Withdrawal symptoms :(

[g8ina]

No, not withdrawal from Hexus, these are real heavy duty drug withdrawal symptoms....

MY disability includes a lot of pain, so about 7 years ago, my GP prescribed dihydrocodeine, 90mg twice a day, and diazepam (Valium) 4mg twice a day. I was OK, and coped quite well.

However, these drugs are insidious, and get you hooked real sneaky like. Over time, other side effects showed up - I won't discuss them as they are unpleasant ! So, last year I decided to get clear, and ditch them both.

In January, I managed to get rid of the diazepam, in only three weeks, and was well chuffed. No real nasty withdrawal symptoms there and I felt OK. The doc said if I can do that then the DHC would be a breeze - how wrong could he be ?

It's been absolute hell. I dropped down to 60mg twice a day and within 6 hours had the sweats, shakes, shivers, stomach cramps, sickness, diarohea - very uncool.

But I stuck at it, and after a few days the effects reduced, so I thought now's the time to drop again, this time down to 30mg twice a day. WRONG

Same withdrawal symptoms only 5x worse. Even then, I stuck at it, until today when I just couldn't take it any more and reverted back to 60mg. Bummer.

I'll stick at this level for 3-4 weeks before trying again. Twice bitten ....

So, the main point of the post ?

Anyone else gone thru a bad cold turkey they'd like to share ? I'm happy to receive PMs if you'd prefer not to discuss in public, and hope I might be of some support if anyone ever does have to go thru this.

[Mossy]

Sorry to hear about your discomfort I would not know about this really but I can imagine.

[menthel]

I think your GP is crazy. Opoids are much more addictive than something such as diazepam and the effects of coming off are much worse. I would not be coming of DHC without some medical support personally. Your dose of Codeine is large and you are probably cutting too much too soon. I think you really should pop along to see your doc.

[Moby-Dick]

Best of luck with this chap! I couldn't even give up smoking for 6 months without a relapse.

[tiggerai]

G8ina...

My sister has gone through the same thing, DiHC is horrible stuff...

She has found that taking co-codamol (codeine in smaller doses) helps fend off the sweats and shakes once you get down that far. Obviously you're on quite high doses so need to come down from that first!

I'll contact her tonight for you, and see what it was that she did to get off it. All I know is it's nasty. I feel for you!

[nope]

I am on them and decreasing them , well the dyhdracodeine .

Anyway , i got them for abdominal pain , the tests that had to be taken in the hospital took about 1-2 years to get through and in that time i was and am hooked to the pain killers.

I am trying to decrease them now but it becomes a vicious circle. I get to about 3 of them and the pain strikes back and back to 6 of them.

Whilst doing the tests they also found that i have a deficiency to vitamin D and thats why i keep on getting pain and falling ill, so they have started me o the vitamin d and calcium and i am now slowly decreasing the pain killers.

I know exactly how you feel , anyway best is decreasing them very slowly like a weekly basis , always the first two days you will feel a bit rough , by day three it will be ok and by the seventh day you will be ready to decrease a little more.

One thing that gets you through are showers , take as many as you can whilst withdrawing.

[Kezzer]

When I was in hospital my body couldn't cope without the drugs, so I had similar symptoms as well as waking up not knowing where I was, dream-like state permanently. Mind you, my brain was totally frazzled at the time so that was bound to happen.

[Whalefish]

I take dihydrocodeine too but I have been careful not to take it unless I really really must. A friend who is a doctor warned me about the addictive qualities of it.
Just stick at it even when it seems you 'need' to take the stuff. It will get better. Good luck!

[g8ina]

I think your GP is crazy. Opoids are much more addictive than something such as diazepam and the effects of coming off are much worse. I would not be coming of DHC without some medical support personally. Your dose of Codeine is large and you are probably cutting too much too soon. I think you really should pop along to see your doc.

It was he who suggested this regime ! I'll already spoken to him today and told him what I'm doing now and he's OK with me going back up to 60mg, and stay there for a while longer.

I know exactly how you feel , anyway best is decreasing them very slowly like a weekly basis , always the first two days you will feel a bit rough , by day three it will be ok and by the seventh day you will be ready to decrease a little more. One thing that gets you through are showers , take as many as you can whilst withdrawing.

Ahh thanks for that tip, I'll try it.

Thanks for all the replies (very fast indeed) in forum and private, it's really comforting to know I'm not on my own

Good Luck to other cold turkeys ! I'll let you know how it ends up.

[nope]

also have plenty fluid , make a chart if possible.

Things will get rough and I advise you to do one of them at a time and don't try to do both of them in one go , meaning the Valium and the opioid .

Do the opioid first , i expect it will take you a month or maybe 6 weeks to quit them , after give your self two weeks rest and start on the Valium.

Valium are more difficult than the opioid , you will go through a lot of sleeping disorders , best bet for that is to play games , or some sort of activity that will get you through the nights , on average you will sleep about 2 hours max a day, remember that and be prepared for it.

I believe you can do it though , just keep on trying , once you give up its quite a victory . I have done this before but now its getting more difficult. I do have results from my tests now though so its worth me giving up , before it was like a vicious circle , you decrease your medication and it goes up again because of the pain.

Good luck , do it slowly but surely

[menthel]

It was he who suggested this regime ! I'll already spoken to him today and told him what I'm doing now and he's OK with me going back up to 60mg, and stay there for a while longer.

Probably for the best. It may also be better if you next step is down to 45mg. Check with you doc, but that will be a 25%reduction, which is closer to the 33% reduction of 90 to 60. You shuld feel it less than a 50% reduction from 60 to 30mg! Anyways always check with your physician peeps!

[g8ina]

nope - I think you missed my comment on Valium

In January, I managed to get rid of the diazepam

I dun it the other way round.

[nope]

ahh then your ok , if you got them done this will be a doddle

[redlight]

g8ina if I was you I would get myself in touch with your drug and alcohol clinic and make an appointment with a specialist doctor.
However good your GP is he is not trained in detox.
Cold turkey is dangerous it does not matter how old you are.
There is a chance of a major fit or heart failure especially if you are a long term user and you have other health problems.
I am talking from experience. I have gone through 2 home detoxes and been in a detox clinic twice before I was clean.
I still am two and a half years later.
Believe me I have tried it myself and ended up in intensive care.
They will treat you with respect. To them you are just suffering from an illness and all patients are treated as equals.
Good Luck

[kickstart 1]

I am just the opposite , i have to take loads of drugs ( all legal) and find the more stuff they try to give me the worse my side effects become , but you try convincing a specialist that you are having those side effects . I get called non-compliant which really annoys me , just because the drugs suit 99% of people doesnt mean they suit us all !

[Zak33]

very good thread.....proud of you all for talking about it tbh