Day 13 of no methadone....bad anxiety

[Readytogetmylifeback]

Haven't posted in a week b/c I have actually been doing ok, besides the lack of energy. I've been having anxiety on & off for the past week but the past four days it's gotten worse. It's constant shortness of breath & tightening of chest. I started taking the l-tyrosine yesterday to help with energy & started thinking that was making the anxiety worse. Not sure tho b/c it was happening a couple days before I started taking it.
Is it normal to have constant anxiety almost 2 weeks after stopping the methadone & is there any way to treat it without anxiety meds?

[gnarly_1]

Great post evolverU im so glad to have you on this forum....great explnation!!!!

[Readytogetmylifeback]

Thank you SO much for explaining it the way you did. That helps a lot. It's nice to know exactly what's happening. My fiancée keeps telling me to not think about it, and focus on something else. Easier said than done. I'm just glad this is normal, maybe I'll stop stressing about it. Thanks!

[EvolverU]

Hi,

It's good to see you. :) Like Gnarly, my fellow ex-doner said, it's a slow process w/ this drug. I know that you're still feeling like you want to jump out of your skin right now. It's not because you're clinically anxious or depressed, etc. It's because your chemistry has to heal from the damage done to it. It can take a while. Right now, your circadian rhythms are in flux, your body is flooded with nor-epinephrine & lacks the request levels of endorphins. That's the main reason you feel this way. There is no magic bullet right now except time. Things like L-Tyrosine, etc. will work better as your system acclimates & you put more time between you & the M'done. Truly, the best things that you can do are to eat a healthy unprocessed diet, hydrate on waking & throughout the day, exercise, hot baths, redirect your mind from your symptoms & have faith in the healing process.

Keep your eye on the prize -- You're doing so well! I know it's rough but  things will start to gradually get better now. (You're over the hump @ just about 2 weeks). Hang in there warrior! :))

[Readytogetmylifeback]

Thanks everyone. I will try anything & everything at this point. It feels like there is someone sitting on my chest constantly and anytime I get up to walk even just to the next room I get short of breath. I've never had a problem with anxiety, so all of this is new to me. Thanks for the advice & support!

[aw219]

The anxiety can last a very long time.  If you can talk to your doctor.  Do you naturally have anxiety? Many people with addiction got there because of mental disorders such as depression and anxiety.  Congrats on your sobriety!

[PurrfectlyKrazy]

Gnarly pretty much said it all.  A couple of other suggestions....accupuncture and your local GNC...  I'm trying to get my insurance to pay for accupuncture.  Before my hubby had his transplant there was a huge list of things he couldn't eat or take medically.  The accupuncture and the herbs they made for him were so awesome!  We credit it with keeping him alive long enough to have his transplant.  Just an explanation...when he went on the transplant list he went immediately to #3 out of over 400 people.  That is how ill he was.  So I do have a faith in accupuncture.  My m-i-l uses it for her foot pain and it has helped her with that and her anxiety over my f-i-l who is now showing strong signs of Alzheimers.  Something to check into maybe???

[gnarly_1]

Hi  well you sound good for 13 days out this is a slow process with methadone as for the anxiety  get to the health food store and pick up some stuff called''lemon balm'' it is 14 bucks  just take a dropper full in a cup of camamele tea it will help in a 1/2 hour the best thing for anxiety is exorcise it is natural and helps a lot now I know to well about the ''energy crash'' so even going for a walk will help  my wife had me out every day at first it was up and down the block we tried to go a little farther each day and it really helped  as for the tyrosine it can aggravate anxiety and that was one of my worst symptoms keep in mind methadone is very cyclic and the withdrawal symptoms come and go  in a good senero people have got threw it in a month for heave use over a few years it is more of a 60 to 90 day deal  for me it was 90 days until I started to feel like my self just know you can do this it takes resolve and perseverance also you need to start to put some form of aftercare in place I have tried most of them but I did not see growth until I got to N/A  today I still go to 4 meetings a week this is a critical step for the long term.. keep posting for support and just know it is so so worth it
...........................................Gnarly................................