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Percocet Detox
I quit percs last october after a 15yr stint on them. I quit cold turkey and went into wicked withdrawals for a week straight. Then I started to feel better. But I got hooked again about a month later and my tolerance skyrocketed from 20/30mg per day to 15mg per day. I quit again last Thursday night. Took my last 30mg at 5pm. I'm on day 4 and feel achy, sweaty and have no appetite. How much longer do you think this will last before I start to feel better? The mental part is hard too. I keep thinking about going to find some and get that fix so my body will relax. Haven't slept for more than 3hours at one time since Wednesday night before I went off them. Just looking for some advice and help to keep myself off these things.
Hi and Congrats on Day 4!!! You pretty much know what to look forward to after your last bout with WDs! I would imagine you have a few more days to go....then the physical will start to get better! Sleep and energy are the last things to return so you just need to hang on! 3 hours is not to bad compared to what some get during detox! Have you tired melatonin? A hot bath with epsom salts right before bed? Sometimes those help! It's hard not to get sleep but don't force yourself to stay in bed...that just makes it more frustrating! Watch a movie or read posts on here or do crossword puzzles...that all helped me during the sleepless nights!!! Are you taking any vitamins or supplements to help you through? They can really help! Look up the Thomas Recipe on here and there are some suggestions there for detox. You mentioned the mental is hard too! Most of us find that is more difficult than the physical! What will you do different this time to keep yourself clean? There are a lot of options but support is sooo important!!! If its AA/NA, therapy, outpatient counseling, church... whatever fits for you but try to find something!!! Keep on posting and let us know how you are getting on!!!
Hi! Thanks for the congrats! I'm getting there. But I'm still a little worried about caving again. And I only think that because I was hooked for 15yrs. My tolerance was very low for the first 12 yrs. I would only take a 1/4 of a 5mg one at a time and that would last me 6 hours. But when it was harder to get the 5s I had to resort to stronger ones which I would take all at once and then my tolerance just grew to 5 30mgs a day. I need to make a correction in my original post. I was going from 20/30mg a day to 150mg a day. Whoops! I do feel better today physically. I took last Friday off knowing it was going to be hard and hoped that by Sunday night I would be better before going back to work. It was a struggle today but I made it through most of the day. I was very restless most of the day and smoked a whole pack of smokes in 9 hours. The hardest part besides the mental aspect to me is the night sweats and not being able to sleep. I look like a zombie and I've definitely lost weight and people have noticed. I've tried the hot showers but honestly I get the goosebumps in there and I get very cold even under the hot water. Then when I get out I get wicked chills. So I'm not going crazy with showers right now. Not until the chills and goosebumps go away. I have not tried melatonin. Does that really work for sleep? I've been taking a sleeping pill (generic brand) and my doc has prescribed me some Buspirone for anxiety from a while ago. Those help me relax a bit but don't really help me sleep. I just want to get a good nights rest so I will feel refreshed the next day. The problem with trying to find something to do instead of lying in bed is I have no passion or desire to do anything except lie in bed. It just *****. I do take a multi-vitamin daily so I am getting my daily dose. How much longer do you think I will feel achy and kinda run down? This is the end of day 4 and I know when I detoxed back in October it didn't seem that bad on day 4. It seems worse this time even though I've only been back on them for 6 months or so. But my dosage went up alot more in that 6 months. The mental part is hard. I can't stay focused on things for long without wondering if I should get some more so I can feel better. I think about the cravings and then how bad I want one to make the back pain go away. I've gotten myself into a jam financially and it's gonna be hard to get out of so I use that as my reason for not going out and finding some again. So staying focused mentally is my challenge right now. I'm not sure what I will do differently now to stay clean. I'm a fierce creature of habit and borderline OCD lol so if I've not in my normal day to day routine I get stressed out and frazzled. So it's hard for me to find ways to do things differently because of how I am. I know support is very important but I'm not a very social person and not sure I would feel right talking about my life to others. But I do know it helps. I just need to work up the courage to talk openly about my life like that and not worry if people are judging me. There are a few local outpatient centers that I might call tomorrow and see what they can offer me. But my biggest fear is getting back on them again because they've been a part of my life for 15yrs. And people I work with do them too and being around them isn't a good thing either. They know I quit but just knowing they have them drives me crazy. The worst has to be over by now I would think....at least I hope! Thank you for replying. I really appreciate that. Its nice to know that complete strangers care and want to help when others are crying out for help.
Hey Squirrel. Every single thing you wrote is the identical feeling and experience to most of us. We ALL cave w/o an aftercare program: if we could STAY clean by ourselves, we all would have. Getting clean is vastly different from staying clean. I'm sure you know that.
Detox is the easy part. Once that's over, we have to fact ourselves. And that's the challenge. You'll notice the folks that live clean have regular support.
Detox is the easy part. Once that's over, we have to fact ourselves. And that's the challenge. You'll notice the folks that live clean have regular support.
Quitting an opiate is very very difficult. No judgement here. The draw to get a "fix" to make the tremors, sweats, anxiety, stomach issues, pain, etc, go away is intense. i would like very much to offer advice, if you're interested. From personal and accounts of loved ones who have used these medications and other opoids, often quitting cold turkey ends up with relapse. Sometimes a taper down effect works better, though i do not personally condone it. Often when relapsing on an opoid, you feel like you can take the dose you're used to taking from your former tolerance, which can be highly detrimental to your liver, kidney and respitory system if not deadly.
If you have the ability, going to a doctor and admitting you are trying to kick the habit but are having difficulty, they can often help with process, prescribing drugs such as clonodine, which i have heard helps with withdrawals or something similar (I AM NOT A MEDiCAL PROFFESSIONAL)
Also, going to groups such as NA or AA or All Anon, as bad of rap as they get from users, can truly bring back some spirit into your life and give you the drive to do something positive whilst in withdrawal.
Many opiod users find they can't just quit, and are prescribed Suboxone or Methadone treatment, but that is a serious decision as both are habit forming and can cause withdrawals within themselves.
It's good right now to reach out and communicate how you are feeling and find some sort of positivity in every day you remain sober or away from opiates. Support forumns and groups, again, really help with this.
Some people claim Kratom, a leaf from Eastern medicine helps with the withrawal process, but again I am not a medeical professional and can not recoomend anything like that. (sorry for mis spells, English is a second language for me).
I do know, with the help of my doctor and support groups, I quit heroin after 2 years of use as a teenager and have never looked back, but I still have to watch myself and take care and reach ot, as addiction is not a fully curable disease. Hope any of that helps and best of luck to you
If you have the ability, going to a doctor and admitting you are trying to kick the habit but are having difficulty, they can often help with process, prescribing drugs such as clonodine, which i have heard helps with withdrawals or something similar (I AM NOT A MEDiCAL PROFFESSIONAL)
Also, going to groups such as NA or AA or All Anon, as bad of rap as they get from users, can truly bring back some spirit into your life and give you the drive to do something positive whilst in withdrawal.
Many opiod users find they can't just quit, and are prescribed Suboxone or Methadone treatment, but that is a serious decision as both are habit forming and can cause withdrawals within themselves.
It's good right now to reach out and communicate how you are feeling and find some sort of positivity in every day you remain sober or away from opiates. Support forumns and groups, again, really help with this.
Some people claim Kratom, a leaf from Eastern medicine helps with the withrawal process, but again I am not a medeical professional and can not recoomend anything like that. (sorry for mis spells, English is a second language for me).
I do know, with the help of my doctor and support groups, I quit heroin after 2 years of use as a teenager and have never looked back, but I still have to watch myself and take care and reach ot, as addiction is not a fully curable disease. Hope any of that helps and best of luck to you
Hi...well I was strug out on opiets for 15yrs also been a addcit for 35 so just know you can do it....but not alone...N/A has been the only program that has worked for me I tryed counselors a substance abuse counselor the pastor of my church all kept me clean but I never lost the desire to use.....N/A is a free progam the meetings are only a hour long and give you somewhere safe to share and with time it is the only progam where I have lost the desire to use....something I thought was impossible.....I highly recamend the program google N/A meeting in your aera recovery is a beautiful thing just stopping the pills does not = recovery the addict in your head is still alive and well it is critical you treat it keep posting for support we all want to see you recover..........Gnarly
And keep coming back and talking about it. It's going to be on your mind and people want to help you, withdrawal is very hard and can last physically and psychologically from days to week or months. I pray yours will be short, be strong and keep on talking it through
Morning of Day 5. I slept from about 11am till 2:30am. I woke up like every hour with my shirt covered in sweat. I really hate that feeling! I changed it 3 times through the night. When do the sweats stop?? I feel a little better this morning physically but still a little achy. I'm hoping tonight will be much better for sleeping alot longer. Is it too soon to hope for a good nights rest? Thank you to everyone who has posted back to me. I truly appreciate your support, help, and guidance. I know once I get past the physical part I will need to focus on the mental part. And that's where I know I'm going to need much more help and support to stay away from relapsing again. I will keep posting back and look forward to your comments.
Squirrel, for what it's worth, your description is a great reminder for how it was. I remember the 3 hrs sleep and the chronic sweating. I remember I detoxed once in July in LA and thought I was gonna lose my mind. Sweating should stop very soon. A different perspective is to remember that sweating, going to the bathroom, etc is your bodies way of finally getting rid of all the gross toxins. You are on day 5, it's not going to get worse! The symptoms might change a little, but you will be getting better inch by inch.
The sleep thing is a b***ch. 3 hrs is about right for where you are. It's said that 2/3 of detox is mental. Try not to let lack of sleep psych you out. I recall finally surrendering to not sleeping; it removed the struggle. Sleep is the last thing to come back. Don't fight it, and maybe plan for movies to watch, and read this forum! Remember: ALL of this horrible sh!t is temporary. Sleep will come back, just not right this minute. It's a faith thing.
Btw, push yourself during the day (in the sun) to exercise, even if it's walking to the mailbox. I know everything feel like a marathon, but exercise will start creating those natural endorphins, which are dead from all the opiates.
If all of us on here can do this, you can too. I used to ask myself if I could make it til the next hour. If that's too long, do 5 minutes.
Oh, you mentioned relapsing. It is vital that we cut ALL of our contacts. Block ph #s, tell dr, dentist etc. Access means we take them. It's not a willpower issue. We're addicts and we have zero control around opiates.
Glad to see you check in. Stay close to the site:)
The sleep thing is a b***ch. 3 hrs is about right for where you are. It's said that 2/3 of detox is mental. Try not to let lack of sleep psych you out. I recall finally surrendering to not sleeping; it removed the struggle. Sleep is the last thing to come back. Don't fight it, and maybe plan for movies to watch, and read this forum! Remember: ALL of this horrible sh!t is temporary. Sleep will come back, just not right this minute. It's a faith thing.
Btw, push yourself during the day (in the sun) to exercise, even if it's walking to the mailbox. I know everything feel like a marathon, but exercise will start creating those natural endorphins, which are dead from all the opiates.
If all of us on here can do this, you can too. I used to ask myself if I could make it til the next hour. If that's too long, do 5 minutes.
Oh, you mentioned relapsing. It is vital that we cut ALL of our contacts. Block ph #s, tell dr, dentist etc. Access means we take them. It's not a willpower issue. We're addicts and we have zero control around opiates.
Glad to see you check in. Stay close to the site:)
What helps me cope with this is the future. I look at all the money I've spent and how I've destroyed my finances almost to the point losing everything. Then I look at how much money I will save and the things I can buy. I need to focus on that every day. I need to wake up thinking of how bright my future will be. When I think like that I get giddy inside and how amazing it will be. That's what I need to focus on. But it's still hard to stay focused on that all the time. My mind goes back and forth so much and still have some physical symptoms and the lack of sleep makes it even harder. But I'm trying.....I'm trying...
Congrats Squirrel. Keep going your doing great. I have not started to my journey back to real life yet but your writing is inspiring
Morning of Day 6.....I slept a little better last night. Slept from about 11pm to 3:30am this morning. It was still a difficult night sleep wise but better than the night before. Still had the night sweats but it doesn't seem as severe. I'm hoping by now that the majority of the symptoms are fading. I'm hoping tonight I will sleep longer and not sweat much at all. My appetite seems to be coming back too. Still feeling a little achy but each day it seems to get a little better. Still having a hard time with the mental aspect but I'm trying hard to keep focused and on the right path....It definitely is a tough path.....
Thanks for the support Chilly! It's a tough road no doubt but everyday I feel a little better physically. The mental part is going to be the toughest road. I hope you're considering this path. It's a path to freedom and having your entire life back to enjoy to the fullest!!
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