• HEALTH & RECOVERY
    Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules Thread Directory 1 Thread Directory 2
    Mindfulness Links Addiction & Mind
    Sober Living Partner Program (SLiPP)
  • H&R Moderators: streaM Freak

Is this PAWS?

H

HalleyHeroine

Greenlighter
Joined
Mar 30, 2014
Messages
36
Hi everyone. I'm pleased to announce that I am almost 2 weeks clean of opiates and I just went to my first NA meeting.

Now the bad news is I still have extremely sore legs and occasional goosebumps and shivers. Maybe 3 times a day. Excess sweating too.

During PAWS, does one still have minor physical discomfort, or am I still on the edge of ending the Acute W/Ds? Other than the above I am good physically. No tears, no frequent bathroom visits and I can sleep for at least 6 hours.

Thanks in advance for responses!!! =)
 
Thanks. I hope it ends soon. I felt great yesterday, but today I was plagued with soreness and Naproxen wasn't helping. But I realize this isn't a linear thing as well. Meaning, I will have good days and bad days for awhile.
 
I had the cold sweats bad for a good 3 weeks. For me PAWS hit at about 2 months. Hang in there 2 weeks is awesome!! Yes you will have good days and bad days probably for a few months. But as time goes on the good days will out weigh the bad ones. :)
 
You're at the tail end of w/d. Congrats on sticking it out, keep your head up. Hopefully the PAWS won't destroy you.
 
Thanks guys. And I am quite nervous about the PAWS, but that's why I've started going to NA, even though during previous "kickings" I was dead set on not going. I've had a big change of mind and attitude towards opiates since my previous kicks. So hopefully I can keep that mind set up and stay away from them this time.
 
I agree with others, probably the tail end of the acute stage... however it could be a combo of both. PAWS tends to hit in 30 day cycles. It also is very dependent on dose, method of delivery, length of addiction, type of drug/drugs.
 
It's going well. I've been completely out of w/ds for about 1.5 weeks I guess. I have an interview tomorrow so hopefully I'll be working again soon and can fill up some of my free time. Free time can suck when you're trying to stay sober.

Still have some GI stuff going on though. And I eat a hella lot. Whenever I detoxed off subs I lost like 20lbs in 3 weeks. Now when I did it cold turkey I'm gaining weight. Any insight into why that's happening?
 
You likely have been suppressing you appetite with the opiates and are below your genetic predetermined weight. Also when we are constantly undernourished due to the lack of appetite caused by continuous opiate use, the body will think there is a scarcity for food. Now that you have begun to eat again it recognizes an opportunity to stalk up and store away calories for any future food shortage.

My weight increased by 25% in eight months after I detoxed. I would suggest that you really focus on exercise and healthy eating. If you give your body the correct caloric intake for a few months utilizing healthy foods that are low fat and low carb and focus on exercise you should be able to limit how much fat you take on. Given an amount of good sustained eating the body will determine that there is a strong food supply and will ramp down its efforts to stalk up on reserves. Exercise and proper diet can also have very positive effects on PAWS.



Congradulations!! your doing great:)
 
^^ happens to me too, I become ravenous after the acute phase of withdrawals are over. I'd bet you're also more inclined to crave healthier, whole foods... am I right? That's what happens to me at least... I mean I can EAT junk food... I just don't really want to. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the body trying to make up for nutritional/chemical/mineral/whatever deficiencies that it lost during active addiction and then further during the detox process. Like, when you're using your body is generally full of toxins along with being in a state of malnutrition (most likely, unless you kept that part in check)... then you're putting it under a ton of stress by detoxing it... so when it's all over it starts making an attempt to rebalance itself. It's super intense for a while, the same way your emotions become amplified -- pretty much the exact opposite of how you are in active addiction -- but as time goes on it all calms down. It's basically exactly like a pendulum... it's swinging back the opposite way from where it was before. If that makes any sense haha
 
I do "crave" healthier foods, but I'm still too lazy to do a lot so I cook one meal and by the next one I just say fuck it and go get some fast food, lol. I'd say i'm doing 65% of daily tasks like cooking, cleaning, etc. so i have some improving to do. I don't think I was ever in a state of malnutrition as far as size and calories go, (I'm about 5'3" and weigh 130lbs) but I probably have some vitamin/mineral deficiencies. My biggest issue is staying hydrated. I had dehydration issues while I was in active addiction too. I just forget to drink any liquid -soda or water- kind of like when I used to forget to eat while using. I know it will make me feel better and my body heal quicker so I'm really trying to work on it.

One more thing- this goes along with the eating thing- whenever my stomach gets completely empty now, either when I wake up in the mornings or sometimes between lunch and dinner, my stomach hurts sooo bad. I've never felt so hungry in my life and my stomach feels like a painful wrenching knot and I just have to make whatever I can get my hands on the quickest. I tried seeing if liquids would dull the pain until i could cook at a later time but if I don't put something solid in there it doesn't go away. Guess I'll start having snacks throughout the day to resolve that issue, plus I hear its good for the metabolism anyway.
 
The stomach pain thing happens to me too. It's just in the mornings tho. There's a lot of new sensations/feelings to get used to when you get clean, hunger is one of them haha. and malnutrition pretty much IS vitamin/mineral deficiency lol... it literally means "lack of proper nutrition... caused by not eating enough or not eating the right things." which, idk about you, but I was def guilty of either not eating at all or mostly just eating junk food while I was using.
 
Yeah I knew what it was by definition, but just wanted to throw out there that I, by no means, appear to be in a state of malnutrition. I've been taking vitamins when I remember to do so. My bf laughs at me when I say I don't remember to take them everyday and will say some smart-ass comment like "you never forgot to take pain pills everyday". lol Some people would take that the wrong way but in all honesty it's true and he's a great supporter. It's actually a relief in a way to be able to laugh at some of the crazy habits and tendencies I had when I was in active addiction.
 
Congratulations! That is awesome, you are doing great.. Keep it up!

I find that I sneeze for about 6 months or so after I kick. The sneezes are 10-12 at a time and slowly decrease over the months.

Try not to worry about PAWS. Don't psych yourself out.. and going to 12 step meetings is a great idea! Looks like you are using the tools available to you in order to stay clean. :)
 
I didn't mean you were right now, sorry if it came off that way. I just meant it's easy to get that way while using. Maybe not so much with pills... taking care of myself never really took a backseat when I was just taking pills, but with heroin I would either just forget to eat entirely, not be able to afford to eat, or I would suppress my hunger with more heroin. I was definitely malnourished, no doubt about it, but it didn't look like it to other people. In fact right before I got clean my mom kept telling me, "You look good, everyone is saying you look better". I could not for the life of me figure out why they thought so, I could FEEL the malnourishment (my muscles would cramp and I was always hungry but wouldn't eat and all that fun stuff and I only weighed like 100 lbs) but looks are deceiving I suppose.

And yeah. Thinking about some of the things we did in active addiction just to get our fix does start to seem ridiculous lol.
 
Typically acute withdrawal will last 7-14 days depending on usage levels and duration of use, it's different for everyone. PAWS may soon be around the corner, this is a pivotal time period. Create a group of people you can talk to, keep yourself busy and be prepared to wake up any day with anxiety, depression or anxiousness. Just know these spells of negative mental feelings will become shorter over time while feelings of positivity and confidence will become longer. (Not to confident now lol) It's awesome that you've opened yourself up to outside help. I know I thought I could quit on my own at first but was sorely mistaken! Lol. Just focus on becoming a new you, it's honestly an exciting prospect if you think about it! :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top