Im about 2 years clean :)

[justlikeyou]

hey all, its been a while.

here's my story,

at 38 year old i had an accident and hurt my back badly, after a year of being in pain i started taking pain meds, every day, for 3.5 years.(i was also doing chiropractic 2 times a week every week and resting a lot) i was getting my pills from a guy who knew a guy, because i had no health insurance, different pills every week, some stronger some weaker.after 3.5 years i felt my back was ok enough to stop taking the pills.

6 months of hell, another 6 months of nightmare, another 6 months of chitty.

18 months before i started to feel like doing ANYTHING.

during the 18 months i avoided all the things i love, music, people, sun...anything but laying on the couch was intollerable.

im about 24 months clean now, i feel GREAT,  i love LOUD music, people and can be in the sun for hours.

back to my old self.

im still doing chiropractic (nsa) i have come to believe on this journey that chiropractic care can do a lot more then fix a crik in a neck.

every now and again in my life, i will be in a bathroom in someones house (im a handyman), open a medicine cabinet and be looking at 100+ pain pills  

THE TEMPTATION IS VERY VERY STRONG

so far i have resisted, and i have no intention of taking anything like that again.

the detox, for me,was tooooooooooooooooo brutal. 18 months of feeling like i was 3/4 dead.

just wanted to drop in, and say to anyone who wants their life back,

it can be done,

but it aint easy.

BUT ITS DEFINITELY WORTH IT.

LIFE 'IS' GOOD.

[justlikeyou]

after 18 months things started to get GOOD, a couple good days and 3 worse, then 4 good days then 7 worse, then 10 good days then 15 worse, now its like 3 good weeks and 1 worse. overall, the longer it is the better things get, and yes. vitamins, healthy food, some excercise, quality rest etc all help. im sure complete recovery (like we never took opiates ever) is possible, it will take a while tho. but for now, at 2 years, im happy, i enjoy life a lot again, sure im tired some, but im 45 not 22 :)

[Robin6298]

Thank you for your post.  I do excercise, not willingly mind you, but I do.  Just my daily load of chores also counts..lugging heavy weight up and down stairs.  The Dr's tell me that I'm actually quite fit for my age.  However, I'm even more tired when I'm done, than when I started.  Heart rate stays elevated for long periods of time and I tend to get light headed. Pretty much all activity is forced.  I do drink tea, and water, nothing else.  The tea does nothing as far as energy, no better after drinking it.  I just like it because it's warm and soothing.  I will look for the adrenal supplements...sounds like it's worth a try.  I did a search on adrenal fatigue/insuffiency and I have almost every symptom.  Most Dr's here don't consider it an actual illness.  I read there is a small link between this, and people who used opiates long term. Thanks again :)

[123456m]

Well thanks for posting but that is a very long time. I am only on 35 days of being clean from oral morphine and I think it is too long. You might have CFS, daily excercise is a must not a option. Opiates put to sleep your natural opiates endorphins and it does take time to get these guys awake again but if your not moving your body it is possible they are still sleeping. Are you drinking a lot of Coffee or strong tea? If you are drinking coffee and it picks you up just for a very short time and then feel more tired there is a very good chance your Adrenals are not well. So then go get some Vitamins that will feed your Adrenals and see how that works. Many women at your age even without prior drug use so chec k it out. Do not just go by what a doctor tells you on a test everyone is different. Twin labs and other compaines make what are called Adrenal caps with raw adrenal extract. This may be exactly your problem. If not it does no harm to try.
Peace
Randy

[Robin6298]

Thanks for your story.  I'm 19 months clean, and still feel constant fatigue.  I used for over 10 years, and I'm a 38 yr old female.  So, if it took you two years to feel 'well', perhaps theres some hope.  I've been to several Dr's, and had numerous tests..all normal so far. Whats frustrating is that there is so little information on what to expect, or what is 'normal' after stopping long term opiate use.  Does the body ever fully recover?  No one seems to know.  I am very thankful that I don't have the urge to use...haven't since detox.  I'm never going down that road again...ever.  I was given some vicodin a few months ago following a painful dental procedure.  Used two of them...made me feel like ****.  Threw the rest away, and put up with the aching jaw instead. Never give it a second thought.  Be strong and great job resisting temptation.  Thanks again.

[justlikeyou]

quick bump for those that want it.

[candothis247]

well thanks for answering that for me. i was on oxys for 3 years everyday, just quit 9 days ago, i have cravings, not a major injury or anything like that but had and still have pain. I agree w/you it is very difficult to dextox off long term opiate use. im sure your injury didnt help you recover more quicky. What matters is you've got 2 years clean and again that is awesome. it just freaked me out to think that it might be 18 months for me to feel good...... yikes.... i do believe it will be a stuggle for a long time since im an addict.

[justlikeyou]

i think it took so long for several reasons.

1.i took em every day for 3.5 years
2. im 45 years old (if i was younger im sure it would have been quicker)
3. different pills every week, i still dont know exactly what i was taking (im stupid)
4. im typicaly a very healthy vibrant energetic person, being in pain with a serious back injury for 5+ YEARS, and detoxing off long term opiate use was not easy for me.

[candothis247]

oh yea, wow congratulations on 2 years. that is fantastic!!!!!

[candothis247]

So are you saying that it took you 18 months to feel better and/or not have any cravings at all? OMG, I’m on day 9, I thought it would get easier before that. That seems like such a long time to struggle. Did you get any aftercare, did you stop on your own.... Do you think it took that long due to the fact that you were on them for 3.5 years? Just curious, if you don’t mind me asking. Why do you think it took 18 months. Do you think that is the norm? Thanks

[Cassie415]

Wow, that is amazing that you resisted temptations after feeling so horribly for 18 months!! I am only 15 days clean and am losing patience but thanks because you gave me some bigger perspective lol. I am trying to stay clean but i feel like tomorrow i might give in. Congrats on two years!!! That is so amazing