hydrocodone addiction

[knaankj]

my doctor currently prescribes 9 tablets daily of this medication...10-325 strength. it does help with my arthritis pain but i am becoming addicted to it. i look forward to taking it and last month i ran out 3 days before i was due for a refill. i am wanting to know how to wean off this drug without feeling all the horrible with drawl that can happen. i am really wanting to be done with being an addict. i have no health insurance so paying for it is also causing great harm to my family too. thanks for any help you can offer. i appreciate it greatly.

[knaankj]

wow....this is the very first time i have ever posted anything online or even looked into it. thanks so much for the advice. of course...i keep going back and forth on when to do this. i am afraid to talk to my doctor because he will of course stop my medicine and then i will have no choice but to quite. im so nervous about it. it started after bariatric surgery and they gave me the liquid form of hydro whatever to help with pain because pills were hard to handle. but then my insurance ditched me and that stuff was over $1000 a month to buy out of pocket so i asked for pills that are still way more than i can afford. ive been on some kind of narcotic for a year and a half now. is there any chance i wont have any with drawl symptoms or is it too late to hope for that? i curse the day i ever took that first dose!! i remember running out of the liquid stuff one time late last summer and i felt so horrible for days...i convinced myself it was a terrible case of the flu! now im thinking it was the drugs for sure! i NEVER want to experience that feeling again. it was a nightmare!!

[toothfairie]

hi and welcome....please talk to your doctor about finding a diff med for your pain....you don't want this to get any worse....if you stop now, you can save yourself alot of pain in the long run....it's harder to stop the longer you are on them....trust me, i was on the for many years....i did CT and it was rough, but doable...it's so much better off them.  Hopefully he can find something diff to manage your pain besides a narc.  Good luck and keep posting for support!  You can do this!!  

[TruckersWife18]

hello and welcome
Tapering is the best way in. IMO
We can not give you a taper, it is bet that you talk to your docto like the above posts stated.
There are a lot of good things to use in the Thomas Recipe on here.

I did a taper off the same med your on.
I was takng 6-8 daily so 60-80mg.
I did a CT off Oxys and taper off Hydro

You can go to my profile and read in my journal how I did it.
Just to give you an idea.
I have very very little WD when j made the jump.
And I did it on the road in an 18 Wheeler truck!

If I can ddo I you can!!!
Please do it now !! It jut gets worse the longer you wait.
I was on Hydro on and off about 9-10 years then 3 years stright daily.
It was messing with my mind and my body..

If you need someone to talk to please PM me I am on and off here slot with traveling and all.

My prayers are with you!!!

Peace
Lesa

[OpenMind24hours]

Hello and welcome. No matter how you get off of hydro, you will indeed experience some sort of withdrawal. I ditto what Julie said above, your first stop is your prescribing doctor. It tells us right on the drug's information sheet about eventual dependency. So it's to be expected, if taken for a long enough time. Don't worry too much that you ran out early and I would mention that to your doctor in the same conversation you have with him/her about wanting to taper and/or stop the med. I stopped hydro 3 times cold turkey over 3 years. I didn't want to taper because I felt it would string out mild withdrawal symptoms during the process. I wanted it over with ASAP. But that's the way I do things. It's completely up to each individual on how they want to proceed. The most important thing is the fact that you want off. Congratulations on that decision!

I wouldn't describe the withdrawal symptoms as horrible, they're more like a bad case of the flu for a couple of days, morphing into mild but aggravating restlessness with insomnia problems for a couple of weeks. Then you're free. It's very much worth the trouble to go through with it. I wish you the best of luck as you progress your way to freedom! -Robert

[VICourageous]

Hi and Welcome..We can not give you a taper plan on here..You have to be honest with the DR..We can help you with the things to use to get your health back up during and after detox..OK Just Hang tight you are making the best decision you ever had made...
May God be with..
vickie

[rjwells00]

I suggest talking to you dr.  They are best able to make a schedule for cutting down is these meds.  I probably wont be easy but like you said youdont want to be an addict.  My thoughts and prayers are with you.  Please don't put it off and call your DR.  Good luck
Julie