Two short questions about hydrocodone

August 6, 2015 11:01 AM

I tore my lateral meniscus back in late May. I took hydrocodone/acetaminophen (Norco) in varying doses for the next two months until I had surgery two weeks ago. I'm down to taking two Norcos (5-325) at night to help me sleep and the time has come for me to get off of this stuff.

Question 1: The other night, I went to bed without taking the Norco. I was *extremely* restless and fidgety all night...I was incredibly sleepy but couldn't calm my body down enough to actually fall asleep. I got maybe 2 hours of actual sleep that night and it was really unpleasant. This is undoubtedly partially due to the fact that I didn't taper anything and just went from two pills to no pills, but I'm concerned now about getting off of it permanently. I went through this many years ago after a sinus surgery (after being on the Norco for much less time) and it sucked in a very major way, so I'd like to know the best way to do this. I understand that tapering will be necessary, but is there anything else I can do to ease the transition?

Question 2: How strict is the alcohol prohibition whilst taking hydrocodone? Strict enough to prohibit even one drink in an evening? I haven't had any alcohol since starting the Norco, but I'll be visiting family this weekend and might want a glass of wine or a beer.

Thanks, Mefi!

posted by altopower to Health & Fitness (5 answers total)

1) Yes, you're going to want to taper. As you found out, cold turkey is not fun.

2) It's not the hydrocodone that's the problem, it's the acetaminophen that's also in the Norco. They will tell you not to have any alcohol at all, but I would be comfortable with having one glass of wine or a beer every now and then, honestly. DO make sure that you don't have to drive or anything like that, since you're not sure how it will affect you.
posted by fiercecupcake at 11:07 AM on August 6, 2015

(I mean, hydrocodone is a respiratory depressant, so you don't want to drink a bunch with that, either, but honestly, if you are accustomed to taking two of the 5-325s, I wouldn't worry about one beer or one glass of wine. Don't go nuts, though.)
posted by fiercecupcake at 11:08 AM on August 6, 2015

The alcohol prohibition is in regards to acetaminophen and liver damage. The strictness is yours to determine. How much liver damage would you like? Regarding tapering, you might try using Benadryl or Advil PM for a couple nights instead of the Norco. Just get off the stuff sooner than later as the longer you take it the more addicted you get.
posted by nologo at 11:10 AM on August 6, 2015

I got hooked on it after knee surgery. I found it pretty easy to taper down a half pill every third day. Once I was down to a half pill, I split it for a few days then dropped to none. It was fairly painless. Oh - I was taking multiple doeses each day so I cut each dose the same amount each time.
posted by harrietthespy at 12:10 PM on August 6, 2015

I would taper by a half a Vicodin at a time. So, 2 to 1.5, then a few days later 1.5 to 1, then a few days later 1 to 0.5, then a few days later you're done.

You could try taking melatonin or benadryl or something and see if that helps. I'm not totally sure that's safe, but I suspect it is as long as it's not Tylenol PM. You might still wind up needing to kick the sleep aid habit, but those are way easier to give up than hydrocodone.

I would also want to quit over a weekend, if possible. It's not fun to have trouble sleeping at any time, but it's less of an issue on a Friday when I'm not worried about having to get up and get through work the next day.

I've had a beer with Vicodin before. I'm still alive and well, to the best of my knowledge. You just really don't want to overdo it because of the acetaminophen.
posted by J. Wilson at 12:34 PM on August 6, 2015