Not sure if you've found a solution that is working for you yet, but I hope you didn't close your accounts! Credit history is a factor in determining your credit score and unless your cards have annual fees attached to them, it will only hurt you to close the cards. Refrain from using them as much as possible until you can get the debt under control, but don't close them if you don't have to.
Depending on your creditworthiness, I would consider a personal loan to consolidate your cards. Chances are the interest will be less than what you have with your cards & it's easier to see exactly what you'll be paying monthly & total (opposed to the CC's which compound interest daily) You can run pre-approvals on most loan websites (Discover, Payoff, Best Egg, Marcus, to name a few). You WILL deal with spam from them, but you can also see what they can offer you without a ding to your credit before your official application.
Work out how much you owe total, what you're currently paying for all payments monthly, and what you can afford to pay monthly. Try to find a loan that matches up with those numbers. You might need to do a little finagling to get it just right. Match your monthly payment to what you're already paying monthly for the cards you want to pay off. Extend your loan term for the longest possible.
Once you pay off your credit cards your score will jump & you can always apply for a different loan with better terms after your score jumps. From that point, use cards minimally and only what you can pay off monthly. Don't make big purchases until you have cash saved up to pay off the bill immediately. Assign a recurring payment to each of your cards (Netflix on one card, gas on another, gym membership to a third) to keep them active. Take cards you don't need daily and put them in a drawer. Carry around a card for gas & food only & then just try to be as disciplined as you can with them.
From personal experience, I was in a similar situation. Between a 0% interest balance transfer card, and a personal loan from Discover I was able to consolidate $15,000 in credit card debt. Two months after my score jumped (from 680 to 720) I applied for a new loan with my credit union at better terms (from 19% to 10%), resulting in a much smaller payment. When I over extend myself for the month, I borrow from my savings (which I have a bit of now that I'm not drowning in CC debt) to pay off the statement balance in full, then I pay myself back slowly at 0% interest. I still have the debt, but it's easier to handle. All of that to say it CAN be done.
Best of luck.
