Just curious...

[Clarityrocks]

Hey kids. I just wondered if anyone has any experience with this or has heard of it before. When I quit using opiates, I knew some weight gain was likely par for the course. When I complained about it to my husband, he said, "well, you hadn't eaten in years!" Lol.  Slight exaggeration, but it made me feel a little better. So I continued to put weight on for a while. I definitely used food for a couple months, I think to fill that hole left by drugs. As time has gone on, I have noticed that I am ALWAYS cold, when I was usually hot before, my hair is falling out (not in clumps, but more than I have ever shed before), my legs are tingling, something else, too but I can't think of it now. Anyway, a friend of mine is an OB doctor, and she says it is likely my thyroid, and I am waiting now for my appt with a new doctor. My question is, has anyone else had any thyroid problems after opiates? I swear I have not been right since that withdrawl. It feels like it damaged my abilility to regulate my body temperature. If so, it is worth it to be clean and sober, but it still s**ks. I have googled this and found some vague links, but thought, why not ask you guys, it makes more sense to ask real people! Thanks, everyone!
Allison

[Clarityrocks]

Congrats on 76 days! Yeah, for a couple months (or 5, lol), I felt like I never got full. Baked cookies constantly, brownies, it was obscene really! But when I did buckle down and ate this low amount of calories, nothing seemed to happen. That is frustrating. I mean, I am starving here, I want SOME results. (I may be exaggerating a tiny bit, lol) Anyway, I have no idea if any of these hints are related to opiates or each other, etc, but I just haven't felt quite right since I went through withdrawl. I swear I have PTSD from it! Lol. Mine was so bad, it is actually one of my strongest recovery tools, cause I remember it like yesterday. I am actually grateful it was so bad, cause I NEED that memory.
Good luck with the pastries, I would be totally helpless!:)

[FourJays]

Hello - I have been reading your posts lately, and first let me say CONGRATS on the clean time - it is amazing and such an inspiration to me.  I couldn't believe as I read this thread.  I am about 76 days clean today.  I have gained a lot of weight since I quit the Tramadol.  My gain actually started about a year ago, I think mostly because I just wasn't moving at all (major neck problem that ended in cervical fusion surgery last summer).  Anyway, I figured it was due to the fact that I pretty much laid around strung out, high and in pain 24/7 for so long.  At about a month clean (right around holiday time ofcorse), my appetite just went crazy.  I ate anything and everything in sight.  I was miserable.  Around the 1st of January I started exercising and have been doing so (pretty hard) since then at least 5 or 6 days a week.  I also joined Weight Watchers (not the best follower, but definitely eating much healthier & less overall).  OK, so it's been over 6 weeks of exercise & better eating, and I have not lost a pound!!!  I have an appt. w/my Dr. next week and will be getting my thyroid checked too.  Wont this be interesting??? Is it just another of those opiate gifts that keep on giving?

And - ironically - a couple of months ago my pain mgmt. dr. did some blood work (nothing on thyroid @ that time), & it came back showing big Vit D deficiency; and I am now on 5000 mg. day.  I did have a little hair loss like some other members mentioned as well, & that has gotten better already.  It is just so crazy how these stupid drugs have messed with us all - but we'll get it figured out!

And one more thing - my daughter is graduating from culinary school this month, she is a pastry chef!!!  I have the willpower to stay away from the opiates, but cakes and cupcakes, IdK . . . .  lol
Julie

[Clarityrocks]

Thank you for your input, guys! My mom is always on me about calcium because I don't drink milk often, and the aforementioned Diet Coke habit. I need to grab some calcium supplements, thank you:) Honestly, I have been hoping it is my thyroid, it would explain the excessive weight gain! Lol. I guess I will just cover all the bases and see what happens. I was too scared to visit a dr's office this whole past year, afraid I would be triggered too badly, since that was my biggest "dealer". I am starting fresh with an internist, where I can tell my whole history, but not constantly be reminded how badly I behaved by being in that old office. Does that make sense?

[selfinduced]

Vitamin D deficiency is a big reason for hair loss. Get your blood levels taken to check your thyroid, but in the meantime eat foods rich in vit D and take 600 iu supplement as well as some calcium. Hope this helps.

[BlondeChick10]

Allison-  I had the weight gain ( love carbs more than ever) I figure it was better than Vicodin...I posted about hair loss too.. I had a serious shed and I have a ton of long, thick hair and I freaked out...my doctor (unaware of my detox or dependency) ran all of my vitamin levels and turns out I was deficient in B 12 and Vit D ( severely deficient). I have been taking weekly 50000 units of prescription Vit D, injected B 12 weekly and daily tabs of B 12.. After a few weeks it stopped..

[Quki73]

I gained 40 lbs while heavy opiate use. I've lost about 15 lbs in 6 months. But I'm on suboxone and Topamax  and I still get the gross sweats--
Especially when I haven't taken my subs on time.

[Clarityrocks]

Omg, best explanation of how addiction works in our brains, right?! I watched it a couple different times in outpatient. I was gonna post about it the other day, but it flew right out of my head, brain is still healing, lol. Great film. Although, I thought it might be a Toyota commercial when it first started! Just kidding:)
As far as my other habits, I don't take any RX's currently, I do take vitamin B and D, and some Advil. I do drink copious amount of Diet Coke, and was advised by my dr friend to cut back on that. Drinking more water now, and started doing 1.5-2 miles on the treadmill at least 2x a week. Hmm, what else? Oh, I was doing Myfitnesspal for a couple months, got off track around the holidays, but have been doing more conscious eating for a month or so. I definitely crave sweets (thanks, opiates!) so I battle with baked goods! Lol
Thank you all for answering me:)

[clean_in_ks]

If ya wanna "get lost" learning more and more about our disease and reap some benefits of 30 yrs of research about addiction, thanks to a recent tip from vvicidaho, I've been watching, reading and learning WAY more than they knew when I admitted myself to an inpatient trmt ctr MANY yrs ago.  They've come a LONG way in research and understanding the neuroscience of addiction in these last 10-30 yrs.  In case you are interested:

Video:  Pleasure Unwoven by Dr. Kevin T. McCauley

You can watch at least 8 clips of the video at youtube pleasure woven

[clean_in_ks]

Yep, I identify with hair loss, circulation/cold body temperature issues,
weight gain, AND tingling!
You have A LOT more clean time that I do; but a lot depends on some things I don't know about you....like what other Rx's you may be on, how much exercise you get, how you eat, what nutritional suppliements you take and other variables.  Sooooo..haha.....I'll just share what I've learned thus far in my journey and tell you what I've experienced or am still experienceing. K?
I went thru a period (can't recall how many days/mo) where I lost lots more hair while washing it in the shower, combing it out and even after putting some product on my hair more would come out.  It was Freakin me out at first.  I have VERY thick hair so I wasn't worried about that.....just that something was MAJORLY wrong with me (besides the obvious lol)

I learned it's part of the healing for some...and not all of us heal at the same rate or in the same way.....and the good news is I'm not losing hair anymore now.
The body temp stuff.....I have some possible other reasons for this happening to me (off AD's and gabapentin) besides being off opiates, but I vacillate with cold extremities (mostly hand and feet) and then they get red hot, burn excessively, tingle and are visibly red...not just HOT, but really red hot, for real.  Feel like putting them in a bucket of ice water LOL
It happens when I'm up and about as well as lounging on my laptop....so it isn't exercise related for me.  I read this stmt (sorry can't remember which dr said this during my past research cause my brain STILL doesn't work right lol)   "Clearly, the mechanism in the nervous system that regulates blood flow to these heat exchange areas is dysfunctional".
So, I felt better (some) after learning this....I'm still doing it and it bugs the sh*t out of me! LOL  I KNOW I'm dysfunctional....lol.....and for SURE it is gonna take A LOT longer to heal all these things than I originally thought.

I'll look up this video on addiction that I'm gonna order that vvicidaho told me about....cause I think understanding even more than I do now,  the new info out on  bio/science of addiction will help me even more to be patient.  I'll post in a bit after I get the detailed name, etc.

Lastly, I have written down in my notes a statement that is pretty general, but I seem to return to it for encouragement..."Only when the healing occurs will the symptoms of withdrawal disappear TOTALLY."
Hope that helps some.....and once again, I SO LOVE your sign on name!!

[overopiates]

All those symptoms can b attributed to thyroid.I think the timing might b a coincedence.I too noticed excessive hair loss(my husband pointed it out my long brown hair is everywhere thats when i took notice),weight gain that was excessive as well and the temp. thing too.It was after i quit and i thought it had to do with that but my dr told me to have my thyroid checked and that was it and it was a relief for me.All these things were probably going on while i was popping pills like mints but i didnt notice i suppose.Get it checked its not a big deal.Now i dnt lose crazy amounts of hair and lost a total of35pounds with simple medication and changing a few of my eating habits.Good luck and congrats on kicking that habit

[hope4good]

I didn't know all of those symptoms could be from a thyroid problem.  I get the chills all of the time, my hair is falling out like never before, and I get tingling in my right leg on occasion.  I just assumed it was from all of the years of taking pills and then quitting so my body is kind of in shock.  Please keep me posted on this if you find out more information.  Thanks so much for the post.