VICODIN ( hydrocodone, acetaminophen )
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I am seventeen years old, my name is Caroline, and I started taking vicodin when I had surgery on my arm one year ago. I stopped taking it after three months and I was fine. Then, about 2 months ago (a year after my surgery- seven months after stopping taking the vicodin) I became severely depressed. I found leftover vicodin in my house and started taking it to escape from my emotional pain- I found that it helped me feel temporarily euphoric. I now cannot function properly without taking at least one to two vicodines a day. I know it's wrong and I thoroughly understand all of the consequences of drug addiction; I am looking for some kind of advise from anyone who has a similar story.

i was once prescibed vicoden (hydrocodone) the only effects i seemed to have were a slight state of euphoria, kind of like hi on marijuana. and i had sleep paralysis and also it gave me the most evil dreams i have ever had.

I have been taking Lortab for 18 months for some mysterious shoulder and neck issue. No orthopedic surgeon will touch it b/c it is too close to the spine. I have been in and out of PT for 5 years w/o results and also had spinal procedures. I was taking 4-8 10mg per day for 18 months. How long is the physical withdraw? Cold turkey btw. First 2 days were like having a really bad flu and being kicked in the back with steel toed boots. Here is what I did. I took liquid vitamins (they absorb better), CO Q 10 for cellular energy, have about 4 energy drinks a day just to get off the couch, first thing in the morning I also take Fastin (herbal Adipex ). Then 10 hrs later I have taken .5mg ativan. (Just for two days w/ the ativan). I will not be taking Ativan for longer than 5 days b/c it is highly habit forming. The Ativan made it a lot easier to sleep, the first night without anything but Benydryl was horrible. My arms hurt and had the pinprick feeling in them. The small dose of Ativan really helped with sleep, but the night sweats are severe. What I do not understand is how doctors had out meds like candy. I am suppose to take Lortab 3-5 times per day Ativan 4 times a day Cymblyta 3 times a day Skelaxan 4 times a day Lidoderm patch 12 hrs Flextor patch other 12 hrs. I only took the Lortab and sometimes Skelaxan because the one time I took all the meds how I was suppose to, I nearly blacked out while driving and got violently sick to my stomach (which then they added Vistral 2 a day to my line up).This is all for muscle spasms (which are so bad you can visibly see the twitches). I would love to find a doc that can fix me instead of medicate me. It is so easy for me to get Lortab. If I ran out, I could go to a walk in clinic with my spasms and get more. Everyone knows soccer moms do not abuse medications right?

Can anyone tell this soccer mom how long existence will be difficult? Any advice about night sweats? I use to think what was so bad about taking pills to function, well, I am not highly functional anymore. I was just sick to my stomach a lot. Seriously, the liquid vitamins and CO Q 10 help make you feel better. I would try to stay clear of Ativan if you can b/c it is also addicting. It makes me tired so I will not be on it long, I hate being tired.

jessicapartington@rocketmail.com

I have been hooked on vicodin for about 3 years now. I started out w/ 2 500mg, and now I'm up to 6-8 per day.If I stop for a couple of days, I get sick and become completely drained of physical energy and motivation. I need to stop for my health, but I still don't want to stop. The thought of not having this is crushing. I have become very dependent on this and I feel like I'm losing a best friend. It's sadhow I can't seem to function without it, and to know I will have to. I can't stad to lose the man in my life, due to my addiction, so if there's any motivation to quit, it is for his love and respect. I am relieved I have come out, but I am also very sad. I can see that it will be a very long road....

I had a nose surgery and was prescribed vicodin for the pain. at the same time, i was going through a rough break up and had thoughts of suicide. That's when i started taking more and more vicodin. It was giving me temporary relief which was really good for me at the time. I took 7 pills one time in less than 6 hours.. And i couldnt sleep or eat or do anything.. A couple hours later, my body could not handle it and so i ended up throwing up whatever i swallowed. I was not able to eat and not eating made me feel even more like crap. Now i feel like i am extremely dependent on it. I have to take at least one a day.. It helps me sooth my pain.. Helps me with my heartache. I don't know what else to do. I am well aware of all the side affects of this drug but i guess i don't really care about that. I just don't want to have any feeling of anything whatsoever. And vicodin seems to be doing the job for right now. But i will run out of it soon and then i will be stuck. So its going to stop eventually.. But not today.

My name is Violet and I am an addict. Seven years ago, before my mom left, I broke both bones in my leg and was prescribed Vicodin for two months. I slept on the couch all day and couldn't do anything by myself and Vicodin helped with the pain when I had to do something physical like walk (crutch) around. I didn't notice that I was addicted at that point and I actually can't remember much due to my constant high at the time. But three years later, I fell into a very deep depression and found the old bottle. I started taking six pills a day to get through the emotional pain. After I ran out, I became suicidal. My mom faked an injury to get Vicodin from her doctor and didn't notice that half of her 150 pills were gone. At this moment I knew that I was addicted. Stealing was something I never thought I would do, or drugs for that matter. Ever since my mom left and I ran out 4 years ago, I've been on the constant lookout for someone with them. I know that my problem is real so therefor I justify it by only taking pills when someone gives them to me. It can't hurt me if I don't buy or steal them right?

When I started taking Hydrocodone I was about 14 years of age, only a couple times hear and their. A couple years later I had surgery for a hernia, then was in a car accident, then another surgery for two more hernias. I have been a very physical person all my life, I have always felt indistructable. Now I am in my mid 20's and I am hooked on pain meds, I will take anything I can get my hands on just to make the pain stop. I know I have a problem with it, but on the other hand I really do need them. I was told that their is a medication called suboxone that will help, and I do know a few people it has worked for that has had a real bad addiction to oxycontin. The only problem I have with taking that stuff is that it is so expensive, its like 200 to 400 dollars for a months supply. I hope that everyone finds there way out of taking pain meds because they only make you hurt worse after taking them for a long period of time. good luck to you all, it is a hard road we must travel, and if you have good insurance please inquire about suboxone, but listen to your doc and dont take any kind of opiates with it cause you will end up in the ER.

I am 39 & I have been taking Vicodin off & on ( mostly on ) for the last 11 years. It started when I was diagnosed with kidney stones. Oh how I remember that very first vicodin pill, just the one how great I felt as if I were floating such a warm and fuzzy feeling. The first rx for 50 pills blew my mind, 50 pills? I would never use all those in a million years!! Shoot now 50 pills would last me only about 3 to 4 days if I were lucky. Then from the kidney stones I was diagnoised with endometreosis, it is wild how once you are addicted or becoming addicted the medical aliments come out of the woodwork. Well regardless several procedures and surgeries later we are here in present time and I have had a big ole addiction to vicodin since approx 2000. I go thru fazes where I go thru withdrawals ( which we all know are horrible ) & will be clean for awhile but then i will get stupid and think I can handle it and only take them as needed or can control what I take for fun and if you are an addict like me you know that I am lying to myself we have no control!!!! It boggles my mind why I go back to the vicodin once I survive the w/d's because if you are like me once your mind and body are back to normal from w/d's life is pretty awesome right? The pull of the addiction is just so powerful, I have done so many awful things to people I love for vicodin. I have stolen prescriptions from family and friends, I have faked illness in order to obtain scripts, I have ordered online, I have gone to open houses and nabbed rx's from med cabinets there are countless other stories of things i have done for vicodin I could go on and on but I am sure I am not alone in completing shameful acts when desperate for a fix. I sympathize with everyone here I understand the struggle, we all start out needing the vicodin for legitimate medical reasons and unfortunately there are those if us, me included, that once we take that first pill a switch is triggered that never turns off again. Thank you much for reading my story ;), good luck & prayers for all trying to beat the vicodin demon.

When i first took Vicodin i must say that the side effects were horrible i hated them. I was nauseous, light-headed & paranoid but for some reason i went back for more, i find myself to do that with almost every drug ive ever used. I think its all in my head though, i dont think its because im physically dependent on them. The second time i did Vicodin it was a little different, i felt very happy and almost as if i was floating, it was nice, it went on for about 20mins and then i got sad because i no longer felt the high. I kept thinking to myself i have to back and get more but i knew that would be difficult since they were my stepmoms pills. Im always trying to find different ways to get a hold of them. I stiil highly doubt i am addicted by any means but i think im just emotionally attached to them for different reasons. I find myself to suffer from body dysmorphic disorder and always trying to find new ways of blocking my negative thoughts with a feel good high. Maybe im in denial or maybe i am addicted?

I was originally prescribed hydrocodone for a toothache and I took a few until my pain went away. Later I suffered some back pain from bulging discs in my neck and lower back. I found my old bottle of pain pills and they helped so much with the back pain that left me almost immobile. I have suffered with depression all of my life and when I hit a period of severe depression, I wanted relief by whatever means I could get it. I remembered that the hydrocodones had given me a very pleasant and euphoric feeling so I began taking one pill every morning just to help with my mood. Eventually I moved on to a pill every 4 hours during the day and then 2 pills every 4-6 hours. I was also in a very bad marriage where my husband was very verbally and emotionally abusive and the pain pills helped me cope with the pain my husband inflicted. At the same time, I was in a highly demanding job that required a lot from me and to top it all off my husband was diagnosed with cancer. In order to cope with my own depression and the rest of the demands in my life, I found that I needed to take 3 pills at a time every 4-6 hours a day and then 4 pills every 4 hours. I would get desperate every time I got low and did all kinds of things to get more: went to 3 different doctors to get prescriptions,went to emergency rooms and invented illnesses, stole them from friends and family and my elderly clients, changed the amounts on prescriptions, bought them online and off the streets. I have spent thousands of dollars buying them off the street. I now have gotten to the point where my whole life is consumed with the pills and I am taking around 30-40 hydros a day. I can't work, I left my husband, I hardly see my children and I have very few friends left. I feel like I'm slowly killing myself and nothing matters except the pills!! I'm trying to taper off but not really having any success and the withdrawals are so severe for me when I don't have them for a few hours, I feel terrified and can't withstand the physical symptoms. I've always been a highky productive person, have a Masters Degree from an Ivy League College and due to popping pills all day, my life is in ruins. I want very much to be off of these pills and be able to have a life once again. I have been praying for God to lift the evil demons of addiction from me and cast them upon His feet where He may deal with them as He knows how to. I ask for your prayers.

To say that I am not an addict is a total lie. I have been taking Vicodin now for about 4 months straight. I invent physical problems and almost wish that I broke something to have the medication at hand. I spend a lot of money to get it and I do not know how to stop. I get worried when I am running out and I try very hard to stop but deep down inside I don't want to stop but I do. I am so confused and am afraid that my 10 vic's a day will turn into 30 or 40 and worse death. I love my children and my life but if I run out I can not function or do what I have to. I use to be a meth addict and I can tell you from personal experience that giving up Vicodin is worse than giving up meth. At least that's how I feel. I am lost. I do not know what to do.

The first time I'd ever really abused any painkillers was after my mom had carpal tunnel surgery and she came home from the hospital goofy as shit and said it was from half of one of the pills they gave her. 10/325 vicodins. I took about 3-4 of them before going with my wife to her friends house to get drunk and a bout 5 min after arriving I got that head rush and my brain was all fuzzy. fast forward a couple years and I was given vicodin for a back injury and again for shingles at the age of 23. I convinced my doctor to put me on pain management so now I have a constant supply of them that I could really give a shit about because after a while I moved on to bigger and better drugs. Oxycontin, dilaudid and my favorite OPana. I am still addicted to them, but I can usually go a long time between uses. I know it sounds odd, but i'm like a binge pill popper. I usually snort most of the drugs I take.It just opened up a whole new world of drug use once I started regularly using it. I did a bunch of coke, percs, vics and I was even trying benzos and amphetmines, but I always come back to the good old pain killers to give me that certain feeling I can't quite put my finger on. Now though it seems i'm so depressed I can't enjoy my highs or I'm just disappointed and disgusted with myself. I have a wife and 2 small children to think about yet I let them take a backseat half the time because I want to be left to myself to use. Just wish I had some help, but methadone and suboxone would go straight to someone else for the right price so I can get my goodies and I know it.

a dentist gave me tylenol4 which i never took. then one day i hurt my back, i found the old bottle and took 3 and i was hooked. flash forward to marriage and i used this wonderful time to stop and i did-cold. then a divorce, sad and lonly and i go to the doc crying about my herniated disc. my doc gives me 10/325 hydro at 120 per month. it has been 7 years and hydro is my life. cant imagine life without it. to quit i know i need some life event; new job, new love, something like that. i get done work in a few hours and there are 3 pills now staring at me wishing it was 6pm. take 3 on an empty stomac, wait 15 minutes, OH YEA that feeling that never gets old, HIGH ON HYDRO, grab my favorite munchies, put on a cool movie and that is my night. a person should feel shame to live this way.....and i do.....but it will never end and i fear Heaven won't be open for an weak addict like me.

I'm writing,not because I'm addicted, but because I'm not addicted. I have taken hydrocodone every six hours for over two months for ongoing headaches, Xanax and Ambien for over a year, and quit cold turkey with no problems. The only thing hydrocodone does for me is to relieve pain. It would never occur to me to abuse prescription drugs, and I would never even consider street drugs. The curious thing is I am addicted to nicotine.

I have a lot of empathy for those who do become addicted to prescription medications, and thought perhaps people like me could be tested against those who become addicted to see what it is about our physiology that's different from theirs. Maybe the answer lies in a gene. Wouldn't it be great if the offending gene could somehow be transformed.

Perhaps someone somewhere will think to do a study that will put the world on the path to finding a simple cure for prescription drug addictions.

I have been taking Vicoprofin (hydrocodone with ibuprofin) up to 5x daily for over a year for ankylosing spondylitis and ruptured/herniated disks in my back from a bad fall. I also have a severe annular tear in my hip from the fall and will probably have a hip replacement. I am familiar with all of the issues that the persons have posted above and you have my sympathies. My pain has suddenly lessened (after a week in bed literally) and today I have taken only one 7.5mg/250 Vicoprofin tablet (6:30 AM) and have had absolutely no adverse affects over twelve hours later. I have some pain in my hip but nothing I cannot tolerate. I have absolutely no need or compulsion to take another pain med today since I have no pain. I guess what I want to say is not to be afraid to skip a med dose if you are trying to stop taking pain meds. It is one pill at a time. Even if you cut down one pill every other day, every single time you do NOT take a dose you are further ahead. DO NOT BE AFRAID. If you skip a dose and are sleepy then sleep! Sleeping through withdrawal is one of the best things you can do. All of you have my sincere sympathies and I wish you all the very best. God bless and love yourselves. AJL

DOES ANYONE NYONE GET FLASHING LIGHTS AFTER TAKING THEM? I TAKE 2-3 5 MG A DAY FOR 3 YEARS AND SOMETIMES WITHIN AN HOUR AFTWR i SEE FLOATERS AND FLASHY LIGHTS.. THEN IT SUBSIDES SO i KNOW ITS A RESULT OF THE VICODIN. NOT A HIGH DOSE BUT ITS A HARD THING TO STOP TO SAY THE LEAST..

Hi im not a addict i have done it all from drinking to smoking , snorting, popping..everything i have tried oonce rxcept smoking weed... but my story is i have my girlfriend whos addicted but wont admit she thinks when she goes threw w/d that she has a bad cold or flu. We argue alot and she always takes off. Im scared for her but wont leave her because i want to help her..everything i told u in the beginning of me trying was for her to get on her level but i think and wonder why? Would she want to feel like that? I dont think shes on them strong but shes on them..she can have 7and she will make sure to make them last for a WEEK!!!or she can have 20 and she will make sure those will last her for a week!!i know she can survive and be ok with 1 a day...but why..i hate her in pain and i wish i can take it from her i lay next to her right now hearing her cry in her sleep and have the night sweats and the shakes because she iz going threw a w/d but she ALWAYS! !claims its a cold...she fell asleep while i was reading her your stories but i know she was hearing and relating to you.. i hope i can help her i will continue to pray and have faith in her and all of you...

I started taking one vicodin at night for hip pain for a few months. Then I had hip replacement surgery and took 6 pills a day for about a month. When I felt better I quit, still having a full bottle. At first I thought I had the flu. It took me a while to realize I was suffering from withdrawals. I couldn't get off the couch for probably the first week. It was like having the worst case of the flu. Every part of my body hurt. It actually took two full weeks for me to feel normal again. It never occurred to me I could get physically addicted so quickly. Funny, even tho I had a full bottle left I never wanted to take one. Be careful folks, it doesn't take long.

I have been addictd to loratabs for years! i cant even tell u how long..mayb 5...both my parents died and that just did a number on me..going thru a terrible marriage on top of that i have 4kids and i stay home allday!! The pillls help me get thru my day cookn,cleaning ect...i do want to stop bc its a exspensive habit! plz pray 4 me and i will do the same for you guys!

I'm 23 and I have chron's disease. I was first giving loratabs about 5 years ago. I use to never take them as much as I do now. In 2009 my boyfriend was killed and every since then I would take my meds to numb the pain I have. I realize that it was a problem about a year ago but I couldn't find myself living without them. Just recently I have experience a demon messing with me. I'm so confused I never had anything like this happen to me. Everynight I go to bed the evil spirit messing with me so I cant get any sleep. I take ambiens to be able to fall asleep but my life is going down hill. I have two little ones to take care of so I know I have to over come this whole issue, I just don't know how. I'm afraid to give my all to god and just believe. I'm having trust issues. I'm lost and I'm praying I find god and he can help me and give me strength to pull through this. I think this is my first step to giving up loratabs is to admitting they are controling my life. I asks for your prayers. Thank you and God Bless !

For me its always been one thing or another, since i have been in my early twenties. I am now in my late thirties, and started taking norcos about 3 years ago now. Now i am ready to stop, and have been ready but just cant seem to do it. I remember kicking cocaine, ectasy, special k. But these norcos seem to have a kung fu like grip on my soul even though i only take 4 a day now i still hate it and hate having to buy them expensive habit no wonder why people lose everyting to drug abuse. If you are reading this and are thinking about taking them please think again.

hi,,,,im middle aged and have taken narco for 15 yrs...for a chronic disease. 7 a day..i get 240 10/325 a month..well i had to move lost my dr. and there is NO dr. n the bigger city where i live will give them out...I called my dr. and he gave me 2 refills..and im CURRENTLY wingin off..started with 7 a day...going 6 for 2weeks...5 for 10 days...4 for 10 days and etc...its been a bit hard but i no itll probably get rougher as i go..i really want off..i want my old self back...but i kinda have to get off too, i do have ultram to help..but been trying to NOT take them as i heard they r hard to get off too. i think it sucks that a dr. gives these out for 15yrs! i hope i can do it..god bless each of you,,and peace!

Ive been taking Norcos 10/325 and Roxi 30mg plus Xanax and soma, I was also taking Opana 40 mg but I stop taking the opana cause it was hell, now I find myself taking 1 norco I roxy 1 Xanax and 1 soma a day. This has been going in for a few months now. I don't want to be hooked on these pills.. But feel I need then cause I have a 6mm disk bulge in my back.. Any ideas on what to do..

I started taking vicodin because of a surgery I had in my arm to remove mrsa. I've been taking it for 3 weeks now..as prescred..I have been slowing down down because I'm not needing them as much..but lately I have been throwing up every morning and feeling extremely sick..what's wrong with me?

So it all started out when I was 16, I had my wisdom teeth removed and was prescribed Vicodin. All I can say was, wow! What an awesome feeling. It took away the pain alright and it made some of the biggest problems seem almost nonexsistant. I took my script until is was all gone and I remember taking the last pill and remembering being sad wondering if I'd ever feel that way in my life again. Fast forwarding through the years I revisited that same high on several occasions, at parties, I had a c section, they once even gave them to me a couple different times from having a really bad throat infection. Everytime I loved the high and everytime I would be sad to see them go. Now I'm 24, about 3 months ago I had a co worker give me one because I had been having a hard time focusing and she said they always helped her during the stressfull times at work so I gave it a shot, I knew they would make me feel good but when added with a lot of caffeine I was on cloud nine and I got a lot done, product information flowed and my sales got better and better!! I started buying them from her and I started adding them to the budget every week, life seems a little easier... But today I'm now coming to the conclusion that I am addicted. When I think about not taking them it scares me. I'm not on one right now, I'm just trying to reflect on everything. Feeling the emotional and physical pain hurts. I'm broke, I'm sick, I can't get out of bed. Im upset at myself for being such a pushover to a tiny pill. Now I am sitting here reading everyone's stories realizing I'm not alone. Everyone has problems in there lives. So as my mind wanders to my stash in my purse trying to figure out how many I have left, when will I take one, how long it will take to hit my system, how many hours til my next pill, and how many I can afford on payday, I am just going to say to everyone, even though everyone's situation is different, we are all people who deserve second chances in this life. Everyone is so very beautiful and special and we all make a difference in this life no matter what anyone says! I love you all and I mean that from my whole heart. One day, we will decide that this is it! Find the reason to stop and always remember it! For me, my beautiful son is worth it and in the end I'm worth it! May God bless you all and help you recover.