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Please help I'm addicted to painkillers-and I don't know what to do...

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painkillerhelp

Greenlighter
Joined
Oct 22, 2013
Messages
3
Hello-this is my first time to do something like this but at this point I am desperate for help/advice. I've been taking painkillers for about 2-3 years now. At first I would do it once in awhile just for fun-then it turned into once a month-and now it's on a weekly basis (daily if i can find them). These pills control my life-pretty much all of my money go towards them. I am broke all the time, and I don't pay my bills so I can get pills. I am constantly looking for them-and once I get them I worry about running out. I have tried quitting-but the withdrawals were so bad I wanted to die. I have a full time job-and i'm only 24, none of my friends/family have any Idea about it except for my husband. I'll take anything I can buy-percocet,vicodin,oxcontin. I feel so helpless-I want to stop taking them, but i'm scared because I am miserable when I am not on them. I feel physically ill-and mentally I turn into a wreck. I can't sleep without them even though I am tired my legs won't stop moving-I have this sick feeling like I have the flu. I cry and my moods are everywhere. How am I supposed to stop-when it is hell without them? I would love any advice you could give me on how to quit. I'm terrified of coming off of them-but i'm terrified what will happen to me if I don't. :(
 
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look into subutex and soboxne to ease the withdrawals really though i'm 24 but i've been an every day user for about 10 years and i can't picture life w/o pain killers but i also have legitimate chronic pain issues due to a stupid thing i did that should have killed me and lately i've been wishing i had died that day because it lead to this and it sounds like you have a moderate case of the "this" i get my shit from doctors so i don't end up spending anything on them and my dad is prescribed subutex so i use that when i'm in wds be careful not to make that mistake if you do see a doctor about subs they can be a miracle or a curse it's all up to you
 
I was also addicted to oxycodone for several years. It wrecked my life and caused me to lose my job of 24 years because I just could not function anymore. Rehab worked while I was there but I went back to using as soon as I got out. I know you feel pretty hopeless, but you can get off them if you really want to. You are going to feel sick for a few days, physically it's rough and you have to prepare yourself for this. Afterwards, you have to deal with the emotional effects.

There is no reason for people at your job to know about this. Can you arrange ahead of time for a few days vacation? Do you have health insurance? You may be able to see a doctor who can prescribe suboxone to wean you off the oxy. It's not a magic bullet but many people swear by it and can help you get your life back. It can be done but you're going to have to work at it in order to be successful. It will be worth it in the end. You can't go on like this, constantly worrying about the pills and scrambling how to get more. It took me a few tries but eventually I quit, you can too.
 
look into a drug like suboxone or methadone for maintenance or a taper. this avoids the worst of withdrawals and gives you the ability to control when/how you feel them, if at all, a slow taper can be pretty comfortable.

it is very scary to think about, opiates are so comforting, even if your life is going to hell because of them its so hard to want to change, but we have to.

when you try to quit try to figure out why you started using in the first place, and some things to keep you happy/stable so you dont feel as much like relapsing.
 
please disregard the suggestion of using methadone to get off methadone wds are terrible and last forever every one i know hates the drug subs have helped a lot of my friends and my dad even though he still uses occasionally
 
You are going through a very common addict scenario, you're young, broke and gotta pay bills... who's gonna blame ya?
Best I can offer for is trying a mood-stabilizer for the mood swings and a benzo for the restlessness...
This mix will probably be a little tranquilizing and myself, I don't know how long WD's last after 2-3 years of daily(?) use

get well
 
Don't feel bad about yourself, almost every opiate addict starts off the same way you did. I know it sucks, but there are cheap/easy ways of easing the pain while trying to quitting opiates.

Ok so here's what you do:

  1. Go to the pharmacy and buy several packets of Imodium, make sure you get the ones that only have 1 active ingredient (Loperamide) . Loperamide is actually an OTC opiate that you can't get high off of because it doesn't cross the BBB (blood-brain barrier), however it will take away 90%+ of your withdrawal symptoms. Start off by taking 5-10 pills, wait an hour or 2, if you still feel sick, take another 5-10 of them until you feel better. Loperamide usually takes a couple hours to start working so be patient during your initial doses!

  2. Score some Benzos. I recommend Valium if you can find it because it has a long half-life and I find it works best treating RLS during opiate withdrawal. Take 10-30mg before bed and you shouldn't have any trouble sleeping anymore. Pot also helps a lot with RLS and insomnia if you don't mind smoking weed.

  3. Now that you aren't feeling sick anymore, start weening yourself off the Benzos and Loperamide little by little until you're clean. This should only take 7-10 days maximum.

  4. Stay clean. Armed with benzos and Loperamide getting clean doesn't have to be painful and scary, the hard part is trying to stay clean after you quit!
 
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Ok, first off don't all of a sudden go start using benzos or a "mood stabilizing drug", whatever that is intended to mean. I assume he doesn't mean to start these medications along with the addiction. Rather for withdrawals and post-acute withdrawal phase. That'd mean using benzos for the acute w/d phase (the 5-6 days of hell in your situation coming off oxy and hydro). Then it might help to try an SSRI anti-depressant. Most actual mood stabilizers are not a first line treatment until other things like SSRIs are used. These are things you would need to discuss with a doctor, it really comes down to trying to deal with the root of your problems that led you to abusing and becoming addicted to opioids.

It would really help to know how much you are taking daily, how long you have been using daily, how you take them (snort or eat) and any other drugs you do along with them?

First off there is basically 3 options to consider in "kicking" this painkiller habit.

One is just stopping and going cold turkey. Like I said you will be very,very sick for around 5 days and still feel bad for a few days after. Depending on your tolerance this may be a good option. There is lots of information on this website for people going cold turkey off opioids to make it less painful, something called the Thomas Recipe is commonly used.

A second option is tapering your use down to a much smaller habit and then stopping. This is going to still be painful and make you feel sick, but a much lesser degree, over a longer period of time. This can be difficult and takes a lot of willpower to do successfully. I for one could never bring myself to do it, but there are people who can. It is a good option for someone who can't take time off work or school, because you are going to feel crappy throughout the taper, but you will still be able to work, go to school and function as normal human being. Of course this option isn't the best when you are short on cash and buying off the streets. As well, the willpower thing, many people fail in tapering fully, but any taper will make the withdrawal easier when you do stop completely.

A third option is an opioid replacement therapy. In your case I am only going to advise one possible option, that is Suboxone (or its newer alternative Zubsolv). Suboxone will only require you to be sick for a short time (12 or so hours) and then you can take the medication and it will get rid of your withdrawal. There is so much more info on Suboxone out there I am not going to get into it. I will just say it works wonders for many people.
 
Obviously meant what I suggested for the WD's, since she feels fine enough on the painkills, there would be no logical reason to take mood-stabilizers (lithium, lamictal etc) and benzos in addition

Didn't know that about the Imodium... 5-10 pills sounds like too much... wouldn't that cause severe constipation? I imagine the WD's themselves would bring enough of that...8(
 
^^ the opiates OP have been taking are act as anti diarrhea pills as well except on a MUCH stronger level. The withdrawals will cause extremely loose stool, not constipation. Immodium will not only help with but with some of the other symptoms because it's active ingredient, loperamide, is a weak opiate itself.
 
Thanks for the reply's just being able to be honest about it is nice. I've gotten to the point where I have to take 3 percocet 10mg pills just to feel them. I just started buying oxycontin, which is even more expensive and addicting. So I really need to quit

I've been prescribed klonopin in the past-I think i'm going to go back on it when I go see my doctor.
I'm really just discouraged because I know what I need to do-it's just feels hard to actually do. I took the last pill I had this morning,i'm going to try to not buy anymore. Just not sure how i'm going to get through work and scared of feeling like crap.

Thanks again
 
I wish you all the best in quitting.
Many people find kratom helpful.
It is not without it's drawbacks, but
perhaps it is something you should
consider.
 
Stop the self-pity, it will not help you; and stop seeing yourself as helpless. Every pill you take is a choice, and you can stop whenever you want to. The hard truth that no one wants to face is that you have put drugs before everything else because you want to. Sorry to be so abrasive, but I have been through this. I was just as bad as you, I was stealing constantly from people I love. The truth is that I was willing to sacrifice those relationships to get high. I believe it is the same for you. When you come to terms with the fact that it is your choice, you can quit. As long as you believe you are a helpless addict, you will never stop.
 
Hates methadone? I was spending 1000 a week on heroin.. methadone gave me my life back, i am able to function, and i get 0 high whats so ever...methadone is a life saver... but...anyways.. i wouldnt suggest it for pills, especially a non daily habit.. kick that shit cold turkey or try some kratom...pills are just the start my friend... i started with tabs, and then a buddy told me to try some tan powder in my nose.. cuz it would last longer, and feel better.......152000 dollars later, a few jobs, a cpl cars, a few friendships a cpl relationships, and no viens visible..im thinking it was a bad mistake..watever you do quit asap
 
painkillerhelp said:
Hello-this is my first time to do something like this but at this point I am desperate for help/advice. I've been taking painkillers for about 2-3 years now. At first I would do it once in awhile just for fun-then it turned into once a month-and now it's on a weekly basis (daily if i can find them). These pills control my life-pretty much all of my money go towards them. I am broke all the time, and I don't pay my bills so I can get pills. I am constantly looking for them-and once I get them I worry about running out. I have tried quitting-but the withdrawals were so bad I wanted to die. I have a full time job-and i'm only 24, none of my friends/family have any Idea about it except for my husband. I'll take anything I can buy-percocet,vicodin,oxcontin. I feel so helpless-I want to stop taking them, but i'm scared because I am miserable when I am not on them. I feel physically ill-and mentally I turn into a wreck. I can't sleep without them even though I am tired my legs won't stop moving-I have this sick feeling like I have the flu. I cry and my moods are everywhere. How am I supposed to stop-when it is hell without them? I would love any advice you could give me on how to quit. I'm terrified of coming off of them-but i'm terrified what will happen to me if I don't. :(
Click to expand...

Hiya,
I feel for you because I have been where you are. My addiction/love affair was codeine n the grip was more psychological. When I tried n also when I was FORCED to give up I felt my world literally crash down around me. I totally withdrew from society - even my daughter to the point that the school contact social - because the psychological affects of codeine withdrawal were so extreme i did not engage with her or do the things I should. I'm a goid mam usually but giving up codeine seriously acrewed my life. Before I was EXTREMELY physically actively doing high intensity workouts like INSANTY, P90X, 5k runs. I was uk size 8 (us size4) n for the first time EVER people admired me, said I looked an athlete - now I'm used to being called ugly n all sorts of derogratory names that I believed them I was not used to this. I had an L5/S1 disc herniation whoch I ignored for five weeks.
I even did race4life with full blown sciatica because it was for cancer n with the help of my parents we had raised £100 n no way in hell was I not going to do it.

My point is that I can relate n I have been told time n time again not to mention myself when supporting / advising others. I do this because often people with addictions feel alone, scared, ashamed, like they are the only one going through this n afraid of being judged. I include myself to reassure people. Since 16 I had been saving up to do my masters n that money has gone now thanks to codeine but I'm on suboxone.

I am here for you I know what you are going through n you are more than welcome to contact me by pm any time you need to vent, chat, advice or whatever. I'm here for you n the support on this site is unreal. You can do this ok please stick with us - we will help you through it.

Thinking of you,
Evey xxx
 
SaY4cT said:
You are going through a very common addict scenario, you're young, broke and gotta pay bills... who's gonna blame ya?
Best I can offer for is trying a mood-stabilizer for the mood swings and a benzo for the restlessness...
This mix will probably be a little tranquilizing and myself, I don't know how long WD's last after 2-3 years of daily(?) use

get well
Click to expand...


LOL. This is terrible advice. Get off drugs, by............taking more drugs? Do me a favor!

If you're really serious about getting off opiates, go to your local detox center and kick there. Methadone and Suboxone will help, but from what I've seen, most people just keep using. It's like quitting smoking using nicorette or the patch............very rarely does it work. Yeah, detoxing is a pain, but you got yourself into this mess, and if you *REALLY* want to get yourself out, you'll deal with the pain.

I wish there was an easier way to put it, but there really isn't. Good luck!
 
Halalporkshop said:
Stop the self-pity, it will not help you; and stop seeing yourself as helpless. Every pill you take is a choice, and you can stop whenever you want to. The hard truth that no one wants to face is that you have put drugs before everything else because you want to. Sorry to be so abrasive, but I have been through this. I was just as bad as you, I was stealing constantly from people I love. The truth is that I was willing to sacrifice those relationships to get high. I believe it is the same for you. When you come to terms with the fact that it is your choice, you can quit. As long as you believe you are a helpless addict, you will never stop.
Click to expand...

THIS. You have to be accountable for your actions.
 
Maybe try to find a local acupuncturist who uses acudetox. It's a 5 point auricular acupuncture protocol that is safe & effective. It will alleviate withdrawals & PAWS, too. It won't keep you off drugs, but it will kill the WDs & give you a great start at staying clean. Many acupuncturists offer a sliding scale fee. NADA, National Acupuncture Detox Association's protocol helped me get off 2 year/ 16mg day Sub habit.
 
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