hydrocodone withdraw

[blah123456]

I have been taking between 6-9 vicodin a day for the last year or so.  I had breast cancer, and took it for pain from chemo.  I stopped cold turkey, i have a huge bottle sittin in my kitchen i cant bring myself to flush!  My drs willingly give me the stuff, and just recently prescribed me oxycotin too.
Anyway, my ? is i seem to be handling this quite well.  Ive had lots of pain, but this is a walk in the park compared to chemo.  Is it gonna get worse?  Im taking ativan every night to sleep, will that be hard to withdraw from? I havent taken any vicodin since saturday night! Someone tell me to flush my bottle please!!!

[blah123456]

Thanks everyone! I woke up feeling pretty pain free today, in a horrible mood, but pain free lol!!!  we'll see how the day progressses! Im thinking of getting a massage.  Just  a little nervous it may make my pain flare up!  I need to get out of this house, thats for sure!

[vicki595]

Okay...I see the picture here.  The bad flu feeling is the withdrawal,I'm sure. Some do find it easier to c/t rather than taper.   I'm hoping you do okay with that...stay strong.The "weird coma thing" concerns me...you have a tendency to take too much.I know that a contracture really hurts but the GOOD news is that once you've been off narcs for a little while,pain becomes easier to manage with otc's.    

And here's the best advice I can give you:  Stop worrying about the cancer coming back.  That will deaden your life as much as the pills. I know this to be true.

We're all here for you~hang tough!

Vicki  xo

[dominosarah]

Many of us found our pain lessened after we quit using.  Didnt happen overnight but it does get better.  Hopefully that will be your case.  You are making a good decision in quitting and congrats on the clear PET scan!!  Yes you are feeling wd right now.  Keep a positive attitude as that will help.  You will find out that not having to rely on pills is a real freedom.  Let yourself feel your emotions, its okay.  Keep posting.......sara

[blah123456]

Its nerve pain.  I had taxol and it was soooo painful~  However, now im not so sure the vicodins making it worse!  Im almost sure i started to rely on it to get through the day, and i just upped and upped it, to the point where i needed 6-8 to make it through the day! I think mentally it was helping me, but i just had a clear PET scan, so i dont have any excuses anymore...however, im scared the pain isnt gonna go away!  right now i feel like i have a bad flu, really achy and sore, thats the withdrawel right?  I saw a pain specialist last week, she put me on oxycontin and vicodin, i took all that and went into a wierd coma!! thats when i knew i was out of control!  My oncologist told me to wean of the vic, but i think its easier for me to cold turkey it.  I also have alot of recon issues, bad contraculure contacture or whatever its called, so that is very painful!  Im just hoping once im off all this crap the pain is managable, and my mind isnt thinking about cancer 24-7 :(  I have 3 kids, 17, 12 and 10, and i worry so much about what will happen to them if my cancer comes back, i can hardly stand it! The drugs help me with that!

[dominosarah]

Hi and welcome!!  Now go and flush those pills!!  Congrats on wanting to get your life back.  We are here to support you so lean on us......sara

[vicki595]

    What sort of pain are you having now after one year? I'm curious because I've had breast cancer twice...radiation,chemo,mastectomy,lat.flap reconstruction.  And I know how much the doctors prescribe because they feel so bad...and I also know that the physical pain evolves into a kind of psychic pain that is horrible   :(          Anyway,I guess you'll need the Ativan for sleep for the next week or so but then get off that train as fast as you can.  As for the pain...try Motrin 800mg if you're able.  Have you thought about talking to your dr. about this?  Can you describe your pain?  Do you feel addicted?  I'm just curious because if you're in pain...well...tell us more about that...

Vicki  xo

[merrymaria]

we have lots of flushing parties here...congrats on 2 days...it will get better...good luck to you...maria

[scaredmom330]

Welcome, flush the bottle. You might feel worse for the next couple of days but by day 6 you should feel better. check out the thomas recipe and amino acid protocol, also gatorade is good and immodium. you have taken the first step, you can do this, we are all here to support and help you. good luck, post and keep posting and read other threads. take care!