Addicted to Vicodin

[Bad Co]

One year ago I conquered my heavy addiction to tramadol with the support of this website and a great family. I have since subsituted that addiction with vicodin. I have "played" with these for many years, 1-2 day for many years. Then I quit everything last year for over 50 days. Foolishly thinking I could start up using vicodin1-2 day again, I am now spiraling out of control. I'm using between 8-10 (5mg) a day for more than year (but know my true addiction to these stems much longer ago)  I need to stop, but the w/d's scare me to death. I'm an otherwise healthy male, 37 years old. I have a good health insurance package that may cover some alternative methods/medications for me to quit. I have not come clean to my primary doctor just yet, but am ready to now. (He helped me with valium when I quit the trams. My question to the world is this:
Are there any miracle medications that I can take short term to help me through the w/d's? Is subutext an option? anything else. I know there is nothing that will make this transition pain free, but is there anything that will help? I'd like to talk with my doctor and maybe suggest something as the valium didn't really help as much as I'm hoping something else will?

I'm hoping to stop this Wed. so I can spend my 4 days away from work to get through the worst of the w/d's??

Thanks for hearing me and knowing that I am ready to do ths for the last time.

[dbgc]

glad you beat the tram addiction i had the same battle a year ago myself it was rough.i am now on day four of quitting oxys and roxies c/t.it is never easy and we all wish there was a easy way out but there never really is. i found that for me it has to be c/t or nothing.suboxone is a worse drug to take for what you are already taking.maybe you can just quit you will have lots of support here. best of luck to you and hope you will figure something out.

[122 Tactical Fighter Group]

I would have to agree with dbgc here ..... dont go to another form of narcotic to quit narcotics. Both sub and methadone have their own little set of problems along with them. Its a trade off sometimes. If you go cold turkey you will have symptoms. But to me its better to take care of business and bite the bullet. Stop and address the issues and get over it within a couple weeks tops. You can do things to make the wd's survivable. Otherwise, you may well just spread that misery out over a period of several months and always be sorta in withdraw. The intense part of the cold turkey process would normally be days 2-6 - - -with most people feeling the upturn by day 5 ......after that its a mental battle to not cave in to impulse or craving............and good luck to you - whatever you decide .. its probably time -- - --

[PharmToBe25]

As the previous two said, I agree with them. I am on day 4 of withdrawals from mostly oxy and hydrocodone, and a little methadone and fent (very little). The old saying: "The third day is the worse day," was true with me. Yesterday was hell, and the day before hell. But its more irritable then painful to me. I couldn't sleep or eat, and the worse, to me is that you can't get comfortable. Not to put you down man, but seriously it's okay to get through it, many people do it all the time, some people repeatedly. You can do and you have a supporting cast here to help. Any help ask, you'll get an answer. Read the Thomas Recipe at the bottom of the right column of this page, it has some great advice, follow that. For a quick fix, hot showers/baths are absolutely amazing. I find just putting my hands under hot water for a minute or two helps a lot... Diphenhydramine has been good to me for sleep.

Good luck and you can do it.... Don't be scared you have handle it like a man and have a positive mindset...

[TRMs_wife]

I don't think there's a miracle, but I am on day 4 and I think what's helped me is mentallly wanting to quit and my dr. gave me a catapres patch. I think it's helped tons. I have also been taking tons of motrin and ativan as needed. I know the ativan is controversal as it can become adictive, but that's yours and your drs. call. I think it will be huge to tell your dr. if he helped you before he'll help you again!! so don't be scared! if you have insurance then ask your dr. what's out there. mostly it's a mental thing for me. the patch helped so much and immodium if  you need it and lots of water. but you can do it. this site helped me so much. I've been lurking for awhile and I figured if they could do it SO CAN I!! and you can too! I was doing 10-15 Norco's (10/325) per day. you can do it!!

[Bad Co]

Thanks to you for all wishing me well. I should've been smart enough to know there is no magic pill out there that will make this easy...I guess that's the addict in me hoping against hope. I have a 4 day weekend for Thanksgiving that I think I'm going to go for broke. I'm tired of lying cheating and stealing just not experience pain. This addiction has turned an otherwise respectable person into a dark hobbit with no desire to see the outside world. I'm still a coach, professional, mentor, and decnt guy to the outside world. It's just on the inside that I'm crumbling and fading away. What a disgrace I must be to my parents, wife and worst of all my son. I feel so dark and sad all the time. (even getting my next supply doesn't elate me like it used to....

Because I went throughw/d's before, I think i'm more nervous than 1st timers...(That mixed with me being Super-Pansy) I dread the anxiety, lack of sleep and nightmares. I give myself one week to knock out the worst of the pain. I want to be close to normal for X-mas.
A couple more questions please;
1) Will it do me any good to taper the last 2 days or should I just use up what I have left at the same doasge I've been on? 8-10 day?
2) If there is anything that helps with the mucsle contractions that you have? For me those were the worst. I was close to having seizures in the middle of the night. If I could dull those nasty-a$$ things, I'd be much better off? would muscle relaxers work?
3) Is the Amino Acid Protocol something that would help for me?

Thanks again for all your help. I think this weekend I will be on in the middle of the night begging for help.  I'm calling my doctor in the morning, hopefully he will be able to see me before the weekend.

Dale

[avisg]

You can try to taper but with only two days it wont do a whole lot.I agree with everyone on the sub I would try everything other opintions before I would try sub .

I have found the best chioce for mucle relaxer is zanaflex it has been a life saver for me.