Made it through my first week - Day 8

[jp2001]

Good morning MedHelp friends!

I just wanted to share my story with you.  

One week ago this morning, I stopped a 10 year (with the last 9 months being severe) vicodin addiction.  Some of you may be ahead of me, and congrats!  Some of you may be a few days behind me...know things are going to start getting better just around the corner!  Some of you are thinking about quitting, and wondering if you can do it.  I am here today to confirm that yes, in fact, you CAN do it.

The first week was, as you probably know, not very much fun.  But the difference between last Saturday(Day 1) and this Saturday(Day 8) is immense.  My energy levels are so much better than days 1-5.  I'm sleeping at least about 4-5 hours a night, and while during the other few hours I'm a little restless, that too has subsided.  I am no longer using Hylands Restless Leg, since I don't feel like I need it anymore.  

I've still got some ways to go, but I am through the lions den, and know that if I was able to get through days 1-5, then I am able to keep this going.  I feel like if I could get through that, there is very little that I wouldn't get through.  

You CAN do this, and hot damn, so can I.  Thanks for your support, and many prayers for all of you both ahead of me and behind me.  Even more prayers for those of you about to choose life over death.

[dedicatedtostop]

Congrats to you!!! Way to go, you have this thing beat!! Excellent post, I dido everything you said. Luv your positive attitude, it creates such a positive energy! Keep up the good work my friend, very proud of you!!!

[jp2001]

Thanks :)

To moonshyne777 -
I'm so happy that you are going to go clean!  On the other side, you are really going to feel better.  Remember that as you go through this, this is just like having the flu.  It'll pass in a few days, and will suck for just a short while.  While you go through it, it may feel like its an eternity...remember that your friends here are going to be there for you, and post your *** off when you feel like you need someone there to keep telling you that you are doing the right thing.  But, just as you feel like one week ago /just/ happened, in one week, like me, you will be amazed that you are /already/ through the worst of it.

I promise you that succeeding at this is the most important thing you can do in your life.  

You may have already seen this, but I thought this was a good complement to the Thomas Recipe:  http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Addiction/Protocol-for-unassisted-opiate-withdrawal-/show/659?cid=66

I'm grateful for your encouragement wanttobeclean!  I'm so lucky and happy that I got out when I did!

[wanttobeclean]

Thanks for sharing your story!  You should be so proud of yourself!  Quitting opiates was the toughest thing I've ever done (and I had also got to that point where they were just helping me reach normal).  

Keep up the posting and keep your guard up.  The first few weeks were a tough battle physically, but you'll be fighting the war the rest of your life.  A war totally worth fighting, but a war none the less.

Congratulations on day 8!!!!

[moonshyne777]

I am going ct on Monday and went and got the last of what I needed for the Thomas recipe. When you wrote about the vicodan only making you feel ''normal'' during the last period of you using I can totally relate. I take (snort) 5 oxys a day and long gone is the euphoria, happiness and energy rush that I used to get from them. Now like you say I just feel normal when I do them.

Congrats on getting so far! You are an inspiration to all of us about to go through it and going through it.

[jp2001]

And one other thing that I haven't really seen mentioned here before.

In the beginning of my addiction, I would take vicodin and feel /good/...relaxed, etc..  But for the last 9 months, I'd take vicodin to feel good...but I only got to feeling normal.  So I started associating the normal feeling with "vicodin high".

It's kind of strange, but now that I feel pretty normal, and am not racked with opiad w/d's, I realize that I now feel that good ALL THE TIME.  

For those of you thinking about quitting, realize that you probably don't even know how good you are going to feel clean.  It's a process and takes some support from friends to get there, but boy, you won't be sorry you did it.