How to stop the pain of opiate withdrawal?

Well I'm not going to go into my long story bc it is very long, but I will say this I was on fentynal patches 75mcg and fentora 400mcg pills that go through ur cheek kind of like the lollipop thing but not. I started to get very immune to the medicine and had the cold and hot sweats really bad so I finally decided to change to something else. My pain management dr is amazing, he has been a miracle to me however he didn't tell me about how bad the withdrawals could get he just put me on Opana and Opana ER.. I felt aweful I mean bad so I went back to the dr and he gave me morphine IR and regular morphine. Now keep in mind I am one of those ppl who is scared to be addicted to anything and I would even get large amounts of this stuff but it would take me curled up and crying just to take a pill...now I felt absolutely no relief whatsoever from either morphine or opana in fact morphine made it much worse can anyone explain that? I finally to my last patch off last thurs night and have survived on ambien, benadryl and a few strips of 2 mg suboxen...my husband is pushing me to go get suboxen but since I've made it this far I'm kinda like is it worth it at this point? I can only take a small repreive from pain stuff bc of the different types of pain I have and it's now like my only 2 options are a pain pump or keep staying with the pills I also have some nerve damage and am being pressed to try a spinal stimulator for at least the nerve pain part.... So as far as the with drawls go should I get on suboxen or just tough it out???

Dear Guest,

I too was on the Fentanyl patch 100 mcg/hr and on 30mg of Oxycodone for break through pain. I was using opiates to control chronic pain. I did not want to be addicted to anything. But opiates woke up a monster in me. All I wanted is more, more, more, and more. If you are already on opiates I am sorry to say you are already addicted if you are correct in the doses you mentioned. As a chronic pain sufferer I can completely relate to you. It's only going to get worse. Recently I had to be admitted to the hospital for surgery and I had surgery and the surgeon was not aware of my tolerance because I was ashamed to tell him. The little 10mg of morphine the give for surgical pain did not do anything...he might as well gave me a shot of water. I was in agony. I finally confessed and was made comfortable with 60mg of IV morphine every 4 hours. The doctor had to titrate the dose to find the right dose. A normal person without tolerance that is injected with that amount would die. You must find another way to control your pain. I was so sick of being constipated and feeling lazy. I loved the euphoria it was like heaven, but when your tolerance level maxes out your doctor will start to become concerned the higher the dose you ask for. I decided to quit cold turkey as some call it. I am on day 8 and will never touch opiates again. Here is how it will start...day 1 you will sweat like crazy and you won't be able to sleep, Day 2 more sweating and then the withdrawal pain starts, Day 3 you will get severe chills and feel at times like you are burning from the inside out, at night legs will move and you won't be able to stop it (some refer to it as RLS), you will get sick at your stomach, you will get diarrhea, Day 4 the same as day 3 except my eyes watered profusely and I could stop yawning, Day 5 same as day 4 a little less intense and have severe insomnia, Day 6 have terrible diarrhea other symptoms have subsided, Day 7 have terrible diarrhea and insomnia, and now I'm on day 8 and I still have diarrhea and anything I eat goes right through me and I have horrible stomach cramps after eating and I have lost at least 30 pounds. And hear is the worst part I had medication given to me the doctor to help with the sickness. I took lomotile for diarrhea, promethazine for nausa, tranxene for sleep and to ease muscle spasms. Even with meds to help you through your withdrawal you will go through hell. But don't think of it as a bad thing every time I think about popping an opiate in my mouth or relapse I think of the hell I am going through. There is no easy way to stop, people with tell that there is but for someone who has never been on Fentanyl high doses like you and me will have no idea about the fate that awaits them. I am using advil for pain and it is not working. I am hoping to move to California so I can get a prescription for medical marijuana. In my early years 20 plus years ago I smoked it and never had a physical addiction and I could stop at anytime with no physical pain. Bottom line opiates are physically addictive and you will experience pain when you stop them. I used to smoke tobacco and one day I woke up and said I don't want to smoke I quit with no problem and no pain. But with opiates the pain was hell. I hope this helps you.

Tell your family don't even try to go through withdrawal alone....by day 3 you are going to be wiped out and need support. Also, if you have a doctor tell him and ask for meds to help with sleep, spasms, rapid heartbeat, diarrhea, and vomiting. Or if you are lucky enough to live in a state that permits medical marijuana.....get some you will need it. There is a synthetic marijuana pill called marinol that is legal in most states. It will produce the same effect as smoking weed, but, most insurances won't cover it unless your doctor can get a pre-approval....it costs about 480.00 USD for a 30 pills in bottle so it's probably not an option. Good luck on stopping because it is hell. Read all the post on here they have one thing in common and that is it is pure hell to go through opiate withdrawal. Please don't try to do it alone. I recommend cold turkey because weaning off methadone or subutex isn't fun either. Just go through the pain and be done with the sh*t for good. The way I look at if you feel the pain you will be less likely to make the same mistake twice. Good luck and hang in there.

:'( i am now scared to death... i am also an opiate addict of 2 & 1/2 yrs whom is trying to stop. i have been researching the withdraws for close to 3 weeks now. i keep setting a day to stop, but read all the posts and already feel anxiety with the thought alone of quiting. i have tried to stop a coulpe of times but never make it past day 2. i have orderd this supplement for methadone which claims to help ease "the pain" of the withdraws. it should be here by thurs or fri, but pray that it helps. i also really want to ask a doc about getting a scrip for suboxone. i have been buying my pills off the street and do not have a regular doctor, so i am really scared to ask for help. i dont know why i am so scared because i want to be off this stuff sooooooooo badly. i have found suboxone doctors where i live in memphis, tn..... so my question is, IF I WORK UP THE COURAGE TO ASK, IS IT HARD TO GET A PRESCRIPTION FOR IT OR WHAT DO I SAY TO THE DOCTOR? i really need some feedback, made NUMEROUS posts and only a few responses... if you are an addict wanting to change, hopefully you will feel my pain and send some advice my way, LOL and thanks to anyone with some info for me ;-)

Hi all Im hooked on opiates myself and tring to get off them i abused them so much i do 3 opana 40s a day and the with drawl is worse than herion i found that for me Vitamin C alot I mean alot like 3000 mg a day will help with the sickness and asprin for pain but unfortinatley I have not found a way around the sweats and my hands get so hot its unreal if your lucky enough to have them to wein urself off vicodin/hydrocodone in very small doses will help more than anything but the vitamin C works as long as u dont think about the drugs my problem is I liked to get high and the time has come to stop so to the rest of u good luck

flexiril ( a muscle relaxer) also works quite well to soothe the pain. It's not an opiate so it won't continue the addiction, but it will help you sleep and function. The ardest part of withdrawal for me is the lack of sleep for 5 days to a week, and the flexiril are a life saver for that. Mix them with some motrin PM and you'll be out.

The best opiate withdrawal remedy that I have found is a combo of Pseudophedrine (found in Sudafed or Alieve-D <-recomended) and Dopa Mucuna which can be found at a Nature Health Store. The pseudophedrine constricts blood vessels and increases blood pressure which helps relieve my cold hands and feet. This could be worse for those who have a worse problem with sweats than chills, and probably shouldn't be taken before bed if you want any chance to sleep. Dopa Mucuna will cross the blood/brain barrier and supply your brain with increased Dopamine levels and slightly elevated Seratonin levels. This will in turn, 1) Make you happier 2)Give you a higher feeling of self worth 3) Increase testosterone levels in males and does something to a woman's jewels as well but you'll have to check that out yourself 4) Increase energy by increasing the amount of Endorphines released.

I've been through this many times. This is the first time that I found these items by researching the causes of cold hands, RLS, and other symptoms, and so I feel confident that this is the last time. I'm on Day 9 and I'm pretty sure the physical is done with other than not being able to sleep a full night. I thought wine would do it last night, but it didn't, but I still feel alright. I'm taking a trip to NYC for my 30 day clean time. Exercise helps, setting goals and rewards, just having something to look forward to is a great tool. When your down, it feels like you'll never be up again, but the good isn't nearly as far away as it seems. So pick yourself up, dust yourself off, find something that makes you happy to get you by, and you'll be ok.

If this helps just 1 person, I'll consider it a success. I'm just trying to help. By the way, I had been on Subs for the last year and a half and on Oxys/ Hydromorphone for the previous 4 years or so. All I read is how Sub w/d's are the worst and it's so bad... blah blah. It's not. It's just the worst right now... better days are ahead.

The 2010 Physicians Desk Reference contains several warnings from the manufacturer, which were not present in prior years. The warnings include more compelling language regarding the addictive potential of tramadol, the possibility of difficulty breathing while on the medication, a new list of more serious side effects, and a notice that tramadol is not to be used in place of opiate medications for addicts. Tramadol is also not to be used in efforts to wean addict patients from opiate drugs, nor to be used to manage long-term opiate addiction.

OK FIRST LET ME SAY(YOU CAN DO IT)Although at 1st you will not be convinced that you can/will.. THIS WAS HOW IT WENT FOR ME.

DAY 1, you will get that feeling like you need to take a pill.The morning will start with that burning in your head and your ears that goes away after a pill or 2 DONT .by the afternoon you will be cold but in your head you will be telling yourself your goin ta do it. KEEP BUSY.

DAY 2, I WAS FREEZING AND WEAK ,make sure you drink  because you are going to pee every 15-20 min. tea, to warm you up helps, but drink gatorade or similar water.KEEP HYDRATED, today you will be questioning your decision now because now the pain start's.Everything you do is going to be a chore,your legs and feet are going to be HEAVY and you body will ache.EAT LIGHT.every few hours or you wont at all and if you eat a big meal you will throw up.Try to see a dr. for a sleep aid or anxiety med.cause your anxiety level will be off the chart and you deff.are not sleeping tonite.KEEP BUSY.Watch a movie take a walk ,but KEEP BUSY.

DAY 3,OH MAN now is when you realize this is not a hang over you are dealing with,youu dont feel any diff then yesturday in fact WORSE.KEEP BUSY its hard to but just do it (you can).I started to watch COLD TURKEY video by MR.John Lennon every few hours.Cant tell you why but it helped me (find something to help ease your mind too.)

DAY 4,5,6 WERE THE SAME I DIDNT FEEL ANY BETTER.

DAY 7  WAS THE WORST.I hated myself,everyone and every thing(not sure but think my body finally was flushing )KEEP BUSY

DAY 8 Started to feel diff.(BETTER) Not great but differnt(still hard to sleep) I CANT SAY IT ENOUGH (KEEP BUSY)

DAY 9 OH MAN! big diff. I feel somewhat normal,Still a little cold but a bit normal.  You have to stick with it Its probably one of the hardest things you will ever do. and dont take that pill because you never ever want to go through this again.  (3 years goes fast that when I started taking it)

I have been doing it alone Try not to go it alone, get support.

I am on day ten I will report back      i

IM BACK

DAY 10

T mornining was OK by 3:00 axiety was starting to toy with me again. So after work was done I stoped in Home Depot ,went home ferilized my lawn(I KEPT BUSY) I sang the words to COLD TURKEY  the whole time. Still have leg and feet pain but less.

DAY 11

Morning so far is real good ,Still have leg pain but not as much.   EVERY DAY IS A STRUGGLE, gotta keep BUSY

BE BACK TOMMORROW

 

I quit once after about 6 months of abuse by going cold turkey and it wasn't much fun but it wasn't too bad. Then I got back on the pill wagon and now I'm 7 months with two periods of going without. Doing 8-10 on average but sometimes more. I have tapered down to 3 10's. I see this is an active thread and so I am posting here (although a fuller post is on the board). My question is, if I can take it at 3 10s a day do you guys think the w/d will be bad when I stop my tapper sometime in the next few days? I really feel sorry for the all the folks out there who have been on them for years or taking lots of oxys or patches. That has got to be rough. I know I can't dodge the whole thing but it just doesn't feel like it is going to be that bad right now. 

COLD TURKEY can you tell us anything about the duration and intensity of you use? I am trying to figure out how bad mine is going to be. Thanks in advance and sorry if that is too personal. 

I just wanna note physical dependency is NOT addiction. Addiction is abusing a substance Even though its detrimental to you. Now I can actually help so I will....I was first prescribed oxycontin then morphine then dilaudids than Opanas Now Fentanyl  Most by IV therapy and heroin when I run out I can tell you that lil Stomach issue and Sweating problems you guys describe make me laugh... TRUE opiate withdrawals can go as far as to kill you Your blood pressure raises to UNHEARD of extremes YOur body convulses you get Sweating And cold chills running through your blood streams You have restless leg syndrome Extreme Vomiting and Diarrhea or just extreme stomach cramping I've been hospitalized for withdrawals at least 10 times HOWEVER when I have been pregnant I have not as much as taken an ibuprofen And the only thing to help withdrawals is Suboxone (which if you recently used youll have to IV it which is EXTREMELY dangerous and you will go through about 15 minutes of Extreme hell where if a knife is in sight you will cut your throat to make it stop) your other option is subutex which u will also have to IV but wont go through precipitated withdrawals and then there is methadone HOWEVER you still have to go through 3 days at least of withdrawals to lower your tolerance enough but if you had any of those things you wouldn't be here so the only thing you CAN do is HOpe like hell your prescribed anxiety pills and east like 3 times ur prescribed dose itll stop the anxiety.. Then you can take Phenegran which again you need a script for but again it will help a tiny bit if you also melt it down and IV it which again is EXTREMELY dangerous since it burns your veins out and then Imodium helps Take a sh*t ton of nyquil to knock yourself out and if you are lucky enough to have some blood pressure pills laying around Like Clonodine Take JUST ONE youll need about a .1 mg  to lower your blood pressure but make sure you check your blood pressure to Lower it so Point is since I doubt most ppl are as ill as Me and have all these things at hand Just go to the ER tell them your Withdrawing they will help you and give you something for restless legs and convulsion and meds to ween you off properly so Good luck Dears However If your having withdrawls from a week of Taking OXy or Hydro or darvs by mouth THan U have some issues bc I IVd 8 mg dills 6 times a day for almost 2 years without having withdrawals so quit your b*tching thanks 

I'M BACK

DAY 12

(to answer your question)I was taking 7 to 9 oxy's per day 90MG'S A DAY for alittle over 3 years

(OK HERE WE GO)Still had a hard time going to sleep and I was a little irretible this morn with just everyday things like traffic  the seat in my car and blah blah blah.

its 11:30am and that wore off and I'm feeling better.A little shakie(I think thats because my body is exhausted) my feet are still hurting but that adjustment pain is mostly gone(AND I FEEL FREE) 

I am a little emotional and depressed,but(I HAVE TO KEEP BUSY)  THIS WAS THE HARDEST THING  I EVER HAD TO DO

If you are going to start the stop or just started the stop.  There is not doubt that it f@#kin hurts ALOT,   BUT KEEP BUSY(try to do things you like to do) although at the time of WITHDRAWING even things you know that you like (you won't like) BUT keep it in your head that you do like it.Music,movies,videos drawing etc.(KEEP BUSY)

for me everyday after day (7) has got easier

as you all know I'm on day 12 and it felt like a month.

MAKE SURE TO EAT LIGHT EVERY FEW HOURS AND KEEP HYDRATED.

I am standing up straighter and not cold anymore. I am tired but as you will see sleeping is no fun either , until you fall asleep.

I will be back again tommorrow.       It hurts(listen to COLD TURKEY by JOHN LENNON even the music will explain how you are feeling)

I feel for you all  and it does go away (you don't know me)but you really do.

see you on day 13    IF YOU NEED TO SAY SOMETHING I WILL ANSWER.  I'M NO DR, BUT DID THE DOCTOR GO THTOUH THIS?

i hate this sh** i cant get past day 2 im doing 4 to 10 roxy 30a a day all snifted usaully while im at work evryone at work knows whats up but im super great at my job and everyone really like me...u could say i run the place with the employees and even the mangement...so i do what i do....its a great sitition for the addict in me but the problem is just getting worse idk what to do i seriouly fuc***.....i use to shoot dope went to rehaB GOT out went into a 1/2way house got a job....and 1st day guess what i found.....i work in a place where alot of 19-28 year old girls work..cute ones....not a strip club but a place where alot of young girls work im older 31 but still love my drugs pretty girls and late nights...wondering will i ever change???