Fentanyl Detox

[Randomly4500]

I made a post on April 3, 2014. Same title: Fentanyl Detox. Please read my previous post. So far no responses. I am in pain, burning on fire from the inside out from the detox. I am about 12 days off the patch. I am in misery. I posted before the things I am doing to help myself. Please, if anyone has any suggestions or knows how long this insane burning will last please speak up and let me know. I am so suffering. Would appreciate any advice! Thanks so much!!!!

[Ldytaz]

Hi,sorry I have been having trouble with my ra and tend. In my hands so haven't been on much. I am 3weeks in my ct detox. It has been hard. I do agree with others that the pain eases with each day the poisons get out. We have to be patient. It took a long time to get here.. Take it one day at a time. Don't be so hard on yourself. The days u don't feel like doing anything,don't.. It will come with time. Try to at least get up,shower,walk around and stretch some. I have a lot of issues that need surgery but,have to wait. I too got injured at work 4 yrs ago. I never got workmanship comp as they said the injuries were old. I worked 6-7 days a week 10-12 hours a day. Not being able to go back has been the hardest part of all this. I miss it so much. I get bored but,know I could never stand long again. Finally I got a lawyer in 2012 to help get SSD. Still waiting. As I wait I get weaker everyday.  The only thing we can do is keep moving forward even tho sometimes we want to give up.. U can do this.. We can do this ... Keep on posting.. Hugs

[lulu747]

Awe honey I totally feel for you.  I agree, very very few doctors know how to help us detox off the medications they so readily prescribe.  I found out about clonidine by googling opiate detox.  Then my research was confirmed by the good people on this site.  I went to my doctor and said this is what I am doing and this is what I want.  I was fortunate to have her support and she gave me what I needed.  The clonidine prevents the b/p spikes that happen when you are detoxing and cause the sweat/chills/burning.  I can't take gabapentin either.  What do you mean your bones are dying?  Do you have osteoarthritis?  Bone cancer?  Fentanyl is SO much harder to come off of than an oral opiate.  It is powerful stuff which is why I switched to something else to taper before detoxing.  The good news is that you have been clean for awhile and should start to feel better soon.  Sleep takes a long time to return and you have to be patient.  (Hard so hard)  I would highly suggest melatonin and tryptophan (all natural sleep aids) The melatonin you can buy OTC but the tryptophan needs a scrip.  Know that your body is going to hurt really bad for awhile but once your pain regulation system begins to work again you will hurt far less.  I am a regular practicing yogi.  Yoga saved me in many ways and until my latest major pain episode I practiced 5 days a week.  I highly recommend the restorative yoga.  I know money is tight so you can also go to my yoga online and do free sessions there.  
Also make sure you are getting some good nutrition.  Juicing is great.  Chicken broth.  Protein shakes.  It really does make a HUGE difference.
I am here if you have any more questions.
Sending Support...
Lu

[Randomly4500]

Thanks so much for your response! I emailed my doctor and talked to her about the burning and all the other stuff, not sleeping, etc. She is at MCV hospital here in Richmond VA and they only way I can get to her is through a portal email system. I didn't get much of anything back from her. She isn't one to prescribe meds for me lightly, especially since I am so allergic and so sensitive and she is really conservative. She really doesn't know about detoxing people. Most docs don't I have found. One of my docs told me, "Oh, you will just feel a little bad for maybe a week". He knows nothing!!! They just told me to take a drop every 2 weeks. It has been horrible. I live in workers comp world as my original disc/back/SI joint injuries happened on the job. The rest of all my illnesses came from being treated by a doc for my back and he made me ill through an injection so they fall under comp also and they fight me tooth and nail on everything, including my meds. The doc never should have injected the garbage into me but got away with it. Good ole VA laws!

What did the Clonidine do for you?? I have trouble with Gabapentin and had to stop it the other  year but went back on it short term and it did help with the jerking, flailing and punching during detox. Now it is giving me problems again and I need to titrate off but I am scared I will have increased normal neuropathic pain. I have bone pain cause my bones are dying and muscle disease as well. They are extremely painful. I have been taking 100mg of antihistamine and with the Gaba it helped me sleep a few nights then back to no sleep. I am just plain wiped out, feel awful, weak and still burning. I am trying to go outside on the nice days and do a little something in the yard. I am trying to find and afford some type of gentle restorative yoga that I can do. I feel it would help. This is my second detox also. I detoxed myself off of Vicodin 10/325 in 2009. It was a quick and dirty but I recovered a lot faster. Of course that was 5 years ago and I have gone through more surgeries and illnesses since. With each it seems I just didn't bounce back. Thanks for reading, hearing me and talking to me. I do appreciate it!!!!

[lulu747]

Also- I am intolerant to many medications and have many allergies as well.  I understand your fear.  I really urge you to discuss all of your fears and symptoms with your doctor.  That is what they are there for.

[lulu747]

Hey there-
Sorry to hear you are still suffering.  I remember the burning well.  I believe it is the nerve endings coming back to life after being numbed by the opiates for so long.  I know you said you don't need a BP med and are drug intolerant but Clonidine is a med that has been around for nearly 100 years and is extremely safe.  I would seriously consider at least discussing it with your doctor.  When you are detoxing off large amounts of opiates it causes an incredible spike in your BP which leads to the shivering, burning, heart racing, etc etc.  I have done two detoxes one with and one without and the one with was INFINITELY more tolerable.  I hear you on the being ill.  I suffer from 3 serious autoimmune illnesses and sometimes debilitating chronic pain.  I did not use opiates recreationally.  But I used them for years and built up a high tolerance and then I began using more than I should.  I realized I had zero quality of life and living on opiates was not living so I fought hard and got clean.  This was against doctors advice.  But I knew it was right for me and it turns out I WAS RIGHT.  I have bouts of illness and awful pain (like now) and am forced to take pain meds.  I take the lowest dose for the shortest amount of time possible.  Overall, I suffer far less than I ever did on opiates.
I would make an appointment and speak with your doctor immediately.  As you said you are being medically supervised and you are suffering a lot you should do what you can to alleviate this suffering.  I wish you some peace and send healing vibes your way.
Lu

[Randomly4500]

Thanks for responding. I haven't gotten many responses and I was hoping for more info on the burning. It's bad!! I even called Mylan who makes the Fentanyl but they don't have it as a WD side effect. What dose of Fentanyl were you on? How many days out are you from being off the patch? Are you still burning? I am 19 days out and still feel ill, crappy, can't sleep and am burning. I feel like the life has been drained out of me totally. I am an already ill person with chronic pain and this has surely taken it's toll on me. If you know any more about the burning or when it might stop.....please pass along. Thanks so much and good luck to you!!

[RunningMom]

I'm right there with you.  I am on day 6 since quitting.  I detoxed kinda quick and quit at 25mcg.  I couldn't stand it.  The worst withdrawal was the first step down.

I'm I fire too!  My body aches from the bone out.  My joints and muscles ache too.  

I drink a lot of water and I force myself to exercise.  I meditate and listen to headphone to music and podcasts that really interest me.

This does suck!  That's for sure.  My pain doc says it can take up to a month or two to feel better.  At least it's temporary.  

I try to find things that take my mind off of it.  Writing on here reminds me of how crappy I feel.lol. It will get better.  Hang in there.  Your not alone.  

This week I'm hoping to treat myself with a professional massage when the kids are at school.  This should help relax the muscles.

Take care.

[Randomly4500]

Hey there Ldytaz! Yes I did see your other post and replied. Did you get it? I read about the Hylands but started the Gabapentin and it took care of the RLS and the body jerking. I was able to get some sleep last night. I changed the way I am taking the Gaba and added 50mg of an OTC sleep aid which is just an antihistamine. I still feel weak, sick and most other symptoms of WD from the Fentanyl but what is my main problem that I can't seem to get an answer for it this horrible burning pain that is all over every inch of my body and relentless. I have read other blogs where others experienced it and I want to know what else they did and how long it lasted but can't seem to get a clear answer on this issue.

When I read you last post you sounded like me. I was such an active person, loved the outdoors, biking, gym rat, hiking, etc. and loved my job. I didn't want to leave it. I now live on SSD only and $$ are really tight!! My back injury is under workers comp but I have to fight for everything little thing which is exhausting. I do have Medicare but it pays little. I have had to have 5 surgeries in 6 years. It's been tough. Somehow we keep going. What do you do during the day to keep busy? I used to make art, jewelry and all kinds of things. I loved working with my hands but I have problems with my hands also these days. I just don't know what to do any more. Everything seems to cause me pain but I still get out in my yard and push to try to garden but it's getting harder and harder. Last year I gave up. Yesterday, being a nice day I decided to get outside and do some light pruning to try and take my mind off the burning. I was wiped out and the pain.....oh my!!! I took a hot salt bath and it calmed down some but started again and today is bad. It's 2:20pm and I haven't even brushed my teeth! I feel wasted and can't seem to move, although I don't have any food in the house and need to try to get to the store. I have little help.

Hope your day is going as well as it can. I am routing for you!

[Randomly4500]

Hi LuLu747...... I don't think my doc would prescribe Clonidine. I am basically drug intolerant and allergic to many things and I don't need a BP medicine. Yes, I am under doctor supervision and Fentanyl was prescribed, I an not a drug abuser but I am a ill person with nerve, bone and muscle disease and chronic pain. The Fentanyl didn't help my pain a lot but I had a really difficult time with it. I have been on narcotics for the last 10 years with being on a high dose of Fentanyl the last 3. It took me 2 years to convince my doctors that the suffering and bad side effects I was having from the Fentanyl were out weighing any benefit of pain management. I was still in a ton of pain and was suffering from the Fentanyl. I am so done with narcotics. They just don't work for chronic long tern pain I have found. So, I started a slow detox dropping 12mcg every two weeks beginning Jan. 2014 per my doc's instructions. I don't think it was slow enough. I have been down and sick the entire 3 months with the insomnia starting when I dropped from 50 to 37mcg and the body thrashing, jerking and RLS started then. The severe burning started when I dropped off Fentanyl completely and has continued now for almost 2 weeks. I am burning alive, still very weak, not quite as sick but still feeling bad and all most other symptoms. I am taking all the vitamins and making the Whey spurilina shakes daily. I am taking hot salt baths. While in the bath the burning subsides but once out and I cool off it starts again. I was able to get some sleep last night. With my doc on board I started Gabapentin again and it stopped the jerking, RLS but I still wasn't sleeping. I changed the way I  was taking the Gaba and added 50 mg of an OTC sleep aid (antihistamine) and hour before bedtime. So, I might get some sleep for a couple of nights at least. My main concern is the horrible burning and what else to do to get it to stop and find out how long it will go on. It's horrible. This is what I need help with at this time. I know it's going to take a while for all the other detox symptoms to go away but the burning I can't stand!!!! Any info would be appreciated by you or anyone else. Thanks.

[Randomly4500]

Thanks Spider6. I read up on the Thomas recipe and got all the vitamins and am making Whey protein shakes with Spirulina and bananas. I also started Gabapentin again with my doc's permission. The RLS and jerking stopped after starting the Gaba but I am still burning with fire!!!! I am taking hot baths with salts. The burning goes away while I am in the bath but as soon as I am out and cool down it starts again. I did get some sleep last night. I changed the way I am taking the Gaba and took 2 with my regular meds about an hour before bedtime and also took 50mg of an over the counter sleep aide which is just an antihistamine. I am still very weak and feeling sick but I also went outside yesterday and did a little work in the yard which totally wiped me out. I just needed to have something to focus on besides the burning.

Anyway, once I woke up the burning started again. Do you know how long this is going to go on????? The burning is driving me insane!! My doc's really don't know anything when it comes to detoxing. I have called Mylan the company that makes the Fentanyl but they don't know much, or have protocol for detoxing. I know the list of symptoms that they have and burning isn't on it but it is certainly a symptom of detox! The burning is the most important problems now along with sleep but I think I have the sleep thing figured out......for a few days anyway. Thanks!

[Ldytaz]

Hi sunrise.I also posted on your last one..I have rls myself and it is hard without the wds.Add that and your legs never let up.I am on day 17 and just slept 6 hours last night.I have been taking the Hylands for rls..get it at walmart..I took it and stopped but,now taking it again..Congrats and leep posting.We r here for u...

[lulu747]

Hey There-
I believe I posted on your other thread.  I am sorry you are suffering- I detoxed off Fentanyl 3 years ago.  It's awful.  But I switched to an oral opiate and weaned before going c/t when I got impatient with the wean.  It's going to take awhile.  Have you been taking clonidine?  It's a BP medication commonly used in opiate detox that really does help with a lot of the symptoms.  Are you doing this detox under Dr supervision?  Was the fentanyl prescribed?  Really, truly talk to your doc if you can.  Detox is suffering no matter which way you look at it but there are things that can greatly reduce your suffering.  Just know that there is light at the end of the tunnel.  Be kind and gentle with yourself.  And feel proud that you are taking your life back from the drugs.
Sending support...
Lu

[spider6]

Hi there, congrats on your 12 days hon!  I read that restless leg syndrome shows itself as burning....apply hot and cold compresses, try massage, Epsom baths...vitamins specific to rls.  I think that's where I'd start.  My rls affected me differently...it was an insane jumping out of my skin sensation that drove me mad with sleepless nights.  It's gonna take time hon but don't give up ...next time will be much worse.  Prayers and hugs hope and strength.. Spider