Methadone Rehabilitation

Question by John: Does anyone else who takes narcotics/benzo’s experience these symptoms when they run out.?
I’ve been on Benzodiazepenes for years, since I was a teenager and opiates since then too, mostly Methadone with Hydromorphone for breakthrough pain.

I’ve found that I’ve never been so upset as when the pharmacy forgets to deliver my Lorazepam. I deal with a pretty ridiculous pharmacy that is not in order because they are the only place who takes my insurance.

Every month when it’s time to fill my Lorazepam, I literally freak out for 2-3 days before it’s to be delivered or picked up because I’m worried they will screw it up.

I asked for it 2 days early today and they said yah they would sent it over at 3pm, I got it at 10:45pm.

I sat near the door from 5-10:45 obsessing over it wondering how the heck I was going to sleep if it didn’t come and what I was going to do having to wait till the next night for them to get it right and send it.

When I go without this stuff for more than 24 hours I start to lose it, I’m on a pretty high dosage, 12mg a day, and after a day of being off it, my muscles start clenching and it becomes really uncomfortable, I start to get really agitated, worked up, 1minute seems like 1 hour, my pain is amplified hugely. A panic attack starts and doesnt stop until the pills are in my hands and i know they are with me and I’m not going to run out of them.

Does anyone deal with this type of b.s?

IT happens with the other narcotics but way less because I don’t find myself needing Hydromorphone very often unless I’ve been injured or had another surgery. I can go months without using hydromorphone, and 2 days without methadone before it gets really dicey.

If I run out of a benzo and my methadone, thats when shit hits the fan and I need to get myself to a hospital it’s just too much to bear.

Is it just me? Or do Benzos (mostly) and opioids to a lesser extent mess up your head?

Best answer:

Answer by BeautifulGhostx
Benzodiazepenes and Opiates (as you known) are both very physically and mentally addictive. Since you have been prescribed both at decently high doses, your body is experiencing withdrawals in between refills. While opiate withdrawal is extremely painful (I’ve always said its a hell that dante couldn’t have even imaged) it will not kill you. I would look into either managing your dose so that there is no way you run out, or searching for different kinds of strategies to handle the in between days. The “Thomas recipe” is a great one. However, withdrawal from benzos can be very dangerous and can cause deadly side effects. Another point too, is that without the daily intake of benzos your body naturally can have more severe anxiety as a side effect. If I was in your position, I would have a chat with your doctor about options to decrease this horrible time in between. (When humans are born we have natural pain receptors in the brain that are very similar to opiates. When people start using synthetic opiates, the natural ones in the brain die off. Consequently, when you have no pain pills in your system, the normal pain seems 10x worse. Also on a psychological level, you are used to being able to get relief from your pills, and when they are not available you not only have to fight the physical pain, but the emotional anguish of not being able to make yourself better.) The reason you can go longer without the methadone is because methadone has an extremely long half life. Thus taking a lot longer for it to clean out of your system. Methadone is one of the hardest, most painful opiate to withdrawal from because not only do the symptoms last for more than a month in some cases, but also can cause psychotic episodes. Lorazepam is a shorter acting benzo, so it processes through your body quicker. I wish you the best of luck with dealing with this, and like I said, I would consult your doctor on ways to make this more manageable. Nobody wants to have to deal with a few days of absolute hell a month.