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methadone and heroin wd

Hi all. Ok so here is the story as short as possible. Im 26 years old sadly i relapsed 4 months ago on H for the 5th time, after 3 years clean. Sad and pathetic. I used every day for that period. I wanted to quit so i took methadone for the first time in my life. I did 3ml per day but then i combined H at night. Then i descovered that meth. WD are worse and take a looooong time. I freaked and stoped and continued with H. I am off meth almost 3 weeks now. And today is my day 9 of full detox. The very bad WD stoped but i still get the chills, sweats, crazy mood swings and also still very weak. I want to know when will it get better. I take this pills to get low pressure they help. But i have never experienced WD longer than 7 days! I need some info what is happening when will it get better?
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4810126 tn?1503942735
Hi there & Welcome :)

First, kudos to you on staying off H for 3 yrs! You are not sad or pathetic -- you are an addict -- plain & simple -- & you're fighting it. Great start! You're in the right place. 2nd, Yaaaay you for getting through the first 9 days of M'done detox!! It's certainly a special sort of hell & yeah, I agree, the intensity & length of acute w/d's off H, while awful, don't stack up to the M monster.

I too was on liquid M'done (the last time, for 20 yrs.) I tapered down from 140 to 28 & then jumped (I should have weaned further but I got impatient & just went for it). My friend, Vic, is right: the more habits you've had (doesn't matter which opiate), the older you get, the harder the kicks become! Two things you have on your side? You're young & the brain is 'plastic' (meaning some of the disrupted neural pathways can slowly heal/adjust). If only most of us had the wisdom & understanding to quit when we were younger & could heal more easily. To reiterate, longer you do it, the harder it is to readjust physically & spiritually. So, please, Now is the time!

In terms of your question, (& I do understand what you're going through right now, believe me!), you're almost through the 'acutes'. It's not clear from your post how long you've done H cumulatively but that use is playing into what you're experiencing now in that you would have had an easier M'done kick (since you're new to it) if you hadn't had previous opiate habits. I'd tend to disagree with my (awesome) mate above that you're still getting residual H out of your system. You were, however, on a low dose of M'done. So that's good -- that's on your side because, it does, indeed store in fat & bone tissue over time.

I'm right with VIC, as always, when it comes to healthy eating, hydration, exercise & good supplements. It may not sound that exciting but it really DOES make a difference in healing time & mood. Addicts are suffering from years of malnutrition when they kick.This affects everything, mood, stamina, healing, digestion, cognitive function, etc.

I hear you on your fears about having to return to work before you feel right! (But actually, believe it or not it'll be the best thing for you -- the psychological distraction & physical routine of it will help). You will have lingering symptoms for a while -- mostly fatigue, apathy, tearing, poor sleep & sneezing. If you stay on track, these will begin to resolve. (We didn't get addicted in a day, so it's only reasonable that it takes some time to heal from the violence we've done ourselves). You might also experience gut issues. I doubt you'll experience the thyroid & pancreatic disruptions that can develop after years of hardcore use. (Knock wood!)

The single most important thing in getting better & getting to a place where you won't relapse is self-knowledge, a positive attitude & an open mind! You've mentioned 'willpower' twice. Please, try to understand, it's not about willpower! Willpower alone won't do it. If it were -- if that's what it took, these boards would be empty. Many here have tremendous willpower in other areas of their lives. I'm one of them. If you (like many who repeatedly relapse) magically believe that 'If I just get the stuff out of my system & 'try' really hard this time' with no change in your game plan, you're doomed to failure. Guaranteed. The most important part of this for you (believe us, 'cause we're living it) is going to be about sitting in your own skin without reaching for some form of chemical escape. So, your path will be about learning how to cope 'without', how to protect & understand yourself & how to productively interact with yourself & your environment. (Heady stuff, eh? ;))

It really resonated with me that you mentioned doing this on your own this time because you didn't think it was fair to your family. I felt the same exact way but almost all of us need some kind of support beyond this community through one source or another. We don't do well on our own. It's also a good idea for us to let certain others know so that we're locally 'witnessed' -- 'accountable' in what we're doing. It's a further way of showing yourself that you're really doing it this time. That you're committed.

Again, great job on putting the brakes on! (Love it!) Please keep posting. Let us know how it's going & what you think.

We're here & we're pulling for you :)
Helpful - 0
4522800 tn?1470325834
Annie
She relapsed 4 weeks ago and was doing the Methadone and the Heroin at night. She claims she has 9 days in and I would assume she means off the H??? This is why I think she is detoxing the H out and not so much the Methadone. That was short lived at 3mls...
Helpful - 0
4810126 tn?1503942735
Yup,

Right you are VIC! ~ detoxing from dope..It's the H for sure. Doubt it's the M'done -- not @ that dose for that duration. Sorry 'bout dat, got your message & posted this on my phone -- I'm out & about. (I'm as blind as a bat & not very good when it comes to using the ole LG for this so forgive me, Goddess :))

@Meygirl, it still applies: your kick is worse because each time you go back, it gets worse. Also, you introduced (albeit briefly) a stronger opiate into the mix. These things count & they add up. Stay with us!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi ladies first of all thanks for replying and with so much info. I actually relapsed 4 months ago not weeks Vic. I wish it was weeks. And i was using H for that amound of time. I did methadone for 2 or 3 weeks i am not sure really, but i stoped the methadone 3 weeks ago and more on 3ml per day BUT also with doing H at night. Then just continued with heroin since i descovered what happens with methadone WD thinking ill detox the meth by now so it will just be H detox.
i just woke up before the birds its 5am so 4 hours sleep :) i do have gut issues and i think its because the first 4 or 5 days i hardly drank or ate anything of the detox. i did loose weight in this 9 day detox period today day 10. My stomach is cramping right now i feel like i have to eat i dont know. I did start eating well and more and drinking lots of fluid but not from day one of the detox, actually just 4 to 5 days ago.
Would you say after this info,( i hope its more clear) something different of the detox in particular.
Tnx for everything else you wrote. I can feel it will be a long time to get to where you say and alooot of soul searching.
Im not totally alone i do live with my fiance. He took care of me the first days so i dont choke or something, i was highly sedated with pills perscribed by a doc to keep me as calm as possible. Now he has work and obligations so most day im alone. My fiance also has a history but i will tell you about that another time. Now i just really feal i have to eat right away im starting to get worse cramps
Helpful - 0
4810126 tn?1503942735
Hi again & it's good to see you! :)

I'm glad to hear that there's someone there for you! (Hopefully, he's in 'recovery'/clean). Doing this on our own can be rough! In order to make it work, I had to cut ties with many of my friends who were still involved in 'the life'. So, initially, for almost a year, I only had some of the amazing folks on this site to pull me through as the man I was with was with @ the time was still using. As a result, I clung to this place like a Titanic victim to a life-vest until I was able to start touching sand with my toes from time to time. It was a gradual struggle to shore from there but then I was almost 48 when I embarked on my new existence & there was extensive damage to be undone. (Enough 'bout me, what's important is you right now :)

I had a feeling that you might have gut issues. Both heroin & M'done will do that to you. So, Meygirl (forgive me but not sure of your name :), a few questions if that's ok..:

How long did you do dope or other opiates before the 3 yrs. clean? How's your sleep, right now? Can you describe your other symptoms -- like the gut thing? Your emotional state? Let's get you through this & make it stick!

We're here :)

Annie

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Also i forgot to mention i am a smoker. I dont know how i couldnt be one while doing Heroin one doesnt go without the other. :) But sadly i am a smoker from a very young age maybe 14 or 15. And first time i tried heroin was at 18. I tried pretty much any drung before heroin, lsd was amazing for me in the forest in nature and so revealing i still remember the experience :) but then in college i tried Heroin and that was that. I knew there wasnt something better than that, the fealing was...perfect i guess. I think i have relapsed so much is because i really fell in love with this drug like pure love. Made me feal exactly what i wanted and how i wanted. I wasnt a very outgoing person i was more on the shy side younger...Etherway, it came with a cost i didnt even know what WD were i just knew heroin was bad like all drugs.
I was 3 years clean but its not enough, i just found a stupid excuse to use once but here is the funny sad part. When you relaps for the 5th time even after 3 years if u can believe the next day i actually had wd mild but had them...
Helpful - 0
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