Pain Medication Withdrawal Symptoms
Without adequate preparation or support, coming off pain pills can be too excruciating to bear, and can even be life-threatening.
The following withdrawal symptoms are common to opioids and some non-opioid-based analgesic medications. Drugs such as anticonvulsants, muscle relaxants, antidepressants, and even benzodiazepines are sometimes prescribed to alleviate pain. In general, the initial effects of a drug become reversed and heightened during withdrawal. For example, sedation may be replaced by anxiety and sleeplessness. Pain relief may be replaced by increased levels of pain. Muscle relaxation may be replaced by muscle spasms. Pain medication withdrawal symptoms are typically much more severe when the cessation is abrupt. 1-6
Pain medication withdrawal symptoms may include:
- Seizures
- Hallucination
- Perceptual changes
- Psychosis
- Mania
- Muscle cramping, abdominal cramping, leg cramps, jerkiness
- Tremors, muscle twitching
- Sensory disturbances, tingling, burning
- Electrical “zaps”, shock-like sensations
- Flu-like symptoms
- Nausea, dry heaves
- Sweating
- Anxiety, panic attacks
- Irritability, agitation, aggression
- Inability to focus or concentrate
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Chills
- Goosebumps
- Restless legs
- Joint pain, stiffness
- Back pain
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Insomnia, vivid dreams
Managing Pain — Healing from Pain
Healing from pain might entail multiple layers of various therapeutic approaches and well-planned strategies that address a person’s unique type(s) and intensities of pain. Pain can be physical, emotional, spiritual. Where a person’s injury or maybe a surgery has caused pain, medication would be prescribed to ease the temporary discomfort and would have brought welcomed and necessary relief. The pain might have subsided after days or weeks as the injury healed, and the medication could be stopped without great discomfort.
However, perhaps the pain became chronic or worsened with some debilitating condition or deterioration. In opioids, as in all drugs, there is a point where the drugs stop working so well, or at all unless the dosage is increased. There can be health consequences if the dosage is increased too much. There are reasons for these phenomena. Understanding these mechanics more completely, and preparing for their outcome on health, can help to prevent further problems such as over-medication, accidental overdose, relapse, and continued suffering despite being medicated.
Some chronic pain patients may not be able to completely come off pain medication entirely. It would be arguably called cruel to cause another human being to suffer through their pain with no assistance or mitigation whatsoever. But for the vast majority of persons taking pain medication, there may be non-pharmacological ways to not only reduce the medication safely and somewhat comfortably but to also reduce the severity of pain and discomfort so that medications are no longer needed in such great volume or perhaps become not at all necessary.7
Pain Pills and Addiction
Addictive pain pills procured on the street act in similar ways to what a doctor prescribes. Due to factors of tolerance and neuroplasticity, pain medications eventually lose their ability to stop the pain. As a result, the person will begin to need a higher or more frequent dose to attain the same effect, which becomes harder and harder to achieve. Where opioids have become habitually used for their euphoric effects, these also eventually become unable to provide a euphoric effect. The person will begin to suffer withdrawals which are painful and will need to continue taking the drug just to avoid the pains of withdrawal. This is sometimes called “dope sickness.” If the person stops using the drug, the sheer intensity of withdrawals will continue to aggressively drive the addiction. A person who has fallen into the addiction trap very often requires help and assistance to overcome these mechanics.
Any of the aforementioned intense reactions to pain medication withdrawal would be hard to bear, but the multiplicity of symptoms makes the condition nearly impossible to withstand. You don’t have to suffer, and you don’t have to resort to relapse or substitute drugs to alleviate these problems. We can help. Alternative to Meds Center uses a comprehensive set of pain reduction protocols that are designed to assist with a comfortable pain medication withdrawal experience.
About Orthomolecular Treatment at Alternative to Meds Center
Immediately upon arriving for treatment, one crucial beginning step is to identify what supplements are needed to benefit the healing process. Using non-pharmacological and plant-based, non-addictive nutritional elements provides the body with what it needs to begin to normalize healthy neurochemistry after the chaos and disruption of addiction. At the completion of inpatient treatment, clients can purchase a supplement protocol to continue to support the healing process once they return home. During the program, classes are given to explain the essential functions of nutrition, especially in recovery. Clients also learn how to use food and a clean diet to support a healthy microbiome, which is integral but often overlooked when neurotransmitter repair is the goal.8
The intestines are called “the second brain.” Intestinal health is vital for healthy and robust neurotransmitter function since the gut produces most of the hormones used by the brain and CNS. Addiction disrupts and hijacks the regular roles of hormones and can result in dysfunctional brain chemistry, and a polluted body. There are many treatments during the program that assist these undesirable conditions, such as colon hydrotherapy, low-temperature sauna, chelation, cultured foods at every meal, mineral baths, bentonite clay packs, nutrient-dense diet, and more.9
Toxin removal is another essential protocol to ensure the gut is functioning efficiently, enabling the absorption of nutrients fully. A holistic detox program is another key component of recovery at Alternative to Meds Center.10
Holistic pain management is another critical element of the program. The client receives medical oversight and gradually tapers off their medications. Throughout the process, clients benefit from acupuncture, Reiki, therapeutic massage, craniosacral massage, yoga, spa treatments, and more, to assuage physical pain during opiate withdrawal. Counseling provides a vehicle for emotional healing and the release of emotional and spiritual distress. Life coaching enables a resident to begin to restructure and fill their life with meaningful changes and plans for the future.
Contact Alternative to Meds Center for More Information
We have created what we believe to be the most comprehensive pain medication withdrawal program available anywhere, offering a vast array of holistic, therapeutic strategies for recovery and relief. Many of our dedicated staff have also suffered and recovered from similar conditions and circumstances as yours.
We are always available to speak with you, to give you more detailed information on the various phases of our programs, length of stay, costs, and other information. Often, a person may have taken not just one medication for pain, but additional medications may have been added to control ongoing or new symptoms. This is a specialty at Alternative to Meds. A program will be individually designed for the safest, most comfortable withdrawal experience possible, all under medical supervision.
If you wish, we can also inquire about private insurance coverage on your behalf which may cover a significant portion of the fees. Call us today and find out how we can assist you or your loved one with healing and help find true, lasting relief from pain medication withdrawal symptoms.
