Clean Opiate Addict needs to hear from others
 

Hola,

I am now 21 days clean from a major opiate addiction (about 30 10mg pills a day). I am just curious to hear from others on when they started to feel like part of the human race again (physically). I am taking correct measures (meetings, sponsor, exercise, vitamins, etc.) But I am still having that "why bother getting up in the morning?" and "I'm too tired to do anything" feelings. I guess I just wanted a guesstimate from others on when normalcy comes. ie: 30 days, 45, 60, 90?

Thanks!

Lisa

Lisa-- Congtats on 21 days. That's awesome! And, yup, you are doing the right things with the meetings, sponsor, exercise, vitamins, etc.

Everyone is different, of course, but I can share my own experience. I could barely get out of bed the first 30 days. The second month I felt a little more normal, but then wicked insomnia kicked in. It took about a month for my sleep to get better. I also had severe depression for a couple of months b/c my brain chemicals were so out of whack. At three months, I felt better physically and mentally.

My motto for the first few months was, "every day that I stay clean and sober is one day closer to feeling better."

Remember, you're not a bad person trying to get good, but a sick person trying to get well. This means, physically as well as mentally and spiritually, so try to be gentle with yourself. You will get your energy, montivation and hope back, but it may take awhile. My advice is to keep on doing healthy nurturing things for yourself as you heal.

Hang in there, Lisa. It does get better and we do recover.

hugs,

phinny

Phinny, thanks for sharing that!

Thanks for sharing. I guess I just needed to know that what I am feeling is "normal" in relation to my withdrawal. The last two times I got clean I couldn't make it past 45-days because the lethargy was not going away and I thought I should use again till it came back (don't ask me what kind of logic this is for a college graduate! that's the insanity of the disease, I guess). I'm gonna truck through it this time. I have to.

thanks for letting me share
Lisa

Hi lisa !
 

My name is Trish and I am an addict.I was also addicted to pain meds ( and everything else ) I am 16 months clean now and to tell you the truth I cant remember when I started to feel more with it ! It was rough in the begining but I was so relieved not to be going in and out of withdrawal every other day.I was pretty sick.
I found a doctor ( shrink ) who worked in the addiction field and he helped me a great deal.I was put on non-addictive medications , anti-deppressants and such.They helped alot.Talk to your sponser and see what she has to say.Congrads on your days and welcome !

It is hard to be patient when you feel like you are doing all the right stuff and still feel like crap. I have noticed that addicts are not the most patient people on the planet anyway :), myself included.

I went through opiate w/d cold turkey @ home a little over 6 months ago. In retrospect, I wish I had consulted an addiction specialist (MD). There were times in the 3 - 5 week range that I wondered if I had damaged something; maybe I gave myself a heart attack - that's why I am so weak, can't eat, heart rate still high, can't sleep, etc.? Surely just w/d wouldn't make me this sick for this long! Wrong! But I started to slowly see that I was feeling a little better soon thereafter, and "lived to tell the story". I guess the best things (i.e. sobriety) are worth fighting the hardest for, and this certainly fits the bill.

Sometimes I wonder if our higher power (for me, God) had made w/d so miserable that it will be impossible to forget, giving us incentive not to put ourselves through it again. I know the reality is that relapse is a possibility for any addict, but I truely can not envision putting myself (& my family) through this again.

Anyway, try to pamper yourself as much as possible. I don't know any sure way to make the process go faster. I remember taking a lot of hot baths. It was the end of summer and still very hot, so there would be times I would go down to the river and float. Or just be outside to breath some fresh air and meditate. I never had done meditation before --- learned it in an outpatient program - & it was extremely helpful to settle my mind and re-focus. The entire outpatient program really did save me, I believe; have you looked into any in NC?

I'll be praying for you. YOU CAN DO THIS!!! Let me know if I can help. :wave:

Red