STILL suffering! HELP!!

[TwinMom2000]

I took my last oxycontin last Thursday afternoon. I was taking 20mg twice a day, but admit I may have taken them closer together at times. I have been suffering flu-like symptoms of varying degrees ever since. On Saturday, I felt a little better, but Sunday I was worse. Yesterday, I was able to get up and move around the house a little, but I was in bed (exhausted!) by 8:00pm. This morning I STILL have nausea and a bit of diarrhea. How long can this go on??? I've lost 10 lbs (which is good), but I'm sick of feeling sick. I'm almost tempted to go back on them if it might stop the ****** way I'm feeling. :-( (But I won't!)

[1eagle]

Listen to these people, twin...they will give you good advice. Zurich is very genuine...and IBKleen and Sava - and plenty of others....I can't add anything to what you don't already know from the posts above...I'm just here to add my support! - and you are past the worst part by now...just hang in there

[GoingToMakeIt]

Have you looked into the Thomas recipe? Good advice there. Your body has just been through a horrible ordeal.(w/d) It needs vitamins and supplements to aid itself in the recovery. You should be proud of yourself making it this far. Day 7 isn't it?
Good job. It should end fairly soon. Each day will hopefully start to get a bit better than the day before.

[desertgirl]

Yes it is very normal to get a fever while going thru this, I always get one. You have not been on the meds very long, so you should not have to much longer to go, hang in there..

[Zurich42]

Headaches are probably one of the worst side-affects of withdrawal.  I, myself, had to take a lot of Advil during both the tapering process AND afterwards.  All what you are experiencing are normal withdrawal symptoms - including, exhaustion, chills, nauseau, diarrhea, anxiety, and insomnia.  
The good thing is that you weren't on it 'too long' - which will lessen both your withdrawal time-frame and perhaps help you not relapse.  You've done so much work so far - and I imagine it has sucked.  There is nothing worse than 'feeling' sick and NOT taking what you know will make you feel better.  

As for the 'no energy' - you will return to 'normal' soon (I imagine within a few days).  I assume your husband knows? if so, then ask him to read some of the postings here to understand some of what you are going through (sometimes it's easier for people to read 'other addicts' comments - I found it hits home more often).  

As for getting 'stuff done around the house', here's what I did.  I made a list - and told myself 'of the 25 things on my list, TODAY I will accomplish 2 and draw a line through them'.  It sounds stupid - but knowing me, I HAD to see progress being made in order for me to feel 'good again'.  I also went through the tapering regime which might have been easier (not sure).  

Lastly, I'm glad you are meeting with your doctor.  I work in healthcare.  Your doctor needs to be informed of your condition - ALL of it (including your dosages, etc).  This is nothing 'new' to them, believe me.  If you can 'hold out' doing the cold turkey, I suggest you do that - but inform your doctor that you're doing just that.  

You're not alone...sending positive thoughts and encouragement your way!

[TwinMom2000]

Thanks so much for your words of encouragement!

I started oxycontin only in October of this year for a badly herniated disk. By the end of October, I was on 20mg every 12 hours, also taking oxycocet in between for "breakthrough pain". I got to the point where I wasn't realy paying too much attention to the every 12 hours part, so there may have been times where I took 3 or even 4 in 24 hours. Also, I got ino a habit at bedtime where I would take an oxycontin with 2 oxycocet because it relaxed me and helped me sleep through the pain. I had back surgery at the end of November and resumed the oxycontin again. So early last week, I started thinking I was getting the flu... I was aching all over, soooo tired, chills, nauseous, etc. Only on Thursday did I clue in that every time I took an oxycontin, the symptoms went away. So I quit "cold turkey". I took my last one Thursday at 5:00pm. Since then, I have had everything from chills to diarrhea to anxiety to insomnia. The worst of this though is that I have absolutely NO energy and I feel so nauseous all the time. Even OTC drugs don't help the nausea much. I finally called my doctor and I got an appointment for tomorrow morning. He has no idea that I have been going through any of this and I probably should have talked to him first... might have saved myself a lot of discomfort. Generally, I feel like ****. Also, is it normal to get headaches and a low grade fever during withdrawal? I've never seen fever mentioned as a possible symptom and I've had one off and on all week.

Thanks again!! I'm glad I found this place. I don't feel so alone.

[Zurich42]

You are experiencing 'normal' withdrawal symptoms.  I was on a 10-12 tablet Vicodin 5/500 mg a day habit - and went through a tapering regime successfully over two weeks to get to where I am today (Day 10 of sobriety).  Like you, I felt the same 'flu-like' symptoms - but also depression, edgines, anxiety, etc.  It's all just your body's way of ridding itself of toxic substances.  From your posting, I can't tell if you went cold turkey or if you went through a tapering regime.  Nor can I tell how 'long' you were on oxycontin - thus, 'keep this rule in mind':  The longer you were on oxycontin and the 'more' you took, the longer your withdrawal and or tapering regime would/should last.  
You're doing the hard part - and depending on how loong you were taking it, you may be over the worst part (not sure).  Know that you are winning the good fight and continue to post your feelings, thoughts, symptoms, cravings, etc.  There are a lot of folks on this forum that have been through this - me being one of them.
Sending positive thoughts and encouragement your way!