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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 2 of 2. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by arrie on March 17, 2004, at 20:31:01
Sharing an excerpt from a book I am writing to get feed back and share info....here goes!
Chpt 2 Going off Vic- How to and what to do
You may wonder why I am even writing a chapter on how to go off Vicodin since I can not seemingly do it myself. I can go off, my problem is I can’t stay off for any decent amount of time. But I can speak first hand on how to go off and what to expect. For many who go through this experience, once would probably be enough so I do think I have some very helpful advice, since I have done it many times over. I must emphasize though, that other than taking a course in how to become a medical assistant I have absolutely no medical credentials that validate or authorize me to be any official source of authority. None the less, I know a thing or two about this as there is no teacher in life like the real thing.What often precipitates a quitting, is nothing more than running out of pills. It is just a supply issue so often times the addict is in a state of unwillingness from the beginning, followed by an anger at what has happened to them, and subsequently doused by a refill at the first opportunity. This has been me. Although I have found that I made it over the wall, so have all my other maladies, Reluctantly after many days of being off I have gone right back because I have felt my quality of life so disheartening with the empty, depressed, achy feeling that I can’t seem to shake.
This might not be you at all though. You may bounce right back in which case I can give you some helpful advise on just how to get off the drug period. You want to make sure that you are not expected to do much physically or mentally for that matter. This is not a good time to make decisions, attend events or have much contact with anyone. Prepare ahead if possible. If you have family do your grocery shopping and anything else along that line the week beforehand. Pay bills, run errands, do it all before you undertake this process.
Plan to be in bed and the bathroom . Try to make your room a pleasant place and bring in a TV, books, or small projects. You will notice after the first 12 hours or so that you are developing a sort of ansyness. Your nerves begin to fell like rubber bands that are being pulled to the max and are ready to snap. I have a prescription for Xanax and find that it is very helpful. This is a drug that I have taken for a long time but don’t find it difficult at all to stop taking it. It has always just made me feel a little down and sleepy, but I am high strung and it does take the edge off, and was prescribed to me because it was decided I “was not getting deep enough sleep“. Do not over do it with over the counter medicines. I have found many times during a withdrawal that I get so far gone I keep taking the over the counter stuff to combat the symptoms that I make myself feel worse. I can remember one time in particular that I took so much Tylenol and Nyquil that I made it worse, I literally felt like I had turned into a Tylenol capsule. Better to have some Rx’s lined up that are effective so this does not happen.
Expect to have a loss of appetite and for food odors to make you sick. Most foods will be repulsive and cigarettes will taste awful. What you will want are sweets for some reason, so I have found that drinks like Slimfast and Chai teas are helpful, or small amounts of latte, along with some pastry. Go for the Krispy Cremes now, it is one time you won’t suffer an ounce of guilt. Smoothies are nutritional and good too, and drink lots of water depending on how dehydrated you may be getting. You can also make up a large pan of Oatmeal or Cream of Wheat with fruit that can be heated up quickly. Puddings and yogurt are good too. I try to eat foods that are easy to digest, this is not the time for pizza or burgers. For your stomach pain and cramps I have found Bentyl to be very effective. You will have uncontrollable diarrhea and sometimes it burns. If it were not the God awful truth it would be hilarious but you will feel like fire is coming out of your ass. You will dread even going to the bathroom, so easy on the diet and anything acidity.
You will have an over all achy feeling. For me the absolute worse part of withdrawal is the muscular skeletal pain that begins to take hold from the waist down. A lower back ache and leg pain that wont let up. I begin to get restless leg and toss and turn every which way every two seconds trying to get comfortable. With me I suspect part of this is just feeling my fibromyalgia problem full blast heightened by the withdrawal. This particular pain goes way back with me long before Vicodin. I hate it completely, it makes me want to live in a wheelchair when I feel it. It’s the kind of pain that makes you shuffle your feet, you can’t even pick your own damn feet up. I have found a medicine for this that helps, it is new one called Bextra, and if you get leg cramps you can add some Flexeril which is a muscle relaxor. I might add that Bextra, Flexeril, Xanax, and Bentyl are all prescription drugs that are not usually too difficult to obtain from your Internist, and you may even be able to get sample amounts if you are discussing your condition with your Dr. If you are somebody that prefers to keep the matter confidential all these can be legally purchased off the Internet just like Viagra. I often wonder how much the drug companies make from Internet based sales. Most of these services are legal and require a online Drs consult that is pretty non invasive. You will find that it is very easy to get what you need. Just make sure it is Ok for you to take these medicines. The Internet sites have disclaimers and are really not interested in your health, but in making money. So any drug interactions are your fault. Most pharmacies are very friendly if you simply call them and ask them questions about a drug, it’s side effects and what it can and cant be taken with. Just don’t call them when they are ultra busy with people pouring in after work or on Saturdays.
Get ready for insomnia. You will drift in and out of sleep during the day and be up part of the night. There is no normal sleep wake cycle it seems. You’re tired but can’t really sleep. It is sort of hard to explain. It is like you are on full alert.
Your eyes will be watery and you will cry but these are not tears of emotion. You will sneeze too like you are allergic to something. You can take Bendryl for this, but not too much because if you overdo that, your tongue will feel like it is cemented to the top of your mouth, you can get extremely dry.
Your body temperature will fluctuate like crazy. You will feel like the surface of the sun one minute than be cold and shivering the next. Just wear layers of cotton, put on take off, put on. Have a nice soft robe, some comfortable shoes like Uggs or Birks and here is a real dumb ass tip: I like to wear a fleece hat. It just makes me feel like I have some color and don’t have to worry about my hair. It also keeps the body heat in. You know you have to keep a sense of humor at times like this. Fly girl aint flying now.Do not deal with people, period unless you MUST. Do not call anything that can set you off like your credit card company, or a store that uses machines to answer and route your call. You will be so stretched just following prompts and automated systems will make you want to scream. Open things up beforehand. Fighting with the Pepto bismal child proof lid can do you in. It’s not that you can’t do these things you can but the smallest thing can frustrate you and why go there if it can be avoided with some preparation.
I keep a devotional book on my bed called a Daily Light that helps me. It is just a collection of scripture that focus on a spiritual topic with a reading for morning and one for evening. This is a time when God matters. You become acutely aware of how limited the human body is when it is sick. You realize that this is what gets you around in life and if you abuse it you are going to pay a price. It is a total realization. It can also be a time to draw closer to God. I often think of all the news that I watch showing people mangled up and half dead in hospitals where they don’t even have medicine. The pictures of the suffering make me sick with myself. How could I have done this to me. These are the people of the world that need pain medicine not you, I tell myself. It just makes me want to beam myself to their bedside and give them my pills.
I hate this war with Iraq, I hate killing, and I hate all the irresponsible men in the world that have caused this awful war and every other awful war and I expect we will just continue to see more of the same. I bet that many a solider did not realize what he or she had gotten into until that first bullet ripped through their body and they started to feel their very life pour out on a dirty rotten battlefield. Death is as sacred as life and in a perfect world we should be able to have that experience in a warm comforting bed surrounded by those we love. God pity those who’s lives have been cut off because of the malice of others. Oh man, here I go off the subject completely. Sorry. Anyway, all of the above is good solid advice if you are healthy and want to do this at home. After about day 5 or 6 you will at least be able to get up but give yourself at the minimum that much time, three days will not cut it unless you have a very minor habit.Lastly, I have found music therapy to be very helpful. It is a time of crashing and sometimes feelings surface that you may not have felt for awhile and music can be very mitigating and soul strengthening.
One last pointer, bad noise can really get you too. I have a Boise noise canceling headset that I use if some sound starts getting on my nerves. They are pricey around $200.00, but hey just a great headset to have anyway for music or riddance of noise pollution.I guess another important aspect of this awful experience is the need for emotional support, and I don’t mean to under rate that, however as awful as it sounds this is also a time that you will feel totally alone and you may well be unless you are in some ward with a bunch of other people going through the same ordeal. Family and friends just cant even begin to alleviate the pain of this withdrawl process, but it is comforting to have somebody bring in a meal to you or just be in the room next to you in case you feel like you may need emergency help, cause trust me you can’t even drive yourself to the hospital. Personally, I don’t think you should ever drive if you are in a withdrawl process.
Chpt 2 Going off Vic- How to and what to do
You may wonder why I am even writing a chapter on how to go off Vicodin since I can not seemingly do it myself. I can go off, my problem is I can’t stay off for any decent amount of time. But I can speak first hand on how to go off and what to expect. For many who go through this experience, once would probably be enough so I do think I have some very helpful advice, since I have done it many times over. I must emphasize though, that other than taking a course in how to become a medical assistant I have absolutely no medical credentials that validate or authorize me to be any official source of authority. None the less, I know a thing or two about this as there is no teacher in life like the real thing.What often precipitates a quitting, is nothing more than running out of pills. It is just a supply issue so often times the addict is in a state of unwillingness from the beginning, followed by an anger at what has happened to them, and subsequently doused by a refill at the first opportunity. This has been me. Although I have found that I made it over the wall, so have all my other maladies, Reluctantly after many days of being off I have gone right back because I have felt my quality of life so disheartening with the empty, depressed, achy feeling that I can’t seem to shake.
This might not be you at all though. You may bounce right back in which case I can give you some helpful advise on just how to get off the drug period. You want to make sure that you are not expected to do much physically or mentally for that matter. This is not a good time to make decisions, attend events or have much contact with anyone. Prepare ahead if possible. If you have family do your grocery shopping and anything else along that line the week beforehand. Pay bills, run errands, do it all before you undertake this process.
Plan to be in bed and the bathroom . Try to make your room a pleasant place and bring in a TV, books, or small projects. You will notice after the first 12 hours or so that you are developing a sort of ansyness. Your nerves begin to fell like rubber bands that are being pulled to the max and are ready to snap. I have a prescription for Xanax and find that it is very helpful. This is a drug that I have taken for a long time but don’t find it difficult at all to stop taking it. It has always just made me feel a little down and sleepy, but I am high strung and it does take the edge off, and was prescribed to me because it was decided I “was not getting deep enough sleep“. Do not over do it with over the counter medicines. I have found many times during a withdrawal that I get so far gone I keep taking the over the counter stuff to combat the symptoms that I make myself feel worse. I can remember one time in particular that I took so much Tylenol and Nyquil that I made it worse, I literally felt like I had turned into a Tylenol capsule. Better to have some Rx’s lined up that are effective so this does not happen.
Expect to have a loss of appetite and for food odors to make you sick. Most foods will be repulsive and cigarettes will taste awful. What you will want are sweets for some reason, so I have found that drinks like Slimfast and Chai teas are helpful, or small amounts of latte, along with some pastry. Go for the Krispy Cremes now, it is one time you won’t suffer an ounce of guilt. Smoothies are nutritional and good too, and drink lots of water depending on how dehydrated you may be getting. You can also make up a large pan of Oatmeal or Cream of Wheat with fruit that can be heated up quickly. Puddings and yogurt are good too. I try to eat foods that are easy to digest, this is not the time for pizza or burgers. For your stomach pain and cramps I have found Bentyl to be very effective. You will have uncontrollable diarrhea and sometimes it burns. If it were not the God awful truth it would be hilarious but you will feel like fire is coming out of your ass. You will dread even going to the bathroom, so easy on the diet and anything acidity.
You will have an over all achy feeling. For me the absolute worse part of withdrawal is the muscular skeletal pain that begins to take hold from the waist down. A lower back ache and leg pain that wont let up. I begin to get restless leg and toss and turn every which way every two seconds trying to get comfortable. With me I suspect part of this is just feeling my fibromyalgia problem full blast heightened by the withdrawal. This particular pain goes way back with me long before Vicodin. I hate it completely, it makes me want to live in a wheelchair when I feel it. It’s the kind of pain that makes you shuffle your feet, you can’t even pick your own damn feet up. I have found a medicine for this that helps, it is new one called Bextra, and if you get leg cramps you can add some Flexeril which is a muscle relaxor. I might add that Bextra, Flexeril, Xanax, and Bentyl are all prescription drugs that are not usually too difficult to obtain from your Internist, and you may even be able to get sample amounts if you are discussing your condition with your Dr. If you are somebody that prefers to keep the matter confidential all these can be legally purchased off the Internet just like Viagra. I often wonder how much the drug companies make from Internet based sales. Most of these services are legal and require a online Drs consult that is pretty non invasive. You will find that it is very easy to get what you need. Just make sure it is Ok for you to take these medicines. The Internet sites have disclaimers and are really not interested in your health, but in making money. So any drug interactions are your fault. Most pharmacies are very friendly if you simply call them and ask them questions about a drug, it’s side effects and what it can and cant be taken with. Just don’t call them when they are ultra busy with people pouring in after work or on Saturdays.
Get ready for insomnia. You will drift in and out of sleep during the day and be up part of the night. There is no normal sleep wake cycle it seems. You’re tired but can’t really sleep. It is sort of hard to explain. It is like you are on full alert.
Your eyes will be watery and you will cry but these are not tears of emotion. You will sneeze too like you are allergic to something. You can take Bendryl for this, but not too much because if you overdo that, your tongue will feel like it is cemented to the top of your mouth, you can get extremely dry.
Your body temperature will fluctuate like crazy. You will feel like the surface of the sun one minute than be cold and shivering the next. Just wear layers of cotton, put on take off, put on. Have a nice soft robe, some comfortable shoes like Uggs or Birks and here is a real dumb ass tip: I like to wear a fleece hat. It just makes me feel like I have some color and don’t have to worry about my hair. It also keeps the body heat in. You know you have to keep a sense of humor at times like this. Fly girl aint flying now.Do not deal with people, period unless you MUST. Do not call anything that can set you off like your credit card company, or a store that uses machines to answer and route your call. You will be so stretched just following prompts and automated systems will make you want to scream. Open things up beforehand. Fighting with the Pepto bismal child proof lid can do you in. It’s not that you can’t do these things you can but the smallest thing can frustrate you and why go there if it can be avoided with some preparation.
I keep a devotional book on my bed called a Daily Light that helps me. It is just a collection of scripture that focus on a spiritual topic with a reading for morning and one for evening. This is a time when God matters. You become acutely aware of how limited the human body is when it is sick. You realize that this is what gets you around in life and if you abuse it you are going to pay a price. It is a total realization. It can also be a time to draw closer to God. I often think of all the news that I watch showing people mangled up and half dead in hospitals where they don’t even have medicine. The pictures of the suffering make me sick with myself. How could I have done this to me. These are the people of the world that need pain medicine not you, I tell myself. It just makes me want to beam myself to their bedside and give them my pills.
I hate this war with Iraq, I hate killing, and I hate all the irresponsible men in the world that have caused this awful war and every other awful war and I expect we will just continue to see more of the same. I bet that many a solider did not realize what he or she had gotten into until that first bullet ripped through their body and they started to feel their very life pour out on a dirty rotten battlefield. Death is as sacred as life and in a perfect world we should be able to have that experience in a warm comforting bed surrounded by those we love. God pity those who’s lives have been cut off because of the malice of others. Oh man, here I go off the subject completely. Sorry. Anyway, all of the above is good solid advice if you are healthy and want to do this at home. After about day 5 or 6 you will at least be able to get up but give yourself at the minimum that much time, three days will not cut it unless you have a very minor habit.Lastly, I have found music therapy to be very helpful. It is a time of crashing and sometimes feelings surface that you may not have felt for awhile and music can be very mitigating and soul strengthening.
One last pointer, bad noise can really get you too. I have a Boise noise canceling headset that I use if some sound starts getting on my nerves. They are pricey around $200.00, but hey just a great headset to have anyway for music or riddance of noise pollution.I guess another important aspect of this awful experience is the need for emotional support, and I don’t mean to under rate that, however as awful as it sounds this is also a time that you will feel totally alone and you may well be unless you are in some ward with a bunch of other people going through the same ordeal. Family and friends just cant even begin to alleviate the pain of this withdrawl process, but it is comforting to have somebody bring in a meal to you or just be in the room next to you in case you feel like you may need emergency help, cause trust me you can’t even drive yourself to the hospital. Personally, I don’t think you should ever drive if you are in a withdrawl process.
Posted by kp2sushi on March 23, 2004, at 0:38:28
In reply to How to go off Vicodin, posted by arrie on March 17, 2004, at 20:31:01
Yes yes, detoxing of opiates will not kill you. On the other hand, I'd strongly recommend a medical detox for comfort.
This is the end of the thread.
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