The safest way to discontinue prescription medications is under medical supervision in an inpatient detox center. If you are unable to access such a setting, then you should consult with a medical provider to see how best to proceed. Depending on the dosage of the medications and how long you have taken them, your doctor may decide to have you stop the medication and substitute another or gradually wean you off of the medication(s) you are on. Either way, you are likely to experience chronic pain as the dose decreases and/or stops. The increased pain that occurs during withdrawal is temporary. If you are physically dependent on an opiate, you will not be able to discontinue your medications without temporarily experiencing increased pain and other withdrawal symptoms. Other symptoms you may experience include sweating, anxiety, agitation, skin crawling, runny nose, yawning, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and insomnia. It is important to remember that these symptoms will pass and may be decreased by prescription medications including clonidine, phenobarbital, hydroxyzine, and sleep aids. Sometimes major tranquilizers (antipsychotic drugs) such as Seroquel (quetiapine) or Risperdal (risperidone) will be indicated for severe agitation. Please discuss all of these with your physician. This blog post is an excerpt from Pain Recovery – How to Find Balance and Reduce Suffering from Chronic Pain by Mel Pohl, MD, FASAM, Frank Szabo, LADC, Daniel Shiode, PhD, Robert Hunter, PhD; Published by Central Recovery Press (CRP). photo credit: Diamond Farah via photopin cc
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