[jessejames]

quote:Originally posted by chernoble

I have been taking tramadol for the past two to three years. I haven't taken any since last week and the withdrawal symptoms are okay to deal with except for one. I haven't slept in 5 days and its really starting to make me a little crazy. Does anyone have a suggestion that might help me bring on sleep.

I have been on Tramadol for 4 years, 350-400mg per day, and all legally prescribed for a disastrous kidney stone removal surgery. I have tried to quit several times with no success precisely for the same reason as you, no sleep. However, I recently was given some ambien samples by my doctor. I can handle large amounts of pain meds, but a single 10mg Ambien whacked me out. I became very euphoric and then quite simply...fell a sleep. I awoke earlier than normal, about 6:00am and felt great. The withdrawal did cause drowsiness that started at about noon, so I would take a couple ephedrine. At night, I took 1/2 of an Ambien, still made me feel great, and went to sleep easy without the typical tremors/seizures rage and angst. By day 3, I was pretty much OK. Stopped the ephedrine during the day, and took 1/3 of an Ambien at night. 1 week later, I have to say it wasn't that bad. Honestly though, I had to be ready and really wanting to quit. For me, I had to get right with God, and confess, not so much that I had an addiction, but that I was a liar,...to myself, family, friends and God. You have to face it head on, and someday soon, you will be back to how you once were, never even thinking about needing a pill.

My prayers, you can do it, I promise and guarantee it. You are fortunate that it is Tramadol, not as hard to get off as others.

Kindest regards,
Jesse

[xcalibure]

Actually I' am able to stick to the schedule. Going over the two pills every four hours scares the hell out me and causes anxiety and thus takes away from the high so to me weather others can do it and skate or not I can't. And no I don't use just one, I take two at a time. I don't believe I ever said I only took one to begin with...I could be wrong. And as for the Tylenol the daily adult dosage shouldn't exceed 4000MG in 24 hours, which in ten Percocett (my daily dose that I don't think I ever exceeded, the illustration above was to show how 14 could be taken in 24 hours by following the prescribed directions.) it's only 3250MG well below the harmful area. As for talking to my doctor about Oxcottin again I'm afraid of what might happen if I ask for anything harder. The only thing he ever mentioned that was stronger then Percocett was Methadone and I don't want to go there. But that is beside the point. I want to quit but don't know where to begin.

[zodiac]

Hey, its me just saying I've been clean for 2 weeks now. I posted around the time I quit and a few days afterwards. At this point, the physical painis gone, but I still crave smack like you have no idea. My nose still runs everyday, even though its July, and I still have hot and cold flashes and sweats all the time. My sleep habits are absurd, partially because I work overnights. My friend has told me that the getting past the first week is the easy part, the hard part is staying clean.

[imported_n/a]

Will my energy ever return? I have a real strong intuition that I have fibro- muscle aches and SO weak- it takes effort to get up and do just about anything. and I'm only 27. This is ridiculous and I wish I could turn back the clock. I used to take a lot of X, and dance and dance and dance- all happy memories. Then I lost about 10 friends to heroin (I never stuck a needle in my arm) and even knowing the danger that opiates pose, I STILL take my roxicodone, 30 mgs, about 8-10 a day. I don't know how to lay flat on my back, with bone spurs and arthritis and fibro and not do something about it!!!
Last night I took 4 advil and 1 aleve and not a DAMN thing. Was wide awake for 6 hours. Wish I could have my energy back. Any hints?
Susie

Watch for sticks and stones
Stumbling blocks in piles
Life is one big road,
Miles on top of miles
So blessed be the soul,
That always remains a child

[knapptown]

Rest assured -- you CAN break the cycle and live without medicating yourself!!!!!!!!!!! Clearly people respond to stopping use/abuse of pain killers differently, just as they respond to the drugs differently. I was taking 10-12 Norco 10/325s daily (equivilant to 20-24 Vicodin 5/500s).

I woke up couple of weeks ago on a Friday morning and said simply -- enough is enough. I am too good of a person and I have worked to #@$%&* hard to build my career, family and life to slip into the vortex of addiction. So I decided to to STOP! Right then and there. I flushed my remaining 30-40 pills (which I immediately regreted -- but it passed) and planned for the worst 3-5 days of my life going through withdrawals.

I kept myself busy doing yard work and allowed myself some time for naps. The 2nd day w/o the drugs I felt a little tired and anxious for what I was epecting to be this tsunami of pain and dispair that should come crashing down on me any second. the thrid day -- I woke up at peace. The wave I was expecting never came. And by the fourth day -- the euphoria I felt from accomplishing what I had set out to do surpassed the psuedo buzz I was getting from the pain killer in the first place.

It's now been two weeks and my eyes are open and my head is clear. I swallowed my pride and joined a support group - which has turned out to be the best possible thing I could have done. Never had i sat in a room with those of my kind (addicts) and openly discussed my problem. It continues to be onbe of the most rewarding experiences in my life.

So for me, once I decided to do it -- it was easy! And the fact that the withdrawal was so minimal could have had the opposite effect on me and caused me to use again because there was not a significant physical consequence. But that is where the group comes in. I talk to people whose very lives have been ripped away from them. The group shows me that the only direction of addiction is down. For some a gradual decline - for others a jump off a cliff -- but be assured, I have yet to hear ANY story of drug addiction turning arounsd someones life in a positive way. Have you!?!

After hearing about some of the hellish struggles to stop -- I relaize that I have been blessed. I cannot say that my relatively easy task will be experienced by anyone else. But I think that my attitude and the fortitude behind my decision to stop contributed to my ability to make it happen in the easiest way possible. My story is far from over -- the group has already taught me that I have a problem that I will be dealing with forever, so I can't tell you how it's going to unfold. But I can tell you that, even after 2-3 weeks, I have NO desire to use again. And ascending from this often insurmountable problem gives me a feeling that I could never attribute to a little white pill.

I am back and I'm planning to stay. No matter who you are -- you can do exactly what I did if you make the decision.

[hollow]

My heart and prayers go out to you all, pill addiction is not something to take lightly, I know three people who have died from it directly and indirectly. One good friend, we didn't even know he had an addiction (should have, he had a history of drug use and with all the back surgeries he had God knows how many scripts he got) until he was dead, found methadone and hydrocodone in his system. The other two I knew committed suicide, with no help through w/d they were left extremly depressed. One young, beautiful girl (she was an actess in a couple movies you may have seen) actually stuck her head under a MOVING train. So beware, things can really get out of hand quick!!!

My habit took me to 30-45 norcos a day and with hepatitis C I have to protect my liver, yeah right! That buzz and lack of pain was more important than my liver. I think I have quit just in time, I get small twinges of pain in my liver, I hope there is no damage. When I couldn't get my norcos (10/325) I wouldn't think twice about taking what ever I could score, sometimes 20 (10/650)at once!

I am on day two with Suboxone (been 27 hours since my last norco) I am feeling pretty damn good considering how bad w/d have been for me in the past. Slept about 12 hours last night and awoke NOT with the thoughts of hydro but all of you and your struggles with this insidious addiction! Wow, that's a nice change...thinking about others instead of myself! Suboxone has saved my life, for the ones out there that don't think there is help...there is! Please see my post [u]Hour 12 on sub</u>

Knapptown, what kind of support group did you join? Support groups and counseling are statistically proven in relapse provention so I think I should do something in this area, just curious, was it NA? Always disliked AA but have been sober for six years, of course not clean though! But that is changing! [^] I am a thin 44 year old woman, the only reason I am mentioning this, is I am wondering how many others are in my age and gender group since I don't think I am the norm, am I?

Thanks for listening, this forum is a God send, it is my support group for now...Good luck to all of you!

L.

[knapptown]

Hollow:

Here is a link to the organization I am involved in - http://www.fairbankscd.org/. This particualr place in located in Indiana, but I'm sure there are similar places everywhere. They have a six week IOP (intensive outpatient) program that meet for three hours, three times weekly (6p-9p). I have really good insurance so I pay very little. They also have several other more intense programs including a 7-10 day inpatient detox program and a partial hospitalization, both of which are medicine assisted programs. Many people I come to find out have been in detox, then partial hospitalization and are now in the IOP. As I mentioned, I started in the IOP so I can't speak about the other programs, other than to say that many people in my group had been in other types of programs and hospitals over the years and say that the approach to treatment they have recieved at Fairbanks is head and shoulders above the other places.

The group I am involved in is focused on addiction - so there are cocaine addicts, alchoholics, and other types of addictions. In my group of 16 men - there are four of them that have been heavily involved in pain killers -- but in the discussions I have found out that more than half have dabbled in pills at one time or another (interesting). After my 6 weeks, I am invited to come back whenever I want, as much as I want. I will also learn about NA and probaly get involved in that in some way too. The group gives me an outlet to talk freely which I do not have. It also provides, even after two weeks, a group of people who I KNOW are interested in my recovery. Finally, the group is run by a fully schooled addiction doctor, who incidentally had a cocaine problem for 20-some years. Where am I gonna get an audience like that without any preconcived ideas and unconditional support!?!

As for a demographic - I think you DO fit. One of the things I have discovered in this group is that addicts are not necessarily homeless people prostituting themseleves for the next hit. We are 36 year old fathers w/ jaguars and million dollar houses... school teachers... judges... PTA mothers... empty nesters... every walk of life. And while drugs can make people do horrible things... you are not horrible for getting caught up in it.

Pain killers are a big problem for those who might not go down the more traditional road of a "drug addict". They are inherently justifiable because often they were prescribed initally and in my case continually by my doctor for a legitimate problem. For an addict like me that is the green light of all green lights. But I don't blame my doctor... he was helping me just like he was trained. I followed the rules and didn't call hime at all hours for refills... so he did it by the book.

Hollow, I don't profess to be anything close to an expert on this "thing" we are all involved in... and my personal chapters of addiction are unfolding day-by-day. But, I can tell you that the feeling we love/loved about the pain killer... the building butterflies in the stomach, the blissful wave of euphoria rolling over the my shoulders, the hum of nirvana... all can be topped by kicking these little devils and staying away from them. I NEVER thought I could say that -- but, it's 100% true. Not only do I get a genuine and sustained euphoric sensation from the accomplisment I am undertaking, but I think that the experience of being caught in the rapture of addiction and overpowering it on my own terms -- will make me a stronger person and a better for the remainder of the life you are extending.

Be good, Hollow!

[jecklnhide]

quote:Originally posted by mpvt

The only problem with percocet's is the tylenol.Tylenol has been shown to cause liver damage at high doses and 14 percocet's in one day is definately a high dose of tylenol.Why don't you switch to oxycontin.There is no tylenol in oxycontin just strait oxycodone which is the narcotic in your percocet.Percocet's are a weak pain killer at best and really should only be used for acute pain and not for more than 2 weeks.......Dave

I agree with you mpvt. Tylenol, or acetaminophen, is really the most dangerous part of consuming large numbers of percocet because of the liver damage. However, let me warn anyone with an existing addiction to percocet about moving to oxycontin. Oxy is highly addictive too and anyone predisposed to painkiller addiction will likely only abuse oxys even more.
Xcalibure,
I would suggest trying to wean yourself off of the percocets since you do already have a regular supply. This will not be easy because you will no longer experience much of a high but at least you will not feel too bad. You might need to seek professional help or speak to someone who has been through it already because it sounds as though you know you have a problem. You are the one trying to convince yourself that you do not. If this is something you want to put behind you, you can do it, you just have to want it bad enough. Some people quit because of desperation and fear of losing everything. Some people have to lose everything before they can gather the strength to stop. I have experienced this first hand and if there is anything I can do to give you that edge to stop then I will. I never thought I would ever say this when I was taking the stuff, but life is much better without the drugs!

[crowefreak08]

I want to start out by saying that this disscussion community is prob the best and most realistic on the web. Well here is my story I have been taking everything from loratab 5/500, 10/325, percocet 5/325, 7.5/325, oxycontin, and ms contin for the last 10 months due tearing my acchilles tendon, an crushing my ankle. I have had 3 surgeries, and 1 more to come at the end of the month. My problem is that I have built up a tolerance to all medications. I have come to realize that I am also addicted to the codeine in the meds. On monday I finally got fed up with taking the meds and not getting any relief from my pain, so I stopped cold turkey. W/in 4 hrs of stopping i started to expierence the worst flu like symptoms immaganable. The biggest symptom was restlessness, muscle tremors, puky feeling, I also couldnt sleep for 1 1/2 days. Eventuallly I did sleep and some of the side effects disapated, and now I have been clean for 65 hours. My question is when will the side effects go away? On one hand I am extremly proud of myself, I am still having copias amounts of ankle pain, but regular tylenol seems to alieviate some of the pain, and on the other hand I feel like a complete martyr because I am a drug and alcohol abuse counselor that works in a facility counsleing women and helping them stay clean off drugs including pain meds. I also know the effects of pain med on the brain and on the body, and should have known better than to get so wrapped up in the web of pain meds. So now I feel as the counselor that my clients should do as I say not as I do? Thank you for listening, just typing in this forum has lifted my spirts. I also might catch a narcotics anonymous meeting tonight if I am feeling better.

[hollow]

Good for you crowefreak! I am always impressed when people can go cold turkey, congrats! I can relate to the "counselor" bit since my husband is a drug and alcohol counselor too. But you know what makes him one of the best in his field? First hand experience and the daily struggle to be clean and sober, people really respond to that. Look to the positive side of your experience to better help people. There is a fine line between us and the people we serve, sometimes it's hard not to cross it. I wouldn't worry about it too much, your clients shouldn't be privy to your problems anyway, they have enough to focus on with their own, which you are now even better equiped to help them with.

Knapptown, thanks for the link, checked it out and was highly impressed. Am looking for something similar in my city. Thanks for the kind words and sharing your experience. It's been 79 hours since my last pain killer and the sub is still working miracles. This morning I thought to myself for the first time, I am so glad I stopped! You were right! I really feel good today and have a lot of hope for the future which I have been sadly lacking for the past few years. Yay! Feeling stronger and empowered already...thanks kt

L.


There are days that might outmeasure years,
Days that obliterate the past,
And make the future,
Of the colour which they cast.
I found this on an unknown tomb - Pere Le Chaise

[CarreraMan]

This is my first post ever anywhere. I'm a 43 year old male, married to a terrific lady and the father of my first child, a two year old little boy. My story is much like everyone else. I had a bad neck injury about 3 years ago that has left me in inoperable pain. So after trying to deal with the pain for a little over a year I went back to my Doctor and told him that I just couldn't deal with it anymore. Being in constant pain is impossible to hide and a hell of a way to go through life. So to speed my story up my Doctor put me on Oxycontin. I was totally amassed!!! I could actually now get through my days with almost zero pain. Not to mention the fact that I felt I could do just about anything. I have been on 40mg Oxycontin twice a day for just under 2 years. The most I can get per month is 60 of the 40mg. Problem is, they have only been lasting me a couple of weeks so I have been doing the withdraw thing every month. Pure hell let me tell you. My wife didn't even realize what was going on with me until just a week ago. She of course noticed the extreme ups and downs but didn't know it was the pain meds. She knew what I was taking but not how often or how many and to what degree that I was. I pretty much kept that all to my self. One week ago today I have now been off them. Not because I wanted to mind you, but my wife sat me down on the first day that I ran out this time. I had this time taken my whole months supply in one week and the withdraw has been REAL HELL. Plus, my neck pain is still there.
Here is what I see my choices are right now. I can go the three weeks without and then get my refill again and abuse them. And of course start the horrible cycle all over again. Or, I can go three weeks without them and not get my refill again and deal with the pain somehow. Or, I had even thought of getting my refill and give them to mife so she can give me my daily dose like a little kid. That way I would not be able to abuse them and would eliminate the ups and downs.
My pain will never go away and untreated with meds makes me an unpleasent person to be around. Pure hell on my family.
This all probably sounds like the ramblings of some mad man. Maybe so. This much I do know about pain killer type meds. The time you are on them, abusing them and feeling great is only borrowed time and at some point has to be paid back in full. No such thing as a free lunch folks. Withdraws are not meant to be easy in my opinion. If they where easy we would all gladly stay on the meds as long as we could get them. I'm not wishing this withdraw experience on anyone believe me. I look at my withdraws today as my own punishment for my abusing what could be my only godsend relief from my pain. I do need them but 80mg per day not 240mg. So my suggestion for anyone like myself that does still need the meds is have a family member keep them for you.
I do welcome any constructive thoughts.
CarreaMan

[wifestyles]

"Withdraws are not meant to be easy in my opinion. If they where easy we would all gladly stay on the meds as long as we could get them. I'm not wishing this withdraw experience on anyone believe me. I look at my withdraws today as my own punishment for my abusing what could be my only godsend relief from my pain. I do need them but 80mg per day not 240mg. So my suggestion for anyone like myself that does still need the meds is have a family member keep them for you.
I do welcome any constructive thoughts."
CarreaMan

Is it working out pretty good, with your wife giving them to you? I think that would work out well, and I have tried that, but my husband (even with good intentions) would give in to my begging for another one; either for fear of me hating him, or seeing my dramatics and just giving in. I think they call that enabling. I wish I had gotten my husband to look over some of these posts and read just EXACTLY what he was doing by giving them to me. He didn't know how much of a mental battle it was for me, so I can't really blame him.

Its a good thing that you can see the potential destruction of the abuse of pain pills...isn't it just amazing to look at an empty 100count bottle just a week after you filled it? Ya just sit and wonder how that happended....Good luck to you!

[momofhcc]

Hi everyone, I am a newbie to the forum. I have read all the posts that you guys have written, and I am amazed that there are so many people that have been caught up in the web of pain meds. I became an addict 2 1/2 years ago, and the addiction took over my life. After having my 3rd baby, I had to have 3 surgeries to correct problems from my last pregnancy. The pregnancy also caused scoliosis, a small curve in my lower spine, so back pain and hip pain were also there. I was prescribed vicodin throughout my pregnancy for the back pain, and was kept on them for over a year by my Dr. After a year, I felt embarrassed by calling his office and asking for refill after refill, so I started visiting the Emergency Room. I told my Dr. that I was having a problem, because I felt like ******************** every time I ran out of the pain meds. He told me that he knew I had a legitimate pain problem, but I would have to stop visiting the ER if I wanted him to continue prescribing the vicodin. So, I was really embarrassed then, and stopped seeing him. I have spent the last year of my life in and out of Emergency Rooms, all over the state that I live in. Most ER Dr.s only give you 20 (or less) pills at a time, and 20 pills would only last today and the first part of tomorrow for me. So, it got to a point where every other day I was visiting an ER. A few ER's won't treat me now with narcotics. THAT is embarrassing. I have known that I needed help for over a year now, I was just too embarrassed and ashamed to ask for it. I was afraid that if I got help at a Rehab, someone would try to take my children away from me. My husband also knew that I had a problem, but would avoid it to keep on my good side. I would bite his head off every time he mentioned it. Everything in my life was based on vicodin. If I didn't have it, everyone around me suffered almost as bad as I did. I couldn't get out of bed, I couldn't do anything, and my libido REALLY suffered. I could NOT make love to my husband without a pain killer. Finally, in June, my husband told my Mother about my problem. He needed reinforcement, and I am so glad that he got it. My Mother is a former addict herself, so he thought she might be able to calmly talk to me about my problem. He was wrong, she was not calm at all. I am almost 30 years old and she made me feel like I was 13 again. I needed it. She did everything but spank me, and I listened to every word that she said. I argued with her, I cried, I pleaded for her to stop yelling at me, to stop being a hypocrite, told her that she had NO right talking to me the way she was. I told her that the ONLY way I would be able to get off of the pain pills would be in a rehab, because I could not tolerate withdrawal. I had been running from withdrawal for 2 years. And, yes, I still hurt...I have back pain that makes me cry. So, I told her that if she couldn't get me in a rehab, then she might as well let it go. Well, fortunately for me, she wouldn't let it go. I do not have insurance that will cover rehab, and she would have to turn me in to the state if I wanted to get into rehab, and that would cause me more problems, she said. She got off of cocaine and crystal without rehab, so she was positive that I could get off pain pills without rehab. She was right. I have not had a prescribed pain pill for 21 days now, and I am so relieved. I have back pain still, but I am managing with Aleve and Muscle Relaxers. I take 2 Flexiril before I go to bed every night to help me sleep better, and when I wake up I take 600 mg. of Ibuprofen or 3 Aleves. So far, that is all that I need. I am not allowed to drive myself anywhere unless I have someone with me, because I am scared that I will drive myself to an ER and get more pain pills. I am trying to get up the nerve to call my Dr., the one who I have not seen in over a year, and tell him about my addiction, and to see if he can help me. My Mom say's that I will need his support as well as my family. He will know how to help me manage the pain without the Vicodin. I am too ashamed and embarrassed to call him at this point, but maybe I will gain the courage before too long. I think I at least owe him an apology. I have apologized to my family, the ones that I was hurting, and I am trying to forgive myself for putting them through that hell, and for putting myself through it. Thanks to my family, I was able to get through withdrawal without rehab. I swear, I never want to see another Vicodin again in my life. There have been days in the past 3 weeks that I have begged for a Vicodin, some days I wake up and do just fine, others I wake up wanting...but I get through those days with a smile, because I know that I am almost free. I also had a prescription for Ultracet, and I think that helped the first few days, I didn't experience withdrawal as bad as I had without them, but I realized that they were just as addictive, even though they are not narcotic, so after 4 days taking them, I quit. I think that if anyone has to go through this without medical help, they really need the support of family and friends. I come from a long line of addicts in my family tree, my biological Dad just died in March from overdosing on Methadone. They gave him Methadone to help him stay off of the other pain killers, and he died. That scared the hell out of me. So, I will stay away from the drugs they give to help ease the withdrawal. I hope and pray to God that I never get tangled up in the web again. It is a long, lonely road and everyone that hasn't been down that road, blames you and thinks you are worthless. I have to tell myself everyday that I am not a bad person, that it happens to a lot of people. Today I decided to look it up on the internet and found this forum. Now I know that I am not alone. Thank you all.

[wifestyles]

momofhcc-
You sound like an extremely intelligent and sensible person...I have a very similar story, and I came out of addiction with a whole new respect for my mother; I have never felt more loved in my life than when she helped me, unconditionally and determined..just by being a damned good mom. I feel very blessed and fortunate for the family I have...it feels really good.

[wifestyles]

momofhcc-
This too, keep up with a good positive attitude...its good to hear positive things, congratulations to you and enjoy the rest of your life!

[pthelps]

Hi everyone,
I do not know where to start .Well I have been on pain pills for about 7 years for two neck surgeries with plate and screws constant daily cerviogenic head aches and migraines .The muscles in the back of my head ,down my spine to both shoulders and both shoulder blades were in constant gut renching pain The back of my neck where I had the surgeries burned and hurt 24 7 .I had inpingment in both shoulders .I have corprol tunnle in both hands .I had pinched nerves in my neck that made my left shoulder down to my hand numb .
I had trigger point shots , botox shots and medial branch blocks with good results for awhile .I had physical therapy once before surgery , once shortly after the second surgerie and now 7 yes I said 7 years after First and second surgery I took physical therapy again and after three monthes of off and on set backs I consider my self no worse off than most people .I feel like a regular person .My physical therapist was a god send and she specialized in spine injuries .I think that is important to look and find a DOCTOR of physical therapy in the speciality you need .My Insurence company would not pay for all of the visits so I made arangements to pay for what the Doctor prescribed.I also went to a mesage theripist and continue to exercise every day .

Now to the gravy .I have been tapering off of avinza a long acting form of morphine for 6 weeks now .It has not been easy with all the withdrawl symptoms .I have really bad dihrea .vomiting .chills ,sneezing, and deep aches and pain all over my body not to mention not sleeping for a couple of days at a time .I should not have taken such a large jump from 180 mg to 90 to 45 before going to my pain dr. and telling him . He said if I went down 10 mgs at a time it would not have been so hard . There is some medicine to help with withdrawls clonidine for body aches and short time script of ativan for sleep and that feeling that you are crawling out of your skin I had too . There is phenergran for nausa and other things that can help alittle .

I am now down to 20mg and each time the withdrawls have lasted for 7 to 10 days . I can say it has not been easy k nowing I can stop all the withdrawl symptoms with one little pain pill . Now that most of the withdrawls have slowed down I will try to take the last step to no pain meds .I have been very happy because at each step down I have not notice an increse in pain in my injured area .Please let me know if you have had
a simular experence and what was your out come .Please let me know if I can help encourage you to try physical therapy .message therapy or walking (that helps with the body aches if you can move it took a while for me to have enough energy to go farther than the bath room ) .

The biggest thing that helped me was a very young caring Doctor of physical therapist that specialized in spines who listened to everything I said about what my body was going through and changing the treatment to help what was going on that moment.Faith in her and God was a huge help through all of the set backs God bless have faith in your self and remember when you started on your quest to feel like a human being you didnt know that you would become addicted to that monster.You beet the pain and traded it for another ailment . You can beet this too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SIGNED pthelps

[CarreraMan]

[quote]Originally posted by wifestyles

"Withdraws are not meant to be easy in my opinion. If they where easy we would all gladly stay on the meds as long as we could get them. I'm not wishing this withdraw experience on anyone believe me. I look at my withdraws today as my own punishment for my abusing what could be my only godsend relief from my pain. I do need them but 80mg per day not 240mg. So my suggestion for anyone like myself that does still need the meds is have a family member keep them for you.
I do welcome any constructive thoughts."
CarreaMan

Is it working out pretty good, with your wife giving them to you? I think that would work out well, and I have tried that, but my husband (even with good intentions) would give in to my begging for another one; either for fear of me hating him, or seeing my dramatics and just giving in. I think they call that enabling. I wish I had gotten my husband to look over some of these posts and read just EXACTLY what he was doing by giving them to me. He didn't know how much of a mental battle it was for me, so I can't really blame him.

Its a good thing that you can see the potential destruction of the abuse of pain pills...isn't it just amazing to look at an empty 100count bottle just a week after you filled it? Ya just sit and wonder how that happended....Good luck to you!


wifestyles
Yes it does seem to work for me by having my wife keep my pain meds. My wife has done extensive research on Oxycontin as well as other pain meds. She now can see right through the withdraw symptoms. Whoever you choose to keep your pain meds for you should know what happens when you run out before they give in and give you extra pills. Just like being in a hospital. They are not going to leave you with a bottle of pills to take as you choose.
Buy doing it this way, the pain meds should take care of the pain only. No more getting that buzz that we seem to enjoy. Plus, when you choose to stop taking the meds when you no longer need them it will be much easier believe me.
My wife gives me two 40mg Oxycontins every evening to take for the following day. She will not give me anything additional without my Doctor's approval. It DOES WORK.

CarreraMan

[CarreraMan]

[quote]Originally posted by pthelps

Hi everyone,
I do not know where to start .Well I have been on pain pills for about 7 years for two neck surgeries with plate and screws constant daily cerviogenic head aches and migraines .The muscles in the back of my head ,down my spine to both shoulders and both shoulder blades were in constant gut renching pain The back of my neck where I had the surgeries burned and hurt 24 7 .I had inpingment in both shoulders .I have corprol tunnle in both hands .I had pinched nerves in my neck that made my left shoulder down to my hand numb .
I had trigger point shots , botox shots and medial branch blocks with good results for awhile .I had physical therapy once before surgery , once shortly after the second surgerie and now 7 yes I said 7 years after First and second surgery I took physical therapy again and after three monthes of off and on set backs I consider my self no worse off than most people .I feel like a regular person .My physical therapist was a god send and she specialized in spine injuries .I think that is important to look and find a DOCTOR of physical therapy in the speciality you need .My Insurence company would not pay for all of the visits so I made arangements to pay for what the Doctor prescribed.I also went to a mesage theripist and continue to exercise every day .

Now to the gravy .I have been tapering off of avinza a long acting form of morphine for 6 weeks now .It has not been easy with all the withdrawl symptoms .I have really bad dihrea .vomiting .chills ,sneezing, and deep aches and pain all over my body not to mention not sleeping for a couple of days at a time .I should not have taken such a large jump from 180 mg to 90 to 45 before going to my pain dr. and telling him . He said if I went down 10 mgs at a time it would not have been so hard . There is some medicine to help with withdrawls clonidine for body aches and short time script of ativan for sleep and that feeling that you are crawling out of your skin I had too . There is phenergran for nausa and other things that can help alittle .

I am now down to 20mg and each time the withdrawls have lasted for 7 to 10 days . I can say it has not been easy k nowing I can stop all the withdrawl symptoms with one little pain pill . Now that most of the withdrawls have slowed down I will try to take the last step to no pain meds .I have been very happy because at each step down I have not notice an increse in pain in my injured area .Please let me know if you have had
a simular experence and what was your out come .Please let me know if I can help encourage you to try physical therapy .message therapy or walking (that helps with the body aches if you can move it took a while for me to have enough energy to go farther than the bath room ) .

The biggest thing that helped me was a very young caring Doctor of physical therapist that specialized in spines who listened to everything I said about what my body was going through and changing the treatment to help what was going on that moment.Faith in her and God was a huge help through all of the set backs God bless have faith in your self and remember when you started on your quest to feel like a human being you didnt know that you would become addicted to that monster.You beet the pain and traded it for another ailment . You can beet this too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SIGNED pthelps
pthelps
I'm also new to this forum. Fortunately from what you wrote it does not really sound like you were abusing your meds. My advise to you as you go through the withdraws is to treat the diarrhea with Amonium AD and drink plenty of water. This is the most important due to the fact that you can become dehyrated very fast. Watch your weight. You are going to lose some but you don't want to lose too much. Make yourself eat if you do start to lose too much weight. It's always nice to go through your withdraws when you are able to chose when. Take a two week vacation and do it. Make yourself comfortable but do try and get some exercise every day buy going for a walk or something.
I wish you the best of luck! I know you can do this if I can. I'm now on my 10th day of NO MEDS and I feel pretty damn good. I have some pain still but I'm hoping I will be able to deal with it. My wife commented to me just last night that it's nice to have her husband back.

CarreaMan

[katrinam]

quote:Originally posted by gretchens4

Hello,
Wow......the pills never affected me that way......Well, maybe once in awhile. Most of the time I had no motivation and just wanted to lie down and "chill". I always felt more confident having them though, so I know what you mean. I couldn't have done any of that without them. That is some age spread....lol! I thought my 4 in 8 years was a long one. I know it must have been hard to "start over again", but I'm sure it's a blessing. Glad to hear from you and I hope things settle down. I am still on suboxone (over 2 weeks now with no other pills). I'm amazed how it works. You just feel normal, but no need for pills.......very weird!
Talk to you soon. Gretchen

[koolkrissy24]

[}]the devil of pill addiction has torn everything good in my life away from me. now don'tm get me wrong i played the leading charter in the play but am not the on who is in control. I wish to have the control that god will allow me to have other than his in my life again.well you know how it goes, I have been watching waiting for the right time to let everyone see the darkside of me you know you never want people knowiny your the "dirty addict" people can't help it they see someone really bad off when they are a child and someone says theres a addict to whatever it may be and it is imbeded in their minds as that until they have a personal experiance that shows them otherwise. well it is day 3 for me with nothing. well almost nothing i took a 5 mg perk on day 1 i freaked and wanter to jump back in to swim with the sharks again but thank god for throwing me a life raft. I have a little girl who will be one on the 28th she is great. withdraws are pure **** on earth. but like they say no pain no gain. and if i werent going through this i would have nothing to look back on and remind me of 1 of the many down falls of my addiction. I was to the point in my 4 year addiction that a 90 loratab 10mg or perk 10mgs would last me about 2 and a half days I would ride all day and spend every penny i had and some i didnt on them neverat ease and they get me sick i dont get high at least my ming thinks i am not theres always that want for more never at ease it is no better than crack. i think if the dea had any sense they would outlaw pills too and every one in pain would get something time released put in there bodys were this couldnt happen. now dont get me wrong i have 2 herrniated disks and nerve damage and a badly pinched syatic nerve. but i keep asking myself is the pain in my back or the pain in those yellow white and blue pills wrose and it all comes to one conclusion the pills are just plain evil to me and my body. I am 24 and cant do it any more. life has to be better somewhere somehow all i have left is hope and want. and whatever it takes by god i will change even if it kills me because i was on a fast track to dying on those pills anyways wether in form of od or liver failer or whatever it may have been. day 3 of my new life please pray for me i need all the help i can getand good luck to all who are riding this boat through the hurricane with me you will be in my prayers also.

kristina[8][?]

kristina

[noreason]

koolkrissy24, wow you are doing great! 3 days, god i wish i could make it that long, i have tried soooooooo many times and hate having this monkey on my back. There are a lot of different sites on the internet that people can go to, one that i found that you could try is the addition and recovery forum on healthboards.com . I hope they let me post the address because i have seen people posting for help in their darkest moments and get quick responses from somebody else going thru the same thing. Drugs.com is a great site, trust me i have read every message posted here several times and come here every day trying to find a little comfort in what i am going thru. http://www.healthboards.com/boards/forumdisplay.php?f=7
Good luck to all of us, this is a horrible way to live!!

[mpvt]

The trick (if you want to call it that) to getting off narcotics is to do a sloooow detox.Your brain has to go through some changes when you quit and you need to give it time to do so.....Dave

[koolkrissy24]

day 4 and omg i feel so good my body doesnt even hurt i woke up with a headache but today is the first time i can rember waking up thinking wow i feel pretty good instead of where my next pills were coming from omg my justification thoughts well i am in pain-and need medicin and its not wrong because the doc said so even though other sources were my main supply god does your mind work in strange ways to get what it wants. i pray god stays with me through this now comes the mental battle. I think i should find some kinda support group or something. whatever it thkes. me and my baby are worth it. we mabe it through the wds and we can make it through the rest. i guess i am just sick and tierd of being sick and tierd all the time. no i finally know the true meaing of that phrase. drug free and happy just for today and hopefully manny more to come

kristina

[DMS321]

koolkrissy24,

You are doing great!!! Bravo!! I am the daughter of addicts of legal and illegal drugs so i have been there to see the ups and downs of withdrawal..... Keep it up, just think, whenever you are feeling like it's just not worth it and the devil is knocking at your door, think about how good you felt when you woke up this morning (you didn't feel like you needed anything) and then look into your beautiful baby girl's eyes, it will make you keep up the good work... children give you the power to do anything that you put your mind to!!

D

[Bennie84]

Info you may need to know for your input:
1.)I have been addicted for about 14 months
2.)Minimum usage: 3-5 pain pills/day
3.)Maximum usage: 8-12 pain pills/day (though much lower now)
4.)Type: 10/500 hydocodines and higher, I have also taken oc's
40's. I barely started on thos before quitting, because I had a little oc fest on independence day weekend for 3 days, and the next day was PURE hell, so I cut that short and its actually what got me thinking that I should quit for good.


Hey all, this is my first visit to this site, and I have this feeling that alot of you people can help me with some questions that I have. My mother is addicted to pain pills, and one day about a year ago I asked her for one to see what it felt like. It was all downhill from there. Anyway, my faith has grown since then, and I have actually quit laratabs/hydrocodines twice, but got on them again. So yes, stupid me going cold turkey just to know that it could be done, then getting back on the horrible stuff again, knowing that I would have to go through the horrible withdrawals again.

I'm 21 and now own my own company with a partner, have a great girlfriend, my family needs my help financially, but they dont realize that having your own company isnt like your rolling in the dough, and they keep pressuring me for moola...mom's side. So now I am really gonna try to quit for good this time, completely. With my sob story out of the way, here are my concerns.

Concern number one: I am totally stressed out nowadays, much much more than a normal 21 year old should be (but hey, suffer now and achieve financial freedom and retire before 30 right?), I'm scared as to how I can cope without these pills in such a stressful time, because you know how your able to talk faster and it feels like your mind can go a million miles an hour on this stuff and that you can achive more work an all.

Concern Number two: My mother has no willpower to stop her addicition, and she has no willpower to not give me any if I ask her, so all the self dicipline is up to me to not even hint at one or much less ask for one. And I live with her too!

Concern Number Three (BIGGEST ONE) : My girlfriend and I are very very much in love. But I was able to open up to her much better on pills emotionally (I suffer from the problem of not being able to express myself emotionally much, a credit to my step-mother's abuse when I was a child, and my first love that cheated on me 3 times when I was younger that really closed me up more than I ever thought it would do, I just couldn't fathom that someone could do somethign totally moraly wrong like that, and I had the heart to forgive her 3 times, but it really built a trust issue inside of me). I fear that I will change as a person when I get off of the pain pills. As of right now, I could marry her. And I dont mean that as in a young guy not knowing what hes talking about. I'm young in age, but lightyears ahead of my age mentally and maturaty wise. Now only do I not want to lose my love, I don't want to hurt her in any way...that would tear me apart inside, and im way too scared to tell her that I fear of my feelings changing for her if I get off these pain pills. So in a nutshell I fear that I will become someone I don't want to be without the pills, especially in the regards to my love for her. I don't want to lose my love for her, I probrably wont, but it's a serious fear for a love this strong.

So these are my fears. My girlfriend knows that I am on these pain pills, and she loves me so much that even though I know that she wants me to quit, she wont ask me to, because she has faith that I will one day. She can only hope that its sooner rather than later.


I know this is a very long post, but any input by email or reply to this post would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again.

[jennyg]

i was told that if you have the time, you can slowly wean yourself off them with no withdrawl symptoms. i am trying that. i am going from 10 a day to 8 a day for a week, then 6 and so on. i'll let you know how it goes! i'm certainly a little scared!

[CarreraMan]

Bennie84
Believe me when I say that