Fighting my opiate/prescription drug addiction

[lilccc]

Hello, I am 26 years old and for about 3 years (going on 4) I've been taking Norcos 10m. It started with me just taking them here and there and now its progressively gotten worse. At one point I was taking about 5-6 a day... over the year I've reduce my dosage to about 2-3 a day. I want off of them and have wanted to for the last 2 and half years. The problem is I don't know how. I don't have medical insurance so treatment is not an option. Every time I get close, I relapse. I know all the damages they do and Ive seen myself progressively loose interest in my goals and sadly I feel my brain and learning capabilities are suffering.
My question is how do I get off them FOR GOOD and how long will it take for my brain to finally get back to normal? Any tips or direction will help me for I have no support... not even from family... in fact they give them to me sometimes... and Ive begged them for help but still nothing; although, they are suffering from addiction too. I need guidance so bad. Any suggestions of out patient programs... that are free? or affordable? I know I did this to myself, but I am begging for help because I really want this part of my life to be done.

[lilccc]

Hey Debbie, disregard that last sentence. It was a typo. but to answer your questions from before, no my bf doesnt use. Hes a positive influence. He just doesnt like my mood swings of course. Last night i woke up about 4 times. I have had some clean time last year. Id say ive had a total of 3 months in the last 3 years. the first year wasnt constant use. Today I dont feel too bad.. Just the hot flashes. Im going to try those meds you suggested. Thanks again for all the help. Still no desire to use.

[Ballgame]

There is no magic answer which stinks. You're brain needs time to adjust and reduce the receptors. When the receptors aren't filled/blocked by pain meds is withdrawal.  It's not easy and only one way to actually stay off. You have to want to truly be off

[lilccc]

yea i actually bought melatonin today ....ill see how it goes i already feel restless where i cant sleep but i really don care.it hasnt been that bad...:) but yea the uncontrollable sweats are what im scared of ... and no i dont have a doc to help me out... im hoping i can do it naturally ... its possible right?? ughhhh crossing my fingers- u cant be my LUCK

[atthebeach]

you are welcome Christa.
that's good you don't like the Xanax. yes they do cause a hangover the next morning.
you can try melatonin, alteril or sleep by nature made they are natural otc sleep aids and they work great. no hangover.
were you getting the Norco from a doctor? the reason I ask is because he can prescribe clonidine to help with the sweats and anxiety associated with detox. it is a blood pressure med and is prescribed a lot to help with the withdrawal symptoms.
if you don't have a doctor or cant afford the visit.
you can use immodium and/ or Benadryl they also will help with the sweats.
make sure you are staying hydrated and that you are eating.
how are you feeling?
after 4 years of use it will take time for you to heal. keep moving forward, taking the vitamins, fruits, veggies and protein. a balanced diet,
exercise, support groups, church, counseling.
each day you will feel better. you might have waves here and there but keep pushing. there are milestones that we use, 30, 60,90 days.
in these 4 years have you had any clean time?
is your bf clean?

[lilccc]

Hi Debbie, thanks for responding! dont worry i have no pills here but the sleeping aids.... and i promise you that i wont get addicted to the xanax ... i actually hate them... i hate the way they make me feel for the first 5-6 hours of my next day..today im feeling fine enough to not take any tonight... my OLD drug of choice was def the norcos. they always have been. Ive never been so determined to have them out of my life forever; im tired of making myself sick. but as for the withdrawl- Im mostly now concerned with the hot flashes and sweats... how long does it usually last? I have a second interview for a job i REALLYYY want next monday (22nd)  ... just nervous that if a question gets asked that im not sure of I will start breaking out into a sweat... bc im noticing that the hot flashes and sweats come when i get flustered, nervous, anxious.... do you know any natural tricks that can make the sweats go away sooner (i was thinking maybe DayQuil) ... not sure though... bought the entire "amino acid protocol" so i know im on the right track with my brain getting back to normal. thanks again for being here for me. i really dont have much support.
Christa

[atthebeach]

that's great  so you should be over 24 hours clean.
keep it going. get rid of any pills that you have left. if you have them around you will be tempted to take them.
be careful with the Xanax it is very easy to cross addictions.

get that support plan in place to help prevent relapse.
recovery is a marathon not a sprint.
you have to work on your recovery daily.
let us know how your day went?
sending you healing and health,
debbie

[lilccc]

Thank you for all your advice. Its very encouraging... my last use was yesterday and it was only a 5m. so yesterday afternoon was having the hot flashes, weakness, restlessness. i took a quarter of Xanax to put me to sleep. I woke up today feeling almost normal but now im starting to feel the aches, restless, chills, sweats again... but all and all its pretty mild and surprisingly i don't feel much depression... in the past the depression was extremely severe. I think its more or less that I really want to be done with them this time. so today I am going to buy some vitamins and have a BBQ with my boyfriend. Trying to stay busy. Please help me through this and I promise I will post if I feel myself getting weak to use but as of right now i have no desire.

[Overwhelmed10]

Just wanted to offer my support and encouragement, other posters have given you excellent advice.  I had gotten down to 2 , 10 mg Percocet a day at end of my addiction, and it was still hard on me coming off.  But I concentrated on staying hydrated, trying to eat light foods and a bit of exercise, as awful as that part sounds!  I needed to have Immodium for stomach issues.  You CAN do it.  After day 4, the acute physical symptoms eased up.  You will be so happy once you have that first week under your belt.  Good luck and keep posting!

[LisaH_NYC]

Hi there. I was at a low dose of my drug of choice, Tramadol, and I was taking 3 pills a day for the last year at least of  my using, and I found it too hard to wean (willpower was weak, withdrawal kicked in and I would cave in and not wean properly) so I just took the plunge and did it cold turkey.
The first week is miserable, so if you can clear your calendar a bit to just be home, flush your supply, and post like a maniac, cry and sweat and lose sleep, it would be best. Then the next 3 weeks you will have various symptoms, but not as intense as that first week. And then by day 30 I felt almost normal, with the worst of the physical stuff over. If it was impossible, none of us would have done it, you are no less or worse than the rest of us, you are simply an addict who is reaching her bottom and there is no where to go but up. If I can do it, you can. I have 51 days today and I feel so much better.

[lilccc]

wow congrats on being off them... and thank you for the advice... Im going to buy the Passion Flower tomorrow. I have two more days left of them and then after that im going to stop. im nervous... From my past experiences of trying to quit I suffered from terrible depression, irritation, and i just wasnt happy unless i was drinking... any suggestions on that? also, how long have you been clean?

[lilccc]

Thank you for your response and advise. I know my dosage amount right now is not that bad but for some reason i cant kick them completely. Last time I kicked them was about a year ago and I was off of them for about a month (mostly only bc I was away working out of state) but once I came back i "justified" taking them again to myself slowly.. and then it became everyday slowly.. and now I am back to where I started. Any advice on how to fight the urge to not make that mistake of taking them again? I know for a fact that this time I really want it. I just dont know how to fight that feeling of wanting them that feeling of how they make me feel. Thank you again for the help...  

[toes1]

  2or3 a day aint bad . It hurts every time u cut back on dosage for about a week. U can take half a pill 3 times a day. Andsuffer for another week.then stop completely. About 1 week restless sleep,some depression,sore muscles,and pretty strongcravings to relapse......... passion flower extract@whole foods really take the edge off. 2nd week clean cravings deminish to short 15 min cycles maybe 3 times a day. Find something to do start a new task,post,showering really helps. If pills are available youwill relapse.......once u decide to give 2 weeks ,only 1st bad, throw thepills away. Do not hide 4 or 5 just in case. All it takes is2 weeks.
I took    60 to 100mg narco daily that had to be chased with 24 beers daily for over 8 yrs

[ricart70]

Hi sorry but it is kind of slow around here right now. You can do this and coming off of 2-3 norcos won't be too bad. You just have to really want to be done and if you have to cut contact with your family then that is something you will have to do until you get some good clean time. It will take about 5 days for you to start feeling better ,give or take ,and at day 30 you should be feeling way better. Most of us did not know the it just takes time and that kept us relapsing over and over because we just thought that how we felt at a few days clean is just how we were going to feel for the rest of our life. Set a date and quit and stay hydreted and keep posting for support. I am sure some others will come on here and give you some more support,tricks and tips. You can do this !!  best wishes