Withdrawl ....

My updates have been few and far between due to my decision to go through the pain med withdrawal cold turkey. This started last Thursday after my update after I was told there would be no generic prescribed until my new insurance came through on Jan. 1st. As I have stated a few times, I wanted out. I did not want to have this hanging over my head anymore and I was ready.
I probably should have done more research before I did this though. I had no idea what to really expect other than a few unpleasant side effects.
Thankfully I was only on 15mg of the Oxycontin twice a day, time release. I did not abuse them in any way and took them as I was told to. The Lyrica was the same, and as I have said here I didn't really know what it was doing for me anyway.

Thursday night - I felt the first of it. I thought I was catching a cold and was sneezing like crazy. Something I had no idea was a side effect at first. The creepy crawlies soon followed at about 2am, which woke me up out of a dead sleep. I have felt that feeling before and it had me wondering if I could really do this.

Friday morning - The drive to work was horrible. My legs were crawling again, I was sleepy and could have sworn I got hit by the flu. By that time it had been almost 24 hours since my last dosage and I didn't make it through the day. I left work at 2pm thinking I was ill. Friday night I laid on the couch in agonizing pain and I couldn't sit still with my legs like they were. I soaked in the tub for a good hour and then tried to get some sleep. That went horribly. I got about 3 hours of sleep and had to head out Saturday for Heather's game.

Saturday - This is when it really hit me the worst. I coughed so hard my ribs are still sore and my stomach muscles hurt. I had the chills to the point I was playing musical chairs with my jacket and sweater. One minute I was hot and sweating and the next I was freezing and looking for any warmth. The yawning is almost stupid. I felt like I had been hit by the worst flu I have ever had and just wanted to stay in bed. I wanted to keep my mind off of it since by that time I knew exactly what it was. Heather and I went to the movies and while waiting for it to start I used the Internet on my phone and looked up just what I was going through. On the way home I stopped and grabbed some Nyquil. I figured it would help the cough and knock me out so I could get some sleep. I also had the worst stomach issues kick in that I have ever had.

Sunday - Woke up coughing so hard I vomited at about 4am. I went out and watched some TV and the crawlies started in my legs and carried all the way up my spine and past my knees. I wanted to die yesterday. I was in a sweat suit and covered with 2 blankets, freezing and then sweating back and forth. My stomach stayed upset through the entire weekend so that kept us close to home. The most I did was go with Heather to the pet store to grab some crickets for her spider, bundled up with even a knit hat on and sunglasses. I again took some Nyquil around 8:30 so I could sleep.

Today - I woke up so tired today. I was exhausted just from washing my hair in the shower. I haven't eaten a full meal in nearly 4 days and drank a diet shake for breakfast. I still have a slight case of the chills and the stomach issues are still with me. I coughed a little last night and feel so sore in my ribs. I just want to go home and lay in bed. I am sitting here at work with no desire to work or move other than to get to the restroom when I get coughing or other issues. I am feeling some slight depression and I want to cry all the time. I have been waiting for this one. The irritability is at a minimum just from the general feeling of crapiness, but I am hoping I have crossed the worst of it. Because my dosage was so small and for a short time I hope I don't become a horror story from what I have read.

I called Dr. Weingharts office and asked for assistance to get through this and was told because I no longer had insurance that they could not help me. If anyone ever reads this, please don't let a doctor convince you this medication is the way to go for any reason. They will leave you high and dry when the going gets tough and you will be faced with something you will not know how to deal with. If I had known this was what I would feel I would have asked for an alternative. One other piece of advice would be to make sure you have a support system. I am doing this completely alone and I feel so lost right now because I don't know what to do. I have no choice but to stick this out and get through it, as I am sure eventually everything will work itself out and return to normal.