What Are the Symptoms of Opioid Withdrawal?

Opioid withdrawal happens when your body is used to medicine that helps you feel calm and happy, and then it suddenly stops getting it.

Imagine you have a favorite snack that makes you super excited every time you eat it. One day, you eat it all the time, like every single day. Then one day, someone takes it away, and you don’t get to eat it anymore. You feel sad, grumpy, and maybe even a little shaky or tired.

Symptoms of opioid withdrawal can be like that snack disappearing: your body feels upset because it’s used to the medicine being there. Some common symptoms are:

• Feeling sick (like when you ride on a bumpy car)
• Nausea (feeling like you might throw up)
• Sweating a lot, even if you’re not hot
• Shaking or trembling, like when you're really cold
• Having trouble sleeping or being very tired

These symptoms are your body saying, “Hey! I need that medicine back!”

Sometimes people feel like they're going through a big storm inside, it’s not fun, but it helps the body get ready to be calm again without the medicine.