some headcanons related to lyrium withdrawal / it’s effect on edith under the cut!!
it’s important to note, first and foremost, that all implications seem to point at lyrium withdrawal being more synonymous with OPIUM WITHDRAWALS than with alcohol withdrawals --- lyrium seems to be INJECTED by templars, not drank ( with some sources indicating it may even sometimes be magically absorbed through the skin? i tend to assume that for non - ceremonial purposes your average templar will inject it, however ) and thus the withdrawal symptoms are that much worse. some symptoms include:
Nausea
Vomiting
Sweating
Cramping of the stomach
Muscle pain
Bone pain
Insomnia or difficulty sleeping
Agitation
Irritability
Loss of appetite
Mood swings
Depression and sadness
Heightened anxiety
Aching bones or muscles similar to flu-like symptoms
Fever
Runny nose or symptoms similar to common cold
Twitching
it’s also important to note that these symptoms often peak after only a FEW DAYS and may continue indefinitely or result in death without medical assistance or intervention. edith does not quit COLD TURKEY --- she weans herself off of lyrium, or tries to --- which lessens these MARGINALLY, at least until she truly does cease taking it entirely ( shortly before coryheus’s defeat ). still, it often causes her immense pain, and edith experiences most sharply BONE PAIN, INSOMNIA, NAUSEA, LOSS OF APPETITE, VOMITING, and TWITCHING. she berates herself for it constantly and the difficult way it may effect her service to the inquisition, but feels she has no hope of helping the order become GOOD once more while still so bound to and dependent on something so tied to it like lyrium. she is usually fairly effective at ensuring she is alone when the worst of the symptoms come on, but that does not mean others never see her agony.
