i have been taking 12-16 norco a day for several years for neck and shoulder pain from an accident. i find that i get low on pills and i run out before refill date and i am so dependent on them. i do have pain and do not want to leve with it but i do not want to be so dependent on a med. I have not had a pill for 3 days and i fell terrible.
i have no concentration. i have depression. i cann't get out of the house.
i am lost
Hey Sammy,
Welcome to the board! In my opinion yes you do have a problem. It' s called addiction. Do you have a doctor treating you? If so then I would first start by being honest with him/her at your next appt. There maybe something him/her could do besides writing you naroctics. Also your doctor could put you on a taper schedule to get your off your current medication. When is your next appt?
What are you symptoms right now physically? Write back! Rae
Welcome to the board! In my opinion yes you do have a problem. It' s called addiction. Do you have a doctor treating you? If so then I would first start by being honest with him/her at your next appt. There maybe something him/her could do besides writing you naroctics. Also your doctor could put you on a taper schedule to get your off your current medication. When is your next appt?
What are you symptoms right now physically? Write back! Rae
Dear Sammy Welcome.Your heading asked "Do I have a Problem"I guess you already know the answer to that.I remember that panic feeling when I realized I wasnt gonna make my script.Even after ordering off line I was still running short.In 30 days I would go through at least 400 pills.
I agree with Rae is there anyway you can start to taper down or are you like me having no control?I use to try & have my BF hold them only to end up stealing from myself.Do you have anyone who can help with this?....mj
I agree with Rae is there anyway you can start to taper down or are you like me having no control?I use to try & have my BF hold them only to end up stealing from myself.Do you have anyone who can help with this?....mj
I would imagine that your doctor is not prescribing you that many pills per day...
If not, I'd say you do have a problem. But, hey that's why we are all here. Welcome. Try to hang in there and you will get past the physical part soon. For me the worst was the depression. I went on sub and a mood stablizer and they worked great for me.
Good luck to you
If not, I'd say you do have a problem. But, hey that's why we are all here. Welcome. Try to hang in there and you will get past the physical part soon. For me the worst was the depression. I went on sub and a mood stablizer and they worked great for me.
Good luck to you
Sammy, you obviously have some kind of problem, but is it a problem of addiction, I don't know. If u are taking them for pain, mostly as prescribed, & maybe running out a couple days early, thats one thing.
If you are taking them to get high as well as the pain, and exceeding the dose by so much that you are a couple weeks short on the script, that's something else.
My instinct tells me that it might be no. 2, as i cant see a Dr. prescribing that much a day. That does not make sense. If the pain was so severe that you needed that many, i would think he would have switched u to something else a long time ago, if for no other reason, to not be poisoning yourself with all the acetamenophen.
If you are taking them to get high as well as the pain, and exceeding the dose by so much that you are a couple weeks short on the script, that's something else.
My instinct tells me that it might be no. 2, as i cant see a Dr. prescribing that much a day. That does not make sense. If the pain was so severe that you needed that many, i would think he would have switched u to something else a long time ago, if for no other reason, to not be poisoning yourself with all the acetamenophen.
my situation- my doctor is prescribing 300 norco a month. Have been taking them for over 2 years. I do runout a few days early every month for the last few. I am concerned because i am so dependent on them and am afraid to be without. i have not talked to my doctor about my concerns.
One question I have for anyone who has gone off pain meds- do you feel better in time? I feel like i need to have the pills to go anywhere or to be with people. that seems wrong.
One question I have for anyone who has gone off pain meds- do you feel better in time? I feel like i need to have the pills to go anywhere or to be with people. that seems wrong.
Hi Sammy,
I can't help you but can certainly relate. I can tell you that in the brief periods I've been off the pills, I have noticed a certain spark in my brain after a few days, like a speck of the old me coming back and I like it, just never stick with it.
But there is everytime a certain something, like a sense of hope that supercedes the runs, the depression, the unmotivation enough to want to go another day. But I always cave so don't listen to me.
Best to you
Briar
PS: I beg you to watch the tylenol intake, its dangerous, I was hospitalized awhile back for that, now I don't take tylenol at all.
I can't help you but can certainly relate. I can tell you that in the brief periods I've been off the pills, I have noticed a certain spark in my brain after a few days, like a speck of the old me coming back and I like it, just never stick with it.
But there is everytime a certain something, like a sense of hope that supercedes the runs, the depression, the unmotivation enough to want to go another day. But I always cave so don't listen to me.
Best to you
Briar
PS: I beg you to watch the tylenol intake, its dangerous, I was hospitalized awhile back for that, now I don't take tylenol at all.
Sammy, if you need a drug to function, you are an addict. I was one for over a year and didnt even realize it until I stopped taking my meds one day.
I would encourage you to try to taper and see how much control you have over your usage. That will give you an idea of where you are in your addiction.
We are all so different. Me for example, I got clean with over 250 xanax bars setting right here in front of me. I got off on every taper because I knew I was kicking its A$$! And loving it. I tapered from 4 mils to none in 7 weeks because I wanted to be clean more than I wanted the air I was breathing. Yes, it was hell... often times I saw things that werent even there. In the meantime, I have four boys to care for. If someone would have held my pills, I would have been in constant relapse because I would have felt as if I was not in control of my addiction and taper. Others say that would NEVER work for them.
So, I suppose we need to learn where you are in your addiction and then think up a plan that is YOUR OWN for tapering or whatever method you choose to go with.
Let me know if I can help you in any way. Although our drugs of choice are different... addiction is addiction.
I would encourage you to try to taper and see how much control you have over your usage. That will give you an idea of where you are in your addiction.
We are all so different. Me for example, I got clean with over 250 xanax bars setting right here in front of me. I got off on every taper because I knew I was kicking its A$$! And loving it. I tapered from 4 mils to none in 7 weeks because I wanted to be clean more than I wanted the air I was breathing. Yes, it was hell... often times I saw things that werent even there. In the meantime, I have four boys to care for. If someone would have held my pills, I would have been in constant relapse because I would have felt as if I was not in control of my addiction and taper. Others say that would NEVER work for them.
So, I suppose we need to learn where you are in your addiction and then think up a plan that is YOUR OWN for tapering or whatever method you choose to go with.
Let me know if I can help you in any way. Although our drugs of choice are different... addiction is addiction.
Hi Mrs.
Four boys? How old? I have a fourteen year old daugther and an eleven year old son and a six year old son. You must be a patient person. Boys are rough little characters, mine fight all the time.
Briar
Four boys? How old? I have a fourteen year old daugther and an eleven year old son and a six year old son. You must be a patient person. Boys are rough little characters, mine fight all the time.
Briar
The baby (Jared) will be 5 the 25th, then Jordan will be 12 June 16th, then Jeffrey will turn 15 Dec 21st, then our little man Matthew will be 17 June 19th.
They look like steps standing beside eachother... I need to keep going at this rate and start a football team. We are trying now for one more, praying it is a girl. If not, we are putting it back hehe.
5, 12, 15 and 17... pray for me! ha! If we are blessed to conceive and it is a girl, she sure will have alot of support with all of those big brothers.
They look like steps standing beside eachother... I need to keep going at this rate and start a football team. We are trying now for one more, praying it is a girl. If not, we are putting it back hehe.
5, 12, 15 and 17... pray for me! ha! If we are blessed to conceive and it is a girl, she sure will have alot of support with all of those big brothers.
Thats great. You started young, huh? I hope you have a girl. I love them all the same, but a girl is so different. Nikki (my little girl) is fourteen and getting to the age where we're getting to be friends and I absoloutely love it.
She's an excellent violinist, in her fourth year and brings home a's, dresses a little wierd, and likes alot of holes in her ears, but she's a great kid. She got her belly pierced, which was alot of hassles from family, etc. but I pointed out that with her grades and music, if this is how she wants to express herself, fine, plus she's got a little tiny waist and its cute. Last one tho, we agreed, no more peircings.
Anyways, sons are great, but I pray you have a little girl. There fun to shop for!
She's an excellent violinist, in her fourth year and brings home a's, dresses a little wierd, and likes alot of holes in her ears, but she's a great kid. She got her belly pierced, which was alot of hassles from family, etc. but I pointed out that with her grades and music, if this is how she wants to express herself, fine, plus she's got a little tiny waist and its cute. Last one tho, we agreed, no more peircings.
Anyways, sons are great, but I pray you have a little girl. There fun to shop for!
if you need a drug to function, you are an addict.
Sammy, and everyone else........the above statement is incorrect. MANY people in this world today have to have medications to function, and they certainly are not all addicts.
However, with the dose you're taking, you probably are. I can't believe a dr. would prescribe 10 a day of Norco. What is he thinking? If he's been doing that for 2 years, he knows you're addicted and should help you taper down. It is his responsibility to do so.
From here, Sammy, it will only get worse. Eventually, 10 a day won't even be enough. You would be wise to switch to something else, possibly switch doctors, and start planning your journey of coming off the pills. Don't worry, while it is not easy, it can certainly be done.
Good luck!
Sammy, and everyone else........the above statement is incorrect. MANY people in this world today have to have medications to function, and they certainly are not all addicts.
However, with the dose you're taking, you probably are. I can't believe a dr. would prescribe 10 a day of Norco. What is he thinking? If he's been doing that for 2 years, he knows you're addicted and should help you taper down. It is his responsibility to do so.
From here, Sammy, it will only get worse. Eventually, 10 a day won't even be enough. You would be wise to switch to something else, possibly switch doctors, and start planning your journey of coming off the pills. Don't worry, while it is not easy, it can certainly be done.
Good luck!
Hi Carol,
Did you email me last night? I got an email from someone and it wasn't signed and I didn't recognize the address. Just a catchup email. How have you been? I miss ya doll. And your right, people sometimes do need drugs to function, to live even. Love, Roe
Did you email me last night? I got an email from someone and it wasn't signed and I didn't recognize the address. Just a catchup email. How have you been? I miss ya doll. And your right, people sometimes do need drugs to function, to live even. Love, Roe
LOL Briar......sorry, yes that was from me. Sorry I didn't identify myself. : )
I am doing well, and hope things are better for you these days!
We'll talk soon!
Not real young Briar, considering I grew up on a reservation... but not that old either. Im no spring chicken... starting to lose a few feathers hehe.
Got your hands full there mrs lol jackie x
hehe, sure do Jackie. If we get prego and it is another boy I will have no choice but to see what a cute lil italian/native american boy will go for on the black market ha! 5 boys.... though our God is a vengeful one, noone deserves that! :)
What Tridlemom says is correct. Sometimes it is difficult to find the line between being an addict & using what you need. If chronic pain is your problem, you need something to function with the pain for sure. If u have been taking pain meds for so long, you can not simply stop without being what we call sick.
I am not exactly sure where you are coming from? Are you taking the pills pretty much as needed for pain, or are you taking them to get high. Are they negatively impacting your life & what is the problem you fear that you have.
Also, if you are in chronic pain, it seems like it would be healthier for you to do something else. There are many alternatives ranging from holistic, acupuncture, etc, to different types of pain management systems.
If you do decide that you want to stop using narcotics for pain management & try one of the above, you definitely have to go thru some kind of detox. You can use the taper system -but you still have to find a way then to deal with the pain as well as witdrawl at the same time. If you can, a medical detox might be best.
If you want to keep using narcotics for pain management, i think you definitely need to switch to something else, either thru ur Dr. or a referral to a pain management clinic. There are patches available, as well as other narcotics that contain little or no tylenol. You might be hurting your liver by taking so much.
Like Tridlemom says, some people do need to take medication every day for legitimate reasons. You need to figure out if you are one. Maybe a counselor is someone to talk to about this. (By the way, if your counselor has a bias, like if they are a recovered addict, you might be better seeing someone else. Sometimes we might have a tendency to view everyone taking pills as an addict)
I am not exactly sure where you are coming from? Are you taking the pills pretty much as needed for pain, or are you taking them to get high. Are they negatively impacting your life & what is the problem you fear that you have.
Also, if you are in chronic pain, it seems like it would be healthier for you to do something else. There are many alternatives ranging from holistic, acupuncture, etc, to different types of pain management systems.
If you do decide that you want to stop using narcotics for pain management & try one of the above, you definitely have to go thru some kind of detox. You can use the taper system -but you still have to find a way then to deal with the pain as well as witdrawl at the same time. If you can, a medical detox might be best.
If you want to keep using narcotics for pain management, i think you definitely need to switch to something else, either thru ur Dr. or a referral to a pain management clinic. There are patches available, as well as other narcotics that contain little or no tylenol. You might be hurting your liver by taking so much.
Like Tridlemom says, some people do need to take medication every day for legitimate reasons. You need to figure out if you are one. Maybe a counselor is someone to talk to about this. (By the way, if your counselor has a bias, like if they are a recovered addict, you might be better seeing someone else. Sometimes we might have a tendency to view everyone taking pills as an addict)
