phaTx64

Sup People, Just wanted some feedback from anyone that has gone through "opiate withdrawal" and what you did (that worked) to ease the symptoms. Please list the opiate too, cause even though the symptoms are basically the same for any opiate withdrawal, the time required, severity, onset of withdrawal, diminishing of symptoms all depends on "which type" of opiate it is. For example, hydrocodone withdrawal (for me) usually lasted 3 days, but oxycodone withdrawal is 5 to 7 days.

I am in one of those situations that make it 2x harder to "quit" taking pain meds.. to make a long story short, I broke my back when I was 21 yrs old in a car accident, after 18 months of recovery I healed up extremely well and thought that I would not be bothered w/ back probs anymore. After healing, never had anymore extreme pain, etc.. no more than a normal person would have after a hard days work of physical type work.

When I got to be around 32 years old, back started giving me problems, by 33 years of age I ruptured my first disc and it is the point I got back on the pain meds. Since then til now, I have ruptured 4 discs, 2 discs both 2 separate times, had surgery in Nov 2011 for a severely herniated disc that was smashing up against my sciatic nerve about 180º around my back. The herniation happened Jan 2011, tried to wait it out hoping it would heal or something because I was terrified of surgery, after zero relief and pain getting worse, broke down & had the surgery.

My issue is... "on going pain" in my lower back. Unfortunately waiting so long to commit to surgery made things worse, already had scar tissue around lower spine from accident, walking around with the herniated disc added more scar tissue in that area. Had epidurals before the surgery, but unfortunately the relief was short-lived and the disc just re-herniated.

So... I am @ the point where "pain is a daily thing" I must deal with, some days it's tolerable and controllable with OTC meds, but other days it's horrid and something strong is needed. Especially since it affects my work. My work is technical, but also physical and I cannot afford being in so much pain I cannot perform my duties. You "must be" certified to do my type of work, so it's not like just anyone can fill in for you if you call in sick. I have personally went threw opiate withdrawal 4 times successfully, by successfully I mean I did not give up half-way through it, I endured the misery and went through it. How / Why I end up back on it is due to my back. It's not to say I don't like how they make me feel, cause I do, it would be a lie to state otherwise, but that's why to me it's 2x worse for me, there is the "want" and then there is the "need"... fighting off the "want" is hard enough, but when the "need" arrives, there is no point in suffering, affecting my work, etc..

My doctors tell me that I just need to go to a pain mgt clinic and make sure I am taken care of and have enough meds to last appointment to appointment, but I really "hate" one thing about this... If I choose this option, then I know I must have these meds and regardless of whether or not they are legally prescribed, your life still revolves around that "need / must have" outcome, and I really hate that. That is why I have deliberately gone through withdrawal, to get away from that, each time hoping and praying my back will work with me, but something always happens.

I am now on a mixture of oxycodone and hydrocodone, dealing with hydrocodone WD's in the past was bad enough, basically 3 days of pure misery, but Oxy WD's are a new animal, it's about 2x longer to go through & much more difficult. Plus oxy builds the tolerance up ridiculously.. wish I had just stayed on the hydro's, but I was given the oxy's after surgery and at the time, I did need them, recovery was extremely painful and rough.

Now, I still have pain "every single day", some days worse than others, especially in the climate I live in, which is humid & hot, the high humidity plays devil's advocate on your old injuries, especially the day before the rain rolls in. I have tried multiple types of non-opioid pain relievers, but they either don't work or cause other issues that are just as bad as the pain.. usually stomach / digestive issues (severe). Regardless.. I have been considering to attempt another cleansing of my body from opiates, but this time I "know" it will be worse than anything in the past due to the oxycodone. I also know with my ongoing back problems, that relapse is a very high probability, but I don't care, I still want to "try".. I figure one day that maybe, just maybe things will work out for me and I can free myself from opiates and also control my pain alternatively using other methods.

So.. what I wanted to know is what has helped others deal with their opiate withdrawal, especially with oxycodone (30mg roxies)? I know that both xanax and valium help with anxiety and aid in sleeping, I have also found out personally that taking laxatives 48 hrs before attempting to go through this helps extremely with the upset stomach (diarrhea), but there is still the physical pain caused by withdrawal & if experiencing pain, like my back problems, those increase 10 fold during withdrawal.

I need to be able to "function" through this process, meaning work. I also must care for my mom, she's diabetic and has foot problems right now, she must be assisted. So please share your experiences & list what helped you during this process. I know that some of you might think that if I still have these severe back issues, that this process is useless, that I am just causing myself unneeded suffering, but I don't view it that way, I always cling to that hope that it might work out this time.

Thanks!

Anna

Welcome!

While we share personal experiences, it's against our rules to ask for or to give any kind of medical advice. Hopefully your dr can give you some advice, and do take some time to read the stickies and read some posts.

10. Medical Advice: No Posts giving medical advice, medication advice, or psychiatric advice. Do not use the forum to give or ask for professional medical or psychiatric advice. If you are a medical professional, please remember the forums and chat are for peer support only and not to be used for distributing professional medical advice and/or using the forum to represent your professional services. Medical and Psychiatric advice includes giving a diagnosis, treatment plan, medication advice and dosage suggestions, over the counter and natural home remedies that should be approved by medical professionals. Detox can be dangerous and life threatening at times. Please consult with your physician.

BFD

That's really rough. Breaking your back? I thought I had it bad with some squished discs, wow...
I can't really say what worked for other people, other than I know almost all of us stocked up on multivitamins and Imodium, and it sounds like you have already figured that part out. Like what the previous poster said, please talk to your doctor about your plan; there are meds they can give you to help you.
Good luck!

joygirl

Ok, I speak from experience. Take it or leave it. I too got addicted because of back pain. After many years, I too wanted to get on with life. So, I decided I had to quit taking all opiates, xanax, muscle relaxants. Talked to doctor and then, I quit. And it turns out, my back had healed enough that the pain wasn't so bad. In fact, I had been suffering from opiate-induced pain. For how long, I don't know. When it hurts, I use a TENS unit, and ice pack. I got physical therapy. Massages. If you want to be free of pain meds you can. If it was unbearable, you wouldn't be asking yes? Go to your doctor. Be honest. If this is what you really want, you are the only one holding you back. I think you relapsed every prior time because it was always an option.
I hope it works out for you!!!