However, both an addicted person and a dependent person can become tolerant to a drug. Tolerance is defined as the drug's reduced effectiveness when used continually over time. The usual pattern for an addicted person is a continual upping of a drug when they become tolerant to get the same feeling, high or rush that they got when it was first taken. For the dependent person, the dosage must be increased because the sufferer no longer experiences the same relief at the lower dose. This needs to be done in order have effective control over the pain.
Most physicians have chronic pain sufferers taper off a drug in a matter of days.
In my opinion, it is much easier on the body to do it much more slowly. However, keep in mind that the longer it takes the sufferer to get off the medication, the longer it will be before the sufferer can get back on the medication and follow the Rebound Rule. The protocol I find for tapering off pain medications while diminishing the withdrawal symptoms is as follows. Please remember again that this protocol should be done only with the approval of your physician. A pain sufferer who normally takes 20 mg of a drug 2 times a day would use the following protocol to decrease the dosage of the medication.