alcoholic neuropathy? plz help me

[SueW]

Please help!  I am a recovering alcoholic & opiate addict with 65 days clean & sober.I drank for many years & became addicted to the opiates when I took them for chronic athritis pain in my knee, After ten years of taking the opiates I finally got a knee replacement but had to get help to detox from the pain pills & alcohol. Now I'm off them but my hands feel tight & tingly & both my calves & feet are painful tingling.tight & numb. the bottoms of my feet are numb & my balance is way off, especially on the right side. It is painful to get up in the morning & painful walking. The addictionologist at the rehab center said it was neuropathy which would be the most likely diagnosis.  He put me on neurontin. 3 times a day. I am also taking B complex, B1, Alpha Lipoic Acid & Calcium. I take Campral 3 times a day for alcohol cravings.I know my previous lifestyle was to numb & take away pain immediately & I have been trying to exercise but it doesn't get better, it seems to be getting worse. Could I have something else other then neuropathy?? I also have terrible neck & shoulder pain. My neck pain feels like I have a ring around my neck,squeezing. I'm 53 & want to feel better!! Thank you.

[hatgal]

I'm sorry I can't answer your pain questions as I'm in very much pain and have been for some time.  I did just have fusion surgery on my neck.  However, I was curious as to how you withdrew from the opiates.  I plan to get off of them within the next couple months when my fusion kicks in (very hopeful), but I refuse to go through withdrawals - been there when I tried to do it myself, but realized I really did need them for the pain.  I hopefully resolved my pain issues with the surgery.  Any advice you can give I would very much appreciate.  I hope you get some relief soon and that someone can answer your questions.  Best.............

[SueW]

Sorry about whats going on with you too. I tryed to withdraw from the opiates cold turkey but it was hell. Flu symptoms(much worse)sweats,as bad as anything you have ever heard about herion withdrawel but I was taking Norco & Vicodin. Drank alcohol, smoked pot but nothing helped. Could have kicked alcohol easy compared to this.Broke me completely. Had to go to rehab to detox. 6 days in detox with librium,subutex & everything else they give you for opiate withdrawels. good luck. hope its easier for you.

[hatgal]

I went cold turkey a few years ago, but I was not taking nearly what I do now so it wasn't that bad - a couple days of twitching, sweating, flue-like feeling.  However, a few months ago, I again tried the cold turkey thing - it is pure hell this time as I'm taking about 80mg of Norco each day!  But I did go back on them because I really do need them now for pain.  It's just he tolerance thing where I'm taking way more than the normal person would after this surgery b/c I was on them for the pain prior to surgery.  As I said above, I went cold turkey for about 2 days when the doc would not prescribe any more.  Then went to the pain clinic where they realized that, yes, my tolerance is high so they did prescribe what I needed to help the pain but also told me that I had to have the surgery.  So I did.  However, as I said, I will want to get off them in the next few months if the fusion works as planned.  I'm still taking 80-90mg of Norco each day.  How was the detox with the other meds?  I have no idea how that works and would appreciate more of your input.  Can I take something at home to help me?  Thanks for any info and, again, I hope you get relief soon.  Best.........

[harleyphleb]

Methadone works very well also for opiate addiction. I take 20mg's of methadone due to pain. I was taking about 4-6 percocets a day for chronic pain and nothing worked. It is amazing how methadone takes away the pain and also the opiate cravings . There is a website that is very helpful for people with addiction to pain meds. It is called Drugs.com. Very helpful forum. There is alot of very helpful people on there that have been through addiction and recovery with great stories of how they quit etc. Best of luck.