Lost high

[Clem Snide]

Hi, I'm new here.

I have lost my high. I have been on hydrocodone for a few years now, and I've always been able to get a high. My tolerance has gone up of course, but I've still always gotten one. Well, for the past couple of months no matter how much I take I cannot get a high. It's either feeling nothing or going straight into a nod (which isn't fun for me).

Can anyone tell me if this is just something that happens with opiods? Or something else? I've taken three-week breaks and still nothing when I go back on them. I've also tried potentiating to no avail.

Can someone please help? I feel like I've lost something that's important to me.

Thanks.

 

[bluerobot]

Hi, I'm new here.

I have lost my high. I have been on hydrocodone for a few years now, and I've always been able to get a high. My tolerance has gone up of course, but I've still always gotten one. Well, for the past couple of months no matter how much I take I cannot get a high. It's either feeling nothing or going straight into a nod (which isn't fun for me).

Can anyone tell me if this is just something that happens with opiods? Or something else? I've taken three-week breaks and still nothing when I go back on them. I've also tried potentiating to no avail.

Can someone please help? I feel like I've lost something that's important to me.

Thanks.

Idk. You can try tapering down for a week and then upping the dose again. You may need to take a break for a bit IMO.

 

[Clem Snide]

You mean a break longer than three weeks?

 

[hydroazuanacaine]

much longer than three weeks. six months or longer if you want to do anything to that tolerance. even after a half a year to year long break, your tolerance will be right back to where it is now if in a week or two if you use regularly.

 

[falsifiedhypothesi]

The thing about long term opiate tolerance is that you can go ahead and stop for a week and your tolerance will drop dramatically. Then once you start using again the high will very quickly fade and tolerance will jump up to nearly right where you left off.

The only way to i've found to stop this is to take a long tolerance break, at the very least 4-6 months. Then when you come back tolerance will take longer to shoot up but if you start chasing the high you'll just end up in the same scenario, as if you only took a couple weeks off.

This is all in my experience, obviously other people will have different reactions. It's pretty universal that people will lose the high over time, and even if you get it back it's never gonna be as good as it was. The brain has a way of adapting and it takes a long time to reset itself.

If you need the opiates for pain then this is a crossroad for you. Either accept you have lost the high and keep using for legitimate pain, or chase the high and continually run out early, jack your tolerance up, and be in miserable withdrawal much of the time.

Whatever you may choose, good luck to you.

 

[Chronicpain54]

I take opiates for pain and haven't felt anything from them in years. I can take 2 hits off a joint and be uncomfortably high though.

I take 30 mgs Methadone
45 mgs of oxyIR
40 mgs of Vicodin
2 mgs of klonopin
600 mgs of Gralise (XR gabapentin) before bed

I gave up thinking about getting high and I judge my medicine on whether I have less pain, less muscle spasms and less burning of my nerves.

I guess it would be nice to feel like I did when I was first given Percocet but it won't happen.

Are you trying to get high or trying to stop pain? Because you're going down a slippery slope hunting for that feeling. You would need different drugs at higher doses but even then you'll develop tolerance and be right back in this situation. If you move up to oxycodone it'll work for a little while, then you'd have to go up the ladder of stronger drugs.

You probably don't want to hear it, but chasing that high can and will ruin your finances, family and health. I would just say smoke pot if you want to get high. It's cheaper and won't ruin your life. You're lucky that you're only on hydrocodone and can detox easier from it.
If I could get my healthy body back I'd gladly never worry about getting high. Not worth it.

 

[bluerobot]

Clem Snide - I would listen to everyone here ^^^
You can give it a good 6month++ break and then try to get that feeling back for another 2 or 3 months if that but at that point is it really worth it. I mean if you can quit for 3 weeks or even 6months ++ wouldn't it be better to just quit all together? I know this isn't at all what you want to hear. Trust me. But it's the truth. The high won't last forever. It never does. And it's never going to be like it was those first few times. I went from chasing the high to basically chasing a good nodd and I was content with that for a while. Certainly not happy with it. But eventually you will get to a point where the only thing you're chasing is normalcy. And you will get to a point where you're no longer doing the chasing, and in fact you're running. Running from the creeping devil we call withdrawal. And let me tell you, that bitch has hella stamina and endurance. And it will catch up eventually. And if you decide to climb the ladder of drugs like chronicpain54 so elegantly put it, sure you may be able keep chasing that high for a little while longer but it will only get exponentially worse for you in the long run. Please don't make the mistake of digging yourself into a hole you can't escape. It is not worth it and you will more than likely regret it. I say this with no judgement whatsoever. Trust me. I lost the right to judge a long time ago. I only say this because I am concerned and don't want you to get into a situation you might regret. After all, it is indeed a very slippery slope. Much love. Sincerely Blue.

 

[Clem Snide]

Thank you all for your good advice. I sincerely appreciate it.

I had come to the conclusion that I would have to give up the good feeling and just go for the pain abatement and good sleep, but as a long time lurker here I decided to ask to see if any of you had some trick/inside knowledge/burnt offering I could do to help. Due to my pain, I cannot take a six month or year long break. The time every month when I've run out is hell. I can barely walk and cannot sleep along with all the other withdrawal stuff. I usually use my month's prescription in ten days and then have twenty days of feeling like I live in Hieronymus Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights.

My doctor said I will be on pain meds for the rest of my life (I'm 47) so he won't move me up to something more potent for as long as possible. When I first went to him, and my addiction was white-hot, he tried me on roxicodone, trying to figure out what I needed and whatnot, and I loved it. I had enough sense left though to tell him that I'd stick to hydrocodone. That roxicodone felt so hungry, if that makes any sense. I'm at the max for hydrocodone though, under the new tylenol guidelines. I did have another four pills a day I could go up before they changed it.

Again, thank you for all your time and good advice. I am thankful that you took the time to answer my post.

 

[falsifiedhypothesi]

I know how hard it can be to resist getting high and i'm lucky enough to not actually need opiates for pain. If you are gonna be on pain meds for life i'm sure you realize the serious implications in using too much too fast.

I wish there was an easy solution to this but it's just not so. Good luck, i wish you well.

 

[hydroazuanacaine]

depending on where you live there is an er version of hydrocodone without apap. spares your liver and reduces compulsive redosing as long as you do not attemp to circumvent the er mechanism. fda has been waging their finger at docs for apap containing opiates, so your doc might be open to the idea.

 

[Chronicpain54]

Using a month's script in 10 days means you either need a stronger medicine or a long acting opiate with your hydrocodone to stop you from running through your scripts so fast. Also adding Gralise and klonopin could help depending on the type of pain you experience.

If you're going to be on them for the rest of your life then you need to stop trying to get high and instead think about if your medicine is currently controlling the pain. You have to be your own advocate when You see the doctor. It took my doctor awhile to give me breakthrough pain meds and it took him about 8 months before he decided to script klonopin for me. Over a period of a year or two he increased my medicine until I was stable and could sleep at night.

I told him on every visit how I felt, what hurt and how bad, and just how much my quality of life had diminished.

Bring up your diminished quality of life since you've become tolerant to your medicine. Vicodin is the lowest level pain medicine that a PM doctor will prescribe. Ask him if he'd consider either switching you to Percocet or adding a long acting medicine with your hydrocodone. Ask about adding Lyrica or gabapentin. They rock to help with sleep when you're in pain.

Ask him to help you. Let him choose the route. It can be changed later if you aren't happy with it.

What you simply can't do is take all your medicine in 10 days and leave your body in pain for 20 days. Your health will diminish quickly.

Until you are on a stable dose you will continue to abuse your medicine. Just get out of the getting high mindframe or when he increases your dosages you'll be doing the same 10 days with medicine, 20 days without. You have a long life ahead, try to control your pain properly and bring all concerns to your doctor.