Trying to ween myself off Hydro, have 40 pills left. How?? Dont want WD symptoms

[LupusWarrior]

I have been taking 2 1/2 5/500 vicodins a day (on the weekdays) and 9 a day on the weekends for 2 years. I have lupus/fibromyalgia which is why i take them to help with the constant pain. My husband has lost his job and i have been without health insurance for nearly 9 months which means I haven't been able to see my doc and get a script so I have been having to get them elsewhere.  Not only is this expensive, I live in constant fear that I will get caught. I want to get off them completely but have found that when I don't take them for a day, at night I get severe restless leg syndrome and anxiety and I can't sleep. I have 40 pills left. How can I wean myself off of them? What dosage should I take a day and for how long? I'm 26yr old female/145lbs. I want rid of this addiction. I want to control it, not the other way around.

[Addicted2long]

Best thing for restless legs is to not fight it if your not sleeping no point in riding a bike in your bed take a walk and work your legs for a bit and you should feel much better. Hylands also works wonders don't forget there to be taken under the tongue not swallowed I didn't realize that til a week in and worked hella better after i did that lol.

[Addicted2long]

Congrats on your decision to get off the meds. Your going to have to face your demons and realize that rwgrdless of how you do this its not going to be painless. Although we can't discuss tapers I would suggest do you to not taper at all. You are taking a relatively small amount of narcotics daily and i see more pain in suffering in prolonging your recovery with a taper. I would flush the rest and gear up for a couple days of a bad flu. There are many people here that can help you make those couple days the most painless as possible if you choose that option. If you decide to taper speak with your doctor and the both of you can come up with a plan. But I know for most of us esp. Me tapers don't work and just cause more pain and suffering then if you bit the bullet and quit CT. I know you can do it I came off a 2 gram a day IV heroin habit CT and I'm so glad I did. I wish u the best.

[LupusWarrior]

I'm also extremely ADD and the pain pills work for that as well. Not sure if there is anything else that will help with my focus OTC until I get health care.  I was prescribed Miraplex for the restless leg symptoms by my doc before I lost health care but it caused extreme migranes, which I've had my whole life. I'm still weening of the pain pills. I've cut my dose in half and am experiencing no WD symptoms yet, we will see how it goes...

[vicki595]

Hi there-   There are several things you can try for RLS and sometimes nothing works as with "littlebit" but here are some suggestions:

Fluids; Hyland's Restful Legs works like a charm for a lot of people; Epsom salt baths several times a day; magnesium/calcium supplements.
Surprisingly,cough syrup with DXM works and some doctors suggest that...follow label directions.

Good luck!

[littlebit667]

Because of your diagnoses you may have restless legs normally (I do), but when you take the norco it keeps it at bay.  That is what I discovered.  My restless legs came back with abandon when I quit the norco.  Unfortunately, the ONLY thing that got mine under control was to get my Dr. to prescribe something.  I am on carbidopa (which is generic and low cost).  Maybe you could afford to see a Dr. to talk about this.  Since you are not going to be paying for the pills on the street..maybe you could afford a Dr. visit now.  I tried many home remedies.  some helped a little, but nothing worked totally and it was compromising my recovery...lack of sleep keeps one from making good choices.  Just a thought.  I hope you continue to recover.

[LupusWarrior]

Does anyone know how to help with the restless leg symptoms??

[ImDONENoMore]

Hi and welcome!

Good for you for deciding to quit.

Now as far as the tapering goes, it's actually against the forum guidelines to give out taper schedules.  However, I do know tapers need to be done slowly and preferably with some assistance.  Can your husband help you with this?  Because many addicts find tapers to be near impossible without help.  It's just too easy to give in and take more than the you've set as a schedule to wean off.  Just something to think about.

The members here can help you - this place is great and you'll get a lot of support and info here.

Good luck to you!  :)