Hi, I am a 37 yr old stay at home mom of 6 yr old twins. I had knee surgery 4 years ago and my Dr. prescribed hydrocodone 5/500 I started taking 1 a day as needed.. then it became 2 a day.. then 3. I tried quitting once, and it lasted 11 days and then I had a really bad day and got my prescription refilled. I now take 4 to 5 pills a day and I'm scared that if I don't quit now, it will only get worse. I love my family and I don't want to live in a cloud anymore. I want to enjoy every moment I have with them, so I have decided that now is the time to do it, I took my last pill at 7pm, it is now 8:50pm.. w/d will start in the morning, then it is going to be hell for a week. I am determined to quit for good, and I am going to tell my Dr. not to prescribe vicodin for me anymore, because I have a problem. If anyone has any suggestions for me please let me know.. thanks
Welcome to the board! And congratulations on your focus toward recovery.
Iwas hooked on any and all opiates for well over 15 years and toward the end of my using I was averaging over 100 pills a day. Cold turkey was no longer an option for me so I had a doctor put me on Suboxone for a very quick detox. I wouldn't suggest that for because it would be like killing a fly with a cannon.
General rule of thumb for a taper is a 25% reduction every three days. You know, going down a half a pill every few days until your done. Sure, you still won't feel good, but after three days or so, the acute stage will be over. Then comes the hard part: staying sober. Think you can do it on your own?
I couldn't so I attend nightly AA meetings to deal with why I numbed myself to begin with. It's ok if it's not for you but you may want to think about tpsome sort of counciling just to help you get through this and stay sober. It was the last thing I tried and the first thing that worked and that was two and a half years ago.
See, addiction is a disease that wants you to think you don't have a disease. It will lie to you and tell you that you can take care of it all alone. It's that terminal uniqueness us addicts have that makes our situation different, see. The truth is, we are all the same, just different circumstances.
Whatever you do, it can be done. Keep posting!
Hi has2bdone, Welcome to SupportGroups.com . If this is a prescription medicine you are taking, I suggest you check with your doctor for help with stopping it. Also you may think about going to NA http://www.na.org/ for help. I am an alcoholic and drug addict. My drug of choice was alcohol. I went to AA for help. I was able to get sober and stay sober with the help of AA, God, family and friends by doing it one day at a time. Please keep sharing with us and letting know know how you are doing. We are here for you. ((((hugs))))
for every person out there suboxone is not the answer to vicoden addiction it is way stronger and not a good replacement.it would be like replacing aspirin with heroin
I too, came off of two opiates - morphine and methadone.
I was in a car accident (one of three) had my first back operation (was a failure) and had the morphine automatically where I pushed a button if I needed it while in the hospital.
Apparently I was pushing it every eight minutes, and 3ml of morphine was being given. After 2 days, the anesthesiologist took it away and I was given dilaudid on an "as needed" basis. So, anyhow, when I was discharged, they gave me methadone. Methadone? I thought that was for junkies coming off of heroin, not a mother of 3 coming out of a car accident. I guess they gave it to me as a pain medication as I had been using morphine from my two prior car accidents. Doctors felt I was using too much. I wish they lived in my body and knew the pain I was raked with.
Methadone I have to say is the worst opiate to come off of because the doctors are just exchanging one opiate for another. It stays in your muscles for months,even after you stop taking it. Side effects of it was awful while taking it - cold and hot sweats, shakes, feeling like I had the flu. I couldn't handle the side effects so I did what alot of people do - I went off of it cold turkey - it nearly killed me, took about eight months to actually start feeling better, but I did it.
I live out in a rural setting, 40 minute drive from the nearest little town, and hour and a half from a major centre. If you're planning on going off of something, please go off gradually, possibly with the support of a doctor. What I did was absolutely sick, physically and mentally.
If you really want off, YOU CAN DO IT. I'll be praying for you. Try and get the support of friends or family.
See if people that are close to you, who can handle seeing you at you all time lowest, can stay with you for the first month. It's worth it, when you are on a couch sweating the **** of your system and you're in a comfortable position on the couch and you'd like your cold cloth re-colded. Is that a word? Or when you wake up and you stink because you've been sweating all night like a horse that's being rode into a burning barn. That was supposed to be a joke, by the way.
I also used to do a lot of furnace handling. With the hot and cold sweats while taking it, and while coming off of it, I'd be going between 57 and 80 degress and thus changing it all of the time. Used to drive people crazy. Lots of weird things that go on behind the scenes when a person is coming off of something, hey?
Sincerely,
babsbro
Hi All, Im Jenni. Great posts here. I hope you all get the recovery support and info you're looking for.
I need help with a long term opiate addiction. I started 15 yrs ago with vicodin and changed to oxycontin 5-6 yrs ago. The oxycontin is in high amounts and I've never been able to detox from them. Im barely covering withdrawals now - the tolerance is too high and I feel sick all of the time.
I was wondering if I go inpatient and get through a detox if anyone has experience getting off this level and durating of opiates. My self esteem is terrible and I feel very lost right now.
Thank you for any help.
Best,
Jenni, California
Hi Jenni, Welcome to SupportGroups.com . Going through inpatient and detoxing has been know to be helpful. Also you may think about going to NA - http://www.na.org/ for extra help and support. Good for you on deciding to reach out for help. That is first step in the right direction. Keep sharing with us. We are here for you. ((((hugs))))
Thank you for all of your tips.. I couldn't do it cold turkey, I caved.. so now I am going to try a taper starting tomorrow morning. 1/2 pill at a time until it's over. I am hoping this will help me handle the w/d symptoms a little better atleast enough to continue getting off of the meds. I am also going to try AA because I feel like I always turn to something to make myself feel better, so I need to get to the underlying issues and learn to stay clean.. I initially started with alcohol when I was 14 and stopped drinking when I was 31, I have been sober (from alcohol) for 6 years and have never thought of going back to drinking, but I have replaced my alcohol addiction with hydrocodone, so I am needing help so that I don't replace hydrocodone with something else. UGHHH
Hi has2bdone, Welcome to SupportGroups.com. Good for you on decided to quit and going to AA. Congratulations on 6 years without drinking. You are exactly right that we have to get to the underlying problems. Going to AA and working through the steps helped me to do that. You may also look into NA - http://www.na.org/ . Keep taking it one day at a time. Keep coming and sharing with us here. ((((hugs))))
Good luck HastoBe - you're definately on the right track with the taper and with being willing to attend AA.
Hydro got me about 10 years ago. I had drank a lot in my 20s, experimented with cocaine, moved to the suburbs, got married and gave that all up. But then subltely, the pills started after a car accident. Now Im a full blown oxy addict. I lasted on hydro/vicodin for a few years, was able to work/function but my tolerance had gotten pretty high. A 'friend' gave me a percocet and the next thing I know I was getting scripts for oxycontin. Bad, bad choice.
Anyway, thats my story. Good luck to you in dealing with this now and avoiding the disaster that will likely come with addiction to pain pills.
Best,
Jenni
Hi everyone, wanted to welcome new members and say that I totally identify w/ everyone on this board in one aspect or another. Up until Aug 2007, I had never used drugs/alcohol. I had grown up around drunks and never in my worst nightmares did I think I would get caught up in pills or any addiction. I was a mother, working professional who had many academics awards. I had worked hard to live life to the fullest. Then the only parent I had, passed away. A relative gave me oxy and it numbed me out enough to get thru the days then weeks. I truly believed I could avoid getting addicted. By the time I realized I was out of control, my savings acct was empty ( Oxy was rare so hydrocodone became my drug of choice and it's street value is ridiculous). My then 3 grader pretty much finished the school year while I stayed numb. I finally went to a state 1000 miles away and got on Suboxone. It did help me but It is
not a cure and when I got off it 5 mo. Later, I started the hydro again. Very slowly at first but time goes by and I was back to the chase, back to being a fiend. Just recently I started tapering. I keep track of my use on both my itouch calendar & simple graph paper. Actually seeing my use go down is a huge motivator. I'm down to 10 mgs a day, I try to taper every 3 days. Some days I have to slow it down. Will I succeed? I don't know. I do know that I must put it down b4 my kids pick it up. The main thing I want to share is these drugs actually take over the brain, making acquiring THE most important thing to u. It's not a matter of will power. W/o any support going it alone has a 5% success rate. Do what u must to get off the pills, talk to your dr. Start counseling, look for help until u find it. Wish me strength-
We can do this for ourselves and for our kids! I know exactly what you mean when you say you were numb… that’s how I have been living life with the hydro. I am now to a point where I can’t stand that feeling anymore. I know I am going to quit for good… it’s just going to be hard getting the kids to school and functioning with the w/d’s because my husband works 2 jobs, so I am basically on my own. But I am feeling positive about it! Good luck to you and I will pray for your recovery.
You need to do this for yourself first; our family and children weren't in our thoughts when we were getting high so, why should they come into play now? See, they didn't stop us from using. It's all about us.
That said, you are only as sick as your secrets. You need to work with someone who can help and support you through this: AA, NA, therapy, ect. Our way never worked in the past and the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. How will this time be different? This disease is cunning, insidious and it will lie to you and tell you that you don't have a disease and that you can do this on your own. It will tell you that going to meetings is shameful and "what if someone sees me?". Kick it to the curb and take your life back. Easier said than done, yes but once you start walking a path of recovery, the rewards are ten fold.
Have faith. I do.
Hi Purple, Has2Be, JoplinFrk, (heck everyone on this page :)
Best wishes to all of you. I do wish you all the stength and desire to do this. The bottom line is we can't fight science. With opiates comes tolerance and eventually we have to use more and more... etc.. you know the story. And taking breaks isn't the right thing either. On and off Sub - the whole thing becomes a viscious circle. Maybe we can all embrace some sort of self knowledge, be it 12 steps, therapy, meditation or all of the above. I really want to get to know myself, be happier and find out why I needed to numb myself all these years.
I too come from a severely alcoholic family on both sides. Only child. I think ive been in denial about how bad it really was. Cest la vie. I do love my mother and did my father before he passed away in 2007. Hopefully we'll all find the peace and answers we need for a happy, joyful life.
Love and light to you all.
Jenni xoxo
Joplinfrk,
Great post by the way. I'm going to take your advice and delve into the 12 steps. Can't hurt and my way sure as hell hasn't been working. Thanks for being here and congrats on your ability to come through to the other side and get a handle on this beast.
Much the best,
Jenni
Same as has2bdone, vicodin use has escalated over the course of 1 year, quit for 6 weeks, then back to using even more. Am now out of meds. Praying I don't get as sick as I'm sure I will. Doc prescribed Ativan to help me thru, but I don't have much faith in that at this point. Scared to death of the stomach pain, headaches, etc.
Just keep in mind that once it's over, it's over. If you so chose, you NEVER need to feel like this again. Keep it in the moment and I promise, this too shall pass.
Thanks for the words of encouragement. I just keep repeating prayers in my head, anything to keep my mind on something else.
Hi mamak, Once you get through this period, you don't have to go through it again. It will get better. Keep hanging in there and taking it one day at a time. Keep us posted on how you are doing. I am praying for you. ((((hugs))))
Hello all: I am new to this group and happy to have found others in similar conditions. Same story, back surgery, couple years ago, successful for what they went after, not successful for cysts they did not realize I had. Never went off the pain meds but wasn't too worried because I took what I perceived was a low dose....I recently was put on a medication, non narcotic to help with the cyst fluid pressure and that has taken my low back pain away. I am elated. I didn't take a pain pill at all for the first time yesterday, (it was 7.5/325,hydro/acet) I had no idea that the "flu" I started experiencing yesterday was a withdrawal symptom. I am pretty freaked out as I didn't even realize how my body was so used to them. I had tapered, from 3 to one a day, but hadn't broken them in half. I will be checking in frequently, found some good help already!
thanks to all