I am seeking input about mild opiate withdrawal. I have used opiates (oxy, hydro) on occasion recreationally in low doses (never more than 10-20mg a day of oxy) for short periods (always ten days or less) with many weeks to a few months in between. So, I broke my foot pretty good 7 weeks ago, and in that time I was prescribed 80 Vicodin tabs (whatever the lowest dose is...think its 5 mg hydro) and after surgery ten days later, was prescribed 60 Percocet 5mg tabs. I used about half the vicodin tabs over a ten day period (4-5 per day) waiting for surgery, and used about half the percs in the 5-6 days after surgery (about 3-5 a day). Since that time ive used anywhere from an average of 1-4 vics or 1-3 percs a day, every single day for the last 6 weeks for the pain. Then I was given a script of Tramadol 50 mg tabs x60 last week at my follow up appt to get me off the opiates. Too late?!! I was also initially Rx'd sixty 5mg Valium and thirty 4mg Zophran tabs (odanseteron) after surgery, which I never used either one.
So last week i stopped taking the Percs (had 5 left, the Vics were used up by then) and switched to Tramadol for the pain, which by now is quite minor, mainly helped with IBU or the Tramadol , one every 6-8 hours if I need it, which I dont always. So my pain is mild and I wasnt taking the Tramadol for 2-3 days either. HOWEVER...a friend gave me ten 30 mg MScontin about 10 days ago, which I took one every day for 5-6 days, which I was using recreationally...never had morphine before...pretty good, long lasting stuff!). I clearly have a low tolerance compared to many here, so i may be sounding like a whiny little bitch! Sorry if that's the case.
After using one 30 mg MS Contin daily for 5-6 days, I quit taking them so I could go back to work in a few days without being on any pain meds. The third day without anything at all, except maybe I took a Tramadol or two, during that time, I had a fairly sudden onset of moderately bad abdominal cramping and mild diarrhea (cramps were worst part) in the middle of the night (got cold flashes on the shitter which I never felt before...almost as bad as the cramps), felt draggy but OK when I got up and went to my first day back at work in 7 weeks the next morning. But then started feeling worse by the hour after I got there. At the time I just thought I was having trouble adjusting to being back at work for the first time in 7 weeks. I felt pretty flu-ish (no energy (felt like just wanted to be horizontal under the covers), cold flashes, some occasional abdominal cramping, some sweating) for about 16 hours...stayed in bed from 3pm when I got home, until I went to work the next morning at 8am. In the middle of the night, it occurred to me I may be having mild withdrawal symptoms instead of the flu.
Ive never been thru any opiate withdrawal, so dont know what it's like...but I got up at 2am and took a Percocet and a Zophran and went back to bed, which helped me sleep. I woke up 4 -5 hours later and I felt better and good enough to get up and go to work, something I wasnt feeling I was gonna be able to do at 2am. So I'm guessing that i probably started going thru mild opiate withdrawal, since the percocet and Zophran "seemed" to make the worst of the symptoms better, but is it possible to have withdrawals taking opiates daily for 6-7 weeks at low, prescribed doses? If so, I find that somewhat surprising but not entirely without merit.
So here's where I am...Ive taken half a perc twice a day and 1 Tramadol twice a day for the last 2-3 days to ward off any possible WD symptoms for now. Im down to my last 2 Percs, will get no refill and dont frankly want one. I want off the pain meds all together at this point unless for pain, which is nil for now. But I'm anxious about going thru all that again in a couple of more days when that last perc is gone...if what I experienced was actual opiate withdrawal.
After much research here...does it sound to ppl here like i was having mild withdrawal, or could it have just been a 24 bug that was gonna resolve itself anyway and the timing was coincidental? Can you get withdrawals taking 5 mg Percs as prescribed for just 6-7 weeks, only taking 1-3 a day?
It seems that if I was having withdrawal symptoms, that the Zophran, Valium and Tramadol will be awfully helpful getting through the rough parts. Having laid out my history and situation, I was hoping for ppl's thoughts and possible regiment to use of the Zophran, Valium and Tram.
I have heard some really bad things about the tramadol, but heard it does wonders for the symptoms of withdrawal, and I have enough Tram to taper down. If my WD symptoms were to reappear in the next few days, should I start taking the Tram and taper (one 50mg Tram twice a day for 4-5 days, then half a Tram twice a day for 4-5 days, then half a Tram a day for 4-5 days, then stopping ....or should I avoid the Tram all together and stick with just the Zophran and Valium and Imodium to get through the 3-5 days of misery I could be facing?
Thanks for any advice you all might have.
