Short term norco detox using methadone

[needhelp888111]

Good morning all;
This is my first post although as a pill addict trying each morning to get clean, lol, I read here often. I have tried suboxone 3 times, tramadol before that and each time have failed. I have 28 5 mg methadone, took 10 mgs this morning after much research and knowing the risks of doing this, but I have a plan, 3-4 days on the methadone. Today is 10 mg, 15 tops if the w/d's start later. Tomorrow 5mg if the 10mgs today stick, and so on. I think i will be able to get through the w/d's from the norco and be clean. I am so ready and determined and have been planning this for a long time. My 30th bday is Easter Sunday and I will succeed this time, for myself, my 2 kids and husband, who by the way has no idea of my addiction. I am quitting my job in 2 weeks, which is the place that allows for easy access to pills and becoming a stay-at-home-mom, for the reasons of being with my kids and having no more access to pills. I feel this is the only way I can really beat this addiction is to have no access. Any thoughts and/or support success stories etc., will be greatly appreciated. I have read the posts warning against methadone and truly feel for those people, but this time I am done with the bs and will make it.

[beatingthis]

OK found it. I have come off of Norco. I did a taper. I think using methadone is a harder med then what you were taking. I am no doctor. Can you speak to a doctor?
You are just holding off on the w/d's. There are many here who have come off both Methadone and hydro. Hang tight you will get more info. The board is a little slow during the day.

Terry

[needhelp888111]

thank you for replying, I took the day off work to start the induction, not knowing how I would react...god I hope I am not making a mistake and just putting off the w/d's. I have been through them so many times, my husband thinks I get the flu quite frequently...lol, but pretty sad actually.

[never_again73]

Just read your post....I am a former methadone and hydrocodone addict.  Methadone is SO much harder to come off!  Trust me. Please read my post about being a withdreaw pro.  There are better ways.  just not sure metadone is the answer.

[Aleeve]

I've been in your shoes. I was addicted to 80-100mg of hydrocodone daily. I went through that withdrawl and I "thought" that was the worst. I was then switched to methadone because I did not like the highs and lows of hydro and coming off of methadone was hell. A year ago I was posting the same exact thing you are posting and I had planned on using the methadone for only a week. A taper schedule. As addicts we don't consider that day, the day of no more and thats when the fight begins.
If you can do this the way you plan I say more power to you. You have the right mindset and it seems like you have the will to kick this.
You do however, have way too much methadone to detox off of hydrocodone. Norco is very week and has a MUCH shorter half life than methadone. I ended up going to drug rehab and my last dose of methadone was 270mg. I first started using 5mg's to get off of norco and never stopped because it was cheap, available, and didn't have the same drug like side effects of hydro.

Norco withdrawl lasts for 3-5 days with 5 days of getting back to normal.
Methadone withdrawl lasts for up to 4 weeks with up to a year to feel normal.
Granted that is after long term use, I don't recommend it.

[never_again73]

Also my expierience with hydrocodone withdraw is a lot more like flu symptoms.  and easier than methadone when I was coming off methadone I truelly wanted to die.  The best thing would be to come clean to your husband...he's gonna love you no matter what!  I came clean to my wife and it was hard as hell.  But after the initial shock or spat, they are the best support system. If you want to succeed. AND you will feel SO much better!! It takes a HUGE weight off your shoulders and you have someone right there to talk to when your feeling week.

[kim715]

As someone who went the methadone route long term,and someone who is currently chatting with someone through pm's who just tired the exact same thing as you using methadone for five days to come off of hydro's.My advice to you is to get rid of the methadone.I know the w/ds are rough and the thought of having to go through them scares the he!! out of many of us,but there just is no magic pill.You have to just do it,bite the bullet and do it.You have already tried in the past introducing another drug to come off your doc and it didn't work.Nothing changes if nothing changes.Taking the methadone is simply holding the w/ds at bay,once you stop on day 4 you're going to feel them.Theres no way around it.You're just prolonging the inevitable.The scary part is that you are introducing a stronger opiate with a much longer half life and you have 28 of them on hand.Please,do yourself a favor and flush that methadone.How many of the hydro were you taking a day and for how long?

[TysonRed]

Using methadone is only going to prolong the process, your body will still be getting the opiates it needs to keep w/d's away. Once you stop the methadone you will have w/d's that you'll have to deal with. Taking methadone for a short period of time will not allow you to bypass or lessen the w/d's, if anything it will just make it harder. Your much better off tapering off the norco, then switching and tapering the meth. It just doesnt make sense to switch to a stronger, longer lasting opiate in order to quit a short acting opiate. Your best bet is to stop the methadone and either taper your norco dose down, or just quit altogether right now. Just like the above post stated you really should let your husband know whats going on, there will be some intial shock, but if your truely ready to quit your going to need all the support you can get. I wish I had some sort of success story, but switching to methadone is not going to help matters. Regardless of what you choose we all wish you the best of luck, this forum is a great place for us all to benefit from. Just so you know my main addiction was to methadone, which came after norco, percocet and oxycontin. The only use for methadone is for long term pain management or long term replacement therapy. Again I wish you the best of luck, Im sorry I couldnt be more positive but I have to be honest. Let us know how things go, take care.

[needhelp888111]

I was taking as many as I could really, at most I'd say is 20 norco's to stay high, but down to 10 if trying to ration and stay out of w/d's. It started 3 years ago after my first child was born, they sent home hydro's and I got two refills, after the pain of the childbirth was gone, he was a big baby, 4th degree episiotomy/natural birth, the pills made me feel happy and energetic. After they were gone, I realized I had post partum depression, got on prozac for that and that helped. I didn't think I had a pill problem at that time. Then it was on and off whenever I could get them for migraines, or a couple out of someone's med cabinet I would take them for the high. My job allows for somewhat easy access and that has allowed for a pretty straight 3 years of using with some lapses here and there, thus the suboxone and tramadol. Told family and friends 8 months ago and since then everyone thinks I am clean. I have read of people's success with the methadone if you only use them for 3-5 days and your body does not get dependent, then the vicodin is out of your system and not yet addicted to the methadone. That is how I came up with this current plan. Oh how I wish there was a magic pill....

[needhelp888111]

BUT, if I stay on the methadone for only the 3-4 days, will it work? By work I mean, clean from hydro and not yet addicted to methadone so as not to w/d?

[needhelp888111]

also, i have no more norco's for at least 3 days so taper is out of question, and I always fail at that anyway. and no resource to the methadone when day 4 arrives as i just flushed any extra that won't be needed at the end of taper plan. thank you all for caring, i have felt so alone and ashamed. maybe i will tell my husband, but last time he wanted me to tell everybody-his parents, my co-workers, just so all would keep an eye on me, but i wasn't ready for that. i told my parents and family, they are in a different state though and if tell them this time will just feel helpless.

[kim715]

There is NO way to totally avoid any type of w/ds.The methadone is feeding the same receptors in your brain as the hydro did,thus when you are taking the methadone you're not feeling the w/ds.It's simply holding them off.Once you stop,you're going to feel them.Like TysonRed,I wish I had a  success story for you using this method.I can honestly tell you though I have been coming to this forum for over a year and have seen a few people try it the way you are and I just have to be honest.I have never seen it work out the way they thought it would.I have had many tell me though that they wish they would have never touched the methadone and just tapered off their original doc or just went cold turkey.I'm not saying any of this to scare you or to try in any way to discourage you from getting clean.I want all of us who come here to succeed.I just worry that when day 4 gets here and you don't take that methadone in the morning and by the evening you start to feel the w/ds that you will continue to use up the rest of the methadone you have on hand and that by doing so you will be taking your addiction to a new level.Please just take what we have all told you here into consideration.Learn from our mistakes.Keep reading the posts here and keep posting.We're all in your corner.We all want you to succeed....Kim

[kim715]

I'm glad to hear you flushed the majority of the methadone.No matter what you decide to do hon,we're here for you.There is no judging here only help and support.I hope you find the strength to tell your husband.I know it's hard but it helps so much to have that support.If he is willing you could invite him to come here and read or post.We would be more then happy to try and help you explain to him just what addiction is and how it takes a hold of you.Best of luck hon and please keep posting......Kim

[never_again73]

I know its hard to do...I was in the same boat, I relapsed and was so ashamed and it was the hardest thing to tell my wife I did it again.  But guess what...I bet he already has suspects.  We think we hide it, but when all is said and done you find out many people already suspect.  Its hard to swipe other peoples meds and them not start getting suspiscious. Especially if the dont abuse.  That I what I found out after coming clean. We only THINK we are hiding it.

[needhelp888111]

It's like one minute I am strong and then the next I am sitting here reading other people's stories and crying and thinking how in the heck am I going to rescue myself? why me? why do some people keep pills in their cabinet for years without even thinking about taking them and then there's me, who takes a month supply in a couple days, but just keeps trying to quit and failing. it's like there's always an excuse, some event I have to attend or host and it would be so much better with just a few more pills in my system and then it's "I'll quit in the morning" all over again. how am i going to be able to keep uo with my two kids without the pills? i have never tried to before, that is so sad when I look in their eyes and try to convince myself that i am better mom because of the pills, happier, more energy etc..., but i feel like they don't even know the real me only the high me. do i even know the real me anymore?

[TysonRed]

The good news is with time our bodies to return to normal and we get some of the natural energy back. The problem with using the methadone like kim said is its still feeding the same receptors therefore keeping you from withdrawals. Its not like its going to keep away the norco w/d's and then be easier, when you stop using opiates period your body is going to withdrawal. Thats not to mention the risk you run of becoming addicted to the methadone when your just trying it for a week or so. The honest truth is taking methadone for a few days probably wont make the w/d's harder, but it certainly wont make it any easier, that much is assured. When it comes to norco or percocet, the main physical symptoms really only last about 5-7days, after that its basicly the mental aspects you have to deal with (cravings, depression, anxiety,fatigue, lack of sleep) those kind of things. If you really are ready to quit, I promise you that your more than capable of doing so. Its not easy, especially the staying clean part, but we are all stronger than we think, but at the same time scared of the w/d's. The one thing Ive learned with any opiate detox is the more you stress yourself out over the w/d's only makes them seem worse. Just know that we're all here for you, no one here has the room to be judgemental about anything. If I can help you out in anyway please feel free to send me a note/message or just post your concerns. Sometimes it may take a little while to get some responses but there so many people here that can help you through this process. I really do wish you all the luck in world, trust me life without pills is a feeling of true freedom and independence that we forget about during our addiction. Almost everyone tries and fails a few times before they actually get it right, so dont get discouraged by your previous attempts. You really can do this, the more things you can do to keep yourself occupied can really help keep your mind of the negative feelings. Again feel free to hit me up if I can assist you in any way, take care.

[jimgreg]

i agree with kim 715!!  get rid of this methadone and go threw the wd,s..we all been there..its tough but whewn the physical withdrawals are gone in 14 days..then the mind game for monthes..if you take things wile ur detoxing it can make ur physical pain a little easier..like sleep..use vistreal  to help you..if you can get methadone you can get this vitstreal for sleep..take 50 mgs 2 aday  then 50-100 mgs at night..drink plenty of water and juice..also take multi vitamins to help the healing process..if you could take say 5 mg valiums to help relax the muscles and rest it would be good but dont get hooked on the benzos either.. i know eating is going to be tough but try to eat things like fresh fruits no red meat for this detox..eat chicken,fish,.white beans.. but  NO RED MEATS  PROTEINS IMPORTAIN BUT NO REDS!!!!!!!!!!! if you get diarrhea use imodium (immodium)  but dont lose electrolytes,,this is potassium and salt and sugar..you can look online to make ur own electrolytes drinks you make home made..get this stuff ready before you  CT..if you have a bathtub  take 3 baths aday will help the muscles..i know this seems hard to do but it will help you recover faster..now for the last thing you think is dumb.. force urself to go walking at least 15 min worth aday you pick ur own time.. if you just lay around and let thuis take its course  witch alot of people do..it takes longer to heal the body..when you withdraw from the Vic,s you got the flu symptoms..when i detoxed from 120 mgs of methadone i did it the harsd way..i tapered to 20 mgs after 4 monthes and ct from there..witch was no difft if you detox from 100 mgs or 5 mgs ur going to be uncomfortable anyway you look at it..

If you cant do all this i listed then at least get 2 gallons of gatorade and 100% fruit juice and chicken and imodium (immodium) and  something to help you try to relx like xanax 2mgs every 6 hrs..then the vistreal at bedtime..this sure did help me alot..my sleepwas my worst.and lived 3 blocks from a train track..very wild..

when you get this done this will be great then you got a good 3 monthes of the mind thing's..they will be rough but i didnt think that they were as bad as my cold seats and no sleep for days at a time..everyone is difft..i never threw up or runs or anything like this off methadone..it was bad for me.. but when its done its done.. no taper bull just bite the bullet and do it..i would rather do it alone with no one around . but you have no choice but to have ur kin around

COME CLEAN WITH UR FAMILY THEY LOVE YOU LOVE THEM  BE A TEAM!!!!!!!   THANKS  JAMES                       YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lala7474]

Hey all Goodmorning!!! I have benn taking norco for 2 years, I decided I dont want this in my life anymore.... Some one gave me some methadone tabs and I have been taking the methadone for 2 weeks now.. I am taking 4-10mg tabs a day... I am ready to stop everything this morning... Do you think I will go thru w/d, if yes, Will I w/d off opiates or methadone... Norco should be out of my system now right.... Thanks in advance for all your help