"i have taken norco in increasing doses (though not above what my doctor recommended) since 2004.  over the years i have tried a dozen or more medicines for my back pain, which is due to a l5/s1 herniation, and the only ones that have worked were hydrocodone and oxycodone - until the butrans patch that is.  i started on the 5mg patch for a month, which cut my norco intake in half.  i then was upped to the 10mg patch, which has cut my norco down to about a pill a day for breakthrough pain.  it really helps - and i&#039;m sleeping through the night for the first time in years since my medicines aren&#039;t wearing off at 2am. admittedly, i&#039;ve only been on this for 6 weeks, but i am highly optimistic based on my early results."