When does hydrocodone withdrawals BEGIN????

your 12 days off lol you should be doin back flips lol

I have had a year and a half addiction to hydrocodone. It started out a year and a half ago after a surgery taking about 4-6 5/500 vicoden daily and in September I started taking 4-6 Norco 10/325 pills a day, which I was getting from my mom. I decided I needed to quit taking them and stopped cold turkey 10 days ago. I think they contributed to my divorce and I am a mean impatient person when using. I hate myself for not getting help before it ruined my family. No one knows about my problem. The worst of the withdrawal seems to be over, but I have no motivation to get out of bed and the cravings are still strong. When will this get better?

probley when you get up, and get some excercise and start working to make yourself better and too not ever ever go down that road. im allso withdrawing, from methadone its unpleasent physicallly but emotionally its horrific especially when you start analysing every mistake you have made to put you in the place you are in, but if you think about that , how is that helping your situation now? it isnt. you'll have to face those problems eventually you should focus on getting well, eat your vitamins say your prayers and excersise. good luck buddy

I agree with an earlier poster, honesty is the BEST policy.

As soon as you admit it, you will feel a tremendous relief. Trust me. Secrets, shame and guilt are what kills us.

For restless leg syndrome, when I was in detox the nurses gave us a high blood pressure pill (can't remember the name of it now) which really helped tremendously. They also recommended taking calcium and magnesium, which also helped.

Speaking of being in detox - I went to a provincial detoxification unit for 10 days to get off my narcotic and I consider it the best decision I ever made. You're not alone - you are with people who truly understand and HELP. Also, I found it a real relief that my disease (addiction) was treated as a real bonafide illness, and I felt I was being treated for a disease and not a lame drug addict.

No one will judge you if you admit the truth. It can - and does - happen to anyone.

Withdrawal is a hard thing to go through. It's no fun to go it alone. Withdrawal is what kept me addicted for 11 wasted years.

BTW, I was also addicted to xanax until I took an overdose one night while drunk and ended up in intensive care. My treatment - in hospital - was complete cold turkey. It was the worst five days I ever spent. But the withdrawal did last only about five days. I would not recommend this way as a way to get off benzos. XD

I am in day 10 of withdrawal from hydrocodone and am experiencing severe bouts of unexplained crying. Is this normal and is there anything I can do to help?

I have been very ill for several months with a disease that has came to the surface again. I know I am staying sick from it a lot and I battle depression anyway. I wish I could have someone tell me if I am addicted to Hydrocodone or not and if I need to stop them cold turkey. I take 2-3 5/500 most days, sometimes days without. I am afraid I have hyped myself in believing I am addicted and when I am truly in pain I just dont take them becuase I am scared. If I am addicted I am so ashamed. A couple of months ago I talked to my regular physician about how I was feeling and he did not think I was addicted due to the amounts and when I take them. I dont know what to do. I have been 48 hours without and had nausea and vomitting for several months and now have the diarrhea everyone talks about but there is a stomach bug going around our house. See what I mean just because something resembles withdrawls I automatically think that it is.
PS a little background I first started taking the Hydro due to a car accident(which I still have back and neck pain from), then it was kidney stones(which I still fight) and a hanging bladder(which I should be having surgery on in the next month). I have been to chiropractors for the neck and back pain but the relilef is only temporary.
AM I ADDICTED????

I think there is a good chance you are addicted. I never took more than 2-4 a day and I'm on day 18 without any and am finally starting to feel better. I didn't take large amounts either, but have been taking them for a year and a half. It really doesn't take a large dose to get addicted....I think it's more about the length of time. Not that I want to encourage you to use if you are trying to get off them, but I tested the theory if I was addicted by going without them for a couple of days and when I started feeling sick I took just one pill...and guess what...it made me better. At that point I knew I had a problem and had to stop. I quit cold turkey as I'm not strong enough to taper down. It was 5 days of pure hell and another 9-10 of not feeling so well. I'm still not great, but much better. I keep going, because of support from my family, friends, and this web site. It really is mind over matter. Good Luck.

Guest wrote:

corrine4nelson wrote:

you are taking a low dose of hydrocodone, and like you said you do not take them every day and you sometimes go days without taking them and you do not feel any sideaffects. (that is a good thing) you are not giving your body high does of hydrocodone, if you were doing so, (taking them every day 15-20 tabs a day then you would notice the withdrawl effect on that same day just hours later, and you would feel the urge to need more just to feel normal, (not high). Please whatever you do, for your body's sake don't take them everyday, your body will just start needing them all the time just to function throughout your day. (it's not a fun way of life that's for sure! trust me.....

10/325 is not weak, it is the second highest milligram you can get of hydrocodone, OXYCODONE goes up to 160...get your facts straight before trying to help someone...

and no, withdrawels differ from person to person, for example, mine occured 30 minutes after the high would fade, but my friend got his 2 days later (if he made it that long). But as for how many you take a day, it is a low dose, (for me, it's actually a normal dose for what's happened to your back) I actually take norco's myself for my back and goto medical school. Just in case anyone was wondering I don't take them to get high, withdrawels for me are inevitable....

and to the other, they don't make 10/500, they make 10/325 and 10/650

hmmmm you say they dont make 10/500 and yet you goto medical school? I sure hope you fail.. cause your post sure did.

I am on day 4 of cold turkey for dihydrocodeine. Been on co-codamol and dihydrocodeine for 15 years for fibromyalgia not helped by two motorbike accidents. Started to thinkI was addicted some time ago but lacked the strength to do anything about it. Had to come off a load of other prescribed pills in the last 12 months (including HRT) and thought I felt so bad I couldn't drop the last thing keeping me going.

Cut down until I was pretty much off the co-codamol and only taking 2-3 DHC at night. Then, last Tuesday, thought about it and realised I wasn't actually in any pain - and didn't take them. Had a terrible night hot/cold sweating and restlessness. Legs aching, everything felt awful. That was it - knew if I couldn't do one night I was addicted.

Did some Google research and started reading these pages - it was pretty clear my problem was the same.

Took a deep breath and told my husband. He has been really supportive. Couldn't have got through night 2 without that. Yesterday I phoned my GP, told him what I'm doing, he said keep going but prescribed Zopiclone for a few nights to help me get some sleep. Took one last night - didn't knock me out really but I was able to sleep on and off. Still very restless, legs agony, feel sick, trembling etc.

Got the runs this morning - weird after 15 years of constipation! Drinking as much water as I can (but I don't want it). Sweating hot and then freezing cold. Hope to God I can keep going as there are boxes of pills in the house. However, the last few nights have been such hell I can't face having to do them again! I'm 56 and life has been ruined for years by the 'not quite right' level I think the DHC was causing.

I have a similar experience here. It's at the point where I take this stuff, along with Xanax (I'm better with that because i've been taking the exact same dosage for the last 3 yrs and it's low)... but with Hydrocodone, whenever I have it, I can't ration them, and I abuse them, taking them in the AM, at work, after work, and I always tell myself 'oh... i'll just start tapering off tomorrow' and then it gets to the point where I'm forced into cold turkey, the worst way to stop a habit like this. What usually happens after that, comes with being an addict, is that you find a means to keep getting what you need even though in the back of your mind you know every time you obtain a new source, the path to recovery gets a lot nastier... But right now, I don't have any means, which could change tomorrow for all I know because I'm sure I'll continue to search so the only way I'll end up being off this stuff is by being forced into that situation.



But back on topic, the main reason I FEAR withdrawal is because A) i have been through it and it's always been a dreadful experience, I don't even want to get out of bed every morning, I have to go to work experiencing feverish symptoms and endure the 8+ hour shift, I can't concentrate on anything, and I feel like life is void of purpose and B) I WORK FULL TIME... I don't HAVE the luxury of getting a week off to cope with withdrawals, so it's inevitable, that at some point, I'm going to be a total train wreck at work (NO GOOD this week because I have put a SOLID year in at work but my annual review is coming up this week... I'm trying to at least get SOMETHING to take before the review so that I can be calm and collected at the time of my review, but I know if I'm able to get anything too early this week, I'll run out when the review comes up, and I'm back at square 1). I've been doing everything I can to avoid withdrawal because of work (by getting stuff from various sources, both doctors and street, people I don't even know... taking major risks along the way).



I'm sorry for those who with a large bank account of resources that makes it easy to maintain addiction (I'm well aware of people who have 5+ doctor's on their lineups writing up scripts), because if you are like me, as long as it's available, it's going to be impossible to quit.



AS I have been writing this, it's hard for me to even put all my thought stogether, being in a state of withdrawal, I feel pretty FUBAR and mixed up, but I try to look on the bright side, this time is inevitable, and it's going to happen to every addict sooner or later (better to be sooner, right?)



Once I get through this, I can go back to functioning at a high level at work like I did before the addiction, and I can live my life again, continue to work out and pursue the many other things that are important to me in life, instead of just focusing on ONE (the pain killers).



In closing, I just want to say that these forums are EXTREMELY helpful in turning to while trying to cope with withdrawal symptoms and I want to thank everyone for sharing their stories... tHere is a very wide range of experiences here, but in the end, we're all essentially in the same boat. GOOD LUCK... The best encouragement I can offer to others as well as myself, is that it's a very rewarding feat when you finally put any addiction behind you, while the chance of relapse is always there, it's a good feeling to know you came out on top of something against all odds... because everyone who has been through a major addictions knows full well, that it takes over everything else important to you in your life... and to defeat something with that kind of power and control over your life is really something to smile about and be proud of.



Now, back to putting all my energy into getting a fix today. Yep...

I have been on hydrocodene for four years and my doctor just cut me off cold turkey i have been in extreme pain the last two days its almost to the point where it is unbareable! I was taking 8-10 a day 500mg. I have quit them before for four weeks but cldnt handle the withdrawls so i got back oin them. I feel your pain! this time i am done! i will never go through pain like this again! Chills body aches i wld get immediate withdrawls when i was on the pills if i didnt take any. MY ADIVICE IS dont take them at all! It starts out that you have minimal pain and turns into you cant stop taking them because you cant live without them. Be strong everyone! I am just praying this will end soon

The onset, duration and acuity of opiate withdrawal is closely related to the half-life of the particular drug that you are taking. Heroin for instance wears off quickly and has a very short half-life (i.e. the time it takes for a specific drug to be 50% depleted from the bloodstream) therefore, heroin users can start having withdrawal symptoms after a few hours. For a long-acting drug like a Klonopin (benzo), the onset of withdrawal can take days.

There's also a correllation between half-life and the acuity of certain withdrawal syndromes. Another example is Methadone. Methadone takes a long time to get out of one's blood stream so it's a pretty long bout of withdrawal...possibly 2 weeks or more. Then there are certain drugs that can cause post acute withdrawal; drugs such as Suboxone (which by ther way has a very very long half-life) can cause ongoing symptoms for months. Again, it's really dependent on the drug as to when withdrawal starts and or ends. This is a good diagram.

Of course, the length of time and the level of dependency also plays a large role in how acute any withdrawals may be but as far as when they will hit, that's mostly up to the time it takes for those opiate receptors to clear out.

As another poster said, the OP doesn't take much so they shouldn't experience too many symptoms but one never knows.

***edited by moderator*** web addresses not allowed

Guest wrote:

I have neen on Norco for 5-1/2 years and have been through utter hell I would take the prescribed dosage or less in the beginning, but Then started using to get that high and would take 4-5 4 or some times 5 times a day, around 6 hrs without a few pills and I start to get irritated at 8 hrs panic takes over giving me bad anxiety, At 12 hrs I get head aches and start to sweat get cold chills and fever I start to get sick to my stomach vommiting and diarrhea clumps like the guy above said weird s**t. For me tomorrow will be my 5th day of not taking anything I quit cold turkey after drinking very heavy last Friday night and was hung over and withdrawing at the same time so I guess in being stupid Friday night drinking too much helped me this far. My only fear is that I will take some because I do still have a lot of pain 2 herniated discs in lower back, I need something to help take the edge off the pain like these pills did in the beginning I hurt so bad but refuse to take them, I feel like I am going to give in at any moment. Has anyone been through this or had anything like this happen to them? [/

Hey buddy, just grit your teeth and do it man. I am going through the same sh*t right now and I know exactly how you feel. I am at day 6 and am beginning to feel a little better, just really sore and cold all the time. Just remember I am right here with you and going through it. Tomorrow will be better and the next day even more.]

In my experience withdrawal can begin within 6-10 hours of your last dosage, depending on amount used and the length of time you have been on. I began taking vicodin es and then moved to Norco 10/325 due to a back injury. The pain and injury are real. I was unfortunately stuck in a job that I was on my feet and lifting frequently....so I was constently in pain. I ended up going to pain management and got cortisone and meds. 2 years ago I started out using 4 norco a day. Built up a resistence and kept adding to it. I eventually peaked at 75 norco a day. The peak lasted about 2 months. It is a miracle that I am not dead. I also tore my rotator cuff and had surgery. Because of my norco use I had to be put on Fentanyl for post surgery. Now that is a hard drug to kick. I really don't know how I quit that one. I think that was God helping me. I spent 3 days throwing up, sweating and shaking in bed after going cold turkey on that stuff. Anyways. I recently stopped the Norco, cold turkey....remember 75 a day! I recommend if at all possible you isolate yourself, rent movies and stay in bed for about 3 days. It is hard and miserable but it will not kill you. Prior to doing it I went to my doctor and checked. He said hydrocodone WD is rough but not at all damaging or fatal. Around the 4th day you will probably begin feeling better. The lack of energy and insomnia are probably the hardest part. That is why I recommend movies and bed LOL.

Keep your chin up. If you are browsing this site/subject then you are on the right track. You realize your dependence and want to work on eliminating it. Recognizing your problem is the hardest thing to do and accept. If you made it to here you will eventually recover.

GOD BLESS you all and good luck with your recovery

I agree with the 6/14/10 guest post that if you are browsing this web site you are on the right track. I am on day 3 cold turkey from lortabs. Was taking 3-5 daily off and on for about a year & pretty steady for the past 3 months. I am 54 yrs old and have had different addictions most of my adult life but have been clean from everything for over 5 yrs up until about 3 yrs ago. Started abusing Somas for over a year, went cold turkey and got off of them, then couldnt sleep and took ambien for about a yr, went cold turkey from them about 9 mos ago and then my significant other turned me onto a Lortab and I of course convinced myself I wouldn't take them much, here I am again, was buying off the street for 5-7 bucks a pill!!!! He is still taking them, but I told him I am done, dont want to know when he has any (although I can tell by his behavior) etc and he will respect that. I am by no means blaming my addiction on him, I am a big girl and can say NO, just saying if I have access to them I get weak which is my own problem. I have put this once again in the hands of God, so if you believe in God or a higher being, that is what has helped me the most. I thank HIM every day that I have made it another day. Hasn't been too bad this time, but the first few days of anxiety, diarrhea and fatigue are hell. I feel much better today and know that I can get through this & it does help reading others posts here and knowing I am not alone. Not gonna find another drug this time to substitute for this one and think I cannot get addicted again, I am done. There is light at the end of the tunnel!!! GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!!!