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By Crystal Lindell
The problem with tapering off a medication is that, before you even start, you first have to get past all the cultural messaging that tells you that going cold turkey is the morally superior method.
Often framed as a worthy struggle that “cleanses” the body of an addictive drug and the “sin” of needing it, cold turkey is frequently depicted as the narrative arc in movies and TV shows. Someone abruptly stops taking a drug, endures the immense suffering of withdrawal, and magically comes out the other side “fixed.”
That’s not real life though.
In my experience, slow tapering is the far superior way to successfully stop taking a medication long-term. I have found it works best for multiple types of drugs, ranging from opioids to antidepressants like Cymbalta, and even caffeine.
But “tapering” is a very broad term that can mean different things to different people. It’s something I myself had to figure out through years of personal trial and error.
So, here are three real-world tips for tapering off a medication that will actually work. Or at least they have for me and the people I know.
Just a quick reminder though, I am not a doctor. I am just a patient with lived experience. If you are able to talk to a doctor for help, you should do so.
1. Go Slower Than You Think You Need To
Tapering is a slow process. I have found it works best to drop your dose over a longer period of time than you first expect.
While it may be tempting to try to do it over the course of say, a week, you’re a lot more likely to stick with it if you taper slowly over something like 6-8 weeks.
I know, I know. It sounds like forever. But think of it as similar to weight loss. If you try to lose 20 pounds in the first week, you’re going to fail. It will be too overwhelming and you’ll end up quitting before you even lose that first pound.
You’re a lot more likely to actually lose 20 pounds over 15-20 weeks, without rebounding by gaining the weight back.
The same is true with tapering off medication.
For example, if you are trying to go off 40 mg of hydrocodone, go down to 35 mg for at least 1-2 weeks or even longer. Then go down to 30 mg for at least another 1-2 weeks. And so forth and so on.
Trust me, it will be so much easier to stick with it, and so much easier on your body.
2. Taper Both Dose and Time
This was the biggest revelation for me, the first time I tapered off hydrocodone. You have to slowly taper down both the dose and the amount of time between those doses.
For example, if you are on three 10 mg pills a day, and you want to go down to two 10 mg pills, you should not taper down by taking them every 12 hours instead of 8.
Rather, it usually works better to take the reduced 20 mg of hydrocodone across three doses during the day, as that makes it much easier to tolerate.
Which brings me to a subsection of this tip: Consider cutting pills in half, or thirds, or whatever you need. A lot of pills will break in half using your hands, but if not, you can use a pill cutter or a knife.
And if a pill can be cut in half, you can use that to come up with good doses as you taper.
Unfortunately, some medications come in capsules, like Cymbalta, which you can’t cut in half. For that medication, I actually opened the capsules and dumped out the tiny beads a little more each time as I tapered the dose. Most doctors and pharmacists advise against this practice, but it’s the only method that I found to be effective, because the lowest dose of Cymbalta is too high to get off of cold turkey.
You can read more about how I took myself off Cymbalta here.
3. It’s Okay to Backtrack and Take a Break
It can feel like failure if you have to stop the tapering process or go slower than you planned — but it’s not. Just attempting the whole thing in the first place is itself a victory.
Whether or not you decide to attempt again, at least you have learned things only experience can teach you.
So, if you get started on a taper and you realize it’s too overwhelming or things are moving too fast, it’s okay to linger at a dose for a while until you’re ready.
In fact, it’s usually okay to taper back up to your original dose, as long as you do it slowly. Just keep in mind that for a lot of medications —and especially opioids — your tolerance level resets a lot quicker than most people realize. So don’t jump back up too fast, or you could risk an overdose.
You can read more tips for going off opioids here.
There’s so much about tapering off medications that a lot of people cannot fully understand until they go through it themselves. Make sure to give yourself lots of grace, and ignore anyone who tries to criticize your attempts – especially if they don’t have any personal experience in the matter.
All of these tips can go a long way toward making the whole process more tolerable and more successful.
It may take time to find what works best for your body, but as long as you keep at it, you’ll figure out what works best for you.
