Don't want to screw up

[Ashamed33]

Is it ok to take hydromet?? I'm good and dandy been off pain killers. But I have the flu now and my doc presscribed mr hydromet as a cough syrup suppressant is it fine to take?

[bmdad]

Glad it's not in your possession anymore. It doesn't take much of any opiate to "wake the beast" and the mental cravings can come back ten times worse than what they usually are. The only time an addict should even consider to take an opiate is when there is absolutely no other option and we absolutely have to control the pain in order to function. There is always so much to learn about addiction, it's never ending. It's better to hear it from others than to experience it yourself. You just have to trust what you hear.
Congrats on asking before you experienced it on your own. In in question asking others who have been there is the way to go.
Best of luck and hope your cough is getting better!

Brian

[vicki595]

Hey...I'm curious about how you did and how much you took...Let me know...I had an amount of confidence in you that you would do the right thing,take what you needed and walk away...I hope you didn't disappoint me...Did you?

[Ashamed33]

Thanks everyone it's not in my possesion anymore

[Ashamed33]

Thanks h town my roomies got me accountable

[bmdad]

It would be like me saying that it would be okay for me to take an opiate for a few days again for my back pain if motrin wasn't working as long as I only took them as prescribed. I have tried this many times in the past and always ended up right back where I started, a full blown relapse. If I could control the amount I could take I wouldn't be an addict.
You'd be taking the same sort of medication as you did in the past, just for a different symptom. Just because it is in syrup form doesn't mean it will be any different this go around.
It would be like a doctor telling an alcoholic to drink a couple drinks because it would benefit their heart. Do you think an alcoholic would be able to stop at just a few drinks?
Since you just recently quit your doc I honestly think you are asking for trouble. It would be tough for someone that has a few years clean let alone a few weeks. The mental aspect is tougher than the physical withdrawals and even taking just a little is really gonna stir the beast.
Just because you got one okay doesn't mean it is okay. Most will say it a chance you shouldn't take. As addicts we always dig for any "okay" there is in order to give our addict brain what it wants. I think deep down you know what you should do or you wouldn't have asked.
Please don't risk it. There are many other options out there for a cough.
Sorry to post again. I just don't want you to risk relapse since you have come so far. I hope you don't find out the hard way that one poor decision can cause a great deal of pain. Pain much worse than a cough.

[gnarly_1]

HI well  stuff like this always brings up controversy...but as a general rule v good to follow
is if your an addict dont take anything with narcotics in it...it may seam harmless but to me it ant worth waking up some now quite brain receptors...it su c ks to have cravings and anything that might bring that on im staying away from..I would try some otc stuff first and see if that dosent do it for you...why wake up a sleeping giant.......Gnarly  

[Htownnofrown]

Keep in mind if you are truly looking for advice on here only one person has said they would take it. We are never 'better' due to a change in brain chemistry. Taking even a prescribed amount will put the brain back into craving. This is why narcotics are only prescribed to addicts under the most serious circumstances. Doctors know it is not worth the risk and, if they are informed, will typically prescribe a non narcotic medication. I know for a fact that there are prescribed cough supressants that are non narcotic, so the best decision would be to call and ask for that.

[dominosarah]

If it was me i would cough up a lung before i would take any meds with narcotics in them.  The demon that lives in brain would be up and on high alert......Please just be very careful if you chose to use this.         sara

[bmdad]

The thing about being an addict is not being able to take only two teaspoons and stop at that. I would not even think about risking a drop because once we get that warming sensation of the brain from the opiate, our brain realizes how much it misses it. It will do anything it can to justify taking just one more dose.
Being that you have only been through withdrawals one time, you haven't learned how easy it is to get right back in to addictive addiction. I'm not saying you will, but it is just that easy. If I would have taken the advice from others that have warned me in the past, I too might have only had withdrawals once.
But to answer your question, a small amount will not make you go through withdrawals. It's just being an addict, there is no such thing as a small amount. If you do plan on taking it, give it to someone that can hold on to it for you just to make sure you don't take more than you're suppose too. If you can control your intake of meds you wouldn't have had a problem to begin with.
An addict should not be in charge of a narcotic if their sobriety is of utmost importance.

[Htownnofrown]

Wont cause physical withdrawal but most likely will cause cravings to return. Good luck.

[Ashamed33]

Kk thanks vicki :). My worry was that any amount would cause a physical withdrawal even a tbs hehe. Thanks everyone for your input  

[vicki595]

Here's what I think and I stand by it:  Two tsps. will not hurt you or cause withdrawals to occur. The benefit will outweigh the detriment.  You need to calm a cough and this medicine works better than DXM.  You know the risks (which I know) and if you take it for the cough and put it aside,you'll be fine,physically.

Feel better!

[Ashamed33]

I understand cancuf and thanks. However only ever experiencing withdrawal once my question once u experience it once does is happen everytime you take anytype of said medicine at any amount? Even if it's a few teaspoons for coughing or would there have have to be more abuse of said drugs in unreasonable amounts for the body to experience withdrawal as when it first occured?

[CATUF]

Did the doc prescribe hydromet for you KNOWING that you're a drug addict?  If not, then he or she was missing essential and critical information.  

If the doc did know and prescribed it anyway, I'm forced to wonder is wrong with him (or her).  Actually, that's not quite fair -- some docs (maybe most) really just don't get it.  Drug addict should not have opiates except for serious pain issues that can't be treated any other way.  Even then there are strict rules that must be followed, first of which is the addict doesn't get control over the drugs.

This was essentially the topic at my mens' meeting last night -- we were discussing how to deal with serious injury, surgery, etc. in recovery.  One clear theme is that WE have to be responsible for our own recovery.  This means telling every doc or dentist we see the truth and, if necessary, explaining what we can and can't have.  It also means double-checking: "now, is this ok for ME to take?"  One guy told a story of the doc who had helped get him sober 16 years before handing him a script for hydrocodone caugh syrup -- he looked at it and said, "whoa, I can't take this!" The doc shook his head and sincerely apologized.  The doc wasn't ill informed or apathetic, he was just another over-worked doc that treated someone in recovery like they were an "earth person." But we're not earth people and we can't afford to forget it (or let our medical provider forget it).  
The do-not-take list is actually a lot longer than most alcoholics and addicts, and their docs, know.  Of course it includes the obvious like opiates and alcohol, but it includes seemingly benign otc meds like sudafed (or anything with pseudoephedrine).  As a general rule of thumb, we must avoid anything that speeds the brain up or slows it down.  Anything that is mood or mind altering is off limits.  It doesn't matter that the med is considered non-intoxicating or non-addictive, it can prime the brain for re-entry into active addiction.

So, "is it fine to take it?"  That's up to you.  If it was me, I'd be asking myself if my recovery was worth flushing in favor of some probably not necessary cough relief.  As far as being careful and not going crazy, if I was capable of following those rules I wouldn't be a drug addict.  If I use, I have to count on the (proven) fact that I won't be careful and I will go crazy . . . that's what I do when I use.

Coughing won't kill you, active addiction will.

CATUF
1919

[Ashamed33]

Ok my only worry was whether taking the prescibed teaspoons would lead to anything once I was better and stopped :). Thanks though

[Htownnofrown]

There are non narcotic medicines for that, if you are an addict like me then I would not take them when there is an alternative.

[vicki595]

If your sick...of course you need to take it for the coughing. Just be careful and don't go crazy. LOL    Are you alone?     Sometimes it's good to tell someone else in the house that you have the medicine. It keeps us accountable.  If you take it and don't like it,get rid of it!
Hope you feel better~

[LeaAnn807]

It has hydrocodone in it, so I would say no!