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How long do the symptoms of withdrawal last?

My husband has chronic pain in his neck and spine and can't be treated with surgery or therapy.  He was prescribed Oxycodone 10/325 for the pain in 2008.  He has been taking these like the prescription says to.   In October, he had to have a knee replacement.  During the surgery, the anesthesia to numb the bone was not working.  About 9 hrs. after the surgery, they found that the anesthesia dept. put the machine bottom on wrong and did not deliver medicine like it was supposed to.  He suffered traumatic shock to the bone.  Ever since then, he has had terrible pain from this surgery.  They gave him 4mg morphine by pump, every 6 minutes, toradol shots, oxycodone, and various other pain killers to try to stop the pain. (This was while he was in the hospital).  They gave him prescriptions for Oxycotin and Percocets to take at home.  He ran out of his oxycodone for the pain in his neck and back and he took the percocets  and oxycotin as prescribed until they ran out.  We did not have the money to get his oxycodone filled.  This was about 7 days ago.  The first two or three days, I noticed his hands shaking.  And at night he would jerk in his sleep and his arms and hands are doing things constantly. He has been speaking in gibberish and saying things out of the blue that don't make any sense.  I knew then he was addicted to the oxycodone.  I have had to stay home from work with him for this whole week.  He is not too bad during the daytime,  but nighttime is terrible.   I can't leave him alone at night.  I have not been getting much sleep myself for fear he will do something he doesn't realize he is doing.  I have taken him to our Dr. and he prescribed Ativan. I have been giving this to him like prescribed.  I was wondering how long these very long nights will occur.  Any help would be appreciated.
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Avatar universal
He wouldn't listen to me when I thought he was having problems.  I had his best friend tell him and he started to cry.  He didn't realize he was addicted.  He does not display any of the signs to want to go out and purchase any type of other drugs or the cravings for any.  He thought he was taking his meds as prescribed and he was.  He was on oxycodone 10/325 every 6 hrs.  and the cotin was 10mg every 12.  I made sure, as did he, when taking the meds.
He has always suffered from RLS.    He was an EMT for 21 years.  The daily lifting destroyed his neck and back, and now he is disabled.  He can sit, stand, or lay in one position for about 30 minutes to 2 hours, then he has to reposition.  A drastic change from a man who was very active and has been reduced to a "couch potato" as the Dr. described to him.  
At the beginning of this, I thought he had the flu that is going around.  I had to take him to our emergency room.  They decided to keep him overnight.  While he was there, they had given him 2 shots of diloted, and throughout the night they gave him a total of 70 mg of morphine for the pain in his knee. He was taking all meds at that time.
I called the family Dr. yesterday and he told me to give 2 ativan at a time.  I hope this does not creat more problems.  His biggest problem now is, no sleep.
The worst part of this is, I work the night shift.
Thanx for the suggestions and help.
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Avatar universal
I took flexeril too, thinking it would help me relax and sleep.  I can say that didn't happen I ended up so tired and irritable.  Nothing really helped me except time.  I used or i should say abused for 8 years.  I've not used in 1 year and 8 months.
Helpful - 0
401095 tn?1351391770
He is physically dependent..I am assuming...as he has not displayed any addictive behavior from what your post reads...which is a good thing as the mental part of wd is much harder than this physical portion..but it does need to be dealt with

What was his total daily dose of oxy..both contin and codone?  it will play a part in this...but for most a week or less and they r over the hard part...careul with the ativan as it is a strong benodiazepine and alos addictive...using it sparingly right now will help alot tho..just not for extended use....but we r all different. quality of life can be more important than physical dependency

He needs to drink plenty of fluids...dehydration form the runs or vomiting can feel worse than wds....gatorade or plain old water 6-8 glasses a day...i would mist EmergenC from walmart in mine as wd takes a toll physically on the body and the C helps protect the immune system as many get sick alot right after wd is over...immodium helped me lots...be sure if he is having the runs that he takes 1-2 as directed to help excessive avoid loose stools that can lead to dehydration.  the thomas recipe in the health pages also has supplements that can help but it can get expensive if cash is an issue.  if he is having restless leg syndrome..or sweats etc...hot baths can help..massage and compression like ace wraps of hose to the legs and/OR arms can help...deep heat rub creme can help too...for sleep..cold temps in the room will help to slow the metabolism and induce sleep//bundle up with blankets and throw them off if he gets too hot....chances r he will feel hot then cold during the night as this is when the sweats usually are at their worst.  Phenergan is a good safe drug for nausea and it also induces sleep///cheap too..over the counter most places but is an RX drug in the US....1/4 of a 25 mg phenergan can also help with anxiety//being an anti-histamine it also helps with sneezing and sniffles many get during wd

when he can...getting up and MOVING can help alot...even if he doesnt feel like it..a walk around the block or even to the mailbox will help..he has a bad knee/back so this may not possible but is there some type of physical activity he can tolerate?

keep us posted on his symptoms and let us know his dose....he is lucky to have you
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Avatar universal
That is exactly the way he is.  The other thing is he is also taking flexeril and other meds for other health issues.  But the flexeril is the only one that I'm concerned about.  I don't know if it will cause more problems or not.
Thanx for the response.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
The time it takes to get over the w/d's are different for everybody.  The days were ok for me too, nights were horrible couldn't sleep more than 20 minutes every few hours.  This last about a month for me. My sleep finally got back to normal after a few months.  but like I said it's different for everybody.
Helpful - 0
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