I need help...badly.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 6
I need help...badly.
Hello everyone this is my first time here.
I was taking Darvocet for the last 5 years for chronic back pain due to Scrolious. I had surgery for at when I was 18, however the back pain actually got worse for me. Just after this Christmas I ran out of my prescription about a week early. I decided to go to the ER (with a wonderful blizzard to help with the mood) and try to get some help with Withdrawals. The doctor there gave me a drug called Clonadine in pill form and also the same drug in the form of a patch that lasts for 7 days. They also gave me Phenergan for nausea, Bentyl for abdominal cramps, and Valium for muscle spasms. He also set me up with an appointment two days later at 7:30 am to see someone for the outpatient program at a local mental hospital which also doubles as an alcohol and drug rehab center.
I had been taking the drugs they gave me at the hospital, but I felt like crap, all I did was sleep, not wanting to do anything else. However, I got my butt over to the rehab center at 7:30 am, even though it there was a severe snow storm (Again, heh), and spoke with a woman who told me that she felt I needed to be put on Methadone. I asked her how long I'd have to take this drug until I got off the crap completely, she told me 8-9 years. I told her that just wouldn't work for me having to go there every single day, especially at that time just to get another dose of Methadone. I would be in my mid to late 30s before I got off this crap? Impossible! I still feel that's ridiculous.
There was nothing else she could help me with so I went back to the ER. While I was waiting to see someone I finally worked up the the courage to call my doctor and informed him on what was happening, because I felt like crap and couldn't take it anymore. The receptionist at his office told me he'd squeeze me in so I got out of the ER and ran to my doctor's. I saw him and he was concerned how much Darvocet I was taking, which of course has 650 mg of Acetaminophen in each pill. I was by the end taking 10-12 pills a day. I was allowed by my doctor to take 6 darvocets a day. This wasn't the first time I ran out early, however I found other drugs, usually Percocet , to help me until I could refill my prescription, but not this time.
So....he takes me off Darvocet, and puts me on Vicodin 4 pills daily.
When I was at the ER the first time I decided I wanted off these drugs completely, however I need help, more help then just detoxing at home. I need to be inpatient for at least a week, something the doctor at the E.R told me they don't do anymore because narcotic withdrawals aren't life threatening. Hmmm...I could have sworn I've heard of people being hospitalized for narcotic detox in the past. Wasn't Britney Spears?
Anyway, I find myself between a rock and a hard place. I have no support at home to help me with this. I'm asking for help, but they refuse to give me the help I want, I need. Take Methodone for the next 8 years, having to go there once a day to get my dose, or take Vicodin, get a month supply and at least function with my daily life. I'm sorry to say for right now I choose the latter.
Is there any place facility that will take a someone and detox them in a hospital?
Sorry for the long read. I'm just at my wits end here.
-Dave
I was taking Darvocet for the last 5 years for chronic back pain due to Scrolious. I had surgery for at when I was 18, however the back pain actually got worse for me. Just after this Christmas I ran out of my prescription about a week early. I decided to go to the ER (with a wonderful blizzard to help with the mood) and try to get some help with Withdrawals. The doctor there gave me a drug called Clonadine in pill form and also the same drug in the form of a patch that lasts for 7 days. They also gave me Phenergan for nausea, Bentyl for abdominal cramps, and Valium for muscle spasms. He also set me up with an appointment two days later at 7:30 am to see someone for the outpatient program at a local mental hospital which also doubles as an alcohol and drug rehab center.
I had been taking the drugs they gave me at the hospital, but I felt like crap, all I did was sleep, not wanting to do anything else. However, I got my butt over to the rehab center at 7:30 am, even though it there was a severe snow storm (Again, heh), and spoke with a woman who told me that she felt I needed to be put on Methadone. I asked her how long I'd have to take this drug until I got off the crap completely, she told me 8-9 years. I told her that just wouldn't work for me having to go there every single day, especially at that time just to get another dose of Methadone. I would be in my mid to late 30s before I got off this crap? Impossible! I still feel that's ridiculous.
There was nothing else she could help me with so I went back to the ER. While I was waiting to see someone I finally worked up the the courage to call my doctor and informed him on what was happening, because I felt like crap and couldn't take it anymore. The receptionist at his office told me he'd squeeze me in so I got out of the ER and ran to my doctor's. I saw him and he was concerned how much Darvocet I was taking, which of course has 650 mg of Acetaminophen in each pill. I was by the end taking 10-12 pills a day. I was allowed by my doctor to take 6 darvocets a day. This wasn't the first time I ran out early, however I found other drugs, usually Percocet , to help me until I could refill my prescription, but not this time.
So....he takes me off Darvocet, and puts me on Vicodin 4 pills daily.
When I was at the ER the first time I decided I wanted off these drugs completely, however I need help, more help then just detoxing at home. I need to be inpatient for at least a week, something the doctor at the E.R told me they don't do anymore because narcotic withdrawals aren't life threatening. Hmmm...I could have sworn I've heard of people being hospitalized for narcotic detox in the past. Wasn't Britney Spears?
Anyway, I find myself between a rock and a hard place. I have no support at home to help me with this. I'm asking for help, but they refuse to give me the help I want, I need. Take Methodone for the next 8 years, having to go there once a day to get my dose, or take Vicodin, get a month supply and at least function with my daily life. I'm sorry to say for right now I choose the latter.
Is there any place facility that will take a someone and detox them in a hospital?
Sorry for the long read. I'm just at my wits end here.
-Dave
It is what it is!!!
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Sobriety
Posts: 5,767
I am sorry for your pain, I truly am.
I suggest that you call local rehabs in your area. Call your dr, call any dr that will listen to you. You will need to do the footwork and find a place. I know there are places where I live, some cost alot, some cost a little, some dont cost. It all depends on where you go and the situation.
Congrats on making the choice to take care of yourself and get clean.
You could also try calling your local NA hotline and talk to recoverying addict in your area. While they are not affilated with any detox places or rehabs, often a recoverying addict that lives where you live may have had some experience or know someone with experience that could give you suggestions.
Good luck, and keep posting.
I suggest that you call local rehabs in your area. Call your dr, call any dr that will listen to you. You will need to do the footwork and find a place. I know there are places where I live, some cost alot, some cost a little, some dont cost. It all depends on where you go and the situation.
Congrats on making the choice to take care of yourself and get clean.
You could also try calling your local NA hotline and talk to recoverying addict in your area. While they are not affilated with any detox places or rehabs, often a recoverying addict that lives where you live may have had some experience or know someone with experience that could give you suggestions.
Good luck, and keep posting.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: cape cod
Posts: 2,320
Daniel, I think most of us have done detox, fairly recently also. For narcotics. I don't know where you live, but google detox or rehab centers in your area. I think they list some here also.
OMG it sounds like you have an ER like mine, the ER from hell!! Depending on where you live, you can go to another ER. It is an option. I am so sorry you went through that.
You'll get lots of help and advice here. Welcome!
OMG it sounds like you have an ER like mine, the ER from hell!! Depending on where you live, you can go to another ER. It is an option. I am so sorry you went through that.
You'll get lots of help and advice here. Welcome!
Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Miami, FL
Posts: 607
Stories like this make me sad. Methadone is a much stronger narcotic than either Darvocet or Vicodin. It's only advantage in the clinical sense is that it's so very long lasting that you don't need to take doses more than once a day, but when it comes to withdrawals, any junky will tell you that methadone withdrawals make heroin withdrawals seem like a stroll in the park.
Nevertheless, if you can slowly wean yourself down, you can get clean. It won't be fun during the process but once you're clean you'll feel great, I mean "burst of energy" great, a new zest for life, food will taste better, sex will be better, the whole ball of wax.
I hate to constantly be evangelizing suboxone but let me just say it worked for me, and I had a very bad habit--injecting heroin or dilaudid many times a day. If it can tackle a habit like mine was, I find it hard to believe that anybody has a habit that it can't help with. It's worth at least mentioning to your doctor.
Nevertheless, if you can slowly wean yourself down, you can get clean. It won't be fun during the process but once you're clean you'll feel great, I mean "burst of energy" great, a new zest for life, food will taste better, sex will be better, the whole ball of wax.
I hate to constantly be evangelizing suboxone but let me just say it worked for me, and I had a very bad habit--injecting heroin or dilaudid many times a day. If it can tackle a habit like mine was, I find it hard to believe that anybody has a habit that it can't help with. It's worth at least mentioning to your doctor.
Om, Aum, Ohm...
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Punxsutawney/Pittsburgh
Posts: 4,797
That someone told you you need to be on methadone for Darvocet/Vicodin addiction and that they told you you could expect to be on it for 8 to 9 years makes my head feel like it's going to pop.
There's a reason they call it the treatment industry. Remember that. They're in it to make money, and methadone is very expensive.
NA doesn't cost a dime. If you toss a buck or two in the basket, great, but you don't have to. And unless you're a real morning person and have a.m. meetings available, you don't have to rise before dawn to get there.
Peace & Love,
Sugah
There's a reason they call it the treatment industry. Remember that. They're in it to make money, and methadone is very expensive.
NA doesn't cost a dime. If you toss a buck or two in the basket, great, but you don't have to. And unless you're a real morning person and have a.m. meetings available, you don't have to rise before dawn to get there.
Peace & Love,
Sugah
I Stand At The Turning Point
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 144
what kind of quack would want to put someone addicted to darvocet on a 8 year methadone matinance program? Whoever told you that should have their liscense revoked. Get a second opinion, that doc is simply out of his mind.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Miami, FL
Posts: 607
If a doctor told the patient "To cure you of your Vicodan habit we are going to inject you with heroin 4 times a day" the patient would go running out of the office, screaming. But if they mention methadone it sounds so professional and safe. If only people understood that the two drugs are virtually interchangeable, they'd see the folly in the entire methadone approach.
Not to say it doesn't work or it can never work, but it should be seen as a method of last resort.
Not to say it doesn't work or it can never work, but it should be seen as a method of last resort.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 6
Thanks for the replies everyone. 
I felt like I was basically treated like crap at the E.R. both of the times I went. Especially by the nurses who acted like I was some criminal or whatever. Which is why I called up my doctor the second time. I basically had nothing to lose. I went to the biggest hospital in the area. The only other one near here is a Catholic run hospital which is a lot smaller. I live in a small city of around 30,000 people. There really isn't much here.
And yeah, I panicked when the woman told me her plan to put me on Methadone for 8-9 years. I think it's really stupid to become addicted to yet another drug and have to stay on it all those years. Before speaking with her I was put in a room with a bunch of other addicts for about an hour, all of them there to get their dose. All they did was brag to each other of how many drugs there were/are on and what they took. I felt very uneasy being around them for some reason.
Still want to get off the drugs. Called a drug addict help hotline yesterday, the lady on the other end of the phone told me a licensed therapist would call me back. They never did.
I've been breaking the Vicodin in half and taking a half a one every 3 hours instead of taking a whole one every 6 hours. It helps with the cravings better. This way I don't run out until I see my doctor again on Feb 5. Seems like I have to see him now once every 28 days instead of him writing me out a script with 2 refills like he used to with the Darvocet and I only used to see him once every 3 months.
I felt like I was basically treated like crap at the E.R. both of the times I went. Especially by the nurses who acted like I was some criminal or whatever. Which is why I called up my doctor the second time. I basically had nothing to lose. I went to the biggest hospital in the area. The only other one near here is a Catholic run hospital which is a lot smaller. I live in a small city of around 30,000 people. There really isn't much here.
And yeah, I panicked when the woman told me her plan to put me on Methadone for 8-9 years. I think it's really stupid to become addicted to yet another drug and have to stay on it all those years. Before speaking with her I was put in a room with a bunch of other addicts for about an hour, all of them there to get their dose. All they did was brag to each other of how many drugs there were/are on and what they took. I felt very uneasy being around them for some reason.
Still want to get off the drugs. Called a drug addict help hotline yesterday, the lady on the other end of the phone told me a licensed therapist would call me back. They never did.
I've been breaking the Vicodin in half and taking a half a one every 3 hours instead of taking a whole one every 6 hours. It helps with the cravings better. This way I don't run out until I see my doctor again on Feb 5. Seems like I have to see him now once every 28 days instead of him writing me out a script with 2 refills like he used to with the Darvocet and I only used to see him once every 3 months.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 6
Originally Posted by exjunky 
Stories like this make me sad. Methadone is a much stronger narcotic than either Darvocet or Vicodin. It's only advantage in the clinical sense is that it's so very long lasting that you don't need to take doses more than once a day, but when it comes to withdrawals, any junky will tell you that methadone withdrawals make heroin withdrawals seem like a stroll in the park.
Nevertheless, if you can slowly wean yourself down, you can get clean. It won't be fun during the process but once you're clean you'll feel great, I mean "burst of energy" great, a new zest for life, food will taste better, sex will be better, the whole ball of wax.
I hate to constantly be evangelizing suboxone but let me just say it worked for me, and I had a very bad habit--injecting heroin or dilaudid many times a day. If it can tackle a habit like mine was, I find it hard to believe that anybody has a habit that it can't help with. It's worth at least mentioning to your doctor.
Nevertheless, if you can slowly wean yourself down, you can get clean. It won't be fun during the process but once you're clean you'll feel great, I mean "burst of energy" great, a new zest for life, food will taste better, sex will be better, the whole ball of wax.
I hate to constantly be evangelizing suboxone but let me just say it worked for me, and I had a very bad habit--injecting heroin or dilaudid many times a day. If it can tackle a habit like mine was, I find it hard to believe that anybody has a habit that it can't help with. It's worth at least mentioning to your doctor.
Forgot to reply to this yesterday. Sorry. I went to Suboxone's homepage and put in the zip code for where I live and there seem to be a ton of doctors who do use this drug with their patients. A lot of them are listed to be associated with The mental hospital/rehab place I went to. The woman I spoke with never mentioned this to drug as an option to me, only Methadone. Strange, huh?
Anyway, I'm curious about this drug.
-Dave
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Miami, FL
Posts: 607
Originally Posted by DaveFLBrn
The woman I spoke with never mentioned this to drug as an option to me, only Methadone. Strange, huh?
But that also explains why "mum's the word" when you visit a doctor who is not licensed to prescribe it, or even if they are licensed and they have filled up their quota.
Last edited by exjunky; 01-27-2008 at 02:02 AM. Reason: clarity
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 6
Originally Posted by exjunky
It's not that strange. They need a special license to prescribe suboxone and even then there are usually state restrictions, like one doctor can only have so-many patients on it at once. (That's why my doctor was so eager to cut me off as quickly as possible--to make room for the next patient.)
But that also explains why "mum's the word" when you visit a doctor who is not licensed to prescribe it, or even if they are licensed and they have filled up their quota.
But that also explains why "mum's the word" when you visit a doctor who is not licensed to prescribe it, or even if they are licensed and they have filled up their quota.
I still think I should try an inpatient detox program first though. But no matter who I call, they never get back to me. These "professionals" seem to have a habit of not returning phone calls. Whether they're doctors or lawyers.
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Miami, FL
Posts: 607
Originally Posted by DaveFLBrn
Do you know why it's so restricted? Is it that dangerous, more so then Methadone?
Or... just speculating now... it could be all about the almighty dollar. Better to have somebody hooked on methadone for 8 years than suboxone for 3 months. I honestly think my doctor had my best interests at heart--but I was lucky--not all doctors fit that profile.
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 6
Originally Posted by exjunky
That's sort of a medical question that I'm not qualified to answer, but I don't think that's the issue. I think it's just really new and doctors are in uncharted waters. Plus it might vary state to state, I'm really just telling you the situation in Florida, I have no idea what it's like where you live.
Or... just speculating now... it could be all about the almighty dollar. Better to have somebody hooked on methadone for 8 years than suboxone for 3 months. I honestly think my doctor had my best interests at heart--but I was lucky--not all doctors fit that profile.
Or... just speculating now... it could be all about the almighty dollar. Better to have somebody hooked on methadone for 8 years than suboxone for 3 months. I honestly think my doctor had my best interests at heart--but I was lucky--not all doctors fit that profile.
) You've been very helpful to me. Before, I didn't know there where anymore options other then getting methadone or quiting cold turkey and feeling like crap for days after. I'm glad I found more options, that has made me feel a little better at least. I'll post tomorrow or later this week when I get some more answers.
BTW, I was born in Florida and now live in the cold, cold north.
Last edited by DaveFLBrn; 01-27-2008 at 01:12 PM.
Dopeless Hope Fiend
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: anchorage Alaska
Posts: 2,741
If I was told I had to go on methadone for 8 years..
I would hire a jet to fly me over a active volcanoe and dive into the molten lava....
Some doctors are so freakin black and white..no inbetween ya know???
I see see sub work for people who have a honest desire to stop using...
I would call and find some meetings in your area if I was you...that way you can talk with other people who have lots of experience..
love north
I would hire a jet to fly me over a active volcanoe and dive into the molten lava....
Some doctors are so freakin black and white..no inbetween ya know???
I see see sub work for people who have a honest desire to stop using...
I would call and find some meetings in your area if I was you...that way you can talk with other people who have lots of experience..
love north
Fighting the good fight
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 309
Originally Posted by Sugah
That someone told you you need to be on methadone for Darvocet/Vicodin addiction and that they told you you could expect to be on it for 8 to 9 years makes my head feel like it's going to pop.
There's a reason they call it the treatment industry. Remember that. They're in it to make money, and methadone is very expensive.
NA doesn't cost a dime. If you toss a buck or two in the basket, great, but you don't have to. And unless you're a real morning person and have a.m. meetings available, you don't have to rise before dawn to get there.
Peace & Love,
Sugah
There's a reason they call it the treatment industry. Remember that. They're in it to make money, and methadone is very expensive.
NA doesn't cost a dime. If you toss a buck or two in the basket, great, but you don't have to. And unless you're a real morning person and have a.m. meetings available, you don't have to rise before dawn to get there.
Peace & Love,
Sugah
Damn straight, there's a bunch of very evil, very greedy people making a lot of money out of this...
good luck DaveFLBrn, and I think you've made the right choice too - the next question has to be - how are you going to manage your pain without narcotics? Are you still in pain, or are you over that and just dealing with the drug addiction?
I swear, sometimes it sounds like these Drs have got people addicted to drugs on purpose, just so they can cash in. There's a few threads like this around today, just making me angry - so I'll leave it at that, and wish you all the best Dave - I used to be a heroin addict too, and trust me - you do NOT want to take Methodone, it's evil stuff.
8 or 9 years? That's insanity!
Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Australia
Posts: 170
It's a pity u don't live in australia. I could get u the help u need immediately.
Anyway, someone mentioned suboxone...not bad idea. It will get u thru no problem. Even when it's time to come off it, you won't do it hard.
See yur GP and talk with him about. I understand ur pain....beleive me i do and i can totally emphathise with u. You don't need methadone!! Try suboxone
Anyway, someone mentioned suboxone...not bad idea. It will get u thru no problem. Even when it's time to come off it, you won't do it hard.
See yur GP and talk with him about. I understand ur pain....beleive me i do and i can totally emphathise with u. You don't need methadone!! Try suboxone
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