Getting off vicoden

Well I've been on Vicoden for 7 yrs...I was doing anything up to 15-20 a day...over the past 7months I've been slowly cutting my dosage down. I'm officially at  1 and a half a day. I was told this is the best way to do it without rehab. So far the cutting down hurts. But i can't wait to get off these things, they've ruined my life. Its been so long, I can hardly remember what a sober life is like. Everything is so brand new. The withdrawals are horrible...i need some tips on making this easier on my body. I can't sleep at night and if I do I'm woken up from bad dreams. Very vivid dreams,seems every hour I wake up,Then I just say F&*% it and stay awake. It's killing me. But i know it will be worth it in the end. I know it. Just wish I could fast forward thru this ****. I tried the cold turkey thing...that was a bust. Lot easier said than done. So i did the cutting down route. Seems easier...guess ill see when I take none at all. I hope it helps doing it this way, I'd hate to feel the same intense pain from cold turkey. Hope its easier and less painful this way...any tips?
-Jenny S.Rockwood MI

[bmdad]

Congrats on wanting to get your life back. It is worth every second of the pain we go through while withdrawing.
I think one of the things that helps the most is exercise. I know it can be hard to muster up the energy to do so but force yourself even if it's just a short walk around the block at first. Exercise will help your energy levels return a bit faster.
Also be sure to eat healthy and push the good fluids such as juice and water. Try and eat some high protein foods as it will help with your energy level.
If you look in the health pages, which can be found in the upper right hand side of the page, you will see the "amino acid protocol". It lists a bunch of vitamins and supplements that will help you recover a little faster. They really do make a big difference. The sooner you start them the better.
Most of all do your best to keep a strong mindset. This forum is a great place for support. Come on here and post as often as you need. You will meet some wonderful people here that will bend over backwards to help you reach your goal. Staying clean takes a lifetime of work. If most don't get some kind of outside support the chance of relapse is very high. This forum is a great place to start but I would recommend checking into some NA meetings or an addiction therapist.
Hang in there and keep fighting. You can beat this!
Best of luck!

Brian

[gnarly_1]

HI Jenny welcome to the forum....well you where one of the lucky ones that actually could taper most addicts cant with that said you have done about as much damage control as you can now it just a mater of jumping and see what happens.....I will assure you it wont be as ruff as C/T but your probably going to feel it no mater how you do it it will be a mild version of what you would have faced 15 pills...go to the lower right hand side of the screen and look up something called the thomas recipe pick up as many of the things as you can aford also pick up some stuff called hinghlands restfull legs its good for the restless legs a lot of people get your best overall tharapy is a good hot soak it gets rid of the creepy crawly feelings and cuts down on the anxiety go into this with a positive attitude it will make or break you keep posting for support and just know YOU CAN DO THIS good luck and God bless.....Gnarly    

[mof8]

I've been on vicodin 10s for over two years. The past year I have increased my dosage and constantly run out before it's time to get my refill. I was taking 80-100 mg per day.I have horrible withdrawls. Electric shocks course through my body, my entire body aches, I throw up and have diareah. It's worse than anything I have ever been through in my life. The last time I tried c/t I ended up in the ER. I still can't believe that I did this to myself. I sometimes get angry thinking back to my doctor prescribing this to me for my chronic pain. I would rather deal with my aches and pains of my body than be dependent on this horrible drug. I was tapering off for a month but when I got my last refill I started taking more than prescribed again. I wanted that energy to get things done... Now I'm down to the bottom of the bottle and know that I again face w/d. This time there's no going back. I am going to try to take 1 pill a day until I run out. Please post vitamins, etc, anything that will help. It made me feel better reading all the posts on here. It helps to know I'm not the only person going through this. Thank you...

[bmdad]

You should start your own thread so you have one dedicated to you. If you look a the top of the page you will see a green box that says "post a question". Copy your previous post and then click the "post a question" button. Paste and click post. Sometimes posts get overlooked if they are within another thread.
As for vitamins look in the health pages. The health pages can be found in the upper right hand corner of the page. Look for the "amino acid protocol" It lists a bunch of vitamins and supplements that help our body and brain recover faster. They really do help.

[pillfree21]

Your ability to taper for that long and down to that level shows you have what it takes and the inner desire to beat this thing.  I would like to just encourage you to keep moving forward and also repeat BmDad's advice on exercise.  I renewed my Y membership and have become a gym rat, the sweating and then a few minutes in the sauna/steamroom were invaluable to me and still keep me going today.  Good Luck.