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New member, need help

A

Alldonewithit

Bluelighter
Joined
Dec 7, 2017
Messages
163
New member, long time reader,
first post. I was using .1g maybe .2 on some days of >>>>>> a day for 4 months, i stopped on Saturday, waited 24hrs and took 4mg of sub on Sunday morning, then 4mg later that night. Monday i took a total of 2.5, Tuesday i took 1.25, and haven't had any since. I got 4hrs sleep last night, woke with some anxiousness, and rls. That's subsided for the most part, now just have some aching in my legs. Shouldn't most of the sub be out of me tomorrow? Will i get better from here, or should i expect some harder withdrawals to hit tomorrow?
 
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I have kept a somewhat journal in my memo section of my phone should i copy and paste it here?
 
I'll give you some background on myself. Im 44yrs old, in good shape, fast metabolism. I have 3 ruptured discs in my lower back which i lived with, without meds, for 15yrs. One day it locked up in me, right to emergency room. They gave me pain meds, which i took and it helped. Went to my home dr and he started prescribing me 90 10/325 hydros.

Didnt take them for a year, profited instead. Well, one day on my work site i decided to take 15mg of it, 20min later it hit me, i could feel it coming over my body, and i loved it!! I was painting this multi million dollar home like a mfer, cutting lines in perfectly(like always)and quickly. Well at lunch time i took another 15mg.... and there it started.

I moved up to clean oxy 10s, then to 25mcg fentanyl, to 50mcg, while still getting the 90 pinks(profit) over 3yr period. Once i chewed all my patches, i was getting >>>>>>> to hold me until the patches refilled, and i made sure it was every 28days(what insurance allows) not 30. This past Sept 25 i was through, i have the biggest catch in the ocean of wives. She does EVERYTHING!!

6th grade teacher, works local diner on weekends, jv field hockey coach, other school functions she can't keep herself out of. Super wife and mom, seriously. We have 3 great kids ages 6-17, girl in the middle age 12. I wanted it over before i was out of the house, and on the road my father and brother ended up on..... state pen. Dad 22yrs, bro 9yrs.

I Went into a 5 day detox center. It went relatively smoothly, after they dosed me with sub 40hrs into my crawling on the floor withdrawals. Jyst because i didn't have diarrhea yet, and my pupils weren't fully dilated they made me wait. They gave me 4mg that night, then 4x2mg the next day, down to 6mg, then 4, then 2 on Saturday and i left right after dosing.

Well, the following morning i made a call for another sub. Got through that, plus the 12mg i already had at the house, and spaced that out over the next 2-3 weeks. Well once that was gone, i was getting sick, so i called my >>>>>> guy. That takes me to this past Saturday. I took my last tiny line (i spaced .3 over 3 days.)

That morning, and sub the next morning...... here we are today 6 days later.
 
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Let me also add, I've been taking a multi vitamin 2x a day, vit b6, protein shake in the mornings, fish oil, some diclofenac for the aches. i have clonidine, mirtazapine, and some other thing, and i don't take any of those 3. I've also been doing at least 150 jumping jacks every day, 25 push ups, and do stair step runs, using 1 step. If you knew what type of athlete i was, even 3-4 yrs ago, you'd understand I'm embarrassed to put those totals up. 5yrs ago i could do 50-70 pushups, run the stair step for much longer than the 2-3min i was able to do it now.
 
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Well, update. My only symptom at this point is light chills. Legs are not aching, no rls, and i just backed out a few deuces for the first time since Saturday. Hopefully, this is over. If so, ill detail everything i did to get to this point.
 
That's good news! You sound like you are doing everything right as far as exercise and diet. How's your sleep going?

BTW, I have never been able to do more than 1 push-up. For real.=D
 
Sleep was non- existent from when i woke up Saturday morning took my last little line of doc, till Tuesday. Then i got 2hrs Tuesday, 4hrs Wednesday night, and last night after a small battle, slept from midnight to 7am. Woke up this morning hungry, wanting my cup of coffee, but weak physically. I really don't feel any side effects right now. I'm achy a little, but i have 3 ruptured discs, arthritis in both knees, and possibly hips. I didn't know about my arthritis until after i got out of my first detox in late sept., first day with nothing in me, my knees were killing me, went to the drs, got an xray, and both are shot.
 
Alldonewithit said:
Shouldn't most of the sub be out of me tomorrow? Will i get better from here, or should i expect some harder withdrawals to hit tomorrow?
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Why do you ask? The withdrawal from the (I assume) heroin you're detoxing from should have peaked by day 4, so if you've been using buprenorphine for that time when you stop the buprenorphine the acute withdrawal from your heroin detox should be more manageable.

If you're worried about becoming dependent on buprenorphine, don't. Given your situation dependency from that doesn't happen in just a week or two. If you only use it to deal with the acute withdrawal from heroin, you don't have to worry about withdrawing from that too. That only comes into the picture when someone has been maintaining on buprenorphine for a longer amount of time.

Alldonewithit said:
Let me also add, I've been taking a multi vitamin 2x a day, vit b6, protein shake in the mornings, fish oil, some diclofenac for the aches. i have clonidine, mirtazapine, and some other thing, and i don't take any of those 3. I've also been doing at least 150 jumping jacks every day, 25 push ups, and do stair step runs, using 1 step. If you knew what type of athlete i was, even 3-4 yrs ago, you'd understand I'm embarrassed to put those totals up. 5yrs ago i could do 50-70 pushups, run the stair step for much longer than the 2-3min i was able to do it now.
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I'd strongly recommend taking the clonidine if you still are having trouble sleeping or with RLS. Take it at night for a week or two as your RLS goes away.

It will take your body some time to heal. It's great you want to stay active, but try not to push yourself too hard. At this point just getting outside and going for a couple hour long walks is really all you need right now. But the point is do what feels right for you, as long as you're getting exercise and don't feel like you have to push yourself too hard you'll be fine.

Keep in mind that diet is incredibly important to recovering from withdrawal. Try and do your best to eat three balanced, nutritious meals a day.

Alldonewithit said:
Well, update. My only symptom at this point is light chills. Legs are not aching, no rls, and i just backed out a few deuces for the first time since Saturday. Hopefully, this is over. If so, ill detail everything i did to get to this point.
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Clonidine is commonly prescribed to deal with the chills and hot/cold flashes. Try taking it at night before you go to bed and see how you feel.

Alldonewithit said:
Sleep was non- existent from when i woke up Saturday morning took my last little line of doc, till Tuesday. Then i got 2hrs Tuesday, 4hrs Wednesday night, and last night after a small battle, slept from midnight to 7am. Woke up this morning hungry, wanting my cup of coffee, but weak physically. I really don't feel any side effects right now. I'm achy a little, but i have 3 ruptured discs, arthritis in both knees, and possibly hips. I didn't know about my arthritis until after i got out of my first detox in late sept., first day with nothing in me, my knees were killing me, went to the drs, got an xray, and both are shot.
Click to expand...

This is one of the hardest things to deal with in withdrawal. Both clonidine and mirtazapine will help to a degree with insomnia. If you're still struggling with it try taking some of your medication at bedtime. Consider getting a non-narcotic sleep aid from your doctor just to have around if needed. Safe sleep aids are really useful to have around during the first year or two of early recovery.

Sorry it took me more time than I thought to get to this. Any other feedback you need? Hope you continue to heal!
 
tpd, thanks for the response, I'll try the clonidine tonight. I just remember it not helping in detox, but i was only taking it the first 36hrs there until they dosed me at hr 40. So, now that im not in bad shape i should feel it's effects more. Uh huh uh huh. Yep, ill try it. How much do you recommend? Just .1 or .2? I'm reading the mirtazapine is actually more sedating in lower doses, I've got 15mg, so ill cut it in half.
 
No problem. Again sorry for the lag.

I’m a little confused about how you tried taking clonidine before, but yes it should help RLS (a little) and the hot/cold flashes (significantly). As long as you don’t have low blood pressure try 0.2mg just before bedtime to see what happens now.

Remeron, honestly I don’t know if it is more sedating at lower doses. I’d have to take about 45-60mg before when I tried to use it during withdrawal, so YMMV. I’d try taking 30mg if I were you, but listen to your gut and do what feels appropriate to you (for all I know I weigh more than you, so 15mg might be just right in your situation).
 
Sweet, thx. I took the clonidine when i first entered a detox. I Got there on a Monday late morning, did my last doc at 5 a.m. that morning, by 3pm i was starting to feel edgy. I went to the nurse, and she gave me clonidine. Then before bed, that and visceral. Every 4-6hrs up till the 40th hr of withdrawal when they finally dosed me with sub. By night i was getting really bad, coming off 30 fentanyl patches in 30 days, so I'm not so sure i felt anything weak in those bad times.
 
slept 6hrs last night, which is around normal for me In everyday life. The wife went Xmas shopping yesterday, and brought me home L-tyrosine 1000mg, and superfood mix drink. I've taken the tyrosine along with my other vitamins, but the superfood drink, doesn't look too tasty. I'm gonna have to gather the courage to mix that up and down it. Still pretty weak, but stronger than yesterday. I'm up, out of the house, with my youngest at hoops. Something i couldn't of done two days ago. Baby steps!!
 
Day 8 no doc, day 5 no sub. Woke up after a good 5-6hrs of sleep feeling much stronger than yesterday. The bad part is over, but now the hard part starts, staying clean!! I have 4 great reasons to do it..... wife, and 3 kids. After a few years of disappearing for my coke binges, and 3 Years of opiate addiction, i think its time to give them the real me. They deserve it, especially my wife.
 
Day 9 no doc, day 6 no sub. Weakness in legs returned yesterday afternoon, and into the night. Rls kicked in as soon as i layed down to sleep. Took .2mg of clonidine, and 10mg of melatonin, and i slept 5-6hrs. Back to work today, kind of nervous to return. I paint high end homes, and my bosses and the home owners are very particular, which i am too, but I'm just hoping lethargy doesn't kick in while working.
 
I take it you can't get any gabapentin? That stuff really helps with some of the lingering symptoms and even for dealing with cravings for some.

Hopefully you can find yourself more support to help you with the longer term recovery. Family and friends being supportive is absolutely amazing, but the more people you have holding you up the less likely you are to fall down, or some stupid sounding cliche like that...
 
My dr always gave me what i wanted, he's been our family dr for 20yrs. Before i went into the detox center In Sept, i tried inducing myself at home with suboxen, 16hrs waiting wasn't enough for fentanyl, instant precipitated withdraws, and hospital visit. I think it scared him. Once out of detox i asked for 10 days worth of klonopin, or xanex, he wouldn't do it. First time he's said no to me In 20yrs. Is gabapentin habit forming?
 
Actually, na/aa meetings were the best part of the detox facility imo. I loved them. Felt better every time i left one. The first week after that detox, and home, i went to 5 in 7 days. Then i stopped, stayed on sub another 3 week's(.5mg/ day) or so, stopped that, and started withdrawing from them. So, i couldn't take another week off so soon from the one i took to go to detox, so i started back on the H. I should probably start hitting them meetings up again.
 
If you find meetings helpful, hit them up like your life depends on it. Some people really benefit immensely from the social aspect of 12 step communities.

Stuff like buprenorphine is pretty stigmatized in those settings, but you don't need to advertise what you're taking for your health and recovery - that is no one's business but your own (and perhaps your sponsor if you choose you want to get one).

Gabapentin is habit forming in a certain sense - the sense that if you take enough of it for a long enough period of time you'll experience dependency. But it isn't very habit forming compared to benzo, opioid or alcohol. Far less habit forming than most other drugs. I'd say it's about as habit forming as cannabis, although the dependency from gabapentin is pretty nasty from what I hear (much like a dependency on any gabaergic substance).

I've used gabapentin for years on and odd with no issue. Only thing is tolerance increases super quickly. But I've never had any issues with it becoming habit forming or dependency in the, wow, now seven I've been exposed to it. I don't take it every day for long period of time though - just for detoxing and now as a mood stabilizer. This is the first time I may experiment with taking it daily long term, but I'm not sure I entirely want to go down that road. Just having it around for when I need it is enough for me right now I think.
 
Day 8 no sub, day 11 no doc. Woke up with no achy, heavy legs. That was the last of the side effects. They got a little achy after about 6hrs of work, but it felt good. This short taper plan worked great for me. I was a little 2uncomfy for a few days, but that's to be expected, there is no painless detox/withdrawals. I'm thinking tomorrow or Friday i should be feeling really good, ME again.
 
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