what can i do to ease my withdrawal

[bklyons31]

hi im a 31 yr old guy with a great wife and a 3 yr old girl and im prescibed lortab 7.5 for osteo arthritis and lumbar disc disease and been taking 3 aday for about 5 mo. but if i worked longer and hurt i would take more and end up running out early so i would take tramadol til my next refill...well now im out completely my last dose of lortab was arond midnight on christmas eve...mylast tramadol was around 9 pm the next day...ive had a very restless time sleeping a little tired and just cant stop pacing and just irritable feeling and stomach (issues) tell me what i can do to ease all this i just want to be normal again

thanks for any advice

[toothfairie]

Hi and welcome!  this site is an awesome place for support and info....are you planning on stopping all the pain meds??  and not getting anymore?

the Thomas recipe at the bottom right corner is awesome....just take from it what you need....

Imodium is a must....also drink lots of fluids...gatorade...ensure...boost...and eat when you can....there is stuff at Wal-mart for Restless legs...i think it's called that...not sure....suppose to be good...also hot baths or showers...if you take hot baths get epsom salts...it's great for relaxing your legs and putting nutrients back and it also relaxes your mind and helps with aches....

to help with sleep issues....melatonin or Alteril is good...it helped me.  
Just know that many others have done this and you can too!!  we are all here to support you and want you to succeed!  Feel free to message me if you have anymore questions...the people on here are great for support and info.  

[Leaveurfearsbehind]

The imodium really helped me with the withdrawals. I didn't think it would but I could really tell it helped just dont go crazy with it. I used a heating pad and a massage pad to help me relax. Try to stay busy and keep telling yourself that things will get better with time. Good luck my friend.

[bklyons31]

thank you toothfairie i definitely plan on getting off and staying off.. im just having a rough time with it and glad to have help and  an idea now..i just cant stop pacing i cant keep still and kinda agitated not mad just dont want to do anything   ..and the worst part not sleeping my legs are calm sorta but the minute i lay down i cant help but toss,turn and move i been taking zquil to help me sleep it definitely makes me tired but i still cant sleep...but ill def try the thomas ...and see how it goes and thank you for your kind advice

[jenjen1966]

Congratulations on the decision to stop the pain meds! Just wanted to offer some support. Toothfairie gave you some good advice. For me the sleep problems were the worst. I just set up on the couch with some movies. Didn't even pretend I was going to try to sleep. That lasted the first 72-100 hours.  I am day 30 now and getting about 6 hours most nights. Imodium made a big difference for me too. Posting here for supoort was key too. Im sure orhers will post with more suggestions. Good luck!

[toothfairie]

you're very welcome...the first week sleeping will be hard to come by...just being honest...but it will and does get better. All the symptoms you are having are normal, so try not to drive yourself crazy over them....they do get better. honestly they do....sleep was the hardest thing for me i think cuz i LOVE my sleep! haha  just know that you are on the right tract and try to keep focused on that.  You will feel so much better soon!  I'm sort of a newbie to this as well with only 41 days or so clean but i'm already SO much better. So know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and you will begin to see it soon!  keep posting and and reading the posts....stick close to here and we will help you get thru it!  

[marycarmel]

You're getting fantastic advice here.  This is such a great place and you'll get incredible support as you go through this.

Sleep is pretty tough early on.  You can try Melatonin or Alteril.  Both are all natural and non-habit forming. I got some relief with the Alteril; not perfect but what I did sleep was solid.  It can take a long time for it to return to normal.

I will also recommend the Imodium.  It helped me with nearly all my symptoms.  Crazy as it sounds, it has an opiate base somehow but it doesn't cross the blood/brain barrier.  I thought it was sort of an old wive's tale and figured I'd try it and was amazed at how much of a difference it makes.

[bklyons31]

thank you to all; great advice definitely tryin the immodium i was the best choice ive made by signing up here and am very grateful..i know this can be done..i am a very driven person...this has really been the hardest...and ive had one hell of a crazy ride to only be 31...started cooking at 19;became a chef at 20 supervisor at21,then came hurricane katrina...and in 2007 our son passed kinda short circuited me and gave me anxietyi coped for a long time without anything thats why im done with this .
i need to get back to me..i always had the bad knees and back because of the concrete floors  but when i tried to use the tabs and tram it did help and it helped the anxiety....but it can be done without that...once again thank you all  so much for this..oh,and congrats...toothfairie on 41 days...and to you jenjen on 30 days.....im only 2 days in but not too far behind i will post often for updates ....and what if any advice i can offer to help i will