Expert: Jacqui - 7/1/2008

Question
i have been taking percocets for 6 months now. i've gotten myself down to 3 10mgs a day. im scared to detox on my own. the anxiety is bad when i dont have them but i have never gone more than a day without percocets. i dont know where to go or who to turn to for help. how long would the detox last and how is it going to effect me physically and mentally?

Answer
Hi Lila,

Yes you are likely to experience some anxiety coming off this kind of medication.  Percocet is Oxycodone which is an opioid drug related to heroin, morphine and codeine.  It is a good painkiller but can be habit forming.  

There are two ways to go about a withdrawal and you are probably doing it in the most sensible way.  Some people prefer to just "jump off" which means that the symptoms will be more intense but shorter and others, like you, wean themselves off which means less intense symptoms but a longer process.  The problem with the side effects of coming of these kinds of drugs is that they are easily fixed, but taking more drugs!  Anxiety is often "treated" with more tablets, but it doesn't help in the long term.  

My suggestion is this - reduce slowly, steadily and regularly.  If you are on 30mg a day you might want to do this -

Start with  1 10mg tab in the morning, 1 mid afternoon, 1 before bed for three days, then reduce to 1 tab in the morning, 3/4 a tab mid afternoon (you can get pill cutters from pharamcies, 1 before bed for four days then 3/4 of a tab in the morning ), half a tab mid afternoon, one before bed for four days, then reduce the one before bed to 3/4 and do this for four days.  
Go through the process of reduction every four or so days reducing by a quarter of a tablet.  

The most important thing is to be kind to yourself and try to do things that will not increase your anxiety.  You ARE going to get some side effects but there is no point making it harder for yourself.  Some people find a hot bath to be soothing for the muscles, forcing yourself to get some light exercise (just a walk in the sun can be enough), eat well and don't drink too much alcohol.  There are some great relaxation strategies that can help which involve deep breathing and focusing on pleasant thoughts.  You could try looking on the net for this kind of information, but if you don't have any luck, then get back to me.

Finally, you should not punish yourself.  Drug use is seen as such a terrible thing, but it is really something that humans have done for a long, long time.  However, the american government and mainstream media see it as something that they can stop with their "war on drugs" which is totally unwinnable.  Accept that you have developed a dependency, that this is not the end of the world, and that you can regain control of your life again.  

Good luck with this.  If you need any more information, please let me know.

Take care and stay safe.

Jacqui