Question by Kim C: 21 year old female addicted to pain meds need info on quitting!! ?
I was prescribed to narcotic pain killers for breaking my tail bone, then i started taking them for fun now i am addicted and I have been taking them for about 6 months, i have been taking them every day usually a few times a day for about 4 of the 6 months. I know I cant just quit cold turkey its way too hard. What are some other options or resources?
I take anything i can get.
hydrocodone
oxycodone
oxycontin
darvocet
etc
My mom knows, i dont have insurance otherwise i would have told a doctor by now
Best answer:
Answer by purplegirl
You will need to taper off them…ie: wean yourself off…You sound genuine…so I would see no reason why you couldnt go to the doctor or a drug counsellor even and ask for help to do this or knowledgeable advice on the best way to go about this.
I guess you could just cut down by 5-10% every week taking less pills each week until you are eventually down to zero.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
I assume you’re taking Hydrocodone, which is Vicodin, Norco, Lorcet, ect..?
You need to tell your family about it and get some help. I used to be addicted to that stuff, and if you don’t stop taking it now, then it will take control of your life…
Maybe whilst weaning yourself off of them replace the ‘good feeling’ with something else. TENS units are good a) for pain relief (if you still have that by your tail bone) and b) for producing natural endorphins in your body which are ‘feel good’ hormones. I think you should think about investing in a TENS whilst you’re going through this weaning process…they’re medically approved and totally safe and it wont be like getting addicted to some other bad thing, like a drug, alcohol, smoking or eating lots etc. Body Clock have a really good range, they’re the best as they’re very high quality but very affordable…check them out: http://www.bodyclock.net. They also sell to http://www.tensunit.com who have a sale.
i had the same problem
u just gotta find a new addiction
x
I am also trying to quit pain pills. I’ve been hooked for 2 years or so. I would talk to your family doctor about it. When you try to quit cold turkey it’s hell..trust me I know. My doctor has me taking 150 mg. Zoloft and a newer pill called suboxone. Suboxone basically get your Endorphins working actively. Pain killers numb the endorphins and once you try to quit cold turkey the endorphins are basically paralyzed until all of the harmful volatiles from the opiates(pain meds.) are out of your system. Working out really helps a lot, I know it’s been helping me out in a big way. It takes time but you can do it, trust me I know what you’re going through. I liked oxycontin, oxycodone, hydrocodone, you name it..I did it! I wish you the best of luck.
Listen carefully: do not go cold turkey yourself, you can damage your organs this way. Tell your doctor what’s going on. He can subscribe you a methadone and watch you progression, you don’t want this “cold turkey” I’ve been there. It takes a strong will to do this and the damages are irreplaceable.
While weaning people off pain meds is easier on them than going cold turkey, you CAN stop immediately without any health problems other than the withdrawal (flu like symptoms). Unfortunately if you go the route of switching to another med such as Suboxone, Methadone, etc then you are still continuing to take strong opiate meds that have even more potential side effects than the drugs you’ve already taken.
You may not have insurance but someone is obviously paying money to take you to doctors to get the prescriptions, right?? And then the money to get the meds. If you are truly desiring to get off these drugs and don’t have much money why not try Narcotics Anonymous.. it’s free, confidential and for those serious it works!! You need to be upfront and tell your family, friends, doctors so they can be your support network and help you win this battle.
If you think quitting now is hard, you don’t want to be trying in 10 years time.
Oddly enough, the longer someone is on a narcotic the more they feel even the smallest of pains since the drugs hijack our own natural pain killing defenses.
I’m not saying this will be easy going for almost a week but you CAN do it. Good luck to you!