tramadol addict former oxy addict

I had a major motorcycle crash and broke my back in a few places and have now got metalwork in there. Pain is always going to be an issue to some extent but I feel far better getting by without the Opiates. Your question kind of splits into 2:

1. The need for pain killers.

2. Recovery of Opiod pain receptors after having taken Opiates for a while.

It can take weeks, months, years for your bodies natural pain management system to recover from Opiates. I've been clean for 6 months and pain has gradually reduced each month. The tell tale for me, and others here, is how your body handles other painkillers, alcohol etc. - when I first quit Opiates Alcohol and any other pain killers had no effect whatsoever. Alcohol is the easiest one to measure effect (do I feel p*ssed?) so I've kind of used that as a monthly test - alcohol now affects me quite strongly, not quite as it used to but getting close now, I assume my recovery is nearly complete.

On to pain killers - I'm scared of Codeine (Opiate), I can't work/think/be-normal on Gabapentin, I can't take Ibuprofen as my stomach is ruined from NSAIDs, Valium/Diazepam is horribly addictive Benzo's (but It works for my back, I stick to once a week max.) ... so I've had to focus on exercise, stretches, pilates, physio, massage, swimming to improve my physical state. When it hurts I have had to accept that rest is my only option, this has taken some adjustments in life - things like asking my employer for an area I can go and lie down if I need to. Its a tricky business and everyones pain is different, personally I'm finding life without pain killers is much more enjoyable even with the discomfort and hassle that goes with it. Needless to say my Doctor's answer is always 'here, have big bag of pills and go away', 'Can I have physio?'  'No, you've had your 6 sessions, stop being so greedy and bugger off' - 6 sessions is what you get for your basic injury, surely you should get more if your smashed to bits? Computer says no!

For a bit more information - there was a programme on BBC last week that is now on iPlayer, the series is 'Panorama' and the episode is called 'Hooked on Pain Killers'. It doesn't cover everything but it is quite empowering with useful information on there.

Keep on keeping on, it's great being free of the drugs and able to make clear headed decisions :-)

 

I don't really know but I would imagine that it would take a month or two of daily usage to become dependent in any way. If you only take 1 tablet a week I guess you are unlikely to ever become dependent. Hard to know for sure.

i posted 5 things...you got any answers or suggestions for me?  thank you...really having bad day

Sounds like you are making great progress but it is a horrific journey.

I never really considered myself an addict as I never abused my prescription and reduced as fast as possible. My wife is a probation officer and says "yeah, yeah, whatever, same thing" :-)

Chest pain - they always say speak to a medical professional immediately, don't hesitate even if it feels silly. Reducing Opiates puts the body under a lot of stress which is why the withdrawals are so hateful.

so how long did it take you to taper off?  and how did you feel? 

I tapered by reducing every 3-4 weeks. For each reduction it took me 3 weeks to recover. During the 3 weeks I had terrible guts, aches and pains like flu, headaches, really bad stress/anxiety/depression, sweats etc. The faster you reduce the more intense the unpleasantness.

OMG, how much did you reduce each time? And how much had you been taking before reducing?  I have tried reducing my one per week.  Last week i was sickly for about 3 days.  I dropped by one monday and was really sick yesterday.  I'm trying 1.5 at 7 am, 1.5 midday and 2 at night....hopeing to drop one next week but don't know.  seems the lower i go the worse i feel.

I have to thank you so much for helping me.  I am having the guts, aches, pains, flu like, dizzy and super stress/anxiety/depression.  I took half a anxiety pill last night

I was on 90mg of MST/day at the start + Oramorph for breakthrough pain. I started reducing by 10-20mg every 3 weeks but that was just too much of a drop each time, it was killing me off. My Doctor suggested 5mg drop every few weeks - nice idea but at that rate it was going to take about a year to quit whilst feeling hideous. So I pushed on and got down to 40mg/day but by that stage I was just exhausted and fed up with the 3 months of constant withdrawal symptoms - that's when I went to see the drugs team to do a faster detox, I was mentally broken and just couldn't handle it anymore, meanwhile I hadn't earnt a penny in 6 months so getting clean had become major urgent - I tried programming computers on Morphine, it really doesn't work!

Just remember - every time you reduce it takes 3 days before you feel the full withdrawal symptoms. So if you are reducing every few days you are pushing yourself harder and harder. I found reducing every 3 weeks gave me a chance to recover from each drop.

There is no denying it, quitting these drugs is insanely difficult whether you're an addict or not. Getting to clean is amazing though, regardless of pain levels - I've spoken to loads of people and they all seem to say that they prefer life without Opiates even of they have more pain.