Oxycontin Withdrawal

[Kristy_27]

I recently discovered my boyfriend was addicted to oxycontin.  He asked me to help him get clean and to ween him off the drugs  but it's been very difficult trying to do this alone.  He doesn't want anyone to know.  He has had no pills now for over two weeks and still feels like ****.  He can't keep food down and sleeps a lot with the help of sleep aids but he has managed to go to work other days and seems fine.  I'm afraid that he's lying to me and still taking meds to help get through work.  I don't know how to trust him and can't tell if he's still on drugs or not.  How long should his withdrawal symptoms last once he has become completely clean.  Please Help

[chi-town guy]

Kristy~See how much you have learned here already, you gave the same advise to sadyprince as most ppl would. I answered your post at the other forum.
sadyprince~You should start a new post to get the most help you can and say if it's from a doctor or other and what dose and times per day you take it and ppl will suggest how much will help you but it should be a doctor or clinic to help you. i wil watch for your new post.

[Kristy_27]

I don't know what to tell you sadie.  You should go back and select "post your question" at the top and you'll get much better help and advice from people who have been through what your going through.  I'm trying to help my boyfriend get clean on his own without any professional help or saboxin.  I've heard some people suggest to slowly ween yourself off the saboxin.  Doesn't a doctor have to prescribe that to you.  How did you get it.  If a doc gave it to you he should be able to tell you how to use the sab to get clean.  I wish I had the answer.

[sadyprince]

ive been doin oxy for about 2 years now and lost everything.. i have been clean for about 2 months now but have been taking saboxin for the two months.. but when i dont take the saboxin i still feel really bad withdraws just like oxycontin withdraws... how long is it going to take me????? what should i do?????????

please help!!!???

[Kristy_27]

Thank you so much for your comments.  It at least gives me some hope that we can get through this. Unfortunately he has been going back and forth in terms of how he feels and I know he has taken some different not nearly as strong pills to make him feel better. I understand that he feels terrible but I'm afraid he's not completely committing to getting clean yet.  Not that he doesn't want to but he's struggling to get through each day.  I just wish I could have the belief that he is well on his way to recovering but I don't see the end of the tunnel yet!

[Anhedonio]

He is lucky to have you for support, but is not doing much to earn it if he is not being honest.

Withdrawal, at least the physical part, can last several weeks. Of these symptoms insomnia is one of the worst. Even with copious amounts of sleep aids, it can be very difficult to get much sleep. Oxycontin can be one of the more difficult opiates to withdraw from due to its long half-life (the amount of time it stays in your body). Other symptoms, like depression, irritability, and other psychological and emotional factors can persist for months or even years depending on a lot of things like duration of addiction/dependence, and quantities.

I would first let him know that you can't be much help to him if he isn't being completely frank and honest with you.

There is a document called the Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale (COWS). It may give you an idea of what to look for in trying to determine his degree of withdrawal and what the symptoms are. If several of these come and go too frequently, I would be suspect. And if he is getting a good night's sleep regularly, he is likely either well on his way to recovery or feeding you a line.

You can find the COWS document here:

http://www.naabt.org/documents/COWS_induction_flow_sheet.pdf

Hope this helps,

Jas.

[Spacemonkey]

I'm at week 9 and I still don't feel "normal". But my wife has noticed a MUCH needed improvement in my personality. I've been plowing through Post Acute Withdrawal lately because my brain isn't yet re-wired to live without painkillers, but it seems to be slowly passing day-by-day.  There has been alot of times over the past 4-5 weeks where I have been depressed, energy-dead, irritable, and sometimes physically ill, but I know I'm making progress because my wife tells me she can see the difference and she likes it ALOT :o)

I can identify and see alot of my own past behavior in Deez comment.  I can remember several times of being an irritable, rotten, and sick person that "suddenly got better" -- not because I was actually getting PAST the symptoms of withdrawal, but rather getting and taking more painkillers.... You can trust a person, but you can't trust a drug :o(   Give him alot of support and help on the days when it's OBVIOUS he's going through withdrawal. I lied my tail-end off about not being on pills when I really was and I know I'm not the only one.

At least he had the good sense to ADMIT he has a problem with painkillers!  I had to get thrown out of my house by my wife before I realized that I really DID have a big problem and that I hadn't been thinking clear for a LONG time....  

Offer to go with him to NA meetings if at all possible.  Try to get him to see a doctor with experience in addiction.  If neither of these are possible at this point, try getting him to come and visit this board - it's a good place to realize that nobody is alone and that alot of people share the same problems, solutions, and experience the emotional turmoil of trying to quit and not being able to.

[losfeliz1970]

i went through withdrawls for a good 2-3 weeks and didn't feel normal untill week 4 or 5.  it takes a long time.  hang in there

[DeezNuts]

It all depends on a few factors.

How long has he been taking any opiates/pain killers, including oxycontin.

What is his daily dose?

When he completely stops the physical withdrawl from oxycontin will usually last about a week. The worst days being day 3-5. Achey body, as if his bones are in pain. Little sleep without help from sleep aids. Flu like symptoms mainly. After a week he might begin to physically feel better but the big issue is coping without the drug. The brain can take months to produce natural pain killers, seratonin, dopamine, and endorphins for itself. Basically, for him it will feel like life just pretty much sucks. Things won't be nearly as fun and the thought of doing a simple task like washing his car can seem too much. If you really care for him, just be patient. If you love him now, while he's on the drug, you will LOVE him once he comes around full circle.

Trusting him can be a big problem, because as an addict myself I lied to my gf many times about taking pills. I told her I was going through WD, which I was for a few days. She knew how terrible I was feeling too, then once I got a hold of some norco (pain pill) I would feel instantly great and she would wonder why I wasn't feeling so bad. I told her it was because I was getting through withdrawl. The next day i would go back to feeling like **** and I told her the terrible feelings come and go. So, look out for signs of him being EXTREMELY uncomfortable, to a sudden change as if everything is "ok". Most likely, he has taken a pill.

keep posting, there are many people here with much widom.