Comments on: Why We Don’t Get Better Immediately: Post-acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS)

By: I was spiritual when I was drinking and drugging, why not now?

I was spiritual when I was drinking and drugging, why not now? — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:39:07 +0000

[...] also have post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS) to deal with. Those issues can range from an inability to sit still and think about much of [...]

By: Bill

Bill — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 04:06:56 +0000

Hi Justin,

Congrats on your four months. One speed freak to another, I know how you feel. That Superman feeling is hard to give up. Most of your PAWS is likely due to the Suboxone, which has a pretty long withdrawal syndrome, but the uppers haven’t helped. The good news is that it does get better.

Do hang on the sobriety. I guarantee it will get worse the next time around, and then you’ll have to do all the PAWS again anyway. Resist the temptation to take “just a taste.” It will set you back much farther than you’d think.

Please stay in touch, and

Keep on keepin’ on!

Bill

By: Justin

Justin — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 01:25:01 +0000

thank you so much for this information, I am 4 months clean now from a number of different things, suboxone, methamphetamine, mpvd, adderall, and just about anything else. I used suboxone as a maintenance drug for all the pills and heroin i was using. for the past month or so I have been thinking something was medically wrong with me because it wasn’t getting any better Its good to know what the problem actually is. Im just trying to have faith that it will get better, I remember being so capable on all those drugs, smart and creative. Now I just feel stupid. . I do think I will hang on to my sobriety, because as bad as it can get now, it is nowhere close to as bad as it got then. Thank you

By: Bill

Bill — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 01:17:32 +0000

Dear Bobbi,

I am SO sorry that I missed this comment! Somehow it got into the “pending” file, and I overlooked it because I don’t believe in “pending,” preferring to answer posts immediately. My apologies.

The benzodiazepines (Klonipin/clonazepam) can make a real mess. In some respects they’re more dangerous than heroin. They have a longer PAWS period, as a rule, and can cause fatal complications during withdrawal. You’re fortunate to have been able to get off them without serious consequences. It’s really scandalous how physicians fail to understand the dangers of these drugs. (It’s also a testimony to the effectiveness with which they are marketed to doctors.)

Tramadol is a synthetic opioid drug that affects the body similar to other opioids such as heroin and oxycodone. It is highly addictive, tolerance increases rapidly, and reactions with other depressant drugs are possible and often severe. Your doctor was wise not to increase your dosage, but would have done better to get you into a medical detox facility so that you could get all the drugs out of your system at once with monitoring by addiction professionals. If you are still taking any of the drugs you mentioned, I strongly suggest a medical detox to get off them completely, as withdrawal can be problematic for a person your (and my) age. Your brain will not begin to recover to a normal state as long as you have mood-altering drugs in your system. (I am not referring to antidepressants. They are different drugs that act differently from those you have been taking.)

If you have further comments or questions, please write. I promise to get to you sooner next time.

Again, my apologies.

Happy New Year!

Bill

By: Bill

Bill — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 00:58:31 +0000

Congratulations on your 50 days, Adam. I thought the same thing when I got sober, and in fact I was pretty lucky to have so much support that it made things easier than they might have been. In retrospect, however, I realize that I was a long way from “normal” for a long time, and did some pretty bizarre things that seemed perfectly reasonable at the time. I was fortunate, in that I was in really good physical shape for a 45-year-old drunk. I’m sure that helped a lot, and walking miles on the beach every day and a lot of swimming helped, too. Still, I don’t claim to have been really sober for at least the first couple of years. Clean, yes.

I can’t overemphasize the importance of diet and exercise. They are as important to physical recovery as AA and the steps are to emotional and spiritual sobriety.

Please stay in touch, and

Keep on keepin’ on! Oh yes…and Happy New Year!

Bill

By: adammcdonald98Adam

adammcdonald98Adam — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 15:34:28 +0000

Thank you so much for this post. I am 49 days sober marching forward to the 90 days and 90 meetings with AA. After 30 years of hard drinking, I just assumed that everything would continually improve from day to day of not drinking – instead, I am challenged with mental and emotional behavior that I have never experienced before. It makes me feel a tad insane. But 2 days ago a friend brought me a partial article on PAWS. Man have my eyes been opened. Having the knowledge regarding what I may experience over the next year or two is a great advantage for my recovery. Thank you!

By: PAWS and the waiting game - Methadone Treatment Clinics

PAWS and the waiting game - Methadone Treatment Clinics — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 22:51:15 +0000

[...] "natural" things that also might help PAWS symptoms and I came across this page – http://whatmesober.com/personal-writing-about-addiction-and-recovery/early-recovery/paws/ [...]

By: Sebastian

Sebastian — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 05:47:07 +0000

I was addicted to Crystal Meth for a solid six months – That may not sound like much, but it only takes a little to hurt you. At the time it seemed like fun and just something to do but it was so much more then that. It consumed my entire life and turned me into someone/something I didn’t want to be. I would look at myself in the mirror and just hate the person looking back at me with every fiber of my being. I knew I needed to quit but I just couldn’t deal with the withdrawals. I reached my peak of use on October 27th of this year. I was celebrating my birthday with a few buddies and what went from a round of use turned into a 13 hour binge. It ended with me lying on the couch for the next 48 hours writhing in pain. I felt like my body was contorted; my heart was racing, everything looked off-balance, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, and I literally felt like I was dying. And that was the last time I used. I’ve been clean ever since and it has been rough. A couple weeks after that PAWS started setting in and it has been hellish to say the least. I have my good days and my miserable ones, but I just keep looking at the future and remembering it will get better. And to top this all off… I’m only 19.

By: bobbi

bobbi — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 16:24:02 +0000

Bill, I started using pills when I was 22. I am about to turn 70 and I have battled this problem for nearly 50 years . I came into AA in 1974 and haven’t had a drink since. But the old pills have kept me from completle soberity. I learned abour PAWS ten years ago, my doctor who was also had 20 years sobriety put me on an antidepressent (my first time) and Gabapantine. I have taken the Gaba 300mgs 3-4 a day since. But I haven’t followed all the other things i knew i needed to do. I just when through a very bad experince. My doctor put me on ambien to help with the withdrawls, and when that made me crazy, he put me on Klonipin (same exact poison!) It’s only by the grace of God that i didn’t kill myself oe someone else. I mean, that stuff really made me CRAZY! I can not tell you how much it has meant to me to see and read what you have written about PAWS. It’s never to late to apply what you were taught nearly 40 years ago but didn’t use. Today is my first day of trying again. I plan to read your column everyday for as long as it takes to get this in my head. I already know I’m in for some rough days (months, years…if I live that long) but I feel I’ve finally reached my bottom. My hubby of 41 years was so worried and upset with the Ambien and Klonipin and I can’t do that to him anymore. (Although I know this is all being done for me first.) I might add that my pill of choice for the past 5 years has been Tramidol, and with the Gaba I’ve been able to control it and not go over the edge. But I kept needing more, my doctor wouldn’t allow me more than 6 a day and I had worked myself up to 15-20 a day. That’s when I knew I had to stop…then took the crazy pills, and now hopefully I’ve got all that worked out once again. Some times I’ve been a very slow learner. Thank you, thank you for the good work that you are doing. Already you have been such a blessing, and my God continue to use you to help others with these horrid diseases.
Bobbi (please no last name)

By: Bigvai

Bigvai — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 10:42:30 +0000

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