Expert: Gareth Stubbs - 4/29/2009

Question
Hello, my name is Angie..I want to know how long does it hurt, when you are detoxing at home.  My girlfriend and i went cold turkey last month and lasted four and a half days.  The pain was so bad. I had so much pain in my stomach and legs. We caved in just to be out of pain. We both are prescribed clonidine for high blood pressure. The research I did say that clonidine is given in rehab to help. I did take some edge off for my girlfriend. But it didn't give me relief. I am so discouraged. I have beaten addition from cocaine. I started doing heroin in Jan of this year. I am overwhelmed because MY BODY, not me has to have this crap in order for me to get up and have a "normal" day. I mean w/out pain. I don't know what to do. I have thought about getting on methadone to help me kick this but i hear that it is more hard to get off of that than heroin.  I can't live like this. I have no ins to go to a rehab. And would rehad keep me out of pain? Or at least comfortable? I can't do this, keep on needing something in me to live life.  I snort and will not and have not ever used by shooting. I don't want this life anymore. I want to be drug free. I take so many prescribed meds as it is I don't want this anymore. Please help guide me to the best way to detox.  Thank you

Answer
Hey Angie,

First of all, congratulations to both of you for taking this step - it shows a lot of determination and that fact that you have beaten an addiction before shows that you know the tools that you need to get through the next step, so well done. Thank you also because it also reminds me of what I went through and I think that that is a good thing for all of us.

I can give you a few suggestions that got me through it - first of all, the good news is that the period of physical withdrawal actually only last between 4 and 6 days, and as you may have noticed, around about the 3rd and 4th day, it does get pretty intense and this could be the reason why the doctor has given you the meds that he has. Make sure you drink as much water as you can - this clears the toxins out of your body and if you do need to throw up, at least there is water rather than bile - I know that sounds crude, but it is the truth - so many people just grin and bear it and then something like that happens and it makes them feel worse. The water also keeps you hydrated which is a good thing because the heroin gets into your muscles, which will explain the physical pain - your body now is getting every last inch of what stuff it has in it, so drinking water washes it out more.

Also try and walk as much as you can - excercise keeps the muscle from cramping and combined with the water, really helps gets rid of the toxins floating around. When the pain does get too bad, have a shower or bath - preferably a cool one rather than a hot one. This will also ease the muscle pain and physical pain.

Probably the biggest factor to fight is the mind. We have all read about how difficult it is to give up drugs, how bad the statistics are and so on. Our minds then know this and try and play "tricks" on us by making it OK not to succeed in what we are trying to do. Ask yourself why you want to stop - what does it mean to you ? How is life going to be if you carry on this way, if you survive it at all really. When you find a reason why you want to stop and actually make a decision to commit to that, the mind does some powerful things and this is often a point that a lot of people miss, and therefore miss out on recovery. Focus on how you imagine your life to be without using, the freedom that it will give you, how healthy you will be, how you will be able to have fun with friends and family, how you will have so much more energy and vitality. Keeping your end result in mind will help you get through the tough times.

Also talking to people who have done it before helps a huge deal. Attending NA meetings or finding forums like this are a great way of knowing that you are not alone, and that there are people out there willing to help you along the way. Also identifying why you started the drug use and addressing that situation makes it easier as well because you get rid of both the habit and the root cause at the same time.

These are probably some of the most important starting steps for you so hopefully they have given you some idea of what to do. As I said, you have done this before so you know what is required to get through this, and even though heroin is a different drug, it is, after all, just another drug and you have managed to do this before and I have faith that you will get through this one. Doing it with a friend is also a great way, but you also need to understand that you both have the choice whether you will or will not stop and one cannot hold back the other if you know what I mean ?

Let me know how you get on, and if you need any info or even just someone to talk to, I am always here to listen and offer advice if needed.

Gareth