:bouncing:
After a long struggle, I have decided to give up the hydrocodone. I'm a chronic pain patient and need SOMETHING to function normally, but the hydro is ruining my life. It's officially been 32 hours since my last one and not only am I NOT craving them, I'm actually relieved that I don't have any in the house. My problem was, if they were here, I took them. If I don't have any though, I can manage.

I'm not ordering anything online anymore and I'm throwing out all my old pill bottles with pharmacy info and stuff on them. I'll be so glad to get rid of those!!! I always think, "What if I get killed in an accident and someone has to clean out my house and finds all this crap." They would be horrified and my husband would feel betrayed. I couldn't do that to my family.

I can't throw the stuff out fast enough. It's like a fresh start and for the first time in a loooong time, I am looking forward to enjoying my days without waiting for UPS or FedEx and not having to juggle the money to pay for them.

I AM taking Ultram for my regular pain and it is helping immensely with the w/d's - very little sweats, no depression, no restless legs..... If I had known I might have tried this a long time ago.

I'm a bit worried about what to tell my doctor and what to do if he writes me another script for H. Will I be strong enough to resist??? I'm not sure........but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I think every day I get through will improve my willpower - hopefully!

Oh, one more thing:
Another reason I decided to take the plunge was because I made a list of Pro's and Con's regarding the H. The Con list was miles long, compared to 3 entries in the Pro column. I would like to post my list at some point and maybe it will help others.

Thanks for being here y'all ~ I don't think I could have had the guts to do it without reading your stories and reveling in your achievements. Y'all are the BEST!

:angel:

hollyday..
I understand being sick of the pills-etc..the Hydro-has taken over your life..
I wish you the best..and i know you can do this!!!
I hope you will speak to your Dr..and look into alternative ways to deal w/ the pain-accupuncture can be very helpful-massage-etc..
Best regards..
Hang tough...
ggrl :angel:

Maybe let your Dr. know that you have a problem w/the hydros... I agree w/what godessgrl says about acupuncture! I want to do it as well b/c I am in CONTANT PAIN when I don't have my pills!!! YOU CAN DO IT! YOU ARE IN THE RIGHT MIND-SET AND YOU HAVE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE! GOOD LUCK!!!

:bouncing:
After a long struggle, I have decided to give up the hydrocodone. I'm a chronic pain patient and need SOMETHING to function normally, but the hydro is ruining my life. It's officially been 32 hours since my last one and not only am I NOT craving them, I'm actually relieved that I don't have any in the house. My problem was, if they were here, I took them. If I don't have any though, I can manage.

I'm not ordering anything online anymore and I'm throwing out all my old pill bottles with pharmacy info and stuff on them. I'll be so glad to get rid of those!!! I always think, "What if I get killed in an accident and someone has to clean out my house and finds all this crap." They would be horrified and my husband would feel betrayed. I couldn't do that to my family.

I can't throw the stuff out fast enough. It's like a fresh start and for the first time in a loooong time, I am looking forward to enjoying my days without waiting for UPS or FedEx and not having to juggle the money to pay for them.

I AM taking Ultram for my regular pain and it is helping immensely with the w/d's - very little sweats, no depression, no restless legs..... If I had known I might have tried this a long time ago.

I'm a bit worried about what to tell my doctor and what to do if he writes me another script for H. Will I be strong enough to resist??? I'm not sure........but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I think every day I get through will improve my willpower - hopefully!

Oh, one more thing:
Another reason I decided to take the plunge was because I made a list of Pro's and Con's regarding the H. The Con list was miles long, compared to 3 entries in the Pro column. I would like to post my list at some point and maybe it will help others.

Thanks for being here y'all ~ I don't think I could have had the guts to do it without reading your stories and reveling in your achievements. Y'all are the BEST!

:angel:



HI
Your story sounds exactally like mine.

Except, I did not want to, and did not think that i COULD
go cold turkey, so I went to an MD>
Just a thought, maybe you should too?

Hang in there.

I am 7 days off of the pills and I feel great! Good for you for taking the plunge. I got sooooo sick of it too. It ends up consuming your life. I also have chronic pain. I have recently started seeing both a counselor and a psychiatrist. I have promised myself to be TOTALLY honest with them about my drug use. My psychiatrist (who is great because he works with both homeopathic and conventional medicine) has prescribed Ultram for me as well. I got the kind that melt under your tongue. This helps me to not associate the Ultram with pill popping and so far I've done great on only one a day...and it totally helped with the w/d's. Maybe this will help you. Accupuncture REALLY does work.

I wish you the best and succesful recovery...I know and understand because I too live with chronic pain. Before I became addicted to oxycodone I had tried everything...I destroyed my stomach with Ibuprofun, Celebrex, Ultracet, and all that stuff long before I even tried narcotic pain relief.....but it is so hard to say no to a medicine that once worked wonders for pain!!! I know that!

When I first started taking the oxy, to me it was the miracle med, took away my pain like magic...but then slowly, a downward spiral led to addiction, that takes over your life, and for me, severe depression, making my pain even worse. Sad thing is for me, my doctor was handing out my scripts like they were candy....he would even call me every two weeks just to check and see if i wanted more!!!

You can do this though...there are other ways out there to treat chronic pain. I myself havent found them yet, but I am sure I can find a way, a combination...i dont know. I also seeing a therapist..I see her 3 times a week. Right now we are working on my anxiety issues which are what bother me most of all right now....but the pain is still miserable. Keep us updated and best of luck. I am now 2 weeks and 5 days clean of narcotics!!!! You can do it too....if eventually the meds werent making you feel better, if you felt like they were taking over your life, you know its time to stop.....but I understand that it is so scary when you dont know what to do about your chronic pain....it scares me as well as it does you.

Im always here for support...You are in my thoughts and prayers.
Love,
Katie

Congrats to Hollyday..
I was addicted to Lortab 10.500 for 12 straight years, been off of them now for 36 days and doing great I must add.
I told my doctor that I didn't want to take them anymore, he looked at me as if I lost my mind but was very happy for me, I have pain and I will always have it, funny thing is that the over the counter meds helps a lot, when I was on the Tabs I never ever thought to take over the counter meds...
Again, congrats to you, you made A VERY GOOD CHOICE, as the days pass you will find that you are much better off without them, come here as often as you can to let us know how your doing, if you have a bad day don't worry about because you will have better days than not....
GO HOLLYDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

day 36 4Me which fits me to a T

:angel:

Oh my gosh, y'all are sooo sweet! I didn't expect such an outpouring of support! Boy that sure made me feel good and I needed to read all that right now because I felt like I was slipping "mentally". It's so weird..... The ultram is working well - not taking care of ALL the pain, but then nothing does - and I'm not suffering too bad from physical w/d's. But today, for the first time since I put them down, I started thinking about them A LOT. I mean, ALL DAY I thought about "should I fill my next prescription" :rolleyes: I was feeling weak and y'all really boosted me up - thanks so much!!! :)

I do have a question though....
I see my doctor tomorrow for my check-in visit and I want to tell him that I would prefer to take ultram instead of hydro for the pain. He will probably be very surprised and ask me why. I am TOO ASHAMED to tell him the truth. He has had many patients that have abused meds and he is always on the lookout for them. But he has praised me many times for being disciplined and taking care of myself. :( I'm so afraid if I tell him the truth that he will be suspicious of anything I say from here on out and I need him to manage my chronic pain. He trusts me so much and I can't bear the thought of telling him what had really been going on. Do I HAVE to tell him?

Some good advice would be most welcome right now ~

:confused:

Congratulations
It takes a lot of guts to quit, think how good you feel right now. That is a great step. I know it's hard, I find my self months later still looking stuff up on the computer to order. When I quit, it was for a month. I was aching so bad, I slipped, I did some fetynal. I would squeeze the gel into a needle and shoot it. The same amount that used to make me feel normal, messed me bad that time. I threw up for 2 days. I was so sick, that all I could think about was how good I felt sober. I wrote myself a letter reminding me how crappy I felt at that time, and how good it would feel to be sober again. I still have that letter. I haven't had to look at it, but I know it's there. That's enough reminder for me, along with support of people like you.
Hang in there. You're a good person.

Hey Hollyday...just wondering if you had already gone to the doc's office. Some quick advice and support...be honest with him. If you really want to quit then you may want to think about cutting off that "opportunity" to get more. It is embarrasing to admit to someone you respect that you have a problem, but he is a professional and I think he will be way more understanding than you think. Remember addiction is a disease. He also may be able to help you in your recovery. Either way please keep us posted and let us know how it went today. :) Good luck!