11johnrambo

Can you all share with me how long you were on painkillers and how long it took for your anxiety to go away? I know everybody's different but I'm trying to see some kind of light at the end of the tunnel to help get me through this withdrawal. Thanks

RobS

Hi Johnrambo. I was using vicodin for four years and in the past year I made the mistake of using 150-200mg of OC's a day. I was pretty hooked. I tried quitting 3 times and relapsed. This time however for whatever reason has been the easiest. It's been 4 weeks and I feel great. How much and how long have you been taking? For me I found taking l-tyrosine and DLPA helps allot. It helps restore your natural dopamine in your brain and that's what makes you "feel good". It's just a supplement you can buy at your local health store. Might be worth a look. The first 3 days were the worst for the pain and the next 2 weeks were pretty sad but then each day I got better and now I feel as if I never really had them int life at all. It's a ruff path but if you stick to it it will all pass and you'll br back to yourself in no time. Hang in there my friend. It's worth it trust me!!!

sickgirl2

Hi John,

I have been off opiates for 42 days and I am still have problems with the anxiety, I am sure you will start getting better, and day now. It is tough, but hang on.

SgtFCAmerica

Been 11 days for me and I still have some physical symptoms, but I haven't had any of the the mental/emotional issues. Last night I woke up in pools of sweat again! Wow, do I hate that... Personally, I think this has taken such a huge physical toll on our bodies, we should focus on our bodies in a healthy way as much as we can. Since my quit day, I have been on a very strict diet and exercise plan and devoting a lot of my time and energy towards that. I don't think there is any better way of getting through the withdrawal period than a ton of exercise!

RobS

I agree with SFC America. Exercise is a great way to restore your self! Be as active as you can no matter how hard it is!

11johnrambo

Thanks. I took perc 30's, 1-4/day (but normally just 1/day) regularly for the past 6 months and on and off for about a year. I've been trying to stay off everything but yesterday (day 10) was awful so I broke down and took a suboxone so it's impossible to tell what I really feel like without it in my system.

thejuiceman

You should be good soon my man. I went straight to hard exercise which really helped keep my mood up! Try it.

SgtFCAmerica

Juice!!! Bro, you're going to be at 6 months soon! Damn!!! Bench should beat 350 by now...

fs101

Rambo, the anxiety can last for quite awhile, the best I can offer is to eat better, get some exercise and if you still are feeling bad, talk to a Dr.

There are many ways to help with it, natural and medical, and a Dr. can point you in the right direction. Its rough to be sure but in my experience it will get better with time.

Ans

I been clean for 9 months, I still get the anxiety. But it's not as bad as it was at the beginning.

RobS

Ans, congrats on 9 mo! Johnrambo how is it today? Keep us posted...

Ans

Thank you Robs

Johnrambo-I was on painkillers for 7 years. The best thing I found to do when I would get anxiety is do something to keep my mind off of it. or go to a meeting

11johnrambo

thanks. I'm on day 16 now if I counted right. That suntheanine supplement works ok but it's tough to tell cause I still haven't been back to work yet. I go back to work tomorrow and I'm hoping I don't get there and completely freak out, it's been known to intensify my anxiety. Any advice? You all have been very helpful, thank you all.

FT

This might sound weird, but I would do a sort of "rehearsal" today. Take a shower and put on your work clothes, and then go out and do something similar. I don't know what kind of work you do, but that works for me.

Weird advice, but try it.

FT

Mandy6891

I am 55 days sober from opiates. I used them on and off for 1 year and then daily used them for about 15 months. I did oxy 30mgs/up to 5x a day.
I am still struggling with anxiety and panic attacks. I have been trying to do research to help me understand opiate withdrawal better. I'm kinda glad to see I'm not the only one, as my best friend who quit (w subs & Xanax) hasn't had any issues. I quit cold turkey and am not on anything but Prozac as my doctor thinks that will help and it hasn't. There are some days I still would like to crawl out of my skin just so I don't have to feel the way I do. Everyone says it will get better but the anxiety, diarrhea, and night sweats are still here. I have anxiety just thinking that this will never go away...like I'm going to be stuck in this anxious body forever and never know what it's like to feel normal again, sleep normal again, have energy again.... I have two children and feeling trapped at home because anxiety attacks make me exhausted to do anything. Maybe I'm just a mental case. It would be nice to talk to anyone that might be going through or went through what I am. Thanks! And I hope your anxiety has gotten better

Dee74

Welcome to SR Mandy

D

IvanMike

Well Mandy you resurrected an old thread. However, the info is the same.

First off, I went and continue to go to Narcotics Anonymous, and that has made all the difference. I also went to an IOP outpatient.

I detoxed off of painkillers, xanax/benzos, and alcohol all at once. I didn't use suboxone or anything else as I really didn't want another drug to kick.

Short term I can tell you that day 3-5 is the worst of "dope-sick" and then it gradually gets better. How long it takes for the withdrawal symptoms like sleeplessness, leg pain, and diarrhea to subside varies, but a few weeks or so is normal. (But hey, you don't need laxatives any longer, so that's a plus!)

After I got clean i was sure that I broke something in my head. I just didn't feel "right". I used to look at other people going to work, to the store, and living life and wonder how they did it without drugs. I knew I used to do that before drugs, but I suspected that I would never be "normal" again. Anxiety, depression, and mood swings are all common, and I had them all.

I went to meetings every day. I went to IOP. The people in NA assured me that I would get better. I didn't use, one day at a time.

One day I noticed that I felt "OK". Not perfect or always happy, but "normal". When this happens varies, but for me it was around six months. It's gotten better ever since, and I marked 4 years on July 11th.

Hang in there and don't try to do this alone.

Merissarose

Hey, the withdrawal is different for everyone. It all depends on the doses, how often and for how long you have been on it. When I was coming off my medication, I read the same thing... That the withdrawal doesn't last long. But it does and will take a while before your body is back to normal. So for me the day I finished my last dose was December 22nd 2015. I was weened off my medication and got put on clonidine for my heart and sweats, immodium for the runs, odansitron(not sure if I spelt that right) for the severe nausea, Effexor for the depression and anxiety, and something similar to Benadryl for the itching. All these things definitely helped me get through it, but the clonidine was the best one that helped me. For all of January, February and most of March I pretty much was still dealing with everyone on of the symptoms. Of course each week would get a tiny bit easier, but I thought too that it was never going to end. By mid April is when I started to feel better, the anxiety was minimal, stomach problems were close to being gone, sleeping was getting a bit better, and heart problems were slowly getting better. The biggest problem for me at this point was my energy level, though getting better, was still very low, which was hard to deal with when I have a 6yr old daughter. Later in April I found out that my vitamin B was low so I was placed on Vitamin B Complex which brought my energy level up to almost 100%. so I'm not sure if it was low because my body was trying to heal itself from years of opioids or if another reason was causing it. So it's now the end of July, which means I have been drug free for just over 7 months. I still have troubles sleeping the odd time, but very rarely, I'm also taking melatonin supplements at bed time. I find that my legs are still somewhat restless and sore when I go to bed at night, but never enough that I can't sleep because of it. My heart is pretty much normal, though I do still have random fluttering and racing that comes from nowhere. So because of this I have to go for a Cardiac Stress test in 2 weeks. My anxiety is not that bad, I still find that I get it if I am going somewhere that I'm looking forward to, but still mild enough that I don't have to take the Effexor. I know it may suck to hear that it takes a while, and I too was hoping that by this point I would have no symptoms. But these symptoms are very very mild and do not interfere with my daily life. I am so incredibly happy to be able to wake up every morning thinking clearly, enjoy every minute that I'm with my family, and feeling like the person I was before the doctors put me on such strong narcotics. I can't even explain the happiness and love you will have for your new life. It does get better, slowly but it will. Once you get passed the hard part, you will realize that all the pain you went through getting off, is so worth the lifetime of happiness and love you will have!! I hope this has helped you a little bit, good luck and stay strong.

suez67

I'm still waiting for the anxiety to go away. The worst is the morning, as soon as I open my eyes, I'm worried about something. I hate it. Those were the moments in the past where I knew the opiates had worn off over the night and I would jump up and go get one and in 15 minutes I'd feel good again.

Now I don't do that. So, for me, on day 9, I still have it, but I take my Ativan and my doctor just started me on Effexor. I'm hoping that will help get me through all of this, then I can stop the Ativan. I don't want to be on any pills anymore. But one thing at a time.

Best of luck to you. Think positive thoughts always.