4th day of norco withdrawal

[Henry0727]

I've taken norcos for the past couple years on and off due to my arthritis. I recently got injections for my arthritis and am no longer in pain. When I was taking the norcos I would take 20 a day. I know I have probably took 500 I'm the last few months. I had only had 60 left and decided I wanted to taper off and quit taking them because I didn't want to have to take them forever to feel good. I tapered off the 60 in 2 weeks. I am on day 4 of not having any and still feel horrible. I can't get off the couch, I have no energy or desire to do anything. I have no appetite, my nose is running, diarrhea and depressed. The whole 4 days I have been taking potassium, zinc, magnesium, L-tyrosine ,vitamin b6 and a one s day vitamin. For as long and how many I was taking how long am I going to feel like this and is there anything else I can be doing? Right now all I am thinking is if I took some norcos I would feel better, but I don't want to, any advice would help

[FourJays]

Thank you for the update - it sounds like you are doing great and it is really nice to hear positive feedback!  It's inspiring to anyone else going through this now or thinking about doing it.  The physical activity made a big difference for me too; it's hard to get going but once you do, the benefits are pretty much immediate and SO worth it.  The runny nose and sneezing (and lack of sleep), were my longest lasting symptoms too.  A small price to pay for what you get though, right :)  Keep it up... you are doing this!

[FourJays]

Hi and congrats on day 5 and your 10 hour work day!  You are doing great!  Sleep is unfortunately one of those things that seems to take the longest to return to "normal" (whatever that may be!).  Keeping as active as possible with exercise and/or any activity will help.  Also - have you tried magnesium?  I used the tablets, 1000mg before bed.  Melatonin works well for many people (not the best for me, but again, it seems to be helpful for many so you may want to try it).  I also still drink the "sleepytime teas" in the evening; they seem to help relax me a little.  Maybe try a warm bath or shower before bed.  I found that fighting it made it worse; the more I stressed about not sleeping the less I got.  Just know that it WILL return in time.  At 5 days you are doing very, very well.  And like you said - you will NEVER have to do this again!  Hang in there.....you ARE getting your life back :))

[Henry0727]

I'm on day 6 and feeling a little tierd and sluggish and my nose is really running and I'm constantly sneezing but I feel so much better than day 4. Once you wrote to force yourself to do something I did and I actually felt better after. Even though I was tierd and unmotivated and not feeling great I forced myself to do things around house. Anyone reading this, it may seem the first few days you feel so horrible and can't do anything, just start doing small things and it really does make you start feeling so much better. It was so hard for me to do and I wouldn't have if I didn't read all the posts and everyone telling me to be active and it helps. The first few days are the worst if you can get past those and keep active, you can do it. It's still hard at day 6, but so much better than it was . I actually have hope. Thanks everyone!

[poisonbegone]

thanks for replying fourjays,
i am finishing up day 5..... i went to work last night, took all i had to mustar up the energy to go but i was determend. i went and worked 10 hours, i was amazed how much better i felt when i started  working, your right it took my mind off how crappy i was feeling,  wore me out but i did it.........yesterday i had to sit down and shower, today i stood up, its getting easier everyday!  why is it that even though i had to deal with the restless legs and jerking, i managed to still sleep day 1 thru 3, now i just cant sleep even taking a sleep aid........ im feeling life come back into my body a little more each day but cant sleep more than an hour, what can i do?
for all of you reading this like i did to help me through during my first couple of days,please, please dont give up, even though you are watching the clock hour by hour you can do this....... be strong!  on day 2 or 3 please force yourself to get up, take a walk, start out with a short walk and then go a little farther each time....... i took 3 walks on day 3....... it feels like its going to kill you but it is so good for you!
reading all these posts helped me so much, i dont even know you guys but your posts was all i had to keep me going through this horrible hell.......thank you so much for taking the time to help me and so many others!  im almost there just dont have much energy but i know now with each passing day im just another step closer from being free from this poison!  never again will i ever put another pill in my mouth, doing this cold turkey...... oh my lord, never will i ever have to do this again! im getting my life back and it feels good!!!!!!!!    

[TommyTom13]

Keep up the good work hank! Day 16 off norcos here. I feel so much better. Keep fighting and you'll feel better soon.

[TommyTom13]

Keep up the good work hank! Day 16 off norcos here. I feel so much better. Keep fighting and you'll feel better soon.

[FourJays]

That's great news; thank you for updating us.  I think it really helps other people to hear positive feedback like this.  You should continue to feel better every day; and the exercise/physical activity will help a lot. This is no cakewalk by any means, but every minute you put in to this will be worth it!  Congratulations on 5 days CLEAN!  Keep it up :))

[Henry0727]

I'm on day 5 and feeling much better. Yesterday was day 4 and I was feeling horrible and has been on couch for 4 days. Then after posting, everyone was saying force yourself to do something, go for a walk, get active, so I decided to force my self off the couch and I just started cleaning house room by room and I felt much better after that almost a little normal and u slept really good, j woke up today actually feeling better too. Gonna force myself to do things, it helped a lot. Thanks to everyone for the advice.

[FourJays]

You CAN do it; keep up with the walking - it is one of the BEST things you can do for yourself right now.  Exercise and fresh air are huge.  You should start feeling MUCH better physically and going back to work will actually be a good thing - it will keep your mind occupied and busy, with less time to think about how you are feeling.  Keep it up, you are doing great!

[poisonbegone]

i am at the 76 hour mark and i have to say i am starting to gradually feel a little better.  its the not having any energy thats getting to me,  i have been reading these posts since friday, i took my last loratab 10 @ 6 pm this past friday, after reading all these posts i will have to say i was scared to death to go cold turkey but i didnt wantto taper off, i wanted to hurry up and get this poison out of me.  i took 3 small walks today going a little further each time, it literly took every think i had to go outside and take a walk but i did it!  ihave to go back to work tomorrow, i just hope i can do it

[FourJays]

There IS hope and you WILL feel better!  I know when you are in it like you are now, every minute feels like an eternity.  But I promise you it will be worth it.  A week or so of feeling bad is a small price to pay for what you will get in return.  You may have some emotional ups and downs once the physical withdrawal is over, but there are a lot of natural remedies and simple life changes that you can make to help with this part of it.  For now just focus on one hour, one day at a time.  And again, stay close to this site and if/when you have questions or need support - we are here!  You are doing great....keep it up!

[Henry0727]

Thanks for posting, I was starting to think I would never feel better and there was no hope and just start taking norcos again, now I want to keep doing what I'm doing and get past this.

[FourJays]

Hello Henry0727 and welcome.....first off, congrats on quitting the Norco - great decision!  All of the symptoms you have described are unfortunately very common given what you were taking, for how long and that you are currently at 4 days clean.  For most people it seems that the worst of the physical w/d lasts from about 4 to 7 days.  I quit cold turkey from a very high dose and length of use, and started feeling better right about where you are now.  And it wasn't like it just stopped suddenly, it was more of a gradual lessening of the intensity.  Some of my symptoms (runny nose and sneezing, for example) seemed to linger, but for the most part I felt much better after about a week.  A couple of things that helped me were exercise and fresh air.  If you can get outside and take a walk, even a short one, this will really help your overall mood and energy level.  Try to do a little bit every day - makes a HUGE difference for me to this day.  It sounds like you have done your homework with the vitamins and supplements you are taking.  Eating as healthy as possible (even though you probably don't feel like it right now), is real important as well as keeping yourself hydrated.  Try some Vitamin Water, "Revive" formula - it is full of B's, C and potassium as well as electrolytes.  I honestly bought this stuff by the case during detox.  Also try soaking in a hot/warm tub w/Epsom salts; maybe light a candle, play some relaxing music - this will help SO much with achiness, restlessness and overall relaxation.  

You are right - taking some Norcos right now would make you feel better - BUT, when they wear off (as you know they will in a few hours), you would be right back to square one; in fact you will have gone backwards from where you are NOW.  You are doing the right thing for sure - stick with this; you are very close to being over the worst of the physical discomfort and then you will NEVER have to feel this way again.  Hang in there and keep posting here; you are among lots of people that have been through this or are doing in right now.....good luck - you got this :))

[Henry0727]

Thanks for the encouragement, I was starting to think I would always feel this way and see no hope. I feel so bad right now, I haven't gotten off the couch in 4 days, no desire or strength to do anything and that is so not like me, I'm up doing things all day usually. That leads me to be depressed that I can't or don't feel like doing anything. I will keep plugging through this if I know it ends. Thanks

[OpenMind24hours]

Hello and welcome! Congrats on 4 days! No, you don't want to take Norco and have to start all over agin. You have too much into this and you're committed to get free and clean. For that you have my admiration and congratulations! With your length of time and amount of using, you'll be going through the rough stuff for possibly a couple more days, maybe less. But you are over the hump with the symptoms and you'll find yourself beginning to feel much better than you have.  

You've listed all the good stuff that we all have taken during our WD. About the only thing you left out is Hyland's Restless legs, and taking mucho hot baths! Hot sits baths are powerful in many ways. They relax you, help the aches and pains, and help you get tired enough to catch some hard to come by shut eye. Sleep when you can, whenever your body wnats to day or night for now. I wish you the best!