Tapering off of hydrocodone

[lilyd]

Hi, I've been taking hydrocodone for the past 5 years. My dosage has sky rocketed the past 4 months to taking 18 (10/325's) a day. It seemed my tolerence had gotten so high not to mention I was going through some personal proplems which made me want to take more & more. I haven't truly wanted to quit ever but I have run out before causing the withdrawals to kick in. It would start with my stomach making noises, my anxiety would be so bad, I would get the chills & my eyes & nose would start running. I noticed my sex drive would increase & I couldn't sleep waking up extra early yet my body feeling tired, then the diarreah would start. It was awful. I would be figuring out any possible way to get even a couple of painkillers. I've always had backpain but taking them was more for recreational purposes but now its become a crutch in my life. I risk everything to get more. I'll leave in the middle of work hoping no one wi notice. I'hide my addicttion from my boyfriend. He knows I take them but has no idea of the amounf or extent of my problem. I miss having the choice  to take them verses my life feeling reliant on          
them. I'm always broke because of all the
money i'm spending on them & I want to stop
this & having these things run my life. So, recently I was mainly forced to cut back because I'm broke but I was able to get from 18 a day to 9-12 a day. I have felt some withdrawal symptoms from the drop in amount but it hasn't been too bad. I'm waking up earlier & feeling dizzy plus my stomach is constantly making noises. I have noticed that smoking weed has helped with the mental part & keeps me from adding on. I've never really been a pot smoker but surprisingly it's helped with cutting down. I've taken 9 the past 3 days & I want to continue working myself down. I know that the tapering method doesn't work for everyone but I have to try because I can't take time off from work & I would need to if i was going to do it cold turkey. There's just no way I could take off a week from work & impossible for me to be at work while suffering through withdrawals. I have a good amount left right now to allow me to taper off of these & the only thing that keeps me from taking more than what I'm currently at is the fear of running out & not having $ to buy more causing me to panic about going into withdrawals. I would  consider the ER or going to the Dr, or start thinking of who I could ask to borrow Money from, I'll lie to my parents & say I have a bill to pay so I can get more. The worst is having to ask my exboyfriend for them. Taking these things started with him but since we broke up, i will beg him & fight with him to just get a few. It's a nightmare & one of the many reasons to finally take control of my life. Anyways, I have read many posts many of times & i find some comfort knowing I'm not alone.
I have a couple of questions... First, does anyone know how long it takes for my body to adjust to the new amount when tapering down?
Second, what amount could I go down to from  9 without feeling much withdrawal? I'm worried going down anymore will be much harder because surprisingly I feel comfortable at 9.
Last question, if I considered going to the Dr to ask about one of those withdrawal medications or even approaching the subject of helping me get off of these, would I have to go to a rehab Dr or would a regular dr office work?
Thanks for listening.

[luv2bmomjen]

I am tappering.  Take B vitamins and Calcium-Magnisium-Zink.  that will help.  Lots of water.  I tappered from 26 pills to 10 in the last 13 days and besides that mood swings I am doing very well.  My doc gave me one month to be from 12 vico to none or rehab so.....................I did it.  Today I am down to one and it has only been 13 days.  I filled the meds to help with withdrawl but never took one because I have three kids to take care of and I was told it could mess with my blood pressure.  But really I have not needed it.  Just try to take it minute by minute and change up your routine.  Also keep yourself busy in those in between times, I cook, clean, draw!
Good luck

[broknbck]

well that is great how you are doing so far. i tappered down over a month from 18 to 1 pill a day. some days were better than others and i would try to go the whole day with nothing. or maybe just one dose. there really is not a perfect set pattern . i just went by how i was feeling. if my body was really screaming than i would take more that day. the whole idea is to be gentle to your body and brain and let it get adjusted gradually. you should never feel even the slightest high. that is taking too much. the last few days were 1 1/2 pills a day and 1 pill the very last day.
it really was not so bad. really shaky hands for a while, but no depression. just a little self conscious and quiet. only one sleepless night.
my doctor had given me a few sleeping pills and i only used one.

i doubt if just any doctor will help you out. even the ones that got you addicted in the first place usually don't want anything to do with you after you are addicted. i was lucky that i found a doctor with his own private practice that perscribed them to me while we were coming up with a plan for quitting and pain management.

i moved to the desert to deal with the pain and it worked. than i quit right before going and he perscribed me an antidepressant , cymbalta before i quit. it doesn't get you high or anything but i was not depressed so maybe it worked. ????

best to you on quitting. all i can say is to listen to your body. if it is suffering that extreme or bad , it cannot be a good thing. seems to take longer to recover when it is cold turkey.

[Leah1964]

At my worst I was taking 12, but not for long.  I got to nine, then 7 then down, down from there.  I am not the expert here, but can only tell you from my experience that down little by little worked well for me.  Didn't eliminate all the w/d's, but I think it made them a little more tolerable.  I am not c/t girl - just can't handle the extreme w/d's cause I know I would do anything to alleviate the suffering.  I got down to 1/2 per day and only continued on that to let my body even out.  Now 1/4 a day.  I don't feel like I need it, I just know my brain chemistry is all out of whack and just want to give it time to even out more.  When I was on my way down to 1/2 per day, the sleeplessness was probably the worst for me.  But last night after about 7-10 days was the first night I slept without any aide.  You can do this an prolonging it only makes it worse.  Sorry I really didn't answer any of your specific questions, but I hope it encourages you nonetheless.  I am sure there will be some others with more experience than me that will be posting.

I also want to encourage you that no matter what method you use.  Eat SUPER healthy, take some kind of vitamins daily and exercise.  The adrenaline that came from exercise helped me cope with the anxiety and low energy-I can't begin to tell you how much it has helped me.