MyGirlMimi

15 days clean so far with a lot of tempation, I am finding my body transform itself it little ways and wanted to ask others who had (or have) addictions to pain pills what types of bodily changes they noticed, and how they, if at all compared to mine.

The one big thing I noticed was the lack of bm, and sometimes they would be pale (indicative of lack of bilirubin). I think that the lack in BM is almost universal to all codeine addicts. I also noticed edema in my lower legs and ankles. This in particular scared the crap out of me because it is indicative of liver toxicity as well. I wonder if any of you experienced the same. Now that I am off of the pills, I do not have this anymore (well, only a little, which can be attributed to lifestyle and being slightly overweight as I am).

I also noticed acne. I had moderate acne that no amount of skin regiment would clear up.

I was irritable, tired, exhausted, depressed, and angry.

I'd like to compare notes, so to speak, with others, if you'd like to share.

Thanks so much, this really would mean a lot to me.

Mimi

Sugah

At fifteen days, I still felt pretty horrid. The constipation came later for me -- I had diarrhea for almost a month. Couldn't comment on the edema, as that was the natural state of my legs then due to other conditions. The acne makes sense -- the poisons are leaving your body. I'd suggest drinking lots of water and cleansing well.

Good job on fifteen days. The first few weeks and months are the hardest. Are you doing anything to find support in this?

Peace & Love,
Sugah

serenityqueen

I went through these things as well.

If I were you, I wouldn't get too freaked out about the physical things. If they persist or worsen, see your doc.

Irritable, depressed, angry,

those were understatements.

Hang in there it does get alot better!

emmer

I too took codeine otc. For me it was by the handfulls.
I never really had much of any withdrawals...... its the strangest thing.
What I did have was major cravings that were a bitch to overcome. I relapsed between 20 and 30 times.
But thats just me not you.

You'll work out fine just get all the support possible. Go to na meetings and get a sponser.......ok?
Personally I can't do it on my own........tride and tride and failed big time.

Jane63

Welcome Mimi and CONGRATS on the 15-days! It does get better as long as you stay honest and keep working at it! I promise!

I take "Fiber Choice" chewables twice a day and that really helps keep things regular. In early recovery I also drank LOTS of water {helps the skin too!}, ate a bran-type cereal and walked daily which helped greatly with not only the constipation, but my gerneral well being, state of mind, everything!

I highly suggest having your DR test your liver enzymes. Generally our livers will repair any damage we have done to them but the swelling is always a sign of concern and best to be safe than sorry.

**{HUGS}}
Jane

ccgirl2

I think most of those are normal, especially the bm stuff. I would maybe talk to your doctor about the edema though. That's nothing to fool with.

Our bodies go through so much when we quit, and is working so hard to repair itself, it's no suprise all these things happen.

Lily

I was very swollen, lacked BM's as well, was very angry, tired, but most of all the worst part was the depression. I was always depressed! for some reason I wasn't correlating the 2 though. I thought I needed psych drugs.

Today I have 66 days clean and sober. I hit a meeting tonight and it was great! you keep staying with the program and things will get better for you! blessings, Sheila

NeedingHelp7

MyGirl,


Fiber is the best thing for bm. You can get from you Dr. or over the counter.

A one-a-day vitamin. Extra b-complex will also help with stress and withdrawl. Take these and don't stop. The best time to take them is before bed. These will get your body back on a regular schedule, and add the nutrients your body is really craving.

Amino acids/proteins have been depleted from you body as well. One multi-amino acid a day will put the proteins back into your body and brain.

Many small meals a day with fruit and veges.

Drink a lot of water and juices.

Lots of prayers.

Meetings daily.

Praying Jesus will do a miracle for you!! He's there, my dear, just call on him.
My first prayer was "Jesus if you are real show me who you are" and He did.

Blessings.

Rugrider

I was hooked on opiates for more than 3 years amd the first 2 weeks were horrible. I had anger, depression,lethargy, and major RLS. I felt like I wanted to crawl out of my skin. It took me many attempts of quitting before I finally did it, that's just me though. I still wake up some mornings and would give anything for a pill, but the cravings usually do not last long.

TiredMama

Oh man. I was irritable (extremely irritable) and I didn't know about the edema being a huge issue. I would always get that during w/ds (relapsed too many times to count). I guess I should get that checked as well. I did abuse opiates (benzos here and there) for almost 8 years so it could be an issue with the edema.

Made my legs hurt and ache, jump, crawl.

Congrats on 15 days! That is great!! About the BM's, I think sometimes I went a week without having one on opiates. After opiates, I started getting them back regularly.

MyGirlMimi

Wow, thanks so much for sharing!!!

It's made me feel a whole lot better about my situation. Most of the symptoms I describe are from when I was abusing, particularly the edema. It was so bad that my ankles looked distorted and, because I am the nosey and inquisitive person I am, I went searching online. Every single symptom was indicative of liver damage - which I am sure I have.

The only thing I still have are pale stools and loose BMs. Headaches are so common that I don't anticipate a day without them. However, because I know I have done damage to my organs from the pill abuse, I won't take anything for them at this point. I notice my edema does come back slightly and my BMs are more pale if I do take some ibuprofen, so I don't bother and use other, more liver friendly methods.

I confessed to my doctor. I told him I was worried about my liver because of overuse and abuse of OTC codeine medication. This was when he was prescribing me klonopin 0.5mg and I asked him about their effects on the liver. He told me that if I use them according to his directions, it shouldn't be a problem, yet I find that if I take nothing that day, my BMs the next day are regular colour, but still a bit loose from the continued w/d's.

I am so sorry if this is TMI but I am trying to compare notes because I suffer from anxiety with this and I figure that if I share and compare notes with fellow opiate addicts then I might find that this is something we deal with when our bodies are trying to recoup.

Oh....and I am sneezing like nobodies business!!! I figure it is the mucus releasing, and if I am having a particularly bad day I can say I have a cold I can't shake and my boss is a little easier on me (and nobody wants to come near me, lol!!!).

I have also noticed a decreased appetite, and noticed this every time I tried to go clean. A welcome addition to my sobriety!!! I noticed an increase when abusing because the pills would hurt my stomach so I had to fill it all the time and had the munchies something fierce.

Finally, the mood swings are a lot better now that I am through the worst of the w/d and off the pills. WOW, what a difference. I am not swinging as I was and am noticing much more energy.

I know I am not on here often because of work (I don't want our resident IT spies reading this very personal info) but I am telling you without this community here I would not be feeling as good as I am. Just being able to "GET IT OUT!!!" is so stress relieving, and especially so with others who truly understand and don't pass judgement. In my world? Heh, people would be backing away slowly from the "girl with issues". LOL, backing up and back to their own issues, I suppose, as we all have them!

Love,

Mimi

TiredMama

I remember the "munchies" like you said. I think the body is just looking for something and anything to fill the void that the drugs "filled."

I think I have liver damage too and I am going to have it checked out after the baby is born. Being pregnant probably didn't help the liver situation either. Considering she has sucked out all of the juice in my body that I have!!

I hope you do not have any long term damage to your liver or anything for that matter.

PierceME311

Mygirlmimi-

I just wanted to add my two cents about recovery, from my personal experience and reading about the issue I have found that the single most important and beneficial factor in recovery and withdrawal is: nutrition.

I know you don't want to eat but you can't expect your body to heal if you don't give it the building blocks it needs to rebuild. I started to feel better as soon as I was eating regularly. Proteins are the building blocks of life, I know it's hard to eat but you have to start somewhere.