I have to say that there is a huge difference between dependent and Addict. As a dependent person like you seem to be. there should be no problem getting off these meds with a slow, slow taper. say 10% of your total dose every week. We did not become dependent on these meds over night. And to think less of ourselves in a bad light when we cant get off them over night is not logical. big point here, don't set unrealistic goals for ourselves because if you set them too high and find that your body simply cannot tolerate the withdrawl and end up saying to yourself just one extra pill to get me through to the morning, and you are setting yourself up for failure. These medications actually change the way our brains perceive pain. And our brains are not wired to accept these changes so the brain itself changes and that is why we develop tolerance to them over time. Needing more and more of the same drug to achieve the same pain relief we got when we first started them. So witdrawl is the process of our brains returning to their original chemical makeup that they were in before we took that first vicodin, or what have you. So botton line if you need them don't worry about takeing them. But when we do not need them any further. taper very slow as to minimize the discomfort our bodies feel while our brain makes the adjustment back to the pre opiate state. Good luck. shawn u.