• Select Your Topic Then Scroll Down
    Alcohol Bupe Benzos
    Cocaine Heroin Opioids
    RCs Stimulants Misc
    Harm Reduction All Topics Gabapentinoids
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums

What does opiate withdrawal feel like to YOU?

I get a lot of little symptoms that don't bother me too much, but the main physical symptom that I cannot stand is the coldness. When I am WDing I am always cold. I really do look like a cold turkey, the hairs on my entire body stand up as high as they can go and my skin turns pale and feels clamy. When I wake up in the morning I have to wrap myself in a blanket and eventually force myself to get up out of bed and put on my clothes that feel like they have been sitting in a freezer all night long. I can't take a shower while WDing because the water, makes me so cold i am unable to move, if I use incredibly hot water I start having hot flashes and after I get out of the shower I am back to freezing my ass off. Every few seconds I feel chills going down my body and I constantly shake and shiver.
 
the worst is the ciggarette thing everyone is talking about, it's horrible, feels like a lump in your throat, you can barely talk , when I'm talking I feel like I'm going to throw up, but it's just total gagging
 
I just get the sweats and the worst case of restless legs, sometimes I feel like chopping my lower half off as it seems that would be less painful than going through that feeling for up to a week. Restless legs syndrome is THE WORST FEELING I HAVE EVER FELT EVER!!!!!!! I cant compare any kind of pain to restless legs and id rather go through alot of pain than feel that again.

I dont get the cramps or pains like other people do but ive heard that is most common with heroin and I was just shooting oxycontin.

If god wants to put me in hell then he knows how to do it.
 
Thank goodness, not that you have to go through it, but at least some of you have experienced the stuck in half asleep half awake nightmare state I deal with sometimes. Also the thing of being just falling asleep and then jumping, lord help, I hate that, but I know what you mean.

Insomnia, fever and chills, and the impending doom feeling, ugh! I have got to stop running low :(
 
I turn into a lethargic pissy tired bitch with diarrhea. The lack of sleep is the worst part for me. OTC sleeep aids work for a couple of hours sometimes but it still sucks. My most recent w/d gave me tunnel vision like a bastard too, weird huh?
 
I am so surprised that alot other people also go through this sleep paralysis thing.It makes me feel so much better to know i'm not the only one that this has happened to before. That's why I am glad I found BL. because I have never really had the chance to talk to many addicts besides the few that I use to hang with. It honestly helps.
 
Usually it is riddled with no-energy (the worst part of the physical w/d) and horrendous insomnia. Also not to mention the runs that come on after day 4-5 for some reason.

Usually chemical comfort helps, scripted Xanax and Ambien helps the insomnia, Adderall/Dexedrine helps the depression (AFTER day 3-4 though, when most of the physical symptoms in regards to agitation and pain are going down and you just feel weak and don't want to get out of bed), diphenhydramine also works sometimes too.

Imodium AD (loperamide) when the runs come on is NECESSARY. Shitting your pants two times in the morning isn't fun. Usually you need a bigger dose than normal, 6-8mg instead of the 4mg as on the directions. But YMMV. Some people need 10-12mg to get their bowels to stop. Heh.

Clonidine also works wonders but it knocks you out and you basically can't do anything on it, which doesn't really help (if you're not looking to sleep, that is.)
 
The worst part of withdrawal, IMO, is the insomnia, malaise, and depression.

Other symptoms:
-dilated pupils
-chills/sweats
-muscle and stomach pain
-loss of apetite
-diarrhea
-watery eyes
-sneezing

Can't really think of others atm. It's kinda like having a bad hangover and the flu at the same time.
 
As a very wise Johns Hopkins Dr. once told me, opiate WD is like having fluid coming out of every orifice except your ears lol.

The initial 24 hours isucks, you can feel your BP start to spike, your eyes start to dilate and become light sensitive and get watery (i always hated that for some reason) you start to get that uncomfortable cold sweat feeling on your back and neck.

then the real fun begins....at around 24 hours and for the next 4-5 days you cant sleep, eat, stop wiggling/get comfortable. It is pure hell. I always get the serious jimmy legs and cant stop kicking and pounding the floor. I think i had a seizure once coming off 80$ a day IV dope cold turkey. I was thrashing so hard i thought i was going to break my neck.

In rehab it always used to make me pissed off when the nurses or drug counselors would say "oh its just like having a bad flu for 3-4 days" PFFFFFT......3-4 days? try 2 weeks of hell. The bulk of the WD is like a week then you have a week or so of PAWS. Insomnia, random sweating episodes, muscle aches...then the depression and hopelessness sets in.

But believe it or not, you eventually start to feel good again. One thing that has always helped me was getting a good long deep tissue massage. Happy ending doesnt hurt either lol.
 
Boredom, depression, a feeling of "emptiness", stiff joints with mucho pain, increased bowel movements, lethargy/listlessness, and craving.
 
the_ketaman said:
I just get the sweats and the worst case of restless legs, sometimes I feel like chopping my lower half off as it seems that would be less painful than going through that feeling for up to a week. Restless legs syndrome is THE WORST FEELING I HAVE EVER FELT EVER!!!!!!! I cant compare any kind of pain to restless legs and id rather go through alot of pain than feel that again.

I dont get the cramps or pains like other people do but ive heard that is most common with heroin and I was just shooting oxycontin.

If god wants to put me in hell then he knows how to do it.
o.c. withdral is usually worse, cuz its stronger than most heroin...and pure...
 
opiphoria said:
I am so surprised that alot other people also go through this sleep paralysis thing.It makes me feel so much better to know i'm not the only one that this has happened to before. That's why I am glad I found BL. because I have never really had the chance to talk to many addicts besides the few that I use to hang with. It honestly helps.
i've heard of O.B.E.'s which were triggered by sleep paralysis...i have regular paralysis, hand and foot (left side)....it suuuucks!
 
wiggi said:
It feels to me like I'm dying, but I know it will pass in a few days, unless its fucking methadone.
thats why i wont get on methadone again!! the kick (in jail) lasted the whole 90+ days i was in there, sure i slept hereand there, but for the most part.....i stayed awake for 2 + weeks!!!!

Fuck Done!

i wish i read this page 10 years ago...would have changed my life
 
Last edited:
Top