When you are taking opiates over a prolonged period of time, the chemical structure of your body will actually change. This includes prescription medications such as oxycodone. Though a negative stigma is attached to an addiction to opiates and painkillers, sometimes it just cannot be helped because of the pain that is being treated. That’s because over time, the human body becomes resistant to the effects of opiates, requiring more opiate intake to get the same effect.
Different Opiates Create a Different Opiate Withdrawal Timeline
Some opiates, such as heroin, are even more addictive than the typical opiates that people use. This means an opiate withdrawal timeline could start within 12 hours after removal of the drug from the body. For most people, however, they will begin to experience withdrawal symptoms within the first 24 hours of not receiving another dose of an opiate compound. These early symptoms might include:
• Muscle Aches
• Anxiety
• Eyes Tearing Up Uncontrollably
• Heat Intolerance and Excessive Sweating
• Insomnia
• Yawning Uncontrollably
The only exception to this opiate withdrawal timeline is if you’ve been using methadone. For users of this opiate, initial withdrawal symptoms often take 36 hours or even more to initially appear.
More Withdrawal Symptoms Will Occur Within the Next 24 Hours
Once the first withdrawal symptoms appear on the opiate withdrawal timeline, the next level of withdrawal symptoms will appear within the next 24 hours or so. These symptoms can often be intense, painful, and cause issues with someone’s quality of life while they persist. The withdrawal symptoms that appear on the timeline here can include:
• Diarrhea
• Abdominal Cramping
• Nausea and Vomiting
• Dilated Pupils and Possibly Blurry Vision
• Rapid Heartbeat
• High Blood Pressure
Sometimes these symptoms can be severe enough that medical attention is required. Depending on your unique circumstances, you may be given additional opiates on a lower dosage level to reduce the severity of your withdrawal symptoms in this stage. This will prolong the withdrawal symptoms over time, but reduce the chances of a life threatening complication.
Most Withdrawal Symptoms Begin To Lessen in 72 Hours
If you can endure the first three days of the opiate withdrawal timeline, then you’ve made it through the worst of what you’re likely to experience. Most people experience a peak in their symptoms around 3 days after they begin and then they will begin to taper off. After about 7 days, most people are back on their feet and are feeling normal once again.
Opiate withdrawal symptoms may be severe sometimes, quite painful, and extremely uncomfortable, but the health benefits of overcoming the addiction are immediate. Lower blood pressure, better pain tolerance, and other unique benefits can all be experienced upon the removal of opiates from the body. If you’re ready to break your addiction to opiates, first consult with your doctor to talk about your unique situation. From there, use this opiate withdrawal timeline to create your own plan.