Stopping Vicoden Intake

What withdrawal symptoms can occure when stopping Vicoden or Oxycoton intake?

[mrmichael67]

Withdrawal symptoms include:  anxiety, sweating, flu-like symptoms, restless leg, dysphoria, diarhea (diarrhea), stomach cramps, and so on.  The severity depends on how much you are taking and how long you have been taking them for.  How much was your intake?

[Crosscut]

This is Wren.  My "rowanshyne" ID broke I guess, so I had to create a new one.
My apologies for breaking in on this thread, but I've had yet another "crisis".  I've lost my phone service and won't be able able to get online reliably.  I will post as often as I can, but can't say when.
I'm doing well on the taper, and am getting  new  (well, it's used actually, but new to me) dog this afernoon.

Many blessings upon you all,
(off to grab some lomotil. lomotil is your friend),
Wren

[skipper]

Wren:
just remeber DOG IS GOD SPELLED BACWARD! also keep in mind: YOUR
KARMA CAN RUN OVER YOUR DOGMA! please tell us all about your new
friend.

keep an angel on your shoulder
kip

[oh please already]

Did anyone else notice that the forum is charging $19 dollors to post questions at some of the other sites?   for family practice for example

[angst]

A good addictionologist or addiction doctor could help you through the withdrawls as could your own doctor.  Let us know how it goes.  I care about what happens to you.  Good Luck
Welcome to the forum.

[angst]

have you ever heard of acute consciousness.  it is a term i found in one of my existentialist books.  i believe it was Dostoevski. i believe that within itself, acute consciousness is
a disease.  i find most of my anxiety there.  it has no cause, rhyme or reason.  the doctors put me on the benzo's when i needed a good doctorate of psychology.  well, here i am 22 years older and dependent to the benzodiapines.  my doctor likes xanax, esp. with the sudden onset of bronchospasms.  after my inhaler, i take one sublingually, and it stops the attack. i self medicated with the opiates.  i cannot smoke pot, do uppers, cocaine or valiums.  i occasionally will have an import or merlot.  that is very occasionally.  alcohol is a drug.  i usually get a throbbing headache before the second beer or glass of wine.  
i have some built in survival aides.  the most fearful is the demon who calls himself dilaudid.  i do not romanticize the drug.
it took me to the gutters.  i will not forget that and the last 2 rehabs.  thank god i got out with my psyche.  thanks for listening,   Ava

[GOD]

Yes... I am up. It's about ten after 6:00 right now, and I've got to get ready for work.... I'll check back later!

Jess

[skipper]

angst:
i'm up...since 4:50. It's now 6:35. what aq awful memory, mepergan!
50 mg of dummy oil and wreteched blast of antihistamine swill,
phenergan. you simply have got to find beter memorys and things to think about!

keep an angel on your shoulder
kip

PS at least think about a brompton's cocktail!!!

[angst]

thanks for hearing my call.  i just needed to talk about the things that come out of the blue to hit you while you are trying
to do the right thing.      she is not a bad person.  i feel like
she is vulnerable at this time, but i do not want to go in person
we used to get together with another na person to go and visit
someone who needed support- that is my definition of the 13th
step.  while others believe it is taking advantage of the new comer.  she mentioned going to na with me.  that would be a good place to meet.  i go to the one on telephone road, so she'd have to come out of the closet somewhat.  she hid most of her using, except when she'd od on methadone.
i have been checking the want ads.  the ship yard has not started the apprenticeship program yet.  i will check there, and i have an application for professionals in the ship yard business office.  i am computer literate and type well, i can file, and have good phone etiquette.  i'll get that in the mail.
i actually have a phobia about going to far from home.  with my ex and daughter on Horn Island until Saturday, i want to stay inside more than ever.  i will venture out today, if not to hunt a job, then go to the country club.  maybe that will give me the confidence to go out hunting work tomorrow.
i talked to my ex and isabel via cell phone last night.  she is acting sickly.  i think she is home sick.  i told her she could come home.  i want her happy.  primitive camping is hard for adults, never mind an 11 year old. her dad said she was really tired last night.  the sun and gulf, especially on the south side, will wear you out.  you bath with woolite.  dig a hole for a latreen.  i will not use again, but i have to stay away from fire, or i'll get burned.  she might offer me something, free, and i'm not sure that i'm strong enough to say no.  UDS's the next time at the methadone clinic.  i cannot use.  i have to have a clean urine.  
i feel for her, so maybe i'll give her a call.  i'll invite her to a meeting.  they accept me on methadone, but they do not buy when a person is trying to pull the wool over their eyes.  they will call her on it.  they are usually kind with hugs for all newcomers.  if she speaks, then she puts it out for them.
Thank you all for writing to me.  Skipper, if you get a chance, do me a favor by tossing the iChing.  your last post gave me great reassurance.  You are my angel on my shoulder.  Ava

[angst]

it is early and i wonder if any early birds are awake and online?
i could not sleep anymore after 4am this morning.  i need to be reading the want ads.  i am sad, but i am not going to use.  an old friend from before and during my using days called me.  she was a sound from the past i'd rather not hear.  it reminded me of stealing drugs and shooting with a really large gauge needle.
i did not know an insulin syringe would do the same. the pain of burst veins with mepergan burning like hell while i rushed.  i do not want any more of that life.  i will not call her back.
she is jumping off 80mg of methadone.  she would double and triple up on her doses.  she had to go to the er 3 times for od's.  i feel for her, but she has it better than me financially.
i do not know what she wants from me.  she often has another motive than think of her.  so it is best for me to stay away.  i do not want to get in a place where something is offered to me.
i guess that is my post for the morning. let's hope it gets better as the day lingers.    Angst

[skipper]

angst:
acute consciousness? can't help you. i suggest you read "Exile
And The kindom," by Albert Camus.

now dilaudid...i can speak of it. first time i ever tried i shot
up 3  1/16 grain hypo tabs. it was like an atom bomb going off
in my chest. the rush lasted a good 10 minutes and then the rest
of the night vomiting! the best way to do dilaudid is mix neumor-
phan (oxymorphone) with it neumorphan has no rush, but is intens-
ly euphoric. i haven't seen a 5 mg. tab or ampule of neumorphan
in 20 years. i guess they make it in suppositorys too. imagine
that...on the nod before you can get your finger out of your ass!


anyhow have a good tuesday &keep an angel on your shoulder
kip

[angst]

thanks for responding.  i do not want to talk about dilaudid.  i
could have died on my last relapse.  i am strong and mean.  that
is he main reason i hesitate to visit my old friend.  if she offered something, i'm not sure i could turn it down.  that is why i'm staying away.  i'd rather be alone, instead of getting busted at the methadone clinic UDS.  i have enough methadone.
Thanks again for your wisdom.      Ava

[OxyDout]

could someone please tell me what the hell dilaudid is? as well as other meds you have discusssed on this thread.........thanks.

I hope the both of you are doing well, keep up the positive attitudes, it helps me out.

GWH

[angst]

Dilaudid (drug store heroin) is a schedule 2 narcotic. I've had it pharmacutically injectable and water soluble tablets.  You can get K2{2mg}, K4{4mg} and most used, all the way up to 10mg tablets.  It has a kick that will knock you on your ass.  
Never take them orally or shoot them.  They are very addictive.  
I wish I never had laid my eyes on them.  They had me going for years, 5 years to be exact.  
Methadone is the only way I know how to get off of them.  Stronger people than I have kicked them without any aid.  I have
kicked them at home, but the cravings kept me thinking I can always shoot just one more.  But one is too many and a thousand never enough. That is what the fuss is all about.

It took my life, my career, my family, and almost me. Somehow I found my way out of the abyss.  Never to go there again.
I am strong and mean about that drug.

[angst]

Have a nice day.  You are a wonderful person to know.  I bet you are a great conversationalist.  If you are anyting like myself, sometimes, I prefer my animals to humans.  good luck and Blessings,   Ava {oops, I mean Angst}.

[tex3]

Hi all. Ava, sorry I wasn't around this morning. My kids are out of school and keeping me busy. I also feel like **** today with this damn headache. I'm terrified of relapsing. Just thinking of being that person again, even for a brief time, brings me to tears. I feel that I'm being tested so often, with the physical problems. But at the same time I feel so much better than I did when using, even with these headaches. It hurts really bad right now so I probably won't stay on long.

As for the consciousness (sp), I often feel that we are cursed or blessed with a deep self-awareness; maybe that is what we tried to numb. Don't know if that's what you meant but that's what came to mind.

Kip, I had something really profound to say to you but my head's pounding and now I can't remember it. Will think of it later, I hope. Hope you are well. I, too, am profoundly moved by Memorial Day. Just read "Band of Brothers." It is amazing how a few are willing to die to allow the rest of us to live in freedom and happiness.

GWH, you sound good, glad your demons are under control.

Meagain, you sound much better too. How are you? Write soon.
Tracy

[skipper]

angst:
consulted oracle i-ching: what should angst do about friend from
past?

hex 32 constancy
means long persistence
hexagram represents genuine application in real practice
thunder above/wind below
cosistency means single mindedley applying the will, the longer the stronger, not becoming lazy and slacking off
thereby one can comprehend essence and life; so there is a path of developement in consistency.

developement hex46 rising
rising means climbing from lowness to heights
earth above/wind below
rising is the process of transcending the ordinary and entering the
holy.

wish i had time to give beter interp. primary hex is neutral...the developement is real good!

keep an angel on your shoulder
kip

[skipper]

GWH:
angst was write dilaudid (hyrdromorphone) is something best left a-
lone. it has the addiction potential of morphine and is roughly
eqivlent to heroin in potency. the only thing really outstanding
about this drug is the rush. there is hardly any nod to it. a lot
of people wind up quite blue and dead, cause they keep going after
the rush and OD without warning. i honestly think a junky has more
life expectency with heroin. so listen to angst and not pick up on
dilaudid.

keep an angel on shoulder
kip

[angst]

i ended up sleeping most of the afternoon.  i have not been sleeping at night.  after getting some sun, i put on the ceiling fan, wrapped up, and feel sound asleep.  that wonderful escape that is so elusive to me.
thanks for all the support.  you guys keep me straight.  i have not called my old friend, for fear of reprisal{sic} of some sort.
but i am staying clean.  i have checked out the want ads.  i'll have to mail or fax mostly resumes which i have plenty.
thanks again.  i have very warm and good feeling for you all.  thanks for caring.   ava

[lifeisbetter]

Be careful with your friend. I had someone call me about 2 monthes ago that I used to use with. I was gung ho with her about my recovery for the first 15 minutes but slowly I felt that "feeling" creep in. As sure as I am that I don't ever want another painkiller it took me by surprise that I wanted to "just ask her if she had anything" I really don't know how I hung up. Fortunately, the phone company I used, stopped servicing my area so I had to get a new phone number. To me, that is a powerful example of how God works in my life. Can you imagine? I never had a phone company just stop service. It really is kinda weird. One other thing, If you do meet your friend at a meeting (personally I wouldn't, I mean if she wants to get clean she'll go on her own) I would at least take my sponsor or someone I trust who's in recovery. We are far too new to be concerned with anyone elses sobriety. I have had people offer me things at meetings. Be strong.

[skipper]

angst:
been up all night...pain,worry, etc. so i tossed the 3 coins for
you. i asked the oracle (i ching, taoist translation) "how should
angst conduct her affairs (business) today.

hex 42 increase.
increase is adding what is lacking. wind above/thunder below. enter gradually w/o rushing or lagging. "to increase good is not possible w/o decreasing what is not good...

developement:

hex 27 mourishment (lower jaw)
action doesn't depart from stillness, stillness nurtures action.
action is not RANDOM, stillness is not Vain.
nourishment = action and stillness unified
nourishment = nourishing what is good and ridding ones self of what is not.

this hexagram represents choosing good and holding fast
become empty to seek fulfilment!

i hope your day will be beter with these considerations! remem-
ber this is the taoist (dowist) translation.

if you would like, next time i will use pre confucian interpra-
tations. i pesonally don't find the pre-confucian or the confuc-
ian as applicable to modern life

keep an angel on your shoulder
kip

[angst]

Thank you so much.  It does mean what i want to see.  I wonder about my lack of ability to do something other than idle.  It is not possible.  Maybe there is a purpose.  Thank you.  I hope your soul is a little lighter today.  I am truly sorry for your neighbor.   Angst

[angst]

thanks for the concern.  many people do not take the step to warn
people of good and evil.  i appreciate your care.  i will be careful, but i have to move forward.  i will always keep an angel on my shoulder as Kip says.

[trump]

Vicodin is a hard drug to get off of.  I used it for 5 years and never exceeded the prescribed dosage but when I went to quit I got very sick. (increasing restlessness, dilated pupils, piloerection, watery eyes, runny nose, yawning, sweating, tremor, irritability, anorexia, and cramping of the stomach, as well as muscle and joint pain) I went through a procedure called rapid-detox. They put you under anethesia for 6 hours and use a drug called naloxone to remove the opiate from your system. Naloxone usually makes on very ill but since your under anethesia you don't know about it. After the rapid-detox I felt like I had the flu for about 5 days and have been off the Vicodin ever since (8 months)
Trump

[lilangel]

trump, i have been on vicodin es for 2 years!! 6-8 a day, how can i get off these things without rapid detox?? even though i still do need them for real pain, im scared what these pills are doing to my body and mind!!thanks lilangel,,,

[lastleg]

Hi there list people.  I've been readingn the list for the past thrree of four days, and I guess I need to talk about what's going on in my life.  Before you get started, be warned, This is a LONG post!  I'm a pill junkie-- I lost my left leg ibn a car wreck 10 years ago, and have been on one kind of pain-killer, or another (usually a few different kinds at once...) since then.

Right now, I'm being prescribed: 40mg Oxycontin, 6 per day; 5mg Oxy-IR, 8 per day; Vicoprofen, 6 per day; and a few other non-narcotic scripts that don't really do jack, anyway.  Of course, I have three diffenrent doctors writing these scripts for me, since I can't get enough meds from just one doc.  I KNOW that tghis can get me in big trouble, but I just need the damn pills.  I usually go through my 90 oxy's (a month's supply) in about a week (about 10-15 pills per day...) and then work through the IR's, and finally the Vikes, 'till everything is gone.  When I can't get scripts, I go to the city and pick up a few bundles of dope to get me through 'till my next refill.  

I'm NOT trying to kid myself, or anyone else here: I KNOW I'm a junkie.  Even though I hold down a job (a pretty well-paying one, at that) and provide for my wife and daughter, I know that the salad days are gonna end.  I know I can't keep this up forever.  I've been on huge doses of this **** for 10 years, and my body just keeps wanting more and more.  Yeah, I know-- I can keep chasing that high forever, and it will just keep getting more and more elusive-- I know.  But I DON'T take the pills JUST for the high-- they DO help with the pain.  I have something called RSD (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy) that is so painful-- I really don't know what to do, anymore.  

Three years ago, or so, I came clean to my wife about the pills: Iw as out of pills, and hadn't yet discovered Heroin, and decided that I was goping to check into a Detox to get off the pills for good.  We almost got divorced over the whole thing, but I made it through a 2-week detox.  I got out of there feeling GOOD-- I was determined to stay off the pills for good.  I took my first Vike 3 days after getting out.  Sure, I rationalized that THSI TIME I'd only take the pills the way the Docs prescribed them (one every 4-6 hours) and as soon as I felt the slightest bit "itchy" I'd STOP again.  You guys all know what happened...

So, here's my problem:  I KNOW that I have to stop taking the Oxy and the IR and the Vikes (and especially the freakin' horse) but I don't want to lose my wife, my job, and everything that I've worked so hard for, and hold so dear.  My wife already told me, and I KNOW she means it, that if the pills ever become a problem again, it'll be MY problem alone, since she'll be filing for divorce.  I can't blame her.

I tried to taper myself off the vikes, weaning myself off them slowly.  The only problem with that is that I have no one to hold my pills for me-- I always give myself an extra pill (hell, an extra DOSE) when I ask.  I'm really good to my junkie side, like that.  I'm still taking 4 or 5 doses of 5 pills a day.  I tried yesterday to knock it down to 4 pills per dose, butI only held out for  10 minutes before I popped the extra tab.

What in god's name can I do to control my pain, but also get out of this crazy cycle of destruction that I'm on?  It wasn't this bad untill last year when I discovered both Oxycontin (I was on MS Contin, orally) could be crushed and snorted, and that if I ran out of PRESCRIBED meds, I could go to Newark and buy dope.  I'm so worried that it's futile...

Any suggestions?

Lastleg

[angst]

Have you tried just one pain specialist.  Be honest about how much you are taking.  Are you shooting the oxy (and are you on heroin)?  My name is Ava-Welcome to the Forum.  I was a dilaudid addict after many years of chronic pain.  None as bad as yours.  I got hooked on pain pills and Stadol Nasal Spray (a bottle/day).
Then, I was a nurse, and I decided that I was not going to hurt anymore.  Why throw away those wastages?  But my true love was those yellow K4's.  I hate the ******* now.  I am on methadone high dose for the second time.  I've detoxed from meth once so I know I can again.
If you want help, there should be someone who can help you.  If you live in a large enough city, there ought to be many pain specialists.  Read some of Mr. Michael's posts, he also has terrible chronic pain.  He has one doctor who gives him enough meds to control the pain.  That way you would not need heroin or to shoot any medication.  Good luck and keep posting.  I would like to  know what is happening.

[roro]

Hi everyone, I have been reading your comments for the last few days and i am ready to get off the vicoprofen.  I take 25 - 30 pills a day and have tried to taper but it didnt work.  Funny thing is everytime i called the doctor for a refill whether it be 2 days late or 5 he would always refill so i was never out.  i have 2 kids and have to do this for them and me as well.  I syopped taking them yester evening 8pm and am already starting with the cramping and diarreah (diarrhea).  i can use any and all comments on how i can get through this.  Help needed here.  Is there anything i can take or do to ease the agony i will be going through for the next week????  Helpppp

[tex3]

Hi Roro and welcome. I was browsing down and saw your post. Just an fyi, most of us read the first few questions and don't look at the ones lower on the page, so you might not get responses here. So I'm going to re-post your comment on the top question (the one dated today) and see if you get more there. But yes, you should be hitting full-blown WD right about now. It will suck but you can get through it. I have three young kids and got off the same dose you're on, several months ago. I can tell you what to expect if you want but don't want to bore you if you've been through it before.
Are you going cold turkey? Do you have a "cocktail" to help you detox? This is a combo of meds to help with the symptoms of detox: stomach cramps, leg twitches/spasms (my personal hell), heebie-jeebies, etc. You take these for about a week while the opiates leave your system. Then you start on the road to recovery, which is just as difficult in its own way. But very doable. I've been clean three months and feel like a new person. When I was where you are I honestly thought I'd never feel good again. Thought I was doomed to misery forever. But I feel better than I ever did on the pills, and you can too. Anyway check the first question and look for responses there.
Tracy

[roro]

Thanks for responding Tex, I dont know if you are aware but your comments help alot.  It is so good to hear that I can recover and feel great.  I have been taking about 32 pills a day and yesterday i went down to 7.  The cramps are the worst and the not sleeping.  I dont know what a cocktail is.  Please explain that one.  Also how did you do it????  Thanks talking really does help....

[tex3]

Thanks for the sweet post! I posted the cocktail on the top thread. You have to get it from a doctor; it's a combination of meds to make the WDs tolerable. It helps tremendously. Once you are through detox, you still have a battle but you can do it and once you're through that, you will feel so much better it's like getting a new life. Physically, mentally, emotionally, it's all better. You've been numbing your body and life with dope and it needs time to heal. So be patient and give it the weeks it takes. The good news is the physical WD will be over in 3-5 days. But if you can get the cocktail, it helps. You need to see an addiction doctor or go inpatient, or perhaps your family doctor can help. What is your situation? Does your family know what's going on? You will find, as you get past this, that you become a more "honest" person, not just in the usual sense but to yourself, too. It's hard to explain but you'll see what I mean. I never even admitted I was an addict, even after my first detox and years of using, until I was quitting this last time. That's what it took; that mental hurdle. Now pills don't rule my life; not seeking them and not thinking about addiction. I come here mostly to help others, as I was helped, but also to keep in touch with the people who I consider friends now. But amazingly, I don't think about drugs much at all when I'm not here. And my cravings are past, although sometimes they still hit. You have to tough it out; no other way. Please let me know how you're doing and what your situation is. I was on about your dose but of Norco, which is hydrocodone 10/500. Amazed my liver still functions! I ended up having seizures and all other kinds of nasty problems. But right now you should focus on simply getting distance between you and the drugs, then after detox you can focus on recovery. Don't sweat anything else. There will always be time for that later.

[roro]

Tex3 I am on my 3rd day of wd's.  My family has no idea really nobody does.  I felt normal on them and rotten when i didnt take them.  The only thing i have ever done was the vicoprofen and nothing else.  I never even taken a sleeping pill or anything else.  i can feel everything easing up but my stomache hurts bad.  I have tried at least 3 other times to do this but never got through day 1.  i am doing this cold turkey and havent gotten out of bed in 3 days.  i am going to shower again now.  i feel a little better after a shower.  i think the reason i have gotten this far is because of your help....  thanks...  cant wait to feel like you do

[tex3]

Thanks roro, and I'm so glad you're feeling better. You will feel normal, better than what "normal" has been lately, sooner than you think possible. I wrote to you in the above threads too. I'm really glad to know you're sticking it out! Just remember that you've made it throught the worst and if you go back to using now, you will just have to start all over again. Believe me, you don't want that. I was once clean for two weeks when I ran out, and as soon as I got my refill I was right back where I'd started. I wish I had quit back then, but at least I have some insight now. Gotta find that silver lining! Hang in there; you're tougher than you might think. All I could think when detoxing was that I was a weak, worthless person. But in a way, that helped because I was determined to prove myself wrong, and I did. Stick around here, please, it really will help you not to relapse. I actually had to take a few pills when I got migraines bad, but I did not relapse (they were prescribed and I took the minimum). This group helped me through that. I had actually been clean long enough that the pills made me incredibly sick to my stomach; no high at all, it was amazing. Like my chemistry had altered and I no longer enjoyed them. Maybe it was mental; whatever, I'm grateful! Hang tough and we're here for you.
tracy