danpedraza

As the title says i am a Masters Level Social Worker who abused opiates for the last 9 years. Is ironic that for years i actually counseled others on the dangers of opiate dependency. Before i became an addict myself i referred hundreds of patients to detox and rehab. Never once thinking i would be in the same position today. 9 years ago i had a very bad car accident and injured my back. I was referred to a specialist and he prescribed Lortab 7.5mg. One thing led to another and after over 100,000 dollars spent i decided enough was enough. I got a new doctor who gave me a prescription for Tramadol and xanax to detox with. The transition was a little smoother than i thought. so on this day 4 of my home detox i feel a little better. I took the extra step of changing my cell number so that my drug dealer cant reach me. It has been hard but for some reason i did not get some of those severe withdrawal symptoms people report. The only fear i have is that the worst is yet to come or maybe i tapered and used 1mg of xanax to help. Can someone please tell me i am almost over the hump???

least

I'd ask your question in the substance abuse forum for insight from people who have been in your situation. It's hard to say, tho, as each person's reaction is different.

Substance Abuse - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information

stopaddiction

I wished I could but I too am getting off a 13 yr opiate dependency. I too have spent over the amt u put on the screen. I am 8 days off opiates, but using suboxone to help with wds. I tried cold turkey but that about killed me. Tramadol was my med when I couldn't get anything else to relieve wds. I actually don't understand this method as when I used tramadol between times I could get what I really needed...I still had wds. I also used so much tramadol it caused me to have grand mal seizures which I'll never not have now. Although I only have them when taking meds I haven't used before. I found out demerol caused me to have grand mals when I got out of hospital last year, and the dr there prescribed them to me to take with my tabs. I wish u luck, but I don't understand how tramadol can get u off opiates. Only bc I know that I used them to hold off wds..but if I didn't have them...I went into immediate wds. I will be watching to see how that works for u. I am curious. I wish u best of luck.

Anna

I have no advice, but I'm glad you're here and that you're working hard on your recovery.

Dee74

Hi Dan - I have no experience to share but I wanted to welcome you to SR - glad you've joined us

D

danpedraza

thanks so much. I appreciate the help

soberclover

Thank you for sharing the message that addiction impacts ALL of us....even those of us in a professional helping role such as yourself. I am a counselor as well as a teacher in recovery. I tend to think it will give us that much more perspective for our future work with people. Take care of you!

Sickandtired3

IMHO I think you are over the worst part. Short of getting your sleep back to normal. I stopped tramadols cold turkey a few years ago and everyone is different but about 5 days and I was over most of my WDs. I started a workout program that I believe helped me a lot. I would wake up at 4:00 am staring at the ceiling so I would go to the gym. It seemed the more I would try to exhaust myself the better I could rest

FeenixxRising

That's a good way to look at it sober. There's nothing quite like experience, and even a bad experience, if examined and seen in the right perspective, helps us to grow. It should serve you well when you're helping other people.

Skyhawk172

I understand where you are at. As a nurse who took care of patients who suffered from alcohol related issues, it is ironic that I'm now the one struggling. Granted, I might not have let it get quite as bad as some of them, but it's quite eye-opening to say the least.

As to your original question, I'd say that you're going to be in great shape soon, if not already. I've watched more people than I'd care to remember go through the joys of withdrawing from opiates, and generally the worst was over within the first several days. Sounds like you're on the right track, keep it up!