14 days off oxy, craving big time!

Question

OMG i have such anxiety and want to do an oc so bad, i cant stand it and i cant believe it..... its 2 weeks today no oc..... is it because i took tram for 50 mg 3 days in a row then found it it was bad, took 25 mg tram yesterday.... to wean off, it. I dont know if the tram set me back or what, i got sniffles, achey, the whole shebang..... im at work, gotta be quick, shouldnt be on here at work in case they can read my screen, im..... beside myself....... any idears? Thanks 4 your help.

candothis247 · Answer

Ha ha ha   Kevin, that's hilarious! and  no, that’s not too “out there” at all. 

In fact, it’s time for those lazy, lounging, gazing out the windows all day long cats to learn a new hobby and I LOVE the Banjo.  Excellent idea!

PS. Day 15 off oc's and i still feel ill and still having cravings, but ain't doing any today.

Kevin_Bacon · Answer

An interesting journal paper is currently under peer-review, "Teach Your Cat To Play Banjo," and apparently, it's one of many things we can do during w/d's to get our minds off the physical and emotional wreckage ...

I agree, it sound a little "out there," but I'll track it down for you; I believe it was submitted to the NEJM, but I could be making this up because I can't sleep ...

candothis247 · Answer

Hi Ryan, i think those meds sound like a good combo, neurontin, seroquel and suboxone, all short term along with a sober house to detox. Plus you have a very positive attitude about the whole thing. Sounds like you are ready now. Best of Luck to you. It will be nice to have support at the house, and we are here too for you.  Take care

ryanbean · Answer

I was prescribed it because of the exact reason you said, days 3-6 in detox (actually it was 2-6, as the first night i took trazedone, but it didnt work nearly as well). I then talked to my psychiatrist that they had at the detox and told him I thought I'd need them when I left, because apparently they prescribe them in a combination w/ gabapentin for such things as anxiety/bipolar disorder/depression, because that's what I told him I was experiencing for a while now, and he gave me these scripts (partly because I told him these medications helped w these problems, probably because they still had me nodding off in detox without my drug of choice, opiates). They work really well when withdrawling, as I've done it numerous times, because you can actually get a good nights sleep if you take "enough", now I'm sure I don't need to go into detail about how much enough is, but it's more than prescribed ;).....the gabapentin/seroquel combination is even better during withdrawals, i really don't know what I would have done during my past detoxes without them (plus the suboxones too)....these 3 meds made it almost painless, and also in a weird way fun, because I was still "high", sadly....the only other thing I may advise is that one time when I was w/d-ing from suboxones, which may I add seemed alot worse to me c/t-ing than opiates, because it lasted longer, i puked more, and also literally couldnt sleep for days, but during these withdrawals I went to the hospital after I think almost 86 hours of NO sleep, literally none, and was perscribed the maximum mgs of ambien...If u want to get a good nights sleep during w/ds, take ambien...wow, did they work magic, but the only thing was, as a good drug addict would, I began abusing my ambien script because I found out there was such thing as an ambien "trip", which I began obsessed with every night, and I only needed to take two of mine if i wanted to trip because I had the strongest ones....so, to my surprise, I never refilled that script and am now taking seroquels instead....goodluck during your upcoming wd's, and goodluck on the seroquel acquiring too, they really do help

Kevin_Bacon · Answer

I hope you'll be able to keep in touch with us -- may I ask why you were prescribed Seroquel in the first place?

My research, combined with some anecdotal evidence, indicates that this "atypical anti-psychotic" was developed as a treatment for schizophrenia -- a drug that, incomparison to the old days of the "Major Tranquilizers" that is, Thorazine and Stelazine, etc., was less inclined to produce involuntary muscular movements, particularly of the face and mouth -- symptoms of irreversible "tardive dyskinesia," which can be be spotted quite easily in elderly mental patients/outpatients by the grotesque facial gestures, particularly of the mouth and tongue ... incurable, but Thorazine (= chlorpromazine, the first of these drugs, saved tens of thousands of patients the life-shattering effects of lobotomies) was used as a "control" drug -- instead of the constant shuffling, and wandering of patients, they'd sit there, incapable of coherent thought, motionless but for the dribbling ... where the hell was I?

Oh. Seroquel and it's cousin, Zyprexa, are used off-label in the short term for hyperactivity -- big-time sleep wih your brain in the "OFF" position, but for no more than two weeks in non-psychotic / schizophrenic patients, and they're used in some rehabs for Days 3-6 to disengage the brain and allow sleep ...

I've thought about getting a short-term script -- benzos are candy to me -- to survive another c/t -- hence the curiosity. The history lesson is free of charge, if you find these things interesting.

ryanbean · Answer

hang in there candothis247, i'm here with you too....i was doing somewhere between 5-8 oxys a day, tried to get clean probably ten times before, but this time (hopefully) i REALLY want to do it....im going to detox tomorrow and then going to hopefully live in a sober house....but honestly, I've also been prescribed gabapentin (nuerontin) and seroquel, while also taking suboxone, and I can honestly say the "nodding off" feeling that the altogether mixture of gabapentin and seroquel, and also probably suboxones, I think made me relapse the times I did...because like you and revmo37 discussed, the sedatives can give u even worse cravings....goodluck though, i've been battling this for years, and I am with you in this...it's not easy, not one bit..hang in there :)

candothis247 · Answer

thanks for ya'll's support today. I made it thru the day OXY FREE. That craving lasted for 1.5 hours and i think it was because i took those tramadols, so the wean is on, i took 50 mg for 3 days, 25 mg yesterday and 12.5 today, those things are bad bad bad for opiate withdrawal. i cant imagine why else it would have been such a strong craving unless this is the way it goes??? maybe so,  any other oxy users have major cravings still after 14 days? guess it wouldnt be that unusual. im just not sure, 1st time quitter here and hope its the last time.

revmo37 · Answer

Also, try drinking Ensure with protien.... Might sound funny but your body is REALLY craving nutrients now... I was doing 4-80 OC's a day, so I'm there with you

revmo37 · Answer

Don't do it!!!!     I'm on day 11 myself, I know what you mean about the cravings..... Also, don't take the sedative eather, it will just trick your brain into thinking it's an Oxy and your cravings will be twice as bad tomorrow.... Hang in there!

Kevin_Bacon · Answer

I read (from a legit source) that physicians should avoid prescribing Tramadol/cet to recovered opioid people -- the article / paper suggested that trams might induce cravings for this subset of patients ... I've taken them, and can't believe all the posts about severe addiction to this stuff, but physiology's pretty individual ...

After your remarkable exit from the pill club, I don't think you have much to worry about --sounds like it worked for now.

Well, time to put on the SCUBA gear ...

candothis247 · Answer

just took 1/4 of a 50 mg tram.... seems to have helped. thanks  i thnk its the tram which caused the probs. thanks, i dont know anything for sure. thanks