AboutJacqui Expertise Harm reduction (is it a dirty word in America??) - ie: needle and syringe programs, prevention of blood borne viruses such as HIV and hepatitis C, questions about dependency on opiates and other substances. Questions about treatment (particulary methadone and buprenorphine).
Experience Manage a primary health service for people who inject drugs, and have worked at that centre for 6.5 years
Organizations Registered as a provisional psychology with the Victorian Psychologists registration board (this is for psychologists working under supervision or currently studying a masters). Much of my experience is related to my work rather than to my studies
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Arts (Humanities), Bachelor of Psychology with Honours,
currently studying a masters of clinical psychology, completed one half of a graduate certificate in Addiction studies (transferred to psychology as it had better career prospects) - lots and lots of short training courses.
Awards and Honors Presented at international conferences (Harm Reduction Conference in Thailand and Melbourne)
Question I have been addicted to opiates off and on for 6 years. i am on week 2 today of cold turkey and still having cramps and Diarea. Is this normal? when will i feel better. I was on 8-10 10 mg percosets a day
Answer Hey John,
People can have different responses from opiate withdrawal and it does not seem overly unusual that you are into week two and still having symptoms. One thing to consider is that many of the prescribed opiates for pain management are slow release or long acting, meaning that there is potential for the withdrawal effects to last longer.
It seems that you are doing really well and I can't see it getting any worse. Opiate withdrawal is unfortunately one of those things that you need to tolerate, and it will be over - it is just a matter of hanging out (sorry for the pun) until it finishes.
It is really important that you make sure that you keep your fluids and food intake up at the moment as diarrhoea can cause dehydration. There are some fluid replacement products that you can buy from a pharmacy, which are made for travellers who get stomach ailments from food, that will keep your electrolyte and fluid levels up. You may not feel overly hungry, but it is important to keep your vitamin intake up - vegetable soup is a miracle! As far as the cramps go, warm baths can help.
The other thing to consider is that withdrawal can be psychologically challening. For example you might be thinking "bloody hell! baths and fluids - what a load of bull!" The only instant fix for opiate withdrawal is more opiates and if you are keen to not do this, you just need to ride it out. Drawing on the support of family and friends at this point (only ones that won't judge you!) is great.
Once you get to the three week mark things should settle. However, the one thing that tends to carry over for some time is difficulty sleeping. The quickest fix for this is sleeping tablets, but they are also addictive, so if you must use them, use them only occasionally. There are lots of good sleep tips that can help you get your sleep patterns back to normal - a quick internet search on "sleep hygeine" will probably help with this.
I hope that this is helpful. Hang in there and whatever you do, do it safely!!
