Opiate Addiction
The very first thing I would like to say is that IT WILL BE OVER SOON. To anyone struggling through the tough but amazingly correct decision to get clean you need to know that no matter what happens today or tomorrow, you will get through this and when you’re on the other side it’s the most amazing feeling in the world. The most important phrase I muttered to myself during the two week physical withdrawal stage I went through was “I’m getting better every minute, and it will be over soon”. You cannot let yourself think about how long these symptoms will last or how bad they may be, staying positive is one of the best ways to get through this more easily. Along with being positive, though, there are simple over the counter vitamins and other things that will cushion this journey immensely.
I speak from experience and have been through withdrawals both with and without these tips, and I will tell you now that these small things you can do make the experience much less painful. The first thing I suggest is mental preparation. The night before you decide to stop, tell yourself that the next day will be wonderful and that no matter what drugs may be in your system, your body doesn’t need them and your mind can handle this.
Also, before you get “sick”, go to the store and head for the vitamins. The first major help to my body during withdrawals was Potassium. This along with the other vitamins I will suggest suppresses the muscle spasms that may occur. Though you have to be careful not to take too much of the Potassium because it can be dangerous.
The next vitamin to look for is Magnesium. This one is huge with the suppression of muscle spasms. These two vitamins alone will make a massive difference in restlessness and pain. Potassium is more to help with the restlessness of quitting, and magnesium is to help with the tightness of muscles. Did you know that RLS (restless legs syndrome) is actually caused by an imbalance in dopamine levels? That’s a pretty interesting piece of information and key to helping you understand why your legs are flopping around like crazy. This is because any drug addiction comes with a heightened level of dopamine on a regular basis and your body begins to think that this level is normal, so when you don’t have that drug your mind thinks that your dopamine is direly low. Magnesium deficiency can cause muscle tightness and soreness even for those who are not suffering from withdrawals, so it is a major help when you are making the journey to hell and back, find here.
The next thing that helped me immensely is nighttime cold medicine (over the counter). I have found that the specific substance “dextromethorphan” is what helps me. This medicine does wonders for sleep during withdrawals. While your tossing and turning, flopping like a fish, sweating and freezing at the same time, sleep is almost a distant dream in the mind. Until I found this medication to help, I would go days without sleeping during withdrawal. With dextromethorphan, I was at least able to sleep for a few hours a night. Although, even in that sleep it felt like I was in some sort of dream state or zombie mode and simply remember flashes of what I went through for two weeks.
Exercise is also very helpful in withdrawal. I know how hard it is to even think of moving off the couch or out of bed in the first few days, even to use the bathroom, but your body will start to forget about the withdrawals the more it moves around. Along with exercise, eating full meals is very important as your body will recover faster when it has the nutrients it needs for regeneration. And don’t forget to drink LOTS OF WATER!
After the initial physical withdrawal, most addicts experience a longer, less intense withdrawal often referred to as PAWS. This stands for Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome. The best thing for me was to stay busy as much as possible and no matter how hard it is, making myself fulfill obligations that I had. I found out the hard way that you can’t get through PAWS by hiding away from the world in your apartment alone, you have to make yourself see the beauty in your everyday life.
I hope this article helps someone out there, I know that going through this without these tips was so much harder than with them. I just know that no matter how long or how bad you have been an addict, there is always a chance for a happy life on the other side of withdrawals. Also, being on that other side you will have a much more superior appreciation of the beauty of the world and knowledge of real life as well. YOU CAN DO THIS!