"i am a 70 year old woman. i have spinal stenosis. each day i wake up thinking i won&#039;t need to take vicodin today, but i do. i take 2 when the pain starts and it always takes the pain away. if i wait too long to see if the &quot;pain will get better by itself&quot; i&#039;m only fooling myself. it never gets better by itself! my doctor tells me not to worry about addiction, that he knows how often i take it and he keeps track. so i let him do it."