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482050 tn?1208394829

Vicodin addiction/withdrawl

I injured my back on 12/30/07.  The Dr. prescribed vicodin...a potent dosage.  Today is 4/16/08, so I have been on the pain killer for 3.5 months.  I take 2 to 3 pills a day.  I know that doesn't sound like alot....but I think that I am addicted to it.  I LOVE the way that I feel on it.  I feel happier than I have ever felt.  My sex drive is way up.  My marriage is better than it's ever been!!!!  I NEED those two to three pills a day to really feel good about myself, my marriage, and my life.  I tried cutting back to one a day and I became extremely depressed, I no longer felt like I loved my husband, I definately had no desire for sex, and I felt very ill.  Every part of my body ached.  I had severe flu-like symptoms.  Tomorrow is my last day for taking Vicodin and I am very nervous about it.  After tomorrow I will not have any pills left and there is no way that the Dr will prescibe anymore for me.  I could go back into the Dr and try telling him that I am in alot of pain.....but I know that that is not the answer.  I have to get off of these pills.  How long will the withdrawl last?  How bad am I going to feel when I am in the "thick" of my withdrawl?  Is there any thing I can do or take to ease the withdrawl symptoms?  

Thanks for "listening" and thanks for any advice and help!
WGMBG4141 (we got married before God on 4/14/01)
14 Responses
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Avatar universal
I sent you a personal message..Kathy
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hun, you may never feel madly in love with your husband.  That may just be how you feel about him.  Without the pills you can really assess how your life is and actually see how you really feel about him.  You just might not be meant to be together.  I know that hurts but I have a feeling it is true for my husband and I and I am giving out my last chance for change.  Godd Luck!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Yes, the euphoria leaves and just leaves you striving for more pills!
Helpful - 0
482050 tn?1208394829
Thank-you so much for your "brutal" description of what will eventually happen if I stay on Vicodin.  I really needed that description.  I really believe that God sent me here this morning...to this site....and I am so grateful.  This is exactly what I needed.  You all are exactly what I needed in my life right now.  

Kathy, I have already experienced alot of the withdrawl symptoms that you described when I tried to cut back.  It was so bad that there was no way that I was going to continue to do that to myself when I had 3/4's of a bottle of pills left.  This past week, I have had many different thoughts, scary thoughts, of how I could get more.  I am sure you can imagine the thoughts I have been having.  Some of which I am just too ashamed to admit.  

I am going to stop taking the pills....go thru the withdrawl....go to my dr and talk about all of my feelings of depression....although I have talked about it until I am blue in the face and it never does any good....and go on with life, probably being sad again.  My husband and I have been to marriage counseling....it didn't make me feel madly in love with him.  It just helped us to communicate better so that we didn't fight so much.  

I know that I get thru this somehow.  I am just very grateful for all of your help right now.  It really helps to be able to "talk" to people who knows exactly what I am going thru.
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Avatar universal
FYI..I took prozac and paxil.It made me not sleep at night and how I got dependent on Ambien.It also effects your sex drive negatively.I am on cymbalta and do not have these bad side effects and like I said earlier can also help with your pain.Sometimes I wonder if there are better ways than anti depressants to help with depression.I'm not going to stop now while I'm in the midst of all of this but I do think medicines are over prescribed instead of getting to the root cause of why we are feeling this way.There are some good books out there that discuss this.

And in answer to above question,the euphoric feeling does go away with the pain pills.
Helpful - 0
482050 tn?1208394829
So, you are basically saying that eventually, the Vicodin will no longer give me any feelings of Euphoria or feelings of being "high"???  Eventually, the pills will just stop the w/d's but won't make me happy anymore???  You know, somehow, that kind of gives me some comfort.  At least I know that I am not giving up a lifetime of total euphoria and happiness by stoping/quitting the Vicodin.  

Does anybody know of any anti-depressants that actually make you feel happy???  So far, I have taken Paxil and Luvox and neither of those make me feel happy or good.  They only keep me from falling into a terrible depression and they keep me from going on a total emotional roller coaster ride everyday.  They keep me from crying and yelling at my family all day long.  I want more than that.  I want to be happy and feel really content.  Know what I mean?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Yes,it does make you happy..at first!! I asked my psychiatrist the same thing.But then you need more of the pill to get the same effect.You will wake up in the middle of the night with this uncomfortable edgy feeling and just have to take one.Your body will start producing more pain to get the drug.You will tell your doctor that it's not working as well and he will increase your dosage,maybe get you on something stronger.You will feel great again,maybe for a month.Then you will need more and more and more.You will start having pain  in places you shouldn't even be having pain.You will go through your prescription too fast and freak out when your refill is not due.You will have flu like symptoms and terrible cravings.Maybe you will go to different doctors and different pharmacies to try to trick them.You will finally get a new prescription and it will be better for a short time..then much worse.It will affect your relationships,work,sleep.kids if you have any.You will start hating this drug.You will want to be off of it so bad,but you just can't.Maybe you will go to rehab or do it on your own at home.It will be miserable after your last pill.You will have the worst flu you've ever had,night sweats,chills,so weak you can hardly exist,you may fall a few times,you wont sleep for several days and want to bang your head on the wall until you knock yourself unconscious.You will have no appetite,maybe vomiting and diarhea.You will want to give up but people on the forum will be so supportive and you will get through it.But you will say,why didn't I listen to them when I was only taking a few a day.

Sorry if this seems brutal but this was my story and probably many others.Find ways to be happy without pain pills.Exercise,change your diet,whatever you can.Just stay away from the pain pills..Kathy
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I totally understand exactly how you feel right now.  In the beginning everything was great.  Then when you are taking 20 a day to feel some sort of high, and you have no motivation to get out of bed in the morning until you take 4 you will understand more why a lot of us have chose to stop or are choosing to stop.  Right now you have no clue how the pain killer can ruin your life, stop now and get an appropriate fix to your problems.  Let your husband know that it isn't because you don't love him but it is because you are depressed.  Seek a marriage counselor if needed.  Please the vicodin is NOT an answer to your depression.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Yes to all your questions...But let me explain something and i hope this makes sense...At first that is how it feels...Then after your tolerence builds, are you care about is the pills, 3 will turn into 10, 10 will turn into 20.....then u will feel nothing...Just numb...you will have NO sex drive at all....It does a total 360 on you...your counsouler will explain this to you..i know it seems hard to beleive but if u stay here or read alot you will see that every story is the same...You will start doctor shopping, buying from the streets, because your brain will change and just want pills..
IF i didn't stop when i did, i was going to lose my family,..i have 4 kids, and a wonderfulll husband....3 yrs on them and i was taking over 15 10 mgs a day..And it was doing nothing but keeping the w/d's away...You never get that feeling back, that you have now...I know that seems hard to beleive , but i PROMISE it is true...
god bless
r2r
Helpful - 0
482050 tn?1208394829
Thanks so much for your postive support.  I never in a million years thought that I would be here and would be addicted some kind of drug.....any kind of drug.  I have had terrible thoughts go thru my mind of ways that I could get more of the pain killer.  But deep down, I know that none of those ways is the answer.  Part of the problem is that I know that after I am totally off the Vicodin and back to being "normal", I won't be as happy anymore.  I am going to really miss being this happy, this in love with my husband, and will miss wanting sex with him as much as I do right now.  I am going to miss being this excited about life everyday.  Right now, the smallest things make me really happy.  And my husband has been happier than ever these past 3.5 months because he has felt really loved by me.  I have been able to give him all the affection and love, that he has so desperately desired and needed, during my time on Vicodin.  I know that my hubby will become sad and depressed, and kind of angry again, when I no longer feel all loving and affectionate towards him.  He will become upset again when my sex drive goes WAY down again.  His sadness and anger will just add to my sadness and depression.  Do any of you know what I am taking about?  Did any of you experience these feeling and emotions of total euphoria while taking prescription pain killers?  Were any of you sad and depressed before taking the prescription drugs and then go back to being sad and depressed again after getting off of them?  If so, how do/did you cope with all of this?  

Thanks again for listening and helping!
Helpful - 0
482050 tn?1208394829
I am currently on Luvox for depression.  But it isn't doing anything for me.  The best anti-depressant that I have ever taken is the Vicodin.  I have a call into my psychiatrist for an appt. I am going to go in and see if he can give me something that will make me feel as good and as happy as the vicodin did.  I wonder if there is any kind of anti-depressant that makes you feel really happy???  I'll look into Cymbalta.  Thanks so much for responding!

-wgmbg4141
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
U are so lucky you found this forum at the amount of pills and time u are using...PLEASE read all the health pages on the right...Your dosage is low, so give it about 5 days to start feeling better....
If u need we are here for you, but go read as much as you can, there is a thomas recepie that can help too....
good luck
and get your life back, before this swallows you up like some of us
r2r
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I came off at this amount the 1st year of my injury and it wasn't too bad.A few uncomfortable nights.I got back on it and later fentanyl and it was a nightmare to come off.You're doing the right thing.Talk to your doctor about an anti depressant maybe.I take cymbalta and it helps with depression and pain.
Helpful - 0
482050 tn?1208394829
I forgot to add that when I tried to cut back to one pill a day and then felt so bad, I went back to taking 2-3 pills/day.  I figured that I would take the pills and feel good until they ran out and then go "cold turkey".  Now, I am about to go "cold turkey" starting 4/18/08 and I am very nervous about it!!!  

-wgmbg4141
Helpful - 0
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