need help getting off vicodine

[Debntexas]

I am new here to this forum and don't really know my way around so excuse me if I put wrong things in wrong places lol. Here is my problem. I have fibromyalgia and ledderhose disease and am in constant pain. My husband has to work out of town and that leaves me here to do all the farm work. We have horses hogs dogs and chickens plus I keep a 5 yr old. I went to the doctor and he started me out taking one vic a day plus I take cymbalta for the fibro. next time I went he upped me up to 3 a day and then 4 a day. It was like he was just trying to get me addicted. When I take those 750 I can conquer the world but I started noticing if I didn't take I would be so sick. Then it hit me I am hooked and I don't want to be. If any one out there can help me get thru the horrible nausea stomach pains and diarrea it would be greatly appreciated. Like I say I don't know my way around here so it may take me a bit to find this place again. Well here I am alone again tonight for a long night of night sweats and suffering as I am sure ya'll all understand.

Debbie

[LissyH]

Hey sweetie.  I'm a very supportive person and I don't ever want to point a finger or call somebody out...but what kind of "virtual friend" would I be if I didn't say this???  You are taking the Vicodin for the WRONG reason!  If you are looking for the euphoria, "I can do anything" feeling, the "high", whatever you want to label it as...then you are taking it for the wrong reason!  DO NOT GIVE IN!  You are not just physically addicted...you are psychologically addicted.  You will have a hard time, especially when under stress or in pain, not turning to your old "friend" for comfort!  You need to look your demon in the eye and call it by its true name...addiction.  And you need to just say "NO!"  Your pain levels will come down...I PROMISE!  The withdrawals amplify pain and give you pain where you've never had pain before.  It's part of the wd process.  Just ride it out, use the Thomas Recipe (found under the Health Pages section at the top right of this page) or see a dr. about getting non-addictive meds to help you taper off.  Then, consider (because of the psychological part of addiction) getting in a support group or after-care program to give you strength to stay away from Vicodin!

Fortunately I don't have to deal with the psychological part of this...I became dependent on Fentanyl (one of the most evil drugs out there...100 x stronger than Morphine!) because I trusted a doctor who put me on it (I didn't have the info that I have now!)  When I started having wds even while on it, I knew that something was wrong and I would not tolerate being on that drug any longer.  I demanded to be taken off the drug.  It was h*** on earth getting off...I am at Day 8 and my wds are almost all gone.  I never want to see that drug again.  Me not being psychologically dependent does NOT make me better than you, only different.  But, guess what?  Everyone who takes a narcotic, for whatever reason, will potentially be addicted/dependent if left on it over a consistent amount of time.  It's different with every drug how long that time is.  But, the reality is still there.  So, I can empathize with the horrible wd symptoms that are very hard to get through.  That puts us in the same game, so to speak.  So, we are different, but we are the same.  Narcotics make you dependent...no matter who you are or why you are taking them!

Please stay strong.  Come back to this forum.  Get any help you may need.  But, most of all....stay AWAY from that Vicodin!

Just keep reminding yourself that there is HOPE...you can DO this.  Please be strong!  You will be in my thoughts and prayers!

Blessings!

Lissy

[LissyH]

Could you get to a GOOD pain management doctor?  (Emphasis on the "GOOD" part!)  I had a bad experience with a dr. getting me hooked on Fentanyl...talk about going through h*** to get off of it!  (It's 100 x stronger than Morphine and, like you, I was having withdrawals at the end of the dose while on it...not acceptable!)  I am now off Fentanyl 8 days...it has been horrible.  But, I made it to Day 8.  And my NEW and wonderful pain management dr. (who is conservative about drugs, thank you LORD!) kept me on Darvocet three times a day.  I had so much pain with the withdrawals that I thought that was going to be my daily life from there on...I was wrong.  The withdrawals cause your pain to be amplified...out the roof!  You hurt where you've hurt before and you hurt in places you've never hurt before, when going through withdrawals.  The good news is...that is NOT going to be your "forever" level of pain!  I am on a conservative drug and dosage...and it's handling my pain!  I couldn't believe it.

So, I think you might benefit from a good pain management dr. because if you have chronic pain, which you DO, that can wear and tear on the nerves, restrict your mobility, keep you from sleeping and ruin your quality of life.  There ARE conservative medications out there, even combinations of more than one, that can control your pain without such overt problems with dependency.

Hang in there, sweetie.  I can so relate to your dilemma!  But, there is HOPE!  You will be in my thoughts and prayers!

Blessings!

Lissy

[babyboo2121]

It's Friday and tomorrow will be one week since I took my last Vicodin. One week, and it doesn't seem to be out of my system.  Yet I had a friend say to me today, "Ahh, it should be out by now, you're fine!".   We'll I'm not feeling fine, as a matter of fact all week I've been dealing with joint pain, hot flashes and a lot of laying low.
Tomorrow is a big push for me to take a few Vicodin. I'll be out doing very physical things, just two will make body work wonders. My brain is telling me ~just two tomorrow and then stop again, you did a week without and you can do it again~  
Two pills once a week isn't really 'weening off' is it?  :::Laughing at myself:::
This is just madness, what a crazy struggle from a girl that hates taking pills.

~Thanks for letting me share~

[toejam_muncher]

as for the fibromyalgia...have you really researched treatments? imipramine is sometimes prescribed for that...i only mention it because i take it to prevent migraines. i don't think medically there's much similarity between migraines and fibromyalgia...but i take that med at night and if i have a full blown migraine, it will actually completely get rid of it within an hour or so. i really have no idea how it works...but i do know that nothing i've ever taken for migraines has ever been able to stop a full blown migraine the way that med does. it's not an as needed medicine...so i can't just take it when i have a migraine in the middle of the day....but if i happen to have a migraine when i do take it at my regular time, it gets rid of it. so anyway...that might be worth talking to your doctor about. i've seen it prescribed for fibro...but really have no idea how it works or if it's any better than other treatments. i just know it really works for my migraines and maybe it does for that too.

[toejam_muncher]

i usually try to read all the comments before i post a response to someone...this time i didn't so i may be repeating what's already been said. because you are in pain all the time, taking this medicine is different. you have a medical need for a strong pain reliever. even better is that you don't want to use this as an excuse to take as many of them as you desire. i don't know any more than the average person about your condition...but maybe consider that there are pain management doctors who may know of less addicting medications that could be used. you're going to need them long term and it's almost certain that you'll become addicted to the vicodin even at normal doses if you take them long term, whether it be just a physical addiction or physical and psychological.

if it were me, i would try to to search for any other treatments that may work instead of the vicodin route. if it were me i would only want to take vicodin on a daily basis if absolutely every other route were exhausted and the level of pain were severe enough to actually need to take it daily. but in the end it really will be your doctor you need to talk to about it...and if you don't think your current doc is prescribing in your best interest, find another one.

[k81990]

vicodin is a very powerful drug, and you must understand you should never abuse prescription drugs,, just quit , and deal with the pain, it will end soon! and all will be well again. we're all in this together!

good luck. please keep posted on how your doing. I wish you the best!

[babyboo2121]

I'm not fooled, but I sure do/did count on it, daily.  Monday-Friday to get up and go to work...even Saturday night to go out with friends and be happy-go-lucky.
I'm scared of not feeling that full of energy ever again, scared of what the pain really feels like after the Vicodin is out of my system, and what to do 'after'.

~Thank you for listening~

[mr.lucky66]

I don't think you need to ween as it's not that strong a narcotic and you have already a day and a half. You should just continue on and you'll be over it in a day or 2. Don't be fooled by the false energy it gives you, there is always a price to pay for that.

[babyboo2121]

The last two Vicodin I took were Saturday night Aug 15th. Today is Aug 18th it's Tuesday morning and for me to be able to get out of the house and go to work (normal) I only need TWO-750mg of Vicodin.  If I pop two, I'm out the door, off to work and all is happy. If I don't, I know what my day will be filled with...my head in a fog, my body aching and all I'll want to do is sleep. Not at all conducive to being the bread winner. I feel like I need a two vaction to let my body detox, but that's not going to happen. Last night I told my husband I feel like I'm coming down with the flu...I know better than that, it's withdrawals. I came to this site to find information on withdrawals and read others experiences...thank you to those of you that shared.
So, the question for me today is, to ween or to go cold turkey. I see here people doing both and people having very different out comes. It's only been a little over a day and a half, I'm feeling sick, sleeply and full of pain.  I'm thinking why stop now, cold turkey might be the way.  I'm not feeling well but I'm full of hope. I'll keep you updated. Say a prayer!

[mr.lucky66]

The above post makes some good points and there are no easy answers when it comes to chronic pain and narcotic addiction. More and more doctors don't like heavy high dose narcotics for chronic pain because they don't think they are that effective and the dose goes up and up. I think a combiation of some narcotics maybe and some other newer techniques such as biofeedback  may be helpfull. Find a doc who is versitile and uses a multi disiplined approach and you won't be as limited in your options. all the best

[PfizerFighter]

Your situation is different from someone who has been injured and needs those kind of narcotics for a short period. You need them on a sort of managed pain, long term basis. So even if you stop using them, what will you take for the pain? You will need to reconsider whether you want to stop them, is the pain bearable without any meds? Can you handle it? If not, don't try to. There is a reason why these narcotics are manufactured, and in your case it would be justifiable to use them.

It may have seemed like your doctor was trying to get you hooked on them, but maybe he was considering the fact that your body will slowly get used to a dose, so it will need a little more in order for the medication to be effective? Does that make sense? Perhaps you can ask your doctor for a referral to a pain specialist?

[IBKleen]

Hey Lady!

I am so glad to see that you posted and you are getting the help and advise that you need.

You have some decisions to make here and it is not going to be easy.

Post and let us know how you made it through the night.

[Debntexas]

I am in constant pain. I feel like I have electric currents going thru my body at all times. Mostly it is caused from the ledderhose disease ( a rare disease that causes nodules to grow in my feet) I have had three surgeries to have them removed but more comes back. My Mom is in a nursing home right now at age 68 because she is addicted to narcotics and I don't want to be like her. Is there something else that I can take that doesn't make me so sick if I don't take every day. If I go four hours without one I get so ill I can't stand it. I can't win for losing it seems. I also have fibromyalgia caused from the ledderhose disease and take cymbalta for that because the lyrica made me gain weight.  ledderhose disease is a nerve disease and is horrible. Thanks for all the answers.  Here it is midnight alone and at least I have someone to talk to to take me away from the temptation.

Debbie

[mr.lucky66]

It's not that hard to kick hydocodone but don't you have chronic pain? Have you decided not to take narcotics anymore?

[Debntexas]

Thanks for the help. Long night ahead of me so maybe this will keep me focused till I fall asleep.

[GA Guy]

Go to the upper right hand corner, click Health Pages and read any post with Thomas Recipe in it. Then, post on this thread with any questions. That post should answer 90 percent of your questions.