Help - My Prescription Runs Out Before the Month Does!

[Puckster12]

Hydro addict admittedly BUT I was in severe pain for 5 years before I started taking them.  I have a degenerative disease that causes severe pain and the meds make me feel better.  I don't know what is worse though the vicodin addiction or the pain without the meds.  I got addicted after long term use but I swear the pain was unbearable even before I started them.  I've tried every  pain killer under the sun and the vics help me feel normal when I have them.  I've been without for 2 days now and I'm dying.  I've been on them for about 8 months.  Any advice?

[Cobra07]

Oxy? As in Oxycontin, Oxymorphone, Oxycodone? Have you ever tried any of those? The Oxy's work better for me than the Hydro's for pain relief.

[mtgoat911]

i have learned to live with hep c and back injuries without narcotics, i have several methaods that i use
what type of degenerative disease to oyu have?
xo

[Puckster12]

i live in michigan, it snows everyday!  It's cold 8 months of the year.  I never thought about the cold being bad for the pain, but you're right!  

[Puckster12]

thanks for the encouragement.  the pain is coming back.  when i go without pills i get the achy pain in my neck and shoulders from withdrawal and that is now gone, but now the lower back pain is back (which is what i suffer from that i took the vics for).  it's unbearable and now i remember precisely why i got hooked on the vics in the first place.  my newest prescription comes tuesday and im afraid ill take them to feel better.  i'm not making excuses!  i don't know if i can live with this pain but i dont want my whole life to focus on pills either.  i havent gone the route of trying to get them from people or off the street, my pattern has been the last 2 or 3 months is I run out, I suffer until the prescription is refilled and then i'm good for 3+ weeks of the month.   this is crazy!  

[worried878]

I was just talking with someone about humidity and pain..i feel like i live in a rain forest...oiur humidity is always in the 90..97% is not unusual..it will suffocate u..even now the humidity is in the 90s and it is 70 sumpin outside..overcast and sticky...people with allergies suffer/or sinus problems...which i have both then the back thing..i do think it adds to pain levels...i washed my carport last satuday as mildew was growing on it due to the constant moisture..it was not dry on Monday!  I love my family and friends here but i do think about moving to a place with less humidity and crisper air...when it is 97% humidity, it doesnt leave u much air to breathe and i agree that it intensifies pain levels

[broknbck]

i had to deal with pain also when i quit. so i lived in the midwest and humidity was actually causing alot of my pain and really cold weather. so i moved out to the desert-Arizona and it has made a huge difference. i was just in mich for the holidays and my back was killing while i was there and now back home it is fine.
of course moving away from everyone vs pain. i know there really is no perfect answer but at least i am clean for 1 year and no problems. do alot of flying home though.

[struggling_college_student]

I would agree that you need to really think about whether or not you want your entire future to include pills.  Every day having to worry if you have enough to make it.  Alot of times when our bodies are used to receiving opiates and we take them away it will "trick" us into thinking we are experiencing more pain than what is reality.  After your body gets used to not getting the drug it will balance out and then you can see what kind of REAL pain you are dealing with, maybe motrin or a Rx NSAID could help??  Anyways I really will root for you to quit, these pills turn people into shells of their former selves.  I am almost on 10 days clean and am just starting to break out of that shell abd really feel ALIVE......not looking for a pill or stressing about where to buy them(my health insurance ran out and I was buying 10mg norcs off the street for $3 a piece and I had a 10-15 a day habit, got VERY EXPENSIVE)  I started lying and doing things that were NOT ME.  I was so scared of not having them but somehow stumbled across this site and it has helped me so much thru this whole process of getting clean and healthy!!!  Good Luck!!

Jeff

[worried878]

agree..if what u r taking is not lasting..then this cycle every month will get very tiresome...alternative pai relief using things like heat and ice, exercise like yoga, massage and chiropractic all helped me...either time to think about quitting the narcotics or to talk to your doctor about extended release meds...do you feel you take them to feel normal or for the pain?  my pain was not really being helped at the end by my doc due to tolerence..i was using to feel normal.i sent u a pm

[christos24]

you should really consider along with your doctor about trying a long lasting opiate/opioid. i know you said youve tried tons of different pain medications, but maybe some of these you havent. and plus there has been advances in preparations for opiates taht were only able to be taken a certain  way...for long lasting strong potency pain relief, and sinec you admitt that you have an addiction to hydros you might as well ty suboxone or subutex, the main drug in it is buprenorphine, which is 25-40% stronger than morphine, so its quite potent, suboxone tablets are taken by placing the octagon pilll under the tongue adn elrtting it dissolve into your veins under your tongue, if you takes it a different eay like orally or shoot it up it will render the buprenorphine uselss and the other drug in suboxone in a much smaller quantity is naloxone, a opiate antagonist( used in hospitals to revive someone from a opiate wd), the tablets are 8mgs bupe and 2mgs naloxone, taken correctly the naloxone is ineffetive. a great thing about suboxone is that it is used as a treatment aid for opiate addicts, it last for a two days, the average half-life is 37hrs, which is hella long, and it gets rid of any physical wd's from any other opaite and also haults the cravings for hydroc or wahtever opiate...since youve only been on hydrocodone for 8 months your wd wont be too terible, yeah it wont be a walk in the park as youve noticed, but its not too late and youre catching it super early avoiding 20times as bad wds and cravings. subutex is straight buprenorphine instead of the bupe w/ naloxone, that is primarily used for the first few days of treatment furing detox, but in Europe buprenorphine has reached an epidemic especially in france where the brand name temgesic(buprenorphine) is shot uo or taken other ways and kids get high..it is a good med for pain control and also great for recovery froom any severity of addiction..going CT just like for methadone as well is strongly discouraged, it will give you wd's that wont show for five days and teh last for two months and theyre horrible, but if you are honest with your doc and go at a smart pace and have a plan, you can taper your dose down slowly and you can get off very easily....the best idea is to not only see you pain specialist or primary doc whichever oen you have but also an addiction specialist as well, adn they will discuss what the best next step for you is...and this is not super serious either, hydrocodone(most ppl know it as vicodin or norcos) is a medium potency opioid and even if you went cold turkey right now you would be in a moderate to severe discomfort and probably not sleep too good without a good sleep aid but it will only be for 5-7 days at most..and once its over its over...youre statement, "I don't know what is worse the vicodin addiction or the pain without the meds.", im sure you feel the pain from wds is wrose but thats only becasue the hydrcodone has changed your brains opiate recptors and neurotransmitters to make you body creat pain or make an existing pain issue flare up and seem soo much worse than it really is...since they ahve you on hydrocodone and youve tried a bunch of other oens my question is waht is the pain from? cuz hydrocodone is suaually given at urgent cares or quick visits for falls, minor accidents, a terrible couugh, and it does help moderate pain, but if this pain you feel is so bad that you need to be on an opiate pain med to feel okay then i think the addiction has complete control here. opiates of course make you feel great and okay and better yet they make you forget all about taht nagging back or injury you have, but a few months down the road your curled up in aball vomiting and shooting poop at the same time (sorry for the gross ness but ive been through it hunfred of times), the other long lasting opiates/opioids are methadone(last 24-36hrs., very strong analgesic, very addictive, mainly used for treatment for addition, but is becoming more an more common for chronic pain relief), then there is oxycontin(time release oxycodone) and ms contin(morphine time release), both of these have become major abuse problems in the us and worldwide, ppl find that after sucking the coating off and chopping the pill up you get all the oxycodone all at once giving a rush identical to heorin. there is opana ER( oxymorphone- very very potent, stronger than heroin, but in a time release provides pain relief all day), then there is now fentanyl patches that last up to 72 hrs, theya re measured in micrograms and is super potent about 9 times as strong as H.fentanyl w/o the patch only alst 2 hrs max and has a super rush, but is significantly slowed down from the patches time release mechanism..i would 100% stay away from the oxycontin or mscontins theya re terrible opioids that destroy lives, and opana, fentanyl, and methadone....not doubting the pain you have but sicne you are on hydros which means its not too severe i would maybe try tapering your dose a little each week and then once low enough like 2 a day switch over to tramadol or codeine, both weaker potency opiates. tramadol last longer around 9 hrs. and can treat severe pain, but doestn produce the euphoria anda ll the great effects junkies are looking for, its mostly used either legitimally or used to ease wds froms tronger opiates. i did that once along with benzos, ambien, and clonidine(which is very very helpful during wds). the one thing about tramadol is that it is addictive too and if you takeit for voer a year and suddenly just go CT then you will experience wds and have the possibility of seizxures and convulsions, since it also acts a rapidly short acting anti depressant hanging levels of the seritonin and noradrenaline in your brain..so you would need to taper off of that if you are on it longer than 3 mths, which i doubt you would be...then codeine is a weak basic opiate, its msot commonly found it tylenol #3(w/ 30mgs of codeine w/500mg tylenol), it gives a little opiate buzz, little euphoira, relaxation, etc, but it is very useful in going through wds from strong opiates and controlling moderate pain. it is very easy to taper from also...i think you should talk to your doc get an addiction specialist/therapist and use suboxone..it will control your chronic pain and will also keep from using/abusing any other opiate. it ahs a blockade effect and you can use more and more and more opiates after not taking suboxone for two days and yout still not going to feel a single thing, it takes a week or longer to get any feeling of other opiates back, but it is invaluable for opiate addiction treatment and long lasting pain control..best of luck to you-christos

[tim772]

I am going on day seven and I hope the worst is over. I was taking for 2.5 years.  As for my pain I am researching acupuncture now and will give that a try.  For now dealing with it the best I can.  It is still better than being controlled by "the little devil pills"

[dominosarah]

I have arthritis in my hip and pars fractures in my back......before i quit taking pills i took 18 vicoprofen a day and i still hurt.......Now that i have been clean for over 8 months i can actually take 800 mg of motrin and it works.  My pain actually got better after i got off the meds.

[Puckster12]

tim, how long you been clean?

studio, thanks.

does anyone have any suggestions for pain relief without hydro?  trust me, ive tried everything.  my mom, sister and grandmother all suffer from the same disease.  my sister and mom said they'd rather be pill poppers than in pain everyday.  i dunno what to do.

[tim772]

Yeah that's how it starts for most of us, just for the pain.  I got up to taking 12 a day.  I would always run out, then unfortunately would by off the street until I could re-up my own.  This lasted over two years.  You will fell like dieing for the next few days, but you will survive. Look around on the site and you will find ways to get some relief from the runs, leg tremors, headaches etc.  Now is the time to consider other alternatives and maybe stay off the hydro's.  If you decide to continue then you need a game plan. Have someone you trust keep medication and give you the dose you need when needed,  If not  I promise you will end up like most of us on this site. That is, little pills controlling you. You will become a clock watcher, a liar, a sneak and more.  Think hard on this one, the decision you make is going to have a serious affect on your life.
Read the treads on the site and determine if this is what you want to become, because you will with the way you are now.
Good Luck

[studiogirl]

Well do you want to quit or get through the month?  Either way the withdrawals will be rough but YOU CAN DO IT.  It wont kill you.  It might be time to start thinking about quitting, I know its hard to imagine life without pills but I think you know deep down that its the right thing to do.