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389342 tn?1200699464

My story..& where to go from here?

Hi everyone. I'm a 27 year old woman.  I'm new here, so sorry if this gets a little long!

Around the age of 5, my teeth had horrible issues.  I was always in and out of the dentist with one problem or another, at such a young age.  As the years went on, my teeth kept getting worse, and no one knew why.

At the age of 14, during a routine dental check up, Xrays were taken, and they discovered what they thought was a tumor.  They scheduled me for surgery, then planned on biopsying this "tumor".  I had it removed, and strangely enough, it was a benign tumor, made up of mostly tooth enamel.  This now explained to dentists why i had so many teeth problems.  They said that the enamel that should have been distributed throughout my upper teeth, had clumped together instead.  Needless to say, it was removed and the dentist's told my parents I would most likely have false teeth in my early twenties.

Flash forward...through the first few years of my twenties, my teeth were still doing ok.  I had a few abcesses and infections but i got through it with antibiotics, lancing the abcesses and lots of motrin.

Flash forward to this year, well, beginning of 2007.  I started having constant teeth pain.  I had no dental insurance, so I went to a dental clinic.  The first time I went was a horror story in itself, and I decided to not go back.  Throughout May, June, July and August, I dealt with alot of Motrin, antibiotics, ice packs, etc.  In September, I knew a decision had to be made.  Some teeth were breaking just from brushing my teeth.  In early October, i found and went to an amazing dentist.  He was wonderful.  He drew up a gameplan, and said that I would need all of my upper teeth removed, because they could not be saved.  He said I would wear an upper immediate denture so that I wouldn't have to go without teeth, and then after my gums healed, I could have them implanted.  I was ok with this, because I knew it was a long time coming.

In the third week of October, we began surgery.I financed the 5 thousand dollar work and we started with the back teeth, and I had oral surgery every single Friday up until this past friday, which was 1/11/2008.  It was drawn out this long because I needed many surgical extractions that could only be done one or two at a time, required alot of stitching and bone grafting.  At this time, the doctor started me on taking Percocet 7.5 mg, as needed for pain, every 4 to 6 hours and at bedtime.  I took the medication always as prescribed, along with motrin.  On most days, I took a pill or two less, because while I was at work, I didnt' want to take the percocet.

This continued through each surgery.  Each friday, I would have more work done, and leave wtih my percocet prescription for the week.  I know some people say on the threads I have read that they get a good feeling from them and enjoy taking them. I'm not sure why, but that wasnt the case for me.  Whenever I took one of the Percocet, I was nauseas and all I felt like doing was sleeping.  So anyway, two Friday's ago, was one of the two "big"surgeries. On 1/4/2008, I had 8 upper teeth removed, some that were impacted into the bone.  After these extractions, I had two bone grafts done, and went home on Percocet 10 mg.  This was the first time I actually took the medication every 4 hours, because this was the most pain I had experienced so far.

On 1/11/2008 (last friday), I went in for the final stages of the surgery.  I had the final 4 teeth extracted, and stitches placed, and my immediate denture was put in.  The doctor gave me,a prescription for 10mg Percocet, 10 tablets.  he told me that because the denture was in place, the pain will be minimal.  He was right.  By Saturday, my pain was only due to the irritation that the denture was causing, since i wasn't used to it yet.  I only needed 3 pills out of that prescription, and by Saturday evening, I had switched to taking motrin to control any pain.  

Well, Sunday morning, I woke up, and I felt a little weird.  I felt sick to my stomach, i had a small headache, and I felt really sweaty.  I thought i was just getting sick.  As the day went on, hell came over me.  I had diareah, chills but sweating, i felt like i could sit still, i honestly thought i was going crazy. I was yawning non stop and sneezing non stop.  I was so confused as to why, and call me naive, but never thought that stopping the medication would do this.  I guess im very uneducated when it comes to these medications because I had never taken them until these surgeries.

I called my father, who had double knee replacement surgery in June, and he told me that when he stopped taking his pain medication, he felt very similar.  I felt so sick by this time, I took one of the pills.  Within 45 minutes, each and every symptom was gone.  It was at this time, I cried.  I couldn't believe that stopping this medication had made me so sick.  I immediately had my dentist paged, and he called back.  he told me that three months being on the medication should not cause that many withdrawal symptoms. I'm like, "Withdrawal? How Can i be addicted to a drug that i didn't even enjoy taking"?  He explained to me that my body had built up a dependancy to the drug and that in a few days it would go away.  So I said ok, and figured it wouldnt be that bad.  Monday morning, I woke up for work, and I could not believe it. The symptoms from the day before were back, and EVEN WORSE.  Now, I missed so much time in the last 3 months from my surgeries, I couldn't possibly call in sick to work.  I was aboslutely freaking out.  I called my dentist, asked what i should do, and he said, "ride it out".  Well, thats easy for a rich dentist who doesnt need the daily hours at work to get the paycheck.  I took one of the pills, and again, all symptoms went away.  I was immediately so depressed that I have to face this.

My boyfriend is away for work right now, and I called him and explained what happened.  He said I should call my family dr and see what I should do.  I called him, and he referred me to a different dr.  Tonight, at 7 pm, I called this doctor that i was referred to.  I told him my situation, and explained to me how the body builds up a tolerance and that basically when the drug is stopped abruptly, it begins withdrawal from the medication.  he explained that it is very uncomfortable and that I should come into his office tomorrow at 9 am.

So here i am.  Tomorrow I have an appointment with this dr, which obviously i have to miss work again.  I have no idea what to expect from this appt, and its costing me one hundred dollars to see this doctor.  I started reading online about what to expect, and there are things about rapid detox, and all these drugs to get off the drugs.  I absolutely do not want to do that! I can't do that! Not only can I not afford it, but from what I read, those methods are for patients who had been on the medications alot longer that I have been.

What should i expect from this appt?  Is there a way to take the medication and slowly go down in the amount so this way my body doesnt need it any longer? im so clueless to all of this and cannot believe i have found my self in this situation. I keep feeling like ive done something horrible, when I know i didnt! Apparently, he is an addiction specialist.  I want to make it clear to him that I dont want to take this medication or any detoxing medications. Does anyone know if its possible for him to just prescibe the medication that i was already taking and slowly get it out of my system?

If you've made it this far, I truly appreciate it. I need to get to work after this dr appt, and I am scared to death. I cant sleep. Im afraid of those sick feelings coming back and im so afraid that he is going to want to do some kind of detox on me. Not only dont i need something like that, i cannot afford it at all!

Any replies are greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Krys
37 Responses
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392042 tn?1200844860
I am proud of you. your doing something that i havent been able to do myself yet.good luck to you you wii make it.

Denise
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
You didn't mention what type of doctor your going to is it an addiction doctor?
If yes and he is a good addiction doctor you should go on a five day Suboxone maintenance and then be your good old self again. Personally I don't believe your addicted but your body has become physically dependent on them.
Please excuse me if I sound insensitive but your axiety is normal.
One thing though if this is a Methadone Clinic doctor your making a huge mistake!
If I may also tell you something when an addict takes a lot of percocet they get a burst of energy you said you got sick and tired so please try and relax but use your intellegence here and don't get yourself caught up in dependent money making doctors nightmare. Be careful and good luck to you.
Helpful - 0
389342 tn?1200699464
my dr gave me 0.2 mg to take every 4 hours as needed for symptoms. now, the most ive taken in a day is two of them, because it works so well. i am only on day 3, and besides feelings exhausted, i feel really ok. i would ask for the pill form.
Helpful - 0
380558 tn?1309042387
Hey there, again.. I send you a pm a little bit ago.. lol
You are taking .2 mg EACH dose? How many doses per day? I was just wondering, because this Clonidine patch only delivers .1 mgs a DAY! I'll only need it for a few days, but I'm just wondering if it'll be enough?
What do YOU think? Thanks so much in advance!
Alli
Helpful - 0
389342 tn?1200699464
ok. i would be lying if i said i felt great, or anywhere near great. but it is now noon, and i swear, that clonodine made such a difference! The cold sweaty chills have come to a minimum.  I just spent the last hour cleaning my kitchen, and my bathroom and i wasn't exhausted at all. i felt HORRIBLE before i took that clonodine. I just can't believe what a difference it made
Helpful - 0
389342 tn?1200699464
hi. as soon as i woke up, im here. like i said, it just makes me feel better. Today, is by far, the worst for me, and its only 10:15 am. i feel like crying. My boyfriend returns from Texas today from his two weeks away at work, and its his birthday, and here's his girlfriend that he is coming home to in withdrawal. I just took a clonodine 0.2 mg, since i am at home and not work, because if it makes me dizzy and tired again, i can lay down. I also took a dicyclomine for my belly. i am sneezing so bad and my nose is running so bad. i slept well, i did take one diazepam to sleep last night. My boyfriend has never done a drug in his life or taken a pain pill in his life, hell, if he gets a cold he wont even take motrin...but he has been really understanding in this. I just wish i didn't feel so bad on the night he is coming home. He wont be here until 10:30 tonight, so im hoping that him coming home can motivate me into feeling a little better. He can get called away for work at any second again, and i don't wanna spend the time he is here with me sick and miserable.  I'm pretty scared, i should have never watched that celebrity rehab show last night. im hoping that two months of percocet withdrawal isn't that dangerous for me.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Very true I dont know anyone who got into this hell without first having a good reason for taking the meds.to begin with. So Preach It Magi!!!!!
Helpful - 0
306455 tn?1288862071
I'm so sorry that you have ended up in this situation, but also happy that you never started enjoying those pain pills. So many of us started out the same way. Taking pain meds for legitimate pain issues but ended up learning to love the high and then abusing them.
We all have read the warnings on the pills that they are addictive. But until you've been there, those words have little meaning. People don't realize how long it takes  or how many it takes to get addicted. If we take as prescribed, we don't think we'll get addicted. We trust that our doctors wouldn't allow such a thing to happen. It's a sad situation that people find themselves in.
By the end of this weekend, you should be fine. And most important is that you will have learned for future referance what can happen so innocently.
Beleive it or not, your one of the lucky ones. You may not feel that way right now, but you didn't continue down the long, hard road to hell.
Hope your doing ok and hang in there. Keep us posted.
Take care, Magi
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I am so sorry u r having to go through this . I would take the diazepam, see how that works. Good luck and let us know how its going.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Post as much as you like. No one minds.(you might want to start a new thread though, this one is sooo long lol) So happy you made it through work today. You are doing great. Don't worry about the clonidine. I didn't have any and I lived. You should get a Blood Pressure monitor at the store. The Valium will help you. Just don't take for more than a couple days.  Take care
Helpful - 0
389342 tn?1200699464
I'm sure by about this time, everyone is tired of me posting my hourly updates. haha. but for some reason, it just makes me feel better. it's helping me get through this to know there truly are other people out there that understand.

I got home from work at 5. i did my dishes, made dinner for me and my son, then watched a tv show with him. i fell asleep on the couch for about 20 minutes until my boyfriend called (he is in texas for work). anyway, im having tons of pain from my oral surgery, so that isn't helping the situation. so, i havent taken any of the withdrawal medication. I just took a motrin 800 mg for the pain in my mouth and the overall body aches.  i told my mom what was going on, and my dad went through a similar thing after being on pain medication for 3 months after double knee replacement surgery.  he got on the phone with me and told me to hang in there,that by day 4, he started feeling alot better. i feel ******, but im managing to stay positive and just relax. im having alot of fear about tonight, and sleeping, and waking up in those sweats again, so if i do, i am going to take one of the diazepam the dr gave me. i wish i could take the clonidine but it makes me nervous about how dizzy it made me earlier. Either way, im hanging in there. and being able to come here and talk about it has played a huge part in that. Thank you all.
Helpful - 0
389342 tn?1200699464
Hi...I haven't taken the diazepam. I haven't taken anything but a 6pm last night dose of Clonidine and a 6 am dose.  Im too freaked out to try and take it again, since he said it was lowering my blood pressure too much. i don't wanna lay down and never get up ! I'm so exhausted. i go home in 15 minutes. I can't wait to just make my son dinner and lay on the couch.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
wow, what idiots we have to work with. I would be careful with your bp . Have you taken the diazepam?
Helpful - 0
389342 tn?1200699464
I AM SO FRUSTRATED. i'm sitting at work, and i have beginning to have chills pretty bad, and just an overall uncomfortable feeling.  I wanted to take the clonidine, it says every 4 hours and its now almost 2 pm and i havent taken it since before 6 am.  However, because the last time i took it it made me very dizzy and tired, i didn't want to take it again if it was unsafe for my blood pressure.

I called the drs office, and a different doctor than the one i saw called back.  I explained this situation, and he said, "i can't tell you to take it or not to take it". So i said, well, can i break it in half? he said, "i can't tell you to do that". im like what can you tell me???????
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
OMG--- why would he ask you that?  that is terrible...you are almost there, that would only make you go backwards..
God job on saying no, and staying home tommorrow, gives you a long weekend....you should do well...
wishing you well
r2r
Helpful - 0
389342 tn?1200699464
This day feels like its dragging.

I called my family doctor, the one that referred me to the addiction dr.  I asked him to write me a note for work for tomorrow so i could spend day 3 at home. he said yes, which made me feel alot better.

so then, he goes, "Wow, feeling that bad huh"? so i said, yeah, i am.  He says, "Well, how about i write you a prescription for a few percocet so that you can get through today at work, and begin tomorrow in the withdrawal, when you are at home and comfortable."

WHATTTTT? i'm like, um no, i am already on day 2, why in god's name would i backtrack myself? i could not believe it.

So as of right now, i feel REALLLLLLLLLLLY weak. but im really trying to remain positive and tell myself after work today, i have the next three days to be at home and rest.  im just so scared, because it feels like it will never go away! is everyone SURE that it will?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Sorry to hear you are feeling so bad...Are you taking OTC immodium?
also your clonodine is a bit stronger then i was on and i think most here who took it..mine was 0.1 mg, 3x a day...
Can someone help me out with this one? and what everyones dose was?
the weekend is right there, try to hang on, i pray you start feeling better soon
r2r
Helpful - 0
390416 tn?1275185087
What a story....you are doing awesome. I agree w/ all of the above posts......the wk.end is right around the corner...take care of yourself!!!!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hang in there. You know this is going to go away.One more day.Don't worry about your boss. You can make up the work on Monday.Drink lots of water today at work.Try not to dwell on why you are sick.If you had the flu, you would make it through work today.You can do this.
Helpful - 0
389342 tn?1200699464
ok. i feel horrible.  i dont know if the clonidine made my blood pressure too low or what. but everytime i stand up i feel lightheaded.  I feel exhausted just from walking up the steps to my work. im really scared.  I have the runs (sorry, i know its gross).  i am just so scared that this will never go away.  I feel like crying because my boss thinks im in here working away but really i cant bring myself to do anything. all i want is to go home and lay down, and i can't. :(
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
you are doing great!!  the clonodine helped me alot too....It lowers your blood pressure so just be carefull...I have low blood pressure already so i had a blood pressure machine here to take it constantly just in case it got to low...
I know you wish you can be in your bed, but being at work is good to keep your mind busy....before you know it you will be feeling back to yourself....
r2r
Helpful - 0
389342 tn?1200699464
R2R-Thank you for your kind words. I really appreciate it:)

I went to bed around 11, and slept till about 5.  at 5 i woke up sweating but with chills.  I took my clonidine and crawled back into bed.  My alarm went off at 6:15, and thats when my stomach wasn't doing too good.  I took the Dicyclomine for my stomach.  Now I am at work.  When I first woke up I thought, wow, i defintely cannot go to work like this.  But i ABSOLUTELY cannot miss anymore work.  Right now, I am sitting in my office, and I don't feel wonderful by any means, but i also dont feel like i did at 5am. im guessing the clonidine is the most helpful medication he gave me.

I will come back later and let you know how im getting through day #2. Thanks everyone.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
yes the yawning and sneezing is a part of w/d...One i will never understand..For me i sneezed so much i had to take benedral s/p?
they would always happen about 5 back to back then stop then yawn...Just made no sense to me...
You will be over this soon....the sleeping may not be to good, so if you need start with half a pill of valium..And dont' forget HOT baths help alot with the legs..I wouldn't take that med either..
good luck sweetie!!!!
r2r
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Wow what a story...i feel so bad for you...YOU did nothing wrong , and the dentist should of explained some of this to you..
the clonodine will help alot...and the nerve pill...Just take the nerve pill as needed as they are very addicting..
The good news is you will not have to experience this for very long....and because you are not an addict your brain will not crave, and cause so much depression...
just remember mind over matter....U have to take it one day at a time, and i pray you don't have to miss to much work...Please keep us posted about how you are feeling
i am praying for you
r2r
Helpful - 0
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