Morphine withdrawal

Have you got your Dr's approval to do this? Please be careful and ask a lot of questions.

I suggest, at a minimum, going through a detox facility, usually at a local or regional hospital, or a rehab clinic offering detox and sobriety programs - in-patient and out. Detox is almost always done in-patient so w/d symptoms can be identified and pain/discomfort lessened.

A Dr. will ask more questions, like length of drug abuse, amounts used, other underlying conditions that could factor into detox.

Please ask a Dr these questions, and seek out professional detox help. Don't try this on your own, please.

I wish you the best my friend!

Joe

Agree with heyjoe415. Am an RN and your physiology may be dependent on the morphine and it is unsafe to try to go through withdrawal on one's own. I am not a proponent of inpatient rehab centers and believe a good physician - psychiatrist or a good pain management neurologist would be what I would seek to help me if I were addicted to morphine.

Hey heyjoe415, and slarson14,
Thank you both for your prompt advice and support! Unfortunately I also suffer from anxiety and depression. And with that I don't always make the right decisions and act without thinking enough about outcomes! The morphine I was on for two months due to acute post surgical pain was making me feel confused, tired and sick. I needed to get off it. I did contact my doctor who advised me to do a taper for three weeks. I tapered for three days and then anxiously just stopped without doing any research on withdrawal effects! It's been eight days now and I feel absolutely horrible physically and mentally! Can anyone who has been through withdrawal tell me how long this might last???
Thank you!

Not morphine, but Suboxone. I had diarrhea for almost a month, several times a day. I felt like I had the flu times 10 and my appetite was gone. Is there a reason you are doing this without any type of medical help? Your blood pressure may rise. I would not suggest it, but I did it with the Suboxone and I will say that it got me to the point of desperation and I got sober from everything. Please take care of yourself.

Hey diverdown1,
Thank you for your reply and words! ILike I had mentioned in my prior post, I suffer from anxiety and depression which can cause you to not think things through and make compulsive decisions. I have also been dealing with post op acute pain, which again can make you not think things through or clearly, such as my bad decision to just have to stop cold turkey and get away from the Morphine....Now I am paying the price....

I was given synthetic morphine after cancer surgery, I’m allergic to codeine and other opioids so they gave me this but they weren’t totally sure whether it was safe, thankfully I didn’t have any serious reaction but it really made me itch all over and it worried me so I went back to Tylenol extra strength. I never found the withdrawal very difficult at all and I just stopped them, I didn’t take them for long so maybe that’s why, I would definitely get some assistance if you are dependent on them and also I would suggest that you take it very slowly when you do so because there’s no faster way to withdraw from any medication if you want to be successful in your recovery process.

@frouke
Thank you very much for your suggestions and concern!

Thanks @slarson14'

I agree that a good, knowledgeable PCP can be a huge help. When I first got sober he took me through detox and got me introduced to AA.

Regardless, medical attention is a necessity to quit any substance. Whether it's a good PCP or a good in-patient detox center, the path is safer.

Joe

Hi @jseabass and thanks for this additional info.

I have suffered from anxiety and depression since 1972. I was 18 then, I'm 71 now. I started on SSRIs in 2002 and see a therapist. That helps, as does AA.

I've never been through it, but have heard that opiate w/d can take at least a month, with the worst time being the first week. Again, please check with your PCP for advice.

I take Suboxone which helps with w/d symptoms from opiates. Ironically, Suboxone can be just as hard to quit as opiates. I wish I had known. Now I rely on Suboxone at a very low dose.

Joe

@frouke

Well said. I know one side effect of opiate abuse is severe itching. Strange but true for most.

Joe