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Opiate Withdrawal = Lower Back Pain (need advice for getting and staying clean)

suddledonuts

Greenlighter
Joined
Jun 13, 2009
Messages
12
I'm 18 and severely dependent on opiates (~80mg of Dilaudid 1-4 times per day [snorted]) for the last few years and have been abusing opiates recreationally since I was 12 and physically dependent since the age of 14. However I have a very strange set of withdrawals that from what I've been able to find searching the forums and google and what not. I do not experience the "flu-like" symptoms but rather:

- SEVERE lower back pain, insomnia, bad joint pains, depression, no motivation, fatigue, slight runny nose, slight diarrhea, irritation, night sweats, fever, bad nausea, and such bad pupil dilation it looks like I'm on an amphetamine or cocaine.

I've never thrown up from withdrawal although I often wish I could, I continually dry heave and feel like I'm about to throw up, I suppose due to having a very strong stomach. Anyway, my question is simply what could be causing my lower back pain during withdrawal? It hurts so bad by the third day that I've never been able to make it any further than 72 hours. I've never had back problems before abusing of opiates but am concerned that I may now have chronic back pain masked by opiates, and it hurts so bad I can't be sober long enough to find out. I want to get clean so badly but I am indigent and doubt I can afford Methadone or Suboxone without not paying rent or not eating. Any similar experiences? What happened to you, did the pain go away after a week or two? Very interested in hearing if anyone has had any similar experiences as it makes detoxing a very uphill battle.

P.S. - Am an Atheist so I'm not sure if 12-Step would be right for me, I'm very stubborn and will have a hard time submitting to authority and lying about a belief in a higher power. I've also heard that the chance of being sober longer than 1 year is 5% in 12-step and 5% on my own, not sure if this is true or not.

Either way, even if you haven't experienced back pain from withdrawal if you've gotten off of high doses of opiates by yourself I'd love to hear your story, I've had enough and would greatly appreciate any inspiration or advice you may have, thank you so much for your time!


My Opiate History:

Addicted to opiates since I was 14 and started experimenting with them at 12 because of a rotator cuff surgery that year. I instantly fell in love since the first time because along with curing my physical agony at the time it also cured my emotional pain due to losing my father a month prior to the surgery. After my first opiate dose I instantly started researching how to get more out of my limited supply, Cimetidine, Grapefruit, etc and soon found myself out of medication and replacing my pills with Vitamin C that looked similar to generic Norco to avoid getting in trouble with my mom and quickly began my quest for more opiates on the street as I was in very serious physical pain and had no medication. I was able to find a handful of Norco here and again maybe twice or three times a week a best, by the time I was 13 I was taking 15+ Norco 2-3 times per day on the street.

By the time I was 14 and hanging around a lot of pot-heads my connections exploded and I was able to get opiates nearly everyday and started my first physical withdrawal at 14. At 15 I started smoking heroin 2-4 times daily (around half gram to a gram a day, medium quality at best) and doing cocaine about 5 times a week. By 16 I was fully addicted to heroin and cocaine, often combining the drugs, doing about a gram each per day (high quality heroin and VERY high quality cocaine). At 17 I cold turkeyed off cocaine to be able to spend more money on opiates and eventually graduated from heroin to dilaudid (a lot cheaper in my area for some reason) and have been using everyday increasing my doses constantly it seems. I no longer receive euphoria from opiates and haven't thrown up from them since I was 15.

I've seemed to lost every friend that I've had due to my chemical dependence, my square friends / pot-head friends have shunned me for my drug habit even though I've never stolen or lied to any of them, they just do not like people who use hard drugs and told me they will be willing to become friends again once I become clean for one whole year being drug tested randomly by my old friends; and my drug friends I had I hate because they always lie and steal and shit and I feel like they were never my friends and just wanted more ways of getting high. By disconnecting myself with them I've lost my cocaine and heroin connections which I consider a good thing since I'm trying to get clean.

I also suffer from mild anxiety from people that have shot at my house and robbed me at gun point because of their habits, and am constantly getting death threats to kill me and my family, however I don't have enough money to relocate away from Sacramento which I feel is the only way I can get away from these drugs; besides everyone I know lives here.

--
I feel like I'm at rock bottom and I need help! I don't know where to go or what to do so I'm looking to the only place I seem to have left, Bluelight.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my story, like I said above any advice would be priceless to me!

Sorry for such a long post.
 
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I didn't read your history, only the initial part of your post. What exactly are you prescribed the hydromorphone for? If it is back pain then the pain you're experiencing is likely just a re-emergence of the pain symptoms and not actual withdrawal.

Either way, get some magnesium supplements. And get Epsom Salts - I can't stress this enough. Epsom Salts are just magnesium salts that you dissolve in a bath and soak in. Magnesium is perfect for sore joints/limbs or even - some people say - agitation generally. So stock up on that shit.

Also, if the back pain is muscle related then a benzo or even just some alcohol could help loosen the muscles up.
 
Thanks a ton for the reply I really do appreciate it, I'm prescribed hydromorphone for kidney stones and for severe chronic right shoulder pain. My prescriptions have nothing to do with back pain, no surgeries, never tweaked it, nothing. It feels as though it's a symptom of my withdrawal itself, I believe this because on my way getting opiates seems to make my back pain feel a lot better, it's peculiar. Either that or my back was like this for who knows how long and was hidden the whole time by pain medication, I don't know.

I will check out the magnesium and the salts a fore mentioned. Sadly I cannot get any benzodiazepine legally or illegally, as I know nobody who has any; and my doctor "doesn't believe in benzodiazepines", even though my lower back pain is muscle related and not spinal because a heating pad helps a tad, and I have moderate anxiety. the only thing similar I've been prescribed is methocarbamol which is utter shit and is damn close to a placebo in my honest opinion.

I just hope it's not a legitimate issue because the pain is so horrible it makes me feel helpless like I'm never going to be able to get off this shit.

P.S. I take hydromorphone recreationally and have cold turkey'd a two year daily heroin habit, I'm positive I do indeed go into withdrawal after almost 5 years of very high doses of opiates far more than anyone could be prescribed I reckon. ~10 8mg snorted dilaudid multiple times per day and going off cold is bloody hell.

Anyway, thanks very much for your time mate.
 
I have chronic lower back pain, and I know when I'm in withdrawals it magnifies x10... Maybe you've developed some kind of back problem without realizing it while being high?

Also, do you mean 80mg of Dilaudid *total* a day, in 1-4 increments-- or actually 80mg at a time, 1-4 times a day? o_O'
 
Thank you very much for the quick reply, hopefully that's not my case but I'm afraid it probably is. Which is terrible because I can't see myself living with the sort of pain I have while withdrawing; and any sort of medication I'll likely break down and abuse since prescribed doses simply won't help with my large tolerance, I've tried.

Anyway, the answer to your other question, I use around 80mg of hydromorphone per day, sometimes spread throughout the day, sometimes I do 80mg in less than an hour. However I note this is only to keep me from any level of withdrawal and I don't get any buzz unless I do it real quick and then I'll be in severe pain about 3 hours later.

Anyway, thanks for your response, much appreciated.
 
Dude I'm soo glad I found this thread.. I have the exact same problum.. However I've been on 170mg a day methadone habit and when I don't have it for a day or two I can't get out of bed cuz my whole body hurts and when I wake up in the morning my back pain is at it's worst.. I've always thought it was my body getting really stiff and sore from layn around
 
Thanks for replying my back pain starts in the morning however it seems to get worse the longer I go without opiates in my opinion peaking late into the third day, I don't think its my bed although I haven't ruled anything out. If you find anything out what may be causing this please post, the pain is quite incapacitating.
 
Yes the therd day is the worst for me as well. I don't think it's my bed eather and I'm only 28 I'm pretty tall and skiny I'm 6'4 200lbs .. I would like to figure this out my self cuz the lower back pain is what hurts the worst I can't tell if it's a inside or outside pain.. I've thought maybe my kidneys are hurting?? God I just don't know. But it's impossable to work or anything with that pain going on.. I've also never had any back issues before eather.. After you wake up have you tried forcing your self to get active?? And has the pain got worse or better? For me it gets a tiny bit better if I force myself to move around a bit
 
.

Yo I know EXACTLY how you are feeling. I am 25, started using opiates about 17 and from 18-25 went hard just like you. I am writing this from my halfway house... so you can understand I have only been out of rehab for 4 months.

The lower back pain you speak of was probably one of my most troublesome, WORST symptoms of acute opiate WD. It IS a symptom of opiate withdrawl, some people just have it worse than others. I have spent many many many a sleepless night in WDs googling the root cause of this symptom because its just UN-FUCKING-BEARABLE. I have always been "fit" and "inshape", always athletic outside etc etc so you would think my muscles would be fine. Never had any back problems, no injuries, NOTHING. But when im withdrawing man im like hobbling around like im fucking 85 years old. I have known many others who have back pain but it seemed that theirs wasnt localized to just the lower back like mine. ive seen old ppl WDing who HAD bad backs and they NEVER mentioned the lower back pains. I think it just affects diff people diff ways and some people get sick and throw up (not me, or you apparently) and some ppl get that lower back pain that feels like your back is fucking fractured in 30 places.

It was such a paradox, i'd be so sick and in pain id just want to lay in the bed but just laying in the bed hurt my lower back. nothing helped, except more opiates. thats how you know its a opiate WD symptom, it goes away completely when you take them. i too struggled with thinking i had a back injury but its just another way your brain can trick you into using again.

IT WILL GO AWAY, i promise you If you stay off opiates, it will dissappear. It takes a couple weeks, and it gets better after about 5 days or a week, the hard part is getting to that 5 days mark. I think part of the pain is psycosomatic, because your body is freaking the fuck out without opiates and is trying to convince you in the most hardcore ways to continue feeding it opiates, but that shit doesnt feel psycosomatic at all. Its fucking REAL PAIN. I feel you buddy, i got no advice other than quit and i know that doesnt work til you want it bad enough. hang in there, keep reasarching/reading about detoxing/recovery. Just cause your Atheist doesnt mean you cant recover. I dont believe in any of that shit either but you dont HAVE to believe in all that stuff to recover.

Godspeed and hang tough bud.
 
Yo I know EXACTLY how you are feeling. I am 25, started using opiates about 17 and from 18-25 went hard just like you. I am writing this from my halfway house... so you can understand I have only been out of rehab for 4 months.

The lower back pain you speak of was probably one of my most troublesome, WORST symptoms of acute opiate WD. It IS a symptom of opiate withdrawl, some people just have it worse than others. I have spent many many many a sleepless night in WDs googling the root cause of this symptom because its just UN-FUCKING-BEARABLE. I have always been "fit" and "inshape", always athletic outside etc etc so you would think my muscles would be fine. Never had any back problems, no injuries, NOTHING. But when im withdrawing man im like hobbling around like im fucking 85 years old. I have known many others who have back pain but it seemed that theirs wasnt localized to just the lower back like mine. ive seen old ppl WDing who HAD bad backs and they NEVER mentioned the lower back pains. I think it just affects diff people diff ways and some people get sick and throw up (not me, or you apparently) and some ppl get that lower back pain that feels like your back is fucking fractured in 30 places.

It was such a paradox, i'd be so sick and in pain id just want to lay in the bed but just laying in the bed hurt my lower back. nothing helped, except more opiates. thats how you know its a opiate WD symptom, it goes away completely when you take them. i too struggled with thinking i had a back injury but its just another way your brain can trick you into using again.

IT WILL GO AWAY, i promise you If you stay off opiates, it will dissappear. It takes a couple weeks, and it gets better after about 5 days or a week, the hard part is getting to that 5 days mark. I think part of the pain is psycosomatic, because your body is freaking the fuck out without opiates and is trying to convince you in the most hardcore ways to continue feeding it opiates, but that shit doesnt feel psycosomatic at all. Its fucking REAL PAIN. I feel you buddy, i got no advice other than quit and i know that doesnt work til you want it bad enough. hang in there, keep reasarching/reading about detoxing/recovery. Just cause your Atheist doesnt mean you cant recover. I dont believe in any of that shit either but you dont HAVE to believe in all that stuff to recover.

Godspeed and hang tough bud.
Thanks man.. Yea i pretty much figured it was from w/d but just wanted to know forsure.. Cool
 
Very grateful for all the responses, so glad to hear someone with the same issue and have manged to get the pain to stop. Quite inspirational and added to my motivation to get and stay clean, thank you so much and good luck to your recovery!
 
lower back pain

what you are experiencing is, unfortunately, part of the withdrawal. your central nervous system is located in that region and it's just kicking in to the 'feeling' of everything. I am going through the same thing this moment, I haven't gotten further than 9 days so far. my withdrawal is from suboxone, horrible stuff, dont use it more than a month at the most, I've been on it 3 years now! Doctors don't know what theyre doing with this stuff, i wish I knew then what I know now. I do know that knowing this now may not help with the ease of the pain, but hopefully it will, sorry and good luck!! God Bless You!
 
Totally old thread...but that's okay you are new! Welcome to TDS and sorry to hear that you are struggling with your detox from Suboxone. That is a tough one for sure. There are a lot of people who are dealing with the same thing unfortunately. You can check out some of the Suboxone megathreads for a lot of info on this subject. Good luck friend :)
 
Just a quick note on the backpain issue:

Lower back is an actual symptom of accute opiate withdrawal. Everytime I've been strung out and subsequently kicked, I'd expect backpain as much as I would the sweats, insomnia, chills, depression et al. Two of my best friends are currently kicking and they presently have lower back pain - in fact I out of everyone I know who's ever kicked opiates they have all experienced lower backpain as a symptom of withdrawal.

Try an ibuprofen - thats what always worked for me - as opposed to codeine of course but the idea is to quit opiates and codeine will only draw the process out a little longer, although not significantly however its best to stay away from even the mildest of opiates). Indeed its one of the worst symptoms but if you can attain any form of painkiller that isnt opiate/opioid based then I strongly suggest you use this and within a few days the pain will dissipate and at that stage you'll be fine in most regards in terms of symptoms anyway.

Also, stay the hell away from methadone - its at least 10 times as difficult to kick than heroin and you will rue the day you ever thought switching was a good idea. If you absolutely cannot kick after all else has failed, then try a 14 to 21 day rapid methadone detox. I've done this myself a number of times (in fact I'm in the process of doing it at the moment) and its worked perfectly for me, but staying on methadone any longer than a month at most is frankly ridiculous in most cases.

Although kicking opiates is hell in itself, methadone withdrawal is a new level of hell you dont even have to experience. The initial opiate kick is, frankly, the easy part though. The difficulty is staying off them given that they're always going to be there...
 
IF you're okay with it, try cannabis and/or benzos. They relax your muscles real good and can help a lot with especially lower back pain, atleast IME. I've crapped my back because of withdrawals multiple times, cannabis has always helped me, sometimes even better than opiates themselves ('lower' dose enough to take the pain away, measured by the amount of relief compared to high felt). YMMV ofc.
 
Lower back pain is definetly part of the WD, not much you can do except eat tylenols n shit, if you take opiates you'll drag the process out longer, if you really want to get clean you just gotta do it!! Its absoulute hell but should be worth it in the end, i myself just quit cold turkey off 50ml after about a year, in day 5 and the back pains are so bad i want to go back on meth but i think anyone whos ever gone off methadon know its the worst decision of your life!! Alot of peoplr end up on it for years or
all there lifes! Anyways goodluck! Your not alone lol.. cheers!!
 
I am detoxing from Methadone after tapering. I'm on day 6 and I've found the best thing for the pain is to get up and move around. I know it sounds counterintuitive to exercise when you are feeling too tired and sore to move, but once you get up and do it you'll notice a WORLD of difference.
Ibuprofen and Naproxen (Aleve) seem to help a fair bit, too.
I felt the pain in my neck the worst of all, so I sewed a piece of a towel into a long strip, filled it with barley (rice also works) and sewed it closed. I mean, you could just go out and buy a Magic Bag, but if you're broke like me, this is just as good. Microwave that shit for a minute and a half, and rest the warm bag on the sore area. It helps a lot.
Warm baths will help ease your muscles, too.
Best of luck!
 
Low back pain can range from mild, dull, annoying pain, to persistent, severe,disabling pain in the lower back. Pain in the lower back can restrict mobility.
back pain relief
 
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