Help

[kansas14]

I am in desperate need of kicking my Hydrocodone habit. But I am terrified. I did it once before with inpatient treatment and a four day hospital stay. I actually got very very sick.  I was clean for over a year until I had surgery and now im out of control. I want to kick this so bad, but I fear that I am taking way too much and don't know If I can handle the withdrawal. Its been ten hours since my last dose, I take about 30 10mg a day about ten at a time. Yeah , I know !!! any suggestions? Im falling apart with worry. I gotta do this.

[troubleinohio]

whoa....i wish i could delete posts myself because you totally need to disregard the misinformation above by SToppin Poppin!!! TRAMADOL IS A NARCOTIC! It is a synthetic opiate and it is very addictive and I would not recommend trying it to help the WD's! I personally almost fell into the same trap myself not very long ago. I took a couple of them for about 3 days in a row and then stopped because Ive been here long enough to know th horror stories involving tram! It also is not easy to taper off of... Stoppin Poppin where did you get your misinformation from?? Im not trying to be a ***** but your info is totally wrong and could lead someone down a bad road..

Kansas, Im wishing you the best of luck in quitting. You can do this. You've been taking up to 30 pills a day? Each one is 500 mg acetominophen (as per your statement) . Did you the daily cap on aceto is 4000 mg? After that liver damage occurs? You have to quit if you want to live. You are way over the daily cap, every day. Toxic levels.

Hang in there, you can do this!

[StoppinPoppin]

I am currently on a Norco kick. I was taking about 8 or 9 at a time a few times a day. I have found that Tramadol is a huge help in coming off them. For me it helps with all the WD symptoms, even for taking up to 300mg (30x10mg) of vic a day. I have tried coming off of them using Xanax, Lorazepam, ambien and lunesta for sleep, nyquil somas, flexril, trazodone, methodone or just anything i could take. Nothing worked as good as the tramadol is. Currently though, i am taking seven 50mg Tramadols at a time. Sometimes twice a day. Most of the time. It is not an opiate or even a narcotic but does wonders for my symptoms and sleep. And it is easy to taper off of because of not being an opiate. Problem is, no doc is going to prescribe you to take seven or fourteen a day, even to start out with, so running out before your next refill is a prob i'm facing. Just gotta taper faster i guess. Or just grind it out through the day and save the seven for night time to sleep. There really is no easy way of kicking it without spending $7K for anesthetic detox or naltrexone injections (or pills). I would give it a go with the  trams if you havent tries yet. it sounds like you take (or took) about the same mg's of hydro every day the same as i did and it is working for me so it should work for you. best of Luck bud i feel your pain....literally....right now.

[MEECHI33823]

You can't use at all and you know if you fill the script your going to eat them. Do you have any idea about what that much tylenol at 500 a pill does to your liver? You don't get another chance when your livers gone. that freaked me out so I took vicoprofin! that is a joke who was I kidding they all kill us slowly but surley. You need a pain management specialist. I still have my kicks but the edge is gone due to anti depressants and a time released pain medication. you can't get a high from. It still is not good for us. 58 hours clean still having D.T.s  Good luck and God bless

[toxictome]

That is a HIGH dose...I remember sometimes i could get the yellow watsons...started w/ 1,   later needed 2,  tried 3 a couple of times and the buzz wasn' tany better..so I said NO...can't do that...but it doesn't matter how much we took or how long we took them..it 's why we took them and we are all here for the same reason...to STOP taking them.
AAHHHH..I remember when life was so simple...before alcohol and drugs...I can't wait for that serenity to come back...i know that feeling and it WILL come again soon.....

[worried878]

right there with you...used to kinda fun...just a big bore that controls my life now...keep posting....how do you plan on quiting...you need to make a plan

[kansas14]

Yep, generic Lortabs 10mg hydro/500 mg tylenol,APAP, Acetometaphin, Watson is just the name of the generic brand. I don't know how I managed to get to that high of dose. I remember when I first took lortab about 5 years ago after my wisdom teeth got taken out, I had never taken pain killers, I had no idea that they gave you a buzz, I was hurtin and I took em just as perscribed. I took two 5mg and was soaring. Now I barely feel anything and I take the equivalent of 20 of those at a time. its sickening.

[toxictome]

Chills, skin crawling, leg cramps are all symptoms of wd. Take a hot bath and use the heating pad for the legs.....it REALLY helped me.

Go to GoingToMakeIt profile and look up the Thomas Recipe to help w/ other things. Drink lots of fluids...you can take OTC pain meds (motrin, advil or aleve) to help w/ aches and pains.

I would NOT take the Tramadol, but just stick to the vics....I don't have any experience w/ it, that's just info I have picked up in these posts!  
I'm sure someone else will come along and help out w/ that!
Keep POsting. When so you see the sub Dr.?

[worried878]

Are watson 10s lortab/ hydrocodone..I think they are?   I was taking about a third of that a day....and I am feeling it as I taper down...

[kansas14]

I would like to say, I am so thankful for all the comments. I live alone and don't have a support group in place and don't want to turn to my family. They were there somewhat for me with the first episode and are just now coming around. Little do they know that for the past five months I have been in relapse. I did get my script refilled today and have taken some but not as many as I usally do. I had gone a day and a half without and the feeling of relief I was seeking overpowered my will to get clean. I can say however, that I took a huge step today and let a friend in on my situation. I turned over my remaining pills, (40) to him and told him to "administer them to me only when It became unbearable. I already wish I hadn't taken any today, which I took 20 tens since 11am today, but believe it or not, thats less for me. I did get my tramadol refilled, and scheduled an appt with a suboxone dr. so Its starting to look like I have a few options.
I know using Tramadol to get off of hydros is a horrible Idea, but I don't go quite so crazy with the tramadol, because I don't like the high. I turned these over to my friend too. My plan, until my appt with the Suboxone dr. is to go as long as I can stand it and then take a small dose of tramadol. If I have it my way, I won't touch my remaining Hydros. Everyone says to use Benzo's to help, but believe it or not, Ive never in my life taken one, and am scared to. what if I like those too. Thats just my personality. I get hooked on everything. I can honestly say that I am a chinese food junkie as well, if you know what I mean.

So if anyone has a better plan for me, which Im sure you do, please share it. I am dedicated to getting clean for good, but the runny nose, diahrreah, aches and pains are so terrifying that I usually fail at sticking to a plan.

Also, does anyone have any input on the chills, this is by far the hardest w/d symptom for me and the one that causes me to relapse the most. I guess Im a sissy, but that feeling of being freezing cold but sweating under any heavy clothes or blankets is miserable. I also get those "skin crawling" feelings and horrible leg cramps. Any suggestions. I can deal with the diarreah, and runny nose. and as as crazy as it sounds, am probably at a small advantage when it comes to the emotional part of W/D which can easily be the hardest part for some, because Ive done this once before, and I know that eventually that feeling of not being able to enjoy life without pills, does in fact subside and you really enjoy life again. I just can't take the physical w/d symptoms. and the doses that Im used to are putting me at a terrible disadvantage.

How far above the average abuse dose am I??? I average 30-35 Watson 10's a day.

Thanks again, this site has been a godsend, I appreciate every post and you all help more than you could ever know. just the motion of striking these keys and getting my situation in the open feels like a two ton brick lifted off my shoulders. God bless you all.

[Chi_Chi_Lover]

Suboxone is very expensive and most insurance doesn't cover it. I was taking 30 10mg hydro a day for 4 years. I did a slight taper which I don't think made any difference in the withdrawals but some disagree. I had 2 weeks of hell and a few months of depression. You can do it the time you have put into getting the pills, having enough of the pills to get you through etc. Put that time into getting healthy. You can do it if you really want to. Just know you are not going to feel normal again for a while but is this any way to live? Also, the Thomas Receipe did nothing for me if you can get some xanax just to get you through the rough times and to help sleep Only for a short period of time it will help wonders,

[newllama]

This site has been amazing.  I never knew so many people were going through what I was...  You can stay really busy and focused if you just read the threads throughout the forum.  Someone will always have any anser to any question you have.  Also, I know a few people who used the suboxone and they say it's like magic...  However it can be difficlut to get off of.  But it's definetly worth it if you dont think you can c/t...  Especially the honest to God time perspective Mike put on it.  Really though, try the Thomas recipee and pick up a Snickers at the store, you might have some sugar cravings.

[liscamdave]

If you are still there, please listen to me, you were taking a pretty high amount, probably one of the highest I have seen besides myself, But please know that the w.d you are going through is not at all life threatening. It is painful and you think you are dying, but you can get through it, believe me. If you need some help or advice, let me know if you are on...I'll b here for another hr or so So just feel free to send me a pm, or a message, I am here to help you in any way I can...

Lisa

[flmagi]

Welcome to the forum. Finding this forum and the people here is one of the best things you could have done for yourself. I think most of us feel this way. We're all here to help each other. And soon you'll be on your way to getting clean.  I can't really add much to what everyone has already said and suggested. As usual, great advice. So, keep posting and let us know what kind of clean up your concidering. We'll help you with any option you decide.
Magi

[1234betterlife]

kansas, hi and welcome. we all can sympathize with how scary this can be. you have been in treatment before, you can do it again. none of us know you. only you know what you are capable of and how badly you want this to end. you have several options. suboxone is definately one of them. i think a two hour drive would be worth it to get a handle on the situation without fear. if you decide to go this route you need treatment. i would have never accomplished what i have without a very strong therapy system in place to prevent relapse. maybe together with short term sub you can get into a program that is time intensive or a group, psychiatrist. you will need something to assist you with the recovery, which is lifelong. that is where a lot of us fail. we can get clean but eventually it will come back, as you have discovered. without those tools all that work just goes out the window. please consider this option for yourself. you can private message me if you would like and we can discuss this further. all of us want you to succeed and we all know what it takes to do this. i have the thomas recipe on my profile as well and i am free to talk with you if you need to. just let me or any one of the group to assist you in making a decision. you sound very ready to get on with your life. i want you to succeed. we all do.

[enemy48]

Very well put Mike........about all the time spent on keeping a supply.

[MikeWithFamily]

Hi, Kansas, My name is Mike and I just read your post. Today is the first day of my recovery using Suboxone. It works very well, at least for me it is working great and I was convinced the only way to treat my addiction was a tapering plan, but now that I have takne my first dose of Suboxone, I realize I was wrong, and that this is the best way to go. Here is my story....I realized I needed help when I found myself taking 20 10's a day. That was last Thursday. I came to this site, and was flooded with responses from people wanting to help me. BELIEVE ME, this is the place to start developing a plan. Anyway, I made it to my doctor this morning; told him everything that was going on. Yes, he was taken aback a bit when I told him I was averaging 15 Norco a day, sometimes 20. However, he wanted to help. I'm very lucky because he was trained and licensed one year ago to deal with these situations and has a license to issue the suboxone to me. He had me fill the script and wanted me back in his office at 1pm, he wanted to monitor my reactions to the drug. Incredible is all I can say for what he is doing for me. The Suboxone removes the W/D symptoms, at least mostof them, I still have hot flashes and am a bit tired and light headed, but those are normal side effects. Anyway, I am on my way to getting back to who I am and that is an awesome feeling. I have alot of work to do, I know that because I have to deal with the triggers so they do not trip me up int he future.
I know you said you are along way away from a doctor, but if you want to kick this, you have to do something. Take out a pen and paper. Write down all the time you have spent on staying stocked with your drug, Remember all the time yo uput into researching where to find it? how to pay for it? all the driving you did to pick it up? Do you remember all the worrying you did wondering if your next dose was going to be in the mail..? Do you remember all the energy you put into being sure that you were not going to be out of stock? Well write all that down and take a peek at how much time you wrapped youself into your habit...and that was just to insure you were able to take them when you wanted. Now ask yourself, if you have to put in a fraction of the time to stop taking them, would it be worth it? What do you think your answer will be? Now, does that long drive to town seem that long anymore? Just put a fraction of the time that you put into your habit, into kicking the habit. Also, I know its scary, Believe me, I know...Believe everyone on this forum, WE ALL KNOW. Knowing that you cannot function without the hydro is stressful. But, now you know that there is an alternative out there...Suboxone. It is a drug that deals with the withdrawal symptoms and its working marvelously for me. Put some time into it Kansas, you will suceed. I truly understand how scary it is believing that the Hydro is the only thing that makes you feel normal, but I'm telling you, The Suboxone is an incredible alternative and although this is day one, I KNOW I WILL MAKE IT. If I can help further, please let me know.
Mike

[enemy48]

Before you do this, or in the beginning as right now, you need to drive over to the health food store and get the ingredients for the Thomas Recipe.  Do not take the Ltyrosine if you take anti-depress-----.  Thomas will help drastically with withdrawals.  

You'll need sleep aids.  Get from your doctor or friends.  Just a few.  Get some over the counter also.

Yes, keep the imodium in your back pocket along w/some depends. (lol)

Have your house stocked w/plenty of fluids & healthy foods.  You may crave sweets, so just a little of that.

Plan to go into work sick.  Like the flu.  You'll have to leave sick, and will be able to call in sick for the rest of the week.  Then you'll have the weekend also.  Monday will be a new week for U.

[kansas14]

I can't think of anyone I trust well enough right now to help me, I'd love to turn those 60 pills over to someone and curl up in a ball on the couch and say only give me some if I look like im about to die.  I just cant think of anyone. If I do... How should I divide them. Normally I take about ten (10mgs) at a time that really doesn't give me the buzz, it just keeps me slightly above normal.

[road2recovery]

I totally agree with enemy48

[enemy48]

7 tylenol 3's is nothing compared to your usual dosage.  You might want to just stop now b/c you're already well on your way to detox.

If not, then refill your script to be used only for a strict taper plan.  Lots of people fail w/tapers including myself.  

Do you have a close someone to dispense to you?  Someone to watch over you?  If not, don't worry, U have us.

But you seriously need to work out a scheduled plan for the upcoming days.

Let us know what you decide.

[kansas14]

First of all, wow !! thanks for the quick support, i wish I would have found this site a long time ago. I want to stop ASAP. I have researched suboxone on the net, but I live in a little town and the closest dr. that prescribes it is over 2 hours away. I don't have any valium or klonepin. I was due to get a refill of 60 tens in the morning, but Im afraid, I'll just blow through em. I took about 7 tylenol 3's today to avoid withdrawal, but Im starting to hurt already. I gotta keep working and putting on the appearance that everything is fine. I have taken some immodium. I know that helps from previous experience, but other than that...terrified.

[toxictome]

Since you have done this before, I strongly urge you to make a plan for the recovery..(.the mental part )after you are done detoxing! Without support in place, (like counseling, NA, some kind of support group) you are likely to realpse again....we need to deal w/ the core issues of why we use the drugs to feel better.....

Think about this while you are detoxing!!!  YOU can do it!!

[toxictome]

Welcome to the forum. You've come to a great place to get info.  You can ct (cold turkey) or taper (gradually cut down on the amt. you take) . Do you have anyone that knows who could dole out your pills to you if you taper?
When do you want to quit? You can get help here...just keep posting...others will give you some input.

Go to GoingToMakeIt profile and look for the Thomas recipe. Read thru that and buy the things you will need to make this as comfortable as possible.

Stop worrrrying and start making a plan...we will help you thru this!!  .good luck!

[gottaquit2]

wow thats a big dose .first calm down,do you have any valium or equivelent if you do take some if not drink some nyquil an sleep then if you can see a dr. see about suboxone a easy detox compared to cold turkey,if you are not out of vics.and have enough to tapper down start cutting your dose in half you wont get high but if you want to quit you gotta start now.