jhonnyspa

Hi Natom,

When I was 27 I felt that I too wasted my time with alcohol why did I not go to university when I was 18.So I quit Alcohol and smoking for 18 months and went to university at the age of 27 better late then never. Was it hard being an alcoholic at university? yes. But It's better late then never and there is still time to do all the things your heart desires but with drugs/alcohol man does that clock tick and as a wise lecturer told me "time or tide waits for no man"

Natom

I lasted 49 hours before relapsing.

I get to a certain point where the combination of psychological need and the dull ache in my body merge together and become too much for me to deal with. I had a work meeting on Monday morning and I was in a bad way when I attended. Luckily since then I've managed to get away with taking the bare minimum needed to stay well.

So I guess that's actually quite positive. I've gone from maybe 600-1200mg of my chosen substance to somewhere between 200-300. I'm doing ok on that dose too. No real withdrawal symptoms to speak of but then it's just a maintenance dose. I'm not high but I'm not sick.

I'm going to aim to stay at 200-300mg a day until the end of the month, then I'll drop down gradually because these cold turkey withdrawal weekends aren't fun and they aren't working either.

Natom

ImNotThatGuy

Hey Natom,

I haven't been through opioid withdrawal, but I'm sure it's just as bad as alcohol withdrawal. One thing to remember is that it will all be over in a few days. You made it two full days this time. Next time, get a leather belt, stick it between your teeth, and gnaw on it for two more days. If you can make it two days, you can make it four days. From what I understand, the worst of it is over in 3-4 days with short-acting opiates (which is what I assume you're on since your withdrawal symptoms started so soon after you stopped). Even if you're junkie, the worst is over in a week.

There are a lot of people here who have been through some intense withdrawals from all kinds of horrible substances and beaten it. Keep coming back. I think there's a forum for opiate addiction specifically. Maybe you can get some tips over there.

Good luck man.

Natom

You're right in regards to short-acting opiates. I can go into withdrawals within 3-6 hours after taking a dose, depending on what that dose is. The issue I have is that I work Monday-Friday and can't take any time off. Yeah, I might have made it two days but I felt awful. If I can get my dose down as low as possible then stopping should, in theory at least, be a lot easier and hopefully doable in two days.

I'm hoping that a proper slow and controlled taper will get me in the right place. I'm completely there psychologically but the physical symptoms are killing me.

Natom

ImNotThatGuy

Yeah, I definitely could not have gone to work for the first 4-5 days so I get that.

There's no way you could take a Friday and Monday off or something like that to give yourself four days to kick?

Natom

I tried that last month. I had a 5-day long weekend but I ended up with a medical issue that wasn't related to my addiction. I was in agony and ended up having to use to get rid of the pain. I may try and book a couple of days next month but if my taper goes to plan I shouldn't need to. If I can get myself down to 4 pills a day I should be able to stop relatively easily.

Natom