Life After Codeine Addiction

[IndyAnna]

Three ruptured disks in my neck and nearly three years spent finding a surgeon who diagnosed the problem (cervical stenosis) have led to a physical tolerance and dependence upon codeine. Five days from now, I will undergo a cervical fusion to remove spurs pressing on surrounding bone and nerves. About two weeks post-op, I plan to enter a local treatment center for a seven-day "detox." I see no other way to safely and effectively get off the codeine. The detox program is supposed to relieve the withdrawal symptoms.

When will my body's natural endorphins return to normal? I am wondering how "badly" I will feel when I emerge from detox and return home. When can I trust that my body will be handling pain the way it used to before I began taking codeine-containing pain relievers?

In the course of three years, I went from Vicodin to occasional Percocet (for flareups) to Oxycontin (20 and later 40 mg), all prescribed. Peak usage on Oxycontin was one day when I took six 40-mg tablets; average was three 40-mg tablets. I am now taking about ten 5/325 Percocet per day. Trying to step down to six to eight daily. Am I indeed stepping down with the dosages described? Am I doing myself any favors in this attempt to reduce intake prior to surgery and detox?  

Have consulted with my family doc, neurosurgeon who will perform the fusion, and the treatment center, but it seems like I'm not getting very much insight and information as to prognosis and steps I can take to help myself in the interim.

ANY accurate information is appreciated.

[deadman walking]

NNN

[deadman walking]

DEAR guys&girls I have been taking 40to 50 tylenol #1's for almost a year.  For those who don't know in the states this is a pill that you can get over the counter in Canada from your pharmacy with 8mg of codeine in it and 325mg of tylenol.  Although many people think this is a stupid thing to go to detox  for they are dead wrong, i mean you do the math.  I recently spent a 5 day spell in detox and I had massive headaches,cramps,runs,and general killer pains all over my body as well near vomiting.  This is not fun for anybody that is listening,you go thru pure hell!!!  What I need now is to go to meetings and talk to people in the same boat as me.  I take 40mg of Paxil a day for my depression but I don't know if it is working because I still feel very lonely in a world that wants to help me and I almost feel sucidal at times.  When will I get thourgh this god only knows but I just don't know how to deal with all this angst inside my shattered soul.                                                                         GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE OUTHERE I HOPE YOU ALL ARE
ALRIGHT & SUCCESFUL. TODD MOORE

[IndyAnna]

Thanks for the message and your confidence that I will "make it." I think I will too, but it will take some time and some doing.

I am now in recovery mode from removal of bone spurs and a surgical fusion. At the last minute, the surgeon decided to go after all of my bad disks (three). This made for a longer surgery and a much bigger incision than I'd expected. The anesthesiologist was someone I knew, so I told him about codeine tolerance and dependency. He passed it on to the surgeon who seemed surprised about it, despite the fact that I'd left an explicit message weeks earlier with his nurse describing my codeine usage and intent to get treatment to withdraw.

The post-op pain is bad, but I'm not sure it's any worse than what I'd already become accustomed to. It's exciting to think about starting out, all over again, with a neck that more closely resembles the one I had before all of this disintegration took place.

Also, trying to remain upbeat because the surgery was rough, and in comparison, my time in a treatment center might not be nearly as "bad." So, I'm thinking that I've survived the surgery, and that was a big hurdle. Now on to the next step....

Please keep me in your prayers. I genuinely look forward to the day when I am no longer dependent. It's like dragging a ball and chain around all day long....!

Thanks, again.

[OxyDout]

Kell, I think you mean withdrawal, which can include the shakes, dehydration, the runs, severe aches, restless leg etc....... but its not shock.  Shock can be Fatal..........  Withdrawal just feels like your dead........ does that make sense?

[Sturgil]

Thank you for the nice comments. I think my addiction makes pain happen. This makes me think I need more. Like I stated in my last post - I was on 15 to 18 10/500 per day plus 12-15 Soma's. I took so much that I was eating dinner and fell asleep in my plate with food in my mouth. Hello???!!!  My disease tells me I hurt, it tells my I don't want to feel and most of all it tells me I can handle my intake of the pills. I have been to 50 NA meetings in a row. I am getting into service work, giving away what I have gained in my short clean time. I still have bad days, problems, brokken cars, no cash. But you know when I was getting high I never had problems...why? Because the devil had me. Now that I am on GOD's team he is hitting at my hard. That is how I know I am doing the right thing.

The level at which you are taking the tabs really does not mean you need rehab. I made it with GOD, prayer and NA. Today is day 35 days. I hear the birds singing, the sky is blue and my kids are so darn funny. I am learning to handle life on life's terms. We are all control freaks. We want to control people places and things, we want what we want when we want it no matter the price. Well I have learned ( and must remind mtself daily) I can not change you or force you to do it my way. What a peace I find in letting go and realizing I am not in control... God is the driver.

My bible says - God will NEVEr put on us more than we can handle. God will always supply is with a way out... all we need to do is ask.

The pain you are in I have felt. The urge you have to use, I have. The feeling of being in a rutt not wanting to die or live, I have felt. WE ALL HAVE. Remember the pain, as long as the pain is greater than the need to use you will make. NA tells me the urge to use lasts only for 7 seconds. That is true 99.9% of the time.

I can see it in your post that you will make it. Just remember humble yourself before God. What does that mean? Void of all Pride. Think if this - what is the middle letter in pride? "I". What is the middle letter in Sin? "I" there is not I in recovery. Keep your eye on the ball. Change your playmates and play ground. Life does NOT Suck. Please keep me posted, I will pray for you and your family.

Sturgil

[IndyAnna]

I am trying to post a new question, but the forum isn't letting me because it's reached its quota for today, I guess.

Anyway, to anyone reading this, my question is: Can you explain the mechanism by which codeine actually increases pain? I believe this is a proven phenomenon, but one that doesn't seem to be addressed except in treatment.

Personally, I notice that when I'm in withdrawals or weaning down, my three ruptured neck disks and the nerve pain from bone spurs diminishes. Perhaps this is because the withdrawal symptoms are so terrible that the original condition takes a backseat. After I am back up to "quota" on pain medication, it's almost a given that the nerve pain resumes (imagine your upper back and neck are a dart board, and you get the idea....).

I am curious about how this works and have to say that it gives me hope that life after surgery and painkillers will not be nearly as "bad" in terms of pain. Regardless, I'm still committed to entering a treatment center in about two weeks after my surgery this Friday. Living with this dependence is just murderous

[mrmichael67]

My opiate usage started with an injury leading up to a spinal fusion.  I now have had two of them.  More people are in the same boat as you than you realize.  And, how you got where you are is irrelevant at this point.  I've never used heroin, or injected anything.  I didn't use any pain meds until I got hurt.  But, the dependence is still the same, no matter how it happened.

[IndyAnna]

Thanks so much to all of you who replied to my "Is their life after codeine addiction?" message, especially Sturgil. Sturgil, your comments happen to be the most relevant due to the condition that prompted you to take the codeine in the first place and the fact that you reference God, indicating you are a believer. And yes, you are right. At the bottom of our hearts, if we are all honest, the codeine "buzz" does fill some sort of a void. In my case, it gave me extra "energy" to push through the pain while I work (I'm a freelance writer and graphic designer; I put together several magazines and often work 80 to 100 hours a week on the computer!! Ugh!). It also seemed to relax me and make me more "patient" with the demands and interruptions of my two kids (6 and 8-years old). Of course, this is likely an illusion. Am I really more productive, more patient...? I probably just think I am.

Regardless, I believe that Jesus has a special place in His heart for addicts. So, your comments about prayer are much appreciated. I believe He will be by my side as I go through this. However, I also know from past experience that the withdrawals are absolutely terrible. The thrumming, aching pain in my hamstrings behind my knees is one of the most maddening side effects, along with the restless legs. And the depression and anxiety so many of you have described on this site is enough to make you really believe you are going to die.

My understanding is that my neck and upper back pain will be greatly reduced after this surgery. I've talked to several people with my condition who tell me this is true. So, I cling to this belief, and I think I must seize the post-op window as the opportunity to detox at a treatment center. I will be on Norco post op and the treatment-center counselor told me this is "nothing" compared to the Oxycontin I was taking and the Percocet I now take. It's ironic that I am so consumed with worries about my codeine addiction and withdrawals that the surgery doesn't seem like that big of a deal! The bigger battle is here, with the painkillers, isn't it?

Well, I've picked up some good tips browsing through all these threads. Things like lots of water, the Thomas recipe, and someone who wrote about the importance of getting up, moving around and walking. Lord knows that's the last thing you want to do, but it makes sense that this will help the natural Endorphins wake up again.

Philosophically speaking, it blows my mind that there are probably MILLIONS of us grappling with this. Hydrocodone is the #1 prescribed medication in the U.S. Physicians don't seem to want to deal with the addiction aspect. In fact, early on, the doctor who began prescribing codeine (Vicodin) told me that it was NOT physically addictive, just psychologically addictive. HELLO?!?!? Of course it's physically addictive! Then, for me at least and probably lots of others, you go back to your doctor with concerns about the painkiller and you either get more of the same or something stronger. I've asked the prescribing physician for information about weaning off, but don't get any answers. I've learned more through this site than any place else. It must be an issue of "liability" that's at work with the physicians.

This is quite a long strange trip that I've been on. I'm just a suburban Soccer mom working like a fiend to pay the mortgage, etc! Never used drugs recreationally and took painkillers for brief stints in the past with no problems--until I got in this chronic pain situation at age 40. Aside from the folks here on this site, there's not a lot of support out there, unless you bite the bullet and go to a treatment center like I'm about to do. Hopefully, I can connect with more refugees and survivors through NA. Sorry that I diverge here, but it just amazes me because I know I am far from alone in this predicament, yet so few people share and discuss the reality of painkiller addiction that results from a legitimate condition and legally prescribed medications.

Thanks again for everyone's support. I'll keep checking back and reading.

[1fortheroad]

you didn't "go into shock" from percs - it must have been from something else, or you were simply in withdrawal if that is what you mean by "shock".

[1fortheroad]

actually, you don't go into shock from withdrawing from percs - you feel like ****, but you don't have seizures, go into shock or die like you can when withdrawing from benzos.

[mrmichael67]

Congratulations on your accomplishment!  Keep up the good work.

[kell737]

Yes you can go into to shock from perc withdrawls.  If you have been taking 10-12 percs a day for 8 years striaght and wake up one day and decide to quit your body can go into shock.   How do I know... because I've been there.  You body and bloodstream is used to getting this drug everyday.   Just like if your smoke cigarettes for 25 years and quit cold turkey one day you can EVEN go into shock from that as well.  I'm not guessing I've been there, I know.   Good luck to everyone.  Hang in there, it gets better

[Sturgil]

First let me say this: I am on day 33 of being clean. I had L4, L5 disc remove 2 months ago. Today... no pain. I was on 10/500 and Soma for years an years. I quit on July 4th. The DT's hurt and hurt bad. Leg cramps and zero sleep for days on end (6 days). You WILL NOT DIE, it will just feel like it. I was taking 15 Lortab 10/500 as well as 15 Somas per day. The leg cramps, chills, the runs, no energy, depression and zero energy will last for 10 days. Then you will have to learn to deal with life. But it can be done! Find the NA group in your area. Also read pray and thank GOD for every day he keeps you clean. If I can do it, so can you. I go to NA meetings every night to help remind me of the pain and to meet others who are ADDICTS. Yes I said the "A" word. I truly had back pain for years. I think that I used this "reason" to use the drugs. Lets all be honest.. we like the BUZZ.

At the NA meetings I have met people that have used crack, crystal as well as Lortab and Somas. It will help. Everyone has to hit bottom before they are ready to quit. Today I still fight the urge to use but as each day goes by I get a little better. Today I am enjoying life without drugs. The key is to JUST DO NOT USE! Don't take the first drug.

Helping with the pain: Ben Gay, hot baths, Neurontin, lots of water and plenty of napkins to blow the nose. It will runs like a water fall. You will sneeze 15 times in a row. I did not write this to scare but to show you the pain. When you do quit, always remember the pain. Write it down each day, so when you have the urge to "pick up the drug" you can read your notes. There is life after drugs.

A word of warning - After you quit you will feel like you have lost your best friend. Like a puzzle that has a missing piece. This is my second time to get clean. The first time I tried to stick anything and everything in the whole that the drugs left... sex, beer/vodka/wine, the list goes on and on. God has kept you safe so far, talk to him...he will help.

I wish you all the best. Remember find the local NA group in your area. If you can not find NA go to an AA meeting and they can give you direction.

God Bless you,

Sturgil

[mrmichael67]

Reducing your intake prior to surgery might help if your doctor is not willing to cover your tolerance when he gives you meds post-op.  If he is going to give you the same amount he gives everyone else, then trying to lower your tolerance will only help things.  If he will give you more meds to cover your tolerance, then you are wasting your time.  Two weeks post-op and then detox?  That is a really short period of time.  You are one hell of a trooper!  I wish you the best.

[kell737]

Wow!  First things first, I'm sure your aware of how addictive percocet is...   When you do get off them you need to get with a doctor to help you because the withdrawls from percocet is VERY BAD!  You definately do not want to quit cold turkey if you taking that much because  your body can go into shock.   As far as oxycontin, I have never taken it but I know it is worse than percocet withdrawls.   Perc is a good drug for pain  but you pay for it when you stop taking it unless you have something to help you with the withdrawls.   Hope you feel better soon.