Symptoms of percocet withdrawal

Im 18, ive been taking percocet for 3 weeks (pretty heavy becuase I had my rotator cuff operated on). I was doing 1 1/2 to 3 pills every 4 hours depending on how I felt. Two days ago (friday) my dad forgot to pick up my prescription. Now I feel like absolute trash, I feel like my skin is crawling, I cant stop moving or it starts to hurt so badly I want to scream. I itch, I cant sleep, Ive had the runs, cramping, runny nose, and the muscles in my back are killing me. I had to go to my senior prom like that yesterday. Seriously, the pain got me up from bed and I eventually found my way here sitting in my computer chair shaking with an aching shoulder and the feelig like ants are gnawing on my legs.

I have heard that percocet withdrawal can take 7-10 days. My story is about the same as everyone here. Hurt back at work, pain mangement, surgery, percocet. I am trying for the second time in three weeks to wean myself off of percs. I have the same problems as all of you. Itchy, restless, the runs, runny eyes, etc. I have only been on them 6 months, but they did get ahold of me. The problem I have, is that I still have 30 left, so I don't exactly want to quit until I have to. I fully understand the euphoric effect you obtain from this drug, and will admit, I enjoy it's effect. But being put on these kinds of drugs is nothing new, and doctors have been putting patients on these sorts of drugs for more than 100 years. Watch the History channel's "Illegal drugs" series, and you'll see how truley "doped up" Amercans really were before the government made opium illegal. People were losing their homes, jobs, families, everything they had to their addictions. I don't know how "dangerous" weening yourself off this drug really is, but I would bet it's more a ploy by addiction clinics to get your money. I've done it before, and you really can find it in yourself to bite the bullet, and endure the withdfrawals, and once it's over, you will feel like a million bucks again. I wish you all the best and good luck

I just wanted to share my story... Today has been the worst day of my life. I had my wisdom teeth taken out a little over a week ago. I was perscribed Percocet for the pain. Apparently, it was a really hard surgery. Probably because I waited too long to do it, but either way, the Dr said I would be in quite a bit of pain. So, day 1, I started taking my percocet. It said on the bottle 'take two every four to six hours". so i did. I'm five foot three and weigh a little over one hundred pounds, by the way. I must have taken eight to ten pills that day. they made me sleep all day. when i did wake up, i decided to go to the grocery store, with my boyfriend. I fainted and hit my head pretty hard. They said the percocet had drastically dropped my blood pressure. Lesson one: dont always take the amount it says on the bottle.

Long story short.... like i said, its been about a week since the surgery and today is the first day that I am not taking percoet. not because i ran out, bc when i take them, a couple hours later, when they start to wear off, i cant take the pain. I went through 65 pills in one week! I got tired of 'needing' them, so i flushed them down the toilet. Now after reading, i realize this was a bad idea and you should slowly get off of them. not all of a sudden.

I spent the entire day in the ER due to the worst pain i have ever felt. My head stills feels like it's going to explode, but not as bad as earlier. My teeth are throbbing, and i cant stop crying. I also read that the withdrawals can be emotional too. that might explain the crying...

Point of my story..... dont take narcautics without knowing the facts, side effects, and needs for them. and know your body. listen to it. I just cant wait until i can fall asleep....

To everyone there is light and the end of the tunnel...I swear. I got started on percocet from my doctor for back pain..then 40's..80's..you know how it goes..got addicted very badly..if I didn't have them, I couldn't function. I finally decided I was tired of having something control me. Went through the withdrawl all by myself...with my husband at my side..while I threw up..all the pains..sweats sh*ts..it's the "Devil" coming out of your body literally. I wouldn't wish this upon anyone. What helped me was getting really pissed off at it..get mad and get it out. I didn't sleep or eat or shower for about 7 days..I thought I would die..& when it was over...finally..I knew I never wanted to go through that again. For evryone out there trying to get off.God please keep going..i know it sucks ALOT. And it doesn't look like it will ever end..it will..& you will feel like a million bucks. You will feel very tired & dragged down..I traded my painkillers for a multivitamin w/ energy lift, that works wonders. I won't lie you will still want them..but it's in your head, when the withdrawl is over your body doesn't cry for it anymore...and look how friggin strong you are for doing it!!! I'm a 31 yr old mother of two & never thought anything like this would happen to me........ Lifelesson thats for sure..& I'll never look back.
Hope I could help at least one person out there........ OVERIT :-D

Finally this thread starts addressing the original post!

I had surgery 4 weeks ago and was given Percocet. Last week I was taking 2-3 pills a day and decided to stop because I didn't like the way they made me feel and they didn't do much for my pain. I am not psychologically addicted to them, don't get euphoric, in fact, they make me grumpy and irritable as they wear off. So I thought it'd be easy to stop. Gave the bottle to husband to lock up in case of future agony (I need a shoulder replacement so will be needing them in the future). That was 3 1/2 days ago.

I have felt like c**p ever since. Actually, I'm noticing that I've been feeling crappy the last few weeks - I was going into withdrawal less than 24 hours after each dose. My symptoms are body aches and pains all over, can't stand being touched, fatigue, headaches, GI distress. Constantly. I found this site because I too wanted to know how much longer this will last.

I didn't think I had taken enough pills for a long enough time to go through such a lengthy, uncomfortable withdrawal, and was wondering if something else is going on, but after reading everybody's posts, it looks like this drug can be difficult to detox from, and it just takes time and patience.

FYI - somebody mentioned that opiate withdrawal is dangerous. That is a myth. You cannot die from opiate withdrawal. You feel like you want to, it is uncomfortable, but there is nothing life-threatening about it.

Also, if you're really suffering, look into Suboxone/Subutex, a new drug for opiate detoxing.

And, please, please, don't ever try Methadone or you might end up like Anna Nicole. Just my two cents.

Hey,
i'm starting cold turkey today. I just had surgery on my chest, and i've been taking 2 ever 4 hrs for the last two months. Can you tell me more about your symptoms and do you have any suggestions for me.

I've been taking 120 tablets of percoset 10/325 for three years for arthritist, although I overdo it siimply for the effect and I use the 120 tabs in abouty ten days. That means I have to detox for twenty days before I get my refill. I always say I'm not going to get the next bottle, but when the time comes I still feel that I am withdrawing and that just a couple of those tabs would relieve my pain. You may conclude that I am addicted, which, of course, I am.

My question is how long does it take before you get completely clean of the perc and quit lusting over the next pill?

I read all the posts here and am amazed at the insults and meanness that is exhibited here by supposedly adults. I am also surprised that anyone who has ever taken percocet claims to not know that it is a narcotic pain med and that it is illegal to share, give away, or...let someone else "hold" it for you. Unless your drug store does not put a sticker on the bottle that tells you this..or your doctor did not tell you himself when he prescribed it for your use. I have spinal stenosis along with several other physical ailments that cause me to live in constant, sometimes excruciating pain and use not only percocet but the patches for pain, also a narcotic called morphine. I have taken these for over three years and my doctor regularly does a urine test to make sure that the levels are constant, not too little or too much. And especially that I am not using any other pain medicine not prescribed by him. I even had to sign a contract stating that I would not get pain medicine from any other doctor and believe it or not, my doctor periodically gets a copy of my prescription records from my drug store. How's that for control? Bottom line is that these meds are much needed by a lot of people but those who choose to misuse, or ignore the law, make it much harder for those of us who really need pain relief to get it. Wake up people!

It could last for a month maybe 2

I just wanted to chime in to some things I have been reading on this page. I have been taking percocet prob about 30-60 mg per day off and on for the last year due to pack pain and badly sprained ankle. Of course I like them, they make me feel great but now that I am off of them the withdrawal is pretty hellish, I can't lie. I just have found that what helps me most is to take a multi-vitamin that gives you natural energy, that helps with the lethargy you seem to have while withdrawaling, also Xanex ( I have those b/c I get panic attacks from time to time and a boat load of regular life anxiety) helps with all the anxiety you get and some of the itching from the inside out (thats the worst) and a few 600 mg ibeprofin also help with the aches and pains of it all. with all that I seem to be getting through without too much discomfort. The only thing I have yet to master is how to get some good sleep while going through withdrawal, sometimes that seems impossible! Any suggestions?

Good luck to you all!

I'm glad I didn't give up on this thread ;-)...

I agree about the zanax helping relive the anxiety involved with withdrawl,as far as sleep goes I have used a homepathic sleep aide/muscle relaxer with much success, called formula 303. This seems to help with the insomnia issues.


I have been taking different prescription opaites, for fun, on and off for years, Morphine sulfate TR, Norco, Vicodin, Emprin, and Percocet. I like the high.
I would say " Quiting is easy, I've done it ten times," but the truth is quiting is hard. Getting thru the physical withdrawl is uncomfortable to say the least; however, the mental withdrawl is what has had me on and off these kinds of pills so often.

In my experince, the physical withdrawls are much worse "cold turkey," than "weening."

After a week of parting on MST and carrot juice, I cold turkey'd with one pill left. I ended up in the fetal position for a week on my estranged wifes couch!, knowing that I could make myself feel all better by eating that last pill, and of course finding SOME MORE.

The Norco's i just reduced my doseage gradually. Even when a stressfull, and fully enabling event came up after I got off of them, I did slip and go back on, but I kept to a "half a pill a day" maintenance
dose, quitting for months soon there after.

After both of these events, I felt great to have beaten the addiction, but I now realize I did not, I only beat withdrawl.

I'm finding that when in the presence of narcotics I have I hard time controling my urge to take them. I can and have turned them down when offered by a friend, or even a prescription by my doctor, but if the wife gets them, or for that matter my dog(she has cancer,) I'm into them. I watch my supply carefully to figure out when to reduce my dosage to come off of them, and when there gone I'm done, until next time.

I'm currently taking percocet 10/325 that my wife got for her broken foot. She doesn't take them because they make her ill. Only 12 left, so it's either ween now. or back to the Emprin.

I'm not really looking for advise, as much as to relate my experience to others. For me I know my issue is dealing with if I really want to stop before I put myself through the withdrawl again.

I guess my point is:

Be prepared for the ongoing mental aspects of addicton, even after the physical withdrawl has ended.

I am trying to get off percocet. I was taking 20mg every four hours for 4 weeks after neck surgery. I had been on percocet for approx. 2 years.

I am now at 5 mg. every 6-8 hours, and oxycontin 10mg at night. I have severe insomnia--cannot sleep until 2-3 am for last two weeks. I feel like I am losing my mind, and am wondering how long the withdrawal symptoms will last.

Has anyone else had insomnia in withdrawing from percocet? Do I need Ambien or other sleep meds to get on track? Any help at all will be appreciated!

I have been off of Hyrdrocodone for approximately 72 hrs after taking 4-5 pills a day for 3 months to get high due to a divorce and bad breakup. I am 34 years old and have never been a drug addict before, but caved in when offered one and it took the "pain" away. BIG MISTAKE! The worst has been the muscle aches and dizziness. Kinda reminds me of when I had the flu real bad one time. I also feel depressed. Today, I can feel the symptoms lessening and am pretty excited about getting off of this. The headaches are completely gone and the muscle aches are now tolerable. The worst seem to be right in the lower back for some reason ( I have never had back trouble). I actually got up out of bed and did some chores around the house. Good luck to everyone! I have a whole new appreciation for people who beat this.

?ha if it was illegal to hold pills for someone the pharmacy wouldnt of let me pick up my boyfriend's percocet prescription ..how can they make it illegal to pick up and dole out medication when the patient cannot do it themselves.

Glad you put it into perspective Sweaty. A good friend of mine just told me he went to rehab for Percocet abuse. He has been addicted for years and for the past couple of months he was taking around 20 pills a day. He became addicted after recovering from a leg injury 3 years ago. It's crazy, I spent some time with him just a month or two ago and didn't notice a thing. He seemed like he was a little drunk and since I met up with him in a bar, it all seemed to fit.

Well, he overdosed and was hospitalized. Now, he has now been clean for 2 weeks. I didn't even know that he went into rehab until he called today.

Anyhow, he said that he still has muscle pain and has lost his appetite. But, he feels much better than he did the first week that he quit. Next time we hang out, we are going for massages, organic food, smoothies and maybe a glass of red-wine. He is such a wonderful person. I was shocked when he told me that he was taking 20 pills a day. Just one of those will knock me on my a$$.

Anyway, some of you on this thread seem to be over interested in the law. Whether or not it is legal to hold someone's drugs etc...
That just seems so petty. Who really cares about the United State's drug laws. The war on drugs is a joke. It's all about money.

Now back on point - For any of you that have stopped letting a man-made chemical control you and you are reading this post - Congrats - doesn't it feel good to be You! Maybe it hurts a little, but at least you have control. For those of you that are addicted, be strong and do something completely selfless today. For those of you that have a friend or loved one who is suffering from an addiction, give that person a call/visit and tell them that you love them. Obviously you took the time to research percocet and found this blog, so you must care.

Life is too short!

Cheers!
BLONDIE