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home detox

i have been addicted to pain meds for almost 6 years. i have a 7 year old son and this addiction is starting to affect my family. they are unaware i have this addiction, but they know something is wrong.  i been taking the meds to control mild pain (arthritis)  and it controls my anxiety. I tried countless times to quit but i always end taking pills. I cannot afford to go to hospital and get help. Also very embarrased to tell my family members. Keeping this addiction secret is eating me alive. i cannot tell anyone. right now i have been taking hydrocodone. i break the pills and take them almost every 2 hours until its for me to go to sleept. when i try to stop taking this med, i get very bad withdrawels. I hate the headaches, body aches and my high anxiety levels. today is my first day to try in stop taking this drug and try to endure body aches and headaches without the meds. does anyone have tips on home detox?
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Avatar universal
Hi Dani. So many good things posted here already. The WDs are going to suck this first week or whenever you completely stop. I could only do apple juice, bananas, and crackers for those first few days. Not sure how mobile you are, but the treadmill (even slow walking) was a real saver for me. Valerian Root did help my anxiety immensely in those initial days, and I also took Niacin (some don't, but I found it helpful). Try to keep your mind occupied. I Netflixed myself like crazy watching every movie under the sun. I would say try being okay being weak in front of your spouse, as in completely weak. If it seems bothersome to him, then too bad, he's supposed to help you for better or worse. I didn't want to tell my wife, but she saved my life through these times. Keep posting. You'll find an encouraging word or directive right when you need it. Praying for you too! David
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi Dani. Welcome to the forum.. my husband knew of my addiction but did not realize how much I was taking a day. like your significant other he use to say just take it like prescribed you need it. he did not really understand addiction. although he was kind and tried to understand the first time I went through wd He did not get it. after I got clean he noticed such a difference in myself He became my number 1 support for staying clean.. I became involved in our life.. addiction puts us in such a fog we do not notice a lot of what is going on around us. It is shocking how much our brains clear and how our emotions break free.. they do balance out and we return to who we were before our addictions. It is a awesome feeling being Free.. I had the support of my Dr. I was very Honest with all of them. I also received Psychiatric help to deal with my past This was a tremendous benefit.. seeking outside support through AA NA even Church Helps to keep us clean.. Being Honest with those closest to you is always a plus ! I think things will turn around for you once you get past the physical and you give a lil time for your emotions to level out.. Everyone in your life will notice the difference.. That is how profound it is.. Congratulations to you for taking your life Back You can do this !! So glad you found us Keep reaching for support ok and take a lot of Hot showers this will help tremendously.. lesa
Helpful - 0
271792 tn?1334979657
I understand that your SO is not supportive, not many people understand the disease of addiction. And what I meant by securing outside support is---with someone who is a recovering addict or who at least understands the disease. Sort of like the good folks here, except in person.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
i have somewhat explain my "addiction" to my significant other and he was not very supportive. but he is aware of my addiction, and tells me its ok to take painkiller if your arthritis and headaches are bad.. i guess he doesnt want to see me in pain or see my bad mood swings when i withdrawel. but i will try to talk to him more about my addiction to him and i will try the amino acid protocol
Helpful - 0
271792 tn?1334979657
Hi & Welcome,

You can find the Amino Acid Protocol listed at the bottom right of this page, along with The Thomas Recipe.

But hun, I have to tell you...the physical withdrawal to the meds is only a small percentage of what is going on. You are mentally addicted and emotionally addicted as well. When you get through the physical withdrawal you are going to need help. Our secrets keep us sick and I don't believe you can go through this alone. Certainly asking for help here is a good start but it does not replace having someone you can talk with face to face. You say you can't tell your family so what about your doctor? Is there anyone who is not an addict that you can go to for help?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
thank you soo much for your comment... i will mostly like print these comments from my new frens on this site. looking at these comments everyday will hopefully help me in my detox. but im am unaware of  this amino acid protocol??? is taking tylenol or ibuprofen ok to take during detox, because these body aches will become unbearable.
also a thing i forgot to mention another reason i am trying to stop taking this drug is because i can start to feel the bad effects on my body. i have painful left lower abdominal pain. I think this pain might be a result from taking too many painkillers.. its soo weird i had this pain for so long, but i still continued to take is painkiller. i loved the 'high' feeling more than anything, i would do anything just take have more painkillers.. i pray to god everday this addiction to painkillers will end  
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
thank you, i know this will be painful event in my life.. im so glad i found this site.. i will start looking for sleep meds, because i know insomnia will kick it. thanx so much for the advice. it is hard keeping away from pain meds because parents and family members all have these meds. i pray that i will keep away from the meds while visiting
Helpful - 0
1047946 tn?1332608029
Congrats on wanting to get off the narcotic pain meds for good. Our body and brain become so accustomed to taking them it will actually create pain to try to get us to give it what it wants. I suffer from low back pain, arthritis in my back and sciatic pain but once I completely detoxed myself my pain no longer warrants the use of narcotic pain meds. Let me tell you though, the first few weeks of detoxing I felt like every muscle and bone and my body was injured in one way or another. As time goes by the pain slowly subsides. I do suffer from pain on occasion but nothing that motrin can't take care of. I don't completely stop hurting but the motrin takes the edge off to where I can make it through the day doing normal activities.

The worst of the withdrawals last about 5 days or so with days 3 and 4 being the worst. After that it's more of a mental battle than it is physical. Right when you quit you will experience more pain than usual but that pain will subside. It's more of a phantom pain. It's our brains way of telling us to give it what it thinks it needs. The problem is our brain doesn't know what it needs due to being out of sorts from being on pills.

When I detoxed I used the amino acid protocol. I pretty much followed it to a "T". It really seemed to help. I feel it also helped mentally as I was still shoveling pills down my throat! The difference is the pills I was taking won't kill me.

Be sure you are eating healthy and pushing the fluids. Protein shakes are an excellent way to keep up on nutrition during detox since it can be hard to eat the first few days. I feel one of the most important things to do during withdrawals is to exercise. I know it can be hard to muster up the energy to do so but you have to force yourself even if it's just a short walk around the block at first. You will soon find out how much better it makes you feel and will go further and further each time. I went from walking around the block on day one to running 3 miles on day 3. Doing this made it one of my easiest detoxes I have had.
Also be sure to keep your mind occupied. Don't lay around feeling sorry for yourself. Try and go on with your normal life as much as you can. If you lay around in bed or on the couch all day your mind tends to wander into thoughts of the pills. Pick up a good book, go for a walk, do a jigsaw puzzle, anything to keep your mind occupied.

So much of this is mental. If you go into this prepared mentally your chances of success rise greatly. Go into this like it's a war and you're fighting for your life because in reality you are. Tell yourself every second of every day that failing is not an option. You know you can't take the pills forever so now is as good a time as easy to call it quits.

Be sure to stick around here and post often during detox. Get on here and post how you are feeling every hour if you want. You will get responses and it will help pass the time and keep your motivation level up. You are right, we are a tight knit family here and you are more than welcome to join! You will make some great friends here. I have many that I know I will keep in touch with for life. I owe my sobriety to everyone here and without them I probably wouldn't be breathing today.

I would consider talking to your family about. More than likely they already know what is going on but are too scared to confront you. I think it would be a big relief to all of you if you sat them down and had a talk with them. More than likely they will support you. I've seen so many posts on here where people also said that there is no way they can tell anyone. But many who finally did were so happy to get it off their chests. It was such a relief. I think the same would hold true for you. In order to have the best chance at recovery we can no longer hide our lies. Addiction doesn't go away once we stop the pills. That is just a small part of the puzzle. There are so many other aspects of our lives that we have to work on even if it seems like it is going to be very difficult to do.

Just hang in there and know that you're making one of the best decisions of your life. If you need anything at all please don't hesitate to ask!

Best of luck to you!


Brian
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Pick a day. Dont think about it dont bing till that day. Youll need. Tiolet roll, hot water bottle, lots of liquid water etc. Some normal meds like paracetimol. Some kinda sleeping thing over counter use this once every second night to avoid addiction. Be prepared not to sleep. Avoid caffeine. Bread cos gaurantee youll not want to eat and you dont want to much food cos of the tiolet cituation. Take each day as it comes. Be prepared mentally, Addiction will wear you down till you give in thats the nature of it. After 6months clean and a six months relapse. devasted good luck sweetie. x x x xx Im 2 weeks off tramadol and 6 days of codeine.
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