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I did it!!!

A

Animoe

Bluelighter
Joined
Apr 13, 2012
Messages
250
After 6 years of opiate abuse; heroin, opium, poppy tea, oxy, methadone, suboxone, other pharmaceuticals, basically any opiate I could get my hands on, I'M CLEAN! I DID IT GUYS! it's been 5 days now and I'm startin to feel better!

Ahh man, I know you guys probably don't care, I'm just so happy and excited that this nightmare is over.
 
 
Congrats Animoe. But as others have said already, the battle is not quite over yet. 5 days is great, but my guess is that PAWS hasn't even started for you just yet. NSA has shared some great links on the subject that you should give a look when you can.

Have you got a plan of what to do now? IME boredom is the #1 thing hat brings recovering people right back to square one. Exercise, healthy dieting and picking up a hobby are some of the best ways to combat the spare time that you will find yourself with now.
 
Great work Animoe, I know what feeling you have right now, try to hold on to it as long as you can. There is something called PAWS, it is like a sleeping giant. Once it awakes in a few weeks, that is when the war starts. This was just a little skirmish so far.

Tip: The way to keep the gaint sleeping and slay it before it can wake up to its beastly potential, DO NOT GET BORED and FILL IN YOUR TIME WITH HEAPS OF ACTIVITIES/PEOPLE. If you are alone and get bored and still live a similar lifestyle as you did whilst using, you will start to see triggers that will remind of opiates, you will be bored and thinking alone - thus the Giant would have awoken before you even had a chance to say hi.
 
You should definitely feel good about what you've accomplished, (and I don't wanna piss in your cheerios) but, you're at a very very early point.. in that kind of "pink cloud" period which can last for a while. Just don't get too overconfident and convince yourself you've "beaten" your addiction. I've seen people relapse after years, and even decades of sobriety. It has to be an ongoing effort or you could always fall back.

So, be proud, but also be realistic and cautious.

Congrats, though.
 
Congrats on your sobriety Animoe! Like Mr. S said, be cautious too. But you've come this far so I feel like you'll be able to keep your vigor for being clean and stay determined :)
 
Thank you for the kind words and advice everyone, I appreciate it a lot..

So I did some readin on the PAWS.. is there any way I can avoid this? And the symptoms aren't like symptoms of full on withdrawal are they? i.e. extreme anxiety, insomnia, ridiculous pain etc.?

Anyway, I'm headin to a detox center today because my insurance pays for most of it and I'm so far in debt due to all the detox/rehab/hospital visits I've been to that I'm not payin any of those bills, just gonna claim bankruptcy. The reason I'm goin to rehab is just to make sure that my withdrawals are indeed done and if not then I got the tools and people to help me get through the withdrawals, and if not, and I'm all good, fuck it it's free to me.

*edit

BTW, does goin to detox sound like a good or bad idea at this point?
 
^^

Unfortunately PAWS is an unavoidable thing, just like acute-withdrawal. It's just a natural thing that happens in the brain after drug addiction as you start to get back some of the endorphins you lost by using opiates.

And no, the symptoms are not like full on withdrawal, not at all. You may have some mild physical symptoms like sweating every once in a while, insomnia, stuff like that..but mostly it's mental. Anxiety, depression, crazy emotions, that kind of stuff.

It can go on anywhere from a few weeks to a few months (certain drugs have longer PAWS periods than others, like buprenorphine for example. That's known for it's long post acute withdrawal period).

But you can totally get through it, man. Once it's over, your body will be getting back to normal, and you'll be an entirely new person. Keep your eye on the prize.
 
Do ya think it's a good or bad idea to go to detox for a week or so just to make sure I'm all good and for some reason I don't start feelin like shit again?
 
Since the worst of the withdrawals are essentially over, I don't think you need to go to a detox facility. Unless you're worried that you might relapse. It couldn't hurt, and if you think it would help, go for it. Hang in there! :)
 
nah I'm not gonna relapse. i really don't even wanna get high anymore. I guess I'll just chill, take it easy, look for a job, and if shit goes south, I'll head to detox.
 
Fuck me. The more I read about PAWS the more I don't even want to get clean. Fuck, I can't go through all that PAWS shit for 1+ years.

Damn. That just rained all over my parade.

Is there a way to avoid the PAWS? Does EVERYONE go through PAWS?
 
Congrats. I only had a 60-90mg oxy abuse. Tapering subs atm. I would try eating healthier and try working out to get everything back in balance. I found working out and music to be amazing on day 5. Everything just starts to feel better and you can appreciate things

I was near the double digits for my testosterone levels and it seems to rebound when you come off. I think that good feeling you have is a combination of that rising and just getting back to normal with natural endorphin production. My buddy put on 5lbs in the first two weeks coming off his habbit and that was from doing nothing.

And what exactly did you quit/taper off of? PAWS seems inevitable for most people, but some benadryl at night, and doing some workouts, even yoga can help alleviate many of the problems. I personally wouldn't go to a detox center as if you are clean their shouldnt be any issues. Realize that PAWS can be uncomfortable and just push through it. Try your hardest not to relapse and get rid of contacts if you need too for a while.
 
Animoe said:
Fuck me. The more I read about PAWS the more I don't even want to get clean. Fuck, I can't go through all that PAWS shit for 1+ years.

Damn. That just rained all over my parade.

Is there a way to avoid the PAWS? Does EVERYONE go through PAWS?
Click to expand...

I answered that question already in my other post to you when you first asked it. Yeah, everyone goes through it after a dependency. You can't avoid it just like you can't avoid regular acute withdrawal when you become physically addicted.

It's not that bad, man and it doesn't usually last a year and over. The worst of it is over in a couple months normally. Don't let that get you down or be a reason for you not to keep going.
 
Oh yeah, you did answer it. My bad my man... And I guess it won't be too horrible cause my doc is prescribing me 6mg XR alprazolam a day soooo i should be ok.

Man I thought the day that I got clean would never come.

I'm fuckin stoked.

Thanks everyone on BL for all the support through my addiction.
 
Some people have found relief at low doses of loperamide. It's possible it could help you too. Try 4-8mg throughout the day if you're feeling crappy.

What was your habbit, use, and tolerance like?
 
^^ Everything I have read suggests that loperamide is only good to use if you are taking a break - if you are trying to stay totally clean it actually increases the length of time that you will feel shitty since it's an opioid. Gabapentin is a much better option in my experience, since it's not an opioid and it's non addictive, but does a great job at suppressing some of the PAWS symptoms.

And about PAWS - nothing is definite. Most people will experience some form or another of the symptoms, but not everyone will experience the same symptoms for the same length of time. And there doesn't seem to be a correlation where more intense abuse = more intense PAWS. From what I can tell it just depends on your own personal body chemistry. Don't let reading about PAWS deter you! You could very well experience minimal symptoms. I have read studies that suggest exercise for 30 minutes/day cuts the time it takes your brain to return to normal by 50% - effectively cutting the length of PAWS in half. Healthy diet as well as exercise will be the best thing for you by far, along with gabapentin if the symptoms are pretty bad.

You're doing great man, don't let the potential for PAWS scare you - and don't psych yourself out reading about it. Nothing is definite, and a large part of it is mental in my experience. The worse you think it's gonna be and the more you focus on it, then the worse it will probably be. Focus on staying healthy and you will get through this!
 
Animoe said:
Oh yeah, you did answer it. My bad my man... And I guess it won't be too horrible cause my doc is prescribing me 6mg XR alprazolam a day soooo i should be ok.

Man I thought the day that I got clean would never come.

I'm fuckin stoked.

Thanks everyone on BL for all the support through my addiction.
Click to expand...


The alprazolam will help for sure, you just obviously want to be careful not to end up with a benzo habit..
 
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