Norco withdrawal....

[Kari2009]

I have not been on here for a while but I am doing good..... I ran out of norco on Sunday and have not had any since.... It is not up to me though I just cant get anymore until the 19th.... But I am taking it as a sign from God to stop taking them for a while or I am going to kill myself I know that if it is out of my system long enough when I do get more it will have broken down my tolerance to where I wont need so much..... The withdrawl has not been so bad I think because I got some xanax, baclofen, seraquel and weed to help so I have not really felt much of it... I am proud of myself for getting this many days this is the longest I have gone without any for over 3 years I do get cravings and get irritated but that is not so bad and I am on day 4.... I hope the worst is over can anyone tell me how long the worst of the withdrawl is supposed to last? because I only have one more day of the xanax and seraquel and I am hoping that I feel the same or better.......

[shinty]

If you are in pain, and have a problem taking narcotics as prescribed, you should let your doctor know about this. I know you think the doctor will "flip out" and dump you as a patient, but if he/she is a good doctor that won't happen. While I'm waiting for my pain doctor every month in his office I end up talking with other patients. A good portion of them have this same issue. The doctor does a few different things with each particular patient in this situation. I know one patient gets his prescriptions filled only once a week (they are written to be filled like that), so he can't "run out" for an entire month if he "messes up". Another patient is prescribed something that controls pain, but can't be abused in the manner that most people would abuse opiates (I don't remember what it's called). There are some other things the doctor does, but I can't remember them (sorry). My point is that there are options for you. I hope you do tell your doctor, and are helped. If not then ask to be referred to a doctor that will help you. I have to say that ColleenToQuit has given you some great information. I also want you to be aware that there is a substance abuse community here also that I'm sure has some people with information to help you. Good luck with everything.
      shinty

[ColleenToQuit]

I have a few questions:

1. What dosage are you currently taking?

2. How many times a day do you take them?

3. What kind of pain do you need them for?

How long and how severe your withdrawal may or may not be depends on the first two questions as does whether your tolerance for opiates will decrease enough by the 19th to need less; however this is not likely.  It takes a pretty long time for the brain to readjust itself to a low level of tolerance for opiates.  Most likely what will happen is when you get your refill on the 19th you will start back up where you left off needing the exact same amount of Norco as you do currently.  

Depending on what you need the Norco for I would suggest you wait out the current withdrawal, and try to find a less risky form of pain management because the longer you will be on Norco, the harder it will be in the future to withdrawal from higher and higher doses.  Especially if you need surgery in the future.  Take it from me.  I was on various opiates for over a year due to a herniated disc and degenerative disc disease between my L5/S1 vertebrates that I finally had surgery on, but by the time I had my surgery I was in bad shape and tolerated much higher doses of narcotic pain relievers than I should have making my post-op pain excruciating because none of the drugs were sufficiently taking my pain away.  So finally when the time came for me to detox it was hell on earth, and quite unimaginable.

Good luck, and hold in there until the 19th.  My thoughts are with you!