Chemical affects of opiate use???

[HelpMe305]

Ok so I have a few questions for you very wise people. I have been using Roxys 30mg 1-10 a day for the last 22 months. I understand the whole, your body becomes dependent on them. I guess I never realized that your chemicals in your brain are effected as well.  I guess that explains the random days where I woke up crying hysterical for no apparent reason. Can anyone please explain to me in more simpler terms what happens physically to our body? Why does our thinking change? Why am I do unmotivated? Why do I go from one extreme mood to another? What exactly is happening when we detox? Also, how long does our body take to heal? I guess maybe a brief timeline would help? (physically and chemically). Also, will my brain be permantly scarred? Will my tolerance always be high for pain meds? I have tried looking online for answers but everything out there us so difficult to understand. You all are so great at answering questions!!! Any answers will be greatly appreciated. And to anyone who cares, I am still using. I haven't found the strength to quit, but I pray every night that one day I can come on here and let everyone be apart of my detox. One day...

[Kayt1717]

Those are all signs of Xanax abuse they cause memory loss and all that when she stops taking them she will be fine.

[BarbRTR]

Genie bob -- the thread you are posting under is old. If you copy this and paste into "post a question" you will get lots of responses. It might be slow today, as it's a holiday, but people will see it and reply.
Sounds like you need your own thread.
This is a wonderful community.
Is your daughter seeing a Dr for this?

[geniebob]

hello, my daughter (26) having major issues been off oxy 5 months crys every single day..  her memory very bad, she cannot focus or make decisions.. she actually seems to be getting worse.. her stomach hurts she doesnt care about her looks ..  she will make plans with me and 5 minutes later forget what she is doing..  I dont understand and am scared.. she had been abusing for years and years and snorted many at a time from what i have heard..  i really do not know for sure..   Yesterday she counldnt remember she had a dog then when i said the dog that was at her house she said the name of her dog that had died...   I think she was trying to take xanax to calm her down cause her heart raced for a long time she went to hospital they dont do anything except tell her her heart was fine... doctors DO not understand this either...  unreal..  any advice?  this is breaking my heart watching and not knowing what to do..  she says she is fading away...  

[gotoffofthem461]

I will post to inspire. 90-120 mg oxy a day but only a short time/ 6 months. I've been off them now 16 days and I started to feel like a human yesterday. My wife even said I'm back. I know it will take some more time but you do get better, and in just 16 days I feel better. I feel like doing things again and going out. energy is not on par but it will come back.

[marfans37]

I am day 4 of no hydrocodone. and there are ups and downs still but each day I force myself to get up and dig through this battle and I am so lucky to have my supporting husband who loves all the parts of me and whatever I bring to the table good or bad. but I know at the end of the day this decision to overcome has solidly landed on me plate alone.  so I want it THAT BAD and I hope everyone finds their own inner soldier.  I look forward to whatever tomorrow holds for me because I"M ALIVE and finally deciding my next step pill free.

[dtrain23]

Thank you sooo much!! This is the answer I was looking for. I've just detoxed off methadone after being on herion on and off for 18yrs. I am very emotional and all over the place. This methadone has a long life span in the body!!. I was  just looking up the effects of coming off opiates on the endorphines and there wasn't much i could find.so thank u. Good luck to all of you!!

[gnarly_1]

the answer to your questions are complex but have been addressed nicely here by several members the one thing I would like to stress is no 2 withdrawals are the same and dont compare yourself to anybody else we all get well at our own rate it has a lot to do with how long you used how hard you used your age and the condition of your overall health ......it also has to do with how much your willing to put into it.....how bad you really want it you need to be pro active in your recovery ....your not going to recover siting in front of the tv waiting for it to happen it takes work you must first realize the pills are just a symptom of the problem if it wert pills it would be alcohol food or work but as addicts we need to change the very way we think and reason to overcome our illness can it be done......you betcha will it take work and change absolutely ...will you have to go out of your comfort zone......I garentee it  but in the end when your brain strarts to fire the nurions right again....your serotonin stops going up and down like a yo/yo your brain starts to produce natural endorphins again if your doing your part and changing the things that make us addicts over time you will lern that recovery is a beautiful place....just never grow complacent and take your sobriety for granted as Sarah would say NEVER DROP YOUR GUARD you can live a very fofilling life without chemicals its all in the choices you make good luck to you I read your other post learn all you can in detox and take a good look around and see just how bad this disease can get if left untreated YOU CAN DO THIS IF YOU WANT IT BAD God bless......Gnarly    

[sandra5353]

amazing, what the doctors either dont know or wont tell us. I was told oxycontin wasnot addictive in 2003. WRONG! I sued the company and won.

[lulu747]

Here I am sleepless day 11 and wanted to add to this already brilliant advice.  I spoke to my pharmacist before I detoxed because of the strange effect oxycontin seemed to have on my brain and life outlook compared to the other opiates I had tried.  She explained that it binds to the neurons in the brain in a way that no other opiate does.  The last time I was switched to oxy it made me feel sketchy and terrible and I ct after one month.  Fast forward a few years later and my doctor tells me about a new pain med called Targin which contains both oxycontin and nalexone-the nalexone meant to cancel the opiate effect on the bowel and makes the drug impossible to abuse.  For a few weeks I thought it was great-then I got sketchy again, lost my appetite, stopped feeling like myself and to top it off ended up with a migraine that wouldn't let up for a month.  I said no more and went off it.  It's difficult to know how long it's going to take to get it out of me completely-I am still having acute withdrawal symptoms off and on.  But my head ache disappeared within 24 hours and never returned.  My brain continues to feel better and I feel more myself every moment of every day and you will to.  Living on pills is no way to live.  You can do it.  Keep posting.

[sandra5353]

love these comments, it gives us all hope, ty xo

[littlebit667]

When I first got here, I posted about getting "me" back.  This is the first post I got that helped me.  
You have to remember how opiates work, and why you feel depressed etc. when you quit taking them and after you are over the withdrawals.

Opiates bound to the opioid receptors in your brain and body. They release their artificial endorphins to them, and block the bodies natural endorphins. After a while the neurons that produce the body's natural endorphins disappear. There is no need for them so they just don't rejuvenate like they would normally.

When you stop taking the opiates,  they leave your opioid receptors bare, and they are calling out for your body's natural endorphins, but there isn't any there at first. You body has to repopulate the neurons that make them, and this takes time.

Endorphins like dopamine  control your moods, anxiety, sadness, anger, happiness, pain etc.

You will slowly get your "old self" back as these neurons repopulate and begin increasing their endorphins production. After being off the opiates for a month, they should be about 45-50% of normal, and be back to normal within a year.
So hang in there, you will feel better and better as the months roll by.

Try keep busy and keep your mind focused on positive things instead of dwelling on the depression, anxiety, etc. that are only temporary and will disappear as your endorphins return to normal.

[sandra5353]

very well put kitty!

[Bkitty]

~Ill take a shot at this,,,lol. This is what Ive learned in aftercare and NA. Opiate medications produce dopamine so when you abuse the medication you brain pretty much quits making dopamine on its own cuz it has the opiates replacing it-in essence you brain get lazy. Opiates also screw with the epinephrine and serotonin chemical your brain produces-again it gets lazy because you are feeding it the pills. So when you stop opiates,,you brain gets mad and has to "relearn" to produce those chemicals again. It takes time. Your brain is used to not making them. This causes depression and anxiety. That is why its not uncommon to take a anti-depressant after stopping opiates to kinda give your brain a boost. Your moods are all over the place,,from anxiety,,restlessness,,to balling your eyes out. This is your brain producing those chemicals again and your brain is a lil confused at doing so on its own. They say it takes one month to recover for every year/month that you abused the drug. Like in my case I abused for 8 years so its gonna take approx 8 months until my brain recovers. I believe you our tolerance level will lower over time,,a common mistake people make after being off the pills is when they relapse they take the amount they "usually" took and a lot of times overdose. You can do this,,you sound scared. Dont be,,,I promise that each day your off the pills it gets better and better. I will admit the first 2 weeks are probably the hardest. Get your mindset in the right place and be prepared. You know how long the physical w/d are,,,but prepare yourself for the psychcological games. Low motivation is very very common,,honestly I have 37 days today and I still have low motivation. But thats OK. You have to be OK with it and after you go thru the worst of the w/d's dont be hard on yourself,,,do small goals each day,,load of laundry,,take a shower,,go back to basics. Give yourself a break. I found that I expected way too much in the beginning and all I did was set myself up for disappointment. Dont expect too much of yourself the first 2 weeks. Sometimes i still feel like I have 20lb weights on each limb and the days I feel like that,,I go easy on myself and tell myself that its not gonna last forever.
You have to want sobriety sooo bad you can taste it. I was soo sick of the way I was living,,,i put my foot down and said f*ck this enough is enough!! You can do this,,prepare yourself and get in the right mindset. Prepare,,,post,,whatever you have to do. Jump off that sinking ship and start swimming towards the lifeboat. There are rough waters to go thru but you will get thru them and you will be OK I promise!! Keep me posted! I wish you the best! We are all here for you and will walk you thru this!!~Bkitty