Side affects of going cold turkey from Oxycontin

[davinias]

Hi I have a friend who has been taking 20mg and 40mg of Oxycontin for the last 6 months. This was due to her having unbearable arthritic back, hip, and knee pain. She has been ordered to go cold turky on the oxycontin because there is signs of liver and kidney damage. They wont operate on her for her pain till she loses a bit of weight. She is doing her best to lose weight but it is hard as she can not move much. Could someone please tell me what the actual with drawal affects are of going straight off Oxycontin and how long does it take to get out of your system. I have seen the with drawal of people that have slowly cut down but not someone who actually has to give up straight away. She is devistated and in so much pain. She is only allowed Panadine forte and Nurofen plus which does nothing.  

[enemy48]

Hi there,

Welcome here.  You've come to the right place.

Withdrawal symptoms from pain killers will be very similiar to the worst flu anyone's ever had.  Going cold turkey, she will experience the following:

Body aches (more than usual)
The runs for days
No appetite & possible vomiting
Skin Crawling
Restless Leg Syndrome
Sneezing & Coughing
Extreme Anxiety
No sleep for a long time
and more

Everyone is different.  This varies from the length of time using and the amount of daily use.

Please check into the health pages at the top right.  There are vitamins, aminos & meds to help her through this.

Please feel free to ask more questions.

Best Wishes.:

[worried878]

20-40 mg is not a susper high dose..perhaps it will only last 4 or 5 days and wont be real severe...everyone is different...like i did have the runs but no sleep problems...be safe

[davinias]

Thanks so much for your comments and advice, I think she was trying to work out what was caused by her pain and what was caused by her stopping the Oxycontin. I will pass on the info and seeing she is going to a dietician this week I will get her to ask what kind of foods and vitamins she can take with her other meds. Many thanks again.