Opioids Has anyone experienced this opiate withdrawal symptom?

[Bomb319]

I've never seen it written or even heard it discussed, so I'm curious if others here will understand what I mean.

The best way I can describe it is as a combination of depression and thirst which usually begins toward the later stages of early withdrawal. Even though dehydration and depression are commonly known to be withdrawal symptoms, I know it isn't either one of those, because what I'm describing always occurs together no matter how much water I've had to drink or what my mood is at the time. In fact, it most often seems to happen when I'm doing other things or otherwise distracted, and it's actually this feeling that makes me remember the withdrawal and not the other way around. It also seems to come in very characteristic "waves", much like the opiate high does. But instead of periodically feeling good or high while doing other things but focusing on it, this is pretty much the exact opposite.

It probably takes a longer term addict who has gone through it so many times before to even understand exactly what I mean because most people will just be tempted to say that depression is a very common and well-known result of withdrawal. But again, it's so fleeting in character that even if I focus on it and worry about it coming on stronger, it rapidly fades away until it next comes back without further dosing and with greater frequency until other more brutal physical and mental withdrawal symptoms begin to eclipse it.

 

[Benwise]

I'm always thirsty and depressed during withdrawal, and yeah it doesn't go away, just the feeling that I need liquid (I just don't drink too much, if I start, I can't stop because it doesn't stop) and that leads to stomach issues and feeling worse etc etc.

I can't say I truly understand what you mean though, it's worded in a way I'm not catching what you're throwing.

 

[pinpoint]

I usually get some intense thirst that accompanies other withdrawal symptoms. I remember using a garden hose while withdrawing one time and had the sudden urge to just start gulping water directly from the hose, lol, probably looked like a weirdo in retrospect.

 

[Newin419]

The depression and anxiety hit me hard when I'm withdrawing. Not sure on the thirsty thing.. The withdrawals come in waves though. One minute I'm fine and the next minute I'm suffering.. So that being said, I avoid them at all costs now..which means I don't do anything more than a couple of days in a row now. I'm a moderate user now and I recommend this route.

 

[Bomb319]

It's not that...I usually am pretty good at conveying my experiences in general. I anticipated this - as I said in my OP, it most often is both extremely unpredictable in terms of time after last dose, intensity and duration. It really does not feel like ANYTHING I've experienced before outside of opiates as well, so I undersstand why you're saying this. Still, I'm hoping for at least SOME recognition by others here It's probably not the kind of thing you would notice unless you were both: 1. in bed or resting all day with lots of time to notice your symptoms evolve. This is absolutely characterized by intense psychological craving and withdrawal. and 2. are absolutely no stranger to the "eternal" cycle of using and crashing. Using and crashing. The word crashing here is a definite understatement. Most of us know just how vicious opiate w/d's can be. And again and again It becomes a definite fear. With fear comes obsession, and obsession causes fixation on the body and its symptoms. This and the fact that I realized I've been experiencing the exact same thing for a long time now made me start to question it and determine what it could be and it's frequency in the population.

If even ONE person can say here "I know EXACTLY what you mean!" Then I'd be happy

It is of course POSSIBLE that I'm simply experience intense sadness (better term here, IMO because sadness often implies an acute event which can be relatively short - in this case, less than a minute) and that I just feel thirsty due to dehydration and associating sadness with it to the degree that it comes along directly for the "ride". I highly doubt it though, if for no other reason but the fact that I have little to no psychological dependence to cause that sadness as I am on MMT and am therefore very much aware that my dose will be forthcoming as usual (the situation happens if I double dip normally but sometimes also with only a normal dose) and it usually takes care of my cravings.

In fact, I haven't used in nearly a year now. The situation I'm describing here is opiate withdrawal, but that produced from methadone and not H, dillies etc. You guys at least understand and experience the so-called "pleasure waves" when high? With the exception of the initial rush if IV'ing, opiates fade in and out relatively frequently, especially toward the middle and early-end stages of intoxication. If you guys have a good understanding of this, then it isn't too hard to envision something close to the exact opposite of this - an intense sadness - rather than depression, which initially may come on for only a few seconds before fading and you quickly and often imperceptively turn back to "normal". The duration of this increases and usually persists for the entire length of the withdrawal process and maybe even longer. I'm essentially talking about PAWS, but rather than all potential symptoms of it, the wave of discomfort phenomenon is most noticeable at least for me.

You really don't get that dreaded shitty feeling wave coming and going as it pleases? Also when it hits, that's when I start sweating the most and have the most goosebumps - probably due to the over-activation of the nervous system.

 

[Keif' Richards]

I'm in the midst of a rough methadone detox myself. I'm currently experiencing the symptoms that you're describing. I am in a state of constant thirst, with my mouth always being dry despite what I would call a proper amount of hydration. I am drinking gatorade constantly. I drink half of the gatorade, fill it back up to the top with water, drink that and repeat once I get halfway down again. I should be plenty hydrated. I never truly experienced this with heroin aside from the vomiting phase, when water was what I truly needed, but couldn't keep it down.

Depression, however, is just the name of the game. My mind is currently telling me that I am weak, nothing, stupid etc. This is to be expected with withdrawal from opioids in my experience.

 

[mmmbeer]

I've never heard of anything like that. I get a sweet tooth when I'm withdrawling...Not a big fan of candies and sugar until I'm "sick"

 

[Newin419]

I sweat profusely while in the initial stages of WDs'. But none of this happens if I'm not withdrawing.. Sounds like you should actually talk to a professional. If you haven't used for a year, you shouldn't feel what you are describing, to my knowledge.

 

[mmmbeer]

Thirsty is dehydration. Dehydration is caused from the shits.

 

[crzydiamond]

I've been on methadone a little over a year (this time), and I can't say I get the sadness waves this time. I have experienced something like that before as in I would just feel so blah and sad out of nowhere once I started not feeling good. I could cry over feeling guilty about something from years ago. Then it would pass.

I haven't done any double dipping this time on methadone (trying to slowly come off again and messing with dose is not conducive to that goal). But every morning I wake up in slight wd. Very slight--just enough to go to the bathroom (sorry tmi I know) and I get my first symptom that I don't hear much about--a burning in the back of my throat accompanied by a shakiness. Feeling like all the nerve endings come alive and not in a good way. (Guess its what some call anxiety? I dont know I never had regular anxiety issues...)

But I know what you mean about the sadness waves. I can't say I remember thirst with them, but as you say you sort of hyperfocus on your symptoms. I never did that much as it magnified them. Kind of like when you are sick (not dope sick) and the more you think "I'm sick" the worse you feel. When you get up and do something and don't focus on it you don't notice as much.

I didn't like to drink much in wd cause then I couldn't stop urinating!!even without drinking it was a constant feeling of having to go

I do experience that throat burning though. Maybe it's similar

I think the sadness comes cause the numbing part of the drug wears off and we over-feel. Til it balances if we completely wd, or numb again by taking an opiate

 

[muie]

I am a daily user now on MMT and I notice that when I skip a day or two, besides the classical physical symptoms (sweating, legs aching, difficulty sleeping, lack of appetite, etc.), there is a distinct depressive psychological aspect. I being to cry and get overly sensitive to movies and its very silly stuff, for example I would be crying in the weirdest circumstances and I will give you an example to see how ridiculous this whole thing can be. I cried watching the B.I.G. movie, also cried watching 'ghetto' or 'gangster' movies and documentaries that would be depicting pimps which I cried to, hustlers like in the Wire that I cried to until I realized how fucked I was. This is certainly from the painkilling effect of opioids...they don't just kill the bad emotions, they kill all emotions be they good or bad, they don't stop at killing pain but at killing emotions as you well know the comfortably numb feeling so its normal that after no 'mental anesthetic' one would cry like a little bitch.

 

[Bomb319]

I'm in the midst of a rough methadone detox myself. I'm currently experiencing the symptoms that you're describing. I am in a state of constant thirst, with my mouth always being dry despite what I would call a proper amount of hydration. I am drinking gatorade constantly. I drink half of the gatorade, fill it back up to the top with water, drink that and repeat once I get halfway down again. I should be plenty hydrated. I never truly experienced this with heroin aside from the vomiting phase, when water was what I truly needed, but couldn't keep it down.

Depression, however, is just the name of the game. My mind is currently telling me that I am weak, nothing, stupid etc. This is to be expected with withdrawal from opioids in my experience.

If you've got really bad dry mouth from 'done, look for a mouthwash called Biotene. It is one hundred percent non-alcoholic, and somehow mariaculously stimulates your salivary glands for immediate and effective relief no matter how fucked up and suppressed your nervous system seems to be. The downside is that this effect does not last particularly long - about 10-15 minutes of pure and noticeable relief for me, at which point I have to either use more or go back to the dry mouth. However if I'm by myself and not talking, it's very manageable. There was a time quite recently where my doctor prescribed Clonidine for recurring morning w/d symptoms before dosing. This was to be taken twice a day alongside my typical 220 mg methadone dosage.

I have never experienced dry mouth as bad as what followed from this in my entire life. My tongue had cracks on its surface, and I was literally rendered incapable of talking. If you wanted to, you could have out your finger in my mouth anywhere you wanted, and it would come out dry as a bone. It was horrible; even MILD cottonmouth from regular weed can get to the point where it triggers mild to moderate anxiety in me as a result of its potency. But this was a whole different ball game. You mouth and gums feel like the Sahara desert in July, and tooth decay at this stage can explode and progress incredibly rapidly if not quickly treated.

 

[pharmacybandit]

All joking aside, I believe I know exactly what you're talking about. It's almost like a bad, dirty high.