Hydrocodone Detoxing from Hydrocodone Use

How your life will be affected when detoxing from Hydrocodone.

Making the decision to detox from Hydrocodone is one of the hardest decisions to make. Hydrocodone is an addictive opiate. One of the most important things is to be honest about the problem and be strong enough to get off the medication. The longer a patient stays on an opiate painkiller the more resistant they become to the benefits of the painkiller and in time they will feel the need to take more and more pills to get the same amount of pain relief. When the patient decides to detox the very first thing to do is to inform the family so there aren't any surprises with mood swings and behavior changes. Depending on the relationship with co-workers the patient might let co-workers know what is going to happen then take a vacation or respit from work. Several companies might even have the psychological help required to go through the rehab program.  It is hard to think of detoxing as going through rehab, but that is exactly what is happening. The patient is relearning how to live without the use of the medication; therefore the patient is "rehabilitating" themselves.

The hardest part if any rehabilitation program is admitting there is a problem with addiction to Hydrocodone. Quitting “cold turkey” can be dangerous and isn't recommended by the medical community. The best way to quit an addicting drug is to slowly go off it and the patient's doctor will definitely need to be involved. The person will need to be honest about their problem and ask for the doctor's assistance in detoxing from Hydrocodone (or any narcotic pain reliever).

The patient needs to ask the doctor about the steps to take to detox from Hydrocodone so the person will be able to function without the opiate high. It is very difficult because the body is yearning for the opiate medication. The temptation is great. Keep up a steady supply of liquids to help the kidneys flush the drug from the body. If it helps have someone in the family keep the medication away from the patient and disperse it as needed. Try to keep from being depressed and just keep an eye on the goal of being drug-free.

Try to taper to as low a dose of Hydrocodone as possible over the period of time required by the patient's doctor, then quit entirely with the aid of Clonodine or even better, Buprenex. A doctor can prescribe Buprenex, and it will enable the patient to withdraw almost completely painlessly.

After the first week or so, expect to feel very weak. The patient will find themselves just wanting to stay on the couch and this is perfectly okay as long as the goal is quitting the Hydrocodone. Once the drug is out of the system concentrate on building the body's strength back up. Small amounts of exercise can be done in the house. Concentrate on eating energy building foods and drinking plenty of liquids. 

Once again, it is imperative that the doctor be involved in helping the patient during the detoxing process. If something should go awry your doctor will know what is happening and can help you find your way back to your new “old” self.