Help me to stop! I'm taking 18-20 Norco's (10/325)/day!

[lost_and_hiding]

I need help and I am so scared.  I have tried quitting but I just can't seem to get through the withdrawals.  I don't understand how to taper off and I was hoping that someone could help me do it with a very specific schedule of how many I should take each day in order to not feel the withdrawals and also to get off of this evil stuff!  I am at a point right now where I cannot go 3 hours without taking between 4-7 pills at a time.  I have been taking some form of codeine based pills for over 13 years but this past year has been the worst.  I know that I am slowly killing myself and my liver.  I am so terrified of an overdose but right now, if I don't take my medication, I am so sick.  My withdrawals are terrible.  The nausea, headaches etc...I can't take it.  I know I need to quit.  I want to quit but I can't do it cold turkey.  I have the available medication to do it slowly but I need to start and I don't know how.  We are looking to start having a baby and I don't want to get pregnant while I am still addicted to these pills.  If anyone can help me by writing me down some sort of taper list that I could print out and go by each day, I promise I will do it!  I cannot keep swallowing 20 pills a day.  My husband has no idea of the extent of my addiction and if there is anyway I can do this alone, I will.  I cannot afford rehab because I do not want our insurance finding out about this so, I need to do this on my own and hopefully with the help of some kind souls here.

Thank you so much for listening and wanting to help me when I am sure you all would like help yourself.

Julie

[dmfisher]

My husband is a Pain Management Physician.  Here is how you taper for anyone who needs to in the future.  If you are taking, say, 10 a day.  Take 9 a day for one week, week 2 take 8 a day, week 3 - 7 a day.  When you get down to last 2 weeks cut pills in half, so last 2-3 weeks when you are down to 3 a day, cut to 2.5 a day, 2 a day, 1.5/day etc., etc.  Hope this helps anyone.  my email is ***@**** if anyone has specific questions, totally confidential.  I can get answers from my husband.  I am a counselor so I have access to the best of both worlds.  I am a pain patient now, so I kinow how difficult the situation can become.  I am lucky to have a husband who deals with this daily.  It is inevitable; pain patients have to have assistance when tapering.  I would see a PM doctor if you can, they understand.  Just tell them you have been taking them for a while and would like a prescription to help taper.  They will probably give you some Methadone to help with the end of the taper.  You will only take this for a week or two.
D. Fisher

[bmc1976]

Go to the top of the page and click on "post a question". Doing this will have a thread just for you. You will get a lot more responses this way.

[tr1shangel]

i had 5 shouler surgies in the past 1 1/2 years I was on 10 norco a day 10/325, i never realized there were withdrawels until they started ,, the achy legs were the worst, i started taking requip for that at night,it also helps sleep.after finally stopping, i jsut cut back 1/2 every 2-3days. I was on my treadmill sneezed and my back went out. found out i have bulging disks and osteoarthritis and a tear ,, so here i ma back on these damn things,,, my doc decides to start cutting me back, (she seems more concerned about how much she gives me then how im am feeling) i hate the withdrawels,, i feel tired and those nasty leg cramps, runny nose, and i cant keep still but too tired to do much,, im cutting down once again  but at least this time i was only keeping myself at 5 a day  no more then that,, the weaning takes time and patience and most of all u have to be honest with yourself,, my husband holds the bottle and give me my meds when its time and there are times i will say im going to wait another 30 min then maybe another 30 min,, then i get to where i cant take it anymore,, what makes me crazy is I am still in pain and it is worse from not having the meds in my system, someone mentioned suboxone. i have never heard of that, im waiting to get in a chronic pain clinic and im told they give u tramidol dont know what that is either,, hopefull its not addicting,, im really at my wits end,, i can function on the norco,doc wants me off,, and i jsut want a normal life .. is it really so bad to take 3 or 4 a day when i still am in so much pain??     i dont wnat to trade one addicting med for another,,  thanks for listening and if anyone has advice ,i thank u,,, trish

[jimiman]

I was taking up to 16 pills a day and what I did was I started cutting back by a half a pill every week it is a slow process but I finally got down to one pill a day and I just forgot to take it one day and that was it. No withdraw symtoms and no cravings it does work. I had a bulging disc in my neck .good luck

[lost_and_hiding]

Oh my gosh, I have been gone for 2 days and I just cannot believe the outpouring of absolute care and love that you have all provided to me.  Someone you don't even really know.  THANK YOU!  I have read through each of your comments and I wanted first to say that for the people still in recovery, I am thinking about you and hoping and praying for the best for you all.  I am REALLY trying to find a way to talk to my husband (oh, the humiliation..) I don't even know how to find an opening for that conversation.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  You see, he mentioned to me before that he thought I was taking too many pills when he started to see the accumulation of bottles around the house and then he went and had the pharmacy print out my prescription information for the year and saw how many I was actually taking.  The thought that I had been taking over 540 pills a month was mind boggling.  Even as I type that number I am completely shocked that I am not dead...Unfortunately instead of confronting him and telling him I had a problem and needed help, I told him that I had stopped and was no longer on that amount of medication.  Which of course has now led me to hide what I do have and find other pharmacies to fill any existing prescriptions that I may have.  It's a vicious cycle.  I wish I had had the guts at that moment to have faced the truth but I just couldn't let him down.  His mom is a recovering alcoholic and prescription bill abuser and his step dad is a recovering gambler.  His ex-wife was also in rehab 3 times for alcohol, cocaine and anorexia.  His father passed away from a massive heart attack when he was only 14.  I just couldn't be another person in his life that has somehow failed him...I feel so alone and torn right now.

I do have some good news though.  I called a local rehab center and made an appointment to at least "talk" about what is going on with me and what they think I should or can do about my problem.  I am hopeful that I can find a way to do an outpatient program with some medical help during the detox part.  I really do want this.  I already have 3 boys as it is that I feel will not have a mother by the time they graduate high school if I don't get my act together.  Unfortunately, the draw of this drug is just so strong.  I cannot believe that if I had to choose between family and the drugs, I would actually have to think about it.  (I know how awful that is to say.  It's even more awful to type it)  But I do remember those withdrawals and I just don't think I will survive them alone.  

So, until my appointment on the 28th of Jan., I am going to try cutting down by one pill a day and see what happens and hopefully be less pill away from being pill free.  

Any more insight would be appreciated.

Also, to the person that mentioned the extraction.  I have done cold water extraction (yes, I have been that desperate) in order to lower my dose of Tylenol but now I have recently just said to hell with it.  And I don't even bother.  I do take Milk Thistle and some Liver Aid medication to help support my liver but even I know that it is not enough.

I just want to be happy again on my own, free from the drugs and clear from all the pain.

Thank you for your prayers.

Julie

[ukwildcat]

I was taking up to 8 Norcs a day.  I tapered off start with 6 day for a week, then 5 a day for a week then 4  day and so on.  It work for me and I have been off since DEc 6th.  Still have some withdrawal symptons but I realize it just takes time and patience.  

[MJoe]

Hi Just testing

[tryingmybst]

Take this for what it's worth.  I am going cold turkey now and feeling like ****.  I never found that I was ever to get off vic by weaning.  I also am going it alone-my wife has no idea how addicted I became over the years (I started with pain meds for a herniated disk).  From what I have read, weaning has limited utility as the blood levels of morphine are not a linear function of your dose, but more exponential so that when you are on a small dose, stopping it than has almost the same withdrawal symptoms as stopping from a much higher dose.  Again take it for what it's worth and I do understand the challenges of doing this by yourself.  I would be happy to lend any support.

[CATUF]

I've been exactly where you are now (well, except for worrying about getting pregnant) and I've lived with that "I must do this on my own" feeling.  That is pretty much where I lived for for about 4 years.  That period started when I finally I realized that after 4 to 5 years of using, that I was in serious trouble.  That period ended when I went into long-term, in-patient rehab.  

It has been my experience that trying to fix my addiction my way, by myself, in secret, is worse than a waste of time.  It would just be a waste of time if I made no progress and the addiction stayed the same.  But it never did -- it always got worse.

You are right when you say you are killing yourself.  However, it doesn't sound to me like it's slowly anymore.  You sound like you're on the fast track now.  While that is a dangerous place to be, it's not all bad.  The beating I took there was pretty much exactly what was required in order to break me down enough to accept the changes necessary for me to get into Recovery.  

The simple fact of the matter was that addiction was killing me.  It almost succeeded and it would have if I had been allowed to keep calling the shots.  No matter how bad it got, I was determined to go it alone, keep it a secret and fix it myself.  Fortunately, my cat got out of its bag and I was forced into treatment.

What difference does it make if the insurance company finds out?  If you don't get past the active addiction, you're going to end up dead anyway.  Besides, in-patient addiction treatment is covered under health insurance policies because it is a bona fide medical condition that warrants in-patient treatment.  If insurance companies had any basis to exclude rehab as "not medically necessary," they would do it.  

Go get help Julie.  It's the best way and you sound like you're about ready for it.

CATUF
Day-952

[Peace4me]

I am not really in any better shape than you are right now to give advice, but I have been fighting my insurance company for four days trying to get help. The insurance reps quote me my benefits but all the detox places tell me no insurance company will pay for opiate withdrawal.  They don't think it is dangerous enough.  I was told yesterday after being taken to the hospital desperately seeking help that the opiates have damaged the pleasure center in the brain, so we can't feel any happiness without the pills. I have been on methadone, mscontin, lortab 10, xanax, klonopin, and dilaudid for four years.  The counselor I spoke to yesterday asked me how long I could live without one happy thought.  I didn't want to take suboxone because I don't want to go through the hell of withdrawals ever again.  When I realized the hospital was going to let me walk out of the emergency room after arriving by ambulance, with my bag of pills, I was desperate.  I did a search for suboxone doctors in my area. I walked from the emergency room to the doctor's office after calling.  He is a family practitioner so I don't think the stigma is as bad as going to rehab.  I was very honest with him about everything.  I took the suboxone and two hours later I felt better than I have in four years! Your insurance is helping pay for the pain meds so they should cover the suboxone. My copay was $12.00 for a week supply.  I feel like the doctor that gave me suboxone saved my life.  I don't know how long you have been married, or how much you trust your husband. I understand not wanting to tell him, but you can't do this alone.  My husband is my rock, he was angry and hurt, but if you think he doesn't see your behavior patterns as an addict of years, you are mistaken.  If you love him and trust him enough to have a child with him, tell him you need help.  I have been with my husband for 15 years, and we dated for 5 years before that.  You can wean off the pills slowly, but I wouldn't recommend doing it alone. The doctor I saw yesterday explained that the suboxone blocks the pain as well as the withdrawals.  I didn't believe but he was right.  I have been so miserable trying to detox at home that I was ready to end my life yesterday if I didn't get help.  

I know I talked about my experience alot. Sorry about that.  I just know it helps me to know I'm not alone in this struggle.  I weaned myself down from 90 mg of methadone, 48 mg of dilaudid, plus hydrocone 10's over the last six months.  I was down to 20 mg of methadone, and 8 mg of dilaudid a day as of Jan 2nd.  This final stretch has been the hardest.  If there is a way to private chat I would be happy to tell you how I did it, but I think you will need help at the end.  I was in my second year of nursing school when i had my car accident four years ago.  So I am not a doctor, but I have gone through it and understand what your going through.

Last but not least, pray to whatever deity you believe in.  Without faith in His healing powers I would not have survived on my journey.  I am searching for peace and I know as an addict all I will ever have is chaos.  Your in my prayers. You can make it through this.

[bmc1976]

Try cutting down 1 pill a day for 3 to 4 days. If you are taking 10 a day, drop to 9 for 3 or 4 days. Once you get down to 4 a day cut your dose down by a half a pill. So go from 4 to 3/12, 3, 2 1/2, 2, 1 1/2, 1, 1/2. I was able to taper once and had little to no withdrawals. It is very difficult to taper. It takes a lot of will power. You can do this if you set your mind to it. If you need anything, let us know! Best of luck.
Brian

[SisterMooo]

is there a Detox center around you?

My son went into Detox, then into a Rehab program, It was a lot easier than doing it by himself, and it was done under medical attention so there were no complications.  

I would look into something like this...

[love_hope]

hi my partner was in the exact same place as you he went on googlewebsite typed in over count (2 keywords) and there he got a timetable on how to wean himself off neurofen plus codine based he was takin 60 a day and with the help off this programme was down to just 6 a day good luck there is also a process called an extraction were you only get the codine from the pills i woul need to know more about wat you take to see if you could do it

[wifeofva]

My husband went to rehab last summer at a state funded center and it was completely free and confidential.  So the insurance company does not find out.  Check out if there are any of these types of facilities in your area. I can't help with the taper schedule but I'm sure you'll get plenty of helpful responses here.  Hang in there

JC