Ever heard of dysphagia, is it related?

[GACarol]

I have been having a problem swallowing even liquids. I will take it into my mouth and then want to swallow; my brain is saying swallow but the action isn't occuring. It can sometimes take me up to a minute to actually get the liquid or food to be swallowed. I am wondering if this has anything to do with opioid abuse. Anyone with any knowledge on this that can share is appreciated. BTW I have not been to a doctor, I have done some internet research and this condition is the closest I come to what I am experiencing. I do plan on going to a doctor to find out what the heck is going on.

[BlueOpiate]

I was waiting for someone else to bring the sex one up, LOL.  I never heard anything from anyone else about the not being able to finish thing.  I had the same problem going on.  At first, it wasn't 2 hours but still longer then normal.  At first it was pretty cool but then it took longer and longer until the wife was like "okay, what's going on here?"  Just like everything else, that went away after stopping the drug abuse.  I even started to lose interest in sex which is very strange for me seeing as my wife still thinks I'm a perv! LOL.

[Back2Me]

To GA it is for sure the pills 100%
You and I have the same adverse reactions it seems. I would be eating and get the food like 1/4 of they way down and then NOTHING. I could not make my brain tell my body to swallow it was very scary. I always had to grab a drink of something  to force it down.  Surprised I didn't choke to death while on all those pills. And urinating was another problem yes and another b!tch of a problem for me was during sex i could not "finish". No matter how much I tried or wanted to or how long, I would go for hours and nothing. Talk about being frustrated. That was the last straw for me. After I quit every problem reversed almost immediately. I am no minute man but the 2 hour romps are far and few now :)

[GACarol]

I just know I'm not myself anymore. I have so many medical issues and I am causing more with these pills, I want freedom ya know? i cant say I've had an ah-ha moment though.

[BlueOpiate]

I have fallen more times then I can count.  Truth be told all the times I failed I don't think I really wanted to quit deep down inside.  It was when I noticed myself, not with anyone pointing it out, that my wife and children where second to my drug use is when I really wanted to quit.  I'm taking it much more seriously this time round.  It scared the hell out of me that my addiction was more important then my kids.  With pill chunks falling from my nose (I snorted half of what I took) I looked at myself in the mirror as my 1 1/2 year old daughter pushed the bathroom door open saying "daddy, daddy".  It all kind of clicked at that moment.  I realized many times I didn't want to be bothered with my kids when I just took some pills, thinking "I want to enjoy my high a little before dealing with them".  They are innocent victims and deserve more then a junkie father.  You have to think of the reasons you want to quit, are they more important then your pills?  I too have legit back pain but now I know it was not nearly bad enough to be taking these meds.  It may have been on occasion but that is no longer an option for me, bottom line.

[GACarol]

WOW, love the list. I could add more to it, I am sure we all could. Yes I want to stop, yet again. I have stopped many times but this time around of using I am having some side effects that are really scaring me. Another one that I have now is throwing up. Almost every time I take a pill, any kind of pill even just a vitamin I become very nauseated and throw up. I take this as a sign from my body, no more pills. I don't know why I don't "get it". Why when I am feeling so great I start back up again. A small part of it is the real pain that I have. I am prescribed medication for several conditions and just added bone spurs to that list. But I could probably only have minimal pain on OTC medication. Some days would be harder than others but I know people that live in terrible pain everyday. I need aftercare terribly, that is the part I'm not doing that I think must be the key. This place is wonderful and even through using I read everyday and try to help others but I guess I need to help myself now. Thanks to all.

[BlueOpiate]

OMG.  I just listed everything I could think of that was bad about being in active addiction and everything I have lost because of it.  It makes me feel like a complete and utter moron for every going down this road.  I know we learn from our mistakes, but it's better to learn from others mistakes.  My brother warned me I would wind up an addict a few years ago.  What do I do?  Jump in with both feet!  LOL!  I'm not really upset about it, what's done is done.  I tend to see things are exactly how they were meant to be and how they are suppose to be.  No should have done this, should have turned right instead of left.  Just a real eye-opener I guess, I'm not half as strong or as smart as I thought I was.  Well, as the saying goes, in youth we learn, in age we understand.

[ImDONENoMore]

I know right?  It is funny to look at the benefits all lined up like that.  Spells progress in my book!!!  :)

[BlueOpiate]

I also had lots of trouble urinating when using.  Sounds like it's a side effect alright.  For a while I thought I did damage that would not go away.  I would get real scared when these things happened.  But since I'm not abusing the meds, all of them went away.  Here is the things that went away:

1) No night terrors, bad dreams
2) No soaring (much to my wife's delight)
3) I would wake up from half sleep feeling like I was choking, no more of that
4) No trouble urinating
5) No more trouble swallowing
6) Food taste much better already
7) No nodding off

I'm sure there's more I can't think of right now but it's safe to say, these pills are poison.  When I list them all, one might think, what the hell were you taking them for in the first place, LOL.

[ImDONENoMore]

The opiates slow down your digestive system (reason for the constipation), and I found they do mess with your bladder as well - I had that same problem when taking them.  Are you looking to quit again?

[GACarol]

That sounds just like what I am experiencing. Unfortunately I am taking pain meds again, and it only happens when I do. There is some type of disconnect. A similar thing happens when I need to urinate, I feel the need to go but I just sit there and I have to concentrate really hard to get it started. Nothing good comes from these meds, just a brief pain relief. Another thing I can add to my list of why I shouldn't take these meds.
Thank you for the response

[BlueOpiate]

I actually have had trouble swallowing on occasion when I was abusing opiate pills.  It was not all the time and when ever it would happen I would start to get real nervous thinking something was very wrong.  Since I have been on suboxone (currently at 3mg per day) it has not happened.  It maybe a few times took up to a minute before I could swallow but usually only lasted 10-30 seconds before I could swallow.  I would then be able to, only to repeat the process all over.  I have never heard anyone mention this and kinda forgot about it.  Are you currently taking any pain meds?