Hydrocodone Withdrawal

[dabby]

I have been taking hydrocodone for about 2 1/2 years at an increasing rate, ending up with the 7.5 strength and about 18-20 per day.  I do have severe arthitis pain and am a 51 year old woman.  I have to cut down and recently cut down to 10 a day and have experienced physical and emotional withdrawal symptoms.  I have some clonidine and don't know how much to take for withdrawal.  What is the recommended dosage.  My goal is to eventually cut down to 4 a day, but have been very uncomfortable at 10.  I also take effexor and trazadone for depression, but I am so depressed right now.  Hydrocodone, believe it or not has helped my depression and has given me something to look forward to. This site has helped, knowing other people go through the same thing.  Hydrocodone has become my reason to live. I know this has to change.

[dee dee]

I know exactly what you mean. I started taking vicodin for a back surgery, and didn't realize i was getting addicted. I also liked the feeling i got from them and now i'm scared just thinking of trying to get off of them.It's such a panicky feeling when i'm getting low on them and have to worry if the next rx is going to go through.I'm close to your age. I have tried cutting down and that never seems to work out. How did you get the clonidin? I heard that will help with the withdrawels. deedee

[dabby]

Hi Deedee,
I read your post and it's nice to be able to identify with another person in the same situation.  The clonidine was prescribed to me for anxiety, but I did not need them as I was taking the hydrocodone, so I have alot of them.  I just don't know what the recommended dosage is.  I'm having a hard time cutting down, and am constantly craving.  I am trying to work on a daily basis to keep my mind elsewhere, but have a hard time concentrating.  It has gotten a bit easier at times so I know it is possible.  Keep posting it's good to vent and identify. Barbara

[OxyDout]

I know how you feel, I took vicodin for 3 years, up to 12 a day then moved into the great world of oxy contin, taking up to 160 mg a day which was absolutely insane, I'm only 22 years old, I graduated in may from a well known college and am now working for a great company, however, its funny how we can keep things so quiet....... I'm now taking at times 3 vicodin a day, but other then that I'm doing very well.  I have had 6 knee surgeries, two of them were reconstructive which is how I got started.  It took me a while but I realized I needed to cut it out, I had no money, I was always in withdrawal and I had awful depression and anxiety. I haven't been clean for long, actually, I don't consider myself clean because I still use the vicodin, anyway, we are all here for you and this forum is very supportive no matter what happens, good luck and stay in touch.

GWH

[PhD2003]

Are you certian you don't have KloniPin, instead of Clonidine?  I just can't imagine a physcian giving you Clonidine--a medication for hypertension--to treat your anxiety.  Klonipin, on the other hand, is a benzo, making it more in line for anxiety use.  At any rate, through some strange twist of fate, Clonidine is one of the few high blood pressure medications that actually lowers my hypertension without causing blistering headaches, as all the others I tried did.  But I'm afraid that it didn't quell the withdrawal symptoms from hydrocodone when I stopped taking Norco cold turkey.  Perhaps, though, this is because I take it (Clonidine) on a daily basis.  Still, I've yet to find anyone for whom it did much good where withdrawal was concerned.  Nonetheless, I hope you're the excetpion to that rule.  Do be careful with your dosage, though.  There have been reports of overdose due to people increasing their doses to try to alleviate the symtpoms of withdrawal.  I'm sure one of the prescription-drug databases will post an amount not to exceed in any twenty-four hour period.

Good luck,

PhD

Best of luck

[Chucklebug]

This all sounds familiar ... I started taking Vicodin for headaches two years ago, and I kept increasing my dosage without even realizing it, really.  I don't know how you were functioning on 18-20 7.5mg per day ... I was taking about 10-15 5mg per day, and it was starting to make me really sick.  I couldn't breathe, had trouble swallowing, hit extreme highs and lows, got dizzy and lost my balance, had lots of trouble with nausea/constipation, and kidney problems.  My doctor told me that I was going to destroy my body if I didn't stop, so I checked into an in-patient detox ... in 6 days, I was off the Vicodin (and Lorazepam (generic Ativan), which I took for 6 years for anxiety) ... and it was relatively painless.  I wish I would have done that a long time ago.  The Vicodin does make you feel good, but's it's not real ... and the lows that you hit when it's time for another dose more than cancel out that "good feeling".  I have tried to stop many times on my own, and I was always so sick that I couldn't do it.  In the hospital, they gave me medicine for nausea, etc. associated with the withdrawal, and it wasn't bad at all.  I would recommend in-patient detox to anyone who wants to get off of this stuff ... it is poison, it will destroy your life and eventually kill you.  It gives you a false sense of happiness, you feel like you can do anything, but in reality you are so dependent on it that you actually can't do ANYTHING.  Quitting isn't easy, but it was the best decision I had made in a LONG time.

[Nod]

Your post is almost a mirror of myself. I'm 37.  Started about 2yrs ago all related back to my arthritis. 15-20 of the 7.5's.  The hardest part was going from 15-20 down to 8-12.  It hits me like a brick wall.  But I found after that I was able to tapper down and get off completely. My problem is staying off. This is where I feel like such a loser..I tapper to time my next Rx so I don't have to go thru the withdrawals. When I go into withdrawal it kicks my arthritis into high gear and makes life hell. What a nasty cycle I've got myself into.  I take all the other NSAID's for the inflamation and pain but got hooked on the hydro given for the breakthru.  Other than tappering down I don't have alot of advise for you, just wanted you to know your not alone with this or your arthitis and give you some support.  I know how it feels.  Nod

[55697]

Please tell me if the Klonipin works for Lorcet withdrawal.  I have some, but don't use it.  Will it help?  I take 2 Lorcet a day, every day.  Lately I've had chills in the afternoons and evening.  I feel awful in the morning, hurting all over.  This started because of migraines 10 years ago - have been taking Hydrocodone and Soma together for 10 years, 1 of each, split into half doses twice a day to make a bottle last the whole 30 days before refill.  

I want out of this mess.  If Klonipin will work, great.  Will it get rid of the chills??

Thanks.  Just discovered this forum and it is good to know somebody is out there talking about it.  I'm afraid.

[Nod]

I have heard and read several time where Clonidine (not Kl..) is used to treat withdrawal symptoms.  Has something to do with controling hypertension which lessens withdrawal symptoms. Yes,
have to be monitored because it can cause blood preasure and
other concerns.  Nod

[hjp]

klonipin is an antianxiety agent and clonidine is an antihypertensive agent.  Both could be used to help thru withdrawals. Clonidine can drop your blood pressure quickly and cause you to pass out if you change positions quickly, and should be used under physician supervision....if you decide to use it on your own, don't jump out of bed to answer the phone...you will probably end up on your face.  Klonipin is like a benzo and will calm you thru withdrawals.  Detoxing on your own is so tough, because your little brain voice keeps saying: when will this end?  Consider in hospital detox.  The consenses on this forum seems to be 3-4 days for the really badstuff to pass and up to one year to regain all your strength.  It's really one foot in front of the other until you've completely recovered....and don't look back!  Good luck.....happy valentines day.       hjp

[polo]

Please help me understand what the withdraw symptoms are for percocet (hydrocodone? or oxy codone?) I'm not sure. I began taking the percocets approx. 4-5 months ago and now I am up to 15 to 20 a day. I do not feel high from this medication but it does lessen the severe back pain that I suffer with. Ive tried almost ever non narc. medication on the market for the past ten years but nothing seems to work, If it does it is for a short time and only lessens pain. I'm feel lost. It effects every part of my life (family, business and social). I was very active but now I find it difficult to proform the most simplest things. I've lost sleep, appetite and my desire to participate in  most activities is next to nothing. Operation seems to be a non option since the success ratio is extremely low and the results could be paralysing. I'm scared!!!!  Please respond anyone.
Polo

[OxyDout]

just as a note, I know there are many different perspectives on the use of Methadone, but let me tell you what I did.  I was taking about 120-160 mg a day of Oxycontin, which is A LOT worse then the vicodin (experienced both)I took 5 days, the first day I took 10mg of methadone, the second day I took 5mg, and the same for the 3rd, the fourth day I took 2.5, and then the fifth day another 2.5, from there it was a mental game, I was pain free....... the mental part is the worst but you can't get through it unless you go through the awful, nausea, pain etc.....that is my suggestion, just keep in mind everyone is different....... keep it up guys, you WILL DO IT.

GWH

[hjp]

Polo, your description of your life is the same as all the other addicts on this forum, and it won't get better unfortunately until you detox and move away from the narcs.  The pain is another problem and very real.  Certainly we all struggle with our own pain synarios.  Fortunately for you you've only been taking percs for a few months....most times that means shorter detox......3-5 days.  Would be much better and easier for you if you would find a detox program in your area and get started.  Good luck polo.     hjp

[Phaedrus]

If you need opioid treatment for chronic pain, and it works, then get the treatment.  If you're having side effects from the medication that are causing you to think twice, then that is another story.

The withdrawal has several stages, the first being 4-5 days of severe flu-like symptoms.  That is usually followed by a period of depression and low energy.

Different people experience different things for different periods of time.  But the bottom line is if you want to quit, quit.  If you have not lost your supply of meds, following a taper schedule will greatly reduce the impact of the withdrawal.  A slow, methodical taper from the dosage levels you're at down to 0 will make things much, much easier for you.

Hope that helps.  Feel free to ask any other questions you may have.

[jethro]

hi all jethro codeine here came off lori's last friday thought i caught flu from friend then found this site amen! anywho,can u tell me how to access thomas recepie new addictions forum he says its there and printable thanx

[Schlub]

Clonidine is the only FDA-approved *non-opiate* treatment for opiate addiction (including to drugs like hydrocodone).

Originally used as a high blood-presure med, Dr. Mark Gold in New Jersey discovered in the early 1980s that it could relieve some, or even many (but not all) of the syumptoms of opiate withdrawal. It's especially useful, I've found, in getting rtid of the sweats and jitteriness during withdrawal. But it doesn't do a whole lot for  the more extreme bone pain, vomiting, convulsive leg-kicking, etc., of serious withdrawal.

The only drug that really does enable you to withdraw from opiates  totally pain free is Buprenex, which is expected to get FDA approval probably sometime this year. It's a"partial" opiate  -- meaning, you can't get high from it, but it "fills" your opiate receptors so you don't feel any pain when withdrawing from heroin or hydrocodone. If you're on a long-acting opiate like Oxycontin, then you first must switch to short-acting hydrocodone befopre quitting and using Buprenex, because the Buprenex also contains "antagonist" properties that can exacerbate withdrawal in some situations.

In any event, mumbo-jumbo aside, Clonidine can help but Buprenex is a God-almighty miracle drug, I kid you not. Many addiction doctors now prescribe it (even though technically it's only FDA approved for the treatment of pain, not opiate withdrawal), and mine even phoned in the script to my local Walgreens.

Biut if you can't get Buprenex, try using 1-2 Clonidines every six hours but monitor your blood pressure and be careful about standing up too quickly.

As for Klonopin, that's another matter entirely. A benzo like Valium (only much stronger), it's supposewd to  relieve withdrawal symptoms basically by knocking thre **** out of you and drugging you so much  you don't feel anything at all. But be  very very careful -- Klonopin is EXTREMELY addictive. And unlike opiate withdrawal, Klonopin withdrawal CAN kill you!

[singer]

i no what you are going through. it has been 8 months of vicodin es after surgery. tried to stop-very painfull-singer.

[dee dee]

To dabby. I have a friend that is also suffering with arthritis and she is on some kind of shot, that she takes once a week. She said if she didn't take that ,she wouldn't be able to move the rest of the week. If you want i will find out what that is, and let you know. She said her pain is totaly unbearable without the shot.Do you ever feel sick from taking so many hydrocodones in one day?I feel sick if i take them to close together, or have taken to many in one day.DeeDee

[jethro]

JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONLY DOCTOR DELIVERER AND ANSWER TO YOU WHO CANT SEEM TO BREAK FREE FROM THE CUFFS YOUR IN HE UNCHAINED MINE. GET A BIBLE LOOK UP JOHN CHAPTER 3 VS 3 IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.THEN WHEN YOU FIND OUT YOU DONT HAVE THAT SCRIPT,ASK HIM FOR IT,A NEW BIRTH SPIRITUALLY,NOT A RELIGION BUT A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ONE WHO CREATED YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE.JESUS IS GOD! NOT THE god OF AA NA CA WHICH CAN BE WHATEVER YOU WANT.....TOOTH FAIRY MONA LISA TREE IN YOUR YARD! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE BESIDES YOUR LIFE AND ETERNAL SOUL. PLEASE BELIEVE ME

[GOD]

I am glad that you Beleive in Christ as your personal savior, Jethro. So do I, but please don't judge the people in this forum harshly if they chose not to.

"Let those without sin cast the first stone.." -Jesus Christ

Our Lord and savior is THE ONLY JUDGE.

Honour our Lord through your actions. How you live your life.

Peace.

[dabby]

Hi Dee dee,
Yes, I would like to know what the shot is if you could find out for me.  And, no, I do not get sick from taking too much, but since I have cut back, I am finding that I feel better.  I also have found out that since I cut back, the pills work better.  I know that doesn't make much sense, but I am still scared that I will not be able to get enough..  Today I feel pretty good, two weeks ago I didn't think that would have been possible.  I guess, a day at a time will do it for me.  Thanks for your concern.

[Schlub]

You mentioned a period of deporesion and low energy following the initial 4-5 days of detox.

Do you know, on average, how long this lethargic state lasts?

[dee dee]

To dabby, I will email my friend today and find out the name of the shot she takes. I'm finding that these pills are kinda controlling alot in my life. When i want to make plans to go out of town i first have to make sure i'm going to have enough pills while gone, so i don't have to worry about going through withdrawal symptoms.So alot of what i want to do is controlled by getting enough of these damm pills. I am to embarrased to tell anyone what a mess i have got myself into.Every time i make a decision to just quit taking these pills something comes up ,to where it would be impossible to stop at that time and be in the middle of going through withdrawels.I think sharing our thoughts with others helps, especially knowing there's alot of people going through the same thing. I will get back to you with that info as soon as i can. DeeDee

[jethro]

if you can point out to me were judgement was rendered id appreciate it thanx

[jethro]

if you can point out to me were judgement was rendered id appreciate it thanx