When Can I Safely Take Hydrocodone Again?

[lms58]

Hi everyone - I abused hydrocodone for a period of three weeks and went through w/d a week ago, which was a nightmare. Needless to say, I learned my lesson about abusing drugs and never, ever, ever want to do it again.
My question is this:
I still have chronic back pain, and my dr. prescribed more hydrocodone. I want to take it responsibly. After telling my husband and sister about abusing the drug for three weeks and going through w/d, they are afraid for me to use it again, thinking I will relapse into taking it recreationally.
I would like some opinions on this subject.
Thanks!

[road2recovery]

i can tell you for me, I CAN NEVER

[road2recovery]

Sorry i posted before i finished...i can never take it again, unless it is so severe i can't stand it...That is a tough one for addicts...
Three weeks is not a long time, but i will promise you that three week can easily turn into 3 years..
good luck
R2R

[lms58]

Thanks for your post.
I keep telling myself that I will be ok to use it as prescribed...the w/ds were so atrocious that I was determined never to abuse again. However, I take a LOT of Tylenol (4000 mg sometimes a day)...and I don't want to use that much anymore bc I don't want to damage my liver.
I'm in a bind kind of...

[road2recovery]

you were taking hydrocodone and tylenol together? or you mean what is already in the hydrocodone??
how many were you taking a day in those 3 weeks...i can't imagine w/d's being that terrible in three weeks of use...hate to see what i go through for almost 3 yrs...yuk.
R2R

[marcatj]

ya know, i hate to say it, but if this is the only time you've ever abused it, and it was for 3 weeks, and you caught it and stopped... i don't know.  maybe you can try again.

but i would not if there's a chance that you would be too afraid to go through w/d's again, in case you realized you actually can't take it.

(my opinion comes from the fact i never abused vic's til this last year, and certainly took them in the past for pain, but never abused, like i said.)

so... if you know 100% you can put them down if you see a tendency to abuse, you could try again.  your question does make me cautious for you, though...

really, only you know.

[lms58]

No, while I was taking the hydrocodone, I did not use Tylenol in conjunction with it. Before I took hydrocodone, I took Tylenol, and during the w/ds I did.
During my three weeks of abuse, I took approximately 55 500mg hydrocodone and acetaminophen pills, two bottles of hydrocodone syrup, and 20 Ultracet.

[lms58]

I feel the same way. I think to myself that I learned my lesson and I can use it responsibly. The only thing that bothers me is the distrust and doubt that my husband and sister have shown.

[road2recovery]

i can only give u my opinion, but only if i were in pain where i could not handle it would i take it again..
What do you mean by 500mg of hydrocodone?
R2R

[lms58]

I may be misstating the dosage. I know it's the same amount that pretty much everyone gets when it's prescribed...

[lucyred68]

your hubby just doesn't want you to go through that again, i'm sure.  maybe he will trust you if you have him hold the pills and only take it if you really need it?  that way, he will have more control, and not be worried.  i know it would be hard on your oride, but as an addict, sometimes we have to swallow our pride in order to rebuile trust and for our won health.  i agree, that is way too much tylenol for your liver.  even the hydro's will destroy it if you aren't careful.  the hubby holding the pills, leavig one or two with you when he goes to work etc.  may work.

Lucy

[lms58]

I know he's worried, and so is my sister. I also know that I am the one that caused their distrust. I didn't say anything to anyone during those three weeks, but couldn't hide it when I was w/ding.
I tried asking my husband if he would hold on to them, but he is still afraid that I will get mad at him if he thinks I have had enough.

[lucyred68]

the two of you will have to work that out, and you will probably get mad at him.  he is right about that.  i know i did, but if he loves you, he will be willing to work with you to take care of your needs.  that is what "for better, for worse, in sickness and in health" means.

Lucy

[marcatj]

sweety, if you took 55 pills over 3 weeks, that's not even 3 pills a day.

what are you prescribed?

also, just know, once you get that "taste" for the high.... well, it may likely be there if you try again.  just know that and be ready to put them down if need be...

[lms58]

Yeah, but I was also downing that syrup...I took two whole bottles of it in like, 4 days! Don't forget, I also took those Ultracet in about two days...I have never taken narcotics that way in my life. I just don't think my body could take it. At least, that's what I am guessing, bc I felt so crappy for about a week. Muscle aches, chills, hot flashes, sweating, diarreah...the works. I didn't understand why I was w/ding so bad after only abusing it for three weeks, either, but I just chalked it up to everyone being different, y'know?
I don't know the right dosage...but it's Vicuprofen. I know that.

[marcatj]

well, use caution.  that's all i can tell ya.

if it wasn't that long ago you had a "taste" for that high and abuse, it's likely still there.  I would love to tell you differently, trust me - i went thru the same thing.

at the end of the day, it's your decision.  but it is a tough, tough road once you get on it.  so my advice would be to avoid if possible.  trust me - not worth the risk if YOU think there is one.

sorry!  i know you probably want to hear something different...

[lms58]

Thanks for your advice. It is good advice. I am really struggling with it, to be honest...

[BonnieAnn]

Hello and Welcome!

I can tell you, for me: NO WAY! If i abused before, I will abuse again.

One of my favorite sayings (my sponsor would say to be all the time):

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

Good Luck! Keep posting.

[Dimboy]

Hey...i was thinking about you yesterday.....you vanished for a couple of days and was wondering if you are OK.

I am worried about you now...Im being honest.
This is your first addiction....Don't under estimate it....You think that you are under control...but the control will slip out of your hand in a heart beat and you will start all over again.
Don't be upset with us... we say this because we care.....From my personal experience....This will NOT work. there is no "safe way" to take narcotics. I was addicted to heroin and cocaine for years...I managed to quit and after 5 years...I got stuck on Pain meds! And yes..I did say that i know better and i will not go over what's prescribed to me.... BS! i was eating them like candy.

As far as Tylenol..... 4000mg is what is known to be safe for adults...but bodies can be different... I don't recommend that you go all the way with the limit.

Once again.....don't be upset :)

[marcatj]

well, i would disagree with dimboy about safely taking narcotics - many people do take pain meds and don't abuse them.  we, unfortunately, do!

i think you know the answer Ims... you do.

[Dimboy]

Even if we have a history of abuse? i doubt it marcatj :)
To clarify my post...I'm not talking about individuals with no abuse history...but once a person abuses....then its a different story.

[lms58]

That's a great saying. I will keep posting.
I just keep rationalizing that I "only abused it for three weeks"...plus I went through w/d, and fully understood how CRAPPY it was.
I didn't like hiding my abuse of the drugs from anyone, either. I just felt alone...

[lonote]

Can I ask you why you take so much acemediphen or tylonol?> You now what it does to your liver?
We almost lost our friend Hope .She was rushed to the hosp.Stop taking so much. Its bad for you.

[lms58]

Dimboy:
I am not upset at all! I am glad you posted. How are you? I was just at home all weekend long, visiting with family that was in town.
I want people's opinions...especially people that have had problems with addiction in the past. I don't want to be an addict, but I also don't enjoy being in pain every day. :(

Lonote:
I was taking acetaminophen for back pain, recurring headaches, and pain in my index finger (keeps getting jammed).
Does Hope have a story on this forum? I would like to read it. I did not realize that I could be hurting myself with the Tylenol usage until I started to abuse hydrocodone and read about it on the 'net...

[lonote]

Oh yes honey,when you eat and abuse the hydrocodone, theie more worried about liver damage than what the codine will do. Of course they are concerned about that too. let me see if I can look up hopes incident for you.

[lonote]

At the bottom there are numbers    go to 8  that will pull you up to july 18  to the heading    "hi guys I'm home" do some reading in those couple days before and what lead up to it. She's quite a character. But is loved by all.

[lms58]

I read some of the posts at that time and before...what a sad ordeal. She seems like such a sweet girl...I have read a lot from her b4.
What happened to her exactly?

[Calzy]

I agree with the run don't walk away from this pills, once you cross the line of addiction it will just get worst from there. How long does it take to get hooked, 3 wks in your case. The next taste you have will be just like the last, you dont get to go back to the feeling of the first day's. I was hooked real early on and wished i had stopped than but i said just a little longer, but it's to late than. Work out, eat right do what ever you can before you quit on your body and start to think a pill will fix every thing. You are to young to give up. Good luck with the rest of your life.

[lms58]

Thanks. My husband and sister have told me the same thing! I think I will try those suggestions first...

[lonote]

I only know what I read. only Hope knows exactly what happened. Heres what I know. Its the same as everyone else knows. She has a problem with perocetts. Like so many of us. and she has eaten so many I guess one day she was yellowish in color could barely use the bathroom, I think throwing
up, her organs were failing her. Anyways she was rushed to the hospital, and the rest is history. Hopefully she is on the mend. At least I pray she is.

[lms58]

That is so scary. I am scared to DEATH that I have been taking too much Tylenol. Like I said b4, I normally take it daily, but today, I decided that I am not going to take it anymore. I have not taken any and don't plan to. I will just deal with it. But now, I am in pain, and I am just sick of it. I feel like my husband doesn't understand. He didn't gain 60 lbs. with our son and go through sciatica and high blood pressure and swollen ankles...and I am the primary caretaker of our 18-month old when we are at home. That means SOOOOOOOOOO much bending over...it hurts.

[lonote]

Oh honey I can Imagine. Why don't you see the doctor?

[cmsande]

I've never abused my vicoprofen but after a year of 2 to 3 about every other day I thought no big deal it's been long enough I need to slowly come off of it.  So for 3 weeks I would cut my doses in half and everything was great till 4 days ago when I decided not to take any at all!  What hell!  This forum has been a life saver!  I think you should try everything else before going back to pills!  I've been doing accupuncture for about 3 years and it works wonders.  Massages are great but I can only afford one every 2 or 3 months.  Do your research before you go strait to pills!  I'm wishing I would have just ignored my Dr. and my mother and continued to go to the ER when I got bad enough.  I didn't have my pills because of my back but when I was pregnant with my 2nd child I had sciatica and a bulging disc (not to mention hyper emisis and lost 25pds!)  There are treatments for this that are non surgical and non drugs!  You can get lidocaine injections, physical therapy and so much more.  The thing that releived it for me was losing 20 pounds (yes ontop of the 25 that I lost while pregnant) and yoga.  I hated yoga didn't want to even think about fitting it into my life but after the first week I was hooked.  10 min a day and I'm good.  If you do go back to the pills give them to your husband and have him only give what you need for a day or 2 and have him hide the bottle. Maybe that would help him with his fear.  Good luck!

[darienguy]

That is a hell of alot of tylenol in the vicodin- i know that it is claimed that anything over 4000 mg a day is lethal for many people- 55 vicodins (500/5) contain 27,500 mg (or 1310 mg a day)- i wont get into the hydrocodone syrup or ultrcets -- it could be to your advantage to separate the hydrcodone and it is relatively easy to do

[lms58]

I have seen him. He wants me to get my back x-rayed, but my stupid insurance plan wants me to pay a $300 deductible first, and then, they will only pay 80%. I can't afford it at this particular moment.
Don't be mad...I went and got the Vicuprofen yesterday. After not taking Tylenol all day, by the time I left work at 4pm and all the way home, my back was killing me. The pain started to radiate down my leg. I told myself, "I can do this." I took one Vicuprofen and that was it. I didn't go back for more, I didn't want the high. I just wanted the pain to go away. It's 8:43am now, and my back is starting to hurt again. The pills are in my purse. I have successfully ignored them. I am only going to take one if the pain is severe again. So, I guess I do have some will power after all.
I think that losing weight is gonna be a big kicker for me...I have been 110-115 all of my adult life (I'm 5"0), but after gaining 60 lbs. with my baby, I am now at 165 (I was 145 when I got pg with him - I had two miscarriages before that...both of which caused me to pack on some lbs. as well). I am sure that all of that extra weight on my small frame doesn't help my cause at all. I want to start taking vitamins daily, eating right, and exercising. I can do it, I know I can! I am feeling really positive about it. I am really super-proud of myself that I have the pills in my immediate reach and I am not interested in abusing them. Super-duper proud!

[lms58]

I misstated the dosage. I am sorry! The Vicuprofen is 7.5mg/200mg if that helps. The Hydro syrup I was taking - I don't know the dosage on that...

[cmsande]

sounds like you are doing ok.  Does your hubby know about the pills? I work for a group of ER physicians and its like all Dr.'s think everyone has money falling out there *ss!  Tell your Dr. straight up you don't have the money for expensive test and he/she needs to get work around that.  I'm in the same boat with my jaw.  My insurance company won't pay for not one cent of treatment because they claim I have TMJ.  I wish I only had TMJ! I had all four wisdom teeth extracted 2 yrs ago and the dr riped every ligament in my face in the process and blew my left disc (jaw) out of place.  Took a year for anyone to figure out what happend to me and by then I had a cm of bone lose on the left side. I had all kinds of problems till they started fixing the problem and they still don't know if I will need surgery! Wishing now I wouldve just had the surgery because now if I have to have it I'm out the money for the treatment up to this point ($6000) plus I will have to pay the for the surgery!  I'm not bitter though (ya right)! I do have a point.  I just don't want you to get to a point were I was at first.  The pills are easy and (if you have a script) cheap compared to actually taking care of the problem. It's sounds like you hav a good outlook and a good plan started.  Find a Dr. that will listen to all of your probs.  Money is an obstacle for alot of people in healthcare and physicians should know this but they just see a problem and want to fix it no matter the cost (to you)!  You have to pull them in to reality!  Have a great day and be strong!

[lms58]

No, he doesn't. I am scared to tell him. I plan on telling him when he's in a really good mood. That way, I can show him the bottle and he can see the date and how many I've taken...he can see that I am doing good. I did tell my sister. She was disappointed that I refilled the script, but is ok knowing that I am not abusing.
I hate my insurance plan. It sucks. I think I will tell my dr. about it.