Some advice needed for getting off Norco

[Moloko5]

I feel kind of stupid asking because my problems seems so insignificant compared to others who are taking 3 times the amount of pills a day as I am but I have to ask.

I had back surgery back in March of this year.  Started taking Norco after surgery, about 4-5 a day for pain.  Currently I am taking 3 a day.  First thing when I wake, mid day and at night around 8pm.  I have major stiffness in my legs and feet in the morning but I don't think I need to take Norco for this.  In other words I am pretty sure I am almost all better with minor discomfort from the back pain.  My back pain is nowhere as bad prior to surgery and I went without pain meds for the most part just because I didn't like the haziness I got from them.  I realize I have some dependancy for the Norco.  If I don't take a pill at the time I usually do my body craves it like mad.  I need to get off these pills.  Tried cold turkey but I have to be functional for my kids.  I have 2 toddlers and they need my attention, not a dad who is locked up in his room angry and in pain from not having pills.  

I recently tried taking only 2 pills a day.  That kind of worked but I was the angriest man on earth until my next pill.  I can't function when I stare at the clock wondeirng if I can take my pill.  I need to wean myself off.  Is it better to cut the pills and take less dosage rather then trying to skip a pill to wean myself off or skip a pill?

BTW, just writing this makes me feel much better.  I thank this site and those that participate for keeping it alive.
thanks

[Moloko5]

Before taking Norco I was given oxycodone right after the surgery.  I was on a drip for 4 days and then a small bottle of pills when I went home.  I couldn't get a refill because I was told they couldn't give Oxy prescriptions over the phone because of the highly addictive nature of them.  I didn't want to drive to my doctors office just for painkillers and asked for anything to help with the discomfort.  You have to understand I had a 3 level artificial disc replacement surgery.  Went through my stomach and was in quite a bit of pain for a few weeks.  Started taking Norco every 4 hours for about a month and then slowly started taking less as I became much more active.  I had no idea that I would become dependant on these pills.  I am a smoker, don't do any recreational drugs, used to drink socially but haven't had a drop to drink ever since the surgery (paranoid about my liver with the combo of pills and alc), pay my taxes and a straight shooter.  I just didn't imagine that I would build a physical dependancy.  Its a really humbling experience going through this.  My wife thought I was joking when I told her I need to taper off because I have a problem.

last night I took some vitamins instead of taking my usual 1/3 pill before dinner.  I started getting the cravings and took a soma since I don't have valium and that helped me a lot.  First time I took soma in about 9 months.  This morning I feel much better than usual and didn't think too much about taking my 1/3 pill.  Had less body aches and held off until 10am to take my dosage.  I think I can probaly be clean by the weekend without any problems.

thanks for your help.

[teenutz]

Just a quick comment about the Norco. Norco is similar to Vicodin, it falls within the same class of medications, but I have heard that it is a bit stronger and maybe that is why you are having problems with it. My wife took Norco, had no problems, but during my pill popping days I took some of her medicine for recreational purposes, and I have to tell you that I felt more of a high of the Norco. I thought Vicodin and Norco both had similar amounts of hydrocodone in them, but maybe not. I think I am going to do some research on this because it is interesting. I will let you know if I find out anything. I have a degree in psychology (ironically) and know alot about pills and stuff. I basically became a victim of my own profession. I am now a writer who has fought back the powers of addiction, but I will tell you it is an everyday struggle. I still get cravings from time to time. If you ever have any questions about pills Norco or anything I will be more than happy to answer them to the best of my ability. Over time though I have learned that some painkillers are more addicting then others, such as Percodan, oxycodone, and Roxicet. Norco may fall closer into one of these categories than the Vicodin, Lortab, Lorcet categories. I wish you the best of luck. You can do it, I will tell anybody that who really wants to stop. The key is that you really want to stop, and not just kid yourself, like some of my friends have done for so many years with drugs. It's not easy, but it's well worth it. Remember, the type of drugs we are talking about here are not evil. Norco, along with many other painkillers are very useful and are needed in society for individuals with certain medical conditions. However, they can be abused to the degree like cocaine, herion, and meth if you are not careful. All of those drugs were once legal in society at one point throughout our history, and each became illegal ironically for political and racial reasons, rather than being seen as a scurge from an addiction standpoint. Painkillers are the new wave of drug abuse in society. Most are on what is called a schedule II drug class according to the DEA. They have a medical purpose, but a potential for abuse. If we are not careful with these drugs, they may be moved to schedule I and become completely illegal. That would be tragic because my mother is on Norco for her hip pain and my uncle takes Percocet to help with his terminal illness pain (cancer). I really think doctors should talk more to their patients about these drugs and give them better instructions on how to use them. It also doesn't help that you can buy any of these drugs over the Internet and there are many "dirty doctors" out there who will just write someone a prescription for anything they want for a fee. It's stuff like this that keeps the cycle of addiction rolling. Don't be scared, try to reduce your dosage as much as you can, eat a healthy diet, and honestly keep yourself busy (exercise helps alot, and will get your body back on track once the drug has left your system). I stopped because I was tired of the way i was living and I was hooked on numerous drugs, not just pain pills. Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to quit, and that was the case for me. I can only look back on that now and thank god I made it through. If you ever need to talk, I am here for you. Give it your best shot, and if by some chance you are obtaining the drug from a peer group, my advice is to get away from them. I was able to quit because I made the decision to cut out the source. If you are getting it from a doctor then tell him/her what is going on, see what they say about tapering, and maybe even a benzo.drug to ease some of the side effects. The good thing is that you are still early in the game. Three months is a while, but not too bad. Painkillers should not be taken longer than 3 months anyway, unless you have a more serious medical condition that requires constant pain management. Keep talking and I will try to come up with some answers for you. What worked for me probably would not work for alot of people. I am a very strong person who played the taper game and then once I took the final dose, I would crave, and then get more and start all over again. Didn't work for me, so I put myself through withdrawal which taught me a lesson about abusing these drugs. It was so bad that I never want to go through that again. Hopefully your taper program works out and if it doesn't don't get discouraged. There are other things that can be done, but try that first b/c it seems to be working for you. Good luck my friend. Talk to you soon!

[Moloko5]

thanks for your comments.  Every bit of encouragement helps.  Yeah its funny, gotten down to 3 pills a day for the past 3 months yet I can't get off them without coming on this board.  Trust me I tried the cold turkey method and I couldn't do it.  thats when I realized I had a problem no matter how small my dosage was.  I tried justifiying taking the pills because of stiffness in the feet etc but I knew I was taking them to feel a little amped and semi normal.  When I didn't take the pills I felt dull and tired and focused on minor discomfort.

Its weird that you brought up vicodin and darvocet since I never had a problem stopping both before.  Hence why I didn't think I would have a problem with Norco.

Until I all of this I never knew what addicton was.  I was always under the impression that an addict is weak but what I didn't know is how bad the physical dependacy can effect you psychologically.

Hope goes out to all that suffer and are trying their best to beat this.

[teenutz]

This depends what dosage you are on? Are you on 2.5, 5, 7.5, or 10's? 3X a day is not bad and you already cut down from 5, but I know where you are coming from when you feel like you need your pill dose. The higher the dosage, the harder it is to stop. I don't like the tapering process. I just feel like you can be dragging out the inevitable, and it doesn't always work for everyone. I quit cold turkey, went through 72 hours of hell, sweating, anger (had to be alone, away from everyone in order to do this) and I was taking 15 Vicodin a day along with some Darvocet. If you can go through that I'll tell you can make it through anything in this world. I never abused those pills again! I could have died during my withdrawal because of my high level of use and dosage level. Three pills a day is not bad, but you may get a bit irritable and moody, but I would not expect you to suffer from physical withdrawal, more psycholgical unless you have been taking them for a long time (3-6 months). The longer you take them, the more physical withdrawal you will have once you stop. If I were to taper I would try breaking the pills in half, (3 a day divided by 2 will give you 6 half pills). Take five halfs the first day, four the next and then so on and so on. Doctors can also lay out a tapering process for you, but I have to warn you they can be real jerks about this kind of stuff. They are afraid if they write you a small script you will just go ahead and abuse them on some kind of bender or something. They don't trust us 'addicts', but most don't realize many want help. Some doctors, if you tell them the truth, will write you a script for a benzodiazepine such as Valium or Xanax. This helps with the withdrawal symptoms, and will help you sleep and be less moody. That is a good route, but don't abuse the Valium or Xanax because those do can be addicting if you take large amounts or take them for too long. It is sad because I really believe Norco and other pain killers are very beneficial to individuals who need them for pain. People get hooked because doctors sometimes overprescribe such pills or the individual just has that certain personality that makes them feel great when they pop a pill. I know many people who have taken Norco and have never gotten hooked, let alone ever told me the pills give them a high feeling. I guess it's different for every person. I wish you the best of luck! I just read over your progress report and that is great. Keep going and update as soon as possible. If you stop and get cravings, remember everyone is here to help you. Just let us know what we can do. Good for you!      

[Moloko5]

Progress report

The tapering seems to be working great so far.  I started the Ga Guy method of cutting the pills in half.  That to my amazment actually works.  i still get a steady stream of norco in my system.  The first 2 days I was successful and I started cutting them in 3rds now.  Total pills throughout the day is 1 2/3rds.  I will try this for a couple more days and cut the pills in 1/4ths and let you know how its going,

Once again thank you to everyone here on this board and the support.

[here4theinfo]

Hi, I am on Norco as well. Tapering off is the best way to cut down without having huge withdrawels, if you take the 2 and then the 1/2 and eventually go down to 2 then 1 1/2 and 1 and 1/2. It is easier that way and your body doesn't have such a side effect. Make sure to load up on vitamins and good food for the natural energy and strong health.Once your off them and your body feels good, then your good to go..Good Luck!!

[Moloko5]

thank you so much for that advice of tapering the dosage rather than trying to skip a pill.  I will try that starting today and will keep you guys posted.

[tzt2lady]

I agree with taking 2.5 pills a day for several days, or even cutting them into 4ths and tapering that way.  Best of luck, you can do this.  Even if your amount is slightly less that some of ours might have been, it still enslaves us all the same.

Keep posting, ok?
tzt

[GA Guy]

To taper successfully you need to decrease dosages and increase the dosage frequency. If you're doing 3 pills a day..cut out a half pill...that leaves 2 1/2 pills...cut those into 5 1/5 pills and spread them out during the day. That way you have a steady stream of the drug in your system. When the effects of the drop in your dosage even out, drop another half pill. You may eventually have to cut the pills in 1/8ths. the key is to just cut a little of your dosage every few days and make sure to spread the dosages out during the day. Hope this helps..there's some more info on my profile page. Just click the blue Ga Guy link to the left of this post.

[debsally]

I don't have any answers for you as I am here because my partner is an addict.  I just wanted to welcome you and tell you that your problems are no less than anyone elses.  This is a struggle and you have come to the right place.  

Good luck in your quest for sobriety and freedom.

Keep reading, I am sure you will find the right answer.

Deb