Help! need to wean off meds

I need help in Weaning off Hydrocodone/APAP & Ibuprofen 600 . Its been 7 weeks since my surgery and i want off the Hydrocodone but my body still aches , my feet hurt and i am very tired without it. I have gotton down to taking 1 Ibuprofen & 1 Hydrocodone in the a.m. and the same dose in the early evening around 7, if i can tolerate the aching. I talked to my doctor and she gave me some gibberish twice that i could not hear or understand and felt too stupid to have her repeat again. Did anyone have any problems weaning off post surgery medications?

Hey I know what you mean, I have fibromyalgia so I really hurt, everything is ampliphied by 100. I stopped all meds at about 6 wks. and began taking a multi-vit. instead it helped, I also am taking vit. D suppliments.

Dianne TAH/BSO 12/09/06

I still take one hydrocodone at night which helps me sleep as well. I'm taking two Motrine (over the counter) in the am and two more in the afternoon. I'm 4 weeks out and still have some aching. When I over do it - I do get into some real aching. I'm also taking multi vitamins and some other supplements.

I'm not working on getting off the pain meds yet as my surgery was 1 1/2 weeks ago, but I really have a fear of being in pain period. Before this surgery, I was getting myself scared to death about some pain issues that I had heard friends talk about post-hysterectomy and I felt better when I went into the local health food store and asked one of the knowledgeable attendants what their suggestions were for me. I ended up buying cod-liver oil (which has lots of vitamin d) and starting today I am going to take 1 tablespoon a day. They told me that many people get relief from generalized discomfort with this. I am hoping that it will be helpful to me.

Also if your dr gave you some information over the phone and you did not understand, is it possible that you could call her back or go back in for another appt. Good luck to you! I hope that you get to feeling better soon.

I hurt like crazy after i got off the pain meds, like you, even my feet hurt. It takes a while, but it gets better, I don't think I would make a good drug addict, I hated being drugged, and I hated getting off the stuff. Good luck to you, there is relief when it gets out of your system!

Hi there!

Weaning off pain meds can be a very difficult process. After several weeks of steady use, it could take several more weeks to successfully and gradually taper off the meds. If you're having aching and other discomfort when you don't take the medication, that tells me that you need some other medical help to taper off because your body has gotten used to the medication in your system. This doesn't mean you're addicted to the drug by any means, but you may have developed a certain amount of tolerance to it, meaning that your body "complains" (by aching) when it doesn't get the drug.

It's nothing that your doc hasn't dealt with before. Call back and ask for help. You may be asked to take the same amount of medication, but in smaller doses, for a few days, then gradually lower each dose or space them out more and more each day. Regardless, though -- it's a process and you don't have to go through it alone!

to you. Let us know what the doctor says, OK?

I was on narcotics for 2 years before my surgery so going off them was a definite change of life. I did what you are doing by spacing out and lowering my doses and I still ached in my legs, wrists, upper arms, and feet. Sometimes I would just sit in the recliner and my legs felt like they wanted to run. I found that when I started taking long walks (faster paced) the aches and pains went away. I don't know if it will work for you but it worked for me. and good luck