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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards

Dependency to hydrocodone - how to quit and other medical queries

L

Lillady1985

Bluelighter
Joined
Nov 22, 2010
Messages
125
I've tried several times to stop taking pain killers. I always end up feeling a real ache or pain or having a bad day as an excuse to take them again one or two days into my trying to quit. I need sone guidance... What is the best way to actually go about quitting for real? Do you think therapy really helps?? I'm just desperate and very depressed and I want to get off these things.
 
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I take hydrocodone 10/500s. 2 to 4 pills per day... For about 6 months or so now. I never take more than two at a time. And occasionally I'll do half a Oxycodone 30 on a day when I have no hydrocodone.
 
For me tapering opiates is preferable to c/t.. its gentler but yeah you do need the discipline to not cave in when you are having a 'bad' day. It sounds like you need to find something else to help with your pain.
Perhapsyou could ask the doc about seeing a pain management specialist. I think its wise to have plenty of resources to deal with pain.. not just medication but creams and exercise that can help.
What kind of pain do you get?. If its stress related then yes therapy could help. Maybe a good therapist could explore the reasons you have dependencies and look at other ways to comfort yourself.

Best of luck.. peace n love to you :) <3
 
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If you have legitimate pain, its gonna be awfully hard to get off pain meds. Not only will you go thru withdrawals & what not, but you gotta deal with the level of pain you are going thru. I dont like feeling back pain, hence my use of pain meds.
 
There has to be either a free or low price clinic in your area. My mother has a lot of pain, they have to help you because refusing treatment would make you suffer withdrawals. My mother was just recently divorced, so she found a pain management center. I think you should look up something in your area, having a doctor is always your best bet. Good Luck and please let me know if you find anything...
 
exercise more, eat healthier foods, and get more rest. try adding a little green to your life too..%)
 
Sorry to double post, but coming off of opiate pain killers is the same as heroin withdrawal...it is taken very seriously. When my mother could not find her pills, she went throw what a heroin addict would go through, She was sweating, then shivering, than shaking and crying. those pills are good, but they are also extremley addicted and easy to get on the street or from any doctor.
 
Lillady1985 said:
Oh I so badly want to but professionals are so expensive. Is N.A. free? Is it helpful??
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12-step programs (like NA) may request donations but not require them. A lot of people in my area who have had drug problems actually prefer AA to NA for some reason but you may want to check them out. Lots of people hate them so they may not be right for you - or perhaps the people who are resistant and blame the program just aren't ready to change.

I'm not sure where you're at so I can't say this for sure, but in my area at least, all the agencies will do evaluations/assessments for free. They basically jut go over where you're at a bit of your history to evaluate if treatment is appropriate and what level of care you're best suited for. This is typically outpatient, intensive outpatient, inpatient, detox or methadone/buprenorphine.

TheLostBoys said:
If you have legitimate pain, its gonna be awfully hard to get off pain meds. Not only will you go thru withdrawals & what not, but you gotta deal with the level of pain you are going thru. I dont like feeling back pain, hence my use of pain meds.
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This is very true, lots of places won't offer any type of addiction counseling unless you're 100% abstinent and they won't consider you such even if you're taking necessary, prescribed opioids.

There are lots of other pain management options and if you still have to have SOMETHING, then buprenorphine or methadone may be superior options.

I've studied addiction counseling (In Illinois) for the last couple years and I've had chronic pain for nearly 6 so if you'd like to talk more about this, please feel free to private message me any time :) There are lots of options out there.
 
Lillady1985 said:
I've tried several times to stop taking pain killers. I always end up feeling a real ache or pain or having a bad day as an excuse to take them again one or two days into my trying to quit. I need sone guidance... What is the best way to actually go about quitting for real? Do you think therapy really helps?? I'm just desperate and very depressed and I want to get off these things.
Click to expand...

Hi Lillady, I'm so sorry to feel you are feeling to down. You've had some good answers in here, but I wanted to point you towards The Dar Side forum which offers help and support for all sorts of things including quitting opiates. The link is in my sig :)

We have a thread dedicated to finding treatment services or other support (link here) as well as a guide to opioid withdrawals and an opioid dependence megathread and loads more stuff that might be useful in the TDS directory in my sig - or you are welcome to start your own thread there.

Good luck! :) <3
 
Another concern about my dependency. Hydrocodone makes you constipated therefore making it harder to use the bathroom...I know this sounds gross but I've been having some blood when I go and I do have a couple hemmeroids too. The doc is concerned because she tested me for blood and it came back positive. She says it could be ulcers... I'm just hoping it might be irritation from staining and hemmeroids. Do you think the hydrocodone use could be causing ulcers??? I was too afraid to tell her that I use prescription pills everyday.
 
If your getting rx'd pills for a legit pain reason then you shouldn't be afraid to tell a doctor that you take prescription pills erry day. Opiates do cause constipation but i never had a hemorrhoid from using oxy for a few weeks straight. Maybe try some stool softener or even easier tell your doctor that you take opiates for a real reason and she should help you out no problem.
 
I no longer have a prescription. The hemmroids have been there a long time. I'm saying constipation might make them flair up and become irritated and bleed. I'm hoping that's the case because I was wondering if hydrocodone use could cause ulcers? She says heavy drinkers and use if aspirin can cause ulcers. I don't drink much and I thought the apap in hydrocodone was like Tylenol??
 
acetaminophen is apap and too much of that on a regular basis can wreck your liver. add that with drinking and your pretty much destroying it. sounds like you were taking a low dose of the hydro/apap so im guessing its not that. the max apap per day is 3,000 some say 4,000 and you were taking less than that from what i read. all i can guess is your constipated to hell and getting hemorrhoids when trying to shit. stool softener will help like i said before but im not a doctor so im just throwing out ideas.
 
Same as taking the drugs, you will have to pay in some form to get off of them.

AA and NA are for recovering addicts. They are very iffy about current users, and might even be very segregated as to why you come to the meetings on anything.

For any therapy, you will need to detox. This will be the hard part.
 
Lillady1985 said:
I no longer have a prescription. The hemmroids have been there a long time. I'm saying constipation might make them flair up and become irritated and bleed. I'm hoping that's the case because I was wondering if hydrocodone use could cause ulcers? She says heavy drinkers and use if aspirin can cause ulcers. I don't drink much and I thought the apap in hydrocodone was like Tylenol??
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Yeah you're right, I wouldn't expect hydrocodone or APAP to cause ulcers specifically..as others said a lot of APAP (more than 3-4g/day) is really bad for your liver, and liver disease can make you more likely to bleed. Haemorrhoids exacerbated by constipation is a likely cause though - it tends to cause bright red blood, where as ulcers tend to give you dark stools (as the blood as been altered passing through your digestive tract). If you have been having too much APAP I would tell your doctor as soon as possible and get your liver function checked out..

Good luck with everything <3
 
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