Addiction, Recovery Forum - Mental withdrawal from narcotics

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Q: Mental withdrawal from narcotics

asked by: DoctorQuestion on February 21st, 2007

I have had a lot of trouble getting off of narcotics (percocet and morphine, my knee surgeon would give me the percocet and my family dr would give me the morphine) but this time I have actually done it.. my last time using it was on New Years Eve.. physically I am fine.. mentally though I keep getting cravings for it and I try to figure out how to get more. (surgeon said if I need some, go to my family doctor. Family doctor would not give me anymore due to asking for refills too soon after getting a rx.) I then tell myself "no" and then remind myself how far I have come.

My question is: How long will it take for the mental withdrawl to go away? I am getting scared that I may given into one of those cravings and go to a hospital to get some.

Any suggestions on how to deal with this would be greatly appreciated.

Replies(7)

Dr. Nikola Gjuzelov , MD

replied on March 15th, 2007

Addiction, Recovery Answer A2433

Given the description, you could be experiencing mental dependency on narcotics. It doesn’t seem that you are physically dependent on narcotics currently. In time, if you don’t stop abusing narcotics you may develop physical dependence of the drugs. Mental and emotional dependence on drugs is defined as a need for narcotics to achieve pleasure. Physically dependent addicts require narcotics to stay alive. You can ask for expert help from a mental health doctor for drug addiction treatment. Many former addicts have also found a way to keep the "mental withdrawal" in control by joining support groups like Narcotics Anonymous, or Alcoholics Anonymous. These groups advocate complete lifestyle and belief change in order to recover from addiction. You can visit their websites at www.na.org or www.alcoholics-anonymous.org to look for a meeting near you.

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Comments (6)

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