Morphine withdrawl question

Hello All. No I am not a nurse however my mother father and grandmother were nurses. Anyway to my post. I want ot thank everyone for the posts here I have read a lot and understand a little more of the withdrawls my mother is going through atm. She has a pump in her back and has to take one pill ever 12 hours. The past month she has been tring to reduse the pill to one ever 24 hours. Monday the 18th she started her withdrawls. My Grandmother and my sister finally got her to the hospital. I truely feel the pain that people go through when going through the withdrawls. IT makes my Vicodine withdrawls seem like a walk in the park. I will keep you all updated on her recovery and would like any sugjestions on how to discurage her from changing her meds without the doctors aproval. Watching her do that reminded me of a Pi polar that is on a Up and doesn't think they need thier meds. Thanks for listening, and for the help.

love to all of you trying to get off of these kinds of meds!! i wish i could....however, oct 1977, i was stabbed in my back, (literally), knife went into my spinal cord. i had to have expl. surgery to determine the amount of damage, repair my spinal cord, and remove the bone fragments. i was started on pain meds then. then after i was bitten on my paralyzed foot by a poisinous spider i was getting regular refills. i thought 'thank god!!' at the time, that those electrical shock pains wouldnt hurt so bad nemore. then when the darvocet didnt work nemore, they upped it to hydrocodone 5mg's, then 7.5 mg's, then norco, (10mg's of hydrocodone), then oxycontin didnt even phase it, so they put me on 3, 60mg ms contin a day, along with 12 or more norco a day. then they took me off the norco, and put me on str8 morphine...mscontin, and then immediate release morphine for 'break thru pain'. needless to say, i eventually had to take more and more to work. and having to buy whatever i could off the streets to get thru. and eventually, started seeing more than 1 pain doc a month, which is strongly prohibited. i wish i could just say to heck with it, and be done with it, but i do have genuine pain!! so what would i do? kick to start again? so to those of u in a position to just go thru the withdrawls, and be done with it, TAKE IT FROM SOMEONE WHO KNOWS... DO IT!!! IT WILL BE THE MOST INTELLIGENT MOVE OF UR LIFE!! because now, at the levels im on, i cant even go to a hospital. and to get into the methodone clinic here, u have to wait till u r just short of a seizure before they will medicate you. and the nearest clinic to me is more than 3 miles away. now, i live in the country, so its ok for the 1 legged chick taking morphine, (not that i get a 'buzz' anymore), to drive a STANDARD SHIFT vehicle. but how in gods name, can i do it in hard withdrawls? so here i am getting ready to go buy some meds off the street. which sucks, especially on social security!! lol. it is very expensive. and i DO NOT recomend this, because it takes many many years to get as pharmacutically knowledgable as i am, and if u get something yyou arent planning on getting, and dont know it, it could be a death sentance!! u never know what u r getting. but because ive been on so many...just about everything that has been used for more than 5 years or so, anyways, people call me when they cant remember what 'those strange pills that have been in thier med cabinet' are, and with just a good description, i can tell them what they r, mg's, usual prescribed dosage, etc... my point is, no one in a position to get off this stuff should be on it in the first place. the withdrawls are unimaginable!! and to top off my situation, i am now hiv+...what i got for staying home and being a good wife, while my husband was running the streets, but when i begin to die, how on earth will they keep me 'comfortable'?? it isnt LEGAL for them to even give me 1/2 of the meds i give to myself!! i am trying so hard to just take the prescribed amount of medication, but the pain doesnt seem tolerable, because when i have 'plenty of meds' the 'mind thing' kicks in and i think the pain is worse than it really is. well, im off to the city before i completely run out and cant get more than 4 feet from the toilet!! please take some advice from an old woman who has abused everything in life from my body to my meds, if u CAN STOP, STOP!!! i leave this msg in tears, wondering how to deal with this. i am in such pain right now, in my body, my mind, my heart, and my soul. good luck to u all, strong enuf to do this. and pls pray for me that i can find a way to keep my meds to what is prescribed, somehow.
i will chk in tomorrow.
good luck!!
stormytexxxas

what if it gets up to 360 mg's of ms contin/and about 200 mg's A DAY, totalled, for more than 10 years? if i drop myself to half of that at once, will it cause me life threatening problems if my body is so used to that much medicine? i am hiv+, 24 years now since i found out i was +, and i am terrified that if i am unable to get this addiction under control, that i am going to begin to die, and doctors wont even be able to keep me relitively comfortable. i am so let down with myself for allowing this to get so out of control. i am stronger than this. i have come an inch from death so many times, and told id never walk again twice, but im alive, and although i cant walk far distance, i CAN walk!! i have always been so much stronger. its just when im in such pain, and i have a full script, its hard not to decide that if 1 does alittle good, 2 will do alot of good. and then i run out way before time, and i cant lose my pain mgmt doc.
anything to help will be greatly appreciated. maybe since i found this site, it will be easier with support. until now, i havent said a word to anyone about the problem!!! also herbs to help with detox will also be appreciated!!! thanx a bunch!!!

This post is really old but just to clarify a few things. Most (in fact nearly all) experts do not consider opiate withdrawal life threatening. It is often described as objectively mild, subjectively severe. The person may think they are going to die, they will have nausea or generalized malaise but no major effects.

Other medications can have life threatening effects with withdrawal such as benzodiazepines.

Of course if you have a significant underlying condition such as heart failure, opiate withdrawal can cause an increased workload exacerbating that condition or worsening it.

I am going through this and its not that bad not to the levels TexasStormy was
but still I went to work the first day then stayed home day 2 and 3 then back to work on day 4
Dont want to do it again but I have done the worst part