Mental withdrawal from narcotics Posted: 02-21-07 11:02am
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.
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.o
rg to look for a meeting near
you.
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