Thank God I found this site, surfing for pain pills of all things. First off, I have been taking Norco 10's for 2 years. I had a legitimate need (fusion on disc L4-L5) in November of 2003. At that time, I never imagined I would be where I am now. I take 15-20 of these daily....I am so embarrassed to say that. I am so afraid that when I stop; I will NEVER FEEL NORMAL AGAIN!!!
I have tried a month ago to stop, I only made it 2 days and caved in. I can't afford to not be at work ( I am the manager). The owner would die if he knew the person running his company was hooked on pain meds. What (if anything) can be taken to help with withdrawals. I am off this Friday (Good Friday). I will have 3 full days. In patient is out of the question due to no insurance. Any help would be appreciated. Oh, I don't have internet access at home; so I have to use the internet at work. I really feel like I found this site for a reason. Please; any advice would be greatly appreciated!!
Well if your looking to get out of withdrawls all together than the only pill that will do that for you is suboxone. Only certain doctor's can write it for you. If you were going to use find a doctor it will probably cost you around 200-400 dollars cash. If I would have ever needed it I would have only taken it for 4-6 weeks. Some people are on it longer and it has worked well for them. You must taper off the sub also and it is possible to have some withdrawl symptoms when stopping that medication.You have to be in withdrawl for 15-24 hours before starting it. It will take your withdrawl symptoms away though and will give you an opportunity to straighten out your life.That is one option.
Can you go to meetings? Do you have any family/friends that can give you face to face support? That is very important.
Weaning down your dose would help you. I have been through 2 vicodin withdrawls and each time I have weaned down to 5 mgs before stopping altogether. I would try and cut back 5 mgs every 5-7 days.
There is a thread called "Anyone willing to take the Easter plunge". About 6 people on this board are going to start to decrese their dose on Easter Sunday. You could look into doing that with them. When you stop all the medication you could stock up on OTC medications. That would ease your pain a little.
There will be others along shortly to offer you support. Welcome to the board. Rae
Can you go to meetings? Do you have any family/friends that can give you face to face support? That is very important.
Weaning down your dose would help you. I have been through 2 vicodin withdrawls and each time I have weaned down to 5 mgs before stopping altogether. I would try and cut back 5 mgs every 5-7 days.
There is a thread called "Anyone willing to take the Easter plunge". About 6 people on this board are going to start to decrese their dose on Easter Sunday. You could look into doing that with them. When you stop all the medication you could stock up on OTC medications. That would ease your pain a little.
There will be others along shortly to offer you support. Welcome to the board. Rae
hi there, i am on day 17 of going ct , it took me about 5 days to get past the sickness. i wasnt employed at the time however about in the middle of wd i got called in for a interview and got the job. i didnt have to start for a few days so it worked out ok. its like having a flu can your boss deal with the company for a couple days? your health and wellbeing is really the most important thing right now. get rid of anything in the house that pertains to this medication, cancel refills, get some immodium, b12, melatonin for sleep, drink a ton of water, i am sure you cant afford to lose your job however you getting clean really has to be the priority right now becuz continuing your pill use will only get worse. these pills are mean suckers and they once worked well for you however it appears as they now control just like they did for me. i had injuries and started innocently enough only to start taking 10-15 a day, they really didnt even work anymore, all i knew is if i didnt take them i would get sick, this is doable and if you are willing to set aside 5 days and take care of yourself, you will have started the process of freeing yourself .
i am thinking about you
take care
carol
i am thinking about you
take care
carol
I am on suboxone. I am not sure if you could get a script at this late of a notice, but it would be worth a try. Type in suboxone and then click on physician locator.... I'm not sure of exact website, so you may have to look around.
There are only a few doctors in each area that prescribe suboxone and these docs are only allowed to have 30 patients at one time on the program.... so there may be a waiting list to get on the med. You will need to be in withdrawal 24 hours before you can take it.
I do not think you'll be able to do this this weekend...... Tomorrow is Good Friday and a lot of doctors will be gone for the holidays. But, if you can get on the program, it would probably be perfect for someone like you. After the initial 24 hours of withdrawal, you won't have any other withdrawal symptoms and will be able to go to work a few hours after starting the drug.
However, suboxone is not without risks. Sub is a long-lasting opiate, so it is addictive itself and you will have to wean yourself off of it if you are on it longer than a few weeks (it can be used for either a few weeks to get off of the Norco or it could be used longer to help prevent relapse)..... you may have withdrawal symptoms from this drug, you may not.
It is expensive. Expect to pay $300-$600 the first month and around $200-$400 each additional month (many of these doctors do not take insurance).
There are so many drugs you CANNOT take while you are on sub, so you have to be very careful while you're on it. You cannot drink alcohol, take anything like xanax or valium, take any sedatives, tranquillizers, or even some allergy medicines..... there are many cold medicines you can't take, some antidepressants you can't take. Getting on sub is a major commitment.
Or, you can just bite the bullet and just throw those pills away and start your recovery NOW. If you start now, you may need to take Monday off of work, too, but the worst will be over by then and you should be able to go back to work on Tuesday.
You'll get sick..... it will be like having a major case of the flu, but it's not dangerous. Many people on here have gone through cold turkey withdrawal (including myself) and started feeling better by day 5.
If you decide to do this, stock up on Immodium, vitamins (especially B-12), Motrin, daytime Cold and Flu medicine (or something like Advil Cold and Sinus), Benadryl or other sleeping medicine for night time, soup and sweets....to keep food in your stomach.
You can do this!
Danni
There are only a few doctors in each area that prescribe suboxone and these docs are only allowed to have 30 patients at one time on the program.... so there may be a waiting list to get on the med. You will need to be in withdrawal 24 hours before you can take it.
I do not think you'll be able to do this this weekend...... Tomorrow is Good Friday and a lot of doctors will be gone for the holidays. But, if you can get on the program, it would probably be perfect for someone like you. After the initial 24 hours of withdrawal, you won't have any other withdrawal symptoms and will be able to go to work a few hours after starting the drug.
However, suboxone is not without risks. Sub is a long-lasting opiate, so it is addictive itself and you will have to wean yourself off of it if you are on it longer than a few weeks (it can be used for either a few weeks to get off of the Norco or it could be used longer to help prevent relapse)..... you may have withdrawal symptoms from this drug, you may not.
It is expensive. Expect to pay $300-$600 the first month and around $200-$400 each additional month (many of these doctors do not take insurance).
There are so many drugs you CANNOT take while you are on sub, so you have to be very careful while you're on it. You cannot drink alcohol, take anything like xanax or valium, take any sedatives, tranquillizers, or even some allergy medicines..... there are many cold medicines you can't take, some antidepressants you can't take. Getting on sub is a major commitment.
Or, you can just bite the bullet and just throw those pills away and start your recovery NOW. If you start now, you may need to take Monday off of work, too, but the worst will be over by then and you should be able to go back to work on Tuesday.
You'll get sick..... it will be like having a major case of the flu, but it's not dangerous. Many people on here have gone through cold turkey withdrawal (including myself) and started feeling better by day 5.
If you decide to do this, stock up on Immodium, vitamins (especially B-12), Motrin, daytime Cold and Flu medicine (or something like Advil Cold and Sinus), Benadryl or other sleeping medicine for night time, soup and sweets....to keep food in your stomach.
You can do this!
Danni
Thanks for all of your replies. I am going to log onto the Easter taper thread. I just added up what I have spent in the last year....I COULD BUY A NEW CAR!!!
Thats what really makes me sick...My husband knows about my addiction. Hes not happy about it; but he knows. We will have an opportunity in the early fall of this year to buy a new townhouse. But, if I keep spending $$$ like I am; it will never happen. That is going to be what I think about while I am "sick". I can't post on weekends because I don't have a computer at home. But, I will be posting several times a day while at work. One thing I do know; this has got to stop. One other question - HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO FEEL SOMEWHAT NORMAL AGAIN?
thanks again!
Thats what really makes me sick...My husband knows about my addiction. Hes not happy about it; but he knows. We will have an opportunity in the early fall of this year to buy a new townhouse. But, if I keep spending $$$ like I am; it will never happen. That is going to be what I think about while I am "sick". I can't post on weekends because I don't have a computer at home. But, I will be posting several times a day while at work. One thing I do know; this has got to stop. One other question - HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO FEEL SOMEWHAT NORMAL AGAIN?
thanks again!
It's really hard to say. If you quit now it may take longer because you are taking so much. If you wean down to a low dose and quit it may not be longer than 7-10 days. I know some will tell you 5 days bla bla bla but seriously you will feel like sh*t a little longer than that. Everyone is different.Your natural energy will return gradually. Stick with the taper if suboxone isn't an option for you. Give your body time to re-adjust to the new dose. If you wean down like I did to 5 mgs and stay there for a week then stop, you should be feeling better in about 10 days. The severe withdrawl symptoms will ease up before 10 days but you will still feel achy and weak.You are still going to have the lack of motivation but exercise and Multi-viatims help. Oh and don't forget your B-12.
Hey;
I have detoxed many times using various methods, cold turkey, tapering, and using clonidine...a heart medication that blocks the parasympathetic nervous system freakout.......goose bumps, sweating, diarhea, yawning, leg twitches, sneezing, coughing, etc., I then had to ween off the clonidine over five or six days. It can be purchased over the internet.
The best way I have found to get off this drug is to ween off it slowly over a week or so; however this takes incredable self controll, something most addicts have in short supply. This way you are not adding any other drugs to your system.
It worked best for me if I never felt the buzz or went too deep into withdrwall.....If I was taking a high dose...100-150 mg /day I would take one tab every four hrs for a few days, then 1/2 tab every four hrs for a few days, then 1/4. Then start adding time between doses. If you can stick to this type of schedule the wd's will be very manigable
The harder part is when your off the drugs and the mental games start.......that is when a support system is important.
Good luck........
I have detoxed many times using various methods, cold turkey, tapering, and using clonidine...a heart medication that blocks the parasympathetic nervous system freakout.......goose bumps, sweating, diarhea, yawning, leg twitches, sneezing, coughing, etc., I then had to ween off the clonidine over five or six days. It can be purchased over the internet.
The best way I have found to get off this drug is to ween off it slowly over a week or so; however this takes incredable self controll, something most addicts have in short supply. This way you are not adding any other drugs to your system.
It worked best for me if I never felt the buzz or went too deep into withdrwall.....If I was taking a high dose...100-150 mg /day I would take one tab every four hrs for a few days, then 1/2 tab every four hrs for a few days, then 1/4. Then start adding time between doses. If you can stick to this type of schedule the wd's will be very manigable
The harder part is when your off the drugs and the mental games start.......that is when a support system is important.
Good luck........
