Hi
Has anyone tried going off of all of your medication completely and effectively detoxing your body?
What were the results on your pain and general well-being without drugs?
My Husband would like me to go down this route and try it but I'm extremely reluctant as I'm in extreme pain and at severe Fibro stage.
Interested to hear your stories.
Thx
Jo
I just came off of the Tramadol I've been on for the last two years. I'm actually feeling a lot better and clear headed. The improvement might also be due to the fact that I stopped eating gluten, but I know for sure that Tramadol was causing me a lot of problems. I think medication-free is the way to go in terms of treating Fibromyalgia. It seems that Fibro patients get the worst of the side effects from most all medications. There are many natural remedies you can use to treat it. The medications that are out there for Fibro may take the pain away, but they will not take away the endless list of other symptoms that Fibromyalgia can cause, and they will by no means "fix" you or make your Fibromyalgia go away forever. I think it's better to work through the pain and find natural things that will help you function, as opposed to pharmaceutical drugs.
Thanks for posting this. I'm in no way prejudiced against meds for pain or anything else. I do think we need to take a realistic look at how much they can benefit us, or not. Personally I've been very disappointed in the way my nervous system shuts out opioids. I was telling Sheila how they almost have to be pulsed in order to work at all, in my experience. Scientists have been working on ways to keep this tolerance from developing.
Others may have had better luck managing this than I have??
I wouldn’t recommend it if you have severe pain. You would crash and end up in the hospital.But if you have minor pain and think that is the way to go -well more power to you…I know doctors do over medicate Fibromyalgia patients because its a complicated disorder.At on point I was on ten meds. Now only one and that’s a pain Med .
I wouldn't suggest trying this while in a severe stage.. and I wouldn't try it without medical supervision either. some meds you need to be weaned off of or you can cause complications- and that's not just the pain meds, other meds need to be titrated down as well.
If you are going to try to go off of the meds be sure and do it with doctor supervision. I tried to go off of one of my medicines to go try something new that came out. I got so adjitated(sp), restless, I was not sleeping, and my pain was to the level it was causing me to throw up. The doctor decided to keep me on that medicine instead of trying the new one. I take 8 different things at night now, but I am at a point where I developed a tolerance to the drug that was supposed to help me sleep. I have not had a decent night sleep in about a month. The doctor switched me to something new this week but I am still not sleeping. Medicines--Can't live with them--Can't live without them.
I did this when I ran out of meds and couldn't afford to refill them for awhile. I was in severe pain - it was awful. I don't think this is a good idea unless you're medically supervised. One of the meds I went off was my antidepressant. I had hot flashes, cold sweats, and was very irritable and depressed until I went back on it. Does your husband have a medical background? Just wondering. If not make sure you check with your doctor.
Hi I stopped all the medicines 1 year ago.......
It has not been easy. I try to live one day at a time.
The medicines left many negative side effects, but I have made it without them.
I use lots of prayer, meditation, visualization, but prayer God , Our Lady, angels are the key for me.
I live one day at a time. I also apply lots of pressure of what I call "pain bumps" I count up to 10 sometimes up to 20....and then let go.
One of my main concerns is the extra weight I gained and the impact it has made on my mobility and I have not been able to control that or lose the weight I gained 30-35 pounds.
But If I am in a lot of pain I take tylenol, excedrin, motrin.........over the counter medicines but pm
Try to keep my mind busy all the time, I started my own Etsy store selling religious medals, items.......
I work from bed, and when I can I do daily activities......I go out twice a week just to do groceries, and to the post office..........but always try to keep my mind and spirit close to God.
I also try vitamins, valerian root for sleeping and in desperate situations when I have not slept for 4-5 days I take clonazepan.........than is the only medicine I take once in a while. I prefer Tylenol pm, advil pm.....over the counter medicines or natural sleeping aids.
It was not easy no quit, the first weeks were very hard because you create a codependency on them. But I refuse to have my mind in a zombie stage all the time. I have a husband and a 12 year old that need me in mind, soul, spirit and help me with my physical limitations. God Bless them for tat!They are not here all the time because my husband needs to work and my son goes to school, but they understand my situation. They are not perfect but nobody is!
God has blessed me with both of them!
I would say that if you want to give it a try consult your doctor.........and ask for guidance. My doctor advise me not to get off them but I just could not take it anymore.....It is risky to stop them, SO PLEASE CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR! What really trigger this was when one day I took my son to school and I did not know the way to get home, I was so confused. I have to take care of him and that was my main concern.
So no matter what religious denomination you are just have faith, hope and believe that tomorrow will be another day, a better day hopefully, and live one day at a time.
God Bless you all!
Alex
Hi Jo, I'm on morphine too for various conditions, and I have had times that I wanted to just go off annd detox to see how much pain was medicine related, and after I was all detoxed, the pain was much worse. Silly me, how could I forget why I was put on the medicine in the first place? I wonder if any of your 10 meds are interacting to make worse symptoms for you. I know that the fewer meds I'm on, the better I feel. I use a lot of natural stuff, because I react to chemicals in prescriptions so badly.I have severe Fibro too. I'm sure sorry your husband doesn't seem to understand why you need the meds. The doctors do not give out morphine easily. It has to be something so serious that you might die from the side-effects of the pain. My heart was stopping on me due to my pain, so the morphine was to save my life. I was unable to move when I detoxed, just laid still and cried the whole time, then started taking the meds again. It can actually be deadly to detox from 10 meds all at once. I wouldn't try it that way.
Kind thoughts, Shela
I have not, but will do in a few years when I am done with school and before starting a new job. The way I want to do it is find out exactly which vitamins to take, including homeopathy pills for about 6 months (while taking meds) and then follow doctors instructions to slowly stop taking meds. ANd then just continue he natural things. A suggestion I am sharing with you.
Also, I read that Kombucah tea is good for fibro. Look it up. I just started brewing mine and will see if it works.
Good luck
Hi I stopped Cymbalta 600mg per day,
and Lyrica 1500mg per day, At some point they also gave me Ambien, tried Xanax, Ciclobenzaprine, Tramadol......
I then refused to take the others, it was like a "Fibro cocktail" more and more medicines, one for this one for that....
Mainly I ended just taking the Cymbalta and the Lyrica and the combination did not work for me and caused effects that at the present I am still dealing with them. I do not take them any more, it has been over 1 year. The Doctor told me not to stop them just like that.....because it could be dangerous..........but I did.
I DID IT, BUT I WILL NOT RECOMMEND IT WITHOUT BEING SUPERVISED BY YOUR DOCTOR.
YOU SHOULD CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR AND ASK.....
In my case the Fibro had and has spread all over the body.......severe case.
Yes the pain is BAD.........but I refuse to be in a zombie stage..........the side effects were to bad for me.
I work from home and I can go days straight working from home, and sometimes from my own bed......
I try to at least walk in the house.......but only go out twice a week.
When I feel sleepy I sleep no matter at what time.......
It was NOT EASY! one of the hardest things I had to do.
When the pain is so Bad I try to focus my mind on doing something related to work.......I pray.......
I do cry and suffer because It has even affected my face, ear..........the pain is different everyday and it is all over.
I do have good days and when that happens I try to do all the stuff I use to do......but that also has side effects because then I feel like if I had been ran over a train.
Melatonin did not work for me.......Excedrin pm works for a while then I take Tylenol pm, or Advil pm......motrin pm......all the pm I can find over the counter. But I do not take them daily.
I do take natural water pills, since I do retain lots of fluids, and since I have severe anemia a rare kind I have to chew ice all day long, plus it helps with my mouth pain "spots".........I take iron with folic acid for the anemia.
I only sleep few hours per day and I can go on for 3-5 days without sleeping then I take the clonazepan 8mg but that will be once or twice a month I do not want to get addicted to it.
I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL, I have been there......have you tried any alternative homeopathic remedies/medicines?
Please do some research and always consult your physician.
God Bless,
Alex
Hi
I recently detoxed from all meds. I spent a week in the hospital and another week feeling like I was going to die. The good news is I feel so much better now. My pain has not gotten any worse and after about a month I was sleeping 8+ hours a night.
I strongly suggest you detox under a doctors supervision or in a hospital. It can be very dangerous to do at home. During my detox I had a seizure and dont know what the outcome would have been if I wasnt in a hospital.
To help keep me free of drugs I am in an outpatient rehab and attend appropriate meetings. It may not be for everyone or even necessary, but I could not be doing this without the help of others who understand. I would be happy to share my experience with anyone who is interested.
Hugs,
Maria
I've gone the route of stopping all of my medications. I was on several including, clonazepam, tryptan, starnoc, toradol, mobicox and Lyrica and others. I gained 40 pounds, had vertigo, vomited daily, extreme nausea, migraine, constant diarrhea, major brain fog, sleeplessness and pain. In Dec of 2010 I was vomiting so badly my husband called an ambulance and took me to emerg. The doctor there did bloodwork, an MRI and said there was nothing wrong with me. After a dose of intravenous gravol and Demerol they sent me home. Continued use of the medications kept the symptoms really bad. Over the last 1 and ½ years, I have gone off of all meds except Zopiclone 5mg at night to help me stay asleep. I take 2.5 at bed and another 2.5 mid-night when I wake up. My doctors felt that this dose was too low to actually do any good but, as it turns out, it’s all I can tolerate. Today, I still have pain but it is manageable with exercise, yoga, mindfulness meditation, warm pool exercises and a nap in the afternoon. I sleep about 10-12 hours a day. Anything less and the pain is too much to handle. I don’t drink coffee or any sodas, I try to stay away from all processed foods, that means, no fast food or anything in a box, can, bag or bottle! I also purchase all organic produce and goat dairy. We have also moved out of the city and onto a farm where I can get out every day in the fresh air, without pollution, traffic noise or stressors. I do find that I need to distract myself with reading or something to take my mind off of the fibro otherwise I dwell on it. This has been such a HUGE lifestyle change for me and my husband. Now that I am off all of the meds, my tolerance to any drugs or even vitamins has increased to the point that I can’t take a Tylenol for a headache. I do feel that I can now manage my symptoms on my own but I still have to be very careful to plan my days accordingly. If you do decide to stop meds be sure to research how to withdraw very carefully. I found a lack of support from my doctors, pharmacist and not much useful on the web. In the end, I stopped one at a time over a course of 4-6 weeks for each med. In some cases the withdrawal was as bad as the worse side effects I had. The long-term results for me have been worth it, my husband says it’s nice to have his wife back! I can actually hold a reasonably intelligent conversation now and we can get away for a weekend without my crashing for weeks afterward! Just take it slow and steady. Best of luck!
Hi Jo - I had to wean off f Cymbalta because it changed my personality (I just didn’t care about anyone or anything). I irreparably hurt several family relationships. I am so thankful to be off of it but did so gradually. It took 9 months after the last pill before I was completely free of it. None of the fibro meds have worked for me or my daughter who also has FMS. However, I have had both seizures and hypertensive episodes when I have not controlled the pain medically. Meditation, biofeedback both help me decrease my awareness of the pain but my body still reacts even though I don’t perceive the pain. So, bottom line, I would suggest that you and your husband talk to your best, most responsive doctor together so he can voice his concerns. I would also talk with your pharmacist together to see if some symptoms are side effects. Your husbands concerns may be very valid. Are there other family members who can verify or disagree with his concerns? Personally, I had no idea that I was having personality changes. My first reaction to other’s concerns was to be defensive. I’m glad to be over that. Peg
Hello… I strongly recommend working with your dr to go off the meds. It may take a year to do it safely. I spent a year doing this so I could try to get pregnant.
My grand mother died from stopping her meds suddenly, and I don’t want this to happen to you. Please work with your dr if you decide to give this a try.
Heat therapy helps me with the pain. I really don’t have much pain anymore except near my menstrual cycle. I sleep on a full body mat every night and the heat penetrates to my muscles. If anyone wants to know more about it just ask. It’s not a heating pad because those only heat the surface of the skin. I went from almost going on disability at age 27 and hospitalized from the fibromyalgia to being able to work 40 hours a week and travel tothe city for my job ever since I got my mat. I started noticing a change after about two weeks of sleeping on it. Plus Its FDA approved which makes me cery happy. I’m on a super low dose of cymbalta 30mg. Been on it Since november. And the mat helps me sleep at night. wishing you all some ease with your pain. Xoxo
Laura
Could I get more info on the mat?
TanoChicago said:
Heat therapy helps me with the pain. I really don’t have much pain anymore except near my menstrual cycle. I sleep on a full body mat every night and the heat penetrates to my muscles. If anyone wants to know more about it just ask. It’s not a heating pad because those only heat the surface of the skin. I went from almost going on disability at age 27 and hospitalized from the fibromyalgia to being able to work 40 hours a week and travel tothe city for my job ever since I got my mat. I started noticing a change after about two weeks of sleeping on it. Plus Its FDA approved which makes me cery happy. I’m on a super low dose of cymbalta 30mg. Been on it Since november. And the mat helps me sleep at night. wishing you all some ease with your pain. Xoxo
Laura
Not sure what meds you are on, or dosages, but as so many have pointed out, PLEASE do not do this w/o medical supervision!!! Most meds do need to be tapered. And is your husband prepared to help get you thru this potentially horrible time should you go this route?? There are some possible alternative meds and homeopathic remedies that have been effective for some individuals. See if there is an integrative medicine doctor in your area or someone familiar with alternatives or even a D.O. (doctor of osteopathy) as they tend to treat the body as a whole.
Dr Oz just had a show about pain. Couple of things were helichrysum oil which is diluted in water and then applied topically for muscle and joint pain. Herbal plasters were also mentioned as well as radio frequency ablation for pain management of neck/back nerve pain. Do lots of research. It may be that you can continue with pain meds and taper off others. You have to be the one who ultimately decides as you will be going thru the process...not him!! Lots of prayers and gentle {{ }}s!!! Bonita
PS- @Alex: I have NEVER heard of anyone being on such high doses of those 2 meds and have been in nursing 35 years! May your angels continue to surround you and provide you comfort!
Hi
I have gone off all of my drugs. It was not easy. I tapered the dose over a 3 month period of time. The pain was the same level with or without the drugs. The best part is I have my brain back. I was afraid I was getting alzheimers but it was the drugs zombie state that made me that way. I feel crappy most of the time but until there is a cure I will be careful of that slippery slope of addiction.
Good luck
Dee