TreLayniesMa

I am now 14 days off of methadone!!!! Yeah. The only problem is I can't seem to get it together during the day. I feel great at night before I'm ready to go to bed playing with the kids and relaxing before I go to sleep. I quit "cold turkey". The first few days I had some percocets but stopped figuring it would prolong the withdrawl process. I'm going to start to attend meetings, but there aren't any near me during the day. In the daytime I feel anxious and sluggish. I'm a stay at home mom. My 3 year old isn't here w/ me during the day (in school)...just my one year old. I seem to really "perk up" when the family gets home (husband and other kid). May this have something to do w/ my sleep? I've been taking Tylenol Pm's to sleep and for backpain that seems to strike while I'm sleeping. I've been getting like 7 hours of straight sleep (WOW). I don't feel withdrawl-like symptoms much anymore and am currently waiting for my insurance to come through (in the application process) so I can't really see a doctor yet. Can you tell me if this is normal? Sorry this is so long. Thank you.

sheat

255dark red
Hello Hi my name is shea and I just wanted to let you know i feel the same way you do! But I'm still on my suboxone(its a alternate to methadone) I dont know what to do. I'm trying to decrease my dose, but I'm really scared to be sober completely. I'm a mother of two children. I have a 7 yr. old and a 12 month old. But my fiance died so hes not here anymore(which makes it harder to quit). He died from methadone and cocainne. He was only 22 yrs old, but I was wopndering if you could help and encourage me PLEASE?? I want to quit but scared. How long do withdrawls last? And how did you do it with the baby home? I 'am so tired and fatique during the day then at night i finally get my 1st wind, thats not normal! Maybe for you it is because you are clean and sober and you r body takes time to bounce back! But could you please help me?? THANKS, And GOOD LUCK

TreLayniesMa

Hey Shea,
I kinda just told myself I had to do it. I'm sorry to hear about your fiance. I'm lucky to have my husband...unfortunately he was going through the same thing as me. My 3 year old is in school all day so that helps. My one year old though is home w/ me all day. I just kinda laid on the couch. We have a family room that she runs in and really can't get into trouble (or any other part of the house). I just made myself get up to feed her. When she took naps I tried to rest as much as I could. I was completely cold turkey. I had a few percocets in the beginning but cut myself off thinking it would prolong the withdrawl. I'm really getting back to normal now. It will be 15 days tomorrow. I know that meth withdrawls last FOREVER!!!! Not literally but really can last for months since it penetrates every bone, muscle, vessel, etc. Good luck. Trust me if I can do it you can. The days are getting better. I went and got some stuff called Nerve Tonic from Wal-Mart. It is a natural stress remedy. Helped to calm my nerves a bit. Does your one year old take naps? Could you just tell your mom or someone you aren't feeling well. I talked to my mom everyday and although she didn't know why I wasn't feeling well she said she would have helped if she could (she...and the rest of our families...live 2 1/2 hours away). Your kids won't know what you are going through. Everyone gets sick...flu etc...so you can just say Mommy doesn't feel well. My son actually helped me out a bit w/ the younger one. It will work out for you. Please hang in there. I'm here everyday so you can always talk to me!

sheat

Hello and Thank you for responding, and your advice. You sound alot stronger than I 'am. So how many milligrams of meth were you on when you cold turkeyed it? And how long and bad were the withdrawls? My family won't help me with the kids, but my fiances mom will. Thats why i want to know how long i'll need her help. Besides the percocets did you take anything else while w/d-ing? I'm really scared because i remember how it feels to get the w/d and i cant even get up when im like that

sheat

I just wanted to say thank you for being so kind to me! I will be looking forward to your message. Thanks again!

TreLayniesMa

Hey Shea,
Well I don't want to discourage you but I was only on 10mgs a day for about 6 mos. I did do some research though and found out that it isn't the mgs that determine the withdrawl, it is your body. Sometimes I would do like 20 or 30mgs but never did more than that. My husband was on more and we both really went through the same thing. It sucked for the first week and a half...like I could barely function. I do feel like I'm strong, though like you said. My husband says that too. I just think that I don't want to be a hypocrite to my kids later in life so that's why I stopped now. I always kinda considered myself a "dabbler" when it came to drugs. My husband was a heavy heroin user for years and I would do it with him. Some other friends were addicted too. They all used to kinda get mad at me because I never caught a habit. When my husband started using the Meth I thought I would "dabble" with that too. But it got out of control, then I found that I couldn't function without it. We both decided together to stop for the kids and my husband is attending meetings. I want to go but like I said I have no one to watch them. We may just take them to some so I can get some in. I hope you can do it. I can say that I'm feeling much better but like I originally posted...I have anxiety so bad in the daytime. I'm in the process of applying for insurance so right now I'm without it. If I had it I would definately go see a doctor for my anxiety. It's hard to concentrate or to be productive when I'm shaking...not to mention my stomach is always in knots which makes me have to s**t a lot! That part really sucks and I wish that would go away. I'm glad you're here too to talk to. None of my friends know about what I was doing, neither does my family...beside my husband. Keep in touch and good luck.

sheat

Hey Tre.,
Thanks for your input! It dose help alot to have someone to talk to who knows what i'm feeling! Well about the anxiety I would definately say the valienroot(dont know if i spelled that right?) You can get it at any pharmacy like cvs, i have even found it at the dollar store where all the vitamin are! Are you taking any vitamin? They do have vitamin for stress relief, which is basiclly vitamin B group. Do you have a health department where you live? They will let you see a Dr. for free or low charge! I just started taking wellbutrin xL and its staring to work . I was on cymbalta that worked really good in about a week. I know you dont want no narcotics, but i think if you or your husband can find someone who has xanax you should get some until you get to a Dr. You could have a stroke from quiting meth and your nerves being so bad its not good! I would definately find some xanax for the time being. I take them right now and they work in 20 mins. Well I hope you feel better! how are you sleeping at night? TTYL shea

sheat

Hi tre,
Are you ok ?? Haven't heard back in a couple days! Did i say something wrong or are you ok?? I'm worried that your not ok, w/b please just to say your ok please, sorry for writing about the xanax,but i thought it might help for a couple days till you can get checked out! good luck

TreLayniesMa

Hey,
I'm fine. It's hard for me to get on the internet on the weekends because of the kids both being here. We had a busy weekend too with the snow and all. Anyway I don't want to take any Zanax. I did take some Valium in the beginning but I don't really want to take too much on my own till I see a doctor. I'm feeling much better and the anxiety is subsiding. Now sleep sucks just because I'm so tired but in so much back pain that I can't sleep. Do you have back pain. Do you know if this is something that is normal or if there really may be something wrong with my back? Who knows. We are getting a new bed next week so maybe that will help. We do have a Health Department here but it's kinda complicated. I'm applying for insurance and it's currently being underwritten...which means they check my medical history to see if they will insure me. It's Blue Cross and Blue Shield so I want it really bad. I'm trying to stay away from doctors right now. If the underwriters see that you are constantly at the Doctors they will be less likely to insure you. So I'm thinking in a couple of weeks I will be able to ligitimately go see a doctor with my new insurance. I'll just have to hold off a little bit more. I'll talk to you later. Thanks for your concern. I appreciate it. I'm on here more during the week.

sheat

Hi Tre,
I'm glad your ok! You shoul try valerian root it helps with anxiety and sleep! Take one during the day and at night 3 you will sleep good! Thats what i took when i was getting off methadone! It's all natural and work. I got some other kind at the pharmacy called stress relief i took that yesterday, I'm trying to quit the xanax, they are addicting too! But the stress relief worked pretty good! Yes back pain is a major side affect with withdrawl. Bones hurt and muscle,joints and the back! I have a back problem so im really scared to quit it will be worse than when i quit before! But did you try motrin? 800's work pretty good! It has a inflamation plus pain relief. Well I hope you try some of these and you get some relief! What state do you live in? Im in Michigan and I'm freezing here So how is your husband doing?? Is he off the methadone too? Well take it easy and only do what you can! Soon you will be back in motion GOOD LUCK I wish i was were you are. I'm really scared to quit, but i gotta do it soon Well I will talk to you soon

TreLayniesMa

Well I don't feel the anxiety anymore. It's been over 3 weeks now and I'm feeling better. I just can't get my back to stop hurting. It's awful. We get a new bed soon. I hope it helps. I also get insurance soon (this week) so I will go to the doctor and let him know what's up. My husband is doing ok. He quit meth too but he's having more mental problems than me. More depression etc. He's happy about the insurance too. Hopefully he will get some antidepressants or something. Well I'll talk to you later. Good luck with quitting. Do you have a doctor to talk about this with? I wish I did. Talk to you soon. Oh I will definately try the valienroot. I've been taking Tylenol pm but my back hurts so bad I can't sleep through the night.

sheat

Hey tre, how are things going?? I read about your brother, did he start the medicine?? for withdrawls? Its probably suboxone or subutex thats what im on . It is addicting they dont tell you that when you start on it. Most of the time you will be on it for a week or two. I have been on it 2years. Sojust warn your brother if thats what hes on. I talked to my dr. because my back has been horrible My dics are messed up and i have a cist on my spine. i need to get this taken care of before i quit the sub,because it will be 100 times worse. I'm glad you are phiscally ok now thats great! Did you try the valerian root? It really helps with alot of diffrent things! Good Luck Shea

greeteachday

Shea, I am so sorry about your fiancee. You are much stronger than you think if you are raising two children alone and being strong enough to use suboxone to help in your addiction recovery. I may be able to give you some idea of what you might expect if I knew a little more. How much are you taking each day and how long have you been on sub? Do you dose once a day or more frequently?
If you are very tired on the sub, it may be that your dosage is a little too high. Can you try lowering it and see what happens? Sometimes a lower does makes you feel more "normal." Give yourself a good hour after trying the lower dose to see if it is going to work for you. Less is more with this drug.
If you want to get off the sub, usually tapering down is the best bet. Start by decreasing you dose about 2 mg (if you are taking more) and giving your body a couple of days to get used to the new level. For example, if you take 6 mg twice a day, try 4mg twice a day for 3 days. Keep going lower every 3 days or so. Usually you don't notice a big difference until the levels get lower, then you may feel more fatigued or a little achy. Then once you are down to 2mg, split the pill (if you are on the 2 mg dose) and after another few days try 1 mg just once a day. Some people even split the pill again and get down to just a 1/2 mg or even a 1/4 before they stop. Listen to your body, it will help.

The amount of withdrawal you will feel from the sub can depend on your body, how long you have been taking it and even a positive outlook. I think the tougher days are usually 2 to 4 days after. So maybe you could plan for some help with your little ones and moral support for yourself around that time. I took time off work to be with my daughter during those days; I know it is a little scary and support helps. It would be great if you could go to a few meetings around then for the support you get there. "Comfort meds" help a lot - advil for aches, melatonin (a natural sleep aid) for restlessness, Bendryl for the sneezing or itchy eyes and also help with sleep/ feeling anxious. Lots of hot baths or showers (I ran bubble baths for my daughter when she had some withdrawal type aches. Unfortunately several "cold turkey" attempts before the Sub didn't work), plenty of fluids like water or Gatorade, a good multi-vitamin and B-6 or other B complexes. A heating pad is also very comforting.

I've gained this knowledge from helping my daughter as she went through attempts to stop heroin use and finally a sub taper. It's not the type of thing the doctors will necessarily know or tell you, but wonderful people like you battling addiction share info like this and lots of support with each other.

I hope this is of some help. If you can provide some more info, I'd be happy to see if there is anything else I can offer. I wish you all the best and peace and a new chance for a good life for you and your little ones.