Duration of Withdraws

[sna103079]

How long are the withdraws going to last!

I've heard everyone say that in most cases (I know it's different for everyone and depends on DOC) that day 4 is usually the worst. But my husband is on day 16 for the morphine/heroin addiction and day 7 from suboxone. He had a horrible day yesterday and last night was one of the worst nights. He laid in bed twitching so bad! I made him a hot bath and he took a valium (klonopin) and he has been taking the vitamins recommended in the Thomas Recipe and he still said that last night was the worst so far. He said he is breaking down and doesn't know how much longer he can stand it. He said his mind is beginning to get really weak.

He asked me to post today and get advise... We are both scared to death that he will eventually get too weak and re-lapse..  Is there any hope it will subside soon?

[Fergman]

Where are you?  Been looking to hear about your progress, but all I'm getting is silence.  How about an update?

[sadperson66]

Hi
I do know how you feel my husband is on day 28 withdrawling from
methadone 4 years he has been on drugs I found out one night the hospital calls me to pick him up said he could not drive (i dont no why in the hell he is there or that
he even left)I get there and the tell me is is having withdrawls i freak out
Im so pised .well i take my son to school and lose my mind on him
whin I get back I have been with this man 23 year I rased his to kids the hole 9 yeards
The one thing that keeps me here is I LOVE HIM .I cant stand the way he is hearting
It kills me to watch I have been staying up with him at nigth trying to keep him
going telling him it will get better and I pray alot .. thin i get mad and thank you did this
to you self no body forced you to do this and have told him if he does it again
I WILL DIVORCE HIM CANT DO IT ANYMORE .but i well do anyting to help him this time.just hang in there it does get better. last night he slept all night .
I will pray for you   PAM

[Fergman]

I found you!  SNA..........I'm going to give it to you straight.........Get the concept of using drugs out of your mind.  No matter what it is..klonopin or temazepam or valium or xanax or whatever........he has to get over this...entirely.  Can you get that?  Not even liquor.....he has got to clean out.  He needs 2 or 3 months of doing nothing.  Comprende?  Nothing.......can he do it?  the twiching and restlessness is a major part of withdrawals.  he's probably on the toilet frequently as well.  You, my dear, cannot give in.......stay the course.  I know it hurts.  I know you wish this nightmare would end.  I'm sure you've considered moving on by now.  If your man is worth his salt, he will quit for himself and you and the kids.  This is a difficult and trying desert experience for you all.  Please be as strong as you can!  Filter his words.  Remember, that we addicts are so good at lying and decieving and telling half-truths and manipulating to get what we want.  I have no quick fixes for you.  He has to fight the fight.  You'll know SNA when the sunshine seems peaceful and the stress melts away.  You'll know.  And just a bit of encouragement for you........I have the utmost respect for a woman who loves and doesn't give up!!  You may have to walk away for awhile, but that's what the desert experience is all about.  You and the kids will make it.  Your hubby may not have the intestinal fortitude to do so.  That will come out in a few weeks.  Hang in there...

[sna103079]

just curious if your wife had any advise......

[sna103079]

Thank you! I'm trying to stay strong....... I feel like such an idiot saying that I am about to break when I'm not the addict and I'm positive his days are worse than mine, but I just can't help it. I want to be his rock but I'm feeling more like a pebble...  

He has done so much to me over the years and I just can't get past the feeling that he is going to do it again... I feel like walking away and washing my hands of all of this... but I'm afraid that will push him back to the drugs...... I really really want this feeling I'm having to go away. I am proud of him for being clean this long but I see the signs coming back and my natural instinct is to put my guard up.  How do I trust this time will be different...... GOD please make all of this go away! I need some encouragement BAD! I can't go home to him feeling this way, it will only make the situation worse..........

[122 Tactical Fighter Group]

You are gonna make me cry also....I did this to my wife.....I will seek her input here and see if she has any words of wisdom.... In the meantime, stay strong - this will be a test for yourself as well as the husbands................................

[sna103079]

"It will never get any easier"..... that is exactly what I'm afraid of.  I can't even image how difficult this is for him. But it's starting to get really difficult almost too difficult for me and our kids too. Maybe I'm just not strong enough to be with an addict or a recovering addict... I'm just really confused, scared, tired, and sad, sometimes even pissed off that we are even here to begin with. I can just feel all the resentment coming back....

Help, I need some encouragement so I can go home and be supportive... I know he needs me... I'm just having a really hard time coping today....  Tears just keep welling up :(

[122 Tactical Fighter Group]

Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal........remind him of this. His goal is to get clean. No more physical addiction to narcotics. Everybody giving you advice is dead on; and we have all been where your hubby is now. It may take several weeks for heroin / sub  to detox.....it may take several months for the mental part to come together. Just dont stop now. It will never get any easier..............

[sna103079]

Well today is day 8 from suboxone and day 17 from morphine and last night was even worse! He was jerking so bad during his "sleep" that a couple times I was scared he would go into a seizure or convulsions! While he was jerking I felt his arm to try to relax him and it felt like his muscle were tensing up or cramping....

Everyday seems to get worse, yesterday he was trying to justify talking to some of his old friends and telling me "just because I'm not using anymore doesn't mean I have to turn my back on everyone". Granted one of his "friends" was in a car accident the day before yesterday and he talked to him in the hospital but maybe I'm just cold hearted, I don't feel sorry for him at all. He was messed up and ran into a furniture store. And I'm sure they are pumping him full of even more drugs at the hospital cause I'm sure he never told them he was an addict.  

I'm trying to be supportive and I have been very patient through all of this but I think I'm going to re-lapse and start being bitter again, I don't want to, but I'm just getting really frustrated with the withdraws and the old ways slowly creeping back in.... Maybe I'm being selfish... I don't know maybe I'm just having a bad day I guess...

[10356]

I agree is wd will take a little longer but he has made it this far.. Definitely needs to cut off old ties and may I suggest you both get tested for HepC I have it, it is rampant in the Heroin community and any one time sharing of a  needle is all it takes.. I wish you both well.. lesa

[liscamdave]

YES...those are very, very strong opiates. And usually, the w.d is about 2-3 weeks. With most addicts, they say the worst of the w.d is about 4-5 days, then about a full week to feel normal. But with long term, heavy opiate abusers, the w.d is much longer. ANd the damage is much more significant. I am sure that he is through the worst by now, but I have heard of a month before, someone here was on methedone then heroin and their wd was about a month, then another 2 months of insomnia on and off and lethargy. So you never know. Look up the thomas recipe and go get it. It will start to help restore what has been damaged. ANd it will help speed up the w.d process. Im so sorry you are going through this. He will start to feel better soon.

Lisa

[sna103079]

He was taking, at the minimum 400mg a day of Morphine Sulphate ER. And when he couldn't get morphine that's where the heroin come into play. He took it in many different ways ie. orally, snorting and injecting. He did this daily for at least the last year. Does that give you a better idea of how long this may last?

[liscamdave]

Well, to be honest with you, those two are probably some of the worst of opiates and carry the more severe w.d symptoms. No w.d is comfortable and each person expereinces thier own hell. Like when I was addicted to Oxy Contin, I was in w.d hell, being that at the height of my addiction I was taking about 1200mgs a day of Oxy Contin, so my w.d not only was hell, it lasted for a good 2 weeks and certain symptoms lasted almost 1 month, and I didn't get energy back for about 2 months. It was a nightmare to me. But to someone else who maybe was on Morphine or heroine or dilaudid, all stronger opiates, may think thier was hell. An addict only knows the w.d they know. And everyone is different. In my eyes, those that you mentioned pack a punch when it comes to w.d as they are really strong. He is through the worst of it no doubt. But that is a pretty strong addiction, which will inevitably carry a strong w.d. Im sorry. But he is almost out of the woods...Good luck..

[sna103079]

Thanks everyone! I can't thank all of you enough for answering my posts!

I'm going to print this for him because he doesn't have access to a computer.

I feel so helpless most of the time, I am doing my very best to be there for him but I know ultimately he is the only one that can make it stick. I am sooo scared he is going to go back to the drugs. And day after day that he doesn't get better I worry all day long that he may not come home tonight. (he used to just not come home when he did drugs). I just want the pain to go away for him...

[worried878]

aftercare is so important as well...praise him for how great he is doing..not sure of his original dose of heroin/morphine but as a rule it should be close to finishing as not often someone goes too far over 1 week with the "severe wds" unless it is an addiction to methadone or suboxone and he was only on sub for 1 week..so that should not be it...2 weeks and 2 days is a while..have u had him checked by his doctor for dehydration? that can make someone feel worse than wds...also people get sick easily after detox due to immune system weakness...electrolytes could be off whack if he had alot of vomiting or diarrhea...just looking at the whole picture as he should really be feeling a bit better by now..physically anyway for sure

provigil is a drug for energy and helps people with after wd fatigue...sounds like u did right getting him something to relax and sleep right now as provigl can cause anxiety in someone already shaky and anxious....see if he can sleep as much a s possible..go for walks..drink tons of gatorade..take his supps...5htp at night helps alot..good luck and he is lucky to have u

[dbgc]

tell him he is doing great and how proud of him you are.he is sooo close to being over the hump,dont let him slip now.we all go through this and it does get better day by day.we all look for that quick fix and it just takes time.i c/t off of a high dose of ultram and oxy and i can say the restless leg and no sleep were the worst.it took me two weeks to get any decent sleep and the depression lingers but does get better.just help him hang on he made it this far and to slip up now would mean to start all over.my prayers are with you and your husband.

[ochooked]

Laurel said it right --- cut the old ties back to the drugs --- - He MUST slam the door shut back there --- you can NOT leave the door open for that "just in case I need them" moment----  it has to be all or nothing.  He must make a stand or he will fall.  Sometimes he may NEED you to help him cut these ties --  tough love you know ---  He needs your strength when he has none.  All the best.

[laurel453]

they stimulate the cravings,...they are triggers and to be avoided at all costs ,...

[sna103079]

Thanks!  Yesterday it was so bad he called all the "friends" that used to give him drugs and got the klonopin from one of them because I wasn't having any luck finding Valium. I'm so scared that he will re-lapse!  I'm trying really hard to just support and not constantly tell him to STAY AWAY FROM THOSE PEOPLE!

I've also heard that putting yourself in old situations or being around the people that you were around as an addict will stimulate the withdraws. Is that true?

[laurel453]

each one of us  is different and it depends also on the DOC but just think that with each day the end is sooner, do not throw the hard work already done, pls !!!

i remember very well  from my first attempt that twiching and this thing called RLS at nights were the worst to me  and it was a hell for me for more than 10 days ( don't remember the number of days exactly but there were quite a few...

pothasium + calcium+magnesium are really good , eat a lot and i mean it, of bananas ( pothasium ), take this suplemments of calcium and magnesium, i also had a sort of freezin' cream that  i put it in my legs and arms and those twitches has been quite mild all in all during this second attempt  compared to last year ...and maybe some valerian root for the stomach cramps can help too, the l tyrosine is really helping me now and it helped a lot for the lack of energy after the first week of wds.... and 5htp  for depressiion maybe .There is some stuff for the rls sold OTC, try it.....but do not give up, please, and i do hope that he will start feeling better really soon.. good luck !

[ochooked]

Tell him congratulations on day 16.  You are right - everyone is a little different.   However, I can tell you from experience that he is close to the end of the really horrible part.  The worst part of the W/D's from the Sub last about two weeks and he has been off of it for 7 days---- he may have a few days left but it WILL get better;  I guarantee it.  When it does he will be soooooo  glad he stuck it out ----- and you will be very proud of him, something he needs and I'm sure you tell him often of your love, admiration, and support.  When he does improve it will be slowly at first and then he will realize that he is not hurting as badly as he was yesterday.   I went swimming in a large pool for one to two hours every other day -- that helps with the brains endorphins -- something his brain will take awhile to begin to produce.  The biggest thing he has to handle may be the depression caused by the brains messed up neurotransmitter production.  If he needs one he should get an anti-depressant.  There is one drug that helped me --- Provigil -- he needs a prescription but most doctors will give it easily --  It in a natural energy boost that is non-caffeine and it helps with Dopamine, another neurotransmitter that is depleted in his brain --  it is a 'feel good' transmitter so will help -- expensive though if you don't have insurance.   Now, to your last question ---- Yes, it will subside soon.  The worst scenario would be if he came this far and relapsed --- he is so close to the end --  I hope he can go to AA or NA meetings and begin to heal the reasons he used.  Please keep posting and if he is able, have him read others post and post himself.  All the best.