Tapering your drug of choice is a classic and widely used method for getting off opiates. This is when you lower your usage of your drug of choice over a set time period until you get low enough that you can completely stop.
This is more commonly accomplished by people who are dependent on pharmaceutical opiates, however it can also be done by people dependent on heroin, fentadope or dirty blues.
The reason its easier for people who are dependent on pharmaceutical opiates to taper is because pharmaceutical opiates are consistent and exact. Every pill contains the exact amount its supposed to and so its easier to dose yourself properly and stick to your taper schedule.
When it comes to street opiates like fentadope or dirty blues, every bag, pill, and batch varies in strength. This means that throughout the taper your dose will vary even when sticking to the schedule. This will make it harder to taper smoothly and stick to your taper. This does NOT mean that tapering off fentadope is impossible, just that its more difficult and requires a greater amount of will power and determination.
Before we start:
All tapers should be done under an experienced doctors supervision. These are just general recommendations and guidelines to discuss with your doctor.
Taper Methods
In this post we will discuss 2 types of tapers. The quick taper for people who want to get clean within a few days. And the slow taper for people who want top taper with as little discomfort as possible.
The Quick Taper
This taper is done over the course of a few days. How many days is up to you. For those who want a slower more comfortable taper you can choose more days and those who want a faster taper can choose fewer days.
The way you set up your taper is by taking your dose and dividing it by the amount of days you want to complete the taper in.
Pharmaceutical Example;
For example, If you are addicted to 120mg of oxycodone and want to taper in 6 days.
We take your dose and divide it by 6 days
120mg/6days = 20mg a day (this is your dosage cut)
So now we have 20mg a day as the amount we will cut.
So your taper will look like this
Day 1: 100mg
Day 2: 80mg
Day 3: 60mg
Day 4: 40mg
Day 5: 20mg
Day 6: 0mg
Fentadope Example;
For example, lets say your taking a gram a day and want to quit in 10 days.
You divide 1gram by 10 days
1gram/10days = .1 gram a day (this is your dosage cut)
So now we have .1 as the amount we will cut each day.
Your taper will look like
Day 1: .9 gram
Day 2: .8 gram
Day 3: .7 gram
Day 4: .6 gram
Day 5: .5 gram
Day 6: .4 gram
Day 7: .3 gram
Day 8: .2 gram
Day 9: .1 gram
Day 10: 0 gram
Dirty Blues Example;
For example, lets say your taking 10 blues a day and want to quit in 10 days.
You divide 10 pills by 10 days
10 pills/10days = 1 pill a day (this is your dosage cut)
So now we have 1 pill as the amount we will cut each day.
Your taper will look like
Day 1: 9 blues
Day 2: 8 blues
Day 3: 7 blues
Day 4: 6 blues
Day 5: 5 blues
Day 6: 4 blues
Day 7: 3 blues
Day 8: 2 blues
Day 9: 1 blue
Day 10: 0 blues
Customize the taper to your needs. Some people may want to taper slower and some people may want to taper faster so find what works for you.
Once you complete your taper and are ready to jump off you may want to read our post on cold turkey detox to help you through the rest of your detox
The Slow Taper
The slow taper is done by making percentage cuts, usually between 10-20% cuts per week.
You can find your doses for the taper by using a simple formula.
If you are making 10% cuts the formula to find your next dose will be
(current dose) x .9 = next dose
For 20% cuts the formula will be
(current dose) x .8 = next dose
Pharmaceutical Example;
So for example if you are dependent on 100mg of oxycodone (this process can be used with any opiate) and want to taper 20% a week we can find the dose cut by using the formula.
Since the current dose is 100mg we enter that to the formula.
100mg x .8 = 80mg. So 80mg will be the dose you take for your first cut.
To find the next dose we do the formula again this time using 80mg as the current dose number
80mg x .8 = 64mg. So 64mg will be your dose after your second cut. Continue using the formula each time two find your next dose.
This is how a sample taper coming off 100mg of oxycodone will look like.
(Numbers are rounded)
Week 1: 80mg oxycodone
Week 2: 64mg oxycodone
Week 3: 51mg oxycodone
Week 4: 41mg oxycodone
Week 5: 33mg oxycodone
Week 6: 26mg oxycodone
Week 7: 21mg oxycodone
Week 8: 17mg oxycodone
Week 9: 13mg oxycodone
Week 10: 11mg oxycodone
Week 11: 9mg oxycodone
Week 12: 7mg oxycodone
Week 13: 5mg oxycodone
And so on.
You can decide at each dose whether to jump off or continue the taper. The lower your dose when you jump off the less withdrawals you will have.
The jumping off point will be different for everyone based on the drug they are taking, and their personal tolerance for discomfort. For more powerful opiates like opana and dilaudid you may want to taper to a lower dose before jumping than compared to weaker opiates like codeine.
Fentadope Example;
The same concept and formulas can be used for coming off of fentadope.
So for example if you are dependent on 1 gram of fentadope a day and want to taper 20% a week we can find the dose cut by using the formula.
Since the current dose is 1gram we enter that to the formula.
1gram x .8 = .8gram. So .8 gram a day will be the dose you take for your first cut.
To find the next dose we do the formula again this time using .8gram as the current dose.
.8gram x .8 = .64gram. So .64 gram will be your dose after your second cut. Continue using the formula each time to find your next dose.
Your taper will look like this
(Numbers are rounded)
Week 1: .8 gram
Week 2: .64 gram
Week 3: .51 gram
Week 4: .41 gram
Week 5: .33 gram
Week 6: .26 gram
Week 7: .21 gram
Week 8: .17 gram
Week 9: .13 gram
Week 10: .11 gram
Week 11: .08 gram
And so on.
You can decide at each dose whether to jump off or continue the taper.
Dirty Blues Example;
The same concept and formulas can be used for coming off of dirty blues
For example if your using 10 dirty blues a day and want to do 20% cuts a week your taper will look like this
(numbers are rounded)
Week 1: 8 blues
Week 2: 6.5 blues
Week 3: 5 blues
Week 4: 4 blues
Week 5: 3 blues
Week 6: 2.5 blues
Week 7: 2 blues
Week 8: 1.5 blues
Week 9: 1.25 blues
Week 10: 1 blue
And so on.
You can decide at each dose whether to jump off or continue the taper.
Tips:
Customize the taper to your needs. Everyone is different and everyone reacts differently. If you need to take your time and go a little slower thats ok, just adjust the taper to your needs
Once you complete your taper and are ready to jump off you may want to read our post on cold turkey detox to help you through the rest of your detox
If possible use this taper protocol in conjunction with comfort meds and supplements. They can go a long way to making the process more bearable
Stay busy. Occupy your mind to distract yourself. Find things that you can do. Watching movies, playing video games, or doing a puzzle are just some ideas. You’ll notice you feel much better when your mind is occupied
Try your best to stick to your taper schedule, consistency is key to a successful taper
Please share your experiences tapering off your drug of choice in the comments below or in our forum
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