[Remiel26]

Hello,

Before I begin I would like to say that your doctor or healthcare professional should be informed that you would like to quit taking pain medication before anything else is done. This should never be done alone.

I was addicted to hydrocodone and oxycodone. I had been taking them consistently for 2 years. My problem started when I was involved in a bad car accident that left me in severe pain. I tried to deal with the pain at first, but being 24 years old at the time, it was quite impossible. I was prescribed hydrocodone (Lortabs) 5mg each for the pain. While not yet on a pain management contract, my doctor had prescribed them to me for 5 months. The 5mg doses started to become ineffective so my doctor prescribed me 10mg of hydrocodone and also sent me to the 'pain clinic' Pills, unfortunately, are becoming a very popular method of abuse these days, even more so than most other drugs, especially with young people using it for recreation.
My doctor put me on a reoccurring dose of 10mg hydrocodone tablets, 2 as needed for pain up to 4 times a day. It doesn't take long at this dose to become addicted.
While never buying them 'off the street' as many people do, I was given some by a friend who also has a regular prescription. He gave me his oxycodone pills.
My purpose for this story is to try and help other people quit the right way. I had been taking these pain pills for 2 years and it started to ruin my life. I stopped waking up to my alarm clock and was always late for work. I was moody, emotional, and mean. I also started to lose weight.
I tried at first to just stop taking the pills. I was never told of withdrawal. That is a huge mistake. Nobody, whether getting pain medication from your doctor or off the street illegally, should have to quit talking pain medication abruptly. It is one of the worst ordeals a human can go through. Withdrawals usually cause severe depression, aches and pain, vomiting and diarrhea, sweating, crying, lack of appetite, and insomnia. The depression was the worst side effect for me. I hear of lots of people on these forums trying to quit suddenly and that is the wrong way to do it. There are lots of things that can tone down or virtually eliminate most side effects of withdrawal from pain pills and this next part will help you, from my experience, deal with it the right way.

Before I continue there is something that is very important before attempting to quit pain medication. You have to want to quit. You also have to stick to it. I know from experience how hard it can be. I have a very situational mind and I like to justify things. I would think to myself that it would be okay if I just took one more today, because I can take one less tomorrow. When quitting pain medication it is very important to stick to the plan. Deviating from that plan will more or less delay the process and make the withdrawal last longer.
For those of you who are on high doses of pain medication, it may be necessary to wean down the amount that you take before quitting can become possible. When you are at a manageable dose there are two options that I have found that work wonders.
The first method is through the use of Suboxone or Subutex. Suboxone is a sublingual drug that is comprised of two different drugs, Buprenorphine and Naloxone. Buprenorphine is a narcotic that takes the place of the other you are currently taking. It prevents the body from having withdrawals from other pain medications. The other ingredient in Suboxone is Naloxone which reverses the effects of other narcotics. It is a narcotic itself but it blocks receptors in the brain that normally are susceptible to other narcotics. Naloxone prevents other narcotics from working completely. While on Suboxone, it is virtually impossible to feel the effects of any other narcotic pain medication. Suboxone is a good choice for people that have problems with restraint because, to put it simply, it makes other drugs not work. Unfortunately Suboxone is HIGHLY regulated and there are probably only a handful of people in your area that are allowed to prescribe it. They have to be licensed with the government and are only allowed to treat a limited number of patients at one time. Suboxone is done both inpatient and outpatient but from my experience, usually reserved for severe cases. There are speical detox centers all over the US that require you to make only an initial visit and then continue the treatment outpatient. I have never been to one myself but you can check this website for suboxone treatment centers all over the U.S. http://buprenorphine.samhsa.gov/bwns_locator/

Suboxone users will most likely experience some withdrawal symptoms as well, but nowhere near the withdrawals experienced from quitting pain medication.

The other option is through the use of benzodiazepines (Valium) and / or alpha-agonist hypotensives (Clondine) I am a supporter of these methods if you can deal with the sluggishness caused by these two drugs.

Let me explain why withdrawal from pain medications happens.
When the body has taken pain medication for a long period of time, the entire body process is slowed down. Mental function, digestion, metabolism is all affected by narcotic pain killers. Your body becomes used to this state of being and when the pain medication is suddenly stopped, the body speeds up very quickly and abruptly. Digestion speeds up which causes vomiting and diarrhea, mental function increases along with the abruptness of removing something your body is used to which causes depression, metabolism increases which causes sweating and chills.
The goal when quitting pain killers when using valium or Clondine is to slowly let the body adjust to the new pace. If this can be done, then withdrawal symptoms are much less severe. This is way alternative treatments such as marijuana, nicotine, and alcohol are used by some people to help control withdrawal symptoms because they are all depressants and they keep the body's regulatory function slowed down. While I do not condone the use of illegal stimulants I am simply stating the reality of why they work. There are of course, problems with using valium or Clondine. Clondine is a drug that is mainly used for controlling high blood pressure. Its purpose is to lower blood pressure so you must have your blood pressure checked by a professional to insure that you can safely take Clondine or it could drop your blood pressure to very unsafe levels. Both valium and Clondine will also make you feel very tired and sluggish. Stomach ache also occurs frequently. I have heard of a patient taking Clondine for opioid withdrawal. He was prescribed 0.1mg pills 4 x a day for the first day, 3 x the 2nd day, 2 x the third day and 1 x the 4th day. He also had a Clondine patch to carry through the 5th, 6th and 7th days. Most pain medications will be out of your body within 5 to 7 days but it can take up to a month before you feel 100% yourself. It will take some time to let the body adjust to the way it was intended to be but thankfully we only have that 5 - 7 days to worry about for severe withdrawal.

Other things that can help are:

• Drink LOTS of water. Nothing better than to filter the body and help get rid of the junk in your body faster. The more the better!
• Teas without Caffeine help. There is a tea called "Sleepy time" that really does wonders and will help you sleep as insomnia is a side effect of withdrawal.
• Alcohol has been known to help somewhat because it is a depressant and keeps the body slowed down but I would be careful not to overdo it. Alcohol also dehydrates the body so this could be a negative thing. Watch what you mix it with as well (such as sodas). Caffeine is a stimulant and can increase withdrawal effects as well as dehydrate you.
• Vitamins and natural herbs help. Anything you can do to give the rest of your body what it has been deprived from is a good idea. Watch out for herbs or vitamins that increase metabolism as the goal is to keep the body slow and slowly let it speed back up.
• Food is a great idea. Food has never tasted better after quitting pain medication. I've heard that fruits with lots of citrus are a good idea.
• The last piece of advice would be to stay active. It is easy to want to sleep all day or sit in bed when quitting pain medication. While this can make the time pass I think it is better to stay active. I personally started lifting weights again when I was going through my withdrawals. Probably not the best idea but find something that can take your mind off of the whole thing. It also helped to have people around me. As much as I wanted to be alone when going through hell, I am very glad my wife was here to support me. Nothing beats depression like a good friend to talk to.

I hope this advice helps some of you but keep in mind that is just advice. I am not a healthcare professional and I do not know everything. No internet forum or blog can take the place of a doctor and as I said at the beginning of this post, no one should do this alone. It is a hard process but before you know it, you will be done and moving on to the rest of your life. Dependence on anything unnatural for survival is a terrible thing and we all have the right to live free from this. My life is a thousand times better now that I am not reliant on hydrocodone for survival. My marriage is better, I got a raise at work, my friends want to see me more. It was the best thing I've ever done in my life. Good luck and I will be checking back to this post to anyone that has questions or comments.