Antr

Hi all. First off i'd like to say thanks for having this sort of place. I just feel like I need to talk to others who may have been through the same thing. I'm 35 and was injured about a year and a half ago. I started taking Norco 10/325 for pain relief and it has absolutely spiraled out of control. My wife... The most amazing person in this world has gotten to the point of "it's me or the pills" but is still very much helping me through this. She has been my rock in so many ways and is now more than ever.

It's been three days of hell so far, today being the first day that I even feel like getting out of bed. Emotions all over the place, pain from my original injury and the withdrawals. I keep wanting to take a pill so it goes away but I just can't. I'm not willing to live life terrified of running out of pills and letting it control every aspect of my daily life. I'm just done. Just wondering if there's anyone who could maybe give some pointers on how to get through the first part without just caving in and taking a pain pill.

Thank you for having me, and I look forward to being on the other end some day and helping others get through this.

Antr

P.S. - I hope i'm writing this in the right place. I didn't have it in me to read through all the rules yet. Even writing this is a lot to handle right now.

Edit - The injury was two years ago, didn't realize it had been so long.

TitansFreak

Day 9 or 10 for me 6 years of Percocet abuse...things are getting a little easier for me now..

But that being said its still very much a struggle..try this method

L-Tryosine
GABA Pills
Imodium
Fluids
Percogesic
B-12 & Vitamin C
There is a post of mine explaining this in detail on this section called "My Opiate Recovery System" look it up and I really hope it helps because our stories are very similar

Meraviglioso

Hi, welcome and congratulations. You are absolutely in the right place to talk about addiction and quitting. However, there is also a section here for those dealing with drug issues. Most of us who post here are dealing with alcohol issues. But addiction is addiction and we completely understand you. 3 days is amazing. Don't turn back now, otherwise you just have to do those 3 days again. We are all here for you, post and check in often.

Antr

Glad to hear it's getting easier for you. I'm looking forward to that point. I will definitely look up your thread and see about trying what you've suggested. Thanks for your post, appreciate it.

OpioPhobe

Antr - hang in there brother. If you are on day 3 you have already made it a long, long way. Typically, it would peak by 72 hours and then start easing up. Once I was able to get over the 'hump' each day would be considerably better. It will get better though so long as you don't use.

The one thing I would say is that I am sure you will be tempted to just take "1" to ease the symptoms slightly when it gets overwhelming. Every single time I failed at a cold turkey quit it was because I was just going to take a 'little' to ease the pain, and then I was going to taper later on. It sends you back to square one if you take an opi. If you use again all of the suffering you have put in up to this point will be erased instantaneously. I found that it would come in waves. When it got to the point where it was overwhelming I would just have to keep holding on and then it would be bearable again.

If you check out the Substance Abuse forum there are tons of threads on folks kicking opis.

Antr

Thank you, I'll head over and check out the other section as well. Yeah I really don't want to start this over again and that's what's keeping me going. It's been rough but it's going to be worth it. Thanks for the welcome.

bellaboos

Hi ant
Are you getting any medical help with your detox? My other half was also hooked on opiates for pain relief. He gradually got weaned off over the course of 6 months and is now clean, pain free and happy.
It was controlled and supervised so I would recommend help
Full marks to you for taking this step and I wish you the best of luck

alumni

My addiction journey began with an injury and progressed over the years, many more years than you've experienced.
The best advice I can offer you in answer to your question is two-fold.
First, try to eliminate as much of your withdrawal symptoms as possible using common OTC meds like Immodium AD, Advil, Nauzene tabs, even Pedialyte for dehydration. You didn't mention your current symptoms but those can help typical problems.
Second, don't isolate yourself. Reach out for support, conversation, interaction with anyone who will understand (almost everyone will) what you are going through. This would also include accessing entertainment through music, movies, goofy cable reality shows. Anything to help you take your focus off of what your mind and body are enduring.
If it gets really out-of-control, don't be averse to consulting with your physician who might be able to help medically. You are not going to score any more pain pills from him so why not ask for assistance?
You are on your way to success but shortly will need to go through the thought process of how to maintain your freedom from opioids but that is a conversation for another day.
Stick around if you have more questions.

Antr

Thanks man. That's good to hear and hopefully it will continue to get easier. I asked my wife to take them and put them out of sight from me and not to let me know where they are so I wouldn't be tempted to just go take one. Last night was by far my worst night. Waking up off and on and realizing that I'm not taking them anymore is pretty hard. Instant anxiety. Sorry guys if my replys are short but my mind is going a million miles an hour and it's hard to focus.

Antr

I'm doing it on my own so far. How exactly did they go about it if you don't mind me asking? It's really helpful to hear the success stories because right now it feels like this is never going to end.

Edit - what did he do for pain relief after he stopped with the pain medicine? That's another thing that I'm worried about.

Antr

I've been taking motrin to hopefully take the edge off but the effects are minimal. It's funny you mention the movies and TV, that's basically been all I've done in the past few days. I have an appointment Monday with my doctor to talk about what's happening. As far as being isolated, my wife is the only one who knows what's going on and at this point I definitely don't feel up to talking to other family and fielding all the questions/concerns. But I definitely do want more people on my team and aware of what's happening after I get through the first week or so. Thanks for the tips. Very much appreciated.

Antr

Man, something that can help you so much live a somewhat normal life after an injury can really screw you over. I never saw it coming...

Meraviglioso

This seems to be true for so many people. I wonder how these drugs are even legal. I remember after I gave birth via an emergency c-section I was begging for drugs. Here in Italy they only give 500mg of Tylenol. I was like what?!?! This is NOT sufficient! I was in so much pain. But looking back, given my addictive personality, I'm glad that they only gave me mild drugs. I'm so sorry for you, what a horrible situation to be in through no fault of your own. It is time to be strong and fight this. Best of luck, we are here for you.

bellaboos

Hi again, he had a lot of therapy! He thought he was in pain but wasn't. Not anymore. Just an addict. When the opiates started wearing off he would complain about the pain but it was simply a symptom of the withdrawal. He had a lot of leg shakes, terrible sleep, sweats etc. Yoga helped plus na meetings. He also knows he can never touch it again.
He didn't do it cold turkey though so please get professional advice too. Nothing to be ashamed about

alumni

As previously posted, serious body pain is very typically a symptom of acute narcotic withdrawal. I had convinced myself that my chronic pain was horrible while actively using opioids. After detox/rehab I discovered that it was basically gone and the drugs were actually exacerbating my pain.
If it's necessary, there are physicians practicing today in the US who specialize in treating recovering addicts with intractable pain conditions.
It's too soon for you to be worrying about this question. I've seen too many relapses occur because of this concern.