How long should Vicodin withdrawls last?

[jamie1997]

I've been taking Vicodin for two years now, up to four pills a day.  I have been off of them for eight days now.  My anxiety is better and the muscle cramps have lessened quite a bit but I still feel exhausted and am having a difficult time sleeping.  Is that normal? I keep reading that the worst of the withdraws last 3 to 4 days, and while i do feel better, I do not feel like I thought I would.  I'm concerned that I'm just never going to feel normal again.  If anyone has any information that would be of help i would greatly appreciate it.  thanks.

[sueduva]

Hi Jamie,
Last month I came off morphine. I had been on it for almost 4 years. At my highest dose I was on 90mg a day. but I had weaned myself down to 3 10mg pills per day for a few months before a detoxed.

I was told the withdrawal would last from 1 -2 weeks, but I actually found it took 3 weeks of feeling like crap before feeling better.  I was prepared for all the physical side effects, sweating, head aches, hard to sleep, so nauseas I couldn't eat. But I was surprised when I got extremely depressed after week 2, I was just thinking "shoot me and get this over with!"

So now I am finished week 4, and I am feeling a lot better.  I did have to go on another pain reliever last week because  my back pain was unbearable. But I am very happy to be off the morphine. And even this week I am finding my stomach is still upset and haven't
regained my appetite.

Good luck to you, I know how ****** you feel. You will feel normal again if you hang in there. My dr. gave me sleeping pills, and ativan for the anxiety while I was in withdrawal.
But I am ok now, and don't need them.

Let me know how you do,
I send you my love and encouragement,
Sue

[J T Junig, MD PhD]

The dose of opioids that you were taking is actually quite low compared to the average opioid addict, but opioid withdrawal is miserable even from lower doses.  To compare, Brett Favre supposedly took about 70 vicodin tablets per day during his period of active opioid dependence.  

Withdrawal peaks at 4-6 days, but the tail end can last for weeks.  Some people call the longer period of misery PAWS, or post-acute withdrawal syndrome, but usually the early stage is continuous with the longer stage, so I don't see a need to separate them.

My own withdrawal symptoms ten years ago were typical.  I remember that in my own case, I started feeling like myself again at about the two month mark.  The worst symptoms for me were depression and fatigue-- severe fatigue that made it hard to walk the length of a block.  The last thing to improve was my appetite, and that came back at about ten weeks.

The good news is that if you stay clean, each day will be slightly better than the one before.  Keep yourself well hydrated, and try to get some exercise each day if you can, even just a short walk twice per day at first.  

Finally, remember that most people return to using, many times as soon as they feel back to normal.  I think that when people feel OK, they quickly forget how miserable they were, and think that they can use 'just one more time' and contine to stay clean.  That never happens-- you have to remember that one use will take you right back, and so must have a 'zero use' policy.

Good luck-- hang in there.  Things will get better.