Hi everybody, I've been reading this forum a long time but recently signed on. I keep reading the amounts of vike or oc you guys are able to take and wonder if I just don't have tolerence or if a person can have a body chemistry that won't allow that much. Been taking vicoden for a alooooong time. My doc gives me a script for 100 per month for a chronic pain issue. (neeedless to say I have LOTS) I take maybe three, tops, per day. I can never even take a whole one at once, so break them into three quarters. After all this time i have not built any tolerance to them. i can still feel them and they still help with the pain. It's not that I am this sensitive to all pharms. I have a high tolerance to benzos, can take 50 mgs of diaz or 3 mgs of kpin and not feel it. Also xanax doesn't do much of anything. I would like to stop taking the vikes but am a little scared to just stop because I've been taking it so long (years). I know you probably will laugh at the amount and maybe think it will be a walk in the park to quit at these low amounts, but humor me and give me advice please! I have tried to just stop and my legs and teeth start really hurting bad and I always give in and take my 3/4 pill. Is severity of withdrawal from length of time taking the stuff or amount? Thank you in advance for any thoughts.
thats what i was thinking. as for quitting.....you will never know if you can do it if you dont try....i would think that it shouldnt be that bad, maybe a few days of feeling weak groggy and just shitty in general. after that its cake =)
well i don't break it, I bite it and leave aprox a quarter. The point was i don't take a whole one becuase it is too much. Then when there are a bunch of broken ones I take two or three depending on the size left over.
On the Opiate forum there is a thread called Opiates FAQ. And on the second post in that thread there is something called Opiate withdrawl or something like that, anyway i've read it before and its pretty good. you should check it out. It might help.
thanks irie lady. I was kind of hoping my body wouldn't go through that kind of withdrawl because the amount is so small but maybe it will because of the length of time I've been taking them. Damn. So mad at myself for letting this happen. I guess the only way I'll know is to just suck up and do it.
well if you are taking them for legit pain, and only those low doses, it's probably not that bad for you. so unless you wanna stop for some other reason... and to be clear, a quarter or 1/4 is 25% of something.
Hi TV: You take a very small amount of opiates. You are lucky, by the way, to be able to do that and still get the pain relief for so long without having built a tolerance. That seems rare, because your brain adjusts to having the opiate and usually, fairly quickly, starts needng more to get the same effect. That's also why you withdrawl. Your brain will have to recalibrate those receptors, and it doesn't want to do that. But you're in control, right? You will have a day or so where you are uncomfortable, no doubt. But just remember that you are not sick. You're just recalibrating. The easy thing to do once you get those leg and tooth aches will be to pop a pill, but then you're just starting over. So don't pop the pill. The last thing you'll probably want to do is move around, but I can tell you this because I've done it myself: SWEAT. Take a walk in the heat, shoot some basketball, garden, cut the grass, clean your porch, but sweat. Hell, I guess you could even sit in a hot tub if you can find one. But while you sweat, drink lots of water (out with the bad, in with the good). Take a multi-vitamin. And here's the good part (even though you may not want to do it): EAT. Eat anything you want to reward yourself for the work you're doing and the tough choice you've made. Eat ice cream, eat a steak, eat your favorite meal, twice, with more ice cream afterward. Throw in your favorite cake for a bonus. Order your favorite pizza (and don't share). The exercise and sweating and eating will not only help you feel better, it should make you tired. Because in a mild withdrawl like yours (probably very mild), it may be tough to sleep for a night or two. If you do what I advised, your body will be tired come bedtime, but your brain may decide it's going to keep you awake because it's spoiled. Your legs may be restless and you may sweat. Go to the grocery store and get yourself a small pack of Benadryl. It has diphenhydramine, which will put you to sleep. I think Tylenol PM has the same thing, but you probably don't need the acetimnophen, so I'd go for Benadryl. Sleep tight and long, repeat for day 2, and I bet after that you'll start feeling clear-headed and well again. You will have recalibrated. Celebrate with some more ice cream. This of course does not address your medical issue, which is pain. If you still have the pain that made you start taking hydro in the first place, how will you deal with that? Good luck! One other thought: Have you ever had a hangover from drinking too much? If you have, this should be much easier, in my opinion.
The honest answer is I want to assess the pain. I think being on it for so long has sort of messed up my perception if the pain is still there. It hurts if I don't take it but that could be because I'm used to having it. I have a lot of old injuries as a former athlete so they tend to come up when I try to stop. I had a dream that made me want to stop. In the dream I had gone a day with no pills and my mind was clear; I felt good. Up to that point I have been taking pills every day until I noticed I'm acting like I'm addicted. I have a stockpile, I always have a couple in my purse "just in case" then have bizzare thoughts like what if I lost all of them and freaked out. I mean weird thoughts like what if the house burned down and they were gone or someone stole them. It's crazy! I have to go out of the country for a few months and can't imagine the logistics of bringing the pills, and no one really knows I take them. All that combined tells me I have more of a mental dependance on them and I want to be free again. My doc had sent me to a pain clinic and they suggested nuerontin but at the time I wanted my vicodens so my doc keeps giving them. Every once in a while he says "are you still having pain" and I say yea so then he gives more refills. He says they aren't harming me, and he has checked my liver periodically, but I feel like I HAVE to have them even though the amount is small, that is what scares me. I do like the way they make me feel, sort of warm and my legs feel great. I don't get high, just comforted if that makes sense. I do notice if I am very active and exericse like you mentioned I don't want the dose, but then if I'm like three hours late I'll suddenly really notice it. Proably mental. Anyway thanks for the suggestions and taking it seriously even though it is nothing like many people go through. Now I have to pick a day and just do it.
How many MGs are the pills? Taking vicodin, around 100 a month is a lot especially if you have been taking them for years, can be a bad thing. You may develop an opiate dependence. It is a good thing i suppose that you do not get a very high tolerance to them. Some people naturally have a low or high tolerance to opiates. As has been said above you should attempt in stopping taking the medicine for a little while, just to see if you can do it and whether it improves you life. Do you think that you have a problem with them? As you said above, you have become accustomed to having them, and you take them when you are in any sort of pain. Of course you older injuries do matter but do they really warrant taking the vics for years? Just try to stay off of them for a little while. Whats the harm?
