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Norco Detox... I need help :(
Hey all... I'm new to this forum... I just found it today and man, you guys are great. I'm in the same boat as a lot of you. I'm a stay at home Mom of two small children, and I started taking Vicodin about 7 months ago for chronic tendonitus, (5/500) and then after a few months of taking the vicodin (and loving the crap out of it) I found a doctor who prescribed me Norco 10/325. (Norco is the same as Vicodin, just a higher dose of the hydrocodone and a lower dose of the acetaminophen.) He would prescribe me 180 a time which is a one month supply, (if you take 6 per day). Which I was doing for about a month or so until I had to up the dosage due to the fact that I was building a tolerance. I loved the way hydrocodone would kill my pain, and at the same time give me such a great feeling! Everything the hydrocodone was doing for me I loved... It made me want to stop drinking my beloved wine at night, (I loved to have about a bottle a night not because I'm an alchoholic, but I love the taste and of course the little buz that comes with it after a long day with kiddos.) The Norco's also helped me to loose 35 pounds, the clarity and focus it gave me was so great, not to mention it helped considerably with prior stomach issues. (IBS) I found myself looking SO forward to taking my next dose, it just lightened up my life so much. Before I knew it, I was up to 12 Norco's a day. And since my husband was seeing the same doctor too, I convinced my husband to ask our doctor to prescribe him some Norco's also since I had to take so much and was building a tolerance. I thouroughly convinced my husband that I would not get addicted and that it was just a temperary solution until I had surgery on my hand to fix my tendonitus. Well... About 3 weeks ago, I was going through my pill bottles and noticed how fast I had been flying through my pills. I counted them and figured that I have been taking 20-25 pills a day!!! It scared me. It scared me BAD. So I decided to start tapering. Never worked. At the end of every night I would give myself this great big "pep talk" and had every intention of tapering the next day. Well, then my husband discovered how many I was taking. He is worried sick, and so am I. I can't seem to taper. The aggravation I develope after a few pills wears off is SO bad, that I just pop a few more to take the edge off. Then the cycle starts all over again. So this morning... I decided to go cold turkey.... Wow wow wow. I've never felt anything like that in my life. After a few hours of being awake and not taking any Norco's, I was doing ok, and thought, yep, I can do this. Oh boy.... Within the next few minutes I was laying on the couch with the wierdest cold and hot sweats I've ever had. It felt like ice water was rushing through my veins and my skin was on fire. Then, nausea hit me like a ton of bricks. I ran to my pill bottle so fast to wash a few down to kill that horrendous pain of withdrawl. I want to get off of this so bad. But I'm scared... I just got a mere taste of what it was like to withdrawl only for minutes.... Any advice would help me so so so so much. I just want my normal life back.... :(
Unhappy is taking these devils for years, losing all of your natural emotions, spending all your money, losing all your relationships, not to mention your drive, ambition and natural love of life.
Yes, it will suck...yes, it may take a while to be "happy" again...but it will pass. I forgot how much regular stuff made me feel...how rain made me happy...the smell of freshly cut grass...the love of my wife. Everything is numbed...and over time...there is no high...you take them to feel "normal".
You are doing the right thing..and by others standards...7 months is not that long of a time. Some folks here are working in 20, even 30+ years of use.
Post...post often and read the Health Pages...the truth of what you are actually doing to your body will scare you straight.
Good luck...even though this is about effort and will power...not luck.
Best,
Free
Yes, it will suck...yes, it may take a while to be "happy" again...but it will pass. I forgot how much regular stuff made me feel...how rain made me happy...the smell of freshly cut grass...the love of my wife. Everything is numbed...and over time...there is no high...you take them to feel "normal".
You are doing the right thing..and by others standards...7 months is not that long of a time. Some folks here are working in 20, even 30+ years of use.
Post...post often and read the Health Pages...the truth of what you are actually doing to your body will scare you straight.
Good luck...even though this is about effort and will power...not luck.
Best,
Free
sorry...forgot to give you the tips...here goes...copy a paste from another post I made...
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The first thing you need to know is that the mind will play tricks on you. Telling you this is not possible. That is simply not true. Kicking opiates, although hard and unpleasant, is actually one of the easiest of the drugs to detox from. That being said, you have to "FEED" your body and not take a "sit back and wait" attitude. Like anything else, the harder you fight, the easier you will make it. So, with that said, here are some tips.
1) There is a ton of great information on this site regarding Vitamin and Amino Acid intake. Some examples are Fish Oils (3-6-9), Thyrosine, B-6/12, Multi Vitamins...etc. I went to GNC and picked up a Protein Shake mix. It has everything you need in terms of amino acids...the building blocks you body/brain needs to right itself.
2) Hot epsom salt baths...worked wonders for me. The salt helps accelerate the detox and they feel great and will calm you down.
3) Hydration...drink until you can't drink anymore.
4) For many, like me...RLS (restless legs, the feeling like electricity running through your body) and lack of sleep are the worst thing. I got Hylands, Restless Legs which helps a ton. For sleep, everyone is different, and you may need something to help.
5) Excercise...it sounds like hell, but it is amazing what even a 15 minute walk can do.
Know this...what you feel will not last forever. Most will say, that after Day 5 you will be feeling much better. Not 100%, but good enough to do what you need to do. Everything comes back, with a little hard work and determination. It won't feel like it, but every minute, hour and day that you make it, you are one day closer to your goal of...FREEDOM. These little pills take everything away...and it's time to get back to living instead of existing.
Oh yeah, one more thing...POST and READ POSTS. I did it for 3 days straight and it was a great tool to help wisk the hours away. There are a ton a great folks on this site at various stages of recovery. You are not alone and you can do this.
Keep us updated...we will be here to help.
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The first thing you need to know is that the mind will play tricks on you. Telling you this is not possible. That is simply not true. Kicking opiates, although hard and unpleasant, is actually one of the easiest of the drugs to detox from. That being said, you have to "FEED" your body and not take a "sit back and wait" attitude. Like anything else, the harder you fight, the easier you will make it. So, with that said, here are some tips.
1) There is a ton of great information on this site regarding Vitamin and Amino Acid intake. Some examples are Fish Oils (3-6-9), Thyrosine, B-6/12, Multi Vitamins...etc. I went to GNC and picked up a Protein Shake mix. It has everything you need in terms of amino acids...the building blocks you body/brain needs to right itself.
2) Hot epsom salt baths...worked wonders for me. The salt helps accelerate the detox and they feel great and will calm you down.
3) Hydration...drink until you can't drink anymore.
4) For many, like me...RLS (restless legs, the feeling like electricity running through your body) and lack of sleep are the worst thing. I got Hylands, Restless Legs which helps a ton. For sleep, everyone is different, and you may need something to help.
5) Excercise...it sounds like hell, but it is amazing what even a 15 minute walk can do.
Know this...what you feel will not last forever. Most will say, that after Day 5 you will be feeling much better. Not 100%, but good enough to do what you need to do. Everything comes back, with a little hard work and determination. It won't feel like it, but every minute, hour and day that you make it, you are one day closer to your goal of...FREEDOM. These little pills take everything away...and it's time to get back to living instead of existing.
Oh yeah, one more thing...POST and READ POSTS. I did it for 3 days straight and it was a great tool to help wisk the hours away. There are a ton a great folks on this site at various stages of recovery. You are not alone and you can do this.
Keep us updated...we will be here to help.
Hey There! Welcome to the site. So glad you found it! COngrats on your decision to quit tomorrow. Try not to focus on your fears. Fear kept me in pill bondage for years! I am approaching 19 days clean. I am startign to feel emotions that I ahve stuffed for years. Some good, some not so good :) All the same, I am feeling again. I do understand your point, but you have a loving, caring husband by your side. Stay strong~keep posting. Someoen is usually on to help you though. I will pray for you right now. xxoo
Great work on your decision to quit!
I think you are lucky, in that you found this site as you are /about/ to enter into a few unfomfortable days, and this site will be your best friend.
First, take a look at this page: http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Addiction/Protocol-for-unassisted-opiate-withdrawal-/show/659?cid=66
The sauna and hot tub ideas are really great, if thats a possibility for you. Hylands restless legs is key, and I've found two EmergenC's per day to be really helpful for keeping my energy up. This was especially important on my days 4-6, which have been regular at-work days.
And lastly, know that we all know. The symptoms you feel have all been felt by all of us. People have posted all the way from their first days through to their recovery. Read all these during the hard times, and post.
I think you are lucky, in that you found this site as you are /about/ to enter into a few unfomfortable days, and this site will be your best friend.
First, take a look at this page: http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Addiction/Protocol-for-unassisted-opiate-withdrawal-/show/659?cid=66
The sauna and hot tub ideas are really great, if thats a possibility for you. Hylands restless legs is key, and I've found two EmergenC's per day to be really helpful for keeping my energy up. This was especially important on my days 4-6, which have been regular at-work days.
And lastly, know that we all know. The symptoms you feel have all been felt by all of us. People have posted all the way from their first days through to their recovery. Read all these during the hard times, and post.
You have to make up your mind that you will be happy without the pills and you will find that in fact you will be happy.Once your mind is made up that you do not want to chase that short high of opiates you will be able to fight the enemy and win.The desire to beat the enemy is within yourself and you have to be determined to want the clean life more than the drugged life.You are lucky to have family support and you can succeed for yourself and for them.Others have posted the vitamin and amino protocol and you should be over the worst in 4-6 days and after that everything gets better.You can take extrastrength tylenol and ibuprofen in recommeded doses for rebound pain.I suggest Nyquil without the decongestant to help sleep at night.It contains doxylamine,dextromethorphan a very mild opiate that I think helps soothe the hyperacftive pain receptors and 1000mg tylenol per dose.It itself can be habitforming so only use it a few nights.Good healing and keep posting.
Hi all... Well... Slight bump in the road. My four year old son started vomitting this afternoon, and hasn't been able to stop all night... (My poor little guy...) So my husband is going to take next Friday off so I can begin my detox then... (It's just going to be too stressful with my son so sick and then me going through such horrendous withdrawls.) I'm actually kinda bummed, even thought I've been scared to death, I was looking forward to getting this behind me. I need some opinions... Should I continue to taper through the weekend into next week to prepare myself for going cold turkey or does it even matter? I've been tapering the past two days, yesterday I took 12, and today I took 11. (Quite a ways from 25 a day.) It's been pure uncomfortablness, and I'm just wondering if I should continue to be miserable, or if I should have one more "good bye" week with my pills...? Any advice would be SO SO SO helpful.... Thank you all for your responces, I feel stronger already. Love and Blessings... ~Kelley~
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