Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Hydrocodone addition?

I have been on Hydrocodone/APAP 7.5 MG for 7 months following a knee surgery.  My surgeon took me off but my regular doc. put me back on them.  I  am sleepy,  not wanting to do anything and in pain unless I take this medication, can I be hooked on this stuff and if so how do I get off it?
11 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
3 yrs ago my dr diagnosed me w endeometeryoses ,he started out giving me 20 7.5 hydros a month i took them as perscribed, 1st i never thought i would get addicted to them b/c all my life i had pills handed to me by friends and family i never took them ,my grandma was a very bad pill addict so i always gave what was given to me to her ,but after i moved 600 miles away from her is when the dr gave me my 1st script slowly i got hooked ,my husband has a disease called leaderhose and its very painful his dr gace him 240 10/325 a month he didnt take them much at 1st he just gave them to me but now he likes the relief from them although he is not addicted .so after he started his he would give me half then i woul run out and take some of his a yr ago my family dr put me on 240 10/325 mg hydro as well hubby and i made a deal he gets half of mine and i his however i lied to him and told him i only got 90 so i was getting a total of 315 pills a month i was taking sometimes 20-30 a day the last 6 months ,my marriage is in a hard place right now b/c of my lying time and time again over pills now he cant trust my word ,recently my dr put me on 4 7.5 a day of hydro in a locked pill thing th but u do bcome dependant on them its your body u cannot help that if u have pain .one last  it goes certain times every 6hrs also put me on 50 mg of tremadol 3x  a  have a very bad back carpel tunnel and the disease in my uterus so i need the pain meds but i lost control over time as mt tolerence got really high so the new locked timer thing is helping keep me in line so this program for this machine is new and its very reliable for those of us who became addicted and cant not take more ,i am so gr8ful 4 this as the pain wo meds 4 me is extreme ,remember that if u take them as perscribed the addiction is very low. but when abused the dependence becomes severe b4 u know it ,if u need your pain meds but r getting addicted maybe u could ask a pharmast of your dr about this program finally if one hydr doesnt help then c bout gettin tremadol i find that one hydro then an hr later if pain is still there one trem helps these two 2 gether help me in alot of ways also tremadol has antidepressant capabilities so i am actually noticing my mood increase alot talk to your doc be honest as i was they will help u thru this if u wanna wean off then ask bout the locked box program my dr said its new so it may be hard to find but your dr can help they know more than me this box im talking bout is at very least a gr8 way to wean off by your drs recomendation bc they can do like if you take 4 a day then it woul go sort of like 3 for a day or 2 maybe more days not a doc but it is a process it takes time and will power wo that box but it has helped me alot as i do not want to hurt my body and i got tired of bn an addict bn depressed bc of my addiction and lost motivation but now my life is gettin better every day i am happier more energetic and calmer...............good luck
Helpful - 0
231005 tn?1191261834
5-HTP is suppose to work like St. John's Wort by regulating seratonin, thus helping w/depression.
Helpful - 0
231005 tn?1191261834
You know, I have to agree with fishmeal. Brendj is somewhat lucky, because she is the only person I've heard say that she doesn't like the "fuzzy" feeling. I know that myself and most of those addicted to painkillers are specifically looking for that fuzzy feeling. I don't think that Brendj's dependence is so much mental, as it is physical.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi,
Yes, it does help.  I did not know there was a difference between addiction and physical dependence.  Either way I am getting off this stuff as I have read many of peoples post and I never want to get that bad.  I have to say that I admire all of the courage that I see people on this site exhibit and their willingness to help others.  I did not take my pills this morning and will see how the day progresses.  The muscles and joints are not "happy" at this point but when I evaluate the pain level it is not from the knee that caused all of this to begin with.  From what I have read the brain will do what it must to get the feeling it wants, never mind that I don't like the fuzzy feeling.  I still have a lot of questions but feel like such a whiner when I know I am not going through what a lot of you are going through.
Helpful - 0
177036 tn?1192286635
Hey there and welcome to the forum,

I just wanted to say here that there is a big difference between addiction and dependence.  I heartfeel belive that you are not addicted and just have a physical dependence on the drug.  It is great that you are here to realize the need to respect the drug that you are taking and dependent on.  What you are feeling is the physical dependence and not addiction.  Addiction is the line that you cross when you life now revolves aroung "getting" the pills to stay high.  Hooked is a fuzzy word that can go either way.  Yes, you are kinda hooked because of the physical dependence of the drug but addicted.... I think not.  Especially since you are so will to rectify the growing problem.  My wife had a problem getting off because she was physically dependent... it took a couple of weeks.  She is in do way an addict like I was.

I hope this helps.
Fish
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
What is 5-HTP, I read in one of your post that you take it along with St. Johns Wort.
Thanks
Helpful - 0
231005 tn?1191261834
Muscle pain should be gone in about a week and you'll feel like you have a bad flu.  I took lots of calc/mag/zinc supplements, potassium as in bananas, and muscle relaxers if you can get them from a doc. I hear that hot baths help too. Try non-script pain pills but maybe not Aleve or Naproxen because that seemed to make my neck and back pains worse. Feeling like you can't wake up or get out of bed w/o pills is normal. If you can sleep as much as you want, you're lucky at least. I still had to get up and tend to my two little kids, who I now have much more energy for on day 7 of wd. Remember that it does get better!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thanks again,
You have been very helpful.  I went this afternoon to the Health Food store and bought St. Johns Wort, the lady asked me why I wanted them and I told her I had read that it would help break an addition to prescription drugs.  She suggested also using DLPA 750 mg saying that people trying to get off alcohol got a lot of relief from this.  I plan to cut back to 1 pill every 5 to 6 hours instead of 1 to 2 every 4 hours and gradually over the next week cut back on that.  The drugist said not to try and quit cold turkey as I was thinking about.  I wish all of the people on this site all of the luck in the world on breaking their addiction as they seem worse than mine but an addiction is an addiction and I don't think it will be at all easy to get out from under this.  One more question though, when I get up in the morning it is all I can manage to walk the short distance to the kitchen and take my "pills" as every muscle and joint is just screaming at me that they are in pain when the pain should only be in my knee, is this the effect of the drugs and will this end if I can get off this stuff?  Thanks again you don't know how much you have helped, just having someone that understands what I am going through as I don't dare tell family members.
Helpful - 0
231005 tn?1191261834
I hear a lot about doc-caused addiction-They'll get you really addicted over years and then cut you off when the addiction is a lot worse and your tolerance is higher. I don't think many docs realize the seriousness of the addiction -it's not just about physical withdrawal symptoms after a while. I'm convinced that all these opiates permanently alter your brain. They are proven to lower seratonin levels, causing depression and they mess with the part of your brain that gives you motivation. If you find yourself taking them compulsively or more than prescribed, then you probobly need to worry.  But I doubt the doc will prescribe them forever, so eventually you'll need to deal with that, and it could be a lot harder to quit down the road.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thanks for your comments.  I think I knew deep down that I was in trouble, going from percoset, to Hydrocodone then darvacet (I think I spelled that wrong) the last one did nothing to relieve the pain so I was put back on hygrocodone.  I did take percoset, 1/2 a 5mg tablet 3 times a day before the surgery for a little over a year and never once thought about going over the prescribed amount nor did I notice anyt of the symtoms that I have now.  I am tempted to go back to that but after reading about all of the people from this chat help group now I am not sure what is best.  My doc thoughts are deal with the pain with pills and then we can deal with any addition later.  I am scared, I don't like this "fuzzy" feeling and forgetfullness but I don't care much for the pain either.
Helpful - 0
231005 tn?1191261834
Since you have legit pain and it definitely sounds like you are addicted to the hydros, I would talk to your doc about your concerns and try to taper, or cut down, your doses. Hydros affect the "motivation" part of your brain so remember that your motivation  to do things will come back after your body is clean of the drugs. The longer you remain on hydros, the more your brain is physically  altered to crave the drugs. Hopefully your doc is trained on addiction and really cares about what you are going through.  Maybe he could give you something non-addictive.
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Addiction: Substance Abuse Community

Top Addiction Answerers
495284 tn?1333894042
City of Dominatrix, MN
Avatar universal
phoenix, AZ
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Is treating glaucoma with marijuana all hype, or can hemp actually help?
If you think marijuana has no ill effects on your health, this article from Missouri Medicine may make you think again.
Julia Aharonov, DO, reveals the quickest way to beat drug withdrawal.
Tricks to help you quit for good.
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.