my addiction to opiates and benzos and detox and withdrawal

[bcfly7x7]

so little bit about my situation first..I was taking oxycodone 30 milligram six times daily,100 milligrams of morphine 3X daily, 800 milligrams 4 times daily of gabapentin, 250 milligrams of soma twice daily, and 1 milligram of xanax once daily. while I took the morphine and oxycodone in the correct amount I was actually taking somewhere around eight thousand milligrams of gabapentin daily.

so I detoxed off of gabapentin by myself soma and xanax but let me tell you, the truth. I was taking around eight thousand milligrams daily of gabapentin and the withdrawals from gabapentin are severe and unrelenting. For seven days I was spitting up nothing but bile to not eat a thing and did not want to get out of my bed. it was a pure nightmare plain and simple.

gabapentin withdrawals are unrelenting and serious. I tried to detox myself off of oxycodone and morphine by tapering it and it did not work. I could not do it myself I needed to find a way for someone to help me and I was scared to check into a rehab facility for the stigmas it tends to go along with it. However I finally made the choice to do it because I was so lethargic I had no energy I was missing work I was missing my daughters life my wife and it was all because of the pain medication.

so I checked into a rehab facility they're very nice I was very surprised because I expected to be treated but the honesty is you are treated like a great person.I was put on a methadone detox taper of 25 milligrams over 5 day. Reducing to 5 milligram. I was given Librium for anxiety I was given muscle relaxers and also a sleeping pill to help get through the major withdrawal symptoms. This did help a lot I felt great after 7 days I even played baseball and basketball for the first time in 6 years. However I did not expect the withdrawal symptoms the minor ones to be there after I left. I still have cold sweats goosebumps, and the runs, as well as constant shaking and tremors. so I was prescribed clonidine and bentyl as well as klonopin for the anxiety the stomach cramps the goosebumps in the cold sweat. Clonidine its great drug helps with the cold sweats and the goosebumps. Klonopin helps with the anxiety and the constant feeling that your muscles are firing off. Now you should be a five day period. I'm currently on day 9 of the minor withdrawal symptoms and it does cause insomnia I have been up for about 3 days I haven't eaten in about 2 weeks now this might seem weird to people but that's just how it is. It's hard to expect that you can get off of oxycodone and morphine after taking it for 7 years and be ok in one week it's not going to happen. It will take between two weeks in a month and I will blog again and let you know how long it took me to be completely symptom free.

I expect that most people think that they can do this the simple truth is you can you need help. I was lucky enough to get that help and the people were great and it made it so much last painful than when I was trying to do. I checked into detox facility stayed there 7 days. I went to every meeting I went in with an open mind and it was great to see that I could relate to other people in the normal world.

I hope that this blog helps other people that have the same issues that I had have.I was taking prescriptions for my back problems, end it ended up not helping me anymore. I do feel like I have much more energy, I've played baseball and basketball which I haven't done in the last 6 years. Please don't think that you're going to be treated like a second class citizen if you check in to facility to help you detox off of these awful prescription narcotics. The people around you will support you and are willing to help you in any way that they can. They love you, they want you too feel better, they want you back in their life.

I'd be happy to tell people where I went if you'd like to know just respond to the blog I live in Pennsylvania and there are a lot of great facilities that can help you. if I can do this, you can do this it's not as hard as you may think just don't go at it alone. I got off of myself and the soma but it was a living hell.

In conclusion I just want the best for everyone out there that may be struggling with the same things I once. I want you to know that you can ask me a question, I'd be more than happy answer. I don't believe that everyone needs a 12 step program. I just became physically addicted to the medication that I was taking over the time that I was taking it however some of these meetings are beneficial and can help you understand what you're going through and what to expect.

Good luck, God bless.

Bob

- "of all things said by tongue or pen status maybe, it might have been"

 

[herbavore]

I'm glad that you found your way. Stigma only really matters when you internalize it. I have found that the most judgmental people soften their stance in the face of confident honesty.

 

[Give_me_some_pants]

good luck getting off that klonipin though. I don't understand why they would prescribe klonipin after a xanax detox... those sypmtoms will go on forever if you arent lucky. benzo withdrawal sucks, and it goes on for mooooonths.

 

[bcfly7x7]

I only took xanax for 6 months so the withdrawals weren't bad at all. I'm only on .5 milligrams of klonopin daily 3X. Detox off of that I don't think will be that hard cuz it was not bad for me. Thanks for all the words and I hope this helps.

 

[THECATINTHEHAT]

Good luck dude, I was very happy with my detox when I was in treatment too.

I've relapsed since (last in a long long line) and did a detox from bupe earlier in the summer and have been tapering on benzos for the last six months or so. It's starting to wear on me but I'm getting there.

The hard work starts when the detox is done really but hopefully you might find this a bit easier than some people who have addiction issues because you got in that situation due to legitimate medical use.

Don't get down-hearteaned if things take longer than expected, sometimes it can even feel like you're going backwards. Just keep the faith that if you keep doing the right things you will feel better.

 

[bcfly7x7]

Thanks cat,

So this is an update, 17 days clean. PAWS is getting more tolerable. Taking clonidine .1mg once a day, only taking one visteril 50mg daily, stopped the klonapin totally. Only taking one muscle relaxer per day now.

My emotions are back, im sleeping an eating again! Just the anxiety, and constant streching are the wore.

Since I.cant really exercise, I take dexot baths now to sweat out the toxins.

That's it for now, just wanted to give a heads up.

Thanks.

Bob

 

[Skelu]

Congratulations Bob! You are doing great. People don’t always know what they are capable of. As I started my taper I had only one objective that was to get even one drug off of my daily medications. As I started tapering I noticed that my pain levels was not as bad I had thought. I got very bad hyperalgesia from opioids that was messing my judgment and as I tapered I noticed it for the first time in years.

I used Gababentin sometimes when I didn’t have pregabalin. Those both seemed to boost my opioids and benzos. I think that the withdrawals from only pregabalin wasn’t that bad but when you throw other meds in the mix it changes things drastically. Only my opinion!

I have been exercising as much as possible (not much) and it have helped so much. I hope you are able to do some sort of exercise soon. Swimming is very good and you don’t have to swim just move your body in the water.

I have also been taking opioids etc about 7-8 years and it has taken a lot longer to recover then I thought. Hope you get thru it easier! On the other hand I have been slowly recovering and that’s what I needed so I wont brake my body trying to do too much.

I don’t these days use English other then here so forgive me my grammar mistakes.

Keep up the good work!

 

[bcfly7x7]

Funny you mentioned exercise, yesterday I joined a gym. Wanted to start yesterday but I need a drs note for them to allow me to work out, no pool but plenty of elipticals. So hopefully today.

Thx for the kind words, all of it helps.

Bob

Ps your grammar is better than mine

 

[royalp]

Sounds like you are doing great, well done!

If you don't mind me asking, you said you have not eat in 2 weeks? Whats that like?
Do you feel incredibly weak?

Sorry if i cause any offence, im just curious.

 

[bcfly7x7]

Total of 3 meals in 3 weeks, ididnt leave my bed for 7 days not even to shower. So lethargic, every muscle burned and just to get the strength to get the supplies needed before I checked into rehab (chew, books, radio, shower) I wanted to collapse and just give up, not just physically, but mentally as well. I didnt want to do anything else, but once the detox process was done my appetite came back slowly. No offense ever taken, im here to tell my story and do what I can to help others that are looking for it. Ask anything, im an open book.

Bob