Hydrocodone Withdrawl

royalty273 · 08-11-2003, 03:31 PM

I have been taking 4-6 10/500mg per day for about 3 months now. I have decided that it is ruining my life and I confessed to my husband and gave him all of the pills I had left. I took my last one at 3:00pm or so yesterday 8/10/03. I am starting to experience symptoms of diarreha, restless legs and arms, anxiety, and some hand shaking. Can anyone tell me how long these symptoms will last and will they get worse. I don't know what to do, I feel like I am going crazy. HELP

spark-o-cet · 08-11-2003, 03:39 PM

it is all contained in other posts on this board so just go back and read them

eeyore714 · 08-11-2003, 05:39 PM

hi royalty,
Good for you to decide now that you don't want this to be your life forever! it's a hard thing to do, but there are definitely people who can help, including us on these boards. I agree with Meredith in that since you haven't been on the pills for years (as many of us were before our first detox!) your withdrawal will be manageable...I know, easy for me to say since I'm not going through it right now!

the classic symptoms are some of what you already mentioned...restless legs and limbs, anxiety, as well as insomnia, diarrhea ( i can never spell that right), nausea, depression...sounds like fun, huh?

the good news is that it does end. For your case maybe 3-5 days? And there are things you can do to make it better. I also agree with meredith that if you trust yourself and your husband to "dole" out one or two pills a day just to make it a little easier, that would be fine. If not, taking hot baths, taking immodium, using a muscle relaxant or a benzodiazepine (but not if you feel you might become dependent on those) and walking help. It sounds silly, especially when you feel sick, but for me at least, keeping moving helped with that awful restless leg feeling.

Keep reminding yourself that although it is hard now, you will feel better and then you will have overcome a major hurdle towards getting your life back. You have shown a lot of bravery and inner strength already, don't give up on yourself! If anything, take these next few days that you will be feeling poorly as a good excuse to pamper yourself.
We're all rooting for you!

bellgirl · 08-11-2003, 09:50 PM

Hi Royalty --

I am 28 days clean from a vicodin addiction that lasted over two years. I was taking as many as 18 pills per day and was completely terrified and miserable. Each time I got a prescription I would tell myself I would "do better" and wean myself off once and for all. Unfortunately, and there's no getting around this, the addiction is bigger than we are, and we need outside help in some form if we are to get clean. I believe your first step in helping yourself is to speak to someone, anyone, about what first steps you might take to overcome your addition. There are various options. You are not alone, you are not to blame, and you CAN get yourself well. Please don't feel it's hopeless. You do need to decide to take the first step toward recovery, however. From tiny steps come bigger ones, etc. It's not easy, but I have faith you can do it.

About a month ago I went to one of my doctors (I had a few doctors prescribing the meds for me since one would never prescribe enough to support my habit) to tell him yet another b.s. story about how much my back hurt and how I needed another prescription. He started asking about the pain and I blurted out, "My problem is not my back pain. My problem is that I take too much vidodin."

The moment it came out of my mouth, I was overcome with panic that I'd blown my cover -- I couldn't believe how "stupid" I was for opening my mouth. After all, confessing meant the first step toward not taking pills, and that was terrifying. At the same time though, I felt the biggest sense of relief I'd felt in two years. He put me on a schedule of gradual tapering from the vicodin. I wasn't sure I had the willpower to make it through the tapering. A friend who is a substance abuse therapist told me there are doctors who specialize in helping you detox without checking in to a facility. Inpatient detox was not an option for me because I have young kids. I saw one of these doctors (I'll bet there's at least one in your area) and he was extremely compassionate. He also told me I had to stop the vicodin immediately and he gave me several prescriptions to get me through the withdrawal. One was a chlonodine patch, to combat cravings, anxiety and jitters. The other main prescription was pheno-barbital, which makes you kind of like a zombie but prevents intense withdrawal cravings. He also gave me a sleep aid, another prescription to prevent seizures (which can occur when one detoxes, although I believe it's rare), another for nausea/vomiting and another for diarrhea. I spent 3 days in a fog, but then I realized I didn't need as much of the medicine as prescribed, so with the doctor's approval I cut back on a lot of it. Within ten days I was over 95% of the physical withdrawal. I didn't even need most of the medicine -- I had them on hand "just in case."

The main point is that, after two years, I had overcome the physical withdrawal within less than two weeks. You can do it too -- I have faith in you because one short month ago I felt completely hopeless and now things are under control. I'm still taking it one day at a time -- it's not a piece of cake -- but anything beats the madness of addiction.

In addition to all of this "medical" stuff, I went to an AA meeting right after I confessed to my doctor, just so I could encounter others who had overcome addition. I was surprised and relieved to find many others who had had problems with narcotic pills, not just alcohol. I never though I'd wind up at one of these meetings -- it just wasn't "me", but it's one of the best things I've ever done. The environment is extremely supportive and understanding. You are not alone in your suffering and the people there will help you see this and help you if and when your cravings continue. You may or may not decide staying with their program is right for you -- I still don't know for myself but I'm exploring it -- but in the short-term I think you'll find it helpful. No one has to know you're attending the meeting.

I still have feelings -- psychological and emotional -- of wanting to take vicodin and I imagine it will take awhile for those feelings to go away completely, but I am in so much better a place than I was a month ago that I thought it was important for you to know my story. A month from now, you can be in a much different place than you're in now. I wish you all the best and I hope to learn about your progress.
- Bellgirl

royalty273 · 08-11-2003, 10:06 PM

Thank you all so much for your encouragement. I had a pretty bad day and I am sure it will get worse before it gets better. My main symptom is the restless legs, I feel as if I am crawling out of my skin. I took a Soma and it provided no releif. My husband offered me one of my hydrocodone if I wanted to take it, and so far I have resisted. I think maybe that if I know he will let me have one if I feel desperate makes me feel somewhat better. I am doing my best to hold out on taking it b/c I want to be strong. I think I am going to give myself until 9:00pm tonight to start feeling better and then I am going to take my ambien and go to sleep. I will only take the hydrocodone as a last resort. Thanks for your words of encouragement and concern. It has helped me a lot to know that I am not going crazy, it will get better and I am not alone. Thanks, so much

royalty273