NEED HELP !!!!! First time withdrawal- IN HELL !!! PLEASE < PLEASE HELP !!

[newone58]

Please , please help. I was prescribed fentanyl 25 mcg patch 1 yr and 9 months ago for chronic bone pain. Lost 130 plus pounds in 1 year and went downhill physically, emotionally and every way.
I went off the patch myself on 9.21.12, and it has been PURE HELL ever since.
My  pain doctor - a licensed physician- refused to even see me on how to detox. Told me to go home, take 4 Vicodin a day, and 4 xanax a day and that was it.
I do not know what to expect! I am under  care of primary care doctor who knows my medicine detox regime, but I am suffering from HORRIBLE ANXIETY. Literally cannot sleep, sit sit, etc. I pace around 24/7 unless asleep. IS THIS NORMAL??  Does anyone know the stages of when this ANXIETY HELL, as well as the physical symptoms will subside??
I REALLY, REALLY need help !! I am ISOLATED, no one to talk to, and the pain doc is not helping me at all !!
I am having to do this ALONE, with no one who know what I am going through. What is Normal in Fentanyl detox?
How long will this HELL LAST?? Anyone know?
Please, please help !  I am at the end of the barrel here.
God BLESS anyone who will help .

[snowflake24]

hi ho, its snowflake 24, how are you doing today? please keep me informed

[marycarmel]

When I was tapering off the Fentanyl, my symptoms were overwhelming, even with the taper.  I had terrible nausea and vomiting and wound up dehydrated and on an IV in the ER for fluids.  My emotions were all over the place.  I remember picking my son up from baseball and having our usual after practice chat in the car, and the next thing, I was bawling, sobbing crying ... poor kid; I scared him half to death.  I had weird sneezes where I'd sneeze repeatedly ten times in a row and a few minutes later I'd sneeze again ten more times.  I had terrible bone pain, and my original pain worsened.  And any other pain issues I had, even if they hadn't bothered me in a while, flared up.  I had terrible sweats, soaking through pajamas and bedding.  It is something I will remember for the rest of my life.  I've come to personally believe, for me at least, that Fentanyl is not the right drug to treat chronic pain.  And the more I've researched the more I realized that the type of pain I had didn't respond well to narcotics anyway.

[newone58]

Can anyone Share with me many of the PHYSICAL symptoms of withdrawal? Like , I am having sweats still, cramps, runny nose, etc.

Can anyone share some of their physical symptoms??????

Would Love to HEAR FROM all of YOU GREAT FOLKS ON HERE!!!!

[newone58]

Thank you  ALL SO MUCH !!! This is so helpful. So, I am on day 20 . It is getting better. Had food poisoning and diverticulitis over the weekend- and that was SHEER HELL . But , took lots of water and hydrated, and cleaned out- it helped by Monday AM.

I know I did not get into this overnight, and it will take time to ease up. I think my body is trying so hard to get used to the very, very low dose of vicodin that is trying to pick up the w/d slack. But, the xanax is helping to do what it needs to do and getting more sleep- THANK GOD.

One of the HARDEST things is learning how to be HUMAN again. Just keeping up with regular eating, bathing, moving around, trying to talk to people, that is so overwhelming, especially with the PHYSICAL symptoms of coming off that demon patch. I HAD NO IDEA that that POWERFUL drug had soooo much control over me for so long. It just crept up and took over. A part of me honestly did not know it was even happening. I feel into an AWFUL rut of not living my life at all !!!

so, the process starts to become HUMAN AGAIN. That in itself is scary.

Add to the issue that I cannot get to PCP to help answer all my questions about HOW LONG this is going to take, and it makes it worse.

PLEASE KEEP POSTING if anyone knows about HOW LONG it takes to start to feel SOMEWHAT HUMAN AGAIN????  in w/d.

All of you are wonderful and GOD BLESS YOU ALL for all the excellent advice.  LOVE to all, and hope to hear from You ALL SOON!

[jlannspr]

"One of the HARDEST things is learning how to be HUMAN again" This is so true. I keep thinking wow this is how sober people feel all the time?! haha.

There is no magic time and it's all done. The process is slow and comes in waves. You are better today, than day 10, right? It can only get better. Don't stop and keep up your guard.

[newone58]

Thank you  ALL SO MUCH !!! This is so helpful. So, I am on day 20 . It is getting better. Had food poisoning and diverticulitis over the weekend- and that was SHEER HELL . But , took lots of water and hydrated, and cleaned out- it helped by Monday AM.

I know I did not get into this overnight, and it will take time to ease up. I think my body is trying so hard to get used to the very, very low dose of vicodin that is trying to pick up the w/d slack. But, the xanax is helping to do what it needs to do and getting more sleep- THANK GOD.

One of the HARDEST things is learning how to be HUMAN again. Just keeping up with regular eating, bathing, moving around, trying to talk to people, that is so overwhelming, especially with the PHYSICAL symptoms of coming off that demon patch. I HAD NO IDEA that that POWERFUL drug had soooo much control over me for so long. It just crept up and took over. A part of me honestly did not know it was even happening. I feel into an AWFUL rut of not living my life at all !!!

so, the process starts to become HUMAN AGAIN. That in itself is scary.

Add to the issue that I cannot get to PCP to help answer all my questions about HOW LONG this is going to take, and it makes it worse.

PLEASE KEEP POSTING if anyone knows about HOW LONG it takes to start to feel SOMEWHAT HUMAN AGAIN????  in w/d.

All of you are wonderful and GOD BLESS YOU ALL for all the excellent advice.  LOVE to all, and hope to hear from You ALL SOON!

[newone58]

Thank you  ALL SO MUCH !!! This is so helpful. So, I am on day 20 . It is getting better. Had food poisoning and diverticulitis over the weekend- and that was SHEER HELL . But , took lots of water and hydrated, and cleaned out- it helped by Monday AM.

I know I did not get into this overnight, and it will take time to ease up. I think my body is trying so hard to get used to the very, very low dose of vicodin that is trying to pick up the w/d slack. But, the xanax is helping to do what it needs to do and getting more sleep- THANK GOD.

One of the HARDEST things is learning how to be HUMAN again. Just keeping up with regular eating, bathing, moving around, trying to talk to people, that is so overwhelming, especially with the PHYSICAL symptoms of coming off that demon patch. I HAD NO IDEA that that POWERFUL drug had soooo much control over me for so long. It just crept up and took over. A part of me honestly did not know it was even happening. I feel into an AWFUL rut of not living my life at all !!!

so, the process starts to become HUMAN AGAIN. That in itself is scary.

Add to the issue that I cannot get to PCP to help answer all my questions about HOW LONG this is going to take, and it makes it worse.

PLEASE KEEP POSTING if anyone knows about HOW LONG it takes to start to feel SOMEWHAT HUMAN AGAIN????  in w/d.

All of you are wonderful and GOD BLESS YOU ALL for all the excellent advice.  LOVE to all, and hope to hear from You ALL SOON!

[snowflake24]

I just wanted to see how you were doing.....it does seem as if the withdrawals have subsided a bit for you. that is good. I haven't taken my methadone in almost two days, but it takes around 3 days after you stop taking it to begin feeling the withdrawal.

[newone58]

Thank you so much!! Right now, I am experiencing really bad nausea, for the first time and I am 17 days off patch. I have some zofran and took 1/2 a few hours ago, slept about an hour.
DO you have any ideas that may help the nausea go away??? I am sooo afraid of throwing up. a Morbid fear of that.
trying to eat each time I take the meds , just something with bread and protein in it.

Please , Please HELP if you have any ideas!!

Noticed I also have more flu like symptoms than before. Is this also part of the process?/ ALL of your advice is SO HELPFUL.
GOD BLESS!!

[haftahussle]

just looked up withdrawal symptoms and nausea is listed for fentanyl.  you poor thing.  it sounds awful..hope you feel better soon.

[Jimmy1975]

I see you all ready got many answers and that's wonderful ! I will only add that trust us when we tell you that you will be fine in time . We all have gone threw what you are to one extreme or the other and it ***** ! But I promise you  that you will wake up one morning and you  will jump for joy as it will be gone ! I Trust us ..Jimmy

[marycarmel]

I sent you a pm earlier and hope you got it.  I'm having a few computer issues myself.  I wish there was a timeline for you but everyone is different.  I had a very hard time with it but this board helped me tremendously (and a big shout out to Vicki; my angel!!!)  She put up with relentless questions from me.

I still personally think that the Vicodin you're taking isn't helping and if you dumped them you'd be no worse off.  They don't even compare to Fentanyl.  Can your primary care doc help?  I know you don't trust your pain doc and I don't blame you.  I'm still suspicious of pain docs, though I do trust my primary care and she has been immensely helpful to me.

The imodium may help some of the withdrawal symptoms as well.  Also, have you tried the Valerian Root for anxiety?  It worked fairly well for me, though it has a terrible smell when you open the bottle but thankfully no bad taste.

You will get through this.  Try working it a minute at a time if you have to and try not to look at the big picture.  I know it's hard to do.  Any pool or jacuzzi near you?  I think that would help the anxiety as well as some of the withdrawal symptoms.

Doctors need to be more forthcoming about all drugs when prescribing them but I was never told how tough Fentanyl would be to come off.

[snowflake24]

Hey hon, its snowflake.......you can do this, sweeite! I am soo proud of you!!!!!!!!!!keep up the hard work....your almost half way there!!!!!! please emal me if you need to. peace

[newone58]

Thank you hafta- so much. Yes, last night and this morning I had a really bad time with the runs, and had to break down and take immodium for first time. It seems to have helped stop it for now.
With IBS, I usually have constipation, so I was hoping that maybe the toxins were getting out of my system quicker this way.

Still staying very, very hydrated with lots of water and gatorade. Found out I was taking too much applejuice, which probably contributed.

As a very  WISE , and MOST wonderful , caring ANGEL I know,  said,:  I KEEP telling myself  , " PEAKS AND VALLEYS, PEAKS AND VALLEYS" with this detox process.

PRAYING SOOO HARD this is coming to the end of the really bad symptoms. still a lot of muscle aches, but getting a tad more sleep is such a BLESSING.

IF anyone at all knows a good link to a FENTANYL PATCH  WITHDRAW TIMELINE, PLEASE< PLEASE let me know.

I just really like to know what I am up  against, as the monster doctor who put me on this horrible thing, TOLD ME NOTHING.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF ANYONE KNOWS OF THE TIMELINE for withdraw. It would help SOOOO MUCH !!!

[haftahussle]

how are you doing today, newone?  i just re-read all your posts and could see you were suffering badly, although i did see your sleep was starting to return.  you have been posting a lot and looks like you didnt yesterday, so i am worried about you.  what is going on?  hope you are ok.

[newone58]

DEAR GOD !!! Does ANYONE know when this will end ??

Does anyone out there have any experience with the fentanyl patch and how long the withdrawal time is. Even though I am on the start of day 17, the actual detox period is only about 14 days from the time the demon drug left my system.

PLEASE, PLEASE anyone who knows ANYTHING about this patch , please , please let me know.

I cannot thank you all enough for all the support. I would never have made it without you and GOD.

[newone58]

DEAR GOD !!! Does ANYONE know when this will end ??

Does anyone out there have any experience with the fentanyl patch and how long the withdrawal time is. Even though I am on the start of day 17, the actual detox period is only about 14 days from the time the demon drug left my system.

PLEASE, PLEASE anyone who knows ANYTHING about this patch , please , please let me know.

I cannot thank you all enough for all the support. I would never have made it without you and GOD.

[newone58]

Thank you so much Brightfuture. This means the world to me. I am counting the days and minutes of the day to get this out of my body.

I am a little better off, I PRAY, than last week. At least, my  sleep has increased to average 4-5 hours of sleep a DAY. That was better than the 2-3 hours per day in the first week.
Oh, GOD !! I WANT MY LIFE BACK !!! Have a beautiful child and husband I   love so much and want to be back with them so BADLY. I want to be there for them, to be a part of their lives. In the past 3 plus months- before I took off the demon drug patch, I was just sleeping, withdrawing and not doing anything- not bathing , or eating or taking even basic care of myself. still having to force myself to bathe, eat, stay with fluids, sleep , PRAY EXTRA HARD, and ask for help from all of you wonderful ,wonderful messengers of  hope.

As I said earlier, ALL of you are a wonderful LIFELINE- Please keep posting. I look all the time for all of your great advice and support. Love to ALL.

[newone58]

Thank u snowflake. I really needed that encouragement. If only I can see a light at end of tunnel, it makes it more understandable.
so, I guess it takes about 3-4 weeks to get to any sort of level- off state with this taper down?

[Brightfutureahead]

Hi newone...I know it's so hard to dig deep and hang in there when your body is fighting you every step of the way...and the lack of sleep is just so hard...its something so essential and its just not there in the beginning..but you've made it 16 days....that's so good! I Know its easier said than done, but if you look back to day 2 or 3...are you feeling any better?

I'm sorry I don't have any specific answers in regards to fentanyl...just keep going and posting and getting support...it's so much easier when you don't feel alone!

[newone58]

Thank you everyone. thank you . Please keep posting, you ALL are a LIFELINE> for me.

[newone58]

Is that 2  weeks for both physical and anxiety from NOW?

The doctor who put me on this told me NOTHING about what to expect- and I am soooo scared.

Thank you all!!!  

Please let me know if anyone at all has gone off this demon patch of fentanyl. I really do not know what to expect and and trying sooo hard to hold onto hope that this will end !!!

[newone58]

thank you so much! is that about two weeks from now? Is that for just the physical symptoms or most of the anxiety? So sorry to ramble- having a major panic moment now. I also noticed that my sleep schedule is getting really strange. some times in last day , my body just wants to drop off and sleep earlier and earlier.
Is that part of the normal withdraw process?

I am afraid of that sleepiness, but I have to give in to it- so tired, as in the beginning, I was getting only about 2 HOURS of sleep a day. Now, I am able to get about 4- 5 hours of sleep a DAY in short bursts.

Is all of this part of the process? LORD, I HATE that that stupid doctor did not tell me ANYTHING about what to expect!!  That is why I am SO GRATEFUL to all of you who are helping me through this.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL !!

Please let me know.

[snowflake24]

hello, it  should get better in about two weeks. good luck. you can do this