Coming off of narcotic pain meds

[spyderdude]

A couple months ago (April 5, 2013) I sustained a left wrist fracture and had to have surgery done. The day I broke my wrist, I was given four different medications and one of them was Hydrocodone. It worked for the first couple days but after that I was in a lot of pain. The next doctor visit I was given Percocet and that alone worked wonders for the pain and made me feel loopy. I went a couple days without taking it because I was pain free and started feeling anxious, had hot and cold flashes, and restlessness. I relapsed on the percocet and took it even when I really didn't need to in order to keep the withdrawal symptoms at bay. I saw my surgeon a 3rd time and told him what I was going through with the Perococet and he gave me this stuff called Roxicet. It didn't do anything for the wrist pain but was effective at killing any of the withdrawal symptoms. I am now completely out of pills and could not sleep last night. I feel like I have a mild case of the flu. I have only been on these narcotics for a couple months so I hope the withdrawal won't last a month like I've been reading in some cases. I have been drinking a lot of water and even tried energy drinks but that only made it worse. In addition I have been taking PM acetaminophen to aid in sleep and to try and relieve the aches in my body. I would appreciate any support.

[spyderdude]

Its been almost a week since I took my last pill. The symptoms for the most part have subsided and I was able to get a good nights sleep for the first time in awhile without the aid of those awful narcotics. I did not request anymore narcotics from my doctor for further pain management. I still have pain in my injured wrist, but I'd rather deal with that by taking things like ibuprofen. Fluids are especially important when going through the detox process. I still have thoughts of taking those pills again but I know I am better than that. Thanks to everyone who responded and showed support!

[OpenMind24hours]

You have the right idea, just as you posted above  " I really wish to stop the pills completely since I don't want to get so far into taking them that it makes detox twice as bad later down the road"

Stop them and put as much distance between you and the pain pills as you can. Toss them. The Roxie's are narcotics as you might know and they take away your withdrawals accordingly. The longer you take them the deeper you get opiate saturation in your receptors. Whatever you take in opiates must be paid back in withdrawal. From what you've had so far you're not going to go through too much as far as WDs are concerned. Go through it, get it out of the way and you're done. I congratulate you on doing your research, learning about opiates and getting help stopping them. Stick around on here as you go through your detox. it should be pretty quick. BTW: The New York Times online has a good piece called "The Problem With Pain Pills" in today's samplings. If interested google it and read. Quite interesting.

[hydro_fool]

Hi Spyderdude.
I sent you a message with some support suggestions.  It should help you through any issues you might have, but also be very aware of just how dangerous these meds are and dont take them lightly.  

Good luck.
H.F.

[spyderdude]

I really wish to stop the pills completely since I don't want to get so far into taking them that it makes detox twice as bad later down the road.

[spyderdude]

I took the Hydrocodone before the surgery, and a week later had the surgery done, and was given the Percocet. I took one pill for pain as needed which was usually no more than twice a day. Once I stopped taking the Percocet and started with the Roxicet, I was taking 2-3 pills a day even when I didn't necessarily need to for the purpose of pain relief. I took the Roxicet to keep the withdrawal symptoms at bay. I never took more than one pill at any given time except for the Hydrocodone which I took 2 at a time as needed.

For pain relief now I'm taking ibuprofen and ancetaminophen PM. However the pain in my wrist has been minimal so really only taking them for the aches associated with the withdrawal symptoms.

[toothfairie]

hi and welcome!  since you only took them for a short while....your WDs might not be that bad....we can help with the symptoms....check out the Thomas recipe at the bottom of the page...it has some great stuff in it to help ease it a bit....if you could give us a little more info we could help more...did you ever take them before the surgeries?  or strictly for this....and did you ever take more than you were suppose to etc?  just making sure we know the history here....we can help and want you off them....are you taking anything to help with pain now?  last thing, are you stopping the pills completely or just til you can get a refill??