Withdrawals from Hydrocodone

[Surrenderer]

Does anyone know what I can expect with going cold turkey from taking 100 to 120 mgs (10/325 Norco, 4 pills, 3 times a day) of hydrocodone for 9 months daily?  Do I need to take off of work, should I consider Suboxone, will I get super sick, not sick at all, etc,?  I'm 5'6 and weigh 135lbs. Any answers or feedback would be so helpful!

[pocketaces]

reduce dosage a little at a time till your almost down to nothing then tough it out for a few days .i did it
its like havin anasty cold or flu .u can beat it in a about a week

your liver and kidneys will thank you in the end
after a while opiates dont work anyway  and they are terrible for your mental health

tylenol is poison!

[Surrenderer]

Thanks All. Yeah, I'm going to forget about the Suboxone idea, after reading your feedback and others. My Norco, Lorbad, Vicodon are prescribed by doctors. I've been hitting several doctors offices with giving false reasons why I need these pain meds.  Sometimes I'll leave with a prescription of only 15 but mostly 30, 60, and 90 pills. This charade has become ridiculous and expensive. But I'm "hooked" and haven't had a single day since June without ingesting 7-10 10/325 pills. The insanity is unreal with planning out the next Urgent Care or Internal Medicine Doc. Friday, I had a script of 60 pills and had to go to 7 different pharmacies before I was able to get these filled. Jeesh. What a stupid waste of time.

Thanks for the support and suggestions. I'm certainly going to follow advice from all of you and will hopefully overcome this f'ing beast!

[Cricketk92]

Hi and welcome!  Congrats on wanting to quit!  If you can get the time off from work that would be best!!  I took a week off and needed the whole time!  You will feel pretty crappy for 5-6 days physically but look up the Thomas Recipe like jifmoc said!  There are supplements that can help you get through it!!  I wouldnt suggest the subs cause they can be worse to get off of than Norco!  Let us know when you are ready to jump and we will all be here for you!!!

[Bigdaddy1313]

Surrender, Just my opinion. If you can I would defiantly take the week off. Nine months isn't as long as many but it is still long enough that you will feel pretty crappy. having done this I would advise to steer away from Suboxone although I think Suboxone is an excellent option for more hard core opiate users. Someone who is using H or a long 5 year pill addiction. I read a very eye opening article someone on this site suggested. basically its a study or story on how people are so uniformed and uneducated about Suboxone. Suboxone  If interested Google Huffington Post Dying to be free of Heroin. The story is mostly about heroin but if you think about it Oxy Cottin is simply synthetic herion. Personally if I wouldn't have started on Suboxone through a great addiction specialist I would be dead. If taken right and if you take aftercare seriously Suboxone can be a good drug. Once again I am not suggesting you take it if you've only been abusing for 9 months. Goodluck and God Bless.

[jifmoc]

Hi. Were they prescribed or off the street? I'm assuming that if they were prescribed, THAT was not the dose on the bottle. Can you give us more info bout how this came to pass?

The Thomas recipe is on this forum and it shows what you need to aid in wd. Honestly, the amount you are taking at 9 months is the amount I was on by the end of an 8 year addiction, it's a lot.  The mental aspect is really the focus imo.

Please post and tell us more:)

[CRSeaside]

Yes. You can expect your pain to return. You may have trouble sleeping.
You'll probably feel nervous and agitated.
  No, I would never take subs to get off opioids. Is there a reason you do not want to taper off? For me that's the way my Dr has always recommended.
   You'll want a support system in place. You may ask the prescribing Dr for Clonidine. I've not taken it but heard it helps.
  Get bananas. Powdered vit c with electrolytes. Bunch of supplements. Easy to prepare meals. Funny movies. Good music.
  I don't know a out taking off work. It may keep your mind off the wds.
  If it were me, I'd also be evaluated by a Psychiatrist. They will know if you need psych meds.   Take hot baths w Epsom salts. Walmart sells something for restless legs.
   You'll be fine. You can do this thing. There's lot of support here on medhelp. Maxy