depression after detox

[dama66]

My husband is 6 weeks off of oxycotin.  he had been on and off of vicodin and oxycontin for a few years (without my knowledge) due to his knees being extrememly painful and worn out.  Once i found out, we got him to a pain management doctor, a surgeon and a mental therapist.  His pain management doctor ended up prescriping oxycontin while we waited to find the best surgeon and procedure to fix his knee.  By the time he had the surgery and went off of oxy, he was taking 400 mg per day.  He went off of it by weening down over a 2 month living hell period.  He truly feels he was at deaths door many times during those two months.  He seemed ok the first few weeks off of it, but then went back home to see his parents and came back extrememly depressed and saying he wants to leave our life out west and move back east where his parents are (without me...we've only been married 2 years, but he's been living out here for 9).    He is extremely depressed and just keeps saying he is "hollow" and he doesn't know what he wants/feels.  My question is how long does this depression last and does the person ever go back to the being the person they were before?  or is that person they were before gone forever after they go off drugs?  or is it that 6 weeks off of oxycontin he actually finaly has clarity.

[Jeffrey T Junig, MD PhD]

He was on a very high dose of oxycodone;  his brain will eventually recover, but it will take months and months for that to occur-- I would say 6 months at a minimum.  His 'taper' was much too fast;  typically a controlled taper would take a year or more from that level of narcotic.

Everyone who takes pain pills doesn't get addicted to them, but there is always that possibility.  If he did become addicted-- if he developed the state of mind where he thought about opiates constantly and had trouble controlling his dose, for example-- then there would be permanent consequences from the opiates.  People with 'opiate dependence' have a chronic, permanent illness that consists of many different aspects.  For example, the person becomes very aware of their physical symptoms;  the person becomes very attached to the medications;  the person sees the world with him at the center, and becomes spiritually empty.  For this reason, treatment of addiction includes a spiritual component in order to replace what has been lost, and to help the person see a 'higher power' or a purpose to life.

Finally, he may have a depression along with the other conditions.  A depression often leaves a person feeling 'hollow' and empty.

At a minimum I would consider getting him to see a psychiatrist to address his depressive symptoms.  Depression is treatable, and he should at least consider such a TEMPORARY diagnosis before making life changes.