Has anyone else (I'm sure many) tapered off the dreaded med MS Contin?
I have been on morphine a.k.a. MS Contin for many years. I started at 180mgs but took myself down to 30mgs. My neuro is impressed. I am now tapering my dosage (yes, under the supervision of my doctors and pain management team).
An adventure for sure
I am using 30mgs 1 day and 15mgs the next. By now I have no idea what pain is from side effects of my many meds, and which is my PPMS or if it's nerves saying hip hip hooray we get to play again. Even my taste buds are playing havoc. It's been an adventure for sure. Sleepless nights to sleeping for 12 hour stretches, wild dreams (most not good). New feelings in my hands and feet. And the worst is on the 15mg days my right leg goes berserk. It jumps, twitches, spasms, and has feelings I don't remember ever feeling before.
I have more energy, yeah, but am still rather out of shape. Oh by the way, at this moment I swear I can feel the hair trying to grow on my freshly shaved legs. Shaving my legs was even a new adventure. My hands seem to work differently.
Any comments or similar experiences?
So with this long explanation.... I was wondering, has anyone else tapered and what was your experience? I know I can beat this. Only because it's absolutely what I want. At this point it feels more of an addiction than a help. There are so many other natural and physical therapy ways to help. Yes I'm already using these. So any comments or experiences of anyone coming off opioids would be appreciated. It's a lonely road when no one else understands even though you have their care and support. Thanks for listening, so to speak. I can't wait to hear from you.
- Pepper
Hi Pepper!
First off, my apologies for the delayed response. While no one had chimed in on your post yet, I do know that a number of our community members have had to taper or stop their use of restricted pain medications. Sometimes, this is done willingly and other times, it is borne of necessity as the laws change in an attempt to stem the opioid abuse crisis. I hope they see this post and can share their thoughts and experiences with you.
I think you are tapering your use is a very smart fashion, and wisely, under the guidance of a physician.
I hope your progress continues and you are happy with your progress thus far. AND I hope your pain is minimal as you adjust to life without morphine.
I had to giggle at your comment about your leg hair -- I think it would drive me batty to actually feel my leg hair growing! May your future shaving endeavors go smoothly, with no nicks or cuts.
Thank you for reaching out!
Best, Erin, MultipleSclerosis.net Team Member.Pepper, I feel for you! Though I have done this.....I HAVE experienced weening off of Paroxetine(sp?) and it was long and traumatic. I have never felt so bad for so long. Nausea, dizziness......fell off the potty waiting to throw up and poop at the same time (fell asleep). Embarrassing, debilitating and eye opening. I have a new amount of compassion I never had before for drug addicts that go through anything similar. The GREAT thing is that you seem to have a great attitude.....and that is everything. I finally got better after a few months when my doc started me on zoloft. Sorry if this does not help at all. Good luck!! 
I am so glad Zoloft has helped,
. You still have to wean off it should you decide to stop taking it, but most of the symptoms are emotional. One of my kids followed the doctor's schedule for weaning and it was far too fast. He had constant emotional outbursts for about a month. When his brother decided to come off it, I weaned him off over several months. He had no symptoms at all. Wishing you the best. - Lori (Team Member)