No more Immodium

Question

22 days off subs and I'm finally not needing this stuff.  The digestive track is a pain but in the long run I'm doing awesome!  I love being sober and so does everyone else.  Life is good.

Peace to you all..keep fighting the good fight.. YOU'RE WORTH IT!

pillguy · Answer

Sorry for the delay in responding.  Yes, I do aftercare.  I don't think aftercare is just going to an NA meeting.  When I realized I was getting nowhere on my own, I went into outpatient treatment.  I told family and friends that mattered to me.  I post here.  ( this is part of my aftercare). I set goals.  I wrote down what I didn't like about using.  Anything that can help prevent relapse is aftercare.  Everyone says get rid of your drug contacts.  But what do you do when they call you a year after you've finished treatment.  You do the same thing.  You get rid of the number, you stop going to the gym where you saw them.  All of this is aftercare.  I still go see my 1on1 counselor.  I'm not on a schedule but I enjoy our visits.  He worked hard to help me succeed and I feel an obligation to make sure his hard work isn't wasted.  Look at every decision you make in life and ask, "will this help or hurt my recovery?"  That's aftercare.  It can be as structured or unstructured as you need to maintain sobriety, and N/A meetings can certainly be part of that.  But go to the meetings because they help you maintain sobriety, no t because "that's what they told me to do"

Melanie6260 · Answer

No way no way no way will I ever go thru this hell again for a pill. I know everyone says each day gets a little better and so I'm going to keep trying to tell myself that. Are you in Aftercare? Everyone keeps mentioning it's important.

pillguy · Answer

I tried supplements on a previous attempt to get clean.  IMHO, they didn't seem to do much.  In fairness maybe I'd have felt worse without them.  In this last attempt I've tried to include good dietary habits as part of my self care.  I've tried to move towards more of a plant based diet and have reduced processed foods in my diet.  It can't hurt I guess.  Quitting the opiates is like having a balance on a credit card, there's no "fun" or "pleasant" way to make that debt go away; you've got to pay it off.  That's what we have to do to get clean.  We've got to pay off the debt we've incurred.  It's good to see you are still fighting the good fight.  Please keep us posted on your progress

Melanie6260 · Answer

Pillguy, did you take any supplements or anything? You most definitely sound like you know what you're talking about! :)

meegWpaw · Answer

glad to hear you're doing well, R2bf.  hey about not putting off aftercare ... Don't!!!!  i mean don't put it off.  this was the single biggest pitfall in my recovery--not having enough or adequate aftercare.  Now i go to NA and AA, only a couple of times a week but it still helps a lot.  I also have aftercare through a treatment program affiliated with a hospital.  And I go to individual therapy.  sometimes outside interference is good ... just sayin.  yay!  22 days!!!!  keep up the great work!

pillguy · Answer

I agree with Readytobefree that regaining your energy could be the most difficult part of he process.  The good news is that your energy levels should return faster than either Readtobefree or myself because of the nature of Oxys.  While it's a very powerful and addictive drug, it's also a short acting drug.  3.2 hours to eliminate 1/2 of your dosage of oxycodone and 4.5 hours for OxyContin.  It takes on average 37 hours to eliminate 1/2 of a dose of  buphrenorphine, the primary drug in our medicine.  Short acting opiates typically have a faster recovery than long acting opiates like methadone and suboxone.  It's hard to predict but I think you are talking weeks, not months.  I think you are going to feel a little bit better each day on average with significant improvement in a couple more weeks but it could also be 6 weeks.  Six more weeks would put you at over 2 months and I would expect noticeable improvement.  Please keep in mind I'm giving you my best guess based of my personal experiences, other people's experiences and reading.

I'm at a little over 80 days and feeling pretty good.  I think I've got at least 3 more months to get where I don't notice any effects, even though my brain isn't completely back to normal.  In another 6 months I will have 1 year clean and I may have a near normal brain.

pillguy · Answer

What I hear from you is that you are taking ownership of your own recovery.  That's awesome, perfect!  You're evaluating the info you're getting and creating a thoughtful plan for your recovery.  Yes, you've made yourself clear.

:-)
:-)
:-)

Ready2befree · Answer

Honestly that's the hardest Part.  Energy levels are at 50% meanwhile mental clarity at 90%.  I have a feeling Energy will be last to come back.  In my opinion it's the most difficult part of this recovery.  

Pillguy  - Aftercare...I really haven't given it much thought.   I'm focused on my health at this point.  When I get everything  back I will make a plan.  Not to out it off but I need to focus on me without any outside in Terence from addicts that are still using.

Hope I made myself clear.

BTW  congratulations  on 22 days Melanie!

Melanie6260 · Answer

Readytobefree, 
I'm 22 days clean of Oxys myself and me too! Today is the first day I haven't needed Immodium. Finally another small change. My energy hasn't completely come back though. How about you?

pillguy · Answer

It's wonderful to hear about successes like yours.  I really hope that we can do the work to stay sober.  We've talked a little bit about aftercare.  Have you had anymore thoughts on it.  Smart recovery could be another option if NA and AA don't work for you.  Let me know what you think.