That is an interesting question you ask. You see, I didn't know in the beginning that one of the withdrawal symptoms was pain and muscle weakness, so I wondered the same thing myself. My first hydro holiday I did after about 4 to 5 days the withdrawal went away, and my pain came back full force, which is why I need the hydro to begin with. It's a viscous cycle, and I don't take the hydro holidays as serious as I used to. I just take a break now and again to get my tolerance back down so the hydro works good, if I don't take breaks now and then I just need more and more to control my pain. I've finally just resigned myself to the fact that I'm going to need pain medication for the rest of my life, so you have to put it all in perspective. Best of luck.