Our friend is detoxing at home from a pretty serious Oxycodone use habit. He is not using anything at all to detox and right now he's vomiting. I'm really worried about him. What do I need to know? How can I help?
2007-10-09 08:39:05 · 0 answers · asked by farm-gal 4 in Health ➔ General Health Care ➔ Pain & Pain Management
Oxycodone, of course, is an opiate and opiate withdrawals are miserable but generally not life-threatening. Ibuprofen is useful for the body aches and over the counter antidiarrheals are useful for the diarrhea that often comes.
Unfortunately, the vomiting is not readily dealt with using over the counter medications - best thing to do at home is to take slow but continuous amounts of water... 1 sip of water every minute - that sort of thing.
If vomiting is still a problem, a trip to the doctor to confess all and to secure a prescription for antinausea medicine will be required (the antinausea medicine won't make your friend high and it's not addicting).
People often get through the withdrawal OK but the big trouble is that for up to a year after stopping opiate abuse, life feels depressing, "washed-out," and grey... it's hard to enjoy anything. A lot of support is needed during this time to keep from going back to the opiates. Consider recommending Narcotics Anonymous to your friend for support during this time.
Best of luck!
2007-10-10 08:25:10 · answer #1 · answered by Doxycycline 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He can remain home, yes. He's just going to hate how he feels for at least a week.
Why do you think so many people have to go right back to the drugs? Being dope-sick is horrible.
There are medications that he can be given to ease the withdrawal. Clonodine works wonders on the anxious, jumpy feeling. It keeps the arms and legs from twitching (he knows what I'm talking about) all the time. They could also prescribe antiemetics so that he can eat and keep from vomiting.
But he will have to see a doctor to get them.
Unless he has a some other serious health condition, no detoxing from opiates won't kill you. You'll just WISH you were dead.
2007-10-09 08:48:08 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Find out who the doctor is who prescribed the medications and tell him of the situation. Let him give you his professional advice; that is a very serious drug.
2007-10-09 08:42:18 · answer #3 · answered by Roberto N 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He can die, he needs to be slowly weened from it in the hospital where they can also hook him up to IVs so he doesn't die of dehydration from getting sick.
2007-10-09 08:43:28 · answer #4 · answered by ehrlich 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋