My husband snorted fentanyl.

I was put on fentanyl last year and i was so ill on it, i was having the most horrendous nightmares and horrible thoughts, when i came off it i went cold turkey and i felt so ill, i was having anxiety attacks and suicide thoughts. It took me quite a while to recover but i must say after 4 months i now feel human and so much better. i wish you and your hubby all the best x

I haven't experienced it from fentanyl, and hope I never do, but I was on methadone for 20 years and the after effects of withdrawing from that are not dissimilar. I found the actual withdrawal lasted longer than doctors thought possible and was basically left to my own devices as they wouldn't help - I'm quite glad for that actually, they would have put me on subutex, which is yet another drug I didn't want to have to take. Now I'm not addicted to anything.  Perhaps the worst part of coming off - which is the best thing I ever did - was the fact that I was still being affected by the drug for months, perhaps even over a year. Symptoms were varied, including bouts of intense restlessness, particularly at night, depression, and most of all insomnia. These are common in most opiate withdrawal, but supposedly subside after the drug is officially out of your system and initial withdrawals are over. This is just not the case, and almost any ex-addict will tell you the same thing. Although PAWS is recognised, it is not recognised widely enough or taken seriously enough - though in truth I'm not sure what could be done, beyond yet more drugs which - to me - is undesirable. Three things that definitely help, but which are also extremely hard to do if you just don't feel up to it, are frequent excercise, healthy eating, and being occupied as much as possible. I would also highly recommend yoga - it really is a life-changer.

You say he stopped because he broke his leg - oddly that might be a reason why some people would START using strong pain killers. My question is, did he genuinely want to stop using? The fact he was snorting kind of indicates he's not a straight arrow dude whose doctor happened to give him fentanyl, but someone who might have used other drugs or opiates given the chance (sorry if that's wrong, I'm not judging - I was a needle junkie for years). The truth is that to stand a chance of staying clean in the long term, and particularly getting through this drawn out stage, he really needs to feel deep down that he wants it out of his life... in a way the withdrawal is your bodies way of showing you you are slowly getting straight... Being clean is almost like being born again, and birth is painful... (I dont mean in a religious way, god no, ha ha). Some of PAWS is also psychological, and by that I mean that addiction tends to make one think in a certain way, and have certain emotional responses - this all changes, and that can be hard. Mood changes, and extremes of emotion can go on for a very long time as your brain adjusts to being clean. 

There isn't any way of making this stop except time, but in time it will stop, believe me. Actually you/he may not even notice, but one day it will be obvious that the bulk of it is over, and being clean is just a wonderful thing. I had no idea what a black cloud had hung over me for years, it was like coming out of a fog into sunshine. And I really enjoyed my addiction - people don't admit that enough.

Hope this helps in some way - this website might be of some use, and there is lots of info on the web if you want it. Good luck.  http://drugabuse.com/library/post-acute-withdrawal-syndrome/

All the best

Tim

Sometimes withdrawl symptoms from Fentanyl can last a long time. The drug itself is normally out of the system in a few days, however depending on metabolism rate etc this time may be longer or shorter... Withdrawl symptoms can last a lot long though & will be dependant on drug administration type, dose and also the amount of time the drug was taken for.

The problem with Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids is that you may well be getting over the physical effects of the drugs within a week or two, however mental state recovery can take far longer. Your brain basically trains itself to cope with the drugs and then adapts to it. But after stopping it then needs to retrain and learn how to go along without it. This takes time.

I would advise that perhaps your husband goes and sees a doctor to help with the issues he's having following coming off Fentanyl as it's avery nasty thing tom come off. Depression and anxiety which are not nice either can linger following what was once a regualr drug routine of Fentanyl.

Best wishes to you both 

Laura,

I am a 10 year user if heroin and other opiods. My advice is the symptoms your seeing are from relapse not PST acute withdrawal! After 3 weeks he may have a few rough days of feeling depressed but having actual opiod withdrawal will not happen. He most likely has used and lied about it and is trying to not have you find out he's using! My advice is a drug test and if he is clean get him some anti depressants and anxiety meds. I bounced back and forth for years and lost everything trying to hide it!