I am also trying to quit vicodin. Your posts are so helpful and informative. I started taking vicodin because of severe dental problems and i mean severe. I vary on the amount i take daily, i have taken up to twenty at times, i do not take them to feel high, i take them so i can eat better due to a horrible denture i wear. It has been a couple of years and i do not want to take them anymore, because i feel they are not really helping anymore, I started eating much softer foods. I am tapering, Instead of taking 4 at a time, i cut down to two at a time, believe me I had some severe flu symptoms, and going to the bathroom all the time.....the worst i find is feeling so tired. Of course this is all to myself, no one in my family knows, they would never believe it. and i couldn't hurt them by telling them.
Can i get some more suggestions on tapering, am i doing it right, i know that in the last 3 days, i am taking half the amount i usually take. Any advice is so appreciated. THANK GOD FOR THIS SITE AND ALL YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE
Hey Navha-
I have a long history of dental experience, including oral surgery. If you have dentures that don't fit right, or hurt, you may need to find a dentist or oral surgeon who knows what the heck they're doing.
One problem, ( and I don't mean to diagnose online, BUT) could be that when the teeth were removed, the bony ridge was not smoothed with a bone file. This is called an alveoloplasty. If this is not done, the bony ridge has peaks and valleys which makes wearing a denture very uncomfortable.
The down side of this is it would require a short surgery by an oral surgeon, and you would be sedated by IV, and prescribed pain pills afterward. Not exactly what an addict needs, but maybe that would help in the long run and you could taper off vicodin.
Please keep me updated and let me know if I can help!
I have a long history of dental experience, including oral surgery. If you have dentures that don't fit right, or hurt, you may need to find a dentist or oral surgeon who knows what the heck they're doing.
One problem, ( and I don't mean to diagnose online, BUT) could be that when the teeth were removed, the bony ridge was not smoothed with a bone file. This is called an alveoloplasty. If this is not done, the bony ridge has peaks and valleys which makes wearing a denture very uncomfortable.
The down side of this is it would require a short surgery by an oral surgeon, and you would be sedated by IV, and prescribed pain pills afterward. Not exactly what an addict needs, but maybe that would help in the long run and you could taper off vicodin.
Please keep me updated and let me know if I can help!
NAVHA - You will find good people here. Maybe before tapering you should go to the dentist and see if they can permenantly fix the dentures. If you come of the meds and it still hurts, you are no better off. Good luck.
thanks for getting back to me. It helps to know there is someone to talk to. I have cut down to about half the amount of pills i was taking. I was wondering when i should cut again, without getting to much of the withdrawals. I did have a sick stomach in more ways than one. But everyone in the house had the flu and I joined in which helped me to cut down. Any advice will be so appreciated.
About the dentist , i have been over and over, i have suffered thru dental implants that have failed over and over again, had them replaced many times and they still failed. One of the dentists I feel should have added bone, but didn't do that, although i thought he was going to. It has been an expensive mess over 5 years, its so hard to take, whenever i can i leave the denture out, which makes it not to often because of my grown kids and people coming and going. It truly ruined my life.
More advice on tapering will help. thanks
About the dentist , i have been over and over, i have suffered thru dental implants that have failed over and over again, had them replaced many times and they still failed. One of the dentists I feel should have added bone, but didn't do that, although i thought he was going to. It has been an expensive mess over 5 years, its so hard to take, whenever i can i leave the denture out, which makes it not to often because of my grown kids and people coming and going. It truly ruined my life.
More advice on tapering will help. thanks
NAVHA - I feel bad for you. Dental pain stinks. I would still try and find another doctor because if you are in a lot of pain, even if you stop, you will be tempted to start again.
Tapering from opiates will not kill you. Neither will withdrawals. I would defer to a doctor on tapering. I would say just keep cutting down every day....good luck!
Tapering from opiates will not kill you. Neither will withdrawals. I would defer to a doctor on tapering. I would say just keep cutting down every day....good luck!
