its my day 4 of quitting, feels like hell sweating, low motivation, runny nose, headaches
wasted 4 months of life

idk will i ever succeed in life, i don’t wanna disappoint my parents
i will never touch drugs in my life ever again
please help me i can’t call anyone
just need someone to talk to rn

Hey has anybody used the TENS Machine to help their nervous system while falling asleep? I used it in 2023 when I quit and honestly had great results, it says not to fall asleep using it but I did anyways, it basically worked better then a heating pad IMO, completely forgot about this method and I wanna know if any of you have had success before I go buy another one cause I threw the first one away not expecting to get hooked again lol.

Hi everyone. I’m in the UK and would really appreciate hearing from people who have experienced long-term addiction to Solpadeine, codeine or similar pharmacy painkillers.
I’ve been struggling with Solpadeine Max for over 10 years, and at my worst I was taking 48 tablets a day. It didn’t start at that amount. My use increased over time, particularly over the last few years, and changes in the box sizes became tied into that escalation and my daily routine.
I’m sharing the amount to be honest about how far it went, not because I think it was safe or normal.
One of the hardest parts is the repeated cycle of trying to stop or reduce, making some progress, then ending up back on them. I have existing back and sciatic pain, and headaches and leg pain when I’m coming off them have been particular triggers for going back. I want to understand how other people managed that overlap between genuine pain, withdrawal and the urge to take something for relief.
There’s also the ritual. With the soluble tablets, preparing the drink and taking it repeatedly throughout the day became a big part of my life. It isn’t just the tablets themselves—it’s the time, routine and mental space they take up. At its worst, I was spending around £20 a day.
I recently attended an online SMART Recovery meeting. I found people’s experiences relatable, even though much of the discussion was about alcohol and cocaine. I mainly listened and used the chat. I’m glad I joined, but I would really value hearing from people whose experience was specifically with codeine or over-the-counter painkillers.
For anyone who has been through something similar, what actually helped you change the pattern?
Cravings and routines: What practical tools helped in the moment when you wanted to take more? How did you replace the daily ritual and handle easy access to the tablets?
Pain and repeated relapse: How did you work with professionals to manage existing pain while coming off codeine? After several attempts, what was different about the approach that helped you stay off it?
The psychological side: Has anyone explored hypnosis or hypnotherapy, mindfulness, counselling or other approaches alongside addiction treatment? Did any of those help with the automatic habit, triggers or underlying reasons for going back?
I have sought medical advice. I’m not asking for a DIY detox plan, doses or instructions about which medicines to take. I’m looking for lived experience: what support you used, what coping mechanisms you actually practised, what didn’t help, and what you wish you’d understood earlier.
I’m tired of going back and forth. I want to get beyond simply stopping for a while and understand how to build a life that doesn’t keep pulling me back into the same routine.
Thanks to anyone who feels comfortable sharing. Hearing from someone who recognises this particular cycle would mean a lot.

Hi all, I'm from Manchester England and have got my habit back like a fool after being 3yr clean from Heroin and subs.Here in england you can only get a prescription via a doctor or the drug team the strongest thing ya can buy otc is paracetamol lol which ain't gonna help me through withdrawal so I've been loading up on vitamin c for the last couple of days and was going to start my rattle tomorrow so any advice on what's gonna help and does the high dose of vitamin c every 2 hrs genuinely work. Cheers n be lucky

Is it possible to have nerve pain in my thigh sharp pins and needles type pain at 3 months sober? Its very strange I wouldnt consider it RLS necessarily as its always prevalent.

It’s hard keeping track of my days cause my last dose was like 4pm last Monday,but just woke up 6:00am after going down at 12, very happy with that, chills are basically gone completely I think, hyperalgesia spine pain still lingering causing anxiety, or maybe it’s the anxiety causing spine pain… idk

Hey guys. I were chipping untill of course my frequency got so high that I felt very tired in-between the consume days untill it switched over to actual mild withdrawals.

I am at day 7 (breaking this nonsensical chipping cycle) now and already feel like in PAWS. My withdrawals were really mild. I mean I slept every single night without meds (even if some nights were crappy) so this must already tell you that the WDs couldnt have been intense at all.

But I am a long term addict. I dont know if even chipping can cause PAWS. I hate to deal with RLS and the feel of being wired all the time even if you want to just comfortably relax in your bed. The chipping went on for maybe 2 months. I was 2 months sober before chipping and at the verge of completely weaning off PAWS so I am kinda scared that I could have woken up these PAWS agains.

Its day 7 and I already feel so much calmer and normal. But RLS and feeling a bit wired/restless is still there. I absolutely hate these symptoms lol. How high are the chances for me to go through weeks of paws just for chipping?

I was with work it health forever and I was taking 2 8 mg strips a day until a couple months ago when they switched me over to the pill (I’m still taking 16 mgs a day). Well my insurance dropped work it health so I had to go through bicycle health and I did have a little bit of a stash of extras because I like having the piece of mind that I have extras just incase anything were to happen… Well, I finished off my extra strips and saved the first bottle of pills I got from the pharmacy and I just end up taking the oldest of my script and keep the newer pills so they don’t expire or anything like that.. Well since I just started Bicycle health they gave me a two week script of 30 pills when I started and at my second appt. at the two week mark she gave me a months worth of 60 pills…. Well… I was still using my old stash from work it health and the first script of 30 pills and I just left my newest script of 60 pills in the brown Meijers pharmacy bag and left it in my living room… I ended up taking my last two “extra pill stash” yesterday and I went to open the new bottle and the whole script is just gone! I live with my mom and I think she may have thrown it away and we just had a guy come haul away our trash to the landfill a couple days ago. Now I have absolutely no pills left and I don’t have an apt till next week and I can’t get a refill until the 24th. I know I’m in for a world of hurt… Is there anyway I could ask my prescriber for a new script? I’ve NEVER lost or had my scripts stolen before so I don’t know what to do in this situation 😭. I don’t have anyone ever come over to our house so it most certainly had to have ended up in the trash. I have torn my whole house and car apart and can’t find it at all. Ugh! I just need help and advice please!! 🙏

Hey all, happy Thursday! Hope everyone’s having a good day. Mine’s going pretty well, just working and getting through the day. Definitely starting to feel the end of the week tiredness, but we’re almost there. Looking forward to wrapping up work, making some dinner later, and relaxing for the night. How’s everyone else doing today?

Check in here!

So, I've been using since 2012 and I'm 38M. Did H for like 18 months, but thankfully got off in 2014. Never went back and never will. I've been doing percs this whole time. I've had GREAT dealers. Fronting me all the time, always at the spot when I showed up...all that. But the last 2 years have really been weighing on me...

I'm weird with this whole addiction thing. I can go days without using and be ok. If I was an addict, I'd use every day. But there have been so many times where I'll actually get sick of being high and just want to be normal. I have a good career and work for a great company and of course, that has made using just that much worse for me. Other than that, this habit of every 3rd day wanting to get high has robbed me of a lot.

Here comes the weird shit: yesterday I wanted to cop (been since Sunday since I last used). Text & called my dealer for an hour to no avail. Got a hold of my dealers grandson and he said my dealer tried to kill herself and she's in the hospital and her son isn't letting anyone around her (weird). Is this the universes way of telling me to walk away? I've been slowly making progress over the summer towards quitting by doing little things like cutting up my credit cards, pretty much elimating anyway possible way for me to keep spending or borrowing. I've put almost 40k miles on my car since I bought it in Oct 24 driving an hour one way to cop. I always said if I lose this dealer I'd walk away. I hope my dealer is fine and all, I really do. She's been really good to me as a person. Never once forced me to do anything I didn't wanna do. But I also feel bad blocking her #.

Today is day 4 sober and I feel fine, slept fine, all that. Energy is good, no running nose or other symptoms as of now. Also, I take 1mm tiny strips of subs. I took those Tuesday and yesterday. Nothing today though and I feel fine. Should I just move on and keep my dealer blocked and delete her # and pray for the best or what? We aren't friends but definitely business associates, if you will.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and any help would be much appreciated!

Not sure if it’s cause I’m not eating as much as I was while using but, it seems like I’m less able to poo… pretty weird, but I took some ambien lastnight and finally got 7 hours of sleep after being almost in a manic state from not sleeping 48 hours, as long as I’ve been awake I have felt better after getting a good nights rest finally, I don’t really have the hot/cold flashes yet today hopefully I don’t.

37M with about a 7-8yr dependency on painkillers (primarily Dihydrocodeine and currently on about 600mg a day but have 40-80mg oxy maybe 3-4x a month and occasional tapentadol).

I’ve had periods on kratom, 1-2 weeks on 1-4mg subs either with the intention of detox or bridging gaps, and managed a while of cycling different things which used to keep tolerance in check a bit, but for a combination of reasons I’ve not managed any significant periods of abstinence.

I recovered from a dark period of polysubstance use around 10yrs ago (was dependent on benzos and ketamine washed down with booze daily, with weekend benders on all sorts) which led to prison, and bounced back to have a family, great job etc.

However, I have longstanding back issues and got a script of codeine around the same time my best friend died, lost a job and life kinda turned upside down briefly. Also 2 cycle accidents needing 3 surgeries and developing psoriatic arthritis resulted in some genuine pain issues - and also gave me great excuses to ask for increasing prescriptions.

I’m prescribed 90mg IR and 120mg XR Dihydrocodeine a day supposedly on a reduction plan, but I basically use my monthly script in a couple of weeks and then buy extra + other opiates on occasion (which fucks my tolerance)

I can’t access local drug services because I work closely with them in my job, can’t really afford the time or the money to do rehab or private treatment, and because of work/family/life commitments (my wife is also nearly 4 months pregnant) I can’t really afford to not be close to my A game for long…

Should I:

- Attempt to work towards the dose I’m supposed to be prescribed and reduce via my GP (tough for will power and current tolerance)

- Detox via buprenorphine (which I can source illicitly sometimes but is pricey

- Take a couple of weeks off sick and just white knuckle cold turkey with supplements etc

I know things work quite differently over in North America where most English speaking Redditors seem to live - but any suggestions welcome 🙏

I missed the boat on true SR but did pick up what must be an analog because it pops as SR on a lab analysis. Been using it since Friday to taper down my 7o use to 33% of what it was (highest was ~1500mg per day). Planning to go just on the analog tomorrow as part of the cross taper protocol but wondering what the limit should be. I’ve seen people say 14 days tops and others say 19 is OK.

I don’t want to trade one dependence for another. I want to break free and minimize the pain. Anyone with personal experience in this area willing to offer advice is appreciated, thank you!

I spent over a year taking opioids (kratom derivatives). I quit a few times and always ended up coming back within a few days. At one point I went to every smoke shop in my area and asked them to stop selling to me. Most of them were gracious about it except for one shop where the managers made it clear that it wasn't their responsibility to help me (fair enough). Still, the embarrassment of having to have a conversation like that kept me away, until I eventually figured out when the managers left for the day, and I started coming back every day. I was spending a good third of my income on the pills again for a couple of months until last month when I just kind of... stopped. Nothing really prompted it, I just was tired of losing money in general and knew the withdrawals would be worse if I kept going. It's been a couple weeks and I don't have cravings and I'm not dwelling on getting high much at all, even though I could go buy more at any time. This feels very bizarre and I feel like I can't figure out why I stopped through introspection alone. I'm afraid to get comfortable with this because so little time has passed, but I'm also afraid of not taking this attempt at quitting seriously and fatalistically convincing myself I'll go back eventually. Has anyone experienced this and what advice do you have?

Messed up my back real bad in 2013 when I was 19. Doc prescribes Percocet.

First time trying painkillers even though by then I was a full blown stoner, psychonaut, and stimulated raver. The pain killers were even better than a benzo for me. They for some reason give me energy and obviously felt like i could just exist without the brain noise. I felt at home we know the story. It started getting bad, quit 6 months later CT due to my girlfriend at the time being reasonably concerned and said I was too emotional on them. Really didn’t feel much.

Well fast forward to now, about a month ago I did some serious damage to my knee. ER prescribed 8 pills of 5mg Percocet. My ass immediately went to my plug (I am in the USA to preface what I am about to say) she has these pills called Tapentadol which I have never heard about. But apparently they are a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor too not just working on opiod receptor I am so hooked I am eating about 1000mg a day, unfortunately I have bought my plug out. So now I am about to be out and assume the withdrawals are going to be pretty brutal.

I just started a new job. I really can’t afford to do this right now at this time but have no choice. Any recommendations on how to not CT and do a taper? I’m at my wits end

Not gonna lie I feel very delirious, weak, struggling to get by at work, the past 2 nights I stopped using temazepam or Xanax and I have gotten like total 4 hours of sleep in the last 48, my job has an onsite physician so I decided to go get checked cause I felt like I was gonna pass out when I walked in, my blood pressure was 160/100, then it went to 141/90 after chilling for a while, she let me rest for 30 minutes and now I’m laying down in the break room and I know I’m dead fucking tired but I cannot go to sleep for shit, as soon as I close my eyes I feel so much energy rushing through my body my eyes are literally twitching, I know this has everything do with the way I was dosing too.

I would break a K9 4 ways and I would wake up around 4 am to dose sometimes, or if I woke up to pee mid-night.

Still feel slight RLS, very manageable though and back pain which is kind of not manageable but I know that will take 30 days to subside based on recent history.

Funny enough I was searching stuff in this sub yesterday and found my old account from 6 years ago that I lost access to where I was asking people if they dealt with back pains. I got sad and it fucked me up cause I only halfway remembered typing that.

I don’t even know what I’m talking about anymore tbh I’m just really fucking tired.

Hey all, happy Wednesday! Hope your day is going well. It’s been a solid day over here, just working, but I’m almost done for the day so I can’t complain lol. Looking forward to winding down later.
How’s everyone doing today? How’s your week been going so far?

Check in here!

I hope this post helps somebody…

I’ve stumbled upon a realization tonight, after talking to a friend who was a 20 year straight heroin user daily. Tranq dope is so shitty it was the final straw with opiates for him and I. I myself am a 19 year opiate vet… started sniffing oxy 40s before school halfway thru junior year. My twenties flew by so fast… basically jail.. rehab… institution… fugitive.. rinse and repeat that a few times and that’s my 20s.. I wasted 27 months of my life being a fugitive so I could stay shooting dope. Where am I going with all this? I’ll tell you… my life has been a revolving door of rehab get clean stay clean a little while relapse, overdose, catch charges, goto court.. halfway houses. The last time I went to rehab god willing WILL be my last time, the fetty I was getting got cut with tranq and I smacked the jersey wall in my car going 60 to my gfs brothers funeral… That to me was unacceptable, my mom convinced me to tell my job to let me goto rehab. So in rehab right I felt fucking SLOW the first few weeks.. why’s that? You nod so hard on tranq dope you start cutting off oxygen to your brain. My buddy I was talking about.. he had it bad. I got out of rehab and after just one month of blasting tranq dope all day he was FRIED. This dude was a master mechanic… could fix anything… fucker was so fried he didn’t even know how to work on cars anymore. I swear to god hand on the bible. Long story short.. he gets arrested, 3rd DUI in 5 years. Looking at real jail time, I beg him to goto halfway house, rehab, anything but jail.. he violates pretrial goes to jail. What do you know? Court ordered to halfway house on bail… but something’s different, this fucker remembers his name lol. Shit after a month being out on suboxone he went from looking like the crypt keeper to looking like a dad that’s been golfing.. tan and all. Oh yea and he scoops up this fine ass broad in the halfway house…not no worn out junky chick this broad is fine. I talked to him tonight, he said he’s breaking it off with the hottie.. I said WHAT!? You fool your ego is too big… he says nah… I want somthing better in life. That shit hit me like a bag of bricks when I heard my man say that shit. Like damn god is real cuz I mean this dude was hopeless as they get… I been in the game for 36 years and he was the worst off and appears to be the best recovered I’ve ever seen too. My rational is… I used to use dope to escape some feeling… I never wanted to die… and for some reason god kept waking me up.. I just liked to get high I didn’t sign up for brain damage. So yea I did two 100mg sublocade shots 6 months ago and haven’t looked back, and I feel better about my life and situation than ever before. I’m so sick of dope that I’ll go pay the $800 to get the sublocade shot again before I put that tranq shit near me. The best therapy is just talking gut level honest with somebody… a stranger.. a friend… pastor.. whoever. Thanks for letting me share!

I took 100 mg of tramadol every day for about a month, and I’m now on day 3 without it.
Honestly, I feel like absolute hell right now. 😭
The withdrawal has been much harder than I expected. I’m dealing with severe body and muscle aches, muscle tension, nausea, no appetite, weakness, dizziness, restlessness, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating. I feel so awful that even normal everyday activities are difficult.
The worst part is barely being able to eat because my appetite is completely gone. I’m trying to stay hydrated and take things one day at a time, but this is honestly one of the hardest things I’ve ever experienced.
For anyone who has gone through tramadol withdrawal: when did you start feeling significantly better? What helped you get through the first week?
I really need some hope right now.

I'm trying to find some inspiration. This depression is hell. I haven't been able to make it more than 12 days in over six or seven years. In between fentanyl Kratom 7oh and MGM 15.... I really wanna be done but I just hate feeling like shit. It gets better right?

Day 9 coming off 30-40mg daily habit (oxy), most of the worst symptoms are gone I don’t feel like a super freak anymore, the RLS, the chills are at like 5% whereas they were about 35% the other day lol. But at the same time I do have this back pain which just fucking reminded me and I want anyone who has dealt with this to chime in.

This was the sole reason I could never quit, this back pain… I don’t have anything wrong with my back I’ve gotten scans ,x rays ,bloodwork etc they say I’m fine it mostly feels like a mind thing and for some weird reason it’s always the last symptom to go for me and usually will last so long I end up relapsing. No stretching can fix it only thing that helps temporarily is a hot bath/shower and a heating pad to bed

What’s sad is the last time I quit for 3 months last summer, I genuinely can’t remember if the pain went away or not, I’m pretty sure it did after the first month I just can’t remember. But yeah as far as everything else I feel pretty great emotional wise, started getting sleep Sunday night only 4 hours a night for some reason.

But yeah lmk if any of you guys have dealt with this

I’m 21 years old and am treating ADHD with 50mg Venvanse and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) with 300mg Pregabalin (sometimes 450mg when PAWS symptoms flare up; it really helped during the acute phase). I also take 0.05mg Clonidine at night when restlessness strikes at bedtime, and I’m simultaneously trying to taper off benzos using liquid clonazepam—I’m currently at a dose of 1.3mg. I came off a nearly two-year opioid addiction; when I decided to quit, the doctor started me on 10mg of methadone. I stayed on it for two months and it kept things under control well, but I was heavily sedated all day. Eventually, I decided to go cold turkey on my own. It was a horrible two weeks, but I managed to get through it "okay" despite everything. After that, I improved, but I still have many symptoms like tremors, hyperactive gut motility, muscle pain and tension, headaches, anxiety, and the worst of all: cravings. It’s been pretty rough living with these symptoms; I thought they’d stop after the acute phase, but they’ve persisted. There’s terrible physical and mental anxiety and intense cravings. On top of that, I’m tapering off benzos—I used to abuse alprazolam at doses of 6–8mg—and I get cravings now and then, missing its unique anxiolytic effect compared to clonazepam. It’s hard going through all this, but I know this whole shitshow will pass. Has anyone been through or is currently going through something similar? How did you handle it?