Do Not Let the Fear of Opiate Withdrawal Stop You!
The media and movies have sensationalized the effects of coming off drugs to such an extent, that you would be crazy to want to go through that willingly. Known by many different names, detoxing, withdrawal, dope sick, booge, heebie jeebies, it has been promoted as pure agony, and I’m here to tell you it is not that big of a deal, seriously, the flu is worse. As a former junkie (over ten years using heroin and other opiates), I will tell you the truth about what really happens. I have kicked in just about every atmosphere you can imagine. I have done it at home alone, and with other users, in hospitals, in jails, living in the street, and while pregnant. I have come off $400 a day habits and small $40 a day habits. I am still alive; you cannot die from opiate detox! It may seem like you want to, but the actual detoxifying of your body will not kill you.
The first day of detoxifying is not that bad, the anticipation of being sick is worse than the actual symptoms. You may feel nauseous, you probably will not want to eat, and you will have diarrhea, you will NOT be shaking, rocking, and sweating like in the movies, unless you choose to be a drama queen/king and milk it for all it is worth. There are some medications available to soothe your stomach; an excellent home remedy is chocolate. The chocolate takes away the stomach problems for a while and you can get it cheap and just about everywhere, even jail.
The second day, you may have a horrible taste in your mouth, no amount of brushing is going to help, but the chocolate does help this symptom also. Your skin will be uncomfortable, and you will not want to be touched. Some think soaking in water or showering helps, I personally preferred to just lie down and to move as little as possible. You may feel a need to yawn, and I mean yawn hard, yawning so hard your face hurts. You will have some sniffles and running nose, and sometimes you can sneeze repeatedly for 5 minutes. It will be hard to sleep and uncomfortable, but it is not much worse than the aches and pains of the flu. At this point, the worst of it is over.
The third day, you feel better, not perfect, but a lot better, your symptoms will go away slowly and your mind will begin to clear up. The hard part is staying away from the drugs. If you are lucky enough to detox while in jail, it is much easier. You simply resign yourself that you are not getting any more and deal with it, because nobody in jail is going to care how sick you are. Then there are addicts that go through this whole process just to start using again, thinking that their habit will now be smaller only to find out that they’ll be back to the same use and more with in days.
See it wasn't so bad
You Can Do It!
When you make the decision to stop using, it is helpful to have a support system, but not necessary. Do not however, put off getting clean because you are scared of the sickness, I went through it hundreds of times, literally, sometimes on purpose, sometimes I was forced, but every time I was just fine and you will be too. While working in a treatment center I asked some of my clients, "Did the fear of getting sick, stop you from relapsing?" They ALL said no! The last time I had to kick was over 7 years ago. Today I am ok, and living a “normal” life. Not exactly normal, but without drugs, just for today.
