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I have questions regarding methadone withdrawal
After nearly 21 years of methadone, I took my last dose of 1.25 Saturday, July 3, 2016. The doctor said as long as it took me to detox and as low as I got down, before stopping, I would have no problems. (I would venture to say he has never detoxed)
First there was the "shock-waves", which have lessened, but still there at times.
RESTLESS legs (better now)
My ulcer-like pain, cramps and diarrhea just started today, but I don't know if it is all the superfood smoothies and supplements or the detox. I remember awful gray diarrhea while in treatment in 1984 for demerol, morphine, Dilaudid, "H", etc.
Is it unusual to start feeling better and then suddenly feel like crap again? (irritable, tired, cannot stay asleep, sneezing, strange smells that no one else notices) I do not remember doing that all those years ago, but then I had never been on any one thing for so long.
As a former nurse (impaired), I realize there is a long half-life, so there is no telling how much has been stored up in my fat cells.
I guess my question is: Is there any timeline for these symptoms?
First there was the "shock-waves", which have lessened, but still there at times.
RESTLESS legs (better now)
My ulcer-like pain, cramps and diarrhea just started today, but I don't know if it is all the superfood smoothies and supplements or the detox. I remember awful gray diarrhea while in treatment in 1984 for demerol, morphine, Dilaudid, "H", etc.
Is it unusual to start feeling better and then suddenly feel like crap again? (irritable, tired, cannot stay asleep, sneezing, strange smells that no one else notices) I do not remember doing that all those years ago, but then I had never been on any one thing for so long.
As a former nurse (impaired), I realize there is a long half-life, so there is no telling how much has been stored up in my fat cells.
I guess my question is: Is there any timeline for these symptoms?
Welcome to the forums , TooLongOn, sorry to read that you had a mild cardiac episode, wds can cause bp to rise, dont be discouraged by the bad days , cause when the good days come they will by far out weigh the bad.
I also just got off of methadone, today marks my 90 day mark, i started feeling better a few weeks into my detox. The key is to never give up hope, always put a smile on , no matter how bad you feel. Support is key , my family was here for me thru the whole process, and let me tell you those bad days , having someone to call or talk to was a blessing cause that brief moment of doubt will vanish with a good smile. I listened to alot of music it soothed my inner demons. keep us updated. take it one moment at a time.
God Bless
I also just got off of methadone, today marks my 90 day mark, i started feeling better a few weeks into my detox. The key is to never give up hope, always put a smile on , no matter how bad you feel. Support is key , my family was here for me thru the whole process, and let me tell you those bad days , having someone to call or talk to was a blessing cause that brief moment of doubt will vanish with a good smile. I listened to alot of music it soothed my inner demons. keep us updated. take it one moment at a time.
God Bless
1 Comments
Thank you Soulscapex!
CONGRATULATIONS on 90 days!
You give myself and others hope by sharing.
I am SO fortunate to have the man who accepted me as I was, warts (methadone) and all. We have been married 15 years now. I don't have to tell you how thrilled he AND my family are that I am FINALLY off after being on it over 1/3 of my life!
I am finding this site, most helpful and am grateful for it.
Have a Blessed day and keep up the good work!
Patsy
CONGRATULATIONS on 90 days!
You give myself and others hope by sharing.
I am SO fortunate to have the man who accepted me as I was, warts (methadone) and all. We have been married 15 years now. I don't have to tell you how thrilled he AND my family are that I am FINALLY off after being on it over 1/3 of my life!
I am finding this site, most helpful and am grateful for it.
Have a Blessed day and keep up the good work!
Patsy
I am sorry to hear that this happen. Wow!
We are the same age 60 and we both have 2 stents in. Maybe we should get together and work out. Hugs!
How are you feeling physically right now?
I am off & on because I just lost my Girl Dog last night, so I am hurting. Lost her Bother with my Mom & Dad and other family members & friends around 2yrs ago. It is hard but I made it through then with the help of my MH family and I will keep on pushing..Anyway, did not mean to high-jack your post. Let us know how you are?
Bless
Vickie
We are the same age 60 and we both have 2 stents in. Maybe we should get together and work out. Hugs!
How are you feeling physically right now?
I am off & on because I just lost my Girl Dog last night, so I am hurting. Lost her Bother with my Mom & Dad and other family members & friends around 2yrs ago. It is hard but I made it through then with the help of my MH family and I will keep on pushing..Anyway, did not mean to high-jack your post. Let us know how you are?
Bless
Vickie
1 Comments
Dear Vickie...
I am SO SORRY to hear of your precious baby's passing. And your parents and Brother dog. You sure went through a great deal when you first withdrew from the methadone.
My border collie, Keisha was my soul mate dog of my life and it was the hardest thing I have ever done holding her paw as she was relieved of her pain forever.
An avid dog lover, I moved my three large strays Keisha, Cody (three-legged lab/chow and Katie (golden retriever)..all rescues.. with me, to be with the man I married once we got down there. (We dated back and forth) He had a Pitt and two feral cats. Quite a menagerie we had.. all but our precious cat Phoebe have since passed.
Oops, sorry...I get carried away.
Today is better, had a bit of elevated B/P and heartburn, yesterday...a few aches and that "shock waves" feeling, but not all day. The weirdest thing that they come and go, but I am learning through the help of kind folks here that is normal.
Thank you for checking on me,
Prayers for your comfort,
Patsy
I am SO SORRY to hear of your precious baby's passing. And your parents and Brother dog. You sure went through a great deal when you first withdrew from the methadone.
My border collie, Keisha was my soul mate dog of my life and it was the hardest thing I have ever done holding her paw as she was relieved of her pain forever.
An avid dog lover, I moved my three large strays Keisha, Cody (three-legged lab/chow and Katie (golden retriever)..all rescues.. with me, to be with the man I married once we got down there. (We dated back and forth) He had a Pitt and two feral cats. Quite a menagerie we had.. all but our precious cat Phoebe have since passed.
Oops, sorry...I get carried away.
Today is better, had a bit of elevated B/P and heartburn, yesterday...a few aches and that "shock waves" feeling, but not all day. The weirdest thing that they come and go, but I am learning through the help of kind folks here that is normal.
Thank you for checking on me,
Prayers for your comfort,
Patsy
Congratulations!!! It's totally normal to feel good then bad then good then bad. I got off of it on 6/25 this year after 8.5 years. I weaned down like you to 1mg. I have good days and bad days. The last 2-3 days felt pretty decent finally. My sleep is still somewhat broken, I get mild chills and mild sweats and I yawn and sneeze a lot. It gets better each Day for the most part but some days in between I feel like j just wanna die. Other people on this forum who went through the same thing as us some years ago keep telling me it's normal and I believe it to be true. My GI problems didn't start right away either...it's weird and a beast of its own. Hang in there. Within the next day or two you will hear from other members I'm sure.
1 Comments
Good Morning, Jen!
Thank you for the note about feeling good/bad/good/bad. I was discouraged yesterday when the aches and shock wave feelings started back. I understand that the medication, stores itself in the bone marrow, so one must expect the up and down of detox.
I do apologize for the delayed response, as my GI upset, caused elevated B/P, which caused a mild cardiac episode, which put me in hospital!
Good Luck and God Bless your recovery,
Patsy
Thank you for the note about feeling good/bad/good/bad. I was discouraged yesterday when the aches and shock wave feelings started back. I understand that the medication, stores itself in the bone marrow, so one must expect the up and down of detox.
I do apologize for the delayed response, as my GI upset, caused elevated B/P, which caused a mild cardiac episode, which put me in hospital!
Good Luck and God Bless your recovery,
Patsy
Hello & Welcome to our world.
I have to agree with gnarly here.
I too came off of a high dose at the age 56 and before the dones was the other opiates, for around 16yrs. However, I also c/t 2 other meds on top of this one. All the things you are describing sound like w/ds to me. It does take time for most to bounce back and age and length of time on using matters here. I had been nursing for over 28yrs when I came clean. This lead me to study all I can about Pills and the Brain. I found out SO much about what happens to the brain chemistry and learned alot on the "Why" it takes so much time to come back around. The physical can last awhile and the mental does take some time, as the Brain has to adjust back from the removal of these stims. Keep doing what you are doing as far as the vit/min and so fourth go. Try to avoid caffeine at first and sugars too. That smell has been mentioned on here many times. The body will try to rid the toxins every which way it can. This is where we get that smell. Just keep up the Faith and keep yourself as busy as you can. Walks, exercise, sun and music will help stimulate those happy chems in your brain. Positive outlook will go along ways. Keep us updated on your success.
Bless
Vickie
I have to agree with gnarly here.
I too came off of a high dose at the age 56 and before the dones was the other opiates, for around 16yrs. However, I also c/t 2 other meds on top of this one. All the things you are describing sound like w/ds to me. It does take time for most to bounce back and age and length of time on using matters here. I had been nursing for over 28yrs when I came clean. This lead me to study all I can about Pills and the Brain. I found out SO much about what happens to the brain chemistry and learned alot on the "Why" it takes so much time to come back around. The physical can last awhile and the mental does take some time, as the Brain has to adjust back from the removal of these stims. Keep doing what you are doing as far as the vit/min and so fourth go. Try to avoid caffeine at first and sugars too. That smell has been mentioned on here many times. The body will try to rid the toxins every which way it can. This is where we get that smell. Just keep up the Faith and keep yourself as busy as you can. Walks, exercise, sun and music will help stimulate those happy chems in your brain. Positive outlook will go along ways. Keep us updated on your success.
Bless
Vickie
1 Comments
Good Morning, Vickie!
Wow, looks like we were close in age when we detoxed. I was an impaired nurse, (started injecting at age 18, 10 yrs before I became a nurse), went to tx in '84, then 10 years later ended up on methadone (quit meetings after 5 yrs.) Thankfully had never gone back to parenteral use.
In reference to the nutrition aspect, I have a tendency for obsessive behavior.
I obtained a list of superfoods and supplements, went out early one morning and spent a fortune on all of the above and started a smoothie with them every morning. Five days later (7/23), I ended up in the hospital with sharp pain between shoulders, a B/P of 184/110. Mine usually runs 110/70. Troponin & CPK were up. After a cardiac cath Monday, it was determined that I had only a 40% blockage and did not need additional stents to the two already in place. (LAD and one next to it).
Looks like the smoothies, plus anything I could make out of the foods I did not put in the smoothies, caused an epigastric episode, which then raised the B/P, which in turn caused the subendocardial ischemia they determined occurred.
So I ask myself. "Was it actually wise to get off the methadone?" Of course I now the answer.
OK...have blabbed enough. Hopefully will someday be able to help others, rather than submit only palavers about myself.
THANK YOU and have a Blessed day!
Patsy
Wow, looks like we were close in age when we detoxed. I was an impaired nurse, (started injecting at age 18, 10 yrs before I became a nurse), went to tx in '84, then 10 years later ended up on methadone (quit meetings after 5 yrs.) Thankfully had never gone back to parenteral use.
In reference to the nutrition aspect, I have a tendency for obsessive behavior.
I obtained a list of superfoods and supplements, went out early one morning and spent a fortune on all of the above and started a smoothie with them every morning. Five days later (7/23), I ended up in the hospital with sharp pain between shoulders, a B/P of 184/110. Mine usually runs 110/70. Troponin & CPK were up. After a cardiac cath Monday, it was determined that I had only a 40% blockage and did not need additional stents to the two already in place. (LAD and one next to it).
Looks like the smoothies, plus anything I could make out of the foods I did not put in the smoothies, caused an epigastric episode, which then raised the B/P, which in turn caused the subendocardial ischemia they determined occurred.
So I ask myself. "Was it actually wise to get off the methadone?" Of course I now the answer.
OK...have blabbed enough. Hopefully will someday be able to help others, rather than submit only palavers about myself.
THANK YOU and have a Blessed day!
Patsy
Hi And welcome to the forum.....well methadone hands down is the hardest of the synthetic opiets to kick I was on it for 7yrs at 150 and tapered off to 1mg and still went threw auful withdrawals over the years I have helped a lot of our members off this drug for me it was around 90 days b/4 I seen any hope of recovery....you where on it twice as long as me and yes it does seap into the fatty tissues and bones....it is not so much the severity of the withdrawal but the long recovery time that makes it such a beast to kick just know you made the right move and recovery is different for every body we use a formula of how long?/ what dose?? and your age will all factor in I was on it 7 yr at a high dose and was 47 when I detoxed so the cards where stacked agenst me... im 54 now and still consider it one of the best decisions of my life getting off of it.... just let us know if you have questions where here to help and support you
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Gnarly<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Gnarly<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
1 Comments
Thank you for your response, Gnarly. I would have responded sooner, but was admitted to hospital with a "mild heart attack" Saturday afternoon. (Wow...just realized that was the afternoon after I submitted question) Had cardiac cath Monday, but thankfully no more stents
(have 2 already). Apparently high blood pressure caused the subendochardial infarction.
Years 1-5 70mg. (from a local clinic.)
A elderly dr friend of mine was director and suggested it due to several pain pills a day.
Years 6-13 100mg. (was getting from doctor in Virgin Islands, so often 120-150mg)
Years 14-20 years, 9 months & 12 days
(from a clinic an hour away, as local one was gone)
120mg for a year, then decided to decrease, after struggling to stay awake on the way home. 80 for awhile, then 60, then 50. Was on 50 mg, getting my monthly supply when they told me I had pot in my urine (NO WAY)...t'was their mistake. After that, I found a local doctor to help me get off "slowly". When he took me from 10 to 5, it was most uncomfortable. anyway, last dose for about a month was 1.25mg (1/2 a 5mg.) I am 60 years old and it feels as though my body is falling apart. All will be well, I am sure. Sorry for the epic saga.
Congratulations on 7 years!
THANK YOU AGAIN!
(have 2 already). Apparently high blood pressure caused the subendochardial infarction.
Years 1-5 70mg. (from a local clinic.)
A elderly dr friend of mine was director and suggested it due to several pain pills a day.
Years 6-13 100mg. (was getting from doctor in Virgin Islands, so often 120-150mg)
Years 14-20 years, 9 months & 12 days
(from a clinic an hour away, as local one was gone)
120mg for a year, then decided to decrease, after struggling to stay awake on the way home. 80 for awhile, then 60, then 50. Was on 50 mg, getting my monthly supply when they told me I had pot in my urine (NO WAY)...t'was their mistake. After that, I found a local doctor to help me get off "slowly". When he took me from 10 to 5, it was most uncomfortable. anyway, last dose for about a month was 1.25mg (1/2 a 5mg.) I am 60 years old and it feels as though my body is falling apart. All will be well, I am sure. Sorry for the epic saga.
Congratulations on 7 years!
THANK YOU AGAIN!
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