Opiate withdrawals - how long do they last?

[TheMadFiddler]

Hello,

I'm new to the forums and to oxycodone. I am taking them for pain. I have a pinched sciatic nerve and it is probably the most incredibly debilitating pain I've ever been in. For the first few months nothing killed the pain and it took for EVER to convince the doctor to give me a decent dose of something/anything. Started with the hydrocodone/acetaminophen 5/500 which is such a joke now ... but eventually I have worked my way up (or down, depending on how you look at it) to the Oxycodone 30mg IR. I take 2 of these at a time now to kill the pain. On good days I only need one, but I am taking them every 4 - 6 hours. I would say anywhere from 180 - 240mg daily. I have been taking this dose for a good solid 3 months. I have a natural tolerance for drugs and actually even this dose doesn't kill the pain completely, but I don't get high from them anymore at all (unfortunately). Anyway, I ate too many this last go round and my insurance wouldn't cover them for 4 more days. So I thought ... ok I can go 4 days in moderate pain. OH MY GOD ... I was SO not prepared for the withdrawals that I was about to experience. Those 4 days were hell. I was tossing and turning. Throwing up and diarrhea. My whole body ached like I had the flu. Cold sweats and hot sweats. I could not sleep I could not stand/sit/lay down I was uncomfortable in my own skin. I can handle pain. If it was just pain I would have been fine, but this extreme discomfort is just unbearable. Is there any easy way to get off these pills? I don't want to have a dependence like this, but it's too late now. Would I maybe want to try Suboxone, or something like that? How long do these symptoms last when you are going through withdrawal? I will be having surgery hopefully sometime soon and getting OFF the oxy. But what is that going to entail? How do I get off this drug? Any advice is much appreciated.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Firstly, you are better off asking a doctor - ideally one you can trust and that is lenient in the prescription department.

Secondly, with everything you have written, I still have no way of telling you how your body will be throughout withdrawals. There is a second round of "withdrawals" that come after the major first round; these are known as PAWS, which you should study up on.

Good luck.

 

[RTrain]

There is so much info on this site (as well as many others) about withdrawing from oxycodone that this question isn't really necessary. A couple google searches can reveal an awful lot of information.

I honestly don't believe you are going to get the best info from a doctor compared to people who have actually dealt with the ordeal, possibly on many occasions. Some may grossly underestimate the difficulty of the situation, because they only know what is in textbooks and have not actually been through it. But you obviously should discuss it with your doctor because they are the one who can (legally) provide you with comfort meds.

 

[gingerbaker]

For oxycodone you probably will have physical withdrawal anywhere between 4-7 days and then major psychological withdrawal from a few weeks. Then, you might or might not have Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS) which could last a couple months.

If you really have sciatica, then you will not want to go off your pain meds as you know (and I know) how painful that can be. You can talk to your doctor about your concerns and I'm sure there is something they could be able to help you with. For instance, some people with neuropathy gabapentin or Lyrica can provide relief and while there is a risk of dependence, the withdrawal is nowhere near as bad (and yes, I have experienced it).

 

[TheMadFiddler]

Thanks Gingerbaker ... I am also taking the gabapentin and have been for about 5 months. It has helped to dull the pain but does not get rid of it by any means. I am hoping that surgery will help me but I won't be able to do that until about February due to my work and home life situation. So in the mean time I am still using the oxy and the gabapentin but I just honestly hate the Oxy and am scared of the withdrawal and don't know how to get away from it. Rtrain - it's funny but in your own comment you answered why this comment is or was necessary. Yes there is a bunch of info on the internet about it but the reason I wanted to post in this forum is it seems to be full of people who have been through it. This is where I would prefer to get my information. I can and will talk to a doctor but as you mentioned most of the time they will spit out the text book answer and have not gone through it themselves so I find them less than helpful most of the time. Anyway thank you all for your responses I do find them most informative and will take them all into consideration.