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melanie831

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Hi, I'm new here. I have been reading posts for days now.My story is similar.The only difference is it's my husband and I. we have been taking opiate pills for over 3 1/2 years. we have tried to quit before and ended up back on the pills, the hard part is one of us will be doing alright one minute and the next were convincing each other to get more pills. rehab is really not an option we have 2 kiRAB and no insurance on ourselves. right now were 7 days in. I do believe otc vitamins etc work some what. we are currently taking fish oil, vitamin b6, b12, calcium/magnesium same pill, one a day multi vitamin plus energy, and motrin, also immodium. the insomnia and anxiety seem to be our biggest battle haven't really slep at all we seem to have like restless leg syndrome, one of us will finally fall asleep and we've watched eachother thrash around, it's kinda disturbing to watch I really don't know what to use for that. The anxiety is driving us nuts. if we could get a good nites sleep and not be so anxious i think we could beat this horrible addiction. I'm so sick of relying on opiates to get through the day and worrying when we find someone to buy them off of. and the amount of money we waste is retarded. our case is a little bit different as we bought pretty much whatever we could get our hanRAB on hydro, oxy, morphine, percs etc. how long will this panickey feeling last I don't know how much more we can take
 
Hello Melanie,

Welcome to the boarRAB. Addiction can turn us into someone we never thought we'd be. I'm proud of you both for recognizing you have a problem, and most of all, for seeking help. It is hard, very hard, to admit to our addiction - not only to others, but to ourselves as well. Addiction is a disease which alters our thinking. It makes us believe we need the pills, eventually providing us with pain so we take more and more...

Take a look at the second thread on the main page titled "Sample Home Detox." There are some great suggestions you could use - I used it for my own detox and was grateful for that.

Should you decide to request a benzo (xanax, valium, ativan etc.) from your doctor, just be very careful as these are highly addictive as well.

I agree with 56789 - This is YOUR life we are talking about. You only live once, and you might as well be as happy as you can be. Misery comes with addiction - who wants to be miserable for the rest of their life?

I also strongly agree with milksnake - You should do the withdrawals seperately.

I'd like to add...if possible, be apart from one another while you are withdrawing - it will be much easier on both of you. The reason I suggest this is because one of you will still be taking pills and it will be almost impossible NOT to give in to the one who is in withdrawal. It WILL cause friction and/or an argument.

Is it possible for each one of you to go away somewhere while you detox? I understand Rehab is not an option, however can you go to a family/friend's house? Can you afford a cheap motel room for four or five days? I've been to Syracuse many times on business and know there are plenty of hotels/motels in the city. How about going to the emergency room? I'm not sure about the hospital there, however there's a mental/crisis dpmt. at my local hospital where one can go to detox. It may be worth checking into. Some hospitals even have a withdrawal house/detox specifically for addicts.

Whatever decisions you make, be proud of yourselves. You've completed the first two steps (in my opinion).

1. Acknowledge you have a problem.
2. Seek the help you need.

You both have some decisions to make. Take your time, educate yourself regarding every option and most of all, trust yourselves. Hope you are enjoying the Easter weekend :)

Sincerely,
emsmom
 
Welcome!

I am sorry to hear of your situation! I am sure it's very difficult for you both! Well, you came to the RIGHT place! That much I can promise you! This board has been my life line for months and the people here are beyond GREAT!

For the restless legs... HOT HOT BATHS and then some over the counter meRAB to sleep. Otherwise my Dr. prescribed me 10 xanax to help.... Not sure though if you have an abuse problem with Benzo's or not so depending on that... you may or may not decide to go that route. It would also help with the anxiety... Now depending on how much you were using daily you should be hopefully rounding the corner now where all of these terrible w/d tone down greatly for you!!

SO.... HANG IN THERE!!!! We are cheering for you!!! You are almost there... Don't give up now... You guys can do this!!! You really can.. I am not saying it's easy.. Not even close.... but.. I swear if I could do it.. I know ANYONE can! If you have read any of my posts.. you will see I still struggle but NOTHING like the stage you are in right now so it does get better... It just takes time!!!

Keep us posted and make yourself at home! I'm Secrets, nice to meet you!
 
Sleep was something I never got during the w/d's from opiates. Most OTC sleep medications are just Benedryl, except for Unisom which uses something different. I tried Unisom after my w/d's were over and I did fall asleep from it, but it made me drowsy the next day. If you can get a prescription for xanax or Valium, then you might try those. Valium helped me with the restless legs and calmed me enough to get some sleep, where Xanax just made me tired, but not relaxed enough to sleep.
 
Well were in to day 10 now. still pretty anxious and getting panicky. we thought of doing it seperatly but decided that would not be a good option for us.we have no way of staying apart. his mom is in a nursing home and mine lives downstairs from us and no other family around us. further more we work at the same place we kinda do everything together. we have both reached the breaking point at different times. we almost caved saturday but made it through. as far as valium etc we don't want any additional substances for fear of a new addiction. we don't have health insurance so an er detox etc not really an option just going cold turkey is all we got, and trying to stay strong. we havn't had much energy it's been very hard I have been forcing myself to work clean and play with the kiRAB and i've managed even though all i want to is stay in bed. It has been a challenging 10 days for us. yesterday was hard being a holiday and all I cooked all day and then had to clean up the mess that was fun. were just trying to stay positive we know were doing a good thing and that it's the right thing to do for our childeren. If we knew what we were getting ourselves into over 3 years ago we wouldn't have never done this to ourselves its a sick addiction and were not like junkies you know. were normal people that work full time spend all our time with our kiRAB. I just hate thhat we let this happen. hopefully we'll get through it
 
yes the benzo will help with anxiety. some times after alot of drug use some of us, bring out the anxiety. from what ever life has delt us go see an md if it gets to bad evan er . dont be oposed to any option alot of people make up what they think are good exscuses for not seeking help but the bottom line is this is your life we are talking about , keep an open mind an consider outside help. good luck scott. it does get better . with the lengthy use could be another week or two:)
 
10 days? hey there, you guys are doing great. your now in the psychological stage. this is the hard part. your brain is whats giving you bad feelings now...not the opiates. you are WANTING, not needing. i've been there. i was addicted for 12 long years to oxycontin...the psycho stage almost got me. if you can keep busy it helps. i went out and ran. ran so hard i would almost pass out. i also kept a book with me. when i would start thinking about that "warm glow in the gut" that opiates gave me, i would pick up that book, open it anywhere and start reading out loud until the bad thoughts passed. i musta read the whole darn book 20 times..haha. by the way, the book was the bible. just keep reminding yourself you don't physically need the dope. the brain is sometimes a little slow to get it's butt in gear and start producing the natural feel good stuff, but make no mistake, it will. when i was going thru this, no-one could tell me that. i was convinced i'd feel like the devil for the rest of my life. needless to say, i was wrong. good luck....
 
I would suggest you guys do the withdrawals separately. That way, while one is busy being sick, the other can take care of business without being sick. I don't know about you guys, but i couldn't even function worth a darn when I was going cold turkey.
 
10 days thats great . its funny that some of us get this picture, we get in our head of what a junkie is . like they are worce becouse they lost more material things .they might be homeless . then there is the addict or alcoholic . that has the 2 car garage white picket fence an so on . well in some itsences. that homeless guy had all that at 1 time an lost it. drug an alcohol addiction does not discriminate. judges state reps doctors nurses. carpenters , the biggest thing we lose is our soul . that hole in the sole . keep outside help in mind an be careful with the excuses . there are alot of excuses. but few reasones for this addict. i aggree with others that getting clean seperatly. just works better in the long run . there are people out there that might not be your family but will help you more than you know. we do these things in order to stay alive ourself .in some cases total strangers will help. when ones family turns there back . i know people that have took addicts into there home . given people cars an more . when a person wants to do the next right thing , generaly . the right thing happens. goog luck scott AA an NA are in you local phone book . oh they may be willing to pick you up. i will pray for your family.
 
Hey :) congratulations to you both 11 days now? That is so awesome and im so proud of you both! :angel:
Ive only been a meraber for one month and everyone on here has helped me so much!! Keep posting, good news or bad, we are all here for you. We are all going through the same stuff here, so if you trip and fall, no one is going to judge you - we'll just help you back up again :angel:

My ex partner and i were both addicted to meth. One of us would try to give up and the other would carry on and in the end we'd both end up smashed again. The only way we could get clean was to seperate. I know that seperation and rehab are not an option for you but what about hospital? Over here you can actually check yourself into the detox unit in hospital for a couple of days. Im not sure how the hospitals work over there? A frienRAB maybe?

Anyway im sorry i dont have any other suggestions - im still fairly new at this. I just really want you to know, you guys arent alone and im so proud of you both for looking for help and most of all, for asking for help!! So many people find it so hard to ask!? :D

Big hugs for you both Rach xoxox :wave:
 
If you are at 10-11 days, things should start to even out a bit more as far as the physical symptoms go. You have fought a hard battle, but you can keep it up because you are both worth the effort.

I helped my husband through two separate addictions to two different substances. One before we got married, and then another after we were married. He has been clean from the first addiction for 18 years and from the second addiction for 13 or 14 years.

As far as the sleepless issue goes try either Melatonin or Valerian Root. They can both be purchased at your local health food store and I think Walmart may carry it as well. The Valerian Root helped my hubby quite a bit. Also LOTS of excercise will make your body start producing those natural "feel good" endorphins which is what taking the opiates did when you were taking them. If you exercise prior to going to bed, it will also help with the sleep.

I Ditto the hot bath suggestion already made as well.

I haven't read every word of all the replys, so if I have repeated anything I apologize.

You and your husband keep chugging along because you can get through this. Anything worth having (especially healing from any addiction) is worth fighting for.

Best wishes to both of you. You guys will get to the top of this hill, look back and be so thankful you worked for it!
 
Whem I was in rehab I never believed when they said that things would be better without the pills. I never knew life without them. Now I do- this is the hardest thing you will ever have to overcome. The best thing that I did to corabat the cravings was to rid your self of the actual things that tie you to the pills- I threw so much stuff away.. You can do this and I will be thinking about you...
 
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