Norco

[Jamme25]

Am I an addic? I really do not know !! I take 3 pills a day 10/325 as directed by dr . I have been on these since 2009 after I shattered my foot ! Dr says I will be for rest of my life ! But I am 40 and do not want to !! Now to the question at hand am I addicted to pain pills ? I never take more than I am supposed to I always take at the same time 7, 2 , and 9 .. But if I am late taking the pill or over sleep Lordy bee I start to feel the withdrawals .. Chills, nausea, crazy , etc i have tired to cut back but the withdrawals and pain bring me back quickly .. I do not feel high or Amy of the such I just feel like my foot doesn't hurt.. I want off of these pills my husband is convinced I am addicted and they are going to destroy our life and that scares me Please Help

[Jinx_777]

you could try to taper yourself since you have so much control and have been using them as prescribed for so long.  
what I have done in the past was break them in half and took 1/2 at the regular times and do that for a week or 2.  
then go down to taking it just 2 times a day, etc.  

I am sure you will have some withdrawal because even though you do not seem to have an addiction, you are dependent.  

It wouldn't hurt to ask your dr for help.  I personally never wanted to do that for some reason and always did it on my own.  When I was finished I just told the dr I no longer needed the medication.  Whichever you choose,  I am sure you will be just fine.  

[justneedhelp82]

My mom was on the same dose and amount and she kepted hurting. I don't have enough control to only take three if I had them. Once she detoxed off of them she said most of her pain went away. You can tapper down and it will not be that bad. But that is withdrawal systems I has taken about ten to twenty of those a day. I stopped cold Turkey. And being a week clean I am getting back to me and never felt better. My mom feels the same. Any questions just ask   you are in a great place we all understand

[EvolverU]

Hi there!

Why does your husband feel that your use of pain meds is affecting your life together? Do you agree with him?

I second everything that my friend Jugglin said above. The one question that I'd ask is do you find yourself counting the hours 'til your next dose? The reason I ask is that true addiction (mental/emotional not strictly physical) has a way of sneaking up on us by degrees. If you've noticed changes in your marriage & thoughts/behavior then it's possible that you are an addict. We tend to start relying on them to get us through the day without realizing it.

That said, you're on a low dose, haven't been abusing your 'script & you have a great chance of walking away from this with a properly planned detox. Jugglin's suggestion of a taper (designed with your Dr. who can give you comfort meds like Clonidine) might be a good idea if you're having a hard time with this. Can you take some time off to get through this & plan a proper detox? You CAN absolutely do this. I know that it's not pleasant (understatement of the year:) but the acute discomfort passes in a short period of time (5 days to 2 weeks). You sound like you want off & you must have good reason! Please, let us know how you're doing & if you have any questions.

We're here & we're in your corner :)

[jugglin]

Hi there and Welcome!  If you have been taking your rx as directed by the doctor...you aren't coming up short, you aren't sneaking pills, you aren't looking for the high...then you are most likely not an addict but you are most likely physically dependent on the meds.  There is a difference.  Trust me, I've been there.  While taking opiates for a length of time it is normal for your body to become physically dependent thus the withdraw (WD) symptoms you experience when you try to skip or delay your meds.

With that said, if you are tired of being tied to the meds, you can certainly decide to stop taking them.  Many of us started these meds due to true physical injuries and found that when we quit using them and our brains started to heal, the physical pain was not nearly as intense as we believed it to be.

You have been on them for a long time but not a very high dose.  You can try to taper your pills either on your own or discuss this with your Dr.  You will have physical WD symptoms.  Many of us addicts could not taper cuz if we had them, we took them.  I had to jump off cold turkey.  However, you may have better luck with a taper since you seem to be able to control your use and do not come across as an addict.  The Thomas Recipe at the bottom of the page will give u a list of items to stock up on to help get thru the physical WD's.  If you think about it like having the flu, it helps.  The worst of the symptoms lasts anywhere from 3-6 days (everybody is different), with a few other symptoms lingering such as lack of sleep and rls.  Again everybody is different.

I wish you the very best as you decide what is the right choice for you.  Just know that if you have any questions we are always here to answer and support you!