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Avatar universal

how to get norco to work better????10/325

I have osteo arthritis from car wrecks,roofing houses,and just overall abuse of my back over a period of 25 years.I live in an area that pain meds are highly abused and i also have had big big problems getting any meds to help me.I am currently taking 4-10/325 nocos a day and they take the edge off but they just do not work as well as they used to.I really hesitate to even entertain the idea of changing up to a percocet or something else because I do not want to get something so strong that in a couple of years i dont really want to be on morphine or something really hard.I already mix with motrin i was open for suggestions..the pain doctor told me to just stop taking them for a couple of weeks i am like damn that is kinda rough doc,but i did manage to stop for a couple of days and they did work better..
Best Answer
Avatar universal
A "medication holiday" or "med vacation" is usually the preferred way to "reset" the opiate receptors and make pain meds work better.  It is painful, though.  
Other than that I don't know if anything can really enhance the pain relief but I have heard that some antihistamines work to help.  
I find that eating something high in protein or just eating right after taking the meds seems to enhance the effectiveness but that may be all in my head.  I have to eat with mine anyway as they are sometimes harsh on the stomach.
A change to percoset 7.5/325 for a few months and then back to Norco might help to reset your tolerance to Norco.
Either way the best thing to do is explain the situation to your doctor and see what he suggests.
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Avatar universal
I'd still like to see answered to this question. I have complex regional pain syndrome/ central pain syndrome it is also known as the suicide disease. My pain is unbearable Abbas nite Dr us letting my dose to reflect the CDC guidlines. I need to know if there are any boosters that actually help my oxycodones work better and faster if possible. I notice sometimes they will work faster eating ham, but it's not everytime So I dont knee if I'm just getting lucky. I've heard taking ibprophin is a booster but was hoping someone had actually science proof of what helps bind it to my receptors. Thanks!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
There not going to get the pain to stop just make it a little better most want that high from the first time you take it but there doing the same thing your body is just use to them now but there still helping the pain with pain med less is better
Helpful - 0
547368 tn?1440541785
The person your post was addressed to hasn't been active on MH for over a year. I doubt it will be read by Doz3n. Sorry.

The original thread is 5 years old!

Peace,
~Tuck
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I'm sorry for that horrible thing that happened to you..but who are you to say that you've been through more than any of these other people? You don't know every little thing they have been through. And if my mother read what you wrote, she'd say that, that would be a walk in the park compared to the **** she's gone through. Now don't u feel dumb?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
How do I get this Norco crap to work better?? And please if you don't have am actually recommendation of something to take or drink with it  I don't need a serman
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Avatar universal
JK
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Avatar universal
yall need some cheese with that wine...I got hit by a car on the interstate changing a tire broke my arm and broke my leg in three places bone broke thru my leg and  now have titanium and screws in my leg... three discs in my back are ruptured...if youll get off the pills your body produces the chemicals you need for the pain to subside...Of course youll never feel as good as you did before but it will become manageable....I was an addict before all this happened...By the way with all that wrong with me they took me off pain meds 3 months after the  accident and I was pissed, but now I see why.  Every once in a while I may go the entire day with only mild pain but I know Im  not going to kill myself with a pill that don't take away the pain anyway and anyone who says their medication makes them totally pain free must be on a drip or theyre full of ****.....
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
just a thought on non medicinal ways to help pain. Try eating anything that will release endorphins or oxytocin, which your body produces naturally. These are the same chemicals that "cutters" are chasing when they do perform that crazy ritual.  Really hot red peppers produce a rush of these chemicals. Also, chocolate, and foods of the like are useful. There are many foods and herbs that help a little. I know if you deal with pain every minute of every day as I do, any llittle thing can help some. I have had failed back surgery, shoulder surgery, and no suffer from clinical depression because of my serotonin levels being jacked up because of the continual drug use to alleviate the pain. I have also found that taking the pain meds when i take Cymbalta, it increases the effectiveness of the pain med. You may need a med to increase your serotonin levels and this may help pain meds work better. If you have taken pain meds for a long period, your brain doesn't have to produce as normal and I really believe this is why pain meds quit working after a while.  I have been up to 120mg of methadone at one time and it wasn't working. Got on 90mg of cymbalta and one norco 10 every 6 hrs, and it works better than the methadone. Hang in there though, it doesn't happen overnight, it can take upto 2-3 months for the cymbalta to start working right. You also have to be honest with yourself and your doctor and do some deep soul searching. Honestly, if you are at this point, as I was, you are addicted to the High and you are missing it. That is part of the evil that comes with narcotic pain meds. Believe me, I love it and I want it every day. But I love living life not in deadly pain. Nothing is going to take away all the pain, but there are alot of stupid sounding things that when combined, will take away some of the pain and make it bearable. You have to be honest with yourself and make an agreement with yourself that for example: if your pain is normally a 8 or 9, that a 4 or 5 will make you happy. If you can't achieve this through a combination of narc. pain meds, anti-depressants, and alternative meds; you either need surgery, or rehab. 90% of the time when a narc. painkiller quites working at a good dose, it is because your brain has quit producing a certain chemical because the med told it it didn't need to. Please talk to your doctor with the concern emphasized on the fact that you want the same smaller dose of narc. painkiller to work as it did in the past. They will bend over backwards to help you if you are more concentrated on getting relief with a medicinal dose of narc painkillers than if you just come in and say I need more, more, more.  Please show responsibility and concern for your overall health to your med professional, and they might even increase your dose(but that should never be your goal). Also it won't make it harder for those of us, like yourself, to get help when needed and it will help to battle the stigmata of just another junkie who won't try anything unless it has an opiate base. I was one of those, and where I live heroin is easier to obtain than pain killers. I finally told my doctor everything, and told him that I didn't need him for me to get high, I could leave his office and have H in a matter of minutes. I said I want you to do your job and help me live without wanting to kill myself because of the pain. I made a pact with him, that he could drug screen me every week if he wanted to, and I would gladly bring my meds in anytime for him to count my pills if he wanted to.... Guess What, He has never done a pill count, and I have only had one urine screen. He is sending me to alt. med. practices and he had me on methadone until I requested to drop down to 4 norco 10s a day.  Its really not the meds that quit working or necessarily the pain is worse, it is your brain that quits working like it should.  I know because I need two surgeries to repair damaged nerves and one to put my spine back together, and I have decreased my dosage and my pain.  Not passing judgment on anyone or their condition, just don't want anyone to live hooked, or dependent like I was and will be addicted till the day I die. Remember, an addiction is for ever, it what you choose to do with it. You may always be dependent on your meds, just don't let it go to addiction. I love my worst enemy too much to wish that on them, so watch yourself and take care and God Bless.  
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
just a thought on non medicinal ways to help pain. Try eating anything that will release endorphins or oxytocin, which your body produces naturally. These are the same chemicals that "cutters" are chasing when they do perform that crazy ritual.  Really hot red peppers produce a rush of these chemicals. Also, chocolate, and foods of the like are useful. There are many foods and herbs that help a little. I know if you deal with pain every minute of every day as I do, any llittle thing can help some. I have had failed back surgery, shoulder surgery, and no suffer from clinical depression because of my serotonin levels being jacked up because of the continual drug use to alleviate the pain. I have also found that taking the pain meds when i take Cymbalta, it increases the effectiveness of the pain med. You may need a med to increase your serotonin levels and this may help pain meds work better. If you have taken pain meds for a long period, your brain doesn't have to produce as normal and I really believe this is why pain meds quit working after a while.  I have been up to 120mg of methadone at one time and it wasn't working. Got on 90mg of cymbalta and one norco 10 every 6 hrs, and it works better than the methadone. Hang in there though, it doesn't happen overnight, it can take upto 2-3 months for the cymbalta to start working right. You also have to be honest with yourself and your doctor and do some deep soul searching. Honestly, if you are at this point, as I was, you are addicted to the High and you are missing it. That is part of the evil that comes with narcotic pain meds. Believe me, I love it and I want it every day. But I love living life not in deadly pain. Nothing is going to take away all the pain, but there are alot of stupid sounding things that when combined, will take away some of the pain and make it bearable. You have to be honest with yourself and make an agreement with yourself that for example: if your pain is normally a 8 or 9, that a 4 or 5 will make you happy. If you can't achieve this through a combination of narc. pain meds, anti-depressants, and alternative meds; you either need surgery, or rehab. 90% of the time when a narc. painkiller quites working at a good dose, it is because your brain has quit producing a certain chemical because the med told it it didn't need to. Please talk to your doctor with the concern emphasized on the fact that you want the same smaller dose of narc. painkiller to work as it did in the past. They will bend over backwards to help you if you are more concentrated on getting relief with a medicinal dose of narc painkillers than if you just come in and say I need more, more, more.  Please show responsibility and concern for your overall health to your med professional, and they might even increase your dose(but that should never be your goal). Also it won't make it harder for those of us, like yourself, to get help when needed and it will help to battle the stigmata of just another junkie who won't try anything unless it has an opiate base. I was one of those, and where I live heroin is easier to obtain than pain killers. I finally told my doctor everything, and told him that I didn't need him for me to get high, I could leave his office and have H in a matter of minutes. I said I want you to do your job and help me live without wanting to kill myself because of the pain. I made a pact with him, that he could drug screen me every week if he wanted to, and I would gladly bring my meds in anytime for him to count my pills if he wanted to.... Guess What, He has never done a pill count, and I have only had one urine screen. He is sending me to alt. med. practices and he had me on methadone until I requested to drop down to 4 norco 10s a day.  Its really not the meds that quit working or necessarily the pain is worse, it is your brain that quits working like it should.  I know because I need two surgeries to repair damaged nerves and one to put my spine back together, and I have decreased my dosage and my pain.  Not passing judgment on anyone or their condition, just don't want anyone to live hooked, or dependent like I was and will be addicted till the day I die. Remember, an addiction is for ever, it what you choose to do with it. You may always be dependent on your meds, just don't let it go to addiction. I love my worst enemy too much to wish that on them, so watch yourself and take care and God Bless.  
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I used to live in pdx and Oregon city and know what you mean. I went to the Frida center for pain management after going as far as a hysterectomy at 32 which took my dream of my own baby from me but I'd wanted my life back and previous doctor(s) thought I had endometriosis. Well I didn't but learned too little way too late so I found the frida center. Turns out I have textbook fibromyalgia and prior to my dx didn't even know what that was. The dr who runs it is amazing! She's like a therapist, bedside nurse, friend , angel and more rolled into one! She has fibro herself which helps!  I know you said you have a toddler but not if you do on your own or not but I was to the point where I didn't want to be on opiate mess 24/7 and I' was already doing qigong(low impact tai chi basically) as well as massage/physical therapy and acupuncture and considered getting my green/medical card. I don't smoke mj as the smell alone made my head spin but one luxury of Oregon is that it's available in other forms. I don't know you not your personal stance on it and don't know your situation with a toddler at home but it is an alternative that living in Oregon allots you. I was here(Illinois) visiting family the day I called frida center to ask the drs stance and she said we could discuss it once I was back, however, one thing led to another and I never went back to Oregon. I needed my family more as I grieved the loss of my womb and future babies I'd never have. I don't know for sure that she would have helped me get my card or steered me to someone who could but she was awesome regardless! Just suggestions for you to take/leave. Have a good day and good luck!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
God I feel your pain :(. I am right there with you. Only where I live it's hell or high water to find a Dr willing to treat my pain ( drug abuse is a huge problem in Oregon I guess). The Drs here seemto treat you like a junkie looking for his or her next fix instead of treating you with compassion and dignity. Makes you (well at least me) feel worse than you did heading in. It's made me stop going to the Docs entirely. I have been coping with horrible back hip leg and foot pain for several months now. Taking the occasionall 10/325 Norco if and when I'm lucky enough to stumble upon some when I can no longer bare the non-stop burning, mind-numbing, stinging, knee buckling pain. I find that taking it on an empty stomach with 3/4 cup Grapefruit juice followed by a glass of water helps me. Though I don't recommend it for everyone. If you choose to give it a try start with half a norco or half your usual dose, drink the juice first wait about 10-15 mins then take you pill with a full glass of water. When you feel its kicked in feel free to eat something if you can and want to.

I have a high tolerance for these meds because I have taken them for a good part of 13 years now. I have hip arthritis a ruptured L5, spinal stenosis, & degenerative sd to mention a few and a 2 yr old son to raise. So if anyone can offer me any advice on easing the pain or on how to boost my pain meds I am ALL EARS... :)
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I know taking meds that make you sleepy during the day can be hard! I used to not take mine, or only take them when I felt like it...however, my docs told me that the only way around was through, so to speak. Essentially, the only way to get used to the meds (to not be knocked out by them) was to bite the bullet and take them as prescribed for a few days...and it actually worked! I was always pretty tired for those few days, but then it got easier and easier. I hope that helps, and I hope you feel better <3
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Avatar universal
  hello,my name is Darla, I suffered a back injury while working at walmart in 2008Through many hoops Ive jumped through for workmans comp which has sent me to numerous specialists all requesting various options fo surgery.As of today I havent had any,tried everything.I just want my life back.Since then Ive endured consant pain everyday of my lfe to the point where I want to walk in front of a bus.Its taken a tremendous toll on my life. All I can think of is,do I have enough medication to do the daily errands or even take of myself without help.Most of the time I dont,so I dont get things done or have someone help me.I now walk with a cane,b I cant drive because of the medication.Its depressing having to go through all these depressing moments of feeling helpless.Ive been an independent woman all my life,but this injury has changed all that.I feel like a bother to others,asking to help taking out my trash etc...I take norcos 10/325 during the day,somas 325,cymbalta,lyrica at night because they make me lathargic and sleepy. Doctors wants me to take all during the day,but cant possibly function if I did so. So what do I do??? Im at a total loss,because nothing really sems to take away my pain,even when Im sleeping I still have spasms so bad they wake me up.I feel like a zombie.No sleep,in constant deep pain,no appetite etc..Will someone help me on what I should take with it or enhance my medication.Im going to a new pain management doctor soon,what should I request to find some kind of comfort.It will be deeply appreciated!!! Thank You and God Bless               ***@****
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have arthritis (bad) everywhere.  I take the big meds, Fentanyl, oxycodone, compounding creams, Cymbalta, clonidine etc for the failed joint replacement surgery in my left hand.  Of course, it does help with all the other arthritis pain as well.

I do find Aleve or ibuprofen to be a great adjuvant to any pain meds I take.  It helps them work better and last longer.  But you have to make sure to eat and even possibly take a protonic for your stomach as you can suffer a bleed quite easily on ibuprofen (though I haven't, thank God.)

Also, for my arthritis in my back, I love a soak in the tub.  I used to have a jacuzzi tub in my old house and I sooo miss it.  And the ThermaCare heating wraps are a lifesaver for me.  Heat works much better for me with the arthritis and the thermacare lasts 6 to 8 hours.  I try to stock up on them when they go on sale and/or when I have a coupon or get them at Costco where the cost is much less.

It is definitely a matter of "tweaking" everything to see what works best for you.
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Avatar universal
you know you are right about ole aleve,i experiment so much with nsaids and the norcos i sometimes forget about aleve.i used to take bextra til they took it off the market...it takes a while for aleve to kick in i found and that is where the narcotics come into play.they work quick,but they fall off pretty quick on me..so, i will have to keep tweeking it and see what i can come up with..
Helpful - 0
82861 tn?1333453911
I've got arthritis in my hips and can honestly say that narcotics don't help much with bone pain.  Naproxen (Aleve) works pretty well at a prescription dose.  Ask your doctor about Aleve or any other prescription anti-inflammatories.  Cox-II inhibitors like Celebrex are another option, but after all the bad press they received a few years ago your doctor may not even want to entertain them.  Worth a discussion anyway.  :-)
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