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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards

After how many days of consecutive use does addiction set in?

S

skittlezzzz

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Jul 16, 2009
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I recently hurt my back pretty badly and the doctor prescribed me Noro 10/325. He says I will most likely experience pain everyday for almost a month but will gradually decrease. I will be taking the meds for the pain but am scared I will develop an addiction for continuous use. If i take the pills everyday for a month and then run out and am forced to stop cold turkey, will I have any withdrawals? I know this is a milder opiate but would like some info. thanks
 
It took me about a month of using oxycodone everyday to develop a physical dependence, so yes you would be at risk of going through withdrawals. Nothing (at least to me) is as horrible as that first withdrawal is, it engraves itself in your head forever. Try and ween yourself off so it wont be as bad.
 
^ Yeah agreed, after 4 weeks withdrawals are definitely something to think about. Have you asked your doctor about this side of things? If your pain is going to decrease then it would be wise to decrease your Norcos as you go and taper down at the end.
 
You doc should already have given some thought as to how you're gonna cease the medication once it's no longer needed, cos after a monthy of daily use you're almost certainly gonna experience withdrawal symptoms to some degree. They may be quite mild but even so it would be irresponsible of them to hand out a month's supply then leave you swinging in the wind when they run out. If you've any concerns I'd go straight back to them and raise the issue with them, see what they intend. In the meantime I agree absolutely with Effie: try and use as little as you can comfortably stand without being in pain, and as things improve taper your doses so you're not quitting too abruptly. With a proper taper any symptoms once you jump off should be really quite mild and manageable I would have thought.
 
There are a few potential risks with this opiate use, not that I am saying it is at all unwarranted. Physical dependence is almost guaranteed over a month of continuous use. Also, I'd be very surprised if some psychological dependence didn't ensue as well, the degree to which would vary. But, these go hand in hand, and, in short, dependence and consequent wd's will likely occur to some degree. There is also risk for addiction. So many opiate addicts first used opiates as rx'd for pain. Addiction is different than dependence, and is a risk, but not a sure thing. Opiates, however, are very easy to fall prey to addiction to.
 
How much are you taking each day? That's a major factor in how hard your crash will be. If you're using 10mg/day, every day, it's going to be MUCH more tolerable than if you're taking 50mg/day.

Cold turkey is inadvisable here. If you're getting cut off, start tapering your intake down and deal with the pain as best you can until you can reach some agreement / assessment with your doctor about your current pain levels.

Good luck!
 
I just want to clarify that there is a difference between addiction and dependence. Addiction is psychological. You use/abuse the medication and have mental cravings for it when you don't have it. This can occur quite literally after the first dose, if you enjoy it enough and have a naturally addictive personality. Dependence on the other hand is physical need for the drug, without which you will experience withdrawal symptoms.

If you use the medication as prescribed you are in very little danger of serious physical dependence, particularly if there is no comorbid addiction. At most you might feel like you have a cold for a couple of days. Nothing that will even slow you down I bet. Hydrocodone is a pretty weak drug, IME. I have the same medication as you prescribed due to a compression fracture in my back. One pill four times daily. I take 8-12 in a go to get the relief I need, but I just came off oxycodone and fentanyl in the beginning of February so my tolerance is pretty high.
 
^SPC Illustrates some rather excellent points; doctors expect CP patients to develop a dependence to the drugs.
 
I'd say amounts and drugs are important here. I was addicted to OXY, for example, after about 2 consecutive months of daily use around 160mg a day. I thought since i usually used small amounts at a time that I was "fine". Yea right! I am now an addict in recovery, taking suboxone for 1.5yr now weaning on my last 5 2mg strips then jumpin. Similarly, benzos don't take long to form an addiction and since they are such a small mg usually, everyone wants to just take MORE MORE MORE! All of these things help us temporarily, but in the long run our bodies cling to them. When you start using just to feel "normal" or to make it through your day you know it's begun. Cunning and baffling SOB
 
SPC123 said:
I just want to clarify that there is a difference between addiction and dependence. Addiction is psychological. You use/abuse the medication and have mental cravings for it when you don't have it. This can occur quite literally after the first dose, if you enjoy it enough and have a naturally addictive personality. Dependence on the other hand is physical need for the drug, without which you will experience withdrawal symptoms.

If you use the medication as prescribed you are in very little danger of serious physical dependence, particularly if there is no comorbid addiction. At most you might feel like you have a cold for a couple of days. Nothing that will even slow you down I bet. Hydrocodone is a pretty weak drug, IME. I have the same medication as you prescribed due to a compression fracture in my back. One pill four times daily. I take 8-12 in a go to get the relief I need, but I just came off oxycodone and fentanyl in the beginning of February so my tolerance is pretty high.
Click to expand...

This. My professor at uni said only 1/3 of heroin addicts actually present with physical dependence, which can take 6 months to develop. The cravings and need to take the drug are part of the psychological addiction.
 
The very first time..before you develop your first habit, it can take a while to become dependent. In a lot of cases, mine included, it could take more than a month of everyday usage in the beginning before you wake up one day with your first sign of withdrawal (and what a dreadful day that is..) However, once you do make that transition and become strung out for the first time..it happens quicker and quicker. After a while, a couple days in a row after being clean and you'll be right back on. If I use heroin more than two days in a row..I'm done. It's like I never stopped—cold sweats, shaking, vomiting, etc..all that fun stuff. Which is where I'm at now as I just stupidly went on a three day bender out of nowhere..and now I'm struggling to take enough Suboxone to get well. My legs are so sore and hurt so bad It's like someone is holding a lit match to my bones. Excuse me while I go vomit..
 
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Is the doctor recommending anything else for your back pain other than giving you drugs?

I'm an alternative health practitioner and there is a lot you can do, even when the pain is still in the acute stage. Unless of course we're talking bone fractures then that's another story.

I don't get why docs give pain meds so readily but don't have a backup plan?
 
His concern is will he develop dependency. AFter 4 weeks you will ahev developed a level of dependency (potentially also a level of addiction). How much are you taking daily.. there is a big difference between 20mg daily vs 100mg daily. Both can and will cause dependency/addiction but dose size makes a huge difference as to intensity.

@@nightroller 'if your consecutively using your prolly already addicted' wtf? what does that even mean?
 
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