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Addiction: Substance Abuse Community
This community is a place to share information and support with others who are trying to stop using drugs, prescription drugs, alcohol, tobacco or other addictive substances. Discuss with others, the symptoms of addiction, addiction recovery, ways to quit like tapering and cold turkey, and withdrawal symptoms. If you are interested in general "chat", please visit our Addiction Social Community.
help depressed
by bigdrawz, Sep 09, 2001 12:00AM
I am a 40 year old male that needs an answer to a question. after taking hydrocodone for about 2 years heavily I decided to quit cold turkey.I didnt have any physical withdrawl symptoms but man I have been severly depressed going on 8 months now.I havent had any kind of pain pill whatsoever. I cry all the time over nothing .I used to not be emotional at all, now its like I turned in to a woman.Im scared of the dark,Ihave to sleep with some kind of light on.Shouldnt I be over this addiction by now or is this long term damage of my abuse.this emotional rollercoaster is tearing me apart! any information would be helpful I need to know if the drug did this to me, or am I going thru somthing else. THANKS TRACY
I have been through he withdrawal a few times. I have been using Tylenol & Codeine #3s for about 4 ½ years. My personnel experience is that when I quit, which by the way was always cold turkey, I got the physical withdrawal symptoms. I also felt just like you described. I was moping around the house, had zero motivation, and would cry for no apparent reason at all. It was unnerving to me, I felt like a different person. Everything was more emotionally intense to me. Watching depressing movies would cause me to ball!! I know there are the physical / chemical reasons such as endorphin levels and other brain chemistry, but simply put, I think this poison that we all use here dulls the senses. Once it is removed, everything comes back, seemingly more intense. I am concerned that this has been happening to you for so long. Though I have not been totally successful in quitting, I did feel a leveling off of these emotional symptoms after about a week. 8 months seems a bit long. You might want to check with your doctor and ask him about options that could include selective seratonin reuptake inhibitors like Paxil or maybe Prozac. My wife takes Paxil and swears by it. Did you have any tendencies for this type of emotional behavior prior to your addiction? Keep in mind - the most important thing is that you did it – you quit!! Be proud of that.
On a side note: I have been trying to post here for a while. It is difficulty to post a question. I don't want to step on bigdrawz post but I have gotten a lot of inspiration from this forum in the past. I posted a while back and got a lot of support from those here. At my last post I was at about 60 hours into my first attempt at quitting. Much to my surprise, I was feeling better and I BLEW IT!!
I went right back to it as if I never stopped. I take between 10 and 14 Tylenol and Codeine #3s once a day. I can’t believe I screwed this up; I am soooo disappointed in myself. Now on top of that, I have the potential for an even bigger problem (At least from what I read here). I acquired some Oxycontins. I finished off quite a few 40mg tablets, about 4 to 5 a day. What’s even worse is that now my wife is starting to play with this ****. I am responsible for bringing this stuff into the house, so I am responsible for getting it out. I will not let this take hold of her!! I am such a fool, I should have known better. She has stopped and felt the withdrawal; I am starting to feel it now. She will be abler to stay quit. I hope I can be as strong. I will be working out extra at the gym, and maybe even trying that amino acid mix mentioned here. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who posts here. It helps me, and I’m sure everyone else, to know that we are not alone. Keep those here in your prayers. And good luck to you bigdrawz.
G’Kar
WW - Are you a mind reader over the computer or do you have a physic connection to me? The things you wrote to me were exactly what I needed to hear I was hoping I had helped someone here but really wondering if I had I was feeling very sorry for myself and very down on myself and what you wrote really helped.
Thank you so much and your stories are so refreshing. Please remember how much you have helped so many people and if you helped while you were on hydro's well so be it, it happened, you did your job and hurt no one. I am amazed that you were able to do your job well while you were hooked!!! But then again you are an amazing goddess!! Love to you from me!!!
Cindi - I wish I had more to say to you. I know a little how you feel because we lost my father in law very suddenly 2 years ago and my husband still picks up the phone to call him. I just wanted you to know that you were the one who really helped me whenI came to this forum. You wre the one who gave me the strength to post the first time and I always knew I could get a laugh from you. I just feel like crying knowing how much pain you are in. I know you are a very special person and hopefully your friends here including me will be able to help you some how in some way without any judgement. BIG HUGS, Jules
First - I was on a maintenance dose of oxycontin, 100 milligrams twice a day. However, I also took an unprescribed extra 20 mg or so for breakthrough pain (legal prescription for real pain. Fell 25 feet from a tree and broke LOTS of things). I was depressed just as you describe for just about 8 months. Then one day my body began to burn all over; cramps were killing me; sweating like a goat. It was awful. Next morning I got up, took my regular dose and all has been fine ever since. And I DON'T take any extra for any reason. If there's breakthrough pain, then damnit, I'll just have to hurt. Anyway, you may be near the end of the depression.
Second - Find Thomas recipe for detox. Look at all his posts. Look at mine, too, since I repeated it several times for others. One caveat. You MUST get supplements you can trust to have the correct amount of stuff. I just went to a shrink and he said that some of these things contain just ten per cent of the amount of stuff they're supposed to have.
Third - Go to a psychiatrist (NOT a psychologist). See if you can get some Effexor and some Klonopin. The one mg klonopin is best. in fact, get a prescription for the generic form, something like clonazepam it's way cheaper. One milligram of this is like ten of valium. But be careful taking benzodiazapenes. And don't take any Xanax. Stuff is dangerous. Sudden cessation of these things can cause seizures of the potentially fatal sort.
Hope this helps. If you have to pay for the psych yourself, do it. Find a way. There is an end to the depression you're suffering. I was crying everyday for eight months and then one day it was gone. I'll never force myself through that again. I know it won't do you any good, but my thoughts and feelings and heart are all with you. And I'll think about you every day until you write again and say you're out of the woods.
Francois
((((((HUG))))))) love to all cin
Shea
SEROTONIN - THE KEY TO THE PSYCHADELIC EXPERIENCE:
The brain chemical these drugs increase, serotonin, is the same brain chemical that LSD, PCP and other psychedelic drugs mimic in order to produce their hallucinogenic effects ". . . psychedelic agents mimic the effects of serotonin." And remember that psychedelic agents are "a class of compounds with no demonstrated therapeutic use, a history of extensive abuse, and the ability to provoke psychosis. Yet many brain researchers value the psychedelic agents above any of the other psychoactive drugs" because "the research into psychedelic drugs has already enriched our understanding of how the brain regulates behavior." (Dr. Solomon Snyder, DRUGS AND THE BRAIN) Just how much will these brain researchers learn from our experience with these drugs designed to specifically increase serotonin, the same brain chemical the psychedelic agents mimic to produce their effects?
We know that these drugs interfere with serotonin metabolism (demonstrated by levels of the serotonin metabolite 5HIAA). It is not serotonin that is low in these disorders, it is this by product 5HIAA, which indicates the level of serotonin metabolism, that is low in depression, suicide, etc. Yet as serotonin (5HT) goes up serotonin metabolism (5HIAA) generally comes down. We already have studies demonstrating at what percentage each of these drugs increase 5HT and decrease 5HIAA. Now learn the results first of elevated levels of serotonin (5HT) and secondly the results of decreased levels of serotonin metabolism (5HIAA):
Elevated 5HT (serotonin) levels:
#1 schizophrenia, psychosis, mania, etc.
#2 mood disorders (depression, anxiety, etc.)
#3 organic brain disease - especially mental retardation at a greater incident rate in children
#4 autism (a self-centered or self-focused mental state with no basis in reality)
#5 Alzheimer's disease
#6 old age
#7 anorexia
#8 constriction of the blood vessels
#9 blood clotting
#10 constriction of bronchials and other physical effects
Lower 5HIAA (serotonin metabolism) levels:
#1 suicide (especially violent suicide)
#2 arson
#3 violent crime
#4 insomnia
#5 depression
#6 alcohol abuse
#7 impulsive acts with no concern for punishment
#8 reckless driving
#9 dependence upon various substances
#10 bulimia
#11 multiple suicide attempts
#12 hostility and more contact with police
#13 exhibitionism
#14 arguments with spouses, friends and relatives
#15 obsessive compulsive behavior
#16 impaired employment due to hostility, etc.
All are exactly what patients and their families have continued to report to be their experience on these drugs since Prozac was introduced! These individuals are frantically searching for answers while this research sits right under our noses. Although this is a totally different picture than pharmaceutical marketing departments would have us believe, marketing claims and reality rarely have much in common.
Researchers tell us that five, ten or twenty years later it is not uncommon to find we have another thalidomide on our hands. Raising 5HT (serotonin) and lowering 5HIAA (serotonin metabolism) in such a high number of people can produce very serious, extensive and long term problems for all of society. Even more frightening for the future of our society is the rapidly rising widespread accepted practice of prescribing these drugs to small children and adolescents. This crucial medical research must be addressed openly, without delay, rather than remain buried in seldom read medical research documents as has been the case in the past with other mind-altering medications