Renee’s Inspirational Opiate Recovery Success Story

I started out taking prescription pain killers around 2007. I was prescribed Norco 10’s 6x’s a day after a car wreck for about a year. I was taking this medication as prescribed up until February 2008 when I had found out I was pregnant with my, turning 6 years old this October, son.

When I found out I was pregnant I started questioning whether I should continue taking this medication or not during my pregnancy. During my own research of the effects it could possibly have on my unborn child, I chose to stop taking it.

I just quit “cold turkey” not knowing it would make me have withdrawal symptoms.

I started to feel so horrible by the 3rd day that I went to the Emergency room because I thought I had a TREMENDOUSLY HORRIFIC case of the flu OR maybe even food poisoning.

The Doctor tells me I’m going through Opiate Withdrawal

Once I got to see the ER doctor, he went through my medical history to see if there would be anything that “stood out” to be a warning sign to him of what could be causing me these symptoms. He then asked me if I was still taking my prescription pain killers.

When I told him I had stopped taking them about 3 days beforehand, he then asked “and these flu-like symptoms, how long ago did they start?” I told him I had started to feel it coming on about 2 days ago and it seemed as if things were just getting worse and not any better.

That was the reason I had decided to make my visit to the ER. I felt more sick than I had ever felt in my entire life!! That’s when he told me he believed I was in withdrawal from the opiates that I had stopped taking.

Enrolling in the Methadone Maintenance Program

He then told me that going through opiate withdrawal during pregnancy was too risky and I would be risking miscarriage if I went through with it during my pregnancy. He then gave me another prescription for the Norco’s that would last me through the weekend until i could get into a “Methadone clinic” due to it being a Friday night and they wouldn’t take me at the clinic until Monday morning.

I had no idea at the time what a methadone clinic was. So when I asked him to explain to me why I needed to go there, he told me that I needed to be on methadone to save my unborn child’s life.

So obviously being a concerned mother to be, I asked no other questions and did as he told me to. Once I started the methadone clinic I felt better instantly and could function again without worry of a miscarriage.

Over the months of my pregnancy, taking daily doses of methadone, and going to “groups” at the clinic, I was convinced by all these staff members and other patients of the clinic, that I would be on methadone for the rest of my life.

The staff always told us to look at taking methadone as you would if you were someone with diabetes.

“A diabetic needs insulin shots to control the disease of diabetes just like an addict has the disease of addiction and needs the methadone.”

I listened to this for 6 years before I decided, “There has got to be a way to get off of this medication and not be ” locked down with the liquid handcuffs (as everyone described this life of going to the clinic every day to get their dose of methadone).

My “Escape Plan”

So, in February of 2014, I decided I was going to do whatever it took to unlock those liquid handcuffs. Luckily, my mom was willing to do whatever it took to help me with this and knew it would NOT be easy on either of us. I packed up enough things for my son and I to stay with my mom for the next 3 weeks while I planned to try and go through the worst feeling withdrawal symptoms I could have ever imagined.

Obviously I didn’t know EXACTLY how long my withdrawal would last because every person is different based on the length of time you have been taking the medicine, what medicine you withdrawal from, (methadone, Suboxone, heroin, painkillers, etc.), what dose you had been taking daily, and your bodies response to it all.

So, I made a plan to set aside 3 weeks but would add more time to that if needed. 

I had been earning “take home bottles” at the clinic and “banking” them just in case I wanted to go on a vacation outside of the state so I could take the medication with me. So I wrote out a plan for myself using the “take home bottles.”

The Painful Detox

I first started out only taking half of my dose for that first day of using my take home bottle for that day which was 10 mg of the 20 mg I had been taking. The next day I took 5 mg. Then the 3rd day I took 2 1/2 mg and the 4th day I took the last 2 1/2 mg.

Yes I felt withdrawal symptoms starting by the 2nd day, but they weren’t unbearable until a couple of days after my last dose. 

My mom had volunteered to not only watch my son during this withdrawal process so I didn’t have to, she also waited on me hand and foot and got me anything she could to make everything go as smoothly as possibly for me because she knew this wasn’t an easy thing to do.

I fought my battle long and hard trying everything I could think of to ease symptoms. But sadly, I was so depressed from the symptoms of withdrawal, I couldn’t see a “light at the end of the tunnel” and just wanted relief.

Suboxone to the Rescue

So I ended up relapsing around my 8th day because I thought I should have started to at least feel a little better. But, I knew I didn’t want to go back to that awful methadone clinic. Instead, I made an appointment with my family doctor to get her advice on what to do.

When I finally got in to see her, I was in luck!!! She prescribed me Suboxone to keep me from relapsing or feeling anymore withdrawal symptoms!!

I took the Suboxone for about 1 1/2 years. I started them in April 2014 and took my last dose on Thursday September 10th, 2015!!! Yes you read that right!!! Just a week ago this past Thursday, I took my last dose of Suboxone I will ever take again!!! It wasn’t easy at all!!! But I am on my 8th day with no Suboxone and feel awesome!!!

The ONLY days I had horrible withdrawal symptoms were the first 3. And I believe I could have had a little more relief on those days as well if I would have come across this website sooner!! On day 4 I was so desperate for relief I started searching the internet for anything someone said worked best for them.

The Power of Prayer

So I bet those of you who are still reading this are wanting to know the “secret” of how I went through such a short withdrawal with relief on the 4th day that seemed it took away ALL my symptoms and by the 6th day I was done with taking ANY medication at all and I’m on day 8 feeling GREAT!!!

Well, this first thing I tell you about was the most important to me. You may have a different look on it but this is MY personal opinion.

I believe in the power of prayer.

So I prayed so hard that 2nd and 3rd day and told God to PLEASE take over for me in my time of need and help me get through it somehow.

I wanted so desperately to be free from taking methadone or Suboxone or even taking painkillers or buying heroin, just to feel “normal” and “function” that I was putting this into God’s hands trusting he would get me through it. Sure enough, he came through for me!!!

Imodium AD to the Rescue

I stumbled upon this website and found that Imodium AD along with Tagamet and Grapefruit juice would help ease your symptoms. At first I thought it sounded crazy, but I was so desperate for relief that I wanted to try anything!!!

So while I was laying on my couch where I had been from day 1 because I could barely even find the strength to get up to use the bathroom at times, my mom went to get the Imodium AD, Tagament, and Grapefruit juice and brought it all over to me.

I took the meds and at first thought it wasn’t working because it had been a while. But then, just when I was about to give up…

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! I LITERALLY FELT LIKE SOMEONE JUST FLIPPED A SWITCH INSIDE OF ME TO OFF!!!! NO MORE WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS AT ALL!!!! I WAS SO SHOCKED I STARTED CRYING!!!!

God Answered my Prayers

My mom saw me crying and asked what was wrong. I said, “That’s just it, NOTHING is wrong now!! God has answered my prayers!!! It REALLY DID WORK!!!

I continued to use this combination of ingredients until day 6. I woke up that morning on the 6th day feeling like I hadn’t felt in years!!!

No withdrawal symptoms and no need for any medication at all!!!

Of course I still thought in the back of my mind that as the day progressed I might feel like crap again and needed to take some more of what I now call the “miracle meds.” But, I was determined that I wouldn’t let the little things make me believe I needed it again.

And guess what………..I haven’t had to take ANYTHING in 2 days and I feel great!!!! This is ALL thanks to God AND Matt!!!!

God lead me to Matt’s website here and Matt provided the info I needed for these ingredients so I could FINALLY get some relief!!!

So I just wanted to give a HUGE THANK YOU to Matt for caring enough for others to take the time to put this website together and share all this information here about opiate addiction and what may help us get through it!!! You are awesome Matt!!!

Anyways, I am hoping that by posting my story here it will help at least one person but hopefully more!!! And to anyone who made it this far reading……. Thank you for taking the time to read my story!!!!

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