Day 4 of Detox. .

Question

Hello.. 

About 11 years ago, I got a very painful disease which led to blindness in one eye.. Along the road, I took massive amounts of pain killers.. 

I was not a person that often got " High " .. Rather, I used to feel normal. I knew I was an addict after 2-3 years.. rather than feel sick, I would take just enough to feel okay.. 

Mostly what I took was Tylenol #3 and some Percocet.. for about 10 years.. then about 4 months ago, I started to worry about too much Tylenol.. So I got hold of some 10mg Oxy's.. 

I broke them into 1/4's .. The plan was 1/4 in the AM, 1/4 at lunch, 1/4 in the evening ..  No more tylenol.. 

Anyway.. it was a flawed plan.. within 14 days, 1/4 no longer worked..  so I upped to 1/2  and went to 4 times a day..  In another month, I was 50mg - 80 mg a day of Oxycontin.. 

During the last week, it was 1/4 - 1/2 of a 40mg x 6 times a day.. with a full 40 at bedtime.. What a mess..  

When I realized that in 3 months I had lost control of the Oxy, I went back to the tylenol with Coedine, but it no longer worked.. I tried mixing .. no luck.. 

So I got angry ..  Really angry .. 

I came home from work on a Thrursday night .. 4 nights ago..  Took an Oxy, went to bed, and haven't touched a pill since.. 

Friday, I worked, "sweated it out"  I came home on Friday night and went right to bed.. in the AM, I awoke drenched in sweat, shaking, crying, terrible pains all through my hands, arms and legs.. 

I spent Saturday in bed.. shaking like a leaf.. a true " cold turkey" ... I could not walk.. What is weird is that I had a bottle of Oxy out in my vehicle.. but never even through of going to get it .. 

Sunday, after dinner, I was able to sit up .. Very dizzy.. Weak, cant stop yawning and my legs wont stay still.. Pain everywhere.. I went out to my truck, got the pills and flushed them all down the toilet.. 

Today is day 4, monday.. I am soo sick.. I went to my family doctor, my Blood pressure was 160 / 112 .. The doctor was great.. very encouraging.. gave me a lecture on never doing that again.. lol.. Apparently I could have died..  I just took my first clonidine.. apparently my blood pressure is just too high .. 

Anyway.. The doctor assures me that the worst is over.. I was a little surprised at day 2 and day 3 .. but I can tell you that if I could do it cold turkey, after what I learned today, anyone could do it with help.. 

I am not a tough guy.. After the withdrawl's started, I just hung in for the ride.. I talk like its over.. Its not .. day 4 is no peach either, but i remembered that I have a computer..  

I am pretty scared.. Dont want to relapse.. I never want to go through that again.. I lost well over 12 lbs in 3 days.. I am dehydrated and my blood pressure is off the charts.. I have another appointment with the doctor tomorrow and have to get my BP checked daily for 10 days.. 

I guess tomorrow is day 5 .. that's about all that really matters right now.. If my eyes open in the morning, I will be happy..

Trying_hard19 · Answer

ready4normal, your doing great...

If your on day 2 and your just laying around.. let me tell you, this is the time to go cold turkey.. please do it .. 

I had weaned down to a Coedine addiction only for many years.. Had I detoxed then, I would have been better off.. 

6 months ago, I had no idea that I was going to be using massive quantities of Oxy and Percocet again..  You just never know, unless your clean.. Because I had been an addict for 10 years, I went from 10mg of Oxycontin to 200+ in 4 months..  Had I been clean and dedicated to staying clean.. I wouldn't have touched it .. 

Make this day 2 of the rest of your life.. You really have little control over what will happen if you don't..

ready4normal · Answer

Just wanted to say - I sure have been making my husband miserable.....all of a sudden I really want to do the taper down thing and there is nothing around!! Been two days.........haven't felt terribly bad, just not motivated at all to do anything....and really wishing I had a hand full to get some stuff done - I guess that is how it goes with these things.......cudos tothe fella that had em and didn't use em.........cuz if I could get my hands on some........I'd be taking em..........so far - sleeeping a lot seems to be about it for me..........haven't even got the energy to get on computer much - couch just calls to me! Thanks to all.

Trying_hard19 · Answer

Thank you Brian.. 

I started taking a Multi Vitamin with 60mg of B6 + a bunch of other stuff.. I have been eating 2 bananas a day.. drinking a liter of Gatorade a day as well.. 

I have found the clonodine really helps.. my pulse is below 100 for the first time in 4 days.. ( I assume ) ..  I have to assume my BP is lower as well.. 

The worst craving I have is lying in bed, trying to sleep..  I recall last night thinking that not sleeping is not healthy..  lol.. My brain was trying to convince me that using Oxy for sleep might be the solution..

What a nutty solution.. it makes no sense today, but it made a lot of sense at 2:00 am last night.  What a weird logic.. 

Anyway.. of course I didn't do it .. I believe that even if I could have, I would not ..

bmdad · Answer

I tried going for walks before bed. It seemed to help relax the leg muscles. I followed up with a very hot bath. What may also help as I've seen it mentioned on here is using heating blankets on your legs. I've also heard of people wrapping ace bandages around their legs tightly. There is a over the counter product called Highlands Restful Legs. I've never used it but have heard great things about it. I was prescribed neurontin or gabapentin for nerve pain. I read up on it and found out it is sometimes used in detox facilities. I decided to give it a try at night. It help me sleep like a baby and I had NO rls. It also helped with some of the other symptoms. I'm not sure how doctors are about prescribing it off label but it has many off label uses. It may be worth talking to your doctor about. I've also heard taking a pottasium supplement will help or just eat a lot of bananas. Have you checked in to  the amino acid protocol? I found it to be very helpful and took it for about 2 months.
There is also clonodine, a blood pressure medication. IT helps with the elevated heart rate, hot/cold flashes, sleep, and a few other symptoms. I found great help with it. But overall I would have to say the gabapentin helped the most. Google gabapentin and read up on it. There are so many off label uses. I was prescribed it for sciati nerve pain originally but it didn't help.
Just keep pushing forward. I know everyone is different but by the 7 day mark you should be feeling pretty darn good!! Just continue to exercise, push the fluids, take the aminos, and take it one hour at a time. You are doing a great job so keep it up!! You will beat this!!
Best of luck!

Brian

Trying_hard19 · Answer

Let me expand on that a bit.. When I went cold turkey on Thursday night.. I had no real idea what to expect. 

I did some reading online.. etc.. 

I was not a person to get high.. not until the oxy.. Prior to that, I would only use to feel normal. I spent years fighting off the withdrawls, taking just enough to feel " normal"  The dosages where not big.. 

When I realized that after 3.5 months (approx) of Oxy, that I had lost control, I became so enraged with anger.. I developed a true hatred for the drug.. I used for another short time, but all the time planning to Detox on my own.. 

I really didnt think I would be that addicted to the Oxy after 3.5 months..
I knew I was addicted to Coedine and probably Percocet..  

The other major factor was that I had not told my lovely wife.. Thinking that she didnt know.. So I had planned to be sick that weekend, back to work Monday AM, sharp..

On Saturday AM, she told me if I would not come to the hospital with her, she would call 911..  So I broke down and told her I was detoxing.  She said " Good for you" .. she said she knew for years, but also knew that bugging me about it would accomplish zip.. 

The biggest problem in my life today is Restless legs and insomnia.. Its killing me.. Is there anything at all that I can do about this ?

bmdad · Answer

Once we become addicted it is almost impossible to go back and use them as prescribed. I live with chronic pain every day due to a failed back surgery after getting injured while serving in Iraq. I finally decided that the pain from the pills had caused more harm in my life than what the chronic pain has. You have to make a choice. Either you continue to use and go through withdrawals once a month or you find other means to control your pain. Or due to the fact of the high amounts of tylenol you are taking in the darvocet you may not be around to worry about the withdrawals because it is toxic to the liver. It is deadly on the liver. I don't mean to scare you but I lost my older sister to a overdose so I know it can happen to anyone at any given time. There is a non narcotic prescription strength pain med used for menstural cramps. I believe it's called Edolac. I was prescribed it for nerve pain and it didn't help with that. My wife gets horrible cramps each month that almost drop her to the floor. She has never taken a opiate for the cramps. She did try one of the edolac and it really helped her. It took away the pain associated with the cramps. There are also many other non narcotic pain relievers out there and some you can only get prescribed to by a doctor. Now if you try them you have to remember that they don't give you a high so you can't assume that they don't work because you aren't feeling anything. Us as addicts tend to think that if we don't get a buzz, they don't work for pain. You'd be surprised how much otc stuff actually does work and work quite well. We just have to let it work.
The choice is yours but I'm betting you're sick of the cycle of running out early and going through withdrawals. Once we took more than prescribed we can almost never go back and take them the way they should be taken. Once that tolerance is built up, it doesn't really ever go back down. We often end up taking more and more even compared to before. After being off the pills for a month I've realized I would much rather live with my horrible chronic pain than to live with the he!! that the pills cause on my life and my family's life. It is horrible chronic pain also. There are times I can't get out of bed because my back won't let me. There are times I'm in so much pain I vomit. Even with it being this bad I realized the pills made my life worse in general. It's not worth it.
Is there anything else you can do for your cramps? Do hot baths help? What about pamprin? Try that edolac. Ask your doctor for something else that could help that is non narcotic. There are many different meds out there. You should be able to find one that works.
Let us know what you plan on doing.
Best of luck to you!
Brian

KirstenHere · Answer

To have a bottle of oxy in your car and not go get them...and not even remember, that is amazing! If I have 1/2 an oxy in my dresser, under 24 shirts, stuck in a sock, inside the pocket of one of the shirts...inside a plastic bag, inside tinfoil...I'd find it. LoL! Not funny at all...just telling you, that is awesome that you didn't remember you had them...not too many people (no one I know) would have done that, truly amazing, dear! That right there shows your true strength! I have faith in you...you can so do this! You're already 3 steps ahead of yourself. Keep up the good work...the prize is all yours, hon!

witsend0603 · Answer

you both came to the right site... these people are AMAZING and full of information.. talk to them and read some posts and you will get the help you are both looking for

ready4normal · Answer

Just one more thing before bed - and I will check back tomorrow - I actually need the pain meds for pain for about a week and a half out of 4 weeks............how the heck is that even gonna work?

ready4normal · Answer

I also have high blood pressure and guess I should probably be taking my bp meds...funny how I can't remember to take those, but I can't forget to take darvocet or xanax.............anyways.........tonight I guess I'll load up on vitamins and bp meds before bed - would suck to have a stroke when I'm trying to be better............

ready4normal · Answer

Welp - I guess add me to the long list of stupid people!!!  I started taking Darvocet a couple of years ago for severe menstrual cramps.........and took them as directed for a long time........lately - probably the past 6 months at least maybe longer I go through a 10 day scrip in just a few days with the aid of my hubby (he is right there with me), plus spending thousands on the street - wonder why I can't make my house payment........I take Xanax for anxiety and although I am also addicted to it, I seem to still have it under some control..............I have a scrip for Phenergan and 3 days off work............between the Xanax and Phenergan........and also a cold medicine of codien and phenergan - maybe I can get through the next few days and be a new woman before going back to work???  Think there is any chance I could be Good as New by Friday???  Any ideas how much phenergan is too much and if it will even help?

Trying_hard19 · Answer

Thank you for the kind words.. I wont deny that I am darn scared right now.. I wont post this in anyone else's thread.. 

I am a businessman, I own and operate a medium sized company, so I cannot be away that long, especially in this economy ..  I am terrified of relapse.. I don't think my wife could stand it, nor could I handle the disappointment in myself.. 

I have a 2 hour session booked at a Psychologist in 3 days.. and a meeting at the local rehab center tomorrow..  

Does anyone know what the relapse rate really is ?

worried878 · Answer

u sound pretty tough to me...just my opinion

it is common for BP to get high during pain or stress episodes including wds..clonidine helps wds in lots of ways..it will help tummy issues, sleep, anxiety and ur BP
Glad u flushed....sounds like u have ur mind made up...but addiction is a sneaky disease..so cover all of ur bases...be sure u have support

and keep posting