Dia 4 de abstinência de opioides

Tratamento e medicação
1

Hi

I have been battling a codeine addiction for about 5 years now and have posted about it somewhere in this forum.

I recently was on a taper plan with my GP and doing OK apart from some nasty symptoms (RLS, Insomnia, Aniexty).

Earlier this week something occured which meant I was forced to go cold turkey, I had no choice.

It is now day 4 and it has been hell.  Contstant Dhiarrea, Nausea, Pain, yawning, goosebumps, RLS (not just in my legs but my arms too, anyone else had that?), insomnia, etc etc...  I am trying to stay hydrated and eat but it just comes back up or goes straight through me (nice). 

As its day 4 I am not sure if I feel better or not, I still cant eat, sleep, etc....  Ive read it can take 7 days to 2 weeks and the RLS and insomnia can last for months...

I've had a lopt of support from people on here, Caroline8, Ritchie, cliveonpatches and I am so grateful for that as I have had no support from my partner and my Doctor hasn't been the greatest.

I'm in a real low place at the moment but I am going to keep going, I havent got any codeine in the house and I cant go out and buy any either....

I am back at the docs on tuesday and I am going to beg her for some gabapentin or robaxin (as these 2 are life savers for rls, insomnia apprentley? Carolineq8 recommended this and I have read about it everywhere too,  if you read the patient leaflet for gabapentin it says its used to treat RLS) and I dont want any more codeine my minds made up of that.

IS gabapentin or robaxin addictive or abusable ?  IF so I don't I will get any but I am literally going to beg.  My doc advised me to join a support group and I'm going to tell her that my support group have all reccomended gabapentin as a life saver....  If I do get some what will the dosage be ? will it effect me in anyway or will it jut take away the RLS ? 

Thanks

Ian xx

2

IAN, I can only suggest reading 'End Your Addiction Now' by Charles Grant.

I cannot go into my story just now, but if you wish to avoid symptoms almost completely, then please read.

Warmest Regards

0 Reply

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Hi ian 

              gabapentin is a anti-seizure med which is also used for nerve pain ( which is what im using it for /slipped discs ) .. however it has also been reported to help opiate withdrawls especially symptoms such as restless leg syndrome and mild anxiety 

               however another similar drug namely "pregablin" also helps RLS but is also prescribed for anxiety ( which gabapentin isnt ) and has the advantage of reducing anxiety in opiate withdrawl and many other symptoms,and since many other symptoms manifest from the anxiety by reducing the anxiety you can aleviate many of the worse symptoms .... diahorrea can be helped by taking buscopan which is avalible over the counter from all chemists 

             in summary if your anxiety isnt too bad then i recommend gabapentin,however if anxiety is a concern and affecting you bad then go with the pregablin 

            addictive potential .... doctors have stated both gabapentin and pregablin to be non addictive however there has been reports of people becoming addicted to these drugs ... short term however for opiate withdrawls the chance of addiction is negligble 

             finally its best to start taking gabapentin/pregablin at night as this is when your RLS will be most noticable ..maybe 1 in the day(100mg) and 2 at night (200mg) ....im currently on 900mg a day ( 3 x 300mg) but this is for nerve pain with the maximum dosage being a whopping 3200mg ( 6 x 600mg daily ) 

             hope this helps ian and keep us posted 

                        best wishes mate 

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Enquanto a causa subjacente do seu uso de codeína estiver resolvida, desejo-lhe o melhor e a maior força. Minha experiência com gabapentina, prescrita para dor nervosa, foi horrível. Tive uma reação alérgica e meu rosto inteiro inchou a ponto de eu não conseguir nem abrir os olhos (tanto faz essa ideia). No entanto, esta é aparentemente uma reação rara....

BriantheSnail parece ter ótimos conselhos sobre gabapentina/pregalbina e eu levaria isso em consideração.

Quanto ao Robaxin, não tenho experiência, mas deve ajudar com os espasmos musculares. Não é necessário RLS, mas espasmos musculares como resultado da abstinência (acho que o diagnóstico de RLS geralmente é mantido para outros problemas). Mas sim, pode acontecer nos braços também, ou até músculos estranhos no estômago, costas, etc. O termo "kicking it" foi desenvolvido exatamente por causa dos movimentos musculares incontroláveis que ocorrem com a abstinência abrupta. Você vai ficar bem, mas vai ser ruim no meio do caminho....

Meu médico me reduziu em 25% a morfina que venho tomando há 9 anos e prescreveu algo chamado Clonidina para ajudar com os sintomas de abstinência. No entanto, é um medicamento para pressão arterial e eu achei que me deixou muito tonto e quase desmaiei (mas minha pressão já é baixa, cerca de 80/55). Ele deve ajudar com náuseas, cólicas estomacais e até o "kicking" em alguns casos. Não é viciante (pelo que sei), mas o fato de ter tantos usos me preocupa que eles não saibam como ou por que funciona (tem que amar o negócio farmacêutico).

Além disso, acho que o Dia 4 deve ser o mais difícil. Então, se você conseguir passar hoje, as coisas devem se acalmar. Sugiro um banho quente e um baseado (não viciante).

É uma pena que seu parceiro não seja solidário. Eles querem que você fique na codeína ou pare? Se for o último, eles devem apoiá-lo nesta confusão. O apoio é importante. Se precisar conversar, estamos aqui, muitos de nós já passamos por isso.

Cuide-se e lembre-se apenas você sabe o que é melhor para você, mas muitos de nós já estivemos lá : )

5

Oi Ian, sou eu novamente, espero que você consiga gabapentina. No início da minha abstinência, tomei 300 mg, duas vezes por dia (eles provavelmente vão te dar 100 mg para começar). Acho que tomei por cerca de 4 semanas, então os sintomas de abstinência melhoraram e reduzi para apenas 1 à noite para ajudar a dormir. Descobri que se eu estava tendo um dia melhor, não tomava e nunca sofri abstinência por causa deles. Ainda tomo cerca de 2 por semana quando a síndrome das pernas inquietas está ruim e pareço estar bem quando não tomo.

Não tenho nenhum efeito quando os tomo. Hoje tive que tomar um porque tenho um nervo preso no ombro e está enviando dor nervosa pelo meu pescoço, cabeça e rosto. Descobri que não tenho os tremores ou tonturas ruins que se tem com opioides.

A pregabalina também pode ser eficaz, como sugerido, mas para mim, elas me deixaram um pouco fora de mim, porém eu realmente não tolero muitos medicamentos bem, então pode ser diferente para você.

Espero que isso ajude, Ian, e mantenha-nos atualizados.

6

Thanks for all your advice!

I am going to ask for the pregablin when I see my doctor tomorrow... I am VERY anxious

It's now 5am on day 5 and I haven't slept all night. Some of the symptoms have alleviated though . No more dhiarrea,yawning, sickness,goosebumps... but the rls seems to be getting worse, insomnia and anxiety, sweats...

So tired but can't sleep

My partner wants me to stop the codeine altogether but thinks it's just a matter of stopping and in 2 days I will be fine

If i get prescribed anything tomorrow she will probably try taking it off me!

7

Hi Ian,

I too had insane restless legs and arms when I quit cold turkey I didn't sleep for five days straight. I nearly went nuts.

I abused opiates for nine years and I feared the thought of withdrawal more than I feared death.

I tried so many different things for the restless legs/arms both homeopathic and medicinal and the only thing that helped was the pregabilin (lyrica). One dose and the restlessness stopped and I could sleep.

As stated by someone else, doctors will tell you it is not addictive but new studies are showing that it can be. I think it may have a lot to do with your perspective. For instance if you continue taking it as a replacement for codeine rather than its prescribed purpose. I could be wrong but for me codeine was a reward and one of the things I really struggled with was coming to terms with not taking pills to reward myself.

I hope you get some relief with the pregabalin but after day six cold turkey I started to feel somewhat human again if that puts your mind at ease any.

Take care

Nikki

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What you described is almost exactly what happens when I try to stop Even if I taper, I think my biggest issue is I moved from the NE USA to the SE USA and th laws here a few how the DRs deal with medication is like I left reality and have been stuck in own episode of the Twilight Zone, my main Disability (I was diagnosed with in 2009) is PTSD and various other Anxiety disorders, before moving my DR had me on low dose of Xanax I only took when needed but the DRs here refuse to prescribe it, Xanax was what helped me deal with the withdrawal during the move it was a unintentional effect of the Benzo, if I knew I would never be prescribed it here I would never sought a pain dr here because the pain dr I have now thinks Opioids are easy to stop taking??? My new home state is so strict it seem like they tell the Federal government to screw themselves and started there own DEA they log everyone who gets any script filled regardless of what it is and sharers that information with anyone (other government agencies, Drs,) and dictates what Drs can and can't do, I was hoping now that Donald Trump took the State govonor (Nikki Hailey) out of power here and gave control to someone else things might get better, it's to soon to tell. I know most here are in the UK but I am stuck here in the (Divided States Of America) were each state is lime another country what's perfectly legal in one can put you in prison for 5+years in another, this is a little known fact about this now backwards country! Can you imagine the Great land of the free everyone wants to live in

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Sorry for the rant I feel helpless because of the new laws I have to deal with in my new home state,

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My Dr also has me a on a type of gabapentin Lyrica to be exact I told him I don't want it but he insisted I have had bad reactions to it but he doesn't care? I now have to get the script filled and just discard it, I know it also can be addictive one addiction is enough for me I can't wait till I move to another state that has help my insurance will cover, right now my only option besides taper/cold turkey is going to a state authorized Methadone clinic and pay out of pocket they don't take any insurance. Ii have managed to taper a little and save up some for when I move so I have time to get some kind of help in another state cold turkey is not something I am looking forward to and I refuse to let my sadistic Dr put me in that situation.

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Ninguém deveria ser obrigado a passar por uma abstinência repentina, não importa o que você possa ter feito/mostrado. A metadona também é viciante, então eu não recomendaria. Se você não tem pressão arterial baixa, talvez peça Clonidina para ajudar com a abstinência? Novamente, não tenho certeza se funciona, pois só tomei duas vezes e, com a tontura extrema, foi difícil perceber se tinha outros sintomas.

Estou tentando chegar a uma clínica de dor que esteja disposta a me tratar. Meu problema é que ainda tenho dor, que agora está piorando, e eu estava me saindo bem pessoalmente com opioides. Eles funcionam para a dor, mas os médicos afirmam que há poucas evidências disso para "dor crônica não cancerosa". No entanto, eles também não oferecem nada mais.

Eles tratam os pacientes como ratos em um laboratório. Não somos projetos de feira de ciências e não devemos ser tratados assim.

Boa sorte, Ken, e lute contra o sistema : )

12

Hi ken 

         lyrica is pregablin .... this has the same chemical structure as gabapentin ...used short term you should be fine and will help with the RLS and other symptoms,infact lyrica is prescribed for anxiety so this should also help 

        but whatever you do avoid methadone ... this is even harder to qiut than codeine,and it annoys me how they wont keep you on the codeine taper but will happily put you on a methadone program 

         ive recently come off methadone after 8 years and its was hell coming off it ...

         try the lyrica ( pregablin ) ...it will help ...

                    good luck ken and best wishes 

13

Ok so today is day 6

Last night was another sleepless night, RLS seemed to get worse, its like someones constantly gently tugging my leg & arm bones... I drifted off for 10 mins and woke up feeling worse! rest seems to make it worse for some reason.  Also its effecting me in the day now as well..

But... I just got back from my doctors appt.  She was happy that I had gone cold turkey and was on day 6,  she immediately agreed to give me some pregabalin (2 a day)

So I took one and more or less within 1hr 30 mins (seems to take a long time to peak??) I started to feel calmer, less anxious, relaxed and my bones have stopped hurting/jerking...

I'm not going to try and sleep till tonight though so wont know till then!

But so far its just pure relief.... after 6 days of hell

Thanks for everyones advice the past week it really has got me through the worse... 

14

Ok So today is Day 8

I feel really good at the momemt.  All my withdrawal symptoms have gone!! I have got my appetite and sex drive back (probably the Lyrica).  

I do still a little anxious though, but not for long.. and even though the Lyrica has stopped my RLS i dont sleep for very long.  Last night I went to bed at 10pm and woke up at 230am for a couple of hours, then fell alseep and got up at 6am.

I am only on Lyrica until next tuesday.  My doc said taking it for a week wont give me any withdrawals side effects so I can just stop it. I have only enough till then anyway and tbh dont really like how it makes me feel (sneezing, itchy mouth, forgetful, monged out)  but it has been a god send...

Anyway so I go back to docs next week and that should be it for me!! Doc says I CANNOT take any opiods every again and I dont intend to. She said my neuro transmitters/receptors will be damaged from the 5 years of codeine but should eventually heal...

Hope everyone else on here is ok too ! 

15

Ah Ian, essa é uma notícia fantástica! Fico tão feliz em saber que você está saindo desse pesadelo. Mas vá com calma, seu corpo passou por um inferno, então só porque você está se sentindo um pouco melhor, não se esgote. Meu corpo ficou fraco por muito tempo depois. Mantenha-nos atualizados e não se esqueça de que sempre estamos aqui para os dias bons e ruins. Fique forte, eu sabia que você conseguiria ✋🏼

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Oi Ian, faz um tempo que não tenho notícias suas. Espero que você esteja bem, como você está indo 😊

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Hi Ian I was prescribed pregablin after my detox from opiates and yes it really does help the withdrawals I was prescribed 150mg xx times a day which is quite a high dose but certainly helped remember the recovery process takes time months and some days you will think it will never end be kind to yourself and take one day at a time good luck x

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Oi Ian. 

Como você está? 

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Hi

Im addicted to opiodes and wondering how the lyrica helped with withdrawels for you. I wanted to discuss my issue with my doctor but Im afraid to tell her

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Get as much vitamin C in you as possible the 1000mg tabs you out in water are best take mega dose as in 10 a time you can’t ever take to much much vit c. Google vitamin c mega dose. Plus if you can get any Diaz they will help you calm down.  A very food friend of mine has just done what your doing and used this method with success. Sorry I’m late with this info as day 4 is here or 5 now but can still ease your symptoms with the vit c mega dose. 

Good luck