When does the ache stop?

[day19andcounting]

I have been taking 5 to 6 hydrocodone for over 2 years.....7.5/325.  It started with post surgery shoulder and neck pain, but reached the point that I hadn't been without prescription pain medicine for so long that I really couldn't gauge my "real" pain anymore.  I quit COLD TURKEY on Christmas Day 2012 and have had NOTHING but Advil since that day.  I had every withdrawal symptom that I've seen described, EXCEPT.....oddly.....no intense cravings for the drug itself.  I am a software developer and system architect.  I never really felt "buzzed" by the hydrocodone unless I combined it with alcohol, which I was doing on a fairly regular basis in the evenings.  I never ONCE drove "under the influence".  My biggest complaint, at this point, is the CONSTANT pain in my neck and back.... mostly up and down my spine.  It never gets better and I'm wondering if it ever will.  Also.....I feel like I lost my best friend, but thoughts of my "crutch" are occurring few times a day and less & less frequently.  Does the muscle pain and insomnia EVER go away?  I don't want to substitute ONE bad habit with another, (i.e., sleeping pills).

[notordinary]

Our bodies are self healers giving time and the right activities. Pool therapy, walking, there are a lot of exercises a person can do to control the pain.
Acupuncture is an option.
I once seen a doctor that learned and practiced it overseas. When i was having all my surgeries. He told me that he could take almost all of my pain away with acupuncture. Of course i was on opiates at the time and never went back to see him. But I'm thinking of going now.
I know some people that it has helped.
Good luck.

[Deana1970]

Maybe you should talk to your doctor about another type of pain mangement....low dose suboxone could help the pain and addiction to the pain meds but you would need to be up front about addiction to the pills if that is a problem. I was addicted to Lortabs from a neck injury then when I wanted to stop taking them I could not, so I am seeing a addiction doc and taking low dose of suboxone which helps both problems.

[notordinary]

Hi and welcome.
Sorry you are still having problems with pain.
I'm day 38 today and still have pain in neck and shoulder. But my lower back pain is all but gone. And it was bad.
I do feel better overall and the pain is subsiding some as each day passes.
I've 8 pins in my right shoulder 5 times on the table. Almost a decade of opiate use.
Are you drinking lots of fluids? And getting enough exercise?
So i can tell you it does get better. It take time.
Good luck