Weaning off Hydrocodone

How much are you taking?

Pain management doctors are only human, and all have different ideas. Is your aim to wean off the hydrocodone and try some other pain relief? The detox going cold turkey is a nightmare and is not recommended unless you have 4-5 days to suffer intense sweats, vomiting, nightmares etc. Been there and done that never again. You can start to halve your dose week by week, so your body starts to function without it. That worked much better for me.

What options do you have for other pain relief -

Buprenorphine patches 10mg is one way, which means no tablets to worry about. If you go down that path always leave your old patch on for an extra 24 hours after you put your new one. This keeps your level constant and reduces any nausea you may experience.

Memantine - this has the added benefit of helping reduce your fatigue. Read up about it and acts a bit like ketamine without the side effects. Is far cheaper than ketamine.

Ketamine - very effective, especially in wafer form, but only works in 1/3 of people, may have long-term side effects, requires blood work regularly, and is quite expensive. Search for threads on ketamine Mayo Clinic pain groups for more views.

Cannabis - gives only short-term relief in my view, not very effective, but you can read about it in threads throughout the Mayo Clinic pain groups.

Unfortunately, there are not very many options, and the Government continues to make it hard for those who have long-term chronic pain.

I hope this helps..

Thank you for all of this information. I will ask when I meet with my pain mgt dr next week. My gastro dr thinks the Hydro is causing my nausea and lack of appetite. I have lost 15 pounds and am having a difficult time gaining needed weight to support the back surgery.

I've taken hydrocodone for 20+ years. I've gone from every 4 hours to every 6 hours and now I'm at every 7 hours. Try spacing them out instead of stopping all together. I could not function without it so I just tried to find what still works just taking less often. I guess if I wanted to stop all together, I'd go to ever 8 hours for a while then 9 and so on until I could maybe half them and start again....4,6,7,8,9 hours. I do know that in the past, if I take them too close together, I get nauseated.

Hello @clemsonbabe, you mentioned you see your pain management doctor next week. In the meantime, are you able to send them a message with your current side effects to see if you can get a head start? Everyone processes medications so differently, so having the guidance of a pain management provider is important.

Thanks! Actually was able to see my pain mgt dr yesterday. He is changing the Hydrocodone to Nucynta. I have been on Hydrocodone so long I do not think it is holding the pain any longer. Still concerned about side effects and interactions but have to do something for the chronic pain. Any comments on Nucynta?

What back surgery did you have and where is your pain? Does the surgeon say you should be in this much pain a year after surgery? Is it joint, muscle or nerve pain? That may help to identify what type of pain medicine you need. Did they give you physical therapy and a timeline of how long recovery would be? Can you do warm baths, heating pads, ice packs, pain patches/creams, Cymbalta Rx (for nerve/arthritis pain/depression from chronic pain), etc.? Are you taking care of your mental health with a Telehealth therapist who specializes in helping those suffering from chronic pain?

Have you tried spinal injections?

Have you had updated MRIs and EMG testing by a neurologist to help narrow down the source of pain and proper treatment? Did they injure something else when they did the surgery which is causing this prolonged pain? Were you in this much pain before your surgery? Sorry for all of my questions but I care and know how hard dealing with chronic pain is. God be with you through this challenging and painful time. My heart goes out to you.

Thank you for caring and sharing! A neurosurgeon did my scoliosis surgery a little over a year ago. It was very extensive and he believed it would take a year for recovery. Have had lots of gastro issues and had my gallbladder out a few months ago. That extended my recovery period. I have lost about 15 pounds and need to add that weight back to get healthy. Still doing light physical therapy. Ice packs do help so I rest twice a day with that. My pain mgt dr I'd changing my pain med from hydrocodone to nucynta. Then after a few days psych has recommended Cymbalta. Seeing a counselor. Praying lots and still holding on to God's promises to be with me.