oxycodone withdrawal help!
Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 3,677
Don't taper without a sponsor and the truth
Dear Want,
My first bit of advice is do NOT try to taper these drugs on your own. Your use got acute so fast, you are going to be sick when you stop. Take it from me, as you sound like my drug type, if you try to taper these, at least on your own, you will end up withdrawing on a smaller scale over and over again for months before you discover you can't do it. Who is willing to walk around feeling sick when they know they can covertly stop the sickness in its tracks? Like you just did?
First of all, you have it right. You no longer feel good from oxy, you only take it to avoid feeling bad. That's how I got. The only time of day I felt good was the first morning dose. Then I would live just to get through the day to get the next morning's dose. Then I would only feel okay for an hour a so a day.
It's a horrible rollercoaster ride of sickness.
I have been married a long time to the same man, and I completely lied and fooled him that I was tapering off oxys. I had orthopedic surgery, double knee replacement, in 2009, and throughout 2010 I tried to taper. I even had legal scripts and the docs were "helping" me taper, but I just got additional scripts from different docs. I lied and lied and lied. I even did taper down a few times all year, but got sick so went back up even higher on my dose. Kind of like yo yo dieting. I have been sick on and off all year doing this "tapering".
Finally, this month, I was up to 300 oxys a month from 3 dentists and 3 docs. The dental source ran out. The doc source gave me a script and I ran a 2 month supply out in a week or so. I was a pill counter, always knew how many pills I had, but this time I had no further outlet except the street. At 59, I can't envision that, have never done it. Not only that, I knew I had to stop. By now I never felt well anyway. The oxys were making me sick. The only way not to feel sick was to keep increasing them.
So, the last 3 days of my pills I went fo cold turkey on the 3rd day. I lied to my husband even then (read my posts above). He knew I was going to stop, but he thought I had been tapering so it should be easy. When I started getting sick right away and stayed sick, I had to tell him why.
Tell your girlfriend. If she loves you, she will stay with you and help you. If she doesn't, find an NA sponsor and go back to your doc and tell him what happened. Or find a REAL rehab doc (watch out for the ones who are themselves drug dealers) who will really either help you stop cold turkey and give you some alleviating meds for the withdrawals, or enforce a reliable taper. I warn against this only because I had docs helping me who didn't know how good I was at lying and just getting more drug from other docs. None of the docs knew about the others.
I recommend cold turkey, even though it will make you sick fast. But at least you'll just get it overwith and won't prolong the agony. To me tapering was just a series of withdrawals followed by "relapses". I never let my withdrawals go long enough to see that they do stop.
I am now on about Day 16 of withdrawal. This morning I am pretty clear headed and slept better last last than I have for a few days. Sleep is my problem now. I have been on and off the stomach cramps and diarrhea, but the FATIGUE is a killer. That will end too.
You MUST not do this alone. Do so at your peril.
My first bit of advice is do NOT try to taper these drugs on your own. Your use got acute so fast, you are going to be sick when you stop. Take it from me, as you sound like my drug type, if you try to taper these, at least on your own, you will end up withdrawing on a smaller scale over and over again for months before you discover you can't do it. Who is willing to walk around feeling sick when they know they can covertly stop the sickness in its tracks? Like you just did?
First of all, you have it right. You no longer feel good from oxy, you only take it to avoid feeling bad. That's how I got. The only time of day I felt good was the first morning dose. Then I would live just to get through the day to get the next morning's dose. Then I would only feel okay for an hour a so a day.
It's a horrible rollercoaster ride of sickness.
I have been married a long time to the same man, and I completely lied and fooled him that I was tapering off oxys. I had orthopedic surgery, double knee replacement, in 2009, and throughout 2010 I tried to taper. I even had legal scripts and the docs were "helping" me taper, but I just got additional scripts from different docs. I lied and lied and lied. I even did taper down a few times all year, but got sick so went back up even higher on my dose. Kind of like yo yo dieting. I have been sick on and off all year doing this "tapering".
Finally, this month, I was up to 300 oxys a month from 3 dentists and 3 docs. The dental source ran out. The doc source gave me a script and I ran a 2 month supply out in a week or so. I was a pill counter, always knew how many pills I had, but this time I had no further outlet except the street. At 59, I can't envision that, have never done it. Not only that, I knew I had to stop. By now I never felt well anyway. The oxys were making me sick. The only way not to feel sick was to keep increasing them.
So, the last 3 days of my pills I went fo cold turkey on the 3rd day. I lied to my husband even then (read my posts above). He knew I was going to stop, but he thought I had been tapering so it should be easy. When I started getting sick right away and stayed sick, I had to tell him why.
Tell your girlfriend. If she loves you, she will stay with you and help you. If she doesn't, find an NA sponsor and go back to your doc and tell him what happened. Or find a REAL rehab doc (watch out for the ones who are themselves drug dealers) who will really either help you stop cold turkey and give you some alleviating meds for the withdrawals, or enforce a reliable taper. I warn against this only because I had docs helping me who didn't know how good I was at lying and just getting more drug from other docs. None of the docs knew about the others.
I recommend cold turkey, even though it will make you sick fast. But at least you'll just get it overwith and won't prolong the agony. To me tapering was just a series of withdrawals followed by "relapses". I never let my withdrawals go long enough to see that they do stop.
I am now on about Day 16 of withdrawal. This morning I am pretty clear headed and slept better last last than I have for a few days. Sleep is my problem now. I have been on and off the stomach cramps and diarrhea, but the FATIGUE is a killer. That will end too.
You MUST not do this alone. Do so at your peril.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 3,677
Facing the music
Hi all,
I am just checking in here because this is where I FOUND ya'll first, and this entire thread has helped me immensely.
I am clean from oxycodone since December 15. I am still having withdrawal symptoms (restlessness, badly aching joints, flu symptoms, stomach cramps, general miserable feeling and no energy), but these are coming and going with decreasing frequency now. the PAWS website has helped me, too.
Well, this is the week I feared the most. I am a 59 year old university student who was stupid enough to think that going back to school to get a BA at this age was a good idea. I actually got through some of last year, but could not hack it through the Fall due to this addiction CRAP.
Back to school today. Seminar over the weekend. All of this while feeling the energy of a 90 year old smoker. (I do not smoke, though) I pray I have the energy to cope with this week, because if I do not, my university will not let me continue on without acceptable academic progress.
I also work at home running a business on top of that, and now that it is January, I will probably be flooded with work. Again, in this economy, can't fail at that.
Back to the addiction: I find that getting to sleep at night is really, really difficult. I finally usually get some sleep, though, and for the first time in many, many months, I am surprised that I don't think immediately of oxycodone. That drug was my morning "get me out of bed", and I did NOTHING until it took effect. Of course, as time wore on, that morning "high" was harder to achieve, and I found myself taking almost all of my daily "pill allotment" that I gave myself before the morning was even over. If I had a lot of pills on me, the allotment would be bigger. As my supply dwindled, I began a slow semi-withdrawal as the days wore on to my next doctor appt and new script, because I had fewer pills each day to allot. Then SCRIPT DAY - YAY - CELEBRATE by taking twice as many pills that day!
I look back on it now, only 2+ weeks away from doing that, and even though I don't feel "good" at the present, I can already see the drug leaving my system. The hard part is NOW, leaving it behind me.
This is my third recovery - (alcohol over 20 years ago, injectable opiates ten years ago, and now oxycodone). As I've quoted before, a wise ex-addict and fellow recoverer once told me, "you never know how many recoveries you have in you."
I pray for the son of my friend who died in 2007 from an accidental oxy overdose (she was a superb paralegal who you would never suspect would even be taking these things) that he doesn't follow his mother's example and use drugs to cope with life. I have mentioned her before, I saw the signs of drug abuse and did nothing to try to help her. I so regret that now, and I did not learn from the shock of her death. It took my own ALMOST demise this time to shake me out of this nightmare.
Off to class!
I am just checking in here because this is where I FOUND ya'll first, and this entire thread has helped me immensely.
I am clean from oxycodone since December 15. I am still having withdrawal symptoms (restlessness, badly aching joints, flu symptoms, stomach cramps, general miserable feeling and no energy), but these are coming and going with decreasing frequency now. the PAWS website has helped me, too.
Well, this is the week I feared the most. I am a 59 year old university student who was stupid enough to think that going back to school to get a BA at this age was a good idea. I actually got through some of last year, but could not hack it through the Fall due to this addiction CRAP.
Back to school today. Seminar over the weekend. All of this while feeling the energy of a 90 year old smoker. (I do not smoke, though) I pray I have the energy to cope with this week, because if I do not, my university will not let me continue on without acceptable academic progress.
I also work at home running a business on top of that, and now that it is January, I will probably be flooded with work. Again, in this economy, can't fail at that.
Back to the addiction: I find that getting to sleep at night is really, really difficult. I finally usually get some sleep, though, and for the first time in many, many months, I am surprised that I don't think immediately of oxycodone. That drug was my morning "get me out of bed", and I did NOTHING until it took effect. Of course, as time wore on, that morning "high" was harder to achieve, and I found myself taking almost all of my daily "pill allotment" that I gave myself before the morning was even over. If I had a lot of pills on me, the allotment would be bigger. As my supply dwindled, I began a slow semi-withdrawal as the days wore on to my next doctor appt and new script, because I had fewer pills each day to allot. Then SCRIPT DAY - YAY - CELEBRATE by taking twice as many pills that day!
I look back on it now, only 2+ weeks away from doing that, and even though I don't feel "good" at the present, I can already see the drug leaving my system. The hard part is NOW, leaving it behind me.
This is my third recovery - (alcohol over 20 years ago, injectable opiates ten years ago, and now oxycodone). As I've quoted before, a wise ex-addict and fellow recoverer once told me, "you never know how many recoveries you have in you."
I pray for the son of my friend who died in 2007 from an accidental oxy overdose (she was a superb paralegal who you would never suspect would even be taking these things) that he doesn't follow his mother's example and use drugs to cope with life. I have mentioned her before, I saw the signs of drug abuse and did nothing to try to help her. I so regret that now, and I did not learn from the shock of her death. It took my own ALMOST demise this time to shake me out of this nightmare.
Off to class!
Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 39
FailedTaper -
Going back to school may be a boost for you! Getting your mind engaged in something can offer some distraction. I did my BS after 40 while working full-time and it was a challenge. But I am so glad I did it! I can understand your feeling of not being completely up on energy though. I wish you luck!
Going back to school may be a boost for you! Getting your mind engaged in something can offer some distraction. I did my BS after 40 while working full-time and it was a challenge. But I am so glad I did it! I can understand your feeling of not being completely up on energy though. I wish you luck!
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Spotswood New Jersey
Posts: 1
Here we go 
I have been taking oxycodone for over 7 months now. I would take anywhere from 8 to 18 a day. The 30 mg Roxys. These things have changed my life and I do not like where they were taking me and I need and want to get off them forever. I tried to get off them once and it did not work out after 3 days. This time I am fully dedicated to getting of them. I will post each day how I am doing and what I am feeling and what I am doing to make the withdrawl a little bit easier. I will not be taking any other drug to ease the pain. Maybe an Ib profin or some vitamins but nothing other than that. I heard hot water and walking around helps so I have a jaquoozie and a tredmill accessable to me which I feel like I will be using a lot. I am ready to get off these things and any help or advice you can give me will be greatly appreciated. As the days go by I will also give the advice I obtained through my withdrawl that helped me along. Anything will help or if you just want someone to talk to I will be happy to just talk to get my mind off these things so please send me a message on anything.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Chicago
Posts: 1,125
Good Luck to you AntB. Just keep reminding yourself it will get better (this too shall pass). I always tried to sleep as much as I could the first 3 days (even though sleeping is not all that easy). It would suck to be awoken by projectile vomiting, but at least when sleeping I could keep my mind off of it a little. So do you have any plans on how you are going to stay sober? Any meetings or outpatient program in your future?
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: nc
Posts: 765
hello.
I love this thread too! i just joined yesterday. im trying to get off oxy too. today hasn't been bad. mild to moderate fatigue, mild aches, runny nose, gas. its been 22hrs and 20 min. i was anticipating much worse by now. ijve been taking 40 to 60 mgs a day for about four or five months. I wish i knew if i should be relieved or stand guard for the bottom to fall out from under me?...any advice?
Soccer
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Hawaii
Posts: 64
rinky,
Enjoy the minor victories. But be prepared just in case the bottom does fall out. Hope it doesn't for you but if it does, know that we are here for you and that you are in my prayers for a long term recovery from these pills.
Enjoy the minor victories. But be prepared just in case the bottom does fall out. Hope it doesn't for you but if it does, know that we are here for you and that you are in my prayers for a long term recovery from these pills.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 3,677
Hang in there
Originally Posted by rinky 
I love this thread too! i just joined yesterday. im trying to get off oxy too. today hasn't been bad. mild to moderate fatigue, mild aches, runny nose, gas. its been 22hrs and 20 min. i was anticipating much worse by now. ijve been taking 40 to 60 mgs a day for about four or five months. I wish i knew if i should be relieved or stand guard for the bottom to fall out from under me?...any advice?
You are on a a bit lower dose than I ended up taking at the end when I stopped oxycodone on December 15. I am now a whole month clean from oxycodone, which if you read my posts above, tell about my story of orthopedic surgeries and a two year nightmare of oxycodone addiction.
When I stopped oxy on the 15th of last month, I seriously feared I was going to have a seizure I felt so horrible. I sneezed all the time (runny nose stuff I guess), but mostly my gut was the big issue, as well as restless legs at night when trying to lie down. I felt quite sick for the first week, then started having days that were better, but with dips to sickness that took me by surprise.
You've just got to stick it out. Some people take antacids and other stomach OTC stuff, which I tried but did not help me. My digestive system is just now starting to behave normally. Oxycodone stops you up and you do not have normal digestion or normal stools. Stopping oxy requires a readjustment of your entire digestive system, so you can expect some gastrointestinal symptoms to be a part of your withdrawal.
I think the hardest part to get past is just not ever feeling "well", and your addict brain will tell you to go find something to fix that. Your neural pathways are accustomed to getting Dopamine artificially from oxy, but your body does know how to make its own. If you don't give your body an opportunity to relearn the Dopamine pathway, your addiction will be trying to take over.
I still don't always feel very well, and my energy level is so low that I can barely exercise. That's another withdrawal thing. The oxy gave me energy, and got me going in the morning. But if you are on it long enough, you come to find that you need higher and higher doses of it to achieve the same feeling of well being. You no longer seek the "high", if you ever had one, but you just want to feel "normal" again. Its a dangerous, vicious cycle that leads to abuse of the drug.
Some people never have that happen. We did. If you want a normal life again, like I do, where you are not constantly pill chasing, then stick it out, because this withdrawal WILL pass if you let it.
Get some help from NA or a significant other, but don't rely just on yourself to stay clean. Your doctor is not your support person on this, even if they know you want to stop taking oxy, and even if they are supportive. You need someone who cares about your staying sober to really help you stay off this nasty drug.
For me, that is my husband, whom I had to tell that I had been lying to him for months and months about how much oxycodone I was taking. I had to tell him WHY was I so sick when I stopped taking it? If you were just taking a little (he thought I was tapering) then WHY are you so sick? I admitted what I had been doing both to him and my doctor, and I had my medical record flagged that I have an ADVERSE REACTION to oxycodone, so that I will not be prescribed that drug again.
I believe that addiction IS an ADVERSE REACTION to opiate drugs like oxycodone, that is too frequently overlooked by the prescribers. Pretty soon, all the medical records in this country are going to be electronic, so the pharmacies will probably know when people are pharmacy hopping to get enough of their drugs.
Then there is the street drug access. I never did that, thank God. I have been told it is easy to get these drugs on the street. Thankfully, at 59 years old, I would not likely be successful even if I wanted to do that.
Please communicate with this forum for support. I also encourage NA. I have been to meetings as well, and they are really kind of fun.
Last edited by FT; 01-14-2011 at 11:10 AM. Reason: need to address the entry to RINKY, fix that to "thank"
Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Saint Petersburg, FL
Posts: 1
First Posting..Ready To Do It...
Hello All;
this is my first post here; I came across the forum through a search engine;
it is an enormous site, and it's very helpful and inspirational; particularly this thread.
I'll tell you a little about myself and history. I'm 49, Single..I had an addiction to Vicodin years ago. That lasted a few years. I withdrew from that cold turkey..and it was horrible back then. I honestly didn't know what to expect and boy..did I get a shock. It took about 3 full days in bed with a lot of the familiar symptoms- especially the sweating, but it passed. That ended in around 2004-2005.
Then in 2007, after few years without, I hurt my rotator cuff in the gym so bad..I could hardly lift my arm. I was given some Vikes by my Dr..THEN a few weeks later, on the suggestion of a friend I "graduated" to the "little blue pill"- oxycodone 30. There's no need to describe how much I fell in love with those.
Anyway; I am now ready to stop for good. I've been taking about 210 - 240 mg of oxycodone a day currently. I quit and cleaned up just about a year ago...and on about day 5 or 6 I was at complete wits end and gave in.
Since then (Jan 2010) I have gone through a few "mini withdrawls"- one as recent as last Saturday. For whatever reason I seem to go into withdrawal VERY rapidly..I'm sure my mind has something to do with this..
maybe 3-4 hrs after last pill (gen sleep ok though)
Having gone through the withdrawal before, I can vouch for the fact that it was, for me, a LIVING HELL...and as so many know, the reason why so many people dont detox is because of this unpleasantness.
Here's my question/dilemma: I have a doctors appt this coming Wednesday (2/9) early in the morning. I want to come clean with him; and ask his advice and help. I would have to do this as an outpatient (I don't have ability to stay away from my home) and to make things more complicated: I am having family visit from 2/20 - 3/1
I can't "cold turkey" it while I'm suppossed to be hosting guests;
should I go the suboxone route so I can at least get away from the oxys?
ANY and ALL suggestions are welcome..
personally I am sick of being enslaved to a little pill; and am ready yesterday to get my life back. I am aware of how horrible withdrawal is; anything I can do to ease it is worth trying
ps..I feel better about myself than I have in a long while having made this decision.
this is my first post here; I came across the forum through a search engine;
it is an enormous site, and it's very helpful and inspirational; particularly this thread.
I'll tell you a little about myself and history. I'm 49, Single..I had an addiction to Vicodin years ago. That lasted a few years. I withdrew from that cold turkey..and it was horrible back then. I honestly didn't know what to expect and boy..did I get a shock. It took about 3 full days in bed with a lot of the familiar symptoms- especially the sweating, but it passed. That ended in around 2004-2005.
Then in 2007, after few years without, I hurt my rotator cuff in the gym so bad..I could hardly lift my arm. I was given some Vikes by my Dr..THEN a few weeks later, on the suggestion of a friend I "graduated" to the "little blue pill"- oxycodone 30. There's no need to describe how much I fell in love with those.
Anyway; I am now ready to stop for good. I've been taking about 210 - 240 mg of oxycodone a day currently. I quit and cleaned up just about a year ago...and on about day 5 or 6 I was at complete wits end and gave in.
Since then (Jan 2010) I have gone through a few "mini withdrawls"- one as recent as last Saturday. For whatever reason I seem to go into withdrawal VERY rapidly..I'm sure my mind has something to do with this..
maybe 3-4 hrs after last pill (gen sleep ok though)
Having gone through the withdrawal before, I can vouch for the fact that it was, for me, a LIVING HELL...and as so many know, the reason why so many people dont detox is because of this unpleasantness.
Here's my question/dilemma: I have a doctors appt this coming Wednesday (2/9) early in the morning. I want to come clean with him; and ask his advice and help. I would have to do this as an outpatient (I don't have ability to stay away from my home) and to make things more complicated: I am having family visit from 2/20 - 3/1
I can't "cold turkey" it while I'm suppossed to be hosting guests;
should I go the suboxone route so I can at least get away from the oxys?
ANY and ALL suggestions are welcome..
personally I am sick of being enslaved to a little pill; and am ready yesterday to get my life back. I am aware of how horrible withdrawal is; anything I can do to ease it is worth trying
ps..I feel better about myself than I have in a long while having made this decision.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 3,677
Going quickly into withdrawal
Hi Gary,
What you describe as going quickly into withdrawal is just a symptom of your addiction to oxys. Your dopamine pathways, or the way your brain deals with this drug, are so used to higher and higher levels of it, the minute you start to deprive them of the drug, they begin to scream for more -- i.e., withdrawals start. For me, I was going into a mini withdrawal with every next dose, so I was in a kind of withdrawal all the time without even knowing it. In other words, my doses needed to get more frequent to stop me from feeling sick.
Pretty soon, instead of EVER feeling that WONDERFUL feeling you first get when you start taking these things, you NEVER get that wonderful feeling back again. You just keep chasing it. My first morning dose came the closest for me every day, where I would wake up sweating and sick earlier and earlier every morning, and that first dose felt SO GOOD starting about 45 minutes later and lasting about an hour. Then I would feel okay but get gradually more uncomfortable and then felt sick again before my next dose.
At the end of my use, on December 15, 2010, I spent every waking minute thinking about the drug -- how many pills did I have left, how soon I could take the next dose, where was I going to get more, what pharmacies did I use last so I wouldn't get caught using several of them, which doctor would give me more next, oh yeah -- how many pills do I have left now? Horrid, sickening cycle of how to live your life miserable.
Every time I ran out it was because I had "stolen" pills from myself from the ration I had apportioned myself to make them last until I thought I could get more. I remember so many times sitting in the drug doctor waiting room with dozens of other addicts all looking as sick as I felt. Had to pay big cash just to get a couple of weeks of pills, which I never had enough of. Then do it all over again in two weeks. The last time I got a script, I had talked the doctor into 3 weeks of pills and ran out of them in a week. I was sick and knew it. I had tried tapering over the final year of my 2 year addiction, but I couldn't manage to do it. So, in the end I "tapered" over a 3 day period and then stopped cold turkey.
That scared me really badly, and I was sure I was going to have a seizure the first couple of days totally off the drug. I was crappy sick for the first couple of weeks, no sleep, cold sweats, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps, horrible stuff. I did it on my own, and lots of people here don't want to do it that way, or just can't.
For me, I probably could have asked for help, but I had been lying to several doctors, and my husband, and I didn't think anyone would be willing to help me. In fact, I did ask for help at one of the pain clinics I visited, but I had already burned them by not tapering when they thought I was, and they refused to see me again. I was told by one office to go to the ER. Well, the ER's here won't give out narcotics unless you have a broken bone or are having seizures, and even then will only give you enough for 24 hours or until you can see "your own doctor." Ha.
Well, I managed to stop. I am 7 weeks out I think, and I feel good now. It's not that I don't want to use. I do. But I know that if I do, it will be even harder to stop again, and I don't know if I could. I think I was headed towards death. I just wouldn't wake up one morning, and that would have devastated my family. I don't want that sick, sick, drug lifestyle either. Oxy's are a powerfully addictive drug, and it never gets better the longer the use, it just gets worse and worse. My whole story is earlier in this thread. Maybe you have read it.
Anyway, I would ask your doc for help. There are ways to do this that aren't as harsh as I did it. There are non narcotics they can give you for the symptoms, and there is the suboxone. I didn't want to do the suboxone because I didn't want to have to taper off that later on. But some people find it helps them.
I found a website you've probably already seen called "The Oxycodone Survival Guide" or something like that. It sells supplements, but I only used their guide and didn't buy their vitamins. It suggests taking a couple of weeks where you don't work and all you do is work on your withdrawal. It also tells you what to expect. Another good resource is some of PAWS sites. I found them scary, but realistic.
Post here, ask questions, share your journey, let the people on this forum help you. This forum really helped me a lot. Especially Squarehead. And later, Going2Change and SickButHappy. More great posters, all helping each other. But also, as I got better, my being able to help other people with my own struggle helped me as much as it helped them. This is a good site.
We'll be here waiting for ya.
What you describe as going quickly into withdrawal is just a symptom of your addiction to oxys. Your dopamine pathways, or the way your brain deals with this drug, are so used to higher and higher levels of it, the minute you start to deprive them of the drug, they begin to scream for more -- i.e., withdrawals start. For me, I was going into a mini withdrawal with every next dose, so I was in a kind of withdrawal all the time without even knowing it. In other words, my doses needed to get more frequent to stop me from feeling sick.
Pretty soon, instead of EVER feeling that WONDERFUL feeling you first get when you start taking these things, you NEVER get that wonderful feeling back again. You just keep chasing it. My first morning dose came the closest for me every day, where I would wake up sweating and sick earlier and earlier every morning, and that first dose felt SO GOOD starting about 45 minutes later and lasting about an hour. Then I would feel okay but get gradually more uncomfortable and then felt sick again before my next dose.
At the end of my use, on December 15, 2010, I spent every waking minute thinking about the drug -- how many pills did I have left, how soon I could take the next dose, where was I going to get more, what pharmacies did I use last so I wouldn't get caught using several of them, which doctor would give me more next, oh yeah -- how many pills do I have left now? Horrid, sickening cycle of how to live your life miserable.
Every time I ran out it was because I had "stolen" pills from myself from the ration I had apportioned myself to make them last until I thought I could get more. I remember so many times sitting in the drug doctor waiting room with dozens of other addicts all looking as sick as I felt. Had to pay big cash just to get a couple of weeks of pills, which I never had enough of. Then do it all over again in two weeks. The last time I got a script, I had talked the doctor into 3 weeks of pills and ran out of them in a week. I was sick and knew it. I had tried tapering over the final year of my 2 year addiction, but I couldn't manage to do it. So, in the end I "tapered" over a 3 day period and then stopped cold turkey.
That scared me really badly, and I was sure I was going to have a seizure the first couple of days totally off the drug. I was crappy sick for the first couple of weeks, no sleep, cold sweats, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps, horrible stuff. I did it on my own, and lots of people here don't want to do it that way, or just can't.
For me, I probably could have asked for help, but I had been lying to several doctors, and my husband, and I didn't think anyone would be willing to help me. In fact, I did ask for help at one of the pain clinics I visited, but I had already burned them by not tapering when they thought I was, and they refused to see me again. I was told by one office to go to the ER. Well, the ER's here won't give out narcotics unless you have a broken bone or are having seizures, and even then will only give you enough for 24 hours or until you can see "your own doctor." Ha.
Well, I managed to stop. I am 7 weeks out I think, and I feel good now. It's not that I don't want to use. I do. But I know that if I do, it will be even harder to stop again, and I don't know if I could. I think I was headed towards death. I just wouldn't wake up one morning, and that would have devastated my family. I don't want that sick, sick, drug lifestyle either. Oxy's are a powerfully addictive drug, and it never gets better the longer the use, it just gets worse and worse. My whole story is earlier in this thread. Maybe you have read it.
Anyway, I would ask your doc for help. There are ways to do this that aren't as harsh as I did it. There are non narcotics they can give you for the symptoms, and there is the suboxone. I didn't want to do the suboxone because I didn't want to have to taper off that later on. But some people find it helps them.
I found a website you've probably already seen called "The Oxycodone Survival Guide" or something like that. It sells supplements, but I only used their guide and didn't buy their vitamins. It suggests taking a couple of weeks where you don't work and all you do is work on your withdrawal. It also tells you what to expect. Another good resource is some of PAWS sites. I found them scary, but realistic.
Post here, ask questions, share your journey, let the people on this forum help you. This forum really helped me a lot. Especially Squarehead. And later, Going2Change and SickButHappy. More great posters, all helping each other. But also, as I got better, my being able to help other people with my own struggle helped me as much as it helped them. This is a good site.
We'll be here waiting for ya.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: pa
Posts: 3
hi all im new to the forum which i came across on a search engine. i been withdwawing for about 30-35 hours now from oxycodone and its horrible. anyone who has never done oxycodone please do yourself a favor and stay away from it because them little pills are the devil. they have cost me everything from family and friends too lack of respect and trust from others. anyway i couldnt even tell you exactly how long i been taking oxycodone but i know its been about 5 years. i started off taking 5mg percosets for a few months then started taking the 15mg and 30mg oxycodone. from there i started taking oxycontin then back to the oxycodone when purtdue changed from the oc's to op's. i never been prescribed anything from a doctor. its a habbit i picked up on my own on the street. suprisingly my tolorance isnt to high after taking them for 5 years but thats because i didnt let it get out of controll. i knew if i started taking more each time i would need more to feel normal so even as of 35 hours ago i only take 15mg-30mg every 2-3 hours. i take from 150mg to about 200mg a day. dont get me wrong i have taken more then 30mg at 1 time more then once. i love it and hate it ! sad to say im only withdrawing because the money ran out and im sure if i had a pill i wouldnt be writting all this but i am very tired of pills running my life. i have no insurance and no money so the only option is for me to quit. i owe everyone i know because of oxycodone. so anyway im not vomiting yet but my stomach pains are horrible and i feel like im going to. im freezing cold and im having back pains like you wouldnt beleive which is the reason i started taking 5mg percs years ago. this sucks
Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 3,677
Hello dee1!
Hey, you are not alone.
I have to admit that the BIGGEST reason I quit oxy's in December was because I had run my sources out (mine were all scripts) and took three weeks worth of oxy's in a week. I "stole" from my own stash, just like it was going to be another person who was going to suffer when they ran out. It was crazy talk, addict speak, in my head. I had hit the end of the line, no more sources unless I hit the street. Fortunately, (or unfortunately) I'm a 59 year old lady who got hooked on these, and any street people would probably think I was a narc.
Anyway, I ran myself dry. But in the process, I woke up and realized that I had made myself so sick that all I could think about was the pills, where to get them, how many I had, counting them over and over and over. My life had no room for anything but my pills.
You CAN get through this. If you have to, go to the ER and tell them you are in the pits of withdrawal. Tell them you don't want any narcotics, just something so you won't be so sick. Some people take Lomotil (over the counter as loperamide) to help with the stomach issues.
The other BIG thing you can do is hit NA. You will be welcomed there. There will be other people there just like you. People there who care that you feel so sick. Don't wait to go. Go now, even though you feel like you can't move a muscle. Even sneezing hurts, which you are probably doing plenty of.
Hang in there. We are here for you. Let the people on this forum help you, because we understand the gig.
I have to admit that the BIGGEST reason I quit oxy's in December was because I had run my sources out (mine were all scripts) and took three weeks worth of oxy's in a week. I "stole" from my own stash, just like it was going to be another person who was going to suffer when they ran out. It was crazy talk, addict speak, in my head. I had hit the end of the line, no more sources unless I hit the street. Fortunately, (or unfortunately) I'm a 59 year old lady who got hooked on these, and any street people would probably think I was a narc.
Anyway, I ran myself dry. But in the process, I woke up and realized that I had made myself so sick that all I could think about was the pills, where to get them, how many I had, counting them over and over and over. My life had no room for anything but my pills.
You CAN get through this. If you have to, go to the ER and tell them you are in the pits of withdrawal. Tell them you don't want any narcotics, just something so you won't be so sick. Some people take Lomotil (over the counter as loperamide) to help with the stomach issues.
The other BIG thing you can do is hit NA. You will be welcomed there. There will be other people there just like you. People there who care that you feel so sick. Don't wait to go. Go now, even though you feel like you can't move a muscle. Even sneezing hurts, which you are probably doing plenty of.
Hang in there. We are here for you. Let the people on this forum help you, because we understand the gig.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: pa
Posts: 3
sad to say but ive woken up atleast 2 years ago maybe more and seen what these are doing to me but i couldnt bring myself to stop. for awhile i was able to support my habbits but when funds got low i did anything to get them wether it meant lying to family and friends for money to robbing drug dealers. i see that these things are going to kill me 1 way or another if i dont stop and beleive me i want to but its almost like i cant go about my day to day without having them. but you know when i have them im already thinking about how im going to get more when they run out. its pathetic ! thanks for the advice but if i go to a hospital for that wont they tell me to go into detox ?
Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: pa
Posts: 3
and ive withdrawed before for 48 hours or so but just couldnt seem to stay clean. and sleeping at night is impossible for me when withdrawing i just toss and turn all night while sweating and being cold at the same time. i can tell anyone who is withdrawing and cant sleep that serequil is making me sleep great while withdrawing.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 3,677
Dee1,
I don't think they can force you to go into detox unless you are threatening to hurt yourself. I think you can ask to be taken to detox, but I believe it is your own decision. Maybe that's what you should do. In any event, I think you should do something RIGHT NOW because you are so sick and desperate. Call your city's Crisis Line, they all have them, and ask where the best place to go might be in terms of which hospital ER. If there is an NA meeting in the next couple of hours, GO THERE, and ask for help there.
Whatever you do, get help NOW. You deserve it. You deserve to feel happy and normal and to have a life, because you are a valuable human being whether you feel like that is the truth right now or not.
I don't think they can force you to go into detox unless you are threatening to hurt yourself. I think you can ask to be taken to detox, but I believe it is your own decision. Maybe that's what you should do. In any event, I think you should do something RIGHT NOW because you are so sick and desperate. Call your city's Crisis Line, they all have them, and ask where the best place to go might be in terms of which hospital ER. If there is an NA meeting in the next couple of hours, GO THERE, and ask for help there.
Whatever you do, get help NOW. You deserve it. You deserve to feel happy and normal and to have a life, because you are a valuable human being whether you feel like that is the truth right now or not.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: northerncali
Posts: 7
Hi everybody ivee been addicted to oxy an opana for about a year and a half now. everytime i try to quit the withdrawls r so bad that it sends me pill chasing. how can I move past this step and actually quit? I usually do 40mg of Opana a day or if i do Oxy its about 100mg to 120mg. The mental Withdrawls r almost worse for me than the phsyical ones what will help me with the mental part?? i feel as if all i can think about is the pills and it makes me very uneasy and restless. ANYTHIG HELPZ!!!! i dont know what to do i want to quit cold turkey so please post bak with any adviceee
Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: northerncali
Posts: 7
Marcus-
your right it was an accident meant to make it say trying to get sober. and that could be a good idea do u think that would help me not think about the pills as much? any suggestions on getting rid of the terrible chills and aches?
your right it was an accident meant to make it say trying to get sober. and that could be a good idea do u think that would help me not think about the pills as much? any suggestions on getting rid of the terrible chills and aches?
Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 3,677
Hop over to the "I'm going cold turkey from oxycodone..." thread. You'll find a lot of answers to your questions regarding what to expect on there.
I can't write much now, but read that thread and post there, we'll be with ya....
I can't write much now, but read that thread and post there, we'll be with ya....
Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: PHILADELPHIA PA
Posts: 1
is anyone using percocet for restless legs
Hi i am taking percocet for restless legs. I know alot of peopleon here are abusing pills and dont really need them other than they are addicted to them, My thing is this, I feel that if the rls was not in me i would have no problem stopping the meds. i am sure i am addicted to the oxycodone cause i have been taking them for 6-7 years now. i started with about four 5mg pills a day and am up to five 10mg pills a day now. i increased cause the rls got worst over the years and more often. started late in the afternoon and night and now is with me all day and has moved into my arms as well. if i wake up and go to the doctor in the morning and have to lay down on the table it will start. i guess to most of you it must seem like i use the rls as an excuse to take the pills but to me it is cause of the rls that i take them. i dont get high from them {anymore} and take one pill about every 4-6 hours or when i feel the rls starting. i guess what im asking is ....has anyone got rid of rls and then had to detox from the pills? i really dont want to take them but can not sleep at all if i dont and have terrible feeling legs and unbearable feelings in my legs if i dont take them. oh and yes i have tried every med out there for rls and nothing works for me.
thankx for any help and just listening
thankx for any help and just listening
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