Give it a week or two. Especially if you are trying to get clean for real (and by "for real", I mean for a while. I know how "for real" can mean so many things.)
First off, I am a CP patient and also an addict, so I have about 15 years of experience with joint pain in w/d, and regular vertebrae pain in my back when not medicated. When I detox off short-acting opiates (oxycodone, H, dilaudid, morphine), my joints hurt so much that I have to sort of bounce from foot to foot/hobble down stairs for 4 days or so. It's just a symptom of the withdrawal.
A while ago, a BL member posted an account of a "day in the life of a junky" in which he described the same symptoms. He said that he moved like an old man when he was sick. I tried to find that post b/c that's exactly what it feels like, but I couldn't find it.
You might want to search for it. Or maybe another BL member from a few years ago will remember and be kind and post the link. It was a really well-written account of the day-to-day hustle of the life. But what remained with me longest was his description of hobbling like an old man when he was 25 (in full health too) and in w/d's.
I would guess you might have underlying issues with your knees outside of the pain of the withdrawal. But, again, altho I have physical issues, when I w/d from certain opiates, my spinal vertebrae, hips, and knees are all alive with pain. They hurt like a motherfucker. Not just throbbing pain (normal), but shooting, crippling pain. And there's nothing wrong with my knees or hips.
But when I got clean, the acute pain diminished to a come-and-go thing. The throbbing pain stays with me, but again, I have shit seriously wrong with my spine. But the pain that I feel when I just come off opiates is insane for a few weeks.
So, if you want to be clean for awhile, I would encourage you to keep up with the abstinence for a few weeks until you can judge the pain in your knees without any influence from withdrawal. Then make a decision about what you want to do about medicating.
Living with pain is harsh as fuck and brings you down. But living in opiate-world becomes evil too, as you know as well. So let it ride for a bit and then make your decision.
But you already know all that shit, so sorry for drawing it out.
tl;dr: withdrawal will make your joints feel like they belong to a 150 year old man.
Best wishes for the best solution. Peace.
