It will take some time for the cravings to subside. From what I know about it, it will be approx. 2 weeks for the uncontrollable cravings and constant thoughts about how to get more will kind of slowly desolve.

It wont be easy, but you can do it. If you are taking the medicine for pain, and you still have this pain it is going to make the pain worse for at least a week. When you are withdrawling opioids, it will make the pain you suffer from be intense.

If you are not taking these meds for pain but for pleasure, you will slowly begin to have pain and nausea that you probably have never had before but it will go away.

It is a very good idea to stop simply because the tylenol in vicodan/lortab is not good for the liver even if taken at or below the 4 gram limit over an extended period of time. In fact, there are more people ending up on deaths door now than ever before and at young ages because of the amount of tylenol being taken by boomers.

Good luck and use your support system!
Brian

Hey sew32, I must say you are lucky to have such a supportive husband like this. Well, I can well understand your situation. It’s quite difficult to quit such addictions. But it’s good that you realized that you need to stop taking these pills as soon as possible. It must be known to you that too much taking of these pills are harmful for your health. But now, since you have already made your mind to overcome this, don’t back out. Most of the people in this case back out due to the fear of the withdrawal symptoms. It’s hard but if you are determined and committed to your decision, you will definitely make it, I’m sure. There are a number of rehab programs going around now days. I think, these programs will help you in overcoming this addiction problems of yours. So you can go for such rehabilitation. In case you want some more information, you can tell me, I think I can help you out. Good luck!

Okay, so this is absolutely my first time saying anything out loud about how I am feeling. I have a bad addiction to the painpills, mainly percocet and I know that I need to get off of them. My biggest fear is that I will lose the euphoric feeling I get after I am high from them. I have a wife, and 5 kids. My wife knows I have the problem and tells me I need to quit but isn't someone I feel like I can fall back on. It's hard for me to even tolerate life every day without these pills. I am constantly looking for ways to get more, doing things like making copies of a prescription so I can get twice as many. It's not a good life to live because I spend all my time thinking about how many I got left, how long they will last me and how to get more. I need help before it's too late. I ran out one day last week and it was the worse day of my life until that night when I got more. I couldnt work, I couldnt talk, I couldnt do anything. I hated that feeling and do not want to feel like it again. If anyone knows any other support forums online please let me know as I would like to talk to as many people as possible, confidentially. It's hard for me to admit I have become addictive to something, it makes me feel weak.

i had a bad accident 10 years ago and have been on pain killers since then. Im now on even higher medications and feel louzy for it. Im too worried about not feeling the euphoric feelings they give me. Im terribly insecure and my pills make me feel so much better. Anyway i have a wonderful husband and an amazing four year old. I would hate for her to be mother less. Due to my moving around all the time i have never had the time to have proper therapy. im settled now though and just figured enough is enough. I have just started Physio-therapy, only been twice with not very good results but am going to stick with it. Also I have been very against seing a psycologist etc but made an appointment for first week in August. I dont intend to go cold turkey but want to start taking a little less a day. i so worry about my liver. I had trouble sleeping a few weeks back and had blood work done, thankfully my liver functioning seems to be ok. I know i cant carry on taking what im taking though, 4 Hydrocodones and 3 morphenes pd. Im trying to be strong and hope you will too. My thoughts are with you.

I became addicted to Fioricet with codeine and Norco and was addicted for probably ten years before I just decided (out of the blue-I don't know why-it just happened) I wanted to get off of them. A good nurse-practitioner friend sent me to an MD who gave me methadone tablets and told me how to substitute them for the pain pills.
Getting off the pain pills was easy. It was knowing what to do with myself once I was off them that was really, really hard. I suffered severe anxiety; I seemed to have all this time I didn't know what to do with. The rituals were gone. The highs were gone. I tried to cheat a couple of times only to find my medication didn't work anymore (apparently I needed the large quantities going in my system to keep me high, and I had already cut off my sources)
It's now...I forget, two years, three years later? And I don't even take so much as a Tylenol for pain now (if I have pain, it's bad enough to require a trip to the hospital)
I'm still shaking my head thinking, "What was that all about?"
I wish the very best of luck to anybody that finds themselves in my shoes.
Cheers, DewB

i started to take vocoin like two pills a day for about a couple of months cause i quit smokin weed and stop drinkin so pills took over me i been there when ur not on them it seems life sucks and theres nothin to live for but when i was on them i felt great like life was so amazin but when i had a bad panic attack 2 weeks ago by takin two hits off a joint and freaked out badly like sweatin,breathin hard,heart poundin out my chest and then the next day i got hit with a bad anxiety attack in my car at the light i quit takin everything because i thought these pills are catchin up or just plain freakin out for nothing could it be the pills i was takin for a while or just the bad experice i went threw that still scares me that im going to have another panic attack?

What you have posted above is very humiliating and humble to say the least and very hard to do. You are to be commended for this! I must say, I myself have been there, but in my day, it was more of getting that weekend high and party on type thing. You know life, love and sex. Those pills sure did help me cope with my life. I went cold early in my stages on my own. I don't think I could have done it had I waited year later.
Now for the heart aching true. In your case from my point of view ( and I must be honest here ) you have a VERY bad probem and you know it. You have taken the first step right here on this board to becoming clean and you don't even know it. Now you have to take it one step futher and go out of cyberspace with this and get some real proffesional help. If you are with a company, I believe if I am not mistaken by law that can not fire you for being truthful about your problem. You need to go into an in house grug facility where you can detox out and be monitered while your doing it. Meth is a very power and deadly dextox drug and needs watching carefully. You can do this out patient. But, again I must be honest. I think you are past this stage. Your not going to be able to go this along. You are going to have to give all you have. You can deal with life clean and you will. Stand on that rock solid commetment to yourself and no one else. For you! Not your wife, not your kids, for yourself. Now get off that out of deial butt of yours and get out there and do something. We have faith in you. Now you need to have faith in yourself!

Hugs,
Carrie

i need to know want to do for withdrawal to hydrocodones when i cannot afford a doctor

I hesitate to even comment on my recovery from pain pill dependency because it was the lowest point of my life. I have degenerative disk disease in my lower back and am currently on disability and was forced to retire from my job. The pain is something I could not deal with without the help of hydrocodone and other powerful pain meds.

Like you, I was on the pills for four years and everything was fine at first. But, then, it took more and more pills to relieve the pain until I was taking a combination of 9 to 10 pills a day, either Vicodin, Oxycontin, Morphine, Codeine or Norco.

I decided in Feb. 2007 to stop the merry-go-round and didn't realize how hard it was going to be. I quit cold turkey and became very sick from withdrawal. I was in bed for a month before I could eat and became very weak. It was probably May before the drugs were out of my system and I began to feel well. I had cravings for the drugs for at least three weeks and my wife had to hide any pills from me.

This withdrawal was the hardest thing I have ever done and I suggest you get your doctor to help you.

I take pain meds for a lower back problem. I get help through a pain management doctor and he regulates my medication to the pill. I can not take any more that perscribed. I have two small children I am taking care of by myself and I would not be able to function physically, if I did not have the medication. Sometimes I hate that I have to take it. I am very open with my doctor and he has told me that, though I am not mentally addicted to the medication, I am physically addicted and I will need his help to get off the medication once the time comes. The problem I am haveing is that now (after 2.5 years) my body is used to haveing the medication every 4-5 hours and I start withdrawls after about 7-8 hours. I have to take it weather or not I am in pain. I hate haveing to make sure I have enough medication with me when I go somewhere or on a vacation. Sometimes I want to go cold turky but I can't because I have a job and kids.

If you look above your post, I know you will believe me when I tell you that I know exactly how you feel. I was in much the same boat for four long years, wondering when that day would come when I had to stop taking pain medication in such large quantities. I think I may have been able to go through withdrawal because I was retired and had no kids to worry about. Good luck and pay attention to your doctor's orders when the time comes and it sounds like you trust him already.

Due to an accident members of several families have been taking morphine and oxycodone stronger than Vicodin and doing so at a rate of 28 to 40 5 mg tablets in a 24 hour period. They can stop taking it and experience minor symptoms for 4 days. But they don't think about the RX . They take it and function. It takes alot of RX to get sick but surprisingly not too much meds that you get anxious and feel guilty and make promises to quit that stress you. You would be surprised at how much you are actually in control and taking a few pills like that Vicodin is not wrong. It is alot of tylenol sprinkled with traces of a 'narcotic" that is mild. Treating your anxiety will put the issue in perspective.

about a week ago me and my wife had a falling out and it seemed like we were going to get divorced until i told her about my drug problem i have been taking loritabs and percosets for about 6 months now it has gotten to the point to where i spent 900 dollars in one month for them and have lied to where the money is going
i starting taking the pills because of the pain i was in with my back but even long after the pain was gone i still took them they gave me this great sense of feeling like everything was fine even when it was not i just had my 5th anniversarye and i hope to have many more. this is the first time i have ever told anyone besides my family about my addiction because i have been ashamed of what i have done and who i become because of the pills i have been lowering the doses i take so it will be a little bit easier to quit from what i have read on some blogs online but i just feel like i have to talk to someone other than my wife because she cant understand what im going through right now i know i will quit i just hope and pray i dont ever use them again

Ive been on and off pain meds since 2004. Currently on but working to be done with this permanently. Was wondering if anyone would like to share with me their stories of how they got started with the pills and how they got off.... I am dedicated to doing it this time and need the support of strangers as there is a lack in my life in the friends and family department.... I have tried everything to kick this in the past - it all only works for a little while if at all........ no matter how determined I may be, I am petrified of the withdrawals and for some reason, suboxone did not help me with them....

Are there any OTC products or natural products to help alleviate the withdrawal symptoms of opioids -- at least make them a bit more tolerable? I've been cold turkey from hyrdocodone for 2 days and it's my first time to get into this trouble. I will not do it again. But the symptoms are really bad still. Any help out there?

Hi everyone,

I too spent years addicted to drugs and alcohol. I lost my career, my home, my family and friends to my addiction. Drugs and alcohol became the most important thing in my life and nothing else mattered but my next pill or drink.

After going from being the Chairman of the Board of the company I started, to sitting in my own filth on the concrete floor of the Miami/Dade County drunk tank, I finally had a moment of clarity that started me on the road to recovery and happiness in sobriety.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you've heard this story before and this is not you, YET. You don't have to let it get this bad, but don't fool yourself into thinking that it can't happen to you. If it can happen to me it can happen to anyone.

I had everything a man (or woman) could ever dream of. I had all the property, power and prestige imaginable. But I stopped growing emotionally when I discovered alcohol at the age of 12, and started down the road to alcoholism and addiction. Alcohol and drugs were the solutions to all my problems. When I drank or used, I felt comfortable where I was standing, doing what I was doing, and with the people I was with. And I had never felt that way before ever. After my first drink I was "In." I made a commitment that very day that I was going to do that again every chance I got no matter what. And that's exactly what I did for the next 30 years.

Please don't wait! If you have tried to stop only to convince yourself that you can control it next time, then find yourself right back where you were before, then you are probably an addict. That word is difficult to swallow, but pride has driven more people to their death than any other emotion. If you are an addict, and your cry for help pretty well demonstrates that you are, then you will do yourself a favor by swallowing your pride and shouting for help.

There are more ways to get treatment today than ever before. You don't have to advertise your problem to the world, but you do have to start being honest with yourself. Once you starting being honest with yourself you will begin to find the inner strength to take recovery one step at a time.

Get medical attention and tell your doctor honestly exactly how much medication you have been taking and for exactly how long. Your doctor may prescribe medication to ease the discomfort of withdrawal. Give this medication to your spouse, significant other or trusted friend, and allow them to keep track of your use. Once you have detoxed start going to Narcotics Anonymous. And no matter how stupid you think the 12-step program is; remember that it's not nearly as stupid as eating pills until your life revolves around keeping enough pills in your system so you don't go into withdrawal, and how you are going to lie, cheat or steal so that you don't run out by next week.

I have watched hundreds of people get clean and relapse over and over; simply because they will not accept that they cannot do it alone. If you are an addict or alcoholic, recovery will take teamwork and a design for living other one of your own making.

You don't have to lose any more than you already have. It doesn't have to get as bad for you as it did for me. But, it will take whatever it takes to convince you.

I hope this reply serves as that moment of clarity for some of you who read it. I sincerely hope that you find the peace and happiness that was intended for you. I know that there is a purpose for you in this life. Good luck and may your life be filled with joy in sobriety.

I dont know where to begin...Everything seems to have crashed down around me. I find myself lieing cheating and stealing. I do whatever I can to get pills. I actually went to rehab in jan of 08' and only because my mom caught me stealing pills from her and I broke down and finally asked for help. I was clean for about 8 months and decided to take pills again thinking that I could control it. Guess what??? I couldnt!! This is the first time I ever looked for a fourm like this online and I actually feel like it helps, I feel like im not alone anymore, Im going to try and quit again and this time Im going to do it right. If at all possible id like to keep in touch over this thing and share what happens with me day by day and if anyone else would like to do this with me id be glad to talk w/ you and do this together. Good luck to anyone trying to quit!! Just write back if you'd like my email address.
Thanks for anyone who cares!!
D

To the author of MY STORY,I want to say I was addicted to pain pills ,I too use to get them anyway I could and I knew I had to stop in order to save my life,do not be ashamed you are not alone and it is serious.I got help and so can I have been taking suboxone for over a year and it has really saved my life.Please stay in touch I know what you are going through. sg

I have been reading all your posts and I am telling you I don't feel alone anymore.
I have been on Hydro. for around 3 years and I so tired of thinking about it everyday. If I have enongh or how am I going to get more. I ususally get them from my Dad, I share his medication.
I moved to a small town for the summer and can't get my Dad's pain pill like I use too.
Which every time I get to the point I can't get them and I am low, I start thinking about what I am doing to myself. My Husband don't know about my addication, know one knows!
I need (or think I need) to take a pill whenever I get together with friends, it makes me feel good and I think it makes me more outgoing and even important.
I know I am taking these pills to shut out what is really going on with me life, which I don't want to work on, but I need too.
I am taking 1 1/2 to 2 Hydro. 5mg a day....and what to stop. So with your help, here I go!!! I hope all is well with all the members here and will let you know how it goes. I WANT TO HAVE THE FREEDOM OF NOT THINKING OR USING AGAIN!
Please reply if you are doing the same and we will get thru this together!!!
LOVE TO ALL!