methadone withdrawals

[bmac]

I am into my 13th day.I am on phenbarb and clonodine.Can anyone
tell me from their own experiences how long this will last.
I've been on prescriptions pain killers for 12 years and on
methadone for over a year.I would have never started if my pain doc would have told me the hell I would be in when trying to kick this.You that have gone thru this know what I'm going thru.
Please give some thoughts so I can have something to hold on too.My wife is totally against drug use of any kind and isn't helping at all.Got shakes and the normal w/d's but how long
does this last.Thanks guys for being here.All the posts make these easier knowing others like me out there.

[Sticker12]

I'm on day 17 coming off of 60 mg of done. The first four days were brutal then I started feeling a little better and getting a little bit of sleep. If I can Come off sixty you can do it to. No matter how I feel I stay busy doing something. Let ther be no doubt stay positive and keep your eye on the prize. You can do it.

[Suffertobesaved]

I have a few more things to add, I dont want it to sound like I've had it easy I'm still in withdrawal I'm just on the upward swing now. I'm on clonidine 0.1mg two/day I have been tapering off of that over the last few days because it leaves me with no energy. I have been taking multivitamins and some suppliments....flaxseed oil, melatonin and some amino acids to help the brain heal. One of the biggest things that helped me was FORCING myself to go on a walk a few times a day, believe it or not this helps with your pain and mood if only for a half hour. Get out of the house for a little while visit a clean friend, go to meetings NA, whatever you can do to pass those hellacious hours. I know the nights are the worst for me I have anxiety about trying to sleep because I didnt sleep for four days. If you cant sleep dont try for more than an hour, just get up get in the tub and try again, eventually whether it's 2:30 A.M or 5:00 A.M you will fall asleep. Right now your adrenal glands are producing excess adrenaline so the more you sit around the more restless you will get, I'm not saying anyone is just sitting around just that walking and going on a drive helps relieve some of that couped up energy. My Dr. put it to me like this. " Your not going to die from your lack of sleep, when your brain is finally ready to shut down you will sleep" And trust me the first time you get more than three hours in a row of sleep you will notice that you start to feel a little better. Last night was the first night that I got 5+ hours in a row of sleep and I feel better this morning. Once the sleep comes you will heal much faster.  Hang in there, this to shall pass next month will come whether you succede or not just keep going.

[Suffertobesaved]

I'm on day eight coming off 45mg's methadone cold turkey my highest dose was 100mg I tapered down and decided I was done. The last seven days have been extremely tough, all I can say is I finally got some sleep last night and things are looking up. I know this is an abnormal amount of time to be feeling better but it happened. Basically I told myself I'm going to have to suffer no matter what, there is nothing that will take away the withdrawals without causing other addictions. My advice is to just tough it out. I dont however recommend cold turkey to everyone, you have to be ready for extreme physical and psychological pain, also the higher the dose and the longer your on it the longer the withdrawals will last. Hang in there, and unless you truly need hospital care then stick it out. it may take a month but you will feel better eventually, and after you achieve your goal it will be one of the proudest moments of your life.

[winter68]

I glad to hear its getting easier for you, I'm still waiting for the worst to hit me. tommorrow I go down to 10mgs and next thursday I'll be on 4mgs which is where I plan to stop, cause I was told under 5mgs has no effect on the body so whats the point. I am just not sure if the w/d's are gonna get more severe once I have nothing or if I'm just gonna feel the way I've been feeling for the past few weeks. No matter what it takes though I have to get off this. I hope things work out for you, just keep thinking positively.

[NotDarkYet]

The withdrawls don't last forever, that's the good news.  I know exactly what your going though.  I was on methadone for 7 years and finally kicked it last February.  My best advice is take it slow, let your body adjust to the mgs. your on, then go down a mg. or two.  Once you reach the single digits, take it real, real slow. Don't rush it, otherwise your setting yourself up for relapse.  My detox was pretty good, plus I was on a blind detox which actually worked out very well (amazing how our minds will screw with us!), I had the usual w/d's but was able to get a good night's sleep in just a couple weeks.  But once you get off find a good support system, any good one of your liking.  I didn't and relapsed this spring/summer back on heroin/cocaine now I'm going through the 'recovery' thing again, and it's tiring!  Just take care and look forward to being free and stay clean, believe me it's so much better that way!

[bmac]

hang in.  it gets better.I am into my 15th day and I feel better.I still feel the withdrawals but like anything you
will get better.My wife doesn't care either butit isn't
about her it's about you.Don't use for if you do you will
be right back here.
                               Peace,
                              bmac

[winter68]

I know exactly what your going through I've been detoxing off of done for 5 months now. I was on 120mgs for 2 years and have decreased down to 16mgs, and it has been tough, I can't sleep past 5am, I have cold sweats and body cramps, and I'm constantly sick to my stomach. my dr isn't any help in getting me off he has given me clonidine which isn't much help. the clinic I go to has done everything they could to keep me on it, but I can't handle being addicted to this drug anymore, I was addicted to herion for 5 years so I haven't been clean for 7 years. I would have been off the done a year ago but I cracked a disc in my back and my dr told me the done was the strongest pain killer I was gonna get.which at 120mgs I was still in pain, so what was the point of taking it. My b/f doesn't understand it either he thinks that the withdrawls are all in my head and that I should just get over it. I know that if they were all in my head they would have been gone a long time ago. I've been told that the w/d's would last for 4-5 weeks after I didn't have any done in my system. But that I wouldn't feel the full effects of the w/d's till 3 days after I didn't have any in my system, so that makes me a lil uneasy, but I gotta do it.

[Bodymechanic]

The news is not good but there is hope.  It took me three months to feel at all better. It took six months to be able to sleep a few hours in a row. It was nearly a year before I felt normal again. To this day I still have trouble sleeping which I never had before going on methadone. That was over 20 years ago. The important thing is that this can be done if you really want to do it. You need to be strong with or without the support of your wife.  She could never understand what it means to be an addict  but we do.  


Good luck and don't give up,



Bodymechanic