weaning off of vicodin

[sophie776]

I guess this isn't a question, more of a request. I have decided to begin weaning myself off of vicodin. I have been taking it every day for almost a year. I developed an unidentified chronic pain issue last fall and it was prescribed. I was up to 65mg a day until this week. I take the 10/325 version of Norco. I spoke to my doctor about my desire to get off of it recently, but I talked to my mom about it and we made a plan. Part of the reason I would like to stop taking it is that I keep needing more. I still hurt all over, but I wonder if at this point the pain is actually related to the drug. It may be making my body want/ need more for pain relief, or just be craving more. I have not officially been diagnosed with Fibro. but I was given a lot of lyrica samples. I decided not to try them until I am off of the vicodin, it is difficult to know how I feel naturally at this point. I am a 33 year old woman and should not be on that many pain meds. I also have had a great deal of stress this past year in all aspects of my life, and I have an anxiety disorder and depression, so I believe these may have added to the pain. So far I am on day 5 and I have cut down to 50mg, which is 15mg less than I was taking 5 days ago. The 1st 3 days I felt awful, but I was feeling awful even with the vicodin. The last 2 days I have either taken a long walk or worked out and have felt very little pain. I felt that today I may have been able to take 5 more mg less, but decided not to push it yet. I would like to hear experiences of other people who have weaned off. I would not say that I am necessarily addicted to it, but I am physically dependent at this point. I would like to get to the point that I may still take it occasionally if I am in really bad shape, or just not need it at all, but definitely not take it on a regular basis. I am leery of the lyrica because of side effects I read. Mostly the weight gain, I am not incredibly vain or anything, but I took paxil a few years ago and gained 40lbs within a few months. I would prefer not to go through that again. It messed with my self image quite a bit to change so quickly. I also have been SUPER emotional lately, I just went through an awful breakup with someone I whole-heartedly trusted. Up until the last few days I was crying ALL the time. I am wondering if the vicodin was adding to my emotional state. I also have noticed that my thinking has gotten cloudy, I am not as sharp, and have trouble concentrating. Anyone who just has a little support to give would be great! I am taking it one day at a time. Yesterday and today were VERY good days. I am not sure what the rest of the time will hold for me. I hope it stays like today! I also have a friend that says she knows someone who will do acupuncture on me for withdrawals. If anyone has tried this please let me know if it helped! Thanks!

9/8/09
I had posted the above a few days ago. It was suggested in the pain management community that I post here as well. As of last night I had cut back 20mg, I didn't plan to cut the next 5mg for a few days, but I ended up taking my evening dose later than usual so I took less before bed so I didn't end up with too much in a short amount of time. I don't know if that had anything to do with today, but I felt really depressed all day and had a panic attack tonight. That hasn't happened to me in a long time. I have been very depressed lately, but not to the point of panic.
I have gotten those in the past, but it kinda came out of nowhere. I think I need a med. adjustment with my anti-depressants too. I wondered if anyone who has weaned off of vicodin has experienced anything like this? I teach and am in school as well and it scares me to not know how I am going to feel day to day. I can't wait to get this stuff outta my system. I think that cold turkey would be too much for me right now though. I think just getting other people's input and stories may help give me some reassurance at this point. I am very far away from my family and I don't have a lot of friends here so it's hard to deal sometimes. The person I just had a breakup with was my strongest support for years and so it's difficult to not have that to lean on right now.

[worried878]

I can not share a tapering experience/altho i tried it...i didnt do well with it..i ended up asicaly going ct off a 100 m habit for 4 yrs..took a 4 day weekend an was fine physcically to work ay 5//really felt pretty good day 4/mentally it took 2-3 mths tho..working out whether i felt like it or not and the thomas recipe/tyrosine and 5htp in particularly along with EmergenC as i bought the powdered aminos for bulk nutrition

i tried tapering alone and failed...then my friend held them for me and oled them out daily to me//problem was i had a source to buy them from cos i took more than rx-d...so i let her dose them out....and when i felt bad/which in a taper most do feel wd anyway/i simply bought some more!   so smart eh?  LOL..mine was a quick 10 day taper//was only waiting for my time off..but i had picked a QUIT day...and that was my quit day//cheating or no cheating//i also flushed everyone of those puppies i had left over as well...cutting off supply/including drs, refills, or sellers is imperative to getting clean for most....tapering is great for the physically addicted folks..or the addicts who have extreme control...and the defintion of an addict is a "loss of power" over their doc...try it...make a plan..if it doesnt work..then go to plan B..which would probably be CT..ur dose is really a CT dose..but u need 4-5 days off to get this done..keep posting

[sophie776]

Thanks for your input! So do you say my dose is a CT dose because it is high? I just wondered. The reason I don't want to do that is not so much the physical part, but the mental. Since my anxiety disorder can be debilitating at times I don't know what that would do to me. Since I have been cutting back I haven't had any desire to add more or go back to my original dose at all, if anything I have been eager to cut back more. I am wondering if I am doing that too fast though. My goal is 10mg per week, but in the past week I've actually gone down 20mg. I just got up a bit ago and have to go to class, so far today I feel like I can function. Again I am not sure if that panic attack or any of this has so much to do with the vicodin as it does with my antidepressants. I am not currently on an SSRI and am thinking that may have been a mistake. I asked to be switched to wellbutrin and it was fine for a while, but I think maybe it's not working the way I had hoped. Unfortunately I haven't been able to get in to see the nurse I go to for that.

[BIKERDAD1963]

Hi, I did the taper from norco. The key to the taper is to take it slow so your body can adjust properly. Dont get eager to cut more than you should. I am not sure what your dose is at this point. After you taper give your body about 5 days to adjust before taperring again. You can cut the norco in half and taper down 5mg a week. Also it is important to spread out you doses during the taper. Put more time between the doses. I have the taper I did in my journal if you would like to look at it. I also didnt go thru the harsh wd when I finished my taper. You can leave me a note if you have any questions. Good luck and take it slow.

[TakingAction]

Yes. Easy does it.  I wish I had the option to taper.  I was a few days without and just decided to keep on going.  Total misery.  But I had tapered in the past and found it so much easier.  My problem with the taper is that I didnt have the self control to not take the whole damn bottle.  Have your family and friends help you with it.  The trick is to stick to your plan.  Seems like you are on the right track.  

Good luck!