How long does it take to physically and mentally detox from a decade of opiate/narcotic use?
Question by martha: How long does it take to physically and mentally detox from a decade of opiate/narcotic use?
My husband stopped taking opiates/narcotis after ten years of use (he mainly took oxycontin during that time…but over the past year has taken methadone, hydrocodone, etc. Cannot remember them all at this point. He has MS and an irresponsible doc put him on oxy from the get go without even trying something less potent. My husband got addicted fast. I met him about four years ago and he finally agreed to stop. (He is now drinking more alc, but that is another story). The last time he took anything was about three weeks ago and that was, I believe, oxycondone. Since then, he has been nauseous, no appetite, very depressed, sleeps all the time, has no motivation, and overall weakness. His doc has put him on an antidepressant but it isn’t working. I am taking him to a very good acupuncturist next week who uses herbs and other methods. But I’m perplexed. Can the physical withdrawels still be happening after nearly a month? How long does the emotional part of this take to heal? He doesn’t think he needs help with any of this..except the depression part of it.
Thanks for reading.
Best answer:
Answer by BB
Yep, he is still going through withdrawals, it sounds like. These can include severe diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, chills, hot flashes, sweating, lacrimation (more than normal tear production), depression, lethargy, muscle twitches, among others.
Physical withdrawals are hard to guage as far as how long they will last. They are different for everyone, but generally the longer you use, the longer it will take to get over them. I used vicodin heavily for about 3 months and it took me 3-4 weeks to fully overcome the withdrawals.
Now the mental addiction is another story. Once people get addicted to something, they may be fighting that mental craving for the rest of their life. Ever seen that show “Intervention”? The counselors on there are former addicts and drug users, but they even refer to themselves as “addicts” who just don’t use drugs anymore, because even while helping others overcome their addictions, they fight their own on a day to day basis, even though it may have been years since the last time they used. Drugs are very powerful, and it just takes having a strong support group, staying away from the stuff, and a whole lot of willpower/ strength to overcome it. I myself am still fighting my Vicodin addiction, and am losing the fight at the moment… Anyway, back to your question…
The depression part should subside along with the physical component of the withdrawals, but like I said, that craving will probably be in the back of his mind for a long time.
Has he tried the prescription drug Subutex or Suboxone? This is a controlled drug (as is vicodin, oxycodone, etc) but it is made specifically for people who quit using opioids. It works because it’s called a partial agonist, which means it will bind to those opioid receptors, keeping them “happy” like there is some type of opioid in there. However, because it’s “partial,” you don’t get the full effect of something like oxycodone. It just takes away the withdrawal symptoms (including the physical and mental ones like depression), without getting someone high. It also contains something called naloxone, which is an antagonist, so that people can’t crush the pill up and shoot it up or snort it, or else they will go into immediate, severe withdrawal.
Now Suboxone can be addicting and cause withdrawals itself, but they’re no where near what a “full agonist” like vicodin or oxy will cause.
The first time I quit Vicodin, my withdrawals were horrendous just after 3 months of use, so I can’t imagine what your husband is going through. I was about to lose my mind so I went to the doc after 4 days of not using, and he gave me the Suboxone and it made all the diffference in the world. I didn’t have ANY of the withdrawal symptoms I was suffering from anymore. I used that for about 3 weeks and felt great when I got off, albeit with some mild withdrawals that lasted a few days.
Your husband is basically suffering unncecessarily because this drug is out there to help people like him and me. Also, I believe suboxone can actually be prescribed for pain as well. If he doesn’t want to go the traditional opioid route for pain, there is another drug out there called tramadol which is synthetic and binds to the opioid receptors, but it isn’t addictive and apparently doesn’t cause the horrendous withdrawals like opioids do. Along with working on the opioid receptors, tramadol also has been shown to inhibit the reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine. Antidepressants work this way, so tramadol has been shown to help some people with their depression, as well as with neuropathic pain, both of which aren’t affected by traditional narcotic opiates.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me, and good luck with everything.
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