Withdrawal Symptoms after Stopping Morphine

Cherie, look what you've had to cope with over five months.  Shock, fear, pain, physical damage, etc, etc.  With or without the morphine cessation, you've now got a gap from the cancer merry-go-round and will be trying to absorb everything that has happened.  Of course you're feeling lousy - but you'll get back to your strong independent state.  Wishing you well with a big hug xxx

Thank you so much Jinny, very encouraging and helpful. Take care. 

And you :-)

Hi ,

Firstly welcome to the Macmillan online community although I’m sorry that you’ve had the need to find us. 

I haven’t personally experienced what you’re going through with the morphine withdrawal but around a month ago we had another lady (michelle_in_santabarbara) in a very similar situation, I’ve tagged her to see if she sees your post & replies. 

As Jinny has said you’ve been through a lot in a relatively short time & it’s all a bit of a whirlwind as it’s happening, diagnosis then scans etc., onto treatment & so on & now you’re in recovery everything falls a bit flat & you’re left feeling sometimes a very different person to who you were prior to your diagnosis both physically & mentally! This will pass, you will get back to your old self it will just take a little time.

Nicola 

Thank you very much Nicola, I truly appreciate your support and encouraging words. I will look to find Michelle’s posts and will maybe hear from her. Thank you again, Cherie. 

Hi Cherie,

bit of a personal question, but we’re you in menopause before cancer? Because this treatment plunges you straight into menopause, which can have a dramatic effect on your sleep and mental health. I started HRT 3 weeks ago and I’m feeling and sleeping SO much better. I used to hardly sleep, and when I did I’d wake up with raging hot sweats, I had terrible anxiety and low mood generally. I’d definitely recommend it x 

Hi Arightbumdeal,

Thank you for your response. I have been menopausal for almost 10 years but oddly never experienced significant symptoms so maybe it could be a factor. I will definitely speak with my family doctor about this. I am glad that you are feeling better. Take care x 

Good morning Michelle,

Thank you so very much for your message. I cannot tell you the waves of emotion that came over me while I read about your unbelievable journey. You are a very strong individual and I am sorry that you are going through this. Although my experience  has similarities to yours, I feel that your challenges far exceed mine. Everything you have been through while living alone and away from others, managing to organize your needs while struggling with your physical and emotional self, nothing short of amazing. Thank goodness you have a strong support network of friends, family and professionals. I am single and lI’ve in a rural area just outside of Ottawa, Ontario Canada. I have a daughter away at university and my father who is 74 years old has been living with me since my mother passed away in 2020. He is independent with his needs and has been a great help for me both managing my house and dogs and also someone to talk to when my emotions and anxiety run wild. I have a cousin who has also been incredibly supportive and actually drove me to my radiation appointments for the final 2 weeks after I started morphine for the burning in my periarea, so incredibly painful. I live about a 45 minute drive away from the hospital where I had my treatments and the drives were brutal. Managing chemo and radiation side effects (diarrhea primarily) was a huge worry when in the car. I sometimes can’t believe I survived it all and that it is finished. Right from diagnosis through to treatment I managed to stay strong emotionally but it was my decision to come off morphine rather quickly that sent me into a tail spin.  The withdrawal symptoms were absolutely debilitating but I kept working to stop the morphine because I hated being on it. I am a Registered Nurse who has worked in Emergency and ICU and have seen first hand how this medication can affect people so I was scared that I had been on it as long as I had. The physical withdrawal symptoms lasted a couple of days but it is the emotional symptoms that persist. Anxiety, despair, depression, feelings of claustrophobia, tearfulness, not wanting to be alone plague me. Today is day 9 of no morphine and the roller coaster ride that I am on is having less drops as each day goes forward. Definitely still not back to myself but very slowly improving, sleeping a bit better too. I have been communicating with my doctor and she has prescribed an antidepressant, Cymbalta, which I have filled the prescription and have it here with me but have not yet taken. I would prefer to not have to be on antidepressants if possible so I am giving myself a bit more time. From everything that I have read online about morphine withdrawal, I understand it to sometimes take a couple of weeks to get over the emotional side effects. I have been off work since December 30th and start back this Monday slowly by working from home for a few days to get caught up on all of my emails and policy changes. I hope that this will support my return to some form of normalcy. In the coming weeks I will be having repeat imaging to check that the treatments was truly effective at ridding my cancer. I am trying to take it one step at a time as to not overwhelm. I truly appreciate your words of support and encouragement and I wish you continued strength in your healing. It seems that you have organized this process for yourself to ensure effectiveness. Please take care Michelle. XO

Cherie

michelle_in_santabarbara I have to say a huge thank you to you for sharing your experiences in this post. This will help so many of our members that have had to spend a period of time on opioids & other medications that can result in some level of dependency. Like Cherie I felt incredibly moved & emotional reading your account of your cancer journey & its aftermath. Regardless of where we are geographically you’re correct that in our diagnosis, treatment, recovery we do stand shoulder to shoulder & will continue to do so as there’s an invisible thread that will forever link us all. Thank you again, I hope that long awaited warmth soon returns & soothes your soul. 

Nicola