1. Community
  2. Brain and nerves
  3. Opiates And Opioids

Mst withdrawal symptoms help please

Posted , 6 users are following.

heatherj2505
heatherj2505

I've been on MST slow release morphine for over 3 years . I was originally on 80 mgs a day and cut that down to 40mgs a day after being on it a year .

I didn't find that difficult although I was taking oromorph also .

I had a horse riding accident at the age of 14 and had surgery I'm not 37 and have several slipped discs , cyst , split disc etc . I hate being on the mst and I know although I'm not addicted I rely on it.

So I've decided to come off and look at alternative methods as I'm a single mum of 2 and my kids need me . Plus with the new laws regarding driving whilst taking mst I'm worried .

So my doctor has said reduce 5mgs every evening for 3 weeks the drop another 5 till I'm off .

I'm on day 6 of my 5mg less and I thought I was doing well . Last night I couldn't sleep , I have a headache that feels like my head is in a vice, I've got a cold coming, I keep getting bouts of a really bad sick feeling to the point where i thought I was going to be sick . I suffer with depression and anxiety although I'm feeling much better with that. The thing is I've been very weepy this morning and not sure if that's the depression or mSt withdrawal.

I've asked my doctor for support groups but the only ones she can find are for people addicted to morphine , heroine , cocaine etc which is no good for me .

I'm hoping I can get support from here from people who understand what I'm going through because I've tried to explain to people but no one understands . Any input is very much appreciated so thank you in advance.

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • max83505
    max83505 heatherj2505

    Posted

    Hi heather , I know it's so hard , and you are doing great day 6 . Comming down is the hardest part and I bet your head is all over the place . There's a lot of people on here you can talk to which helped myself massivly . Like you I suffer with back issuies and I came off mst it was terrible but I am better 4 it now . If you want to talk message me and I will chat to you honestly talking helps. Hope u start to feel better
  • dawn82680
    dawn82680 heatherj2505

    Posted

    I have been on butrans patches for 3 weeks ive put a 10mg patch on yesterday and now my hands and feet have become swelled and puffy is this a side effect of the butrans patch?? It didnt happen for the first two weeks just from yesterday when i put a new patch on
    • angie86937
      angie86937 dawn82680

      Posted

      My feet we're like two puddings. Ridiculous sweating where it was pouring off me. To be honest I just came off them . Any strong opiate medication ( I mean controlled) will puff fingers , feet ect , that's my experience anyways. Hope I've helped a little bit xx
  • BadNewsBrain
    BadNewsBrain heatherj2505

    Posted

    morphine, heroin, it doesn't make that much difference (heroin is diamorphine, a very similar opioid).  If you have been taking morphine every day for a long time, and you detox at a rate of 5 mg a day, you will absolutely suffer serious withdrawals at some point during the drop - and you are doing.  This is because your reduction regime is far too severe - the drops are too big and too often. Your doctor obviously doesnt have a clue (I am not surprised at all, they are mainly interested in protecting their own careers and reputations).  You need to ignore your doctor, and go online and research how this is done. What you will find is that dropping 5 mg of morphine a WEEK is the maximum reduction your body can take without suffering withdrawals - and when you get down to 10 or 20 mgs, you will need to reduce that weekly drop to 2 mg.  There is no point in torturing yourself because you don't like being addicted - morphine is not toxic to your body and it is not hurting you. So, take the sedimented advice of decades of experience of people who have come off opioids successfully: drop 5 mg of morphine a week, until you reach around 10 or 20 mg a day, then drop to 2mg. When you get to 5mg a day, you may even need to switch to weekly drops of 1mg.  Relapse is much more likely if you try to rush your detox/reduction regime - especially if you can't sleep (which is inevitable), it will wear you down and break your will. Good luck from someone who has been there and done it - you can get off opiates without severe withdrawals, but you need to respond to your own body's signals to you, and ignore doctors who know little about this problem and care less.
    • heatherj2505
      heatherj2505 BadNewsBrain

      Posted

      Hi ,

      Thank you so much for all this information . Originally my doctor said drop 10mg a day which I said was too high so they reduced to 5mg a day which I thought was high . I'm going to go along with what you've said and just do 5mg a week drop and see what happens . When should I drop down an extra 5 mg . At the moment I was on 40mg a day now doctor has said just take 35mg a day for 3 weeks what wiykd you suggest ?

      Many thanks in advance

    • BadNewsBrain
      BadNewsBrain heatherj2505

      Posted

      To be fair, i don't know you as well as your doctor, so if he had advised you to stay on 35mg a day for the next 3 weeks, then you should do that. To be honest, If your are still experiencing pain, it might be best just to stay on that dose of morphine indefinitely - its a pretty small dose and its designed to help you live with pain, and its a fairly benign (non-toxic) medicine.  BUT if you really want to come off morphine now, because the pain is gone or you want to cope with it some other way, then drop your daily dose 5mg about once a week, reducing this drop to 2mg as you get near lower doses. For instance, a 3-month detox, which is as fast as you would want to do a morphine reduction, would look something like this: Week 1: 30 mg a day; Week 2: 25 mg a day; Week 3: 20 mg a day; Week 4: 15 mg a day; Week 5: 12.5 mg a day; Week 6: 10 mg a day; Week 7: 7.5 mg a day; Week 8: 5 mg a day; Week 9: 4 mg a day; Week 10: 3 mg a day; Week 11: 2 mg a day: Week 12: 1 mg a day. Week 13: stop taking it.  If at any point the withdrawals get too bad (maybe rate the main ones every day on a 10-point scale, to get a more objective feel for whats happening to you) - especially too much insomnia or pain - then go back up a dose (1 to 5 mg), stay there for another week, and maybe consider dropping by half as much as you did when the withdrawals got bad again (eg. if you had dropped by 5mg, try dropping by 2.5 mg instead).  Relapse if far more likely if your withdrawals get too bad, and too much insomina will sap your willpower.  Good luck with whatever you decide you want. And remember: morphine is one of the least harmful medicines you can take, and there is nothing wrong with becoming dependent on it when you have been using it as a medicine - even those people who self-medicate their own pain with opioids. Its just a way of trying to cope, but when you have had enough ot it, you need to be able to get off it without too much sickness from withddrawals. Don't rush it!
Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.