I had a tumor in my abdomen which finally came out 2 weeks ago. I stopped taking the pain killers like 3 days ago and I have no energy at all, to the point of it being pretty alarming…among other unpleasant emotional symptoms. How long is this supposed to last?
I should’ve probably made sure to let everyone know it wasn’t cancerous or anything, so we needn’t add that aspect into the equation.
Everyone is different but with this short of time taking narcotics you should be over the worst of it in a week or so. Your body will still talk to you but it will get better from there on out. I will tell you something that happed to me, which in a way is kind of funny.
I have been taking methadone for chronic pain for about 6 years. I have MS, seizures and I also have osteoporosis. Due to the osteoporosis I have fractured my back 9 times and have had 2 fusions and 4 surgeries for herniated disks. I have fractured my ribs 6 times. My ribs use to break just from me sitting up in bed, that was fun. The nerves to the muscles in my low back were damaged due to all of my surgeries so they are in a constant state of pain. I stayed away from anything stronger then oxycodone until my last fracture which put me in a body cast for 8 weeks and forced me to retire from radiology after 30 years. After that fracture the pain was constant and unbearable. The doctors wanted to implant a morphine pump directly into my spine but I could not do that because I worked around MRI scanners and the magnetic field of the scanners could mess up the pump. We are again considering doing the pump since I am now retired. That was when I began taking methadone.
Several years ago I began feeling like crap, I had diarrhea, I was sweating had headaches could not sleep was really hurting, my temper and attitude was really rotten, in general I was not a nice guy. I did not know what was wrong with me because I was taking my medication as I had been for a couple of years. When I went to the doctor for a refill he did a urine test to make sure that I was taking my meds and not selling them. The test came back negative methadone. I was really confused and my doctor almost did not want to give me anymore. Had it not been for a long-term doctor patient relationship he might have stopped giving me the medication.
I later found out that my ex and her daughter had been taking my pain meds and replacing them with a similar size pill. I never thought to check the pills because they were in my dresser drawer in the original bottle. Everything started to make sense because during this time my ex and I broke up and she was telling others that I was crazy which was why were breaking up. If they saw me they would agree and I also began to think I was going nuts. Once I began taking my meds again I felt fine.
If there is a good side to my story it is this, while I was going through my withdrawals, which was over a 2-week period, I did not know I was having withdrawals and actually thought I was going crazy as my ex was telling others.
Good luck to you and hang in there you can do it.