[ccrown25]

Hi everyone!!

I have had an "issue" with opioids for the past five years. I am at the point now where I am ready to be done. I have tried numerous times to stop, but end up back in the same place. I have gotten myself weaned down to the point where I am only taking a few doses per day. I was at one point taking upwards of 90 mg of oxycodone and 200 mg of ms contin per day. I am down to no oxycodone and only about 50 mg of ms contin per day. I have thought about talking to my doctor about different things, but I am not sure that I qualify. I was specifically interested in the Vivitrol shots and did some research on them, but I am not sure my insurance would pay for it.

The biggest problem that I have is the withdrawal and returning to "normal". I have successfully detoxed and been "clean" for several weeks, but it seemed that the withdrawal symptoms never went away. I had a horrible time sleeping, I would constantly wake up in the middle of the night and either be shaky or have a feeling like I couldnt sit still. Also, during the day I had a general feeling of lethargy and lack of motivation. This is one of the things that the oxycodone "fixed" as I could take one and about 15 mins later I would have ton of energy and be feeling good and then I could go do stuff. I recently started back up an antidepressant (Escitalopram or Lexapro) and am waiting to feel the effects. I have been on antidepressants before and I am well aware of the 6 to 8 week timeline for it to start working. I am just not a very patient person.

The reason I want to stop is because I have recently started a new job that does not allow me to have any of this stuff in my system. I have been very honest with my new boss and he is okay with it for now but is expecting me to get off this stuff within the next 6 months - 1 year. I am not obtaining these medications by buying them from someone in a dark alley. I have been legally prescribed these medications for the past several years. It is not the doctors fault for my addiction as I started taking them before I started seeing a doctor regularly as I do have a legitimate medical need for them for back and arthritis issues. I had a partner who sort of enabled me and that is where I obtained them from for a while.

My question to those of you who have been this before is: What did you do to overcome this? Are there any medications or supplements or natural remedies to help with the withdrawal side effects? What else can I do to help with the anxiety? Any thoughts and/or suggestions are welcomed.

Thanks.

[emgreen]

Man! You've been through a lot. My drug of choice is alcohol, so I can't give you much advice speciafically about opioids. My experience being sober for a while is that people have to realize there's a problem before getting sober. You've reached that point. Props. Keep posting here with us. In my opinion, we all have substance abuse issues & have a lot in common. Together we can get some support. Take care.

[UpDownAround]

I would encourage you to have that talk with your doctor that you thought of having and the sooner the better. From your description you need medical help. My opioid use was sporadic enough that I had more of a mental than physical addiction. I still talked to my doctor so she would know not to enable me in the future. It was a tough subject to bring up and discuss, but good doctors don't judge; they just help however they can.

[Keyplayer]

Hi ccrown25 ,

I am sorry for what you have to go through , please see your doctor and tell him what you posted , if need be , take a printout of this entire thread.

My advice is , despite you pain , you must get off opioids , they are terrible and sadly there is not much help for those with arthritis , I know , I have degenerative joint disease , and my doctor wants me to take 10mg`s, per day of prednisone ( corticosteroid ) and I have not taken any prednisone since comping off of it in late Sept. , there are also biologics , Humira for example , please do not go near either of these drugs. They are dangerous and your doctor can tell you more.

Opioid issues are common place that is why your boss is cutting you some slack , but please stop getting your meds from the street , they may look familiar , but you literally have no idea where they have been.

The only advice I can give is be strong , and once you get off opioids and don`t go near the other stuff , your joints will hurt. So what can you do ?

MOVE , and don`t stop , well you must every now and then , but exercise will help take the pain away , it will not keep it away , but the more mobile you are the less pain.

If you say to yourself , it hurts to move , then you will never move. You will pass , I am sorry.

Live , fight , survive and once the pain is manageable buy a yoga dvd and do it for flexibility and strength .

Biologically what needs to happen is you muscles need to get stronger than your joints and stronger than your bones , they need to me a corset for your joints to protect them.

Once that has been done , you will feel a whole lot better , I guarantee it.

My uncle had arthritis in his ankles so bad he had to wear braces and ate ( yes ate ) aspirin like I eat M&M`s , I also watch him die of stomach cancer , believe me do not go near NSAIDS either.

His wife , my aunt also had arthritis and her dr. prescribed prednisone , she loved it , it took the pain away , but the sad affects were weight gain , she ended up taking massive doses of the stuff until she look like Mrs. Michelin Man , she also had heart issues and her heart was not strong enough to support her added water and weight gain , she passed , massive coronary.

The picture I have painted is not pretty , it is not my intention to frighten you , but to inform you , that is why you must seek help from you doctor , and like I said at the beginning , print this out and show him.

I truly am in your corner and if you ever want to PM me please feel free to do so.

Good luck , I wish you all the best

Take care

Keyplayer 

[UpDownAround]

keyplayer's post reminded me to mention that a low starch diet is helping me, but I am HLA-B27 positive and there is an odd correlation between that and a gut bacteria that feed on starch (link). But I figured I would mention it on the off chance it is relevant to you. I have undifferentiated spondylitis, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease and probably reactive arthritis (has not been formally diagnosed while active, but textbook symptoms).

My opioid troubles started with knee surgery and then shoulder surgery and then real or imagined flare ups and a "nagging cough that isn't going away with OTC medicine, can you prescribe me some tussionex?"

About steroids - I have a prescription at the ready in case I get a flare that is the likely reactive arthritis and I have had a few shots over the years (including the one where they do 4 shots around a vertebra twice). I would never take it regularly.

I take NSAIDs like candy, which is not great for the stomach but helps. To a large extent I am habituated to the daily pain and just need something for flares.

[Keyplayer]

Hi Guy`s ,

Maybe I am lucky in away being allergic to codeine and extremely sensitive to any type of opioid , for now I just get by. I will not take prednisone unless I am in so much pain I can`t get out of bed , it is just an anti -inflammatory , it takes the pain away , but does so much to hurt the rest of you , mind included. Last spring after my last does I stated going down getting more and more depressed , by the time I had tapered off , I decided to seek help. I am glad I did. If I would have gone back to my dr. . he would have just given me another pill , I don`t need pills I need help , help is what I am getting , at least for the time being.

Happy Holidays , and all my best

Later

Keyplayer 

[ccrown25]

Thanks everyone for your kind, positive and encouraging words.

I have scheduled an appointment with my pdoc and I am going to get him involved. He is very good and I have been going to him for the past almost 15 years.

I have been doing some online research and I have found that Gabapentin does help with opioid withdrawal effects. My biggest fear is the withdrawal itself as I have been through it before and I did not like it at all. I have tried all natural supplements before with no luck. I already know what some of you are thinking: you have to taper down. Yes, I know that is important and I will do that however, I am going to assume that there will still be some withdrawal effects and I am looking to get through this with as little withdrawal side effects as possible. I do fine up until about 24 hours after the last dose when the effects really kick in and it sends my anxiety into overdrive. That is something else I want to talk with the doc with, maybe he can bump up my antidepressant or give me something temporarily to help with the detox.

I will continue to keep this thread open and let everyone know how it goes.

[karma3p80]

Originally Posted by ccrown25

Thanks everyone for your kind, positive and encouraging words.

I have scheduled an appointment with my pdoc and I am going to get him involved. He is very good and I have been going to him for the past almost 15 years.

I have been doing some online research and I have found that Gabapentin does help with opioid withdrawal effects. My biggest fear is the withdrawal itself as I have been through it before and I did not like it at all. I have tried all natural supplements before with no luck. I already know what some of you are thinking: you have to taper down. Yes, I know that is important and I will do that however, I am going to assume that there will still be some withdrawal effects and I am looking to get through this with as little withdrawal side effects as possible. I do fine up until about 24 hours after the last dose when the effects really kick in and it sends my anxiety into overdrive. That is something else I want to talk with the doc with, maybe he can bump up my antidepressant or give me something temporarily to help with the detox.

I will continue to keep this thread open and let everyone know how it goes.

Hey there. Cutting down that much on your own takes some amazing willpower! You have a lot of the hard work out of the way but there's still some more to go. I was able to get clean by being prescribed Suboxone to basically stop the withdrawal symptoms and then taper down from there. Yes, it's substituting one thing for another, but the difference is night and day as far as thinking clearly, functioning and habits. What I mean by habits is that with opiates, all throughout the day I would know exactly when I could take another, planned my day around it. With Suboxone, I sometimes forgot to take another and realized a couple hours later! I've heard people say the opposite, so your mileage may vary, but sub was much easier for me to get off of than opiates. Much, much easier. There's just no joy or relief or whatever in taking them, it's pretty much just to stave off withdrawal and taper down safely. Of course, you have to be committed to this and have a taper down plan in place but trust me, if you can wean yourself off of what you already have then you can do it.

[terrencewelsch]

This is a great place to start. You must firmly decide that this is what you want and be willing to take the steps and move through the hard parts, including the lasting withdrawls. There are a number of things that can help you. I am personally of the belief that the main reason we seek addiction is due to lack within and around ourselves. There's an experiment called Rat Park you should read about. Finding a really healthy, vibrant community is both difficult and essential to successful recover, I believe.

Find out the things that can bridge the gap in your recover. Take cbd, valerian, rose hips and chamomile to help wind you down every night. I've even heard of people keeping Narcan to be able to keep their receptors filled when they are feeling particularly weak, though I don't know how safe or affordable that option is. I'm glad you have this community here, but you truly should surround yourself with the healthiest people you can find. I think that's where it all really breaks down