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Do cravings/urges diminish significantly after a certain time period?
by Rex1, Dec 26, 2002 12:00AM
Dr. Horvath,
I have read the info on your site - helpful stuff! (really!)
The one answer I did not find is whether there is a certain threshold point, like a month, or a year, in which your cravings to use significantly diminish. I know a person's pain and physiology has a lot to do with it, but in your experience, is there a common denominator time length when this happens? I would be interested in opinions from from my friends here too.
I am now seeing what everyone says about gettng clean being easier than staying clean, like getting clean was easy! Easy like a root canal followed by a gasoline enema!
Over the last two days, I have hourly knock down - drag out sword fights with myself over getting some relief with the lowest dose of Vicodin possible. It goes something like this "You are in pain, get some relief and just keep your dose low". "You fool, you are a drug addict. One pill per day means 12 pills per day eventually".
With God's help and the folks here, I have won both days. I am now at day 32 - no narcotics whatsover. Will this get any easier after a month, three months, 6, a year?
Thanks for the help.
Rex
I have read the info on your site - helpful stuff! (really!)
The one answer I did not find is whether there is a certain threshold point, like a month, or a year, in which your cravings to use significantly diminish. I know a person's pain and physiology has a lot to do with it, but in your experience, is there a common denominator time length when this happens? I would be interested in opinions from from my friends here too.
I am now seeing what everyone says about gettng clean being easier than staying clean, like getting clean was easy! Easy like a root canal followed by a gasoline enema!
Over the last two days, I have hourly knock down - drag out sword fights with myself over getting some relief with the lowest dose of Vicodin possible. It goes something like this "You are in pain, get some relief and just keep your dose low". "You fool, you are a drug addict. One pill per day means 12 pills per day eventually".
With God's help and the folks here, I have won both days. I am now at day 32 - no narcotics whatsover. Will this get any easier after a month, three months, 6, a year?
Thanks for the help.
Rex
How are you feeling? I guess what's helping me is the approaching Jan 1st day and all that it means for next year. Freedom.
Rex
First off, and it's a cliche, but it's all one day at a time. You don't use today no matter what. Maybe you will tomorrow, who knows, but you stay clean today.
Looking at staying clean like it's something you need to do for the rest of your life can be a trap. The future stretches out and, for me, looks like a long responsibility with no relief, when I consider staying clean "forever", so I try to live in the present and be grateful that, for today, I am not a slave to drugs.
Second, it's been my experience that real addicts usually don't stay clean unless they actually change the way they think and respond to life. I know that if I don't continue to grow as a human being, I am at risk. I am either going away from that first pill or towards it, I am never standing still.
I couldn't have stayed clean for 8 months without some help. I have a new group of friends, many of them in AA/NA. I have found a very cool, fun group of people that are very serious about being clean/sober. They often remind me that it's all a day at a time, and that finding and discarding the personality traits and defects that make me want to use is as important as just "not using".
Do you go to meetings or have any support group? I'm not talking about this board: it's great and all but this place alone wouldn't keep me sober for a nanosecond.
It has been about 6 months since i have last posted to this forum. I think i would have stayed around and read everyone posts everyday as a remider i would not have relapsed. This is my story i was doing heavy norco and vicodin use for about 10 months proir to my first detox. When i detoxed i remeber the first 72 hours being pure hell. I had the sh!ts for weeks it seemed like. i would have no problem going to sleep at night but would wake in the middle of the night not able to go back to sleep. Today yet again i am detoxing. after 3 months i fooled myself into thinking i could just take 1 pill. well 3 months later here i am.which in this wonderfull world of detox again. as unsure about it as i was the first time i went through it. I have about 1 month of heavy use under the belt as of right now. I remeber after about the first 72 hours starting to feel better physically but not yet mentally. and after the first week seeing a little shine of hope mentally. I started to take kava, st. john wart, and 5htp the kava and 5htp made sleep at night a little more tolerable. As of 5 o'clock today i will have hit my 72 hour mark again. Hoping i never have to look back again. Hoping i can feel what i felt again after detoxing the first time. It seemed like within a month most of the last pill i started to feel myself again and got of all the herbal pill. I also quit drinkin caffiene when i detoxed and have done so again. I pray at night for god to help me through this. But i have a long lonley road to walk as i havent yet told my GF as to what i am going through. You just have to keep in you head that the hours will turn into days, days to months and hopefully this time i can make the months turn into years. i know i dont want to walk this road again. and to everyone that is be strong. there i light at the end of the tunnel.
A
I wanted to let you know that I too am a recovering Hydrocodone addict and I also suffer from chronic pain from Crohn's disease. I was to the point I was taking 35 Lortab 10's a day. I don’t know what is causing your pain. Do you have a disease? Are you a victim of an accident? As far as the "physical pain" no one knows when it will get easier, like you said it really depends on your body. But, as far as the cravings and wanting the drug and all the pain envolved with this, I have some very good advice. Since you are 32 days clean (WAY TO GO!), I would get your current physician to write you a prescription for Revia AKA Naltrexone which is an opiate antagonist. As long as your body is totally clear of all opiates then you can take the Revia at 25 mg a day and you will experience zero withdrawals or cravings. Also, it is an Opiate antagonist, therefore if you take an opiate with the Revia in your system you will feel no pain relief therefore taking the opiates would be pointless and you would be forced to stick with Advil or Tylenol, that is if you are committed, like you said you are a drug addict. That is one thing to ALWAYS keep in mind before you pop that little blue pill. Please, mention this to your Dr and I hope everything works out for you! If you get on the Revia I promise things will get much much easier for you!
God Bless!
Jay
PS: If you want more info on how this drug works go to www.opiates.com
6 years supermarket work - ugh!
3 years bartender word - ugh ugh!
6 years wakeboarding - damage still revealing itself. Jurassic ugh!
16 years working at a desk - not helping at all.
I know that I have a moderate case of degenerative disk disease, plus I am starting to supsect that I have Arthritis. However, I will not know for sure until i have some more sobriety under my belt.
With God's help, I will have been away from alcohol now for 7 years on Jan 2nd. I used Antabuse to kick start that detox and it worked. Hoping to do the same with the Hydros and it sounds like this Naltrexone is the same kinda of a deal. Does it help with the cravings then?
Rex
Yes, once I stuck it out and allowed my body time to be flushed of all the opiates (3-60) days, depending on what you are taking and the quantity. My BEST advice to you is to contact an addictionologist M.D. and let him decide how long you need to be opiate free before you start the Revia treatment. Revia has been on the market for 25 yrs and has no side effects or mood altering effects. Sounds like the miracle drug huh? The catch is you have to be totally opiate free before taking Revia or your body will go into extreme withdrawals! Once you start the treatment you have to stay Opiate free or you will go through these withdrawals. To answer your question, YES no cravings or withdrawals once I started the Revia treatment. It saved my life. But, the opiate free days allowing my body to flush all the opiates were pure hell, but once I was able to take the Revia all the hell turned to heaven, I actually had a normal life back.
Jay
Yes, it totally knocks out all cravings and withdrawals! REMEMBER that you have to be totally opiate free for at least 5-7 days or you will go through EXTREME withdrawals if you take the Revia. Like I told Peaz my best advice to you is to contact an addictionologist M.D. or you could contact the Waismann Institute at 1-310-205-0808 or www.opiates.com and ask about how Revia AKA Naltrexone works. Ask for Dr. Jeff Crausman and he will be very helpful! God Bless and good luck.
Jay
No problem on the time period thing. I have 31 days as of today (32 maybe).
I'll check it out.
Rex
i had done such a "beautiful job" of covering up my addiction that basically no one knew my dirty little secret--10-12 hydrocodone pills per day for the last few years-i think we reach a point where we are sick of the lies, the doctor shopping, the paranoia of "running out" and of course i was terrified that someone might discover and confront me about this insidious disease. just think you will be free of all of that--what a relief!! i never thought i could live a day without those pills--just goes to show you what a grip they have on our psyche.
good luck stay the course and keep coming to this sight--it has been a godsend to me! peace, love and most of all hope--a new life in a new year!!!
A
your question is a good one , the obession to use drugs
goes away completly, as you stay clean sa i have mentioned
i was totoly clean in NA for 17 years.
there are a few things to take into account, one is
everyone is different, but there are much more that we have in common being that as it may, there is a saying in the 12 step programs ( YOU HAVE TO GIVE IT AWAY TO KEEP IT.
WE REAP WHAT WE SOW SO BY HELPING OTHERS IS VERY IMPORTANT
IN ONGOING CLEAN TIME. being alone and not sharing and helping others is in and of itself selfish and self centered.
selfcenteredness is one of the major problems of useing addicts.
even those of us clean have to deal with this problem,when we
abuse drugs are lives revolve around finding ways and means to
use and get drugs. in order to CHANGE this we need to find someting else for our lives to revolve around.
by staying busy in positive ways we can learn to keep our minds
on things other than drigs.
i have found in my experence that there are times in the 1st year
clean that we will get an obsession to use drugs and the compulsion to use drugs comes over us and it tells us that we are going to use and that we can use now or later on , yhat night.for a lot of us we wind up useing, if we do not call someone asap i have been through this type of obsession
it seem to be so strong , from the top of my head to my feet
the urge to use is tremondous,it will bring you to tears.
so many times i gave into it. the way i