23 days and still having anxiety is this normal???

[mama23babies]

I am 23 days off of hydro's with the exception of one pill friday after surgery. I have a script filled of 30 in my purse but no desire to take any. I am so proud of myself. My problem is that I still have alot of anxiety and depression. I have high and lows in my moods and when I have a high it is great. Is this much shifting in mood and energy levels normal in the withdrawl phase or could it be something else?? I have also noticed a tingling sensation in my head and my eyes feel funny. Can anyone give advice for the depression and anxiety like natural remedies such as vitamins. I am willing to try an anitdepressant if I have to but would rather not take another pill and I also haven't had much luck with them. I just tried Celexa and it made the anxiety worse. I don't even want to be alone b/c I feel like i am going to go crazy when the  anxiety sets in. Is the normal??Someone help

[Axl_0113]

WOW!  109 days!!  That is truely AWESOME!

It's so nice to hear success stories!

Take care!

[mama23babies]

Thank you all for following this post. I am now 109 days clean.As far as the 30 pills I still have them but had to give them to hubby to hide when I started craving bad.I get kidney stones so I keep them around just in case. That was the worst pain I ever felt in my life. I am still struggling some with anxiety here and there but it is much better than in the beginning. Good luck to all trying to beat addiction.

[HealthySquid]

I am so glad you asked this question.  I am now 21 days clean from 450mg+/day oxycodone.  Two weeks before that, I c/t Trazadone.  Of course you know what that means.  I have been a walking zombie with 2-3 hours sleep every night.  

Finally yesterday, I got my doc to prescribe Seroquel so that I could sleep.  I slept 12 straight hours.  I am in no way suggesting this is what you need nor will it help you but sleep is everything.  Are you getting enough?

[nell007]

hi all. i have just started taking my AD's (Cipralex) last night. i have had 6 weeks of feeling horrible.. constant head tension, neck pain the works. had a ct scan and the best the nuerologist could say was that i needed AD's. its the second doc ive seen that has said the same thing. So I'm giving them a go.

My biggest concern (other then the current side effects im having) is once you start taking them are you prone to need them again some day? My anxiety started because of the contraceptive pill i was taking (no longer) so it was chemical induced. is it best to fight it with more chemicals?
Ive had enough of this feeling and want to be me again.

[worried878]

Number one thing I would do right now is flush those pills in ur purse..u r asking for trouble..unless ur a superbeing and u may be as we r all different...for most at 11 days clean carrying pills in their purse is a good way to cave..but u may be stronger than most..but why r u keeping them?  ur plan is not to take them and become clean?
I never had anxiety with wd//depression but not anxiety....and often the problems we had mentally caused us to use in the first place/and those issues r still there even tho u stopped narcotics..issues that need to be dealt with making aftercare crucial..r u doing any type of aftecare?

Celexa is an SSRI...not good for anxiety as it can actually cuase sleeplessness and increase anxiety for some

SSRI's work on seratonin deficiency..if this is not ur deficiency/then u will not get results..but ssri's r the drug on the market with least side effects so often they start people on ssri's.it often takes up to a month to feel any effect from an AD...so finding the right one can be expensive and frustrating...communicating with ur dr will help/if he knows about ADs/cos many do not really understand the meds they prescribe/sad but true..a pharmacist is often the best one to ask for info on a drug

Paxil and zoloft r the 2 ssri's that healp anxiety along with depression..u gotta remember a depressed person doesnt want to get outta bed/so they need the part of celexa that is makin u anxious...u may not have depression that sends u to bed for days//urs may be anxiety driven

I found out thru using the thomas recipe that i was dopamine deficient/cos tyrosine worked so well for me/hence i got on wellbutrin with good results/course I have alotof medical knowledge that most out there do not have...all in all/getting the right AD can be tough..but remember it takes a month to know if it is working or not

Natural drugs/otc drugs that help anxiety are KAVA KAVA, theanine, even benadryl,,RX drugs like phenergan at a 7-8 mg dose will also help and is not habit forming..a whole pill of phenergan/25 mgs/can help with sleep..muscle relaxers help/exercise rox for anxiety, depression or fatigue..it helps all of these symptoms...Ashquanda (SP) sumpin goingtomakeit recommended also helped

go to the health pages..there is a article on internet sites to obtain things tha will help u with wd..the sites are listed there/copy and paste and check them out//the thomas recipe also is very useful as well as the cravings article..read and learn

BTW: Tyrosine is not a good choice for someone experiencing anxiety

[youngdude421]

what your going through is totally normal i was hooked on oppiate painkillers and other drugs for a longtime ive been clean for over a year now i can relate to all the feelings of the mood changes and the tingling felings and all that your going through  the biggest adjustment of your life. i promise it only gets better if you dont pick up.I would agree that that script has gota go down the toilet. there arent any quick fixes but it gets soooooo much better you just gotta give yourself time to go through this big adjustment period. just hang on and dont take any pills and give yourself a huge pat on the back for geting clean it realy is a big deal!

[mama23babies]

Thanks knowing someone else is going through it makes me feel better.How long have you been off the pills?Thanks

[peaceinknowing]

Congratulations, first of all!

The feeling you're having is completely normal as far as I can tell, because I'm going through the same thing right now. I won't lie, I'm having more "up" days than I have "down" days. It's all a part of the process of recovery, withdrawl and detoxing from everything that was once always in your system, if that makes sense. You just have to keep telling yourself that this is over, and so is the worse part of everything. Keep up all of the good work, and continue to post here and keep us all informed!

[Kate1266]

This is my second c/t off 10-15 lortabs daily.  The first time was this past December, mid-month.  I remember by Christmas day being a bundle of nerves and so emotional that if anyone just looked at me wrong I would cry.  I couldn't even stay at my family's house for Christmas dinner.  This time, I am now on day 18 and the last couple days have been really hard as far as craving/depression/horrible fatigue and pain - I actually think I was having a bout of sinusitis.  But I haven't had that horrible anxiety like before.  I've been on Xanax for years, and until I started using them to 'get me through' an opiate dry spell, I used them only for situational anxiety and a bottle of 30 would last 2-3 months.  I recently asked my Dr. to switch me to Klonopin, because the first time I withdrew I used Klonopin I bought from someone to get me through the first few days - it's the only way I could do it.  I did the same this time, but since my Dr. only gave me .5's I used them heavy the first 3 or 4 days of w/d, then tapered down for a couple days (no w/d's from them, benzo's have never been a problem for me.)   So then I'm completely off anti-anxiety meds and still no unbearable anxiety.  The only thing I did differently this time is decide I would try some of the amino acid protocol as explained on the health pages.  I happened to have some L-Glutamine on hand, so I started taking that daily, while I waited for the ones I ordered online to arrive.  Maybe that's what helped the anxiety this time???   It's supposed to be relaxing.  Anyway, the last couple days were very difficult, probably because I didn't feel good anyway and the cravings were very bad and I almost caved a few times (which caused a moderate amount of anxiety and irritability)  - but I thought, I need to at least give the other aminos a try and see what happens.  I got them today and took some of the ester-c (which the health page says helps with cravings) and the L-theanine which is described as "natural valium."  I felt better within a 1/2 hour, good enough to go out and run a few errands which I haven't been able to do in a couple days.  Could it have been psychological?  Sure, but I'll take it any way I can get it.  All I know is I feel better today.  So I would definitely try those if you're looking for a natural anxiety solution.  Good luck to you.

Peace,
Kate

[mama23babies]

Thanks for your reply. Just wondering if this anxiety and depression will go away or has my mind learned this behavior permantely?? How long should it last?? I would love to hear more of your story.

[123456m]

Skullcap tea its a herb is the best for Aniexty, Some l-tyrosine is good for depression and energy taken on a empty stomach but Bama is spot on those pills are a loaded gun with the safety off so ditch them or you will use them.
Good luck
Peace

[bamagirl1959]

Yes sweetie, this is so normal and it will pass, I promise you that, but those 30 pills you are carrying around have got to go. Let me let you in on something, a lot of people don't realize that even after the physical part of the detoxing is over with, there is still the need in your mind to go back. When I went cold turkey off of 28 Loratabs a day, after 3 weeks my body felt normal but my brain started in then telling me that I wanted one, so I sneaked out to my, who is now my ex-husband's truck and took one of his out and hid it and thought to myself, I will just take this one tomorrow and it won't hurt anything. That's when God stepped in and for 4 hours straight, God and the devil were fighting over me because of that pill. Finally, out loud to myself, I said to the devil, enough is enough, you are not going to get me back on those things after the hell I've just been through and the next morning it was a miracle, God had honored me for putting that pill back and totally delivered my mind from those pills. I promise you, I never ever after that thought or wanted another pill again, I hated them. Later on I will tell you about what I'm going through again, or you can go to my page and read my story. I hope and pray that this will help you! Bama Girl