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Tyring to get off Vicodin! An advice?
I have been taking Vicodin for almost4 years and want to stop! I take an average of 10-15 7.5 750's per day and am just tired of it but I don't know how to stop! I broke my neck in 4 places and have been taking them ever since. I haven't had any in almost 24 hours and i sucks! my legs and feet are going crazy and my mind too!!! I keep telling my self I don't need them but it is so very hard! I have read alot of forums and comments posted over the last few days and finially got the nerve to post something. If anyone has any suggestions I would appriciate it!
I too am new here and am trying to get off Oxycontin. The biggest for me is the sleep issue. I've already gone so long without sleep due to benzo use. I free from them, except never got my sleep back. I tried everything with my doc as he prescribed them. I tried my husbands Oxy one desperate night and the rest is history. I feel like such a failure. I mean I went from one addiction to another. It's the requirement for sleep that is so devastating to me and totally wrecks my health and emotions. I just haven't been able to cope and get like a paranoid and manic person. Why does everything settle down, yet sleep remains absent and for so long. HELP! Once I'm off this I don't want to use agian.
i have found if you use valium to the extent where you more or less to just sleep for a couple of days, while withdrawing from sinthetic narcotics such as fentynal or dilaudid or both,vicadin etc. because they are all pretty much the same , it makes the going a lot easier, along with tapering off as well. when I was in a hospital detox program that is essentially what they did along with giving you trazadone at night. Also get powdered vitamin c and start off taking 5 to 7 grams every few hours -just to the point where you get diarrhea. also tyrosine which is an amino acid will help restore neurotransmitters .However along with all that if you just really decide to jst do this without any or very little reservation- just to be free- the most amazing thing happens,which is something of ahigher nature just comes to your aid and removes it without almost anything to do on your part-- it's really just a change of belief on your/our part and its just simply gone.
Thanks for that post and Coda you can do this! We are all here for you. Keep posting.
swtbreezie
swtbreezie
that is great that you have decided to get off of them...there are things you can do to help ease through the physical wd's, which are normally done after 4-5 days. after that it is all mental, and you still need support then too.
there is a thomas recipe on here that has everything you need to know. get some thermaflu warming cold/flu syrup, the new advanced immodium to help with stomach cramping, and you can take benadryl to get some sleep at night....search avigs and FLaddicts profiles for the full deal.
GOOD LUCK and don't give up!!!
__________________________________________________________________________
Withdrawal is a result of physical dependence. Physical dependence occurs when your body becomes accustomed to regular use of a medication (for example, if you’ve been taking opioids for more than two weeks around the clock, your body becomes physically dependent on the medication). You body has become used to the medication and has made changes in how it works because of the medication.
Just like a person with multiple sclerosis who takes steroids undergoes changes physically because of the steroids, so does a person taking opioids on a regular basis. In each case, the body becomes used to the medication and even functions differently because of the medication. Your body needs time to adjust to the withdrawal of the medication. Physical dependence is a normal bodily response. It is not a sign of addiction, which is a biological brain disease.
There are many different types of medications that cause your body to become physically dependent, including opioids, benzodiazepines such as Ativan, diazepam and lorazepam, and antidepressants.
IMPORTANT WARNING —
The document below discusses reducing the dose of the medication you are taking as a way to manage your withdrawal symptoms in instances where you no longer have access to your medications. If you are taking any of the extended-release versions of opioids, such as Oxycontin or Kadian, or fentanyl patches, do not tamper with them in any way. NEVER break tablets, open capsules or cut patches as a way to reduce the dosage because such damage or tampering can release the whole dose at once, causing overdose and death. If you are taking an extended-release medication and need to reduce your dose, take the whole pill or capsule or use the whole patch. Take or use the medication less often to reduce the dosage. In an ideal situation, you would do this under a doctor’s care and advice.
What is opioid withdrawal syndrome?
If you suddenly stop taking opioids after taking them regularly for an extended period of time, you will experience opioid withdrawal syndrome. Signs and symptoms of opioid withdrawal syndrome include:
• Yawning
• Sweating
• Tearing of the eyes
• Runny nose
• Abdominal cramps
• Nausea and/or vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Weakness
• Dilated pupils
• Goose bumps
• Muscle twitching and muscle aches and pains
• Anxiety
• Insomnia
• Increased pulse
• Increased respiratory rate
• Elevated blood pressure
Opioid withdrawal is not life threatening, but it is not pleasant, to say the least. When you experience withdrawal symptoms depends on the type of opioid you are taking and on how long the opioid stays in the body. For example, people taking morphine, hydromorphone, or oxycodone may experience withdrawal symptoms within 6 to 12 hours of the last dose while people taking methadone will experience symptoms 3 to 4 days after the last dose. How many symptoms you experience, how long you experience them, and how severe your symptoms are depends on your body’s individual response, how long you’ve been taking the medications and the dose and type of opioid. Typically, withdrawal from morphine takes five to 10 days while withdrawal from methadone takes longer.
What can you do to minimize symptoms of withdrawal?
In an ideal situation, a person who wishes to discontinue use of opioids or who must discontinue use because of issues outside of their control would taper their medications under the care of his or her doctor. In other words, the person would slowly and deliberately begin taking less of the medication over an extended period of time so that the body slowly adapts to the reduced dose.
If you are unable to withdraw with the help and advice of your doctor, it’s important to make an effort to slowly reduce your dose on your own, called tapering. Reducing your dose about 25% every day or so generally prevents symptoms of withdrawal.
What can you do to ease withdrawal symptoms if you are unable to slowly reduce your medications?
Drink a lot of fluid, try to stay calm, focus your attention on something distant from you, and keep reassuring yourself that the withdrawal reaction will pass and you will eventually feel better.
Where can I get help?
Go to a hospital emergency room and let them know what medication and what dosage of it you were taking. Call FEMA at 202-646-2452 or the American Red Cross at 866-438-4636 for a location of a field hospital near you, if your local hospital is shut down.
What about the pain?
One of the key symptoms during opioid withdrawal is a state of sensitized pain, meaning your pain may feel more intense or severe. This also will pass with time, and your pain should reduce, after the withdrawal reaction is over.
What about withdrawing from benzodiazepines?
Withdrawing from benzodiazepines can be more difficult than withdrawing from opioids. The symptoms are similar, but are more intense and last longer.
Benzodiazepine withdrawal — like opioid withdrawal — depends on the amount of the medication taken, the length of time a person has been taking the medication, and which benzodiazepine the person is taking. People taking short-acting benzodiazepines will have withdrawal symptoms sooner than people taking the longer acting ones.
The best way to avoid serious withdrawal symptoms is to reduce the amount of medication you are taking or how often you are taking them before you run out. Cutting the amount by 25% per day or an additional 25% every other day is fairly rapid and may result in some withdrawal symptoms, but it is better than suddenly stopping them when you run out.
there is a thomas recipe on here that has everything you need to know. get some thermaflu warming cold/flu syrup, the new advanced immodium to help with stomach cramping, and you can take benadryl to get some sleep at night....search avigs and FLaddicts profiles for the full deal.
GOOD LUCK and don't give up!!!
__________________________________________________________________________
Withdrawal is a result of physical dependence. Physical dependence occurs when your body becomes accustomed to regular use of a medication (for example, if you’ve been taking opioids for more than two weeks around the clock, your body becomes physically dependent on the medication). You body has become used to the medication and has made changes in how it works because of the medication.
Just like a person with multiple sclerosis who takes steroids undergoes changes physically because of the steroids, so does a person taking opioids on a regular basis. In each case, the body becomes used to the medication and even functions differently because of the medication. Your body needs time to adjust to the withdrawal of the medication. Physical dependence is a normal bodily response. It is not a sign of addiction, which is a biological brain disease.
There are many different types of medications that cause your body to become physically dependent, including opioids, benzodiazepines such as Ativan, diazepam and lorazepam, and antidepressants.
IMPORTANT WARNING —
The document below discusses reducing the dose of the medication you are taking as a way to manage your withdrawal symptoms in instances where you no longer have access to your medications. If you are taking any of the extended-release versions of opioids, such as Oxycontin or Kadian, or fentanyl patches, do not tamper with them in any way. NEVER break tablets, open capsules or cut patches as a way to reduce the dosage because such damage or tampering can release the whole dose at once, causing overdose and death. If you are taking an extended-release medication and need to reduce your dose, take the whole pill or capsule or use the whole patch. Take or use the medication less often to reduce the dosage. In an ideal situation, you would do this under a doctor’s care and advice.
What is opioid withdrawal syndrome?
If you suddenly stop taking opioids after taking them regularly for an extended period of time, you will experience opioid withdrawal syndrome. Signs and symptoms of opioid withdrawal syndrome include:
• Yawning
• Sweating
• Tearing of the eyes
• Runny nose
• Abdominal cramps
• Nausea and/or vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Weakness
• Dilated pupils
• Goose bumps
• Muscle twitching and muscle aches and pains
• Anxiety
• Insomnia
• Increased pulse
• Increased respiratory rate
• Elevated blood pressure
Opioid withdrawal is not life threatening, but it is not pleasant, to say the least. When you experience withdrawal symptoms depends on the type of opioid you are taking and on how long the opioid stays in the body. For example, people taking morphine, hydromorphone, or oxycodone may experience withdrawal symptoms within 6 to 12 hours of the last dose while people taking methadone will experience symptoms 3 to 4 days after the last dose. How many symptoms you experience, how long you experience them, and how severe your symptoms are depends on your body’s individual response, how long you’ve been taking the medications and the dose and type of opioid. Typically, withdrawal from morphine takes five to 10 days while withdrawal from methadone takes longer.
What can you do to minimize symptoms of withdrawal?
In an ideal situation, a person who wishes to discontinue use of opioids or who must discontinue use because of issues outside of their control would taper their medications under the care of his or her doctor. In other words, the person would slowly and deliberately begin taking less of the medication over an extended period of time so that the body slowly adapts to the reduced dose.
If you are unable to withdraw with the help and advice of your doctor, it’s important to make an effort to slowly reduce your dose on your own, called tapering. Reducing your dose about 25% every day or so generally prevents symptoms of withdrawal.
What can you do to ease withdrawal symptoms if you are unable to slowly reduce your medications?
Drink a lot of fluid, try to stay calm, focus your attention on something distant from you, and keep reassuring yourself that the withdrawal reaction will pass and you will eventually feel better.
Where can I get help?
Go to a hospital emergency room and let them know what medication and what dosage of it you were taking. Call FEMA at 202-646-2452 or the American Red Cross at 866-438-4636 for a location of a field hospital near you, if your local hospital is shut down.
What about the pain?
One of the key symptoms during opioid withdrawal is a state of sensitized pain, meaning your pain may feel more intense or severe. This also will pass with time, and your pain should reduce, after the withdrawal reaction is over.
What about withdrawing from benzodiazepines?
Withdrawing from benzodiazepines can be more difficult than withdrawing from opioids. The symptoms are similar, but are more intense and last longer.
Benzodiazepine withdrawal — like opioid withdrawal — depends on the amount of the medication taken, the length of time a person has been taking the medication, and which benzodiazepine the person is taking. People taking short-acting benzodiazepines will have withdrawal symptoms sooner than people taking the longer acting ones.
The best way to avoid serious withdrawal symptoms is to reduce the amount of medication you are taking or how often you are taking them before you run out. Cutting the amount by 25% per day or an additional 25% every other day is fairly rapid and may result in some withdrawal symptoms, but it is better than suddenly stopping them when you run out.
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