Opiate Addiction

[anon779]

I have been addicted to opiates for going on 5 years. I started with percocet and gradually moved up to fentanyl and started doing more and more every day. I tried suboxone but once I found I couldn't afford it it immediately made me relapse and the cycle was started again. I recently started methadone maintenance 2 months ago. I was clean for a while but started using benzos again and then back to craving and using pain meds. Mostly lortabs and fentanyl. I know feel guilty about the methadone and feel like it is a crutch and I don't want to be on it anymore. I dropped 20 mg yesterday and felt terrible so I have used the past two days. First day was bad I used 3 50mcg patches. Today I made it til 5 pm before only take 15mg or hydrocodone. I have to get off methadone due to financial and personal feelings about it. I need some help. Doctor please help me and tell me what would be the best thing I can do. I believe I have a dual- diagnosis situation and have some physciatric disorders. I have a GP but cant afford a psychiatrist and don't really want to be medicated. What can I do? I haven't recieved many answers so an informative post would be very helpful. Please help. I am desperate. I have wanted sobriety for 3 years.

[Julia M Aharonov, DO]

I am so glad that you  quit opiates, but you are absolutely correct, switching to methadone is just going from one devil to another. People find it just as difficult to taper and quit.  And you are right, many people with dual diagnosis use opiates and benzos to self-medicate. But as you are well aware of, it is not an optimal solution to the problem.
In case you are curious, it takes us about three to four days to get a patient off of any opiate including methadone and fentanyl, and feeling well.
If you choose to try taper yourself, see if your doctor can write you a prescription for some Requip for restlessness, Neurontin for anxiety and malaise, some Flexeril or Soma for a few weeks for muscle spasms and maybe some Seroquel low dose, for sleep and Klonopin which will be helpful for sleeplessness and anxiety. It will make your withdrawals easier.  Valerian and Magnesium is sometimes helpful remedies over the counter.
The residual symptoms of insomnia and depression can last another few months. Thus, it is not easy, but it gets better and better over time and you can look forward to a drug free healthy energetic you in the future. When you take opiates for a long time like you have, your body's physiology has been altered. Your central nervous system has created a multitude of opioid receptors that all are screaming for endorphins (opiates) to fill them, but your body has now forgotten how to make them by itself.  It will take time - two to four weeks at least, for your receptors to downregulate (for the brain begin to heal) and to start making its own endorphins. Brain heals pretty slowly, so it may take you as long as a couple of months to get rid of feelings of sluggishness, restlessness and depression. The best thing you can do is take good care of yourself, eat healthy food, stay hydrated, keep active and busy. Stay away from sugar, soda, and simple carbs. Do not consume caffeine at least 6 hours prior to bedtime.
Take a look at my blogs about options for detox and recovery. You may also take a look at my clinic website where I also have my blogs and a lot of other info about drug addiction and recovery. Look especially into the blog and the info on Naltrexone therapy after getting clean. It really improves your chances of staying clean for good by cutting down your physical cravings. Look into my clinic website as well. All this can be done by clicking on my name in blue.

[stucknthemiddlewithyou]

I'm 33, decent career, never been married and pregnant for the 1st time with a guy I'd been dating only a very short time. For the past 7 months I've been so depressed and unsure of my decision to have this baby with this man.
I was in a 6 year relationship before him and got completely off suboxine last July. After finding out about the pregnancy I've relapsed back into hydrocodone addiction. I failed an initial prenatal drug screen which I wasn't aware was being given to me at the time. I'm considered high risk due to a survey I had many years ago therefore have been seeing an US specialist group each month. Now the final countdown is on and I'm going to have to go back to that doctor. She is very young, no children and I genuinely did not care for her as a good fit for me from the beginning, but now I'm in week 31 so I'm guessing I have no choice. I'm in Florida, and I've been warned that I will be tested again, as will the baby. If the tests come back positive for opiates, DCF will hold my baby and conduct an investigation into my ability to parent the child.
Should I initiate the addiction and trust that the state will genuinely provide support and assist me in recovering from my relapse, or will this become an issue where I will regret ever calling attention to myself and even bothering seeking the appropriate prenatal care?
So far each ultrasound visit has displayed my baby to be in the normal ranges for growth and development. I know that by no means guarantees anything. I wasn't ready to be in this situation. The man made big promises in which I naively believed in. He is no more ready to be a parent than I am, but we've come this far, there doesn't seem to be much of an option for a way out anymore considering our friends and family are so involved. The embarrassment I'm fearing in my future of having to let everyone see that I never really did clean up my act years agovis keeping me using. I'm so incredibly depressed, I'm unable to function at work without the pain pills. I don't know where to turn for help, if help is even a realistic option at this point. I don't know who to trust not to just get me intertwined with the "system" resulting in an even more adverse outcome. People like yourself are why addicts sometimes make out out alive. Thank you for reading. I have an appt in morning with the us doc. I'm praying for a good check up.