Darvocet N 100

[AmyLang]

Hi all, I'm new here and I have some questions about Darvocet. I've been taking D for about three months for back pain. The back pain is gone now and I want to stop taking the D. On average I take 4 Darvocet N 100's a day at the dosage of two tablets twice a day. I would like to get off of this medication but have noticed that every time I try to stop taking it, that my body begins to ache and I begin to feel ill. I have to tell you that I don't want to go to my doctor about this because I'm angry at him for getting me on this medication to begin with. I didn't know it was going to make me feel ill to try to stop taking it. He never explained that to me. Can someone please help me to figure out what I need to do to get off this medication so it don't make me feel so bad? Please help. Does this mean I'm addicted to this medication? Is what I'm feeling when I try to stop taking it, considered to be withdrawls?

[Callie]

There will be more along to help you better than me. But yes, you are addicted and this is withdrawal you are going through. Good luck to you and sorry I can't be more help.

[ccgirl2]

Amy, first of all, I think your body is habituated to the medication; as far as a mental addiction, only you know that for sure.

Really though, the only way to get through the withdrawals comfortably is to talk to your doctor. He can either put you on a taper program, or help you to stop them altogether. And tell him you're upset. Communication with your physician is so important.

[bval]

What cc said. Physical dependency (meaning you get withdrawals when you stop) is a very common effect with all sorts of medications, especially opioids. I am frankly amazed that one could go through life without ever having become aware that pain killers are a dependence-producing class of drugs, but if that's truly the case for you, well ... consider yourself lucky.

Oh, and ... your doctor is not unique in this regard. Pretty good chance that if you read the handout that the pharmacist gave you with the script, you'll find all sorts of mention of the potential addictiveness/dependency of the medication.

To be honest, that's a very low dose of a very weak opioid to try to come off of. When I was at my worst in my addiction, I was taking the equivalent of about 100x that amount of narcotic painkillers *every day*. Not that I actually tried to QUIT from that dosage, but I'm just saying, in the overall scale of addiction-size, your dependency is about as small as it gets, and thus, you're not looking at any hard-core withdrawals from this 'experience' you've gone through.

I'd say talk to your doctor about tapering them down if you cannot handle feeling sick for a couple days, but to be honest ... I'd recommend just pretending like you're sick (mentally), and just toughing it out. It should feel almost exactly like a low grade flu anyway, and it should honestly not last more than 2-3 days. Shouldn't be anything you can't handle.

[krissypissy]

'But yes, you are addicted' eh kinda quick to make a judgement call...BIG BIG difference between addiction and dependence

[ccgirl2]

bv's right about the potency of Darvocet vs other opoids. I remember getting a bottle of them to try to wean down from stronger stuff (didn't work); so the w/ds shouldn't be too too bad. If you don't want to see your doctor, just try weaning down some each day.

[AmyLang]

Thank you all for your words of wisdom. I do believe that I will just wean down with what I have left and be done with it. Thanks so much!

[Callie]

Originally Posted by krissypissy

'But yes, you are addicted' eh kinda quick to make a judgement call...BIG BIG difference between addiction and dependence

My mistake ... AH quickly set me straight on my post as well.