Can you get addicted to Vicodin in one month?

[1MoreWithFeeling]

I've been taking Vicodin for about a month now due to back issues and subsequent surgery.  I'm still in pain but I want to stop taking them sooner rather than later.  Will I have problems with withdrawal after taking 10/325 every 4-6 hrs for about 30 days now?  Should I plan to do anything special?

Thanks for your help...I want to stop this before it becomes a problem.

[fdupr]

I was taking 5/500, four tablets a day (one every 6 hours) for a year and my Dr had me more afraid of the Tylenol than the hydrocodone.. It was changed for some reason to 5/325 last month so I felt it was safer and increased my dose from 4 5/325 a day to 8 pills a day.. I did this for a month and quit yesterday.. right now I feel like I have been to hell and can't find my way back home... Please stop now while you have some self will.. I really dont know if I am going to make it.. I am afraid to throw them away just in case... I have very bad osteoarithitis in my hands and I am a professional pianist...I am really a mess.. Quit while you can...

[janet19]

I have taken the neurontin before. I have diabetes and my feet had sharp pains and tingly and the neurontin help me tremendously. I had side effects from it.

Yes I agree it is possible to have some mild withdraws, but more than likely will very minor at this point. You definitely do not want to continue taking the vicodin the withdraws are bad and I thought I was in hell burning. My body ached and I thought my joints were fusing together.  Profusely sweating and RLS. So my suggestion is that you quit now ASAP. I would not wish the withdraws for my worse enemy. They are HORRIBLE and even harder to explain.

I wish you luck and you are thinking ahead and that is wonderful. I will keep you in my prayers............God Bless                 Janet

[Dav125]

They say Neurontin is supposre to help with wd's as well.. My surgeon gave some of that to me a couple months ago but within a week I called him back saying that it was literally spinning me out and we hadn't even started the dosage increase yet (a person normally gets started at a 300mg dose twice a day and then the doctor will increase it in increments until your dose gets up to 1800 mg and day).

He then switched me to Lyrica which is suppose to serve the same purpose..Deal with nerve pain and inflammation. It turns out that these two drugs are in that category of " They may work for one person but not the next" Meaning ,if a person can't handle the neurontin (gabapentin), then normally the Lyrica is tolerable for them without the side effects associated with the neurontin..And vise versa. The thing with the neurontin with me was it made me bad dizzy, nausiated and literally impaired me to the extent that driving was out of the question until a couple hours after taking it. I can only describe it as feeling like what a person feels if they drank way to much alcohol (like a college binge party) and were on the verge of losing their groceries. So be aware of the possible side effects especially when he starts raising the daily intake. And sorry, no pity parties allowed..They are not recognized here so you write to your hearts content..Writing is also excellent therapy in getting thru these first few days of the wd process :)..Or air the general emotion swings to help get your focus back on track...

[1MoreWithFeeling]

Sigh...told you my head wasn't clear.  I'm taking Neurontin not Metformin (My dad was on both before he passed so I got confused) and I've been taking Effexor for about 6 years but tapered down to the lowest dose 3 years ago.  

I also see I've written a novel here.  Welcome to my personal pity party.

[1MoreWithFeeling]

I'd like to thank all of you that were kind enough to post here.  

I'm already on a drug called effexor which I'm too scared of the WDs to stop so I know a little about the subject.  I've been taking the minimum prescribed dose for about 3 years now and after a brief taste of what stopping felt like I chose to stay on it indefinitely.  Ever since then I realized that not every drug your doctor gives you is always good for you and I try really hard to avoid them if possible.  It says something about how bad the pain has been that I have taken the vicodin at all.

I told myself they were a stopgap measure till surgery fixed the problem.  Unfortunately, the surgery itself seems to have fixed the discs that were bad but somehow another already managed to herniate/rupture and I'm still in a lot of pain and uncertain of what the future holds.  Regardless, I can't risk being on another drug that I will eventually find impossible to stop taking.  Maybe it's a good thing that the vicodin wasn't doing much for the pain anyway.

Today is the second full day w/o any.  I only took the equivalent of one pill three days ago, broke it in half and took it when the WDs got bad.  Then I stopped yesterday.  I can't say I'm feeling good but I'm surviving.  Last night was pretty bad.  My stomach was not happy.  The need to toss and turn was more compelling than avoiding the pain it caused.  By 3am I gave in and took the valium and finally fell asleep about an hour later.  

Today hasn't been terrible.  Despite being mostly bedridden at the moment, I'm very lucky because I have a support system and I'm currently taking medical leave from work anyway so the headache emotional swings and cloudiness aren't causing issues there.  

The doctor is unsure why I am having this pain (I've self diagnosed having had disc trouble for more than half of the last 20yrs and I know the feeling by now) and he can't get a clear scan because I had surgery so recently.  He's now prescribed something called metformin to help with nerve pain.  I'm skeptical as always but I think I will try it since I don't know what else to do and I can't stay in bed forever.  I miss being able to play with my 2yr old and I want my life back.

I'm very emotional right now.  My head doesn't feel quite right, my stomach is still not 100% and I'm worried what the night will bring.  I'm terrified that my back will never be good enough to lead a normal life but I'm trying to get through now and try not to worry about what tomorrow will bring.

I thank you all again for your support as I seem to need as much of it as I can get right now.

[NoMore81410]

Hi and welcome! If you have been taking this for a month then yes you can easily get addicted to this so if you can stop while you are ahead your WD's will not be as bad. You will still have some wd's because of the toxins that the pills carry but they should be very manageable with such a short time you have been on them.
Good luck and stop while you can! The WD.'s I had were horrific and I hope to not ever go through them again! I was addicted for over 3 years because of neck and back pain. I take advil now and I am doing great!

[feohmoon]

You have been taking your meds as prescribed so it should not be that bad although you could encounter some discomfort, though as Dav125 said...nothing like some of the horror stories here.  However, if you continue, you will understand the horror stories and I would not recommend that.  You seem like you have a good head on your shoulders so stick you your goal because you do not want to have the intimate knowledge of withdrawals that are waiting around the corner if you are not careful.
Best of luck to you and continue posting.

[Dav125]

You may get lucky and have some symptoms but not as bad as someone who had been taking them for a longer period of time.. Have some immodium on hand just in case you start to have stomach issues. You would want to start taking that at the first hint of any diarrhea type symptoms.

Also check out the Thomas Recipe in the lower right hand column. Get some good vitamins circulating..You very well might have minimal wd's though. Your right at the edge from my experience. Back a couple years ago when my back issue started coming back to life, 2 maybe 3 times a year for a month here and a month there, I was beening given some lortabs or vicodins which, after running out I didn't refill as the extremes had past. Thinking back, I had very little wd's other than headaches or maybe generally not feeling great for a couple days....You may be just fine..If you do have some wd's though, they will not be anywhere close to what you read in here about mass confusion, major insomnia etc. You were short term and not a high dose usage..

Best of luck with this..If anything, you may feel kinda "flu-ish" for a couple days is my guess..:)

[FarOut000]

You are very wise my friend for stopping them now.  I was not so smart and continued to take them for over a year and now I "know" I am addicted and have actually set a date to quit cold turkey.  My guess is you may go through mild withdrawal symptoms somewhat similiar to the flu.  I think you will be fine. Good Luck and keep us posted.