Originally Posted by
billsmith26 
certainly bvaljalo, go ahead and explain why it's going to be worse. i want ALL THE information i can get. i knew the clean time i had etc, was irrelevant, but i just wanted you guys to know i had been there before...... sorta. now the reason i explained that i was only using for a month is because most people do it for much longer than that before they try to stop. i have known this was out of hand for a couple of weeks, just wasn't able to pull the plug. i dont really want to get into an explanation, but announcing my problem to the family isnt really an option, neither is rehab. however, aa/na is, and i do plan to take advantage, if i cant make it i will post and read on here. will i be able to play it off as the flu? will the klonopin help? as mentioned above, abusing that will not be a problem. am i going to be a complete shut-in or will i be able to get out and do a few things during the day? since it's going to be different/worse, i need a whole slough of new information. how long will the withdrawals last, and what time period can i expect to be the worst (i had my last fling around 11am this morning)? i am VERY skinny, and my metabolism is through the roof, will that help it go faster? last time the restless hands and feet, and the lack of sleep associated with that was the worst symptom. think that will be the same, and what are some good treatments for it? is it common to vomit during this type of detox or mainly just diarrhea? im so anxious, nervous, worried etc., about this i want all the information i can get. might as well be the truth, even if it isnt pretty. also since i really CAN NOT mention this to my family any words of encouragement will help. please reply, ill use anything, if your reading this thinking "i dont know if i should reply to that dudes post or not," DO IT! thank you all.
Wow, you got a lot of questions. I'll give you my best guesses and facts where applicable.
First off, review this thread ...
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ates-work.html
LOTS of useful and applicable information there as far as what's medically 'going on' for you. Bottom-line, my friend, once we become addicted, we don't ever go back to not being addicts. And this disease, ESPECIALLY with opiates, will return back to the same point that we were at when we last stopped using opiates VERY QUICKLY ... if we start using them again.
Its no coincidence that, after taking a year off and messing with some oxycodone ONE TIME ... hold on ... think back now to when you were making the decision to take that first pill after all that clean time ... when you did it, you SWORE to yourself that it was only going to be that one time, didn't you? And now look at what ACTUALLY happened ... it's now a month later and look where you are.
Well, as I say, it's not a coincidence this happened the way it did. The thing you must understand is that ADDICTION DOES NOT HEAL. It's never cured, it never goes away, it never really even weakens much. It lies in wait. That's all it does when we're not using. It's just ... waiting ... for us to f**k up ONE TIME. And then we are right back where we started IMMEDIATELY as far as the cravings for the drug goes, and the truth is, for some reason, it's usually WORSE.
It's like the time we took off from using really only slowed down the progression of the disease, it didn't stop it altogether. To be more specific, MOST people when they 'fall off the wagon' as it were after a period of sobriety find that they VERY quickly need just as much to get high as they did when they stopped the last time, and very quickly after that begin to use considerably MORE than they ever did the last time. Which is what happened to you, AND exactly what happened to me, and I've probably heard the same thing from at least 100 more people at NA/AA meetings over the past 6 months.
And unfortunately for all of us, we remain susceptible to the same (or worse) withdrawal effects we had the last time ... after only a few times of using opiates to get high on, as well as the same cravings. It all goes very much hand in hand. The above thread I mentioned, in it's talk about 'dormant opiate receptors' explains why this is pretty well I think ...
Had you really only messed up that ONE time ... it wouldn't have probably been that bad of withdrawals. But three weeks plus, doing twice the amount you'd been doing ... I'm sorry, but as I say, we remain forever susceptible to QUICKLY returning to the exact same brain state of 'actively addicted' FOR LIFE if we take opiates EVER AGAIN.
You've simply done dope for more than enough time, and had more than enough dope during that time, for your brain chemistry to have returned to right were it was a year ago. Sorry man...
Now, this being said, the clean time you had, and the short time (relatively) you've been on the stuff MAY help the withdrawals last a SHORTER period of time than they did the last time. That's something to hold out a bit of hope for at least. It's POSSIBLE anyways. But the intensity level I'm afraid will be worse because you're coming off of twice as much this time.
Now, for the other things ... yes you should be able to play it off as the flu, the symptoms are virtually identical (long as you can keep from blurting out the truth out of fear and depression, anyways). Yes, the klonopin should help a little bit, but you'd be well advised to keep them for the nighttime when you want to sleep. You only have 10 apparently, so that'd be the best use for them if you ask me.
There's SO MANY posts about 'what will help' that I'm going to have to just direct you to look around SR.com a bit. We talk about this ALL THE TIME.
As we do about 'what symptoms to expect', but here it is again, abridged version:
Depression, sense of hopelessness, general fear and anxiety, insomnia, anorexia, dyspepsia, 'the runs', hot and cold flashes, goose pimples, frequent yawning, sneezing, shaking or twitching legs, thrashing about in bed while trying to sleep, slightly increased blood pressure and body temperature, moderate pain (seemingly everywhere, but esp. in the back), abundant nervous energy accompanied by complete lack of motivation, random crying jags, constant craving for your drug of choice to relieve the symptoms, and lastly ... quietly wishing that someone would please just shoot you and put you out of your misery (well, that last one happened to me anyway ...)
The worst of it should start maybe 18 hours after your last dose of oxy and probably last about 96 hours. After that you should start feeling noticeably better most of the time, although you'll still suffer 'waves' of feeling crappy and hurting once in a while for about 1-2 weeks after that, but those will not be ANYTHING like the first 6-7 days, and you should be fine to work and what not.
I would plan on doing basically nothing for at least 5-7 days. It will be unlikely you'll feel like leaving your house except maybe to go to meetings of AA/NA, which would be a GREAT idea, esp if you can't turn to your family for support.
Also, LOSE YOUR DEALERS NUMBER(S) - PERIOD! Try to make sure you don't have the cash on hand to score. It's going to be VERY difficult to withstand the cravings you're gonna have, so don't make it any harder on yourself to resist them than you have to...
Lastly, no I don't suspect you'll have any vomiting during this experience. You ain't that bad off in your addiction (at the moment) ...
Good luck and let us know how it's going!!!