I have been taking hydrocodiene every day for 2 years because I have head pain every day for 2 years since my ruptured avm surgery 2 years ago. My neurologist thinks my headaches r due to the hydro. I have tried to get off them 3 times now. Any others that were able to overcome this or still dealing with this? Is medical marijuana a good substitute?
I’ve only ever been given the Hydrocodone when leaving the hospital after the surgeries. 1 bottle then back to Ibuprofen. Getting off of it I guess for me was like 3 -4 days with difficulty sleeping and being grouchy. I still have daily headaches but I try to manage them with Ibuprofen… doesn’t always work but it’s better than being stuck on the Hydros. They made me pretty irritable and tough to be around. It may take longer for you to get off them if you’ve taken them for 2 yrs but if you wean yourself down to like 1 or 2,10 mgs a day and your doctor is fully aware of what you are trying to accomplish you should be able to do it with help.
I am not a doctor but I do know that I would not do anything like that without your doctors input and support because I believe (could be wrong) that stopping those types of drugs abruptly can be dangerous especially if you have an AVM. …i.e.: changes in BP or even possible seizure…again that’s only my non doctor opinion. God Bless
-Lorna
Oh, also I never tried the medical marijuana treatment but it’s not an option for me for work really.
-Lorna
I’m also on hydros and prefer mj over pills but only smoke at off work,at home, coming up on 3 years, I have stomach and appetite issues with pills, don’t sleep, you may want to look into CBD mj, your post is very similar to me, thought I’d partake : )
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Hi Zac, I have no experience with Marijuana as here in the UK where I live its still Illegal, But I have heard great things about it, I also have to take codeine based pills each day since my rupture and surgeries, The main problem is the morning times and if I have any little bug like a cold or something that seems to make things much worse or even just simple lack of sleep or disturbed sleep !, But I have reduced the amount of pills I have to take to just 2 per day first thing in the morning, And this is fine unless I have a bad day then I take another 2 in the evening before bed. I was able to make this adjustment with the help of propranolol (A beta blocker) I am lucky enough not have any side affects from this medicine. But all medication is regulated via a doctor and I was referred by my local doc to a specialist dealing with headaches, They also thought that the headaches were being caused by the codeine meds but after I went 43 days without any meds (HELL !) then they came around to the fact that I have had 2 brain surgeries and a haemorrhage !, now they know that the headaches are a result of damage done during the haemorrhage, 
, I could have told them that at the start but after 3 years I was willing to try anything.
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Hell yes. I no longer need methadone
I also take hydrocodone for my insanely painful headaches. There have been times where I haven’t been able to get to the doctor so I have went for weeks without my hydros and it didn’t change my headaches at all, really made it worse not having anything to relieve the pain. However, I have tried marijuana and depending on the strain, it really can be a godsend!! Best wishes 
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