Is it possible to become addicted to pain pills with only a few months of use?

[snowballkiss]

Before I had surgery I was taking norcos on an as needed basis. Some days I'd take a half of one, sometimes one, sometimes 2, depending on how I was feeling. I didn't take them everyday. After my surgery, I was given percocet 10s and muscle relaxers. I was taking them every 6 hours for the first two weeks then I began to taper off a bit. I always took at least one of each a day and sometimes 2 of each a day. Occasionally I would take 2 at a time. After a while I quit taking them for the pain from my surgery but because I just hurt. My back, my head, my legs, I couldn't sleep, etc. Then I noticed that as soon as the pill wore off I began to feel as if I was coming down with the flu. I felt hot, everything aches, my head hurts, my stomach hurts, I have NO ENERGY.  I feel like I just need to stay in bed all day. I tried to quit before Christmas but didn't want to feel that bad over the holidays so I took a couple half pills. Yesterday when I was feeling really bad I took .5mg of Klonopin and a 300 mg. of gabapentin (I heard that can help with the pain) Well, it knocked me out. I slept for like 5 hours straight on the couch (leaving my husband to care for all three kids alone). I have the kind of job where if this were to become public it would be a Big Deal. (See film at 6 and 11 kinda big deal). I need to be able to go to work on Jan. 4th and be able to function normally. I don't have a large tub to soak in so taking baths although enjoyable isn't something I can do. Because of my age, I'm not convinced this is a dependency. Maybe it is menopause. I'm having those symptoms also. I read the "Thomas recipe" and thought I'd try it. Can anyone suggest a mineral supplement that meets the criteria?

[evil379]

This is just my opinion about what worked and didn't work for me. When I decided I wanted off my pain meds, I was prescribed gabapentin 300mg 3x's a day. Dr said it would help with withdrawals, and also it's given for nerve pain which would help the reason I was on the pain meds in the 1st place. Before you think of going that route, google gabapentin withdrawals. I took a total of 2 pills. I didn't wanna trade one pill for another. If I were in your shoes my choice would be cold turkey now. The worst of your symptoms would be over by the time you go back to work. You'd just be dealing with fatigue, which you could blame on the flu. As motye51 said, you have to be ok with not being ok for a few days. The fear/panic of not being ok is worse than the actual symptoms

[caregiver222]

Never EVER take two percoets at a time. Borderline liver damage city. If you need more opiate get a 10/325 instead of a 5/325. These are very easy to get addicted to....getting off them is the best thing.....

[motye51]

In all honesty, with your dose, I feel like if you just gave it a few days of feeling ******, you would be able to get through it? Taking a good multivitamin, potassium, eating really healthy (greens, fish, eggs, etc...) immodium for the stomach, Motrin 200mg (x's 3), I used Gaba 750 before eating, protein meal shakes (like meal replacement bars and shakes). Really ***** you don't have a tub b/c the epsom salt bathes were a lifesaver for me....but....
You just have to be ok with NOT being ok for a few days. I believe it won't be as bad as your thinking....if you had the flu for a week you'd be in bed, not moving, trying to get better, so pretend you have the flu for a week!!!!  ( It's going to feel like it anyway!)  

[TimInColo]

Hi snowballkiss,
I had a similar question to you (been on oxycodone for 3 months -- two months before back surgery and the month now following).  I thought I was doing fine until I stopped taking the oxy during the day... I started feeling generally crappy and was getting very dizzy.  I just saw my doctor today and he confirmed that I have developed a dependency even though I followed the dosing instructions carefully.

So yes, you can develop a dependency even after relatively short periods of use.  It's different from addiction, though, and that's an important distinction.  I don't crave the drug and don't care about any type of high.  I want to stop using oxy altogether as soon as I can, so my doctor has recommended a tapering plan.

There are a lot of others on this forum who have been around and been through this multiple times (and they can answer with a lot more authority than me).  I only chimed in to share my dependency experience after 3 months.

Good luck to you and have a happy and blessed New Year!

Tim