How much longer can this withdrawal last?

[voxxx]

So ive been addicted to opiates, namely OxyContin, for the past 1.5 years or so. I do admit regretfully that my opiate use (as well as just about every other drug that will get you high) has been purely recreational and I do not have any chronic pain or anything like that. Ive tried numerous times to quit using Suboxone, but have always relapsed. Well im taking another shot at quitting (I do have the desire to quit) at the moment. I had been taking about 80mg of OxyContin a day lately (at my peak I was at 2-3 oc80s a day), then waited 17hrs with no opiates and thats when I started my Suboxone.  I did the Suboxone for 4 days (3 full days+1 dose at the end of the 1st day after the 17hrs). And now im on day 3 after stopping Suboxone.

I have not slept or eaten anything these past 3 days (I would if I could) and I feel really restless, anxious, always have the urge to move/twitch my arms, combined with a constant tired feeling and slight achey (achy) feeling all over my body. How much longer is this going to last? The worst part is trying to sleep. Ive been trying to ease the withdrawal symptoms as much as possible using Klonopin or Alprazolam, and Ketamine (which works WONDERS for easing opiate w/d, albiet only for 1 hour though unless you re dose). I just want to not be dependant on opiates anymore, but I dont know how much more of these restless days and nights I can take. That was always the #1 reason why I would relapse was because of the restlessness and urge to move that I always get in my upper arms. But I have gone through 2 nights of it already and about half of day 3. Somebody please tell me this is going to end soon!

[voxxx]

No I got them off the street. Over the 4 day course, I probably used maybe 1 - 1.5 8mg Suboxone.

[flmagi]

You probably have about 2 more days of feeling really bad, then it should start to get better each day from there.
Hang in there, you can get thru this. Just do it one day at a time.
Stay strong.

[voxxx]

Well after experiencing Suboxone withdrawals from the last time I tried to quit, I decided that I would not transfer my addiction from Oxy to Suboxone, the Sub w/d's were worse than oxy w/d's I think. So I just took it for the first few days to get through the worst of it. I will never take Suboxone for more than 5 days in a row, the prolonged withdrawals are worse than the shorter more intense withdrawals in my opinion.

As far as buying Suboxone off the street and 'prescribing' them to myself, I figure its better than to continue using/buying Oxy. And one of my good friends actually detoxed with the same 'recipe' that I am trying (4~ days on the sub) and successfully kicked his habit (which was almost as bad as my habit).

But on the bright side, it seems like the aches have dissipated a little bit and I dont feel as bad overall as I did yesterday. So hopefully ive already made it through the worst of my w/d. Considering Oxycodone has a pretty short half-life, im just trying to stay positive about it and keep telling myself that the worst is already over.

[voxxx]

Another thing ive noticed is that the hot/cold flashes have pretty much gone away. Also I seem to be less depressed and in an overall better mood today. I actually caught myself laughing a few times today. Maybe this could be a sign that tommorow will be not as bad as today?

[voxxx]

Oh and I also feel more like a human being today, rather than skin and bones.

[worried878]

all of this will pass with or without sub...many use sub in a effort to avoid wds..and some can..use it for a week or so and do not become addicted to sub//or methadone as to me the 2 r almost equal and both r maintenence narcotics..sub is a partial agonist but is so much stronger than methadone..just heat sub right now is the "hip: thing to do and the other is old news..both will cause wd in the end if u r on it too long....if u do ur work the sub can give u a "chasing narcotic break" while u work the program to stay clean...otherwise u will flip flop from ur doc to sub if u get them easiley..."Outta pills, bumb a sub"  guilty as charged..but this is not recovery and when i threw in the towel sub was not invoved as i leaned to much and i am a awful taperer so i knowe when my sub taper ran around i would suk at it..or maybe not..just was not my choice..u have made ur choice....be sure u have a long term plan..keep posting

[voxxx]

Yea thats exactly what I had intended to do, use the sub for a week or so (in my case, 4 days) so I wouldnt become addicted to the sub and would still (hopefully) only go through a lessened version of oxy withdrawal due to the 4 days of sub.

As far as a long term plan, to be honest I dont really have one. I am only 18 years old. I hope to find some kind of outdoor activity or something (im not much of a sports/exercise person) that can help me keep my time occupied, rather than sitting around at home on the computer thinking about getting high like I do at the moment all day every day.

But I absolutely have to quit. I simply cannot afford to buy oc80's anymore they are extremely expensive to buy off the street (along with pretty much any other opiate). My drug use has drained my bank account, I literally cannot afford to live with this addiction. I need to get a job so I can help out with the finances, but I feel like I cant get a job while addicted to opiates. I cant bear the thought of going to work while withdrawing. So I absolutely have to get off opiates, so I can get a job and hopefully have enough money to pay for my next college semester tuition..

I dont doubt that I will use opiates again in my life. But I am just so sick of being completely dependant on these pills. I will admit at first it was fun (being the [illegal/illicit] drug user that I am) at first. But once I got to the point of having to take the pills to feel normal and not be sick, thats when you know its become a problem. I never want to be like that again. I cant afford to either.

[scaredmom330]

Congrats. I am, very proud of you. Sounds like you have a good plan in place, just stick to it. Try taking as long and hot a shower as you can stand. That will help with the RLS and the hot/cold flashes. try to eat and force liquids. Get as much exercise as you can. trust me all of this will  help you feel better...Be strong, know we are all here for you and pulling. I know you can do this.

[voxxx]

Well its 5:30am and I just grabbed a nice 2hrs of decent sleep! But that was only due to the xanax and ketamine which allowed me to sleep for those glorious 2 hours. Now that I woke up I took another bit of xanax and ketamine to help me (hopefully) try to get back to sleep. I need to eat. I havent had any appetite at all due to me w/d's, and as such I havent eaten anything besides 2 cookies in the last 3 days, But im not even hungry, although I do have the dread opiate stomach sickness. Im hoping ill be able to get back to sleep and wake up later today and my withdrawals wiill be not as bad as they were yesterday, since my hot/cold flashes went away yesterday.maybe thats a sign that the worst is over and the days will start to get better from now on.

Thank you all for your support. I am new here and have always kind of felt alone with my addiction problem. Your help is much appreciated. I really hope I make it this time.

[Florida_Guy737]

Fluids are really important right now; gatorade, etc will help.  If you can, try to drink at least 3 protein drinks a day..you can purchase a mix from GNC and mix with water or milk.  Sleep is a hard wd symptom and takes awhile to get back to normal.

One way to look at all this is to understand your body is changing for the good; your body is trying to correct itself after no having the opiates.

Stay the course & keep posting...

[voxxx]

Yea, all ive been drinking the last 3 days is Cokes because thats all we have the refrigerator. I took a vitamin yesterday and I felt a little better, I am definately going to take one today. Im gonna try to eat something today hoepfully that will help considering pretty much havent eaten slept or ate since Thursday. Hopefully if im able to eat a meal ill feel beter.

[LaDee47]

Hang in there!!!! You can do this

[voxxx]

Well after another round of trying to sleep, I woke up again 3hrs later. But on the bright side, I feel noticeably better today than I did yesterday! Maybe its still the xanax in me, but the restlessness and leg aches seem to have dissipated quite a bit!

[Florida_Guy737]

Recommend you stay away from caffeine if you can, e.g. coke.  The caffeine will dehydrate you more and make you feel worse....lots of water if you have nothing else.  When I was wd'ing, I drank at least 2 gallons of water each day.  Something about flushing your system....and if you're home, well a bathroom isn't that far away for the frequent rest stops.

Take Care

[theeagle]

Listen to Florida Guy..... the cokes are counter productive right now.....white grape juice is very good...as is warm flat 7-up. Watch hydration closely.....cranberry juice is good. Not sure if the ketamine helps or not......mushrooms might be just as good!  You are very likely using your sub in a minimal manner......you may use it daily for a week with a clear conscience and extremely minimal withdrawals........Ensure and store brand nutrition supps are available it Walgreens and other drug/variety stores.....get a good one and use it for a couple weeks. You can try melatonin, benadryl, and hot baths/showers before bed to help some.....and a nice cup of mint tea (celestial seasonings Sleepytime..)   And good luck....

[voxxx]

Well today is day 4. I have spent most of the time sleeping, which has actually been somewhat possible (atleast compared to the past few days) but my legs still ache today. I dont seem as restless, but it kind of feels like the aches have maybe gotten a bit more intense. I also had to make several trips to the bathroom for short diarreah spurts, which I (surprisingly) havent really had to do the past few days.

I am picking up some soma off the street, do any of you think that will help with the leg aches? I dont have much ketamine left or else id just do that (completely gets rid of the leg aches/restlessness) so I figured my next best bet would probably be some carisoprodol.

[voxxx]

I would LOVE if I was somehow able to just like go to a hospital or rehab or something to help me get through this. Its no mystery to me that im a full on addict and I have a problem with drugs (opiates in particular). But I just cannot afford an expensive stay at a rehab center or hospital or anything like that.

I know its going to be a long time before im 100% sober (im also a marijuana addict and addicted to cigarettes) but opiates are just the worst. My main goal for now is to just lose my dependancy on opiates. As far as the other drugs go (ive done just about every street drug you could imagine, and then some) I can work on those later. But for now I just HAVE to lose this opiate dependancy.

On a side note, the somas have helped a decent bit with the leg cramps. I might try to catch some sleep if possible here in a bit, but the only way thats gonna be possible is with a bedtime dose of ketamine, xanax, and soma. Hopefully I wont wake up in 1-3hrs like I have been the last 4 days.

[voxxx]

Well its about 7:30pm and im on day 5, soon to be day 6. And I must say, I feel a LOT better than I have the past few days. Most noticeably, I was able to catch a nice 5-6hr nap today. I literally did not sleep from day 1-4 cause of that awful RLS. My body aches have almost gone away, along with the restlessness. I only have a stomache ache for the most part now.

Thank you for your support everyone. This long of being clean is huge for me. I think I really do have a chance at finally doing it this time.

[voxxx]

Its been about a week now since ive taken any opiates! I still feel the withdrawal a little bit. It mainly just feels like I got done running a mile, but all day even if im sitting or laying down. But overall its eased up a LOT. For me, the peak was late day 2 - day 3, then it plateued till the end of day 4 before it started really easing up. Each day I feel noticeably better. And I can sleep now too! Although I still toss and turn and wake up fairly frequently, I can still get some sleep in rather than days 1-4 where I could not sleep at all. Now im at the point to where ibuprofen is helping with my leg aches (when normally anything weaker than hydrocodone wouldnt have any effect on me) ive noticed.

[voxxx]

Today is day 8 and I feel at about 90-95% today. What a relief to be pretty much done with these withdrawals!

[ImGettingClean]

Congrats on Day 8!!!! Each day, it gets better and better!!! You're passed 1 week, so be very proud of yourself!

[Kevin_Bacon]

Speaking of water and washrooms, notice how you have to go about three times an hour some nights? Just when you start something resembling sleep, and you get the signal ...

[voxxx]

It has now been 16 days since ive taken any opiates and I must say I feel normal more or less now, except for the insomnia and occasional restlessness. Every day gets better after about day 5-6. I am starting to feel my emotions come back too.

Thanks to everyone on here who helped me through those terrible withdrawals. It is such a relief that the main part of them is over.

[worried878]

Congrats on ur clean time!  15 days is awsome...do stick with some type of aftercare so u can ahng tight an stay clean like u r right now.. u deserve it!  

[spongeboy]

Keep up the good work!!!

[penelope101]

Thanks for the update, so glad you started to feel better at day 5. yesterday was day 1 for me off oxys and it wasn't pretty, just woke up now for the adventures of day 2 ahead of me, and feeling not but, but im not awake yet!   Congratulations!!!!!  keep posting. and hang in there!

Penny