After Weaning Off Vicodin(norco) ?

[TheWoodApe]

I have a back issue that has, for the past six years, required a moderate amount of painkillers to manage. For these six years i've maintained at about 37.5mg a day, rarely straying. But the side effects of the Vicodin seemed to have surpassed the benefits; to be honest i dont know if i actually get any pain relief....just relief from the constant nagging that such a drug exhibits after taking hold.

So i decided to stop the meds. Since the 17th of November I have been weaning from my prescribed dose, 4 10mg Norcos a day, down to 1.5 pills a day. Every 3 days i take the dose down by 1/2 a pill and then maintain that for another 3 days. I've managed to cut the pills into fairly small doses so that throughout the day i can maintain and so far so good.

But how far should i take this weaning process? I'm beginning to get impatient and have prepared myself for a few days of nastiness to achieve a greater good. Do I continue the process down to 1/2 of a pill? Or do i maintain 1 pill for 3 days and then just stop entirely?

At what point do the benefits of this weaning process level off and the time comes to just stop? Will there be a big difference between stopping at 1 pill a day (10mg) compared to stopping after 1/2 a pill a day (.5mg) ?

I appreciate any and all input ;)

[gnarly_1]

Hey dude just checking to see if you made the jump today or not ???
keep us up to date on whats going on we will try to help you threw the withdrawals
try not to let fear into the equation its always worst in our minds then it turns out to be
you can do this Dude you just got to make the jump.......Gnarly

[jeffclowns]

i agree with gnarly if your down to one a day what's the use of prolonging it, i mean there is no way to feel 100% when going through this process and the process itself kinda helps cause in my opinion and that's all it is..it shows most people what they don't want to go through again but whatever works for you to get off the little devils that's what you do but just make sure it does happen because you will love life being free on painkillers and will come out of that zombie thing you were talking about,i know that feeling but it does get better so stay strong and i wish you the best.god bless you.jeff.

[TheWoodApe]

Thanks for the input. I'm leaning heavily towards detox after the last 3 days of weaning at 10mg a day. The variation in WD symptons from case to case, and my history, seem to indicate that i will do just fine with this setup.

Thanks for the encouragement =)

[DayToTry]

Not everyone gets terrible withdrawal from 2 pills a day.  Everyone is different.  I was taking 3 pills a days and had minimal WD. I read other people's stories and I consider myself lucky.

I was very achy (but I still ache, I just do, not as bad as those first days), some diarrhea but minimal not like others talk about, but quite a lack of energy and lack of motivation.

So don't be discouraged.  You might be like me from a lower dose. Good luck in whichever chose you make.

[gnarly_1]

HI....many of our members myself included do a lot better off the meds then on them
your brain can make its own natural endorphins if givin a chance you may experience something call rebound pain for a wile after you stop it will go away...life is so much better narcotic free....I agree totally with the stretching exercise that and 800mg ivbuprofine
does the trick for me....there was a time I was taking 150mg of methadone
it great to be free from that crap....if you down to one pill just jump you wont feel great for a few days but jumping from 1 pill shouldn't be to bad good luck and God bless....Gnarly  

[TheWoodApe]

Norco's are indeed an acute pain reliever, or at least thats how it certainly feels (10 min of pain free goodness in exchange for 2 hours of anticipation of the NEXT 10 min? Sign me up! hey, waitaminute....)

But I rarely ever took 10mg at once and when i did it seemed as though i had maybe an hour to hour and a half of quality pain-free time. The next logical step would be to increase dosage, a possibility presented by my Dr, but i can't stand the psychological addiction. For a long time its seemed as though i could only enjoy things when they coincided with my next dose...and when i didn't have one i would just stand around yawning (anyone else experience this?)

So even though an increase or change of medication is one of my few, reasonable as my Dr tells it, options i just don't think its worth the negative side effects. Carrying around pills, ducking off to take one out of view and dealing with pharmacies is just depressing beyond description.

[TheWoodApe]

Thats a good point about the dosage. A 5mg dose in a day would probably provide quite the "buzz" (though i hate to use that term im lacking the vocabulary...) to a non-user. I'm tempted to just STOP after my 3 days at 1 10mg dose a day....but i have been pretty good at cutting these bad boys into smaller and smaller pieces. So im still debating whether or not to have a 3 day stretch at 5mg...

As to your other comment: I agree, it does seem as though the past few years all i've been doing is warding off the WD symptoms. That probably explains why i've been quite the zombie for awhile now. If theres one positive aspect to be appreciated from it, though, i suppose that its forced me to assimilate to the pain level that's always present thanks to my injury. I've been noticing an increasing tolerance to pain but when a Rx like this is in the mix it tends to cloud the mind.

[petroglyph54]

Dunno? But arn't the norco's supposed to be an acute pain reliever as in short lasting? If your taking the 10mg's all at once, at least for me that'd be worn off in at least 12 hours? If the med is only lasting 12 hours or so, maybe you could jump ship versus continuing weaning therapy. Nobody seems to get out for free, I mean a bit of uncomfort, so the sooner it's out of your system, the sooner you can start logging your clean time! Whee, this stuff is easy,{NOT}

[NearlyInsane]

One other comment - after taking the same dose of norcos for 6 years, they probably weren't doing anything for you anymore (other than as you guessed - to keep the withdrawal symptoms at bay).  Tolerance increases quickly on these pills, which is why they aren't really appropriate for chronic pain.

[NearlyInsane]

It might actually make a fairly big difference.  I understand the impatience tho... I'm doing the same thing & am at about the same dose.  I've had 1 norco today.  Someone posted on here that they were having massive withdrawal symptoms from stopping 2 norcos/day, so I dunno what 1 will do.  At this point tho, I'm thinking hey might as well see if I can go a day or so without any & if I start to feel like crap I could take a half pill, & go back to weaning - just taking tiny doses.

One thing to remember, tho - 1/2 a norco is still a full dose of 5mg vicadin, so even tho it doesn't seem like a lot 5 mg hydrocodone used to knock me out like a truck.

BTW I've had major improvements in my chronic back pain from stretching & exercising too - after 10 years of being in horrible pain & thinking I'd never get better.  So I don't think it's all in your head!

[TheWoodApe]

Wolf,

Thanks for the input, mucho gracias.

To manage pain I find that moderate exercise and frequent stretching helps a lot, like....crazy amounts. I come from a fairly athletic background so that could be all placebo (but i will  totally take it).

As to other methods ive found that as i've weaned off the meds I've not seen a noticeable increase in pain....at all (kinda freaky actually), thusly confirming my long time suspicion that the meds only seem to distract FROM pain rather than relieve it. But i still most definitely hurt all the time; its just that im used to it. For the times when it HAS become intolerable during the weaning process i use OTC meds like Excedrin which, while lacking the warm fuzzy blanket around the head feeling of the norcos, very much work.

[Wolfmedicine]

Hey Wood,

My opinion, (we all know what those are like) is that it won't make a big difference from stopping where you are at one Norco vs. a half.  As long as you have your mind right that in order to achieve your goal and are ready for Flu like symtoms for a fews days and you want to do this, you are Golden.  

What's your plan for your ongoing back pain though?