Help get me off and stay off dhyrocodeine

hi tez, welcome to the forum, and im sorry to hear that you're struggling. i only speak from my own experience so cannot tell you what is a sure fire way to get off these awful drugs. clonodine helped me massivly when i was withdrawing. i would take 3 tablets either 3 or 4 times a day. are you able to ask your doc for something to help with the restless legs? as far as the insomnia goes i think the best thing is to just ride it out and try to sleep whenever you can manage to drop off. hopefully if you can get something for the restless legs, the insomnia might not feel as bad. it might be an idea to increase your antidepressants for a month, just to help you through this then drop them back down. Drink lots of water, eat as much good food as you can ans try to keep yourself occupied. for me, after the physical WDs, it was the boredom that kept making me relapse. however my addiction very nearly killed me. i was taking nurofen plus for the codiene, average 40 pills a day. in december my stomach ulcer (that i didnt know i had, and was caused by the nurofen) burst, blowing a hole in my stomach which was then leaking stomach acid all over my insides. this was going on for about 5 days before the hospital actually took me seriously, then i was rushed in for emergancy surgery followed by a month in hospital and many more months recovery. i now have a lovely big scar all the way down my tummy. but i was lucky, i lived to tell the tale. truth be told im still not drug free. surgery like mine requires lots of drugs but my doc know my history and so will wean me off very slowly. so please, get off these drugs. the threat of serious illness or worse is very real - i know. best of luck, please keep me updated x

Hi Tez my advice for coming off these is to see your GP for some Pregabalin or Gabapentin as these help in coming off df's. You should really reduce first however and try to get down to one or two a day before jumping off. There is no easy solution nut reducing and then some Pregabs will help. John

Hi Tez, don't beat yourself up. You can do this. I have heard gabapentin is excellent for this but I'm not sure how one tapers. Please keep us advised about how you are doing. We care. So much.

Hi again Tezz what I would say is that in order to get through the depression you need to find some purposeful activity involving connection with others and giving your day structure. Those receptors have got used to the opiates and you need to get involved in something outside of your head and inspiring. This will help you restore a healthy reward system in your brain. You need to act and in a way that is informed by your values to make recovery work. If you just sit indoors thinking then it is only a matter of time before you will use. I don't know your situation and whether you have a job or anything but if not why not consider doing voluntary work. It gets you out of the house and helps you meet people and that is time spent not thinking about drugs. The more you do it the more you get used to being ok without the opiates.

very sound advice there from John about keeping busy. However, a word of warning about gabapentin, this drug also induces terrible WDs. i was taken off them abrubtly after my surgery and the WDs seemed to be even worse than any id had from codiene. now, i know everyone is different and for me it could have been a combination of oramorph also being stopped as well as coming to the end of my fentinyl patch but please remember that it only takes as little as 3 days to become dependant so dont swap one drug for another. i would try to keep the gaba just for when you absolutely need it, perhaps to help you sleep. With regards to the post WD depression it really could be that your meds just arent working well for you. maybe its worth speaking to your doctor and trying something else.

how are you doing today? please check in and let us know how youre getting on. Take Care.

ReeRee

it's day 3 I'm so so weak slept from Fri night all day Sat and all night Sun been using pregablin to help but also been through the horrors of pregablin withdrawal before so know what you mean.i wanted to use the colonize but 25 micrograms I'm sure isn't the right dose .I've managed to have a shower today and slumped back in bed.i don't know wether I can do this but I'm giving it my all.the thing is I have a lot of stress in my life my parents are both really ill I have the neighbours from hell so might have to move I haven't the energy to walk my dog I saw on one blog to get u energy back take adfrinil I don't know wether you have heard of it.thankyou for checking in on me I will keep trying love to you all xx

hi Tez, you are doing amazing! 3/4 days in now and you should start feeling a little bit better each day now. You mentioned you havent used the clonodine yet, may i ask why? it really helped me a lot with the shivers, hot and cold sweat, goosebumps etc. My doctor said to 3 or 4 at a time, either 3 to 4 times a day depending how severe your symptoms are. please at least try them, you have nothing to lose by giving them a go. ive never heard of that adfrinil, what is it? i really would recomend speaking to your GP about altering your existing depression meds, as what youre currently on clearly isnt working.

please try the clonodine and soaks in a hot bath will do you good. i used to have little naps in the bath because it was the only time my restless legs would calm down enough for me to drop off.

remember though you are just about getting through the worst of it now so try to keep positive. we are all routing for you. keep in touch, sending you love and strength xx

Try energy drinks and plenty of rest.