I have been a sufferer of chronic pain due to two herniated discs, sciatica, and fibromyalgia over the last 14 months. My pain medication usage started out innocently... was suffering through pain, and was prescribed Percocet to help. I started taking more and more, and before I knew it I was physically addicted and using pain medication around the clock. I justified all this medication usage as needing it for my pain, which was true to an extent, but I surely was using more than I needed.
Over the last three months or so, I feel as if these pain pills have taken over my life. Yes, I wake up every single day with pain... so much pain that it's hard to get out of bed. But I am also a slave to the medication. I have spent all of my money for that feeling the Percocets give me.
I decided today that I am done with this. I have a successful career, but am wasting all the money I make on the pills. I have so much anxiety every night when I look at my bank account and when I imagine my life stuck on medications. I am only 25 years old and am already headed down a terrible path that is overwhelming me. I took the first major step in my recovery... I sat down and told my mother everything. I am lucky because she is very understanding, and knows a lot about addiction (as we have it in our family already -- an indicator that I shouldn't have been on these in the first place).
Luckily we have good health insurance, so money is not an issue. My main question is, what are the best treatment options for me? Right now I am on a dose of around 150 - 200 mg of oxycodone a day. I do work a full time job M - F, and do not want anyone to find out about what's going on. We have made an appointment this Thursday at 9am to meet with our family doctor to go over treatment options. Are there short detox programs of only 3 or 4 days or so that would help me? Or is suboxone therapy possible to do from home? I definitely can't go to a full on 30 day rehab or anything... I feel like my main issue is that I'm physically addicted to the pain meds more than mentally. I take them for pain, I take them because I enjoy them, and I take them because without them I will get withdrawals. So for someone who has pain medication usage as high as mine, what is the best treatment option in the shortest period of time? I'm open to going to a detox program as long as it's not something I have to do for a long period of time. Or I could do outpatient therapy...
Also, I'd love to hear what some of your experiences are with this. How long does detox last for? How long does it take to get the medication fully out of your system? When do you start to really feel normal again? What will it be like for me to be at work while I'm going through this? Any advice would be extremely helpful as I really am just at the beginning of this process...
I'm probably going to start my detox on the 25th of this month, the day after Thanksgiving. Then I'll have Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and possibly take Monday and Tuesday off of work. Then I'd have to be back in the office Wednesday the 23rd. Doable?