Terrified of withdrawals!

[SweetMB26]

I have an extreme medical history at the age of 26. Most recently I have suffered through what was thought to be autoimmune chronic pancreatitis for over 3 years. Up until about a month ago I was told the only thing I could do was take large amounts of Hydrocodone to ease my pain, function regularly and just plain get through life. Recently a brave surgeon decided to remove my gallbladder as a last resort. Every test shoes it to be otherwise healthy but I had always thought it to be the cause. Since the surgery I have felt an amazing difference in how I feel! Other than the excruciating pain I experienced after the surgery, I noticed that my normal pancreas pain had vanished.... Now I get to do what I've wanted more than anything since the beginning of all this, get off the pain medication!! But I went one night without them and experienced the worst withdrawals. I had restless body and my mind and body were in agony! I never want to experience that again and I am downright terrified of this process. Can anyone give me some advice/support on getting through this the healthy way?

[debsgotcurves]

Hi there, glad your health probs were finally figured out. Thank goodness for your "brave surgeon" who figured it out. I can relate. I had issues with my abdomen for many years and saw many many doctors, some of who told me it was all in my mind and I needed psychiatric help. Well, it's true I need psychiatric help, but there was STILL something wrong with my abdomen. Finally, I found a brave young surgeon who said, "listen if you are desperate, I can cut you open and look inside". I said, YES, YES, CUT ME OPEN!  Hours later I woke up from surgery and he told me everything in my abdomen was stuck together in a big ball. I had severe adhesions from another surgery, and it was a mess in there. He said he was picking my insides apart for over 6 hours.  So God bless when we find a good doc.  Now to your problem with the pain pills.  Please don't let people scare you.  There is a big difference between dependence and addiction.  If you took your meds as prescribed and didn't run out weeks early and had to buy more somewhere else, you are most likely dependent on the meds. Meaning your body has become used to them. You can easily do a slow taper off of them, and then finally stop, and most likely it won't be too bad. Everyone is different. Talk to the dr., who was giving you the pills, and ask him how to slowly taper off. If you are not addicted, then slowly tapering should be no prob. I was addicted and abusing my pills, so I could not taper off of them because as long as I had pills, I could not control myself.  That was me.  It sounds like you are dependent, not addicted.  Follow a taper plan, and when you are finally ready to stop completely, follow the Thomas recipe, and stop. It may be uncomfortable for a few days, maybe hard for a few days. But it is worth it to be DONE with pain pills.  DON'T LET PEOPLE SCARE YOU THAT IT WILL BE HORRIBLE AND SO YOU JUST KEEP TAKING THEM FOR YEARS!! They are highly addictive!!  They can ruin your life.  They ruin many, many lives. I started taking them for real, genuine pain. But I have an addictive personality, and started liking the high, and became addicted.  Now almost 10 years later, I am still getting off them.  You are very young, hopefully now very healthy, don't waste time-get off them and go live a happy, healthy, fun life!!!   We are here for you to help at every stage so feel free to post or contact those who have lots of knowledge and can help you. There are many here who are very knowledgeable and can help you make a plan to stop.  Good luck, you can do it!!!!!!!

[vicki595]

If you're terrified of the wd process then tapering down is your next choice. You said you take large amounts of hydro...how much is that?
To taper you simply cut back a small amount over a period of time and the slower the better!   Marycarmel used this method and did well with very little side effects compared to the stress of abrupt withdrawal...
Let us know how we can help-

[waterLilly7]

Hey Friend,
I agree with mary that you can do a taper. Although this is an option for you, it is not by any means a way to get through it with no ill effects. When you taper you get away with not having to suffer the severe physical symptoms such as the big stomach issues and shaking, however, the trade off for that is a drawn out process that includes the mental part of the WD. Due to my job I did a taper, it was  fast one, 2 months to come off of about 240 mg of oxy daily, or more. That was a fast taper. If I had it to do all over again I would have just jumped.
Everyone is different, but whatever way you choose, its not going to be easy, but it will be the most rewarding thing you ever do for yourself. You can do it. We will be here for you along the way.
hugs,
Lily

[marycarmel]

If you're dependent and not addicted, you can do a very slow taper and feel no ill effects essentially.  Ask your doctor for a proper taper plan.  People that are not addicted can usually follow a taper plan quite easily.  No need to put yourself through the withdrawals if you don't have to.

[OpenMind24hours]

Glad that you've recovered from your health problems and now have the desire to put the whole thing behind you and get on with your life. You won't regret it. You're 26 and have an entire lifetime to live happy joyous and free.

The pain meds are the last phase to freedom as they usually are. Was for me too. You didn't mention how many MGs you've been taking a day? The amount determines what you'll be actually going thru with detox. Just know that it's ALL doable. You WILL get your life back; not to worry any more. Have you talked to your physician about the fact that you want To stop opiates? They have your records, know your health history, and can offer prescriptions like Clonidine to help you through this.

All I can do is relate my experiences to you. Fear was my worst enemy. Fear and worry kept me from stopping. But I knew the longer I went on with hydro the longer my withdrawal and detox will go on. I had been through detox twice before, but my last time I had been on hydro for close to 2 years. But on this site I was reading posts from folks who kicked much stronger opiates and had been on them for many years. So, I took the plunge, and I received help from those folks. It doesn't matter what or how much we've been taking, our addiction is our personal hell on earth.

Take a look below and click on the Thomas recipe.  Get those items and follow the directions. Also get some Epsom Salts for your hot baths. For me, hot baths were the most powerful weapon for taking away muscle aches and anxiety. I also started up on Magnesium tabs every morning. I still take them. I'll be 9 months clean coming right up soon and I've learned quite a bit by being on this site.

You'll get much more feedback from your post. I'll leave space for others to write to you. I just want to try to put your fears to rest. Stay in today as you go through this, don't worry about tomorrow, just get through the moment at hand, tomorrow is just a burden on today's tasks. All of us have been through this, you'll get through it too. Best of luck!

[wransomejr]

Friend, if your body has become dependent on any medication, there isn't any really good way to break that cycle in 100% comfort.

Psyche yourself up, make time for yourself...say five days...so that all you have to do is stay home with no responsibility to anyone but yourself.

And then take the plunge. You have to flush your pills and have none easily at the ready. The symptoms you describe are very uncomfortable but you KNOW they won't last all that long and if you want to quit, you have to do this work. And then you have to help your body re-aligne and reboot.

There are things that can make detox easier, but you still have to be willing to go through a few days of icky. Stay strong and prove to yourself you can do it!