Methadone withdrawals in my 7th day

I am in my 7th day of methadone withdrawals, I have used methadone since april of this year...it acctually got me off a VERY bad oxycontin addiction....
Let me just start from the begining...
About 10 years ago I was a big pot smoker and got into an accident with my car...the doc prescribed tylenol 3s and they got me wasted.... That was my first affair with painkillers.... I found out I had a herniated disc that was pressing on my spine and they switched me to vicodins....then I went from vics to percs....then I went back to the gym....came off of all thepain meds using pot to keep me leveled.... I was doing great until I had another back accident in 2001 ...I started back on vics and from there it has been a nightmare....
I loved vicodin until I was introduced to oxycontin ..... I was introduced to oxycontin by a member ofmy wifes family her cousin acctually..... he told me that oxycontin was just percocet without the tylenol and it was "no big deal"
I was immedietly addicted....... I was so addicted that I begged cheated and stole from everyone even my own family... which today I feel awful about.....Anyway my affair with oxycontin was so self destructive...put it this way I spent at least 3k a month on my addiction no bull.... I had the money so it "wasnt a big deal". My wife and I decided about 3 years ago to move to vegas.... I didnt want to go because I didnt have any connections in vegas for drugs....anyways when I got out there I found a dr who prescribed them for me so I wasnt spending as much on them buttaking even more....6 80mg a day at least being chewed...anyways I had a huge problem out there bigger then I ever had in my hometown of new england.... I founf a college kid who worked for me that could get the 80s for me at 45 bucks a piece.... I blew so much money on my habit and pawned so much stuff just to feed this demon on my back... I look back on all of this and it just makes me hate myself. I fu$%ed over so many people that I love because of the drugs.....
Anyways I came back to NEw England in April of this year andright before I left vegas I found a new Dr. (after being discharged from the dr who prescribed the oxys for seeing another Dr at the same time) this new Dr prescribed methadone for me mainly because it was much cheaper than the oxys... I fell in love with the methadone and stopped screwing with the oxys... now about 7 days ago I decided that I need to get off of everything mainly because my wife of 13 years wants a divorce because this drug habit has taken everything from me.... my house my cars EVERYTHING...
I l ost my jobbecause of the drugs and everything.... I feel like such a loser I just want to die.... I have thought many times about killing myself but I just not the type of person to take my own life...
Iknow I am kind of going on but anyways the main reason for my post is that I read on this forum somewhere that zinc/ magnesium takes withdrawal symptoms away ....... I have started taking centrum tonight and I am hoping it works.... even though I have found that methadone withdrawals are no where near as severe as oxycontin withdrawals it seems like the methadone withdrawals are taking forever!!! I have not slept right for the last 7 days... it really sucks.... I amhoping the Centrum works I just took 2 of them which I guess is double the daily allowance but we will see what happens... can anyone tell me how long the multivitamins which includes the zinc mag combo will take to work??????????

[path91]

first of all, methadone has a longer half life then oxycontin so it is going to take longer to get out of your system. you need to read the Thomas recipe. it tells you which aminos, vitamins, etc to help with withdrawals. type it into the search engine. have you looked into Suboxone. i know several people on this forum have used it to detox off of different drugs. it has its pros and cons from what i've heard. there are a lot of helpful people on this forum. it's the weekend though so it might be tomorrow before everyone reads your post. good luck. i'm a night owl so i'll be up for a while if you need someone.

[donnyaddict]

so you dont reccomend the zinc/mag combo that I read about????
This Thomas Recipe says to use Valium which I dont want to go near ya know???

[1234betterlife]

it will not hurt you to use the additinal zinc/mag combo that you are taking. during detox doubling on multiple vitamins is helpful short term. just short term and do not buy the multivitamin with extra iron as this can be toxic in large doses. oxy does have a short half life hence the intense withdrawal but is gone faster than methadone as path said. i am so sorry about your situation but it sounds like you are taking the situation and building your life back. you are not a loser....you succombed to this disease like the rest of us. we all do things we would never do. the important thing is to make this decision and to work very hard. do you have a plan after you detox to keep you from relapse?

[Calzy]

You sound like you are doing pretty good with your w/d's except for the sleep which is rough for most ppl the first 2 wk's, small price to pay to get your life back. Try some melatonin for sleep and some hot baths to relax. You sound like you have made up your mind to get clean so try to think about your recovery plan to keep you that way, NA-AA meeting, posting here, and kissing up to your wife so you dont lose her, i am going thru the same thing as you. Good luck

[GoingToMakeIt]

I posted the Thomas recipe in my journals. There are a lot of people here who say that methadone w/d is the worst one. It sounds like you are doing OK, but plan on it lasting alonger than with the opiates.

[beentheredonethat863]

I too had a horrible addicion to oxys and like you i was told the same thing that they were just perks w'o tylanol...huh...although its true those things are the devil. Not to far back I coped a few methadone waffers from a friend to c if i could get off the oxys and it worked but once i started researching I found out that oxy withdrawls only last 7-10 days and that methadone wds can last up to 6 weeks. So i stopped taking the methadone. I started back on the oxys and was hitting them hard untill about 2 weeks ago when i had done around 60mgs, which is nothing for me, and i felt a weird feeling in my chest. I proceeded to check my pulse and realized every few seconds my heart would have a 4 sec pause so then and there i flushed the oxys and now im stuck on the vics i feel ur pain

[donnyaddict]

I dont know how long this zinc mag combo takes to work but I can tell you it has been about 24 hrs on this and no change... I acctually slept worse last night... up every 2 hrs... this is so tough.....I hate the way I feel

[Penelope14]

You didnt mention the dose of methadone in which you are detoxing off of? Anyway I,m also taking methadone & have talked with many,many people who have detoxed off of it & they all say the same thing, they all claim that while the withdrawals are not as severe as heroin or oxicotin it will last longer, & they all share the same number of days withdrawaling, 2 weeks appears to be the typical time frame that all methadone addicts endure, & even after two weeks many feel better but they still are not 100% as methadone takes a long time to leave the body, I realize that this is not what you want to hear but Im just letting ya know what others have informed me, I to am coming off methadone, & I also will be where your at in a few months, I decided it would be best for me personally to do this very slow. & try not to look back at how you used to be, I to did some things that I normally wouldnt have done had it not been for my addiction, that was the old you, the new improved you will never do or say those things that you did in the past, so look forward not back.

[johnnykelly]

Hi Donny,i have a similar story,like yourself i to went through 2back sergiries,one in 1990 and again in 1993.Like yourself i was initially placed on tylenol#3,i did not like them. Then came the Percocets they where great for pain and for pleasure,i didnt mind sitting around high on them,i really enjoyed the high.The next like yourself and resently the Oxycontin the 40mgs 6or so a day.At first they gave me a good feeling and now nothing.Like yourself i tapered off.Donny as for the vitamins/minerals etc.,I am a retired bodybuilder,i was 3rd in the junior Mr. Canada comprtition in 1978,Let me say we live in a country where there is no biological shortage of vitamins,but i do agree with the Amino-acid as they need to be re-placed.ALL the best John

[GoingToMakeIt]

What got you up every 2 hours? If it's the runs, take Immodium. Take something for sleep too if you can.

[nogie1717]

I am a recovering Methadone addict as well.  Of course, I started small and worked my way up.  I remember getting the call from my "friend" that he had some Methadone.  I had never done it before, so I looked it up on the Internet.  The site said it didn't produce a high like other opiates.  My friend assured me they had a high, so I tried it.  2 hours after my first dose of 30mgs I felt the best buzz of my life!!  A year ago, I went into treatment.  I was medicated for the first 10 days with Suboxone.  I thought I was all better, but once I came off I was back in w/d's.  
Like you, I could not sleep.  It wasn't so much the runs, which I had, but just and overall sh** feeling.  I relapsed and am on Suboxone.  It is another opiate, but it works well for me.
Anyway, L-Tyrosine will help rebuild your dopamine receptors and it was the only vitamin that I thought helped.  Keep posting and find a meeting of NA or AA and keep fighting the good fight.

[donnyaddict]

Well here it is day 9 .... I am still not sleeping ecxcept for limited times like 1 hr or 2 then I find myself going outside and having a cig. then freezing and getting back in bed... I find this puts me back to sleep.... Last night was one of the worst nights so far... acctually dreaming of going back to the Drs? What the **** is that? Anyways IF it isonly 2 weeks then I know I can make this.... I acctually worked out yesterday for the first time in years for an hour and a half...it is just the night time that is killing me.........

[path91]

have you tried taking any over the counter sleep meds or even melatonin? i know it's worked for some of the people here.

[donnyaddict]

I cant stand the pain........ My back is friggin killing me.... I think I have to go back on the methadone... I am seriously considering goign back to my Dr in the next couple of days and getting my methadone...I just cant function and tomorrow will be 10 ******* days!!!! I just feel like such a piece of ****.....I admire everyone here that has done this and stayed clean it is more strength then I think I will ever have.......

[donnyaddict]

I am going back to the Drs today at1pm I cant stand this new feeling of anxiety 10 friggin days into W/Ds isthat normal????

[donnyaddict]

Well I failed...... I am back on methadone after 10 friggindays of being clean....the good news is instead of my normal 4-40mg a day I down to 3-40mg a day.... I know that sounds like **** but I felt really good about being honest with my Doctor telling him about my last 10 days of sitting "on satan's lap"...
I have withdrawn from percs, viks, duragesic patch, morphine and oxys and I can say honestly that while the w/d symptoms were not as intense, the lingered on soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo longthat with the pain I COULDNT STAND IT!! I feel like a total loser and a failure...just want to jump off a bridge...I hate myself

[wholedups]

please don't hate yourself my friend. many people out there (like myself) have been in very similar shoes. YOU ARE NOT A BAD PERSON- addictions like ours are truely a disease. so it needs to be treated like one...
the healing process takes a long time and patience can be the hardest part. but its no where near as bad as the crash course/ downhill battle we call drugs.
my thoughts and prayers are with you...

[Coolio Hernendez]

Dude ! I have been on (10) perc 10mg's a day for 1 year. I did this same thing 1 year and a halpf ago. I withrew with Suboxone. Big mistake I felt full withdrawals for 14 days. Nothing could help.

This time I tappered then felt real bad for as long as I could (8) hrs then took (1) 2mg Suboxone. Still felt a little crappy but way dealable.. Then as the pains came agin i take Tramadol and Neurotrin. It has been 7 fuul days and by 1hr ago I feel awesome. This is the way to do it. The Suboxone is great if you have to prolong the sickness. Otherwise cold turkey and feel like **** for 4 -5 days.

I will never do another opiate again.

[Savas]

The really Hard withdrawals last about two weeks. The lack of sleep...I did a cold turkey (sort of) off methadone and didn't sleep for that entire time. After that, I got about 1-3 hours sleep a night, varying. That lasted about four months.

The problem with methadone withdrawal is the length of time. It whittles away at your reserves, mental and physical.

Of course, I didn't take anything during that time. So some of the things they suggest on here would probably help. :)

[dogneedshelp]

Here is a link to a study comparing methadone to Tramadol to detox heroin users. YES, I KNOW Tramadol is addictive but if you just use it for two weeks it will get you through this and then you can just quit the Tramadol c/t without having buit up a tolerance to the Tramadol. Tramadol seems to take about 2 months to become addicted. Best of luck to you.  Link below:

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content?content=10.1080/10550490500528712

[Faith_Ben_efits_me]

Hey!!!  So today is my fifth day with no methadone.  Will even just talking a vicodin here and there to take the edge off prolong the withdrawl (withdrawal).  I do NOT want another methadone, not if one was in front of me.  I just want to freaking feel better!!!!!!  How about adderoll or cylexa?????  help!!!  I've been drinking green tea and taking tiny bits of trazadone to help sleep.  HELP with how to feel better during day.  Went to first NA meeting last night!!!  I hate this.  Can deal with the sleeplessness but daytime sucks :)  I'm excited though and want to feel good again.

[nogie1717]

Start a new thread.  This post is kind of old.  Set up your profile and I will email you some information on my experience.

Just hit the "Post a Question" button and you can start a new thread that more people will answer.

[aleigha0707]

DO NOT TAKE ADDERALL (adderrall)!!  You willl feel so much worst if u take any uppers.  A few vics may help.  Better that than nothing.  I am a firm believer in NOT going thru withdrawl (withdrawal) with out a helpful drug through it all.  The only thing that will truely work in that situation is an opiate of somekind.  Any kind should take the edge off even a little.  I know from experiance.  How much methadone were u takin?  Where u getting it from a clinic?  If so, why didn't u just taper?  Did u?  Is that what u mean by in the 5th day?  I hear ya, ive been there!!!!  I am in a methadone clinic right now. I havent even thought of getting off yet.  I have been on about 3 years at 150 mgs.  It is the best thing i ever did for myself!  I don't feel like i ever want to get off, for fear of using again.  I don't even really see any reason to get off, any time soon at least.  I really hope u feel better.  Withdrawl (withdrawal) is so evil!  The most horrific pain u can go through, seriously.  Good Luck and Godbless!!<3

[mharris]

day 14 withdrawal from methadone feels the worst. it seems to be getting worse as the days go on...........

[addicted32]

I was reading the part when you said you had weird dreams.  I think thats totally normal whenyou quit.  I had dreams pills kept  falling out on the ground and I couldn't catch them.  Its the way the brain works its so weird.  Im now withdrawling off Oxy 15mgs.