in person everyday which is fine by me. 

They even showed me how to take all my meds (which I brought with me).

I just hope this really works becuase I really hate feeling "Blue" and really depressed.

Again, thank you.

Boomer2uall