Couldn't find what you looking for?

TRY OUR SEARCH!

Hi there, so I've come across these boards, there IS some excellent info here, but I felt it necessary to start a new topic since my situation is a bit different... Lets rewind.. About 3 1/2 years ago, I had been VERY dependent on opiates, FIRST dependent, but after about 7 years ON, 2 shoulder surgeries (failed surgeries at that), I was a full blown addict, not just dependent, addicted. I managed to quit cold turkey generally once a year, never made it 2 months, came VERY close a few times, but for one reason or another I would start up again~each time being worse than the last (like they say about addicts, for me this proved to be true, each relapse, I ended up worse than before). By the end of the 7-8 years on/off opiates, I had gotten to the lowest I'd been on them, was abusing Oxy Contin, the worst of the worst, 80mgs green SOB's, this was before they were taken off the market. Both smoking and snorting them, I knew there were only 2 places left to go, putting a needle into my veins, whether Oxy or heroin, I've heard what I was doing WAY too much of is about as close to H as you can get, OR I was going to die from an OD, any given day. I was also using benzos the majority of that time, generally Xanax, then klonopin, managed to taper off the klonopin safely before the Oxy addiction got VERY bad. I decided that I absolutely could not quit on my own, every time before had been cold turkey, but was lower scale since I'd never been abusing drugs quite like I was at this time. Always Vicodin, Norco, Percs, the 'easy' opiates to w/d from imo. I got married on July 1st 2009, & on July 9th 2009 I made the choice to go see a 'suboxone' doctor. If I could go back, I would, & I would just deal with the w/d, how I had in the past. Unfortunately I didn't, he never prescribed me the subs for 'addiction' as he likely should have, but instead for 'chronic pain' since I did have pain, that was chronic, it lasted 10 years, & is still there, but in now way was it necessary to be on sub for this. At first I started a somewhat 'normal' dose of sub, about 1 1/2 8mg tablets daily, until I was about a year and a half in, wasn't feeling 'well' and thought INcreasing was the answer. I was wrong, got myself up to about 3, 8mg tablets daily, while also on Xanax for extreme anxiety & panic that I experienced early on, about 6 months into the sub. Eventually the Xanax stopped working & once again I was switched to klonopin, I am still on klonopin now, 2mgs daily, AGAIN feeling that my tolerance is so high that it does NOTHING for me, I see myself tapering the klonopin once again in the NEAR future once the current issue is at bay. I became VERY depressed at around the 3 year mark on subs, I didn't know anything else to do except TAPER, everyone always said LESS IS MORE, so I finally chose to listen and DO, I successfully tapered down to 1 8mg sub daily, all in one drop. I was OK, hardly ANY withdrawal at all. I believe w/ large sub drops, it IS in your mind. The mind is powerful... Once to steadied out, I was sitting at the 1 sub tablet a day, and the 2 1mg klonopins daily. This was the point where I realized I'd never felt SO LOW in my entire life.. Depression, anxiety, insomnia, manic episodes where I was NOT myself, everything had just become DARK. This was right before Christmas this past year, 2012. I didn't have a job any longer, I had quit my job in Sept 2012, it was extremely stressful retail management, I was extremely exhausted, overworked and underpaid.. But had also become anorexic as a result of this. Started to drink about 3 Monster energy drinks daily, was NOT eating one bite of food most days until about 11pm, and once I did, it wasn't much. Between the malnutrition and running around like a crazy person for about 16 months straight, I gave up. We were understaffed, there was NO solution, I could not work less than the 55-60 hours a week I was averaging, I never saw my husband or my dogs, this wore on me slowly at first, and drastically near the end. The day I quit that job I weighed 102 pounds. I'm about 5'6, female, & an 'ideal' weight for myself is roughly 130-140 according to doctors, charts, etc. I was extremely depressed as well, on top of the stress & exhaustion, I couldn't do it. Was extremely sick of friends and family constantly asking me 'are you on drugs? Why are you so thin? Are you sick?' The answer was YES, I was stress sick, & it turned into some type of an eating disorder, primarily from malnutrition and doing TOO much. Just no gas in the tank for me to keep going like that. Once I quit and got some rest (and some nutrition, QUIT energy drinks for GOOD because I'd developed mild ulcers, according to the doctor FROM not only stress, but ALSO the energy drinks and all the junk in those), I had gained about 25 pounds quickly, in less than 2 months. I had changed everything I thought was wrong, and was still very depressed, VERY fatigued, unable to focus on anything, was convinced I could not work because I was in such bad shape. Meanwhile, I'd met a friend, who had been taking adderral for YEARS for adhd, I compared him, to myself, compared the mood differences, everything.. Went back to thinking about how life was BEFORE the 11 some years of drug fog so to speak. Remembered that at age 15 my parents (shortly after the divorced) took me to a psychiatrist who diagnosed me w/ adhd, and depression. I was put on adderral and Zoloft, much to my mothers dismay (this was my father & stepmother taking me to the doctor). I didn't remember IF the adderral had helped my 'ADHD', done nothing, worse or better because as soon as my mother caught wind of this she flushed ALL meds. There was NO reason for a CHILD to take medications in her opinion. I stopped, and went on with life.. Don't recall any withdrawal from this, but also don't recall the duration of time I was ON them steadily.. After sitting with this friend of mine, I thought a light bulb turned on in my head! This has to be the adhd that I'm feeling.. It's BACK, because I'm 'sober' for the first time in a decade... I made a terrible mistake & made an appointment with a psychiatrist, this was roughly 5 weeks ago, in between Christmas and January 1st. This particular doctor didn't have any problem prescribing me adderral 20mg IR once again. He didn't know my entire history, like I posted here, he knew bits and pieces, & knew the diagnosis I'd had when I was 15. At first I noticed an incredible difference w/ adderral, I was ME again, I could manage to get everything done, and then some. I'd had a job handed to me, a simple job at that, I am a caretaker (3 days a week, 4 hours a day MAX), and this was ok, since my husband previously thought I was capable of absolutely nothing. Moving forward to weeks 2-5 on adderral (week 5, being NOW), I wasn't feeling NEARLY as good as I was.. Still had the energy, but hated the person I was becoming.. My OCD has taken over my personality, I don't fall asleep til 3am most nights, I am once again extremely depressed, just w/ energy.. Clearly I was talking too MUCH adderral, so 3 days ago I cut it back a bit. I realized after reading too much online, that I am a FOOL, an ADDICT, and I do NOT need to change my brain chemistry ANY more than I already have over many years.. I NEED to be OFF of this junk asap, there is no reason for me to throw something else into the cocktail that I will likely be trapped on for years to come. Now, I'm extremely frightened and panicked.. Have I already damaged my brain further? Am I going to go through withdrawals? If so, am I going to be able to make it to work? What HAVE I done? Am I insane for thinking ANYthing will happen because it was such a short time? Am I panicking for NO reason? Am I going to be 10x's more depressed now, than I was prior to the 5 weeks of adderral? I'm scared.. Some people around me believe I should stay on it, some people say get off as FAST as you can, I KNOW I need to be off of it for MYSELF. It is not helping me, I'm not a nice person anymore.. If I were to continue like this I guarantee I will lose EVERYthing, my wonderful husband included. I have out him through hell and BACK with my mental & physical problems.. I just need help, and a STRAIGHT answer from someone, anyone? What HAVE I done? Am I ever going to be OK? I realize the sub and klonopin need to GO as well, but I could MANAGE on those, and in TIME I will take care of it, the issue at hand, right NOW is this adderr garbage.. I cannot continue to use legal amphetamines ANY longer.. My mind is set, my body just doesn't know what to expect, & I'm scared to death that in only 5 weeks I could have set myself up to lose everything.. Can ANYthing help? I cannot take Wellbutrin (major interaction w/ sub), MOST anti depressants that I've checked out ALL have a moderate CNS interaction w/ sub OR klonopin... ANY thoughts or help would be GREATLY appreciated, thank you for taking the time to read if you were able to sort through my mess... I'm just fed up.. I will likely stop the adderral tomorrow, it was 20mgs-40mgs daily, 5 weeks, past 3 days, about 15mgs. I tapered a bit, but I HAVE to stop.. What can I expect? Please and thank you in advance.. And these questions, are ONLY regarding the adderral. I understand what a mess I have w/ the sub AND the klonopin, but one thing at a time, PLEASE.. Thanks in advance, ~Lily

Loading...

Anyone? Help... Please...
Reply

Loading...


IS THIS HOW LONG MOST PPLS STORIES R
Reply

Loading...

Possibly, turns out that I'm fine, day 3, just exhausted, and I was prepared for that. Apologies to anyone that does read thru all that, but hey at least if anyone needs
Help w/ any of this bs I can likely help. Lol thanks for reading, if u bothered. I would also guess, no many people would not include as much detail. ;) have a good day
Reply

Loading...

God I feel so much
Reply

Loading...

God I feel so much like you but so betrayed by my wife she gets so angry at me and has loud outbursts in front of my kids and its not fair I never deserved this these doctors did this to me as I trusted then there doctors , now I'm ready to leave all if them as the emotional name calling from someone I loved just hurt too much I can never look her in the eyes again just knowing she doesn't know me after 27 years these drugs are evil , and I'm crying writing this I list it all
Reply

Loading...

You know I feel like going to the tallest bridge and jumping I seem to have list everything and managed to have the family i built and worked so hard on has turned to hate me I have no support its always money over love and to end my life just seems everyone would be happier by me leaving this world , so I am planning to exit this mean world and so feel the family that I thought would be there for me hates me I'm really thinking about going out quietly as i figure if I'm this much of a burden maybe today is the day to plan my exit I'm sorry but to be blamed for all that's gone bad , eliminate me makes then happier ,and I truly believe Stella , April , Richie who is serving our country would be happy with me a dad who just can't seem to stop the hurtful words they say to me , I'm a loser baby so why don't you kill me it's time to check out , I have no one who understands and I'm tired very tired its Big Farma and doctors who made me get here money that's all everyone seems to care about , bye
Reply

Loading...

No no no don't do it. Please. You need to get some help. I know how it feels to live with an addict it's frustrating and hard to watch. Go to rehab and family counciling. Trust me once your sober things in life will start to come together and get better.
Reply

Loading...


My story is a lot like yours. I am on day 6 off of suboxone but I still take a lot of adderall and klonopin unfortunately. I have been taking adderral for 6 years now, on and off, and I am telling you that the withdrawal is mainly mental. The physical aspect is nothing compared to opiates and suboxone. It is mainly like you feel drained of energy for a few days, one week tops. And if you are weening down the way you are, it will be much easier and you may not even feel any withdrawal symptoms!! Adderral actually gets out of your system pretty quickly as long as you take care of your metabolism. Vitamins, water, good sleep, and an overall healthy balanced diet are all great for coming off of it as well. Also, I am fortunate enough to have become very aware of my mental health and it's connection to my pain and physical well being and let me tell you, once you become aware of that and practice simple relaxation and focus techniques, you will become much happier and realize that going through everything you went through has only made you stronger!! I suggest making an effort to be as honest as possible with your friends and family and try to build a strong support group, weather it's an online support group or a local support group. If you look into NA, they have a lot of motivating things to say. I know it may seem that NA comes with that "addict stigma" but the people there have been through so much and will help you get through this. You seem to want this and I think you are doing great :) but just be aware of your mental health and try your hardest to change your negative thoughts into positive thoughts. Only you have control of your mind. If you start to think "Oh this would be so much easier if I just had adderral...", stop yourself right there!!!!! don't give into the temptation. Play out in your mind all the negative consequences that come with taking the adderral! Think positive thoughts. Tell yourself, every morning when you wake up, "Today I will not take adderral. I don't know what will happen tomorrow and I am fine with that. Today I will not take adderral and I will be as positive as I can be. And if you have a higher power, pray to him. I promise you it worked for me and soooo many other people. After this is all said and done, you will have so much less guilt and will feel so much stronger!!! Good luck and stay strong!!!

Reply

Loading...


I'm glad I read through it cause I'm going through the same thing almost. I've been on Suboxone for 3 and a half years and went cold turkey 2 days ago n i feel like i'm dying. I don't know what to do but I don't think my body can take it. My mind wants it for myself & my kids its just really messing me up right now. Not slept in 3 nights & down to 102 pounds
Reply

Loading...


I just read your story. I am feeling so much empathy and sympathy for you. It is a year later and I am wondering how you are doing? Please give us an update. God bless.
Reply

Loading...


I am in pain for you just reading your post. Please reply as I just joined and I need to know if you are ok. Really. I am so sorry for your pain. I can totally empathize with your situation. I just hope you are still with us. Please write back.
Reply

Loading...


VooDoo 47 I really want you to think good and hard . What about your kids? They need a father , its just been a difficult time for you, We all go through them. So you cant do everything or be everything you would like at this time you will be back knocking them out of the park. It's going to take some time but you will get there. I promise you that!!!
Reply

Loading...

How long would it take to tell 10 years of your life? Instead of waisting time space and energy writing something completely useless why don't ya write something of substance or not write anything at all, its obvious the women who took the time to post is in distress & in a complete panic ,doesn't have any where to turn while seeking live saving advice & your clever self thinks its funny to ask if all stories are this long. Smh oh this wonderful online world -gives a voice to everyone knucklehead who instead needs to be given a giant MUTE BUTTON

Reply

Loading...

Hi....I hope you are doing ok. I read all of your post., I too am on suboxone, Have been for tthe past 7 years, It saved my life. I just want you to know that yes you can take antidepressants while on it. I am currently on two of them along with an antipsychotic. This combination of meds has saved my life. I was so much like you. Just eating up all the opiods I could get my hands on, Thank God I got on suboxone or I was sure to dive into the world of heroin. At the end of my "career" (on opiates) I was eating up to 45 pills a day,, puking my brains out and barely staving off withdrawl. Anyhow, thank God I stumbled into the right place an d got put on to suboxone. Once put on that, my world came tumbling down.

You would think all would be roses once stopping the opiates...but nope...not for me., I haad a complete mental breakdown. The depression was so enormous. I was extremely suicidal . Had 1 unsuccessful attempt at it and not only that, I developed severe Panic Disorder. Scared to death of everything in this world.

It took a few years to finally diagnose me correctly and treat with medicine. I have bipolar, ADD and Panic Disorder.

I am currently on 40mgs of dexadrine a day (have been on this for 5 years at the same dose) and I also take 2mg of Xanax each day for the Panic (have been on this for 5 years as well)

I guess what I am trying to get at here is this....perhaps you are self medicating a mental illness. Once I was treated with the right meds my trainwreck of a life stopped. I finally got the right help and feel so much better and "normal". I was always chasing something before. Never happy with where I was at...my feelings were out of control.

Now that I am on the proper meds, I no longer drink or drug. I don't want to. I don't feel like "I can't"...I finally feel like I just don't want to"-as simple as that.

I really think your roller coaster can be stabilized with some good therapy and a good psychiatrist that will work with you and get you on the right meds. Sounds to me like you are just screaming for stability and seem to go extreme with whatever med is on your plate at the time.
Really, there is a better life for you. Don't be so hard on yourself. All you were trying to do wAs to get by. You didn't mean to become an addict. I really think you wwere self medicating some other condition. Perhaps, like me, you too could have bipolar. It can take a long time to find the right meds but once you do man.....life is sweet again.

I wish you all the best.
Reply

Loading...