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MedHelp Member's Question

Is it withdrawl? Shaking, Headache, nervousness

by The Dude, Jul 23, 2001 12:00AM
Hi,

I am having a rough time lately.  I was hooked on Hydrocodone for about a year, 30-40 mgs a day.  I haven't had a pill in about a month, but lately I have been having excruciating headaches on the top/center of my head.  They've been here for about a month and WON'T GO AWAY.  I don't think it's migraines either.  These things just don't go away.  Today I noticed my hands were shaking.  I have been having anxiety attacks for the past three days as well.  I got the drugs anyway I could, do you think I could have caused brain damage to myself?  Or a neurological disorder?  Is this normal for the first few months?  I had a CT Scan of my head and it revealed nothing.  Neurologist can't find anything either.  I just don't feel right you know?  I have fear of death everyday, I can't do anything except worry about it.  Is it Parkinson's disease coming on?  Help me please?  Anybody ever go through this?  I can hardly type right now I'm so worked up.  Does anybody know anything at all?  Thanks and God Bless

Member Comments (50)

by Francoise, Jul 23, 2001 12:00AM
That sounds about right to me. Yep, I'd say you're dealing with opium withdrawal. Be happy that you were only on 40 mg/day. It could have been worse. It could have been a whole lot worse.



Um, what's the hurry? If you have access to enough, why did you drop all of it all at once? Why didn't you drop down by, say, 5 milligrams for a week or so, and then another 5 for a similar period, and another and so on until you were off? It would be a damn sight less painful for you to do it that way. And you could likely have gotten some anti-depression medication of some kind (with which you have to be very careful as well) to help you with the depression and anxiety. You might be forced into this approach anyway.



Oh, yeah, withdrawal from opiates won't kill you. It may make you wish you were dead; but kill you? No. Maybe you should re-think what you're doing.



Francois

by The Dude, Jul 23, 2001 12:00AM
To: Francois
Thanks Francois,

I had to stop taking them because they would make me really lethargic and I had urinalysis for work.  I wasn't getting the pills legally either.  I am more concerned with my head aches then anything else. It's a sharp pain at the top/left side of my head that won't go away.   I just don't know what's wrong with me?

Thanks

Dude

by Gina, Jul 23, 2001 12:00AM
Sorry to bust in this thread but I need to know if anyone has an answer to this dilemma. I have been going to the methadone clinic since Jan 2001 and am currently on 75mgs. It works well and I feel great but here's the problem: I drive 45 mins to get there and then another 45 mins back to my house. I wasn't working at the time but will start in Sept. I visited my new dr. today to see if he could give me something to take the place of the methadone and then wean off of that (less the daily drive). He gave me a script for 40mgs of oxycontin (40 pills). Could I stop the meth at 75 mgs and start these with no discomfort or should I come down off of the methadone as much as I can before starting these? My husband will be holding on to these pills for me. I guess I'm trying to figure the equivalency. Can anyone help? Thanks!!!!

by Francoise, Jul 23, 2001 12:00AM
To: Gianna § The Dude
Gianna, where did your doctor get his degree? K-Mart? I have no idea of your doctor's thinking, and perhaps he knows what he's doing. You should go through all the posts in this entire site and see what's been posted about oxycontin. There are people here who are on methadone attempting to get off oxycontin. Oxys are powerfully addictive, and many people wish they'd never, ever seen the damn things.



I take it you're on methadone attempting to get off heroin? Well, IMHO, going to oxycontin would be the equivalent of just going back to heroin. The level of addictive quality between the two seems to be about the same with oxy being said more psychologically powerful of the two.



My recommendation is for you to move very, very slowly in connection with this decision. If you have 40 oxys, you have a 20-day supply. Then what are you going to do? I can tell you from experience that when you run out of those 40 oxys, you are going to be in the deepest of **** imaginable. Depression so deep and so black that time seems to STOP! Do you want that? Recommend you not begin taking those oxys.



Also recommend you continue to do what you're doing: educate yourself; learn all you can; get on as many bulletin boards as you can; ask a million questions; don't take any one person's word for it - least of all the clown who made this suggestion.



THE DUDE - If I had what you describe, I'd get back on the hydros at 35 mg/day for a week; then 30 mg/day for a week; then 25 mg/day; and so on and on until you're off. That headache will likely disappear and in two months you'll be off. Your situation, as you say, may not allow it.



One other observation/question. Have you recently cut back on your intake of coffee, or caffinated soft drinks, or something like that? I don't think many people realize just how crippling a caffine-related withdrawal headache can be. My Cuban wife has been making espresso for me twice a day for almost ten years. Last year one day when I was laying Spanish tile in our bathroom, both of us forgot the coffee altogether. I woke up around midnight that night with a headache so severe that I wept like a child - and I'm a 56 year-old rugged, outdoorsey type. Just thought I'd ask.



Best of luck to you both.



Francois

by wildcat, Jul 23, 2001 12:00AM
To: The


The-  It sounds like you are re-developing an anxiety disorder in which you probably were self medicating for for quite some time with the meds. If you have been completely off for a month it is probably not withdrawal. The worst withdrawal would be in the first week. By one month it would be tapering down some and other symptoms of other physical or psychological disorders will start to show themselves.



You need to see a good general practitioner and also even more importantly a good psychiatrist, You may need anti-anxiety medication and psych docs are the main ones that deal with that. General docs don't like to touch psychoactive drugs, they leave those to the psych experts.

by Thomas, Jul 23, 2001 12:00AM
To: the dude
do you/did you use any other drugs? I have thirty plus sorry years of hydrocodone addiction, so many withdrawals and rehabs, etc. etc. and I have never heard of someone having your symptoms a full month after kicking an itsy bitsy 8 pill a day habit (40mg/day, right? try 75 Vics/day withdrawal, I "tried it" around 100 times, LOL). Honestly, you're symptoms sound more like benzodiazepine withdrawal -- the time frame for onset, the hands, the headache, the anxiety attacks: are or have you recently been on anything like Xanax, Valium, Klonopin, Librium, Halcion, Ativan? Did you use any of these drugs to withdraw from the Vicodin?

In any event, I hope it passes, my friend. WD sucks, regardless of what you're WDing from.



Thomas

by susanlea, Jul 23, 2001 12:00AM
To: The Dude
Sounds to me you're having rebound headaches. Several years back I took Vicoden 4x's a day for over 3 years. They really made me sick but I kept taking them for headaches. I stopped suddenly because my stomach was always upset and I hate taking pills. Of course I knew nothing about withdrawals at the time. I never had sweats, vomiting, diarreah or any of the other common syptoms of withdrawal. But what I did have was excruciating headaches, I would wake up with them. Lying down made them worse, and if I tried to bend over I wanted to throw up, the pressure was so bad. I was convinced I had a brain tumor. After many tests, brain scan, mri's ect. the neurologist asked me what meds I had taken over the past year. When I mentioned Vicoden he told me that after taking them even 2x's a day over an extended period of time your body gets used to the narcotic, and like you heard on the thread just like lack of caffein when withdrawn you get what is called a rebound headache. I suggest you talk to your Dr. about this. If all previous tests were neg. ask him for a vascular constrictor (caffregot) or drink lots of cola and coffee or take some caffeine pills. Bet it makes it better, Good luck, let me know.....Susan

by susanlea, Jul 23, 2001 12:00AM
To: Gianna
I have to agree~! Did your Dr. practice at Montgomery Wards? I assume for herion replacement. Weaning off of methadone by using oxy's sounds backwards to me. Be very careful, you could find yourself right back to where you were before the methadone. Oxy's will grab you and not let you go. Methadone at least can be controlled. Look under all the web pages for Oxycotin, it will scare you to death....literally....Best Wishes....Susan.....P.S. My ex was put on methadone to replace oxy addiction. He can't let go of the oxy's and can't get clean. If you think methadone is hard to get off of, oxy's are 10 times worse....take care

by jennyfla, Jul 24, 2001 12:00AM
To: The
You poor thing, I think you are experiencing some major anxiety from basically 'fear' itself!!!

You may be having some withdrawals, but 1-month later seems a bit late.  I think you are feelings some of the things that you may have been masking all along while taking the drugs.  

The more you stress about the fear of having caused damage to yourself, the worse it will be.

I feel safe in telling you that you probably have no nerve damage or brain damage from the pills, they just don't work that quickly and especially on such a low dose.  It amazing what fear can cause our bodies to feel.

I think you can put your mind to ease in knowing that no permanent damage has been caused to yourself, and that you are basically experiencing a lot of anxiety from the fear of the unknown!

Good for you, getting off of a medication that only causes emotional pain, and heartache.

Can you see a psychotrists or a counselor?  I think a little bit of talking to someone to ease all your unanswered questions in my mind will put a lot of your troubles to rest.

Calm down, and take a deep breath, and no that nothing is permanently wrong with you.

You need counseling just so you gain the knowledge of addiction and what may have caused you to fall into it in the first place.  Please seek some help for peace of mind, you are in a frenzy of fear and i feel for you, i really do!

Please come back and tell us what you are doing to make yourself feel more at ease!

Jenny

by jennyfla, Jul 24, 2001 12:00AM
To: Gianna
Oh my gosh, don't start taking oxys.  Just because a person has a medical degree, doesn't mean they have good common sense.

Always keep in mind that there are drs who graduated on the top of their class, and good doctors at heart, and those who were at the bottom of their class, still earned a degree, but possibly money-hungry and their heart was never in it!!!!

I would strongly suggest that you find a doctor who is willing to work with you to wean down on the methadone.  You shouldn't have to drive 45 miles to get methadone, look into finding a dr who is willing to work with you with weaning down on what you are already addicted too.  This doctor is only looking for your money, please don't fall into that trap!!!  There are honest doctors out there that will be willing to HELP you!!!!!!  Trust us all on this one... and don't fall for it!!  You are too important to just be a pawn in their games!

Do some research and you will find us to be honest and true in our advice!

Prayers!

Jenny