Opiate withdrawal or stomach flu?!?

[Hsmith1282]

My husband has been taking 5mg Percocet (3-4 daily) for about a year and a half for chronic back pain. He has never abused them. He is tired of taking them and decided to wean himself.  He bought an inversion table and wanted to try a more holistic approach to helping his back pain. He started taking 2 percocets on Sunday, then dropped down to 1 on Monday morning. About 4 hours after taking his pill on Monday, he started vomiting. He also had hot flashes, body aches and intense nausea. He feels like he has the stomach flu. He threw up about ten times on Monday. By Monday night the vomiting had stopped but he started with diarrhea. The diarrhea lasted through the entire day/night on Tuesday. He felt a little better by Tuesday night, but again this morning (Wednesday) he began vomiting again. He isn't sure if this is opiate withdrawal or the stomach flu. He has also been under a lot of stress at work and thinks this is a combination of the stomach bug and stress, but I am afraid it's opiate withdrawal. Has anyone been through this? Does it sound like a stomach bug or opiate withdrawal? Any tips on how to ease his discomfort?

[dominosarah]

Tough call either way.  I know he just needs to stay hydrated.

[Ace1967]

Your spot on Tim. Good reply.

[dominosarah]

Well i am going to go off in a different direction than the others.  I think he has the flu.  His dose was fairly low.  I just spent the last couple days with the same thing.  Either way, make sure he gets some fluids in him.  Pedialyte i believe comes in popsicle form so that may be an option.  Give him ice chips also.  Hope he feels better~

[TimInColo]

I certainly respect your opinion, and he may indeed have the flu.  However he is almost certainly dependent on the opiates as well.  From what I have learned over the past few weeks I don't think it is possible for anyone to be on Percocet for 1.5 years and not develop dependency.  The brain is simply going to get used to the oxycodone, and stopping it will result in withdrawal until it can rewire itself once again.  If he does have the flu then I imagine it will make the withdrawal just that much more difficult.

There is an easy way to find out.  Just have your husband resume his normal dose for a day or so.  If the symptoms disappear then you'll know for sure what you're dealing with (but of course he'll be starting over if it is withdrawal).

[Ace1967]

It's withdrawals. Use Amoniumm AD the green stuff tastes horrible but will take care of the vomiting. Drink Vita water for hydration. I was taking oxy 30's for almost 5 years so I feel his pain. Don't be fooled by tapering down its 100x harder than cold turkey. Just quit cold turkey and suffer this ordeal once. He's gonna sweat profusely at night, sneeze, and feel anxious like no other. He may feel like he is having a heart attack but he's not. The mental part is the hardest. He has to get in the frame of mind " I got this" and he will succeed. By tapering down he is prolonging the withdrawals and making it last way to long. I also had fentynal patch during this time and used Oxy for break through pain. Trust me this to will pass. You forget about feeling "normal" per say as you were before you started taking the drug. Now he has to get back to where he left off. Easier said then done but he can do it with your help. He's gonna spend a lot of time in the bathroom next few days. For god sakes DO NOT USE THE TAPERING DOWN METHOD! I wish him all the best in the world and he can do it one day at a time. Good luck!

[TimInColo]

I agree with Lesa -- your husband is most likely in withdrawal.  I learned the hard way that you can precisely follow the prescribed dosing and still become physically dependent on oxycodone (the opiate in Percocet).  I am currently tapering to get off the drug altogether and it is working for me (I just dropped from 7.5mg/day to 5mg/day).  I don't feel great but at least I'm not violently ill and can basically function OK.  I was only on the meds for 3 months so I would expect your husband will need more time to get off than I have taken so far.  I talked to my doctor to develop a tapering plan and would recommend your husband do the same.  Best wished to the both of you --  Tim.

[10356]

Good Morning Hsmith. Welcome to the forum.. It sounds like your husband is in wd to me. If the sickness is accompanied with anxiety and restlessness throughout the body it is probably wd. In my opinion he is tapering to fast He has been on the opiates a year and a half that is a good amount of time. Is he still taking them ? We are not allowed to give tapering advice but the idea of a taper is to cut a small amount off a pill if it is allowed to be cut. take this amount till your body adjust then lower again. One does this till gone down to 1 pill a day then jumps.. Yes it can be accompanied by all you described. He can go to his Dr. and ask for a tapering schedule. Our he can continue on and just quit cold turkey (CT) Imodium for the bathroom issues Hot baths with Epsom salts would help the muscle aches by forcing magnesium into them. Calming teas for the anxiety.. He may need to ask the Dr. for something for the nausea Otherwise start a brat diet soft foods that are easy to swallow. Eating clean will help tremendously to feel whole again..Make sure he is drinking water a sports drink would be very good since he has been getting sick get his electrolytes balanced also they sell pedipop pop cycles for children that are dehydrated it would not hurt to get some of these and protein drinks for the vitamins they offer for a few weeks. This all takes about 5 days to a week to feel physically better once the opiates are stopped. Then a few weeks for the emotional to balance out. Your Husband is dependent not addicted so he should not have as hard a time in the emotional side of it. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.. Take care and I wish you both well, lesa