effect of time of norco use on withdrawal

[camsmom88]

My son who is now 23 has been taking Norco for pain since he broke his neck in 2005. He now takes 6 Norco per day(sometimes 8) with Baclafen 10 mg - 6 per day and diclofinac 75 mg 2 per day.  He is taking a rigorous college course to work in the medical field and as he comes closer to completion of the course he is more concerned that he will not be hired because of these medications.  He wants to stop using them because of this and because he is so tired of taking them and still not feeing well, is concerned about the long term effects on his body, and because he is ashamed that he takes them. He is ready to find out how much of his pain is "real" and how much is from his dependence on the drugs.  He has been able to get down to three per day, but he did not know how to proceed without suffering withdrawal symptoms.  He is often depressed and has tried at least 3 anti-depressants but did not stay on them. Will the withdrawal be more difficult/painful because he has been taking Norco for so long? He is terrified of the withdrawal process and would like to do the rapid detox method.  I have not seen very many positive opinions on this method, so I would like to know what people on this site think.  Not to mention that the cost is prohibitive. We would like to try the detoxification for him during his 10 day spring break. Would that be enough time?  Would it be a mistake to try the detox then? Lately he is unable to concentrate enough to keep up with the course that he is taking and blames the medications for that. Where do we go from here?

[kyle505]

I've been abusing pain meds for well over ten years; this last go round was Norco 10s, 8 to 10 a day for over a year. I'm 13 days clean today. I can't speak to the other meds he's taking, how they interact with the Norco. I can offer an opinion - he will probably have a difficult withdrawal, but the 10 day break would probably work. Tapering is good, eventually he's just going to have to stop, make the jump. One very positive thing is, he is young, and that will help. Take it from me, the older you get, the more hellish the cold turkey detox process becomes. bmdad is correct - encourage him to visit this site and read. He will find support, practical advice about getting through the detox, and lots of stories - hundreds - about others who've struggled and made it.

[bmdad]

I don't have any person experience with the rapid detox, but from what I have read, it's not the way to go.

I too started taking pain meds due to a injury. If taken long enough withdrawals are just part of the process. While taking them it's hard to know how much pain we actually have because when we decide to stop we get "rebound pain". It usually subsides after a week or two.

There's noway to completely avoid withdrawals even when tapering. Many choose to just go cold turkey and get it over with. Tapering helps minimize the withdrawals but it also drags them out. You just have to ask yourself if you'd rather feel uncomfortable for a month or while tapering or feel very uncomfortable for about a week.

I think spring break would be a great time to detox. That's what I would do if it were me.

You should try and get your son to come on here and post for advice. Even if he's not addicted he will still get so much of the needed support. Many of us were in his exact position in the past.

Best of luck to you and your son!




Brian