stopping vicodin after taking 20-30 750 es per day

[mm27]

I have been taking 20-30 vicodin es a day for about 2 years now.  I have decided to quit cold turkey.  took a couple of days off work claiming to have the flu.  I am doing well with everything but the sleeping.  I had stopped taking them altogether but i started to take just 1 at night to help me sleep.  Will this come back to haunt me or is what i am doing going to work.  the withdrawals are almost over been 4 days now but just the sleep thing that is killing me i already have rls and am prescribed medicine for that but it has gotten worse ten fold since the vicodin ended.  Like I said i still take 1 at night to help me sleep but dont know when this will lead to more usage or if the sleeping will soon get better that i wont need that 1 to sleep.  i am 31 and have a family that has no clue of this addiction and my family dr is a great family friend with both of my parents so i have no place to turn without letting it out and i dont want to do that i started this myself and want to end it myself.  any help would be appreciated.

[leeisgettingclean]

I seen the doctor answer this  same question for someone on here, he said if its what you need to do to sleep if you must do it, it is what you have to do. Yes it might make your w/ds last a little longer and i would also be concerned about the fact that you can not keep takin the one a night forever and whats going to happen when you stop takin it?

[Some_life1976]

hey congrats on wanting your life back! i quit 6 days ago bad norco habit. I still am not getting alot of sleep and my family does not know about it so this site is wonderful!!! It has got mr through the worst of it. i dont have the will power to just take one at night if they were hear i would take them maybe you should do that for a week then go to hafe of one for aweek then get rid of them!! you wont completly wd tell you stop all togeather butit wont be so bad if you have the will power to do it that way most of us here cant i started taking r6 and b12 today to help with energy issues good luck let us know if we can help the people here are WONDERFUL!!!!!

[kksmama]

wow u and i are in the exact same boat. honeatly readin your post i had to think for a minute if it was my own. i stopped ct from takin that amt in jan. relapsed after a few wks and went right back up to about25 es per day. friday will be my quit day. good luck and if u can jus stop all together sleep will come back. if not, try benadryl or somethung mild like that. may i ask u...have u ever ct wd from that amount of vic before?

[NorcoQueenoftheUniverse]

My feeling is that the SOONER you get OFF everything.. the BETTER off you will be..
It's NOT easy but it IS doable... I think that if you find yourself DEPENDING on SOMETHING to sleep.. you are already in a cycle of dependence.. Just my feelings.

I KNOW how yucky you feel when you are not able to sleep.. (I Almost went crazy) but... given time.... your body cycle WILL return... and LIFE WILL BE GOOD.. again!

Just give it time... and.. TIME being the key word... as TIME seems to take FOREVER when you feel like POOP!  

Hang in there sweet pea.. and KEEP POSTING.....

[10356]

Hello and welcome to the forum. unfortunately when you stop the 1 vic you will have wd but not as intense your sleeping will also be disrupted..  There are other things that can help sleep like valerian root and melatonin.. giving yourself the chance to get over the wd completely and getting your normal sleep pattern back all that much sooner..take care lesa

[mm27]

yes i have withdrawed from this before about 4 years ago but i was taking the same amount for twice as long.  I knew what to expect but the sleeping has really been the worst issue for me this time.  maybe because i already have rls i dont know

[kksmama]

if u dont mind me asking, how lonb were u clean the last time u detoxed prior to starting up again? i dont mean to be nosey, but i never see n e one else on here takin the large amounts that i take so im just curious for my own recovery.

[mm27]

about 2 years of nothing then stresfull events in my life started getting the best of me and the fact that I hang out with a lot of people who are more cassual users that can take 1-2 vics and feel good next thing i knew i was back up to 20-30 a day  some days even more.  the day before i quit i took 37.  thats when i realized enough was enough

[mm27]

sorry about my timing got confused on how long i was taking it and how long i was off it.. it was 8 years ago for 4 years.  2001-2005 then clean till 2007 then back on till 2009

[bmdad]

After my first back surgery I was taking about the same amount as you. For me, the sleep issue was the worst! It was also the last symptom I had to deal with. After about 2 weeks I was able to get around 5 hours of sleep a night. It took me about a month to where I could get a decent nights sleep. Have you tried any of the over the counter sleep aids such as melatonin? I was prescribed ambien while going through withdrawals. It didn't help at all the first week so I didn't take it. Once I hit the second week it seemed to help. I only used it for a month as I didn't want to be dependent on another med. I hate recommending any prescription medication and some are against using anything but maybe it would be worth checking in to. You could just tell your doctor that you are having trouble sleeping. If you do go this route, only take as needed and for no longer than a month. The last thing you want to do is have to rely on another medication.
You have to remember that it takes time for our bodies to heal. If you can I would just stick it out without getting the ambien. I would first try the melatonin. One thing that also helped me was exercising by wearing my body down. It will also help speed up the withdrawal process. It also helped with the rls and just made me feel better overall. Try a very hot bath right before bedtime. If you can't sleep try reading a book.  Make sure you are eating healthy and pushing the fluids. One thing you could try is watching the lifetime movie network! I know when my wife watches that in our bedroom it puts me right to sleep!
Just hang in there and remember that your body will get back on track. It just takes time to heal. Be very proud of yourself for what you have accomplished so far! Best of luck!

[shelby001]

i know how hard the lack of sleep during wd's can be, you literally feel like you are going crazy and it makes EVERY thing else so hard to deal with, every symptom of wd, work, people, depression, anxiety.....everything is difficult without sleep.  BUT you are doing it, you are getting through everyday, don't forget that.  have you tried anything else besides the one vic at night?  i would take two tylenol pm's, wake a couple hours later and take another one.  they made me feel horrible and the tylenol isn't a good thing at all but i needed some amount of sleep.  you may want to get some sleep aid from your doc.  he may just give you some samples and you could use them for the 2nd week?  i agree with bmdad, they don't work that first week
(nor did the tylenol pm) then seem to help you more the second week.  it's the weekend, are you off work?  
ugh, i just feel so bad because i know how it is, but you are doing it and quitting the **** will make you feel so much better.  sleep is always the last thing to return.  i'm clean now 56 days and it wasn't until 54 days that i actually slept through the night. but i was on vics for 7 years.  
i'll say a little prayer for you tonight!

[shelby001]

it's crazy isn't it?  how avaliable pills are.  i got mine through doctors though, never off the street, i am too much of a chicken. but, i know many people who only get them off the street and it is SO easy.  my pain doc prescribed me 150 at a time!  i wasn't taking as much as you, 7/day but nonetheless it was a horrible addiction.
as far as sleep.  yes, it took me 54 days to get a full nights sleep, without waking for hours in the middle of the night BUT after about 2 weeks i was getting enough sleep.  interrupted but enough.  it WILL get better, don't give in, you have passed some difficult days and things will start to look up.  it will be amazing to you to even have 5 or 6 hours of sleep, you actually can do pretty good on that, then slowly your sleep will return.  don't turn back!  
did your doc ever give you sleeping pills?  how about anti anxiety pills?  gosh, i don't want to push you to use another type of pill but i feel your pain!  in one of my wd's i also took some of my brothers anti anxiety pills and they really helped me sleep.  i forgot what they we're called.  i knew i wouldn't develope a problem with any of those types of drugs because i hate the way they made me feel......sleepy.
anyway, stick with this.  did you say your spouse doesn't know of your addiction or that your going through wd's?  mine didn't either, crazy as that is.  it's amazing what we can hide.
wishing you well!!!!  and sleepy!

[mm27]

I just told her i had the flu crazy how much wd's resemble the flu and I am currently on zoloft for depression and the klonopin is similar to xanax or any type of benz med.

[shelby001]

yes the wd's appear to be the flu, that's what i said also, although this last wd my husband was out of town and i stayed home with our twin two year olds......never want to do that again!  too bad that klonopin isn't helping you sleep.  maybe tonight will be a better night.  good luck to you.

[worried878]

Sleep is imortant to recovery..that is almost always true..when u dont sleep u become weak..and being weak right now is not advisable

But the number one reason people fail in the initial wd period..is keeping pills...so it seems u have decided to keep pills in the house?  R u testing urself?  Perhaps u r strong enuf to pass this test..most would fail it in a heartbeat...if u do not make it to cleandom then this is alot of wasted time for nuttin...so taking one/keeping any/is destructive for most...there r much safer things over the counter and scrips that r much safer for sleep/that r designed for sleep vs ur doc..i didnt read all the po0sts after ur initial one so perhaps someone gave u some ideas for safer sleep meds..if not..pm me and i will help u out

there is no such thing as "just one pill" for an addict...and ur dose is definitely an addict's dose...there r never enuf for an addict...keeping pills in ur house is like touching the stove when it is hot..they will burn u...let them go...keep posting

[vtech291]

I sure hope mm27 is doing ok

[Needinggodsgrace]

Ok, I am new on this sight and just from reading it sounds like alot of people are having the same problems that I have. I have been on Lortabs 10's about 25 a day for the last year, but on pain medication for the last 5 years. I a wanting to quit cold turkey and hoping that this will be the best thing for me. The only thing that I worry about is trying to deal with the rest of my life while I am going through this process. Can anyone tell me what the best thing to do is? Should I see the dr and ask for help or just try to do it on my own???? I am really scared and already feeling the symptoms today.... I am completely out of pillsa nd kinda confused about what comes next....

[scared1978]

I'm almost to hour 36 and ready to loose my mind!!!  I think I've slept 2 hours in the last 24 and I soooo want to sleep.  I am doing this all alone.  Nobody knows what I'm going through but me.  I have a 4 year old daughter that will be home from Gramdma's on Monday morning so I hope I'm better by then,  Any suggestions?

[mm27]

well day 10 now doing ok but still cant sleep.  so now i am starting to drink vodka.  maybe i will just pass out after soo many drinks.  Not funny at all but i dont know what else to do to cope with the lack of sleep.  When on vicodin i was so active with my kids and work they were like energizers for me.  Now between not taking them and the lack of sleep I cant hardly move from one room to another.  

[mm27]

I was just wondering.  It is like day 14 or something.  Here I am got 3 hours of sleep last night and now I am tired as heck but laid down and right back up on computer watching tv.  Also about 3 days ago I started getting terrible headaches, almost to the point of migrane.  Is something else going on do you think or is this a later stage WD.  The headaches I mean.

[dobbietwo]

Hey! I hear you man. I've been on Lortab for almost 2 years. Last months 240 pill supply lasted me a total of 14 days. The withdrawals are hell!! Sleep is the best thing if you can. I don't drink at all, but a beer in the evening helps A LOT! Don't start drinking a lot if you already do drink!!!! Lots of hot baths and I mean many!!! But as many pills as you are taking everyday, you better see a good Dr. and probably do some Detox for a 5 to 7 days if you can. If not, drink lots of fluids and get lots of rest.