Taking 4 pills a day of Lortab 5/500mg. Should I be concerned?

[TabularBro]

Now I know I have a weakness when it comes to painkillers and I will take them when they are available.  As of the past year I have taken an average of 4 or no more than 5 lortab 5/500 a day and I am just wondering to some of the other addicts out there would see this as being a serious problem.  I mean I take tham just ot take them it's not like I need them they just make me feel really good.  I dose like I am supposed never taking any of the pills under a 4 hour period like specified.  Even though it seems like such a small amount that I am taking I do have concerns of what I am going to do when I stop taking them and if my withdrawals are going ot be mild or severe due to the length of year taken them daily.  Any comments or insight is greatly appreciated.  I'd like to hear your thoughts so feel free to advise. -Thanks!

[this_big]

You've gotten great insight/advise from above posters. We all, at some point were just taking 4-5. I bet you can remember when all it took was one.?. For me that one 5/500 a day turned into 20+ 10s a day over 4yrs later. I lost that "really good" feeling yrs ago. The last few years of my addiction was fighting off w/ds.

How long have you been tapering? The fact that you have tapered shows you have tremendous willpower as most of us were never able to. I commend you for realizing you have a problem early and seeking help. Keep posting!! Dont put this on the back burner. Good luck to you...

@ Brian... I liked the first part of your post...SO right! Its crazy how we focus only on what we want to hear.

[Dav125]

There is no predictable answer as to how long it takes for us to get back to feeling "somewhat normal" like days before the pills. Some people say after a few months yet some people are still struggling with after affects far longer. And some I imagine will never fully recover if in fact one can..I found it ironic how you were speaking about the pills, the creators, the money making entities that put their financial (I think it does play a part) interests over the general wellbeing of the recipients,,,Us. Because there's a lesson in history which has been ignored as we stare at this epidemic as you called it..In another post perfectdrug was speaking about a meth problem. It brought memories back to me..As way back when for me, there was no such thing as meth running around... It was all "prescription speed" being written for weight loss in the tens of thousands. The problem was then recognized that these were more dangerous than first thought and were being abused..Then we saw the pills being phased out in the mid to late 70's as that awareness hit home..
Now,,,am I missing something or are we not seeing the same thing happen again except its a different,and in many way, more threatening animal being prescribed by not the "tens" of thousands but the "hundreds" of thousands? Makes one wonder what happened to the people that recognized the other problem but apparently couldn't see this one coming..

Just pisses me off...

[TabularBro]

Thanks brother I plan on being here for however long it takes and the support its greatly appreciated and the time taken to comment and give your insight on my situation helps out a great deal.  I will continue to update and I still have a million questions to fire off but I will do that later as I have to tend to another commitment and sign off for the night. Where I stand right now I am going to start the taper down method see how that goes and then stop and face the w/ds to come until Im free and can get my life back in order.

Best, Damien

[TabularBro]

I have to say it is truly frightening how many people suffer from the addiction of painkiller narcotics.  I mean seriously its time for our society or better yet our world to take a stand and start cracking down on this global epidemic.  These pills that chemists, scientists, doctors or whomever it may be need to focus on a solution to coming up with a safer non life threatening treatment to manage pain.  I'm talking about the chemical structure of these pills that are so addictive and dangerous whether you are taking them as prescribed or abusing it doesn't really matter I believe that once you start taking narcotics for say longer than a month you will see anyone become addicted it doesnt matter who you are.  This poison changes the chemical structure of a normal functioning brain and before you now it you are hooked and become an addict just like me and everyone else.  I dont know its frustrating trying to unravel the root of a drug problem its like trying to find the one light that is out in a knotted ball of Christmas lights if that makes any sense at all.  I apologize I just need to vent I feel for so many of you out there you are all alright it is not your fault nothing is wrong with you.  The core of the problem lies within the pharmeceutical companies making billions off these drugs and the money hungry impersonal doctors precribing us this garbage that is ruining lives everyday. This is scary stuff and something has to be done I would compare this to being a cancer of a problem with no cure in sight and its spreading by the minute by the day one life at a time.  God bless all of you out there with the struggle of painkiller addiction.  None of us ever wanted to be like this is just progressed into a serious problem because that is what the drug is and is supposed to do.  So yep here I am too yay! Fun stuff huh?

[bmdad]

You came to the right place for help and support. You are right about the addict thinking. Even if there were 20 responses, 19 said you had a problem, and only one said since you are only taking 4 a day it is fine more than likely that would have been all it took for you to continue down this path. We as addicts try to find any excuse out there to continue using.

If you are taking them just to be taking them because you like how they make you feel you definitely have a problem. Even people that take them only for pain often still end up with an addiction problem. Not all but many. So many people end up becoming addicted due to legitimate pain. When I first started taking pain meds it was because of a serious back injury. I continue taking them even after the pain subsided because I like how they gave me energy, made me feel on top of the world, and made me think I enjoyed life more. But my addict brain thought that because it was a legit script that I didn't have a problem. My use quickly spiraled out of control.

Even though you aren't taking that many now it doesn't take long to spiral out of control. Sure, you dropped down a few but if you think that you can stay at 4 a day you're wrong. As your tolerance grows you will eventually be right back at the amount you were taking and it will only go up from there.

You're lucky you realize you have a problem now. No one can stay at a certain amount for an uncertain amount of time. The hole you are digging will continue to get deeper and deeper until it feels like you will never be able to crawl out of it.

Now you have to decide if you want to continue tapering down or just go cold turkey from here on out. No matter what you decide pick a quit date and stick to it. Be sure to stick around the forum and post often. The support here is amazing. We will all help you fight the good fight and get you to the other side. You can do this!

Best of luck.

Brian

[TabularBro]

Thank you everyone I appreciate the feedback.  I do take these pills everyday and the reason why I am on here is because I know I have a problem and I am trying to stop taking them.  I know what it is like to withdraw from these lortabs and it is very uncomfortable but I try and put a handle on my addiction and not let it get totally out of control.  I was taking 8 a day and then 6 and now im down to 4 or 5 a day.  I just want to get out of this cycle and get this **** out of my life.  It is scary how the brain relies on these drugs and how addiction will rule your life.  I guess I was not totally clear in my above statement and was looking for some sort of approval that I really do not have a problem but I do.  Typical addict behavior? right. At any rate I am here to gain strength from others that have my same problem and battle this disease as best as I can.  With taking 4 lortabs a day for a year now does anyone know if I were to quit cold turkey how long it would take for my body to become regular and free of this poison?  And I know the craving will always be there I dont think that goes away.  May be something I will be fighting for the rest of my life.  I am trying to fester enough will power and motivation from others experiences with painkiller addiction and fight this weakness off mine off.  Thanks to all for your comments I do value all of your opinions and suggestions.

[eyeofhorus2010]

You're taking 4 or 5 a day just for fun and like "soaddicted" said you'll soon be taking those 4 or 5 just to keep withdrawals at bay and you won't have that fun feeling you like. To get that back you'll start taking an extra 1 or 2 or 3 which means you'll be up to 6 to 8 per day. Addiction escalates because of tolerance. I went from your usage dailey just for fun and ended up taking 15 Vicodin at a time several times a day just to get that same feeling I had when I was only taking 3 or 4 a day. I had several days that I actually consumed 100 in one day several days in a row. For several months I consistently took 70 to 80 per day. I promise you, I was no longer having fun at that point.

Early on I asked myself many of the same questions you are asking, "Am I addicted, am I going to withdrawal, is this hurting me." on and on. I knew the answer the first time I ran out though. After withdrawaling for a couple of days I got more and promised myself I would start cutting back and get them out of my life before it was too late. Eighty thousand pain killers later I finally got the message.

Addiction always starts out innocently enough with plenty of good intentions but if you don't stop and get a handle on this now you'll eventually go down a road to a place no human being was meant to be.  

[soaddicted]

hey there! well i had to tell ya but at one time i think every addict said well i dont need them i just take them cause they make me feel good.. the problem with that is eventually you will need them just so you dont withdraw. that feel good feeling does go away then you just keep taking them so you dont get sick. do you take them everyday??

[Dav125]

There's a girl in here right now that was only taking the equivelent of (2) two of your pills daily and is having trouble with wd symtoms. Its the longterm use that gets you..The constant streaming of the med in the bloodstream each day..Be aware, the day is coming that the "feel good" moment will cease for you and then what happens is we land up going, well, I'll just take a little more.....And then it becomes more,and more,and more trying to get that feeling back..

Your best bet? Start tapering down your daily doses and get the heck away from it...Thats words straight from experience....