where is my energy?

[FourChickens]

I am on Day 6 Detox off of 6-7 10mg Norco 3+ years and I am really starting to think I am turning a corner finally.  I cant sit still very long because I am still having anxiety which is very rare for me, but my question is.... why do I have almost no energy? I seriously lose my breath just walking SLOWLY up or down the stairs in my house. A few days before I started detox (cold turkey) I started a double course of antibiotics because I had strep throat. But that shouldnt contribute to my energy levels... The withdrawls from the Norco didnt allow me to sit still for very long, hot cold sweats, bathroom trips etc... so why am I so lethargic? Not sleepy or tired, just NO ENERGY. My heart is beating really fast when I do any small amount of physical work. (like folding laundry) What the heck?  Can I expect my energy levels to return soon? I am crying alot today too. I mean A LOT. Thank you so much for your advice.

[gnarly_1]

just wanted to get back to you and I always hate to be the bearer of bad news but yes I think your an addict .....dont freak out its not a death sentence but it does mean you will have to treat it like Greebs is telling you....Aftercare is the insulin to addiction I say this a lot but there are no truer words...as addicts we need to change the very way we think to live in recovery
stick with us here we will help you along and things will get better good luck and God bless......Gnarly  

[Greatgreebo]

Hey, sorry you are having a bad day. You've been on here posting for a while now and you are helping people so I'm sorry you posted and didn't get the response you needed at the time. To answer your question: dedicated is doing just fine. I've posted to her and we've exchanged some IM's. Send her an IM and I bet she will answer it soon.
Sounds like you are in the same boat as Fourchickens....blah and blue. It's okay to feel that way, it's part of the recovery process. What day are you on (clean days)? Start another new post and I'll be sure to answer you and I bet others will too. I'm really sorry you are having a bad day...but look at it this way, it's a bad day, but you are CLEAN!! Which is better than the best 'happy' day when you were high. Keep putting one foot in front of the other and moving forward. You can do this. Like I said, dedicated is still doing it and so are you.....keep doing what you are doing. You are brave and I'm proud of you.

Stay strong and post another 'blah' post.....you will get your answers and support. dedicated is still here and so are you :-)
Greebs

[0421]

Hi having a bad day started a post of my own but no one answered, can you tell me if
dedicatedtostop is okay?? I have not been on in a few days I seem to be in a deep depresion. But she was nice to me and I worry about her

[Greatgreebo]

Hang in there. Your energy will come back. It's okay to cry all day if the day is the day your mother passed away. Heck, it's okay to cry all day for no reason at all. There are no rules to being clean when it comes to emotions. It emotional and very difficult to be in recovery. We all have self medicated away our feelings for so long that our brains don't know what to do without the drugs. Admitting you are an addict is a big part of recovery. You have done that :-)
I'm sorry you had a sad day....are you feeling any better today? Do you like your casino job? I bet you see lots of 'drama' going down with customers and workers when you are there....or am I wrong? I had a room mate when I was in college that worked at a really expensive hotel and the stories he would come home with at the end of the day (drama and craziness!!). He was a concierge so I'm sure he was privy to move information than a cleaning lady or a dish washer, but still............the hotel business is filled with drama....and I've always wondered about casinos......if you guys who work in casinos get to see craziness more often than those of us who don't work in casinos. I'm just curious, so if you feel like answering that would be great...and if not, that's okay too. Go ahead and IM me if you feel like answering. I don't want to get your post yanked from this forum and stuck on the 'social' forum. They do that qutie a bit now it seems.
As a serious question: Do you like your job? Does it take you mind off using or does it make it harder for you to stay clean? Do you have insurance? If so, can you use your insurance to get into some aftercare (e.g. group counseling or one-on-one counseling?). Getting some sort of counseling set up is really important. That is why you keep seeing me come back here after falling off the wagon. I get to be doing good and then my addiction wins.....I do have chronic pain so I get the pills legally.... but I don't have the control to only take one when it's needed for pain (you know, One is too many and a thousand isn't enough....) anyway, I've finally admitted to myself that I can't white-knuckle it through this mess and I have to have someone else involved to help me. I will be going to my first counseling appointment this upcoming week....I'm worried about having to speak to another person about my dirty, little secret but I think it will help.I have lots of 'baggage' in my brain so I know it helped me to start abusing the pills because the pills helped to numb the emotional pain I was having and then my brain lost the ability to deal with mental pain on it's own and I had to take the pills just to stay 'normal' and it just kept going.
My point is I'm sure you could really use someone to talk to. Someone who isn't going to judge or downplay or ignore the addiction you have. This forum is GREAT for sharing our problems and it really helps...but like avisg has been telling me for 3.5 years-it isn't enough. You have to take the extra step and get some help-some aftercare.
I'm scared to do it but I'm also relieved. I'm hopeful it's going to help with the emotions and the guilt and the shame. I know I've done things I am ashamed of while being a drug user and I know it will help to get it out in the open and to talk about it. I know everyone is different, but I'm going to bet you will feel a lot better if you talk to someone about your addiction. Our secrets keep us sick.
So, this is just my two cents worth but I thought I should say it. I want to wish you well and say congrats!! on staying clean. You are heading into your second week (I'm so very proud of you!!). I am sending you some energy via positive thoughts and am so impressed with you. You're doing it.............I drink a lot of Emergen-C and it helps with the energy. It helps keep me stau hydrated and it helps with my vitamins and it helps by giving more energy. Like worried says, tyrosine can help, but only if you don't have the jitters. I'm super jittery and anxious so I avoid the tyrosine at all costs.
I really hope you are feeling a tad more happy today....but if you still feel like crying-than do it!! Cry and it's okay.. How is your energy today? As much as excercising is the last thing we feel like doing, it really does help get your energy back up and it really, really helps get us through the WD's. Your brain uses the excercise to jump start itself into making the brain chemicals you are short on right now. Go for a walk and just breath. It will help you!!
Stay strong,
Greatgreebo

ps-IM me your answers to my 'silly' questions if you feel like it. I've always been interested in casinos and how things work in them :-)
Just one of my weird fascinations.....do you have any?

[worried878]

The loss of energy hit me hard a week or 2 after i stopped.  I sunk into the couch and felt like i had no life!  I did rocket shots to get to work on time/but they worked.
Tyrosine is a great amino that helps nrg.  It is a precursor to dopamine and after stopping, our brain is in dopamine shock while it catches up with production.  2000-3000 mgs a day needs to be taken in divided doses.  I used the powdered form from Bulk Nutrition online and mixed it with EmergenC.  It worked for me.  Exercise also pumps up dopamine production.  Tyrosine is not good if u r anxious.  I wasnt, I was just totally non-motivated and flat out TIRED!
Thye thomas recipe is great and is helpful to make this easier for u.  good luck to u and keep posting

[FourChickens]

Well, When I read all the signs, it clearly states that I am an addict. I stopped having pain 9 months ago after my surgery. My pain mngmnt dr. prescribed me 180 10mg Norco a month which is a lot for someone who has no pain. So needless to say 6 a day is plenty. It has only been in the past couple months that I would count my pills and then count the days until my next refil and realize that I was a couple pills short. Mind you sometimes I would give a few pills out here and there to friends who had a tooth ache or sore back. Ver rarely did I take more than the 6 a day prescribed, because it would make me throw up and pass out. But clearly 6 was too many to begin with. I am not a very big girl. I never drank alcohol with the pain meds. But about 6 months ago my dr. put me on A.D.D medication and I found that sometimes the meds would make my hands shake a little. And I am a poker dealer in a casino. So if I took a pain pill before I sat at a poker table to work, it balanced out the shakes... that contributed to the increase of pills being taken. But I will admit, I hid my pills. I hid them in my closet. I hid them where I could. Even though my boyfriend and son knew I took pain pills, I think they thought I took them "as needed" they didnt realise that my "as needed" was every day all day. So there was all kinds of shame going on. Does that make me an addict instead of an dependent?

[gnarly_1]

OOOPS MISSED THE  ENERGY THING.....its different for everybody no 2 withdrawals are the same post withdrawal energy crash verys some get over it in a couple of weeks most of us notice a very gradual change dont be suprizes  if it takes a month or longer exercise and eating well helps....im a big believer in whey protein shakes for anyone who detoxes it give your brain the essential amino acids along with vitamins as well as protein all of witch the brain needs to heal you can pick up a 2lb can at walmrt for 15 bucks the chocolate flavor is good
just mix it with milk drink 2 a day this is a good building block to getting well a bit faster good luck .....Gnarly  

[gnarly_1]

HI what your going threw is pritty normal your emotions will be all over the place fro the next few weeks......as for addiction verse dependency one of the first signs of addiction is running out of your pills early because your not taking them as prescribed another way to tell is if your taking them and your not in pain or taking them to relax or calm down....deep down I think we all know were addicts if we are....it can happen to any one any race anybody doctors lawyers
sales people cashier's waitresses it knows cno boundary's many of us are highly functional and tops in our jobs just know if you are an addict it is treatable and if treated you can live a comfortable fulfilling life in recovery ....I wish you all the best in your recovery good luck and God bless.....Gnarly      

[FourChickens]

Thanks for the advice..... Its just been a really hard day. Today is my mothers birthday and she passed away 16 years ago, so its like a reason for me to cry ALL DAY LONG... The truth is I miss her so much, but I always miss her. But dont cry like this.... My body is wiggen out on me. Its like a monster has taken over my body, its not even me.  I am feeling all these emotions that I have been masking for the past 3 years. They are RAW, and they hurt. and all I want to do is get in the car and drive to the yoga studio and take a hot yoga class (something I usually do 3-4 times a week) but I know there is no way I have the energy to get through a class, I would pass out after 10 minutes because I am so lethargic. Greatgreebo?..... Is there anyway to get that house furnished any quicker? are there any shortcuts that I can take that will still give me the same wonderful results? I am hyper and impatient. (hence the reason for yoga and mediatation, trying to slow down).... I have a serious question for y'all.....This is the 1st time I have gone through this. I have never had a problem with addiction before, and this all stemmed from arthritis and a hip replacement. I dont feel like I crave pain pills.... The reason I continued to take them for 9 months after mu surgery was because I was terrified of going through detox, and I was terrified of life without these pain pills as its all i knew for the past 3 years. Am I in denial by thinking that dont ever want to take pain pills again? I have never had a problem with any other chemical dependency. Addiction is very much a part of my family genetics. I am 41 years old and this is the only time I have been in the situation. I swear I never want to go through this again. I hated the way I felt while I was taking them.... Just afraid and terrified of going through this physical and mental detox...any honest opinions and advice?

[Iwant2Bclean]

I started abusing pills when I was 13 I am now almost 28.I was on Sub's for 8 months. It was my only choice. I was NOT strong enough mentally to quit cold turkey and methadone was not something I wanted to be on. I was one of the lucky ones that didn't have  any trouble getting off  Sub's. I jumped off on 2mg and on days 5-6 had some anxiety and restless legs and of course no energy. Although I was diagnosed a few years ago with Chronic Fatigue I had way more energy than I do now. I had motivation too but most times didn't have the energy to do what I wanted.  I swear if I didn't have a child and a job I would lay in bed all day long and be content. It takes everything I have just to get out of bed.  I guess there could always be an underlying cause and I probably should talk to my Dr. Yeah you should relax and not stress over not having energy. Your body is going through some serious changes and it is gonna take time (hopefully not as long as it's taking me) to get back to feeling even just a little bit of how you felt before the drugs.

[Baker3336]

Totally happened to me too. Took 3 weeks to get it back. Norcos were my doc. I have more energy now at 33 days than I had on the meds. Hang in there.

[tiggz1977]

Ya I had same issue when I stopped last year. 1 day at a time! I cannot stress that enough. if it gets bad take a hot bath Epson salt it will relax you trust me! eat chocolate! dark chocolate if you like it! it will make ya feel a little better I did and it worked :-) keep up the good work, HOT baths im telling you!! chocolate and eat lots of protein! Good luck and be safe!

PS ya avoid caffeine, it will dehydrate you and give ya more anxiety., drink Gatorade! BUT chocolate is good :-P Instant rice will help with the runs ya might get also which im sure your aware of by now.

[Greatgreebo]

Your energy will come back. You've been abusing this stuff for a while so it will take a while for things to get back to normal. I think people should avoid Subutex unless it's absolutely necessary-it just delays the inevitable. The majority of people get some serious WD's with Sub. My vote is you did things right: you stopped the pills and didn't get another drug to substitute for your addiction.
Keep up with taking vitamins, and eating healthy and try to get some excercise whenever you can. Don't get down over the 'emotional' rollercoaster of WD's. It's all just your body trying to fix itself and get things going again. Justneedtotalk put it to me very nicely:
Think of your brain as a house remodel. The first few days of your WD's is when the house is being gutted of all the old stuff. You are over that now and your house is gutted. Now, you need to start the remodel....getting the new, nice stuff into place so your house will be how you want it to be and everything will work perfectly. This part takes some time too......everything needs to be re-measured, cut to fit, tried out and replaced if it's wrong. the color, style and lay-out all needs to be picked out and figured out etc.
So, just cry if you need to cry....sleep if you need to sleep and be patient. You are doing an excellent job!! Congrats on your Day  6. Your house is gutted and you are starting to the rebuilding part now. Be excited because this is when you get to get all the neat stuff you wanted in your house but didn't have before. Keep looking forward and stay positive.
For energy get yourself some protien shakes. My opinion is to avoid caffiene. It just makes things much worse and doesn't really help with energy but makes for some nasty jitters.

Stay strong,
Greatgreebo

[Jimmy1975]

Hi There ! Your energy will return but it does take time . Just keep doing as much exercise as you can even if that's a walk around the block ! Congrats on day 6 !!  Jimmy

[Greatgreebo]

DOC means: Drug Of Choice (the pill you most prefer)


Greatgreebo

[FourChickens]

Please forgive me, what is DOC? I heard Suboxone was a drug that would help me get off Norco. When I decided last week to stop taking my pain medicine a friend of mine said " you should get some Suboxone, it will help alot with the withdrawls you will be going through. I was too embarrased to go to my dr. and ask for it. So that is why I didnt do it.  I am sorry that you were strung out like that.  I was taking 6-7 Norco a day just to be Normal. I am not even kidding when I say that I didnt get high on them.  I originally started taking them (low dose of course) for hip pain, a few years ago, eventually I had to get a hip replacement (I am only a 41 yr old girl)  in May of last year, but I was so afraid of going through the detox part that I just never stopped taking the pain meds. After my surgery I just assumed my pain management dr. would slowly ween me off. I shouldnt have pain once I have a new hip right? WRONG! He never once asked me if I still had pain. Not once. Instead, he continued to prescribe me 180 10 mg Norco a month along with other drugs and even suggested I try Oxycontins. I just sat there and looked at him with these big eyes knowing that I was sinking deeper and deeper into a hole. But my family never knew that I ws abusing pain meds because I dont drink alcohol, or get strung out. If I didnt take the meds, I would get sick. If I took 1/2 a pill too much, I would fall asleep on the couch, thats it.  But I could feel my body deteriorating inside... something had to give... Prior to all this bullsh&t..I was full of energy. Hyper as heck... I dont know why, but i expected that I would start to get some of my energy back as my body started to detox. I know its only day 6, maybe I should just relax and give myself some more time. ..... Sorry for the long book length story, not sure where that all came from.  Im super happy that you are 186 days clean. thats a hell of a long time... I cant wait til I can say that :-)

[dwbson]

The strept throat is possibly contributing, but mostly the drugs have wiped out your body having taken over your mind....literally. You probably weren't very active drugged up(I'm guessing). I sure wasn't. Also these drugs cause your brain to stop making endorphins which gives you energy. Your going to be depressed and cry until your brain begins to make endorphins again. The fastest way to do this is exercise. Just walk to the mailbox to start if that's all you can manage and build slowly from there. Take multivitamins, multiminerals and Omega 3 supplements. Take it step by step. Your body is in shock because your denying it the drugs it became dependent on. Each day will get better. Your energy will return. Be easy on yourself with no time expectations of what or where you should be. Hang in there! You can do this!

[Iwant2Bclean]

I am 186 days off Suboxone and 13 months off my DOC and I still don't have any energy!!!! No motivation. It *****... But I would much rather have no energy than be strung out like I was.