First off, I have been off all pain meds for about three weeks now. That chemical cocktail that I was taking daily is now a thing of the past and none too soon. The first one that I came off of was the Gabapentin, which was a horrible experience. It made me irritable for days and quite dizzy feeling. Once it was out of my system I felt quite a bit better though. Once it was gone my doctor and I decided to go off of the hydromorph which in comparison was a much worse experience. I've always heard that coming off of 'opiods' could be a bad experience and now I know, it is. Some light reading of wikipedia tells me that it would feel just like it did, horrible.
It took a few days to feel better coming off that junk, but in the end all the feeling of nasea, dizziness, restless leg, itchy skin and general malaise went away. Once it did I had the realization that I was pain free.Withdrawal: courtesy of Wikipedia
The short length of action of hydromorphone and other metabolic factors mean that the abstinence syndrome, or withdrawal, is brief but intense. A low dosing user of hydromorphone opting or otherwise forced to quit "cold turkey" can expect a withdrawal syndrome as intense as that of morphine but much more severe. It is compressed into a spike, peaking in 14 to 21 hours and resolving in 36 to 72 hours, provided the user is not taking other longer-acting opioids and has normal liver and kidney function. All of the effects of hydromorphone and its attendant withdrawal syndrome can be significantly lengthened by such factors. Possible but less common is the opposite: some patients require oral doses of hydromorphone as frequently as every 90 minutes, and the withdrawal syndrome can peak in as little as 9 hours. Users taking over 40 milligrams per day can experience painful withdrawal lasting up to two weeks with symptoms including constant shaking, cold sweats, diarrhea, vomiting, muscle pain, body cramps, and insomnia.
After getting my system garbage free I started physiotherapy. I'm not doing alot, and it's not really intense, but it is very helpful. The fine folks at Beamsville Physiotherapy are teaching me the techniques and exercises to help regain core strength so that I can return to work. Another thing that they are helping me with is stretching out my hamstring. All the years of the nerve pain in my leg had the hamstring tightened up to protect the nerve. As my nerves repaired themselves I was able to use the stretches that they taught me to lengthen my hamstring and get rid of the constant sensation that it was about to ball up and cramp at any moment.
So I have come a long way very quickly. I am really hoping that I do not regress at all as some people do with this surgery. I would love for nothing more that being able to resume a normal life, something I have not been capable of for at least 10 years. Thankfully Christie is so supportive, something else I haven't had for at least 10 years. Her understanding, caring and helpfulness is getting me through this.
Either way I am done with this hodge podge mess of an update and will return to update again at some point in the future, probably after I return to work or make some other major step in recovery.
