confused here

[newlife52]

How is it that I was prescribed 4 hydro's per day for headaches and I just went down one pill and I feel awful....no energy...anxiety  I'm not having the headaches like I'd had for a year so I called my doctor and he said to just stop taking it.  From reading all the posts it looks like it's not quite that simple.  Any advise

[IBKleen]

It is absolutely best if you can taper. You cannot avoid the withdrawal but it will make it easier.

[kyle505]

Welcome. You have not abused your meds, so I don't think that you have to worry about being addicted (just my personal opinion). Your body is now used to having the meds, and will react when they are not there, plus there is the mental aspect of taking meds. Your mind is also used to the pills, and that may be the more difficult struggle.
As far as tapering goes, it is hard to do unless you have someone you can trust that will help. Ask your doctor for a tapering plan, then have the chosen person give you the pills per the plan, and hide the rest. Even if you're not addicted, the odds are that you may not be able to stick to the plan if you know that meds are right down the hall.
You'll have a few days of flu-like symptoms, but most of it will be over. You'll then have to adjust mentally, and that will take some time.
All the best; keep posting.
K

[newlife52]

I always took the prescribed amount.  Been at 3 for a week and just feel "off" and lazy u able to concentrate just an over all mess.  But it looks like I am going thru what all here are going thru.   I guess it really does not matter if you were prescribed them or not, everyone has problems getting off them.  If I feel this way just going down 1 I think it best that I taper instead of stopping.  Thoughts??

[Spike2654]

Hey there! thanks for posting! how long were you on the 4 hydro's? and you then went down to 3 per day? How long have you been doing the 3 per day? Stopping opiates is rarely ever simple...especially if you've taken them for any length of time. There is a lot of remedies to help with the physical symptoms of withdrawal, if you click on the link below that says Thomas Recipe under most viewed health pages. It really helped me out, is your goal to get off of them completely? With your doctor telling you to stop taking them, does that mean he/she is done prescribing them? There is a line between being dependent (which you are if you are having symptoms with taking less) and being an addict. Let us know what your plan is! keep posting and reading, lots of advice on here.