Please Help With Oxycontin Detox!

[lovelexy]

please, i am brand new and i have posted on other sites but no one helped me. i also tried a search here for this topic but i couldn't seem to find my specific questions, so i tried to follow the rules.

i won't go into my whole story but i am 29y/o F who is not an addict. i was prescribed oxycontin and oxycodone IR for a serious and extremely painful disease. i only ever took them as prescribed. i wouls sit and wait in agony for a call back from the prescriber for permission to take an extra in times of a flare. the euphoria i received was gone within a few weeks. i never took more to get it back. i was only interested in pain relief. since i didn't increase my dose for over a year, i began noticing i was having withdrawal just by being close to my pill time. since i had since been put on better drugs to manage my disease, i decided to take myself off the oxys.

i had been on tramadol 1st for almost a year. then the oxys for almost 3. i was last taking 180mg OC/day (60mg 3x/day) and 30mg oxy IR up to 3x/day prn. i 1st got off the oxy IR. then i tapered 10 mg of OC every 2 days. when i was down to my last 10mg pill i was so proud/ happy/eleated. i thought the nightmare was over as i had felt WD throughout my taper, particulary down to 50mg/day and then i actually sped it up to going down 10 a day b/c even tho the pain from WD was worse it would be shorter. or so i thought.

much to my devastation, WD isn't over and it has been 7 days. i also was wonderiong if anyone has ever suffered from my main WD symptom- the one that absolutely floors me pain-wise. i get excruciating, intractable leg pain (it pretty much goes up my back too). this is completely separate from my disease pain so i won't even describe that so as not to confuse the issue. the leg pain is so bad that before i was off the oxys (this was the WD symptom i was getting while taking full dose so needless to say why i chose to go off) i was going to ER's w/these "mystery attacks." i was also going to my doc. i was tested for everything from blood clots to peripheral neuropathy b/c of the way i was describing the intensity of the leg pain. surely this happens to others??? i have heard of restless legs which they surely are, but it's much more. it would begin to sweep over me when the WD would set in. i'd get a sinking feeling in my tummy knowing what was to come. i have screamed and bawled from this and i am so pain tolerant they almost couldn't diagnose my disease b/c i was masking the pain so well. just please take my word- it is so unbearable something needs to be done or I will be done.

anyway, i really need to know when will this stop? i've already been told that the OC is out of my system by now but my brain is not back to normal due to the excess receptors not being filled. does anyone know when this will go away? i've also been told to go on suboxone until this ends. does anyone think that is wise or not? am i close to the end? will it be months? i am scared that suboxone will be hell to WD from too b/c of the long halflife.

i hear different info everywhere i turn and from every suboxone-prescribing doc. i understand your info will vary as well but i need real people testimonials. just tell me if you've been there and what happened/what you did. no horror stories tho please! i am close to suicide at this point and that would push me over. i know the info isn't going to be rainbows and sunshine but anything encouraging will be much appreciated!

thank you so much in advance for trying to help me!

AL

[rodent]

Hi lovelexy,

I have gone through the WD's you speak of (about 3 years ago) and I made the mistake of choosing methadone to get me off the Oxy's. I was taking somewhere between 80 & 160mgs/day Oxy myself. Somedays much more, others less. I can only sympathize with you regarding the physical pain you've been through as my pain was the direct result of losing a family member.

After the methadone I moved to suboxone and that alone took me about a year to taper down from. The whole ordeal, addiction to recovery was wrapped up in about 4 years though I did spend a large portion of my youth testing the boundaries without getting addicted.

I really believe you are getting close to feeling better. It shouldn't be months but days or a couple weeks is what I would guess. You are correct in that the opiates with longer half lives will have a long drawn out WD but, it can be done. If suicide is an option, please choose to try suboxone or methadone first, either is more manageable than death.

There may be alternatives to treat pain that your doctor isn't aware of or allowed to offer.... I don't know specifically what might work best in your case but if you have any questions regarding specific effects of drugs here, there are many informed 'SWIMS' here.
I must also mention that my pet rat has found salvia divinorum a great lift from depression caused by opiate WD. He is a weird one tho

Good luck and don't disappear on us... please let us know how you are doing.

ohh... and welcome to the forum!

[lovelexy]

thank you so much for responding. so you think i am closer to feeling better? i hope it wasn't just my mind trying to be optimisitc, but i swear today was easier on the legs for a while. then it did get bad, but is that normal? having it come and go? is it my brain trying to get back to normal?

anyone please let me know of your experience as to how long the WD symptoms lasted from OC, even if you didn't have the leg thing that i get. you don't have to have had this awful leg pain to help me figure out the length of the WD. i still just really want to know when the brain resets itself. i suppose it is differrent for everyone but real examples would be really great to hear!

i will stay positive for now. i am more pos than last night. so i think i will NOT try suboxone yet unless it is a last resort. i will never say anything bad about it b/c it helps ppl get of off opiates and saves lives, but if i really am close to turning the corner then i don't want anything else with a long half life!

thanks again and more responses would be greatly appreciated!

luv,

AL

[dt3689]

hi there lovely ,
first off I would like to say that I am sorry for what you are going through and I simpathyize. swim has been there. swim was hooked on oxys for a few years doing 5 to 6 80s a day. It took swim 4 days until he could even get out of bed. but the good news is the physical part of oxy withdrawls should only last 10 to15 days maybe longer in some extreme cases. ofcourse every person is differant. but what seems strange to me is that you said you have tapered yourself down so by now the oxy should definatly be out of your system and you should be showing a little improvment. the pain you have been describing seems strange to me as well most withdrawls come with sweating, yawning, sneezing, muscle cramps, direaha, and generalized acheness. dont get me wrong with drawl is painful and not fun at all but with this pain being consintrated in the legs and shooting up your back it almost sounds like there is more than just withdrawl. like you may possibly be having siatic nerve pain. I feel that you should consult with your doctor to be sure of what exactly is going on. I dont want you to think that I am trying to scare you I just want you to be safe and be sure of what is going on because if you have been going for a week now you should be showing improvement from the with drawls at least from some of the physical parts. It will definatly take time for your brain to get back to normal but your body should start feeling a little better. If withdrawl is the only thing that is causing this pain though,I truly feel that you are close to being threw the worst of it and you should be feeling better soon. And I really hope that you do start feeling better I now that it is not a pleasant experiance. swim has delt with it numerous times, and I can promise that it may be terible now but it will pass and you will get through it . just take it one day at a time and try to keep a positive outlook because you will get your life back and feel normal again this I know for sure. I hope you start feeling better and keep your head up. there is a lot of support here and we are all here to help.

[lovelexy]

thank you . . . i do have many issues with my back and legs but you just have to trust me that i know the difference. what i feel doesn't shoot. it begins to swim over me as WD sets in and my legs hurt so bad i want an epidural to be numbed from the waist down. when it happens i can't sit still whatsoever. i need to rock back n forth or get up and walk but then i can't walk for too long b/c of the pain but laying still is so not even an option. if i lay still it feels like my legs are being pulled or stretched from the bottom. seriously like i am in a torture chamber and they are stretching me. i want to relieve the "pulling" but i can't no matter what.

this was NEVER part of any of my diseases or injuries. it only happened when it was time to take my oxy and i would lay there and rock/shake/bite a pillow until the oxy "kicked in." then the oxy would swim over me in relief but yet it couldn't take away some of my other pains. but it certainly solved the leg problem as if it swam thru my body and went straight to my legs. but we all know that drugs don't know where anything is. they go to the brain. that's when i realized it could sometimes help but sometimes not help my REAL pain, but it could always stop the pain that IT was causing.

then the whole phenomena with the stretching/pulling leg pain became worse when i tapered and even worse when i stopped. my disease pain just stays the same. plus i've been checked for sciatica and don't have it. i have some nerve damage in my low back which affects my legs but it began 5 yrs ago before any opiates and the neurological tests showed it hasn't worsened. i know it seems like my other body problems are adding to it, but i can separate them and i can live with pain that i previously couldn't and needed to start the drugs for. but now that i have experienced being in my own personal torture chamber, i can handle what i previously couldn't.

i will always be in pain. even my docs said that to me straight up. but i just want this nightmare to end. so now i am a little more freaked out b/c the [i will call it the "leg thing"] does still happen with a vengeance and i'm on day 8. i did have major chills, stomach pain, and some diarrhea before. i used to get major tearing from the eyes and running nose when i was on the oxys (and i don't produce nearly enough tears normally). these are common WD symptoms but again would happen while i was still on the drugs, but my dose got low.

i've read and been told that the symptoms are different for everyone and just like many have never heard of what i'm talking about with the legs, i never got sweating or sneezing. but i have heard many describe RLS or not being able to sit or lay still or bad leg cramps. i've even heard some say they got all the symptoms but said the leg cramps were the worst of all. so i know others who get this know the feeling. but i don't know why it is so severe for me. and trust me, it is not b/c i am just weak. i don't know if different opiates cause different symptoms. i would think so. so maybe this is specific for OC and not even oxy IR. i even read on the suboxone website that you have to wait until your 1st or 1st couple of WD symptoms appear b4 taking the drug but which ones will be different for everyone. so even if i get NOTHING else you can bet your ass i will get the evil leg thing!

and i would just give and do anything for this nightmare to end. i mean i have prayed like you wouldn't believe but my faith is very low so i don't know about that. i would honestly ask to become paralyzed if this leg thing were to be permanent. but with my luck that may not even work b/c the pain is really the brain screaming and not your body. which is why i haven't tried RLS drugs like requip. i would if i thought they could touch it, but nothing else does. i have klonopin and flexeril but i just use them to sleep. i have mobic and neurontin for other muscle and joint pain. will this ever go away?

thank you so much for trying to help in any way,

AL

[rodent]

The leg aches & pains are very likely the WD's... and as you said, many people get those. Nothing to be freaked out about as that pain should subside in the next few days as you recover. When was the last time you took an opiate of any kind?

Have you tried any of the self-detox methods mentioned around the net? There is one called The Thomas Recipe - For Opiate Withdrawal that has helped others. Do a search on Google and it's easily found. Shoot me a PM if you can't find it.

There are also a couple of other options that are really only available to "SWIMS" like, kratom or tramadol (both are addictive themselves but have been used for detoxing) and also iboga/ibogaine. Even a benzodiazepine like xanax or valium could offer a little temporary relief.

-r

[lovelexy]

what's a SWIM? tramadol is the 1st one they gave me b4 the OC. i have klonopin. i also have flexeril. both just help me sleep in addition to my actual sleeping pill seroquel. i found the thomas recipe. i was going to go to my herbal store and talk to the naturopath doc anyway, but honestly nothing is strong enough to even abate this leg thing. i just hope, like you said, it's going to be gone soon enough. thanks again!

[dt3689]

hey love lexy I really hope you start feeling better. if you are 0n day 8 or 9 you should be real close to showing some improvement when i have gone threw w.d. i have got some leg cramps and restless leg when i try sleeping where i cant hold my legs still or else the get real bad cramps wich made me absolutly miserable because it was stopping me from getting any sleep and after 3 or 4 days with out sleep is was pretty miserable. from what you told me in your last post to me it sounds like that is kinda what you are having only it sounds like your leg cramps are extremly painful. have you experianced any other w.d. symptoms and are you still having them or is the leg thing the only w.d. symtom you are still having. I am just trying to get all the info i can from you so i can better understand exactly what you are experiancing so i can try to help, i have a lot of experiance with w.d and am hoping i can give you some advice to help you. when was the last time you have taken and opiate and have you considered taking a small amount of your pain meds to help with the w.d's instead of just going with nothing. i know you said you were trying to taper your self down. I truly feel that you have got to be close to feeling better soon and i really hope that you do. I know that with drawl and pain is not a good time. there are lots of us here who will give you any advice we can to try to help and we wish you the best.

[JaWill88]

as said above their should be better days in store for swiy (Someone Who Isn't You). swim (Someone Who Isn't Me) (read the rules it's for self incrimination. please use SWIM when talking about activities and such when on the forum) was a heroin addict for quite a while and got aweful withdrawal. for swim the worst part was the restless leg syndrom as well as the overall anxiety and restlessness. heroin is much like oxycodone and has withdrawal much like it. they both generally last 7-10 but can be shorter or longer depending on the person and the amounts and duration of drug used. swim got on suboxone maintenance and really regrets it. like methadone, it has a really long life so the withdrawals are way longer. swims heroin withdrawal lasted like a week but this shit lasts like a month. swim has been on sub for about a year, maybe a little more. anyways swim would suggest suboxone (buprenorphine) for detoxing, maybe use it for like 5 days and swiy will not become physically hooked on that, but will completely allieviate withdrawal symptoms. detox is great with it just do not do the maintenance and stay on it. it isn't even all that great of a painkiller. just wanted to add swims opinion on that for swiy.

[OhCasey]

Lexy all WD's are Different for other people but like you i get really bad Leg pain not just Restless legs or cramps but pain so bad i want to cut them off. I also get back pain where it feels like my backs in a vice. Its a lil different then what youve described but im sure thats just because your Nerves & body is different then mine. Swim stands for Someone who isnt me like stated above but its really only needed when talking about illegal Drug use so your fine. Also i personally wouldnt use Suboxone since youve already gone through the hardest part of detox. Ive heard of some people being physical pain for 30 days after stopping usage of opiates but usually two and half weeks is the longest so i think your almost there just hang in there.

[70wahoo]

hi guys, i am trying to come of my oxys i live in the uk and the doctors are quite liberal with handing these out, however i did break my ankle in 9 places so needed them but now on 200mg of m/r(contin) and 100mg or i/r oxy norm, a day !!!!i have run out before and cold turkey is very unpleasant, i am going to talk to my doc about coming off these things, it is a very high dose and am wondering how lon it could take, i am going to suggest a 10% reduction evrey week. if any one knows any better please let me know-thanks m8's-john

[Orchid_Suspiria]

Wow lovelexy swim finds your story particularly saddening.Sure swim has dealt with withdrawal for years,it is nothing new.But swim did this to himself,it was something he asked for.It seems as if swiy is more or less a victim of their own body and was struck down with an unfortunate disease.Save suboxone as a last resort.Swim and everyone he knows on it is miserable in a new way.Swim would reccommend methadone before he would suboxone.Then again methadone can easily become a lifelong committment and replace the addiction to those oxy's.

[70wahoo]

Thanks for the reply m8, swims been to the local addaction team and they said i'm on the equivalant of 1 gram of street heroin a day, which is alot.

we have a big heroin problem here.I lived in the US for many years and our heroin problem is like the crack epidemic you guys have, and that is now over here.
I will try to rate your post if i can work it out!

swim has been referred to the substance misuse team, as swim has been abusing, crushing em up etc 200mg at one go

also these meds are free for swim which makes it even easier,
I will try to find you in the chat room some time.
take care m8