Positive The Tapering Support Thread v 2.0

[Psychlone Jack]

Tl;dr

I'm currently about midway in my bupe taper, probably a little less - down to 6 from 16mg. Was going to a clinic, told them the bupe was making life miserable with side effects and I wanted to taper since I'd been (officially, anyway) on bupe for six months, going daily to dose. Of course I was told it was way, way too early, no one should even consider tapering for at least a year, matter of fact, why don't we talk about increasing your dosage?

So yeah, I started paying for my own script and tapering myself. I take dxm and black seed oil in the mornings, staggered appropriately before my dose. I read my body and go slow, the first drops were bigger and closer together, about a week apart, but now more like 10 to 14 days apart.

Usually I take my bupe between about 8 and 9am, then by 11 or 12am I'm already presenting minor withdrawal symptoms, runny nose, etc. The physical part isn't that bad, I know it's liable to get worse the lower I go, but my biggest problem, which gets worse and worse as the day progresses, is anxiety, and my sort of whole body reaction, a whole body involuntary flex creating massive tension that I have to consciously focus on releasing. Over and over.

I have a GP, but as I said I'm managing the taper myself, getting my script through a telemedicine providing. GP knows of my drug history and has encouraged me to taper, but I haven't spoken with him since I started. Shit is getting rough, and I'm thinking seriously about scheduling an appointment with the gp to try and get some comfort meds for what's surely to be the worst part of the taper. The gp is firm but a great doctor and we have a good relationship, but I don't want to ruin that by what might be seen as opportunistic drug seeking.I know a benzo would be most effective, and if it comes around I'll accept it with open arms, but obviously I can't just stroll in there like hey doc, withdrawal sucks, gimme some Vallies!

Alllll that to ask this: what medications, should a benzo not be proffered, that might actually help me with these issues, could I reasonably request from my doctor without putting a big red stamp on my forehead?

 

[AngelsandFairiesarereal]

Tl;dr

I'm currently about midway in my bupe taper, probably a little less - down to 6 from 16mg. Was going to a clinic, told them the bupe was making life miserable with side effects and I wanted to taper since I'd been (officially, anyway) on bupe for six months, going daily to dose. Of course I was told it was way, way too early, no one should even consider tapering for at least a year, matter of fact, why don't we talk about increasing your dosage?

So yeah, I started paying for my own script and tapering myself. I take dxm and black seed oil in the mornings, staggered appropriately before my dose. I read my body and go slow, the first drops were bigger and closer together, about a week apart, but now more like 10 to 14 days apart.

Usually I take my bupe between about 8 and 9am, then by 11 or 12am I'm already presenting minor withdrawal symptoms, runny nose, etc. The physical part isn't that bad, I know it's liable to get worse the lower I go, but my biggest problem, which gets worse and worse as the day progresses, is anxiety, and my sort of whole body reaction, a whole body involuntary flex creating massive tension that I have to consciously focus on releasing. Over and over.

I have a GP, but as I said I'm managing the taper myself, getting my script through a telemedicine providing. GP knows of my drug history and has encouraged me to taper, but I haven't spoken with him since I started. Shit is getting rough, and I'm thinking seriously about scheduling an appointment with the gp to try and get some comfort meds for what's surely to be the worst part of the taper. The gp is firm but a great doctor and we have a good relationship, but I don't want to ruin that by what might be seen as opportunistic drug seeking.I know a benzo would be most effective, and if it comes around I'll accept it with open arms, but obviously I can't just stroll in there like hey doc, withdrawal sucks, gimme some Vallies!

Alllll that to ask this: what medications, should a benzo not be proffered, that might actually help me with these issues, could I reasonably request from my doctor without putting a big red stamp on my forehead?

Maybe clonidine

 

[papercuts]

I have a GP, but as I said I'm managing the taper myself, getting my script through a telemedicine providing. GP knows of my drug history and has encouraged me to taper, but I haven't spoken with him since I started. Shit is getting rough, and I'm thinking seriously about scheduling an appointment with the gp to try and get some comfort meds for what's surely to be the worst part of the taper. The gp is firm but a great doctor and we have a good relationship, but I don't want to ruin that by what might be seen as opportunistic drug seeking.I know a benzo would be most effective, and if it comes around I'll accept it with open arms, but obviously I can't just stroll in there like hey doc, withdrawal sucks, gimme some Vallies!

Alllll that to ask this: what medications, should a benzo not be proffered, that might actually help me with these issues, could I reasonably request from my doctor without putting a big red stamp on my forehead?

If you can get a benzo, that will work best, you're right there. I can't get any benzo, not even for sleep because I'm prescribed buprenorphine and my GP loves the safety rules that say no mixing opiates with benzos.

I get gabapentin, for nerve pain apparently, that is what they are prescribed for. I use them during withdrawals to cheer myself up a bit and any other time I'm a bit low. I know another opiate user who gets pregabalin from his doctor, his doctor knows he's a drug user and thinks he stays on subs, gives him pregabalin for the associated depression & anxiety. Since your doctor knows, you could try for that. Pregablin is six times stronger than gabapentin, otherwise the same, I'd love to get pregabs, but I'm afraid of those big red drug seeking flags too.

Clonidine helps a lot for a while, I'm not sure how good it would be long term and you need to taper off that when finishing it. You could ask.
I hate bupe. It makes me sweat and my pupils are too small to fricking see out of, lol.

I plan to get back onto bupe this month, my health is suffering. As I wait for withdrawal to hit me and get bad enough to make bupe safe to take, I'll be taking gabs and clonidine a lot and staying stoned also is a good idea, then once I'm settled back on bupe I guess I'll cut them down again. Kratom is another well used substitute, but addictive itself and makes me feel sick.

Last year I did a taper on bupe quite easily, the difficult part for me was sticking to only bupe when I have access to more potent agonists, so eventually I tapered right off bupe and stuck with my DOA instead, oops.

Good luck, you seem to have a very good attitude

 

[deficiT]

Tl;dr

I'm currently about midway in my bupe taper, probably a little less - down to 6 from 16mg. Was going to a clinic, told them the bupe was making life miserable with side effects and I wanted to taper since I'd been (officially, anyway) on bupe for six months, going daily to dose. Of course I was told it was way, way too early, no one should even consider tapering for at least a year, matter of fact, why don't we talk about increasing your dosage?

So yeah, I started paying for my own script and tapering myself. I take dxm and black seed oil in the mornings, staggered appropriately before my dose. I read my body and go slow, the first drops were bigger and closer together, about a week apart, but now more like 10 to 14 days apart.

Usually I take my bupe between about 8 and 9am, then by 11 or 12am I'm already presenting minor withdrawal symptoms, runny nose, etc. The physical part isn't that bad, I know it's liable to get worse the lower I go, but my biggest problem, which gets worse and worse as the day progresses, is anxiety, and my sort of whole body reaction, a whole body involuntary flex creating massive tension that I have to consciously focus on releasing. Over and over.

I have a GP, but as I said I'm managing the taper myself, getting my script through a telemedicine providing. GP knows of my drug history and has encouraged me to taper, but I haven't spoken with him since I started. Shit is getting rough, and I'm thinking seriously about scheduling an appointment with the gp to try and get some comfort meds for what's surely to be the worst part of the taper. The gp is firm but a great doctor and we have a good relationship, but I don't want to ruin that by what might be seen as opportunistic drug seeking.I know a benzo would be most effective, and if it comes around I'll accept it with open arms, but obviously I can't just stroll in there like hey doc, withdrawal sucks, gimme some Vallies!

Alllll that to ask this: what medications, should a benzo not be proffered, that might actually help me with these issues, could I reasonably request from my doctor without putting a big red stamp on my forehead?

What helped me most to get off of subs was gabapentin, black seed oil, ginger, magnesium, and kratom. Like others have said. Ymmv and go easy on the other stuff if you don't want to come out with a habit to those. L-Tryptophan and L-Tyrosine are good amino acids that help with serotonin and dopamine levels that you might benefit from. Ultimately yeah a benzo would be best for sleep but they're honestly too risky. Melatonin and trazodone can help with sleep, as well as Seroquel low dose. Hydroxyzine helps to potentiate the opioid and with anxiety, that could be your best bet if you don't already use it.

 

[AngelsandFairiesarereal]

What helped me most to get off of subs was gabapentin, black seed oil, ginger, magnesium, and kratom. Like others have said. Ymmv and go easy on the other stuff if you don't want to come out with a habit to those. L-Tryptophan and L-Tyrosine are good amino acids that help with serotonin and dopamine levels that you might benefit from. Ultimately yeah a benzo would be best for sleep but they're honestly too risky. Melatonin and trazodone can help with sleep, as well as Seroquel low dose. Hydroxyzine helps to potentiate the opioid and with anxiety, that could be your best bet if you don't already use it.

Oh yea I forgot I take hydroxyzine sometimes too, it makes me a little sleepy but when I wake up it still lasts for a little while in lessening my anxiety

 

[AngelsandFairiesarereal]

Tl;dr

I'm currently about midway in my bupe taper, probably a little less - down to 6 from 16mg. Was going to a clinic, told them the bupe was making life miserable with side effects and I wanted to taper since I'd been (officially, anyway) on bupe for six months, going daily to dose. Of course I was told it was way, way too early, no one should even consider tapering for at least a year, matter of fact, why don't we talk about increasing your dosage?

So yeah, I started paying for my own script and tapering myself. I take dxm and black seed oil in the mornings, staggered appropriately before my dose. I read my body and go slow, the first drops were bigger and closer together, about a week apart, but now more like 10 to 14 days apart.

Usually I take my bupe between about 8 and 9am, then by 11 or 12am I'm already presenting minor withdrawal symptoms, runny nose, etc. The physical part isn't that bad, I know it's liable to get worse the lower I go, but my biggest problem, which gets worse and worse as the day progresses, is anxiety, and my sort of whole body reaction, a whole body involuntary flex creating massive tension that I have to consciously focus on releasing. Over and over.

I have a GP, but as I said I'm managing the taper myself, getting my script through a telemedicine providing. GP knows of my drug history and has encouraged me to taper, but I haven't spoken with him since I started. Shit is getting rough, and I'm thinking seriously about scheduling an appointment with the gp to try and get some comfort meds for what's surely to be the worst part of the taper. The gp is firm but a great doctor and we have a good relationship, but I don't want to ruin that by what might be seen as opportunistic drug seeking.I know a benzo would be most effective, and if it comes around I'll accept it with open arms, but obviously I can't just stroll in there like hey doc, withdrawal sucks, gimme some Vallies!

Alllll that to ask this: what medications, should a benzo not be proffered, that might actually help me with these issues, could I reasonably request from my doctor without putting a big red stamp on my forehead?

Oh yea I’m sleepy so I forgot to tell you I’m proud of you amigo, you’re doing great

 

[Psychlone Jack]

Thanks for the input, y'all.

I was already considering asking about clonidine, I could see that maybe helping, and I have had a few high BP readings so my doc may be more open to that. Also the gabas, I know gabapentin is commonly used during wd, didn't know pregabalin was so much stronger. That may be a good option since I have a naturally high tolerance to gabapentin. Didn't know about the aminos, I'll check into that - also ginger and magnesium? Other that ginger for nausea I didn't know those could help with wd. I used to use hydroxyzine to potentiate opioids, so yeah.

So I'm thinking a rough list of candidates to discuss with my doctor might look like:

Clonidine
Hydroxyzine
Gabas
... and MAYBE Soma? I'm aware of the inherent risk there, but it seems tailor made for addressing the physical tension aspect.

Thank you all again so much for the advice.

Oh yea I’m sleepy so I forgot to tell you I’m proud of you amigo, you’re doing great

Thank you. I've been wanting to tell you as well, I don't know your whole story, but what I do know of it and your attitude/outlook on life - you are an amazingly strong, positive woman, and never for a second should you not be proud to have made it through all you have. For real.

 

[papercuts]

What helped me most to get off of subs was gabapentin, black seed oil, ginger, magnesium, and kratom. Like others have said. Ymmv and go easy on the other stuff if you don't want to come out with a habit to those. L-Tryptophan and L-Tyrosine are good amino acids that help with serotonin and dopamine levels that you might benefit from. Ultimately yeah a benzo would be best for sleep but they're honestly too risky. Melatonin and trazodone can help with sleep, as well as Seroquel low dose. Hydroxyzine helps to potentiate the opioid and with anxiety, that could be your best bet if you don't already use it.

I forgot about hydroxyzine, that works well if you can get it. Any antihistamines might calm things down. When I ran out of hydroxyzine, I found allevia (fexofenodine) seemed to help, and black seed oil as others have said, along with generally trying to eat healthy and taking vitamins and minerals.
I heard exercise is good too, but really, when you feel bad the last thing you want to do is exercise, so I've not tried that, lol, too extreme.

 

[Psychlone Jack]

I do try to walk at least a couple miles a day. Helps to tire me out some and dampen some of the afternoon/evening restlessness. Can't be having anymore clots in the legs, either, physical activity of some sort of pretty much mandatory when you have dvt's lol.

 

[AngelsandFairiesarereal]

Thank you. I've been wanting to tell you as well, I don't know your whole story, but what I do know of it and your attitude/outlook on life - you are an amazingly strong, positive woman, and never for a second should you not be proud to have made it through all you have. For real.

Thank you so much, what a kind thing to say. I really appreciate that it means a lot.
Big hug

 

[kiely]

Kratom seems to help me out. But that's not good either.

Thnx, though.

h.n.y.

All be safe. Always.

 

[deficiT]

Thanks for the input, y'all.

I was already considering asking about clonidine, I could see that maybe helping, and I have had a few high BP readings so my doc may be more open to that. Also the gabas, I know gabapentin is commonly used during wd, didn't know pregabalin was so much stronger. That may be a good option since I have a naturally high tolerance to gabapentin. Didn't know about the aminos, I'll check into that - also ginger and magnesium? Other that ginger for nausea I didn't know those could help with wd. I used to use hydroxyzine to potentiate opioids, so yeah.

So I'm thinking a rough list of candidates to discuss with my doctor might look like:

Clonidine
Hydroxyzine
Gabas
... and MAYBE Soma? I'm aware of the inherent risk there, but it seems tailor made for addressing the physical tension aspect.

Thank you all again so much for the advice.



Thank you. I've been wanting to tell you as well, I don't know your whole story, but what I do know of it and your attitude/outlook on life - you are an amazingly strong, positive woman, and never for a second should you not be proud to have made it through all you have. For real.

Magnesium helps with tolerance levels to opiates and many other drugs, as well as anxiety and constipation, and ginger helps with nausea. Just be careful taking too much magnesium, as it can definitely give you the shits. Probably won't have that problem on opiates, but it is a thing.

 

[Psychlone Jack]

Magnesium helps with tolerance levels to opiates and many other drugs, as well as anxiety and constipation, and ginger helps with nausea. Just be careful taking too much magnesium, as it can definitely give you the shits. Probably won't have that problem on opiates, but it is a thing.

Huh, yeah I knew about it as a laxative, hell I took two this morning to no effect. So you just take it regularly and it can help mitigate tolerance? Sweet. 2 more it is lol.

 

[deficiT]

Huh, yeah I knew about it as a laxative, hell I took two this morning to no effect. So you just take it regularly and it can help mitigate tolerance? Sweet. 2 more it is lol.

Yeah, I believe it works on nmda receptors similar to dxm or something. Although I could be mistaken or exaggerating it's effect, but that's what I seem to remember. Mainly used for helping tolerance with stimulants, but works for opioids too. Also yeah, helps with constipation which can be pretty important.

 

[papercuts]

Magnesium oxide is the laxative one and the more expensive versions like citrate or taurate don't have that advantage but might get the magnesium better into your system to work in other ways

 

[Squeaky]

So wonderful to hear from you I have not been on in while , and really have missed all of you.
I am back here through Squ

So nice to see you here It's been awhile since I have been here , and I have missed all of you. I came back here to reread squeaky again , on how to get off of Norco???

How did I get off of it? I cut myself off. We all have a drug dealer. They prey on our addiction. We are good customers. Are you making your own pills or growing your own plants?

Nope. They need your business, so they act like they’re helping you. Addicts are fantastic customers. My dealer was a Pain Management Doctor. He was a drug dealer that took my insurance.

I got away by cancelling my next appointment. I knew that I should do that for over a year (maybe more like 2 years). I spent thousands of dollars on co-payments. I was in horrible pain because of the withdrawals that came only hours after taking a pill that said it would stop my pain.

Bartenders rarely get sober. You need to cut yourself from the bar, the booze, and everyone who hangs out at the bar. It’s miserable. It’s lonely but you’re going to need someone who will hold your hand through it. And prepare yourself for the longest fight for your life. (Same for opiates. But the bartender reference was too perfect)

Opiates: The first 5-7 days are BRUTAL. Nausea, diarrhea, sweating, insomnia. Prepare your affairs. Pay all of your bills. Stock up on food (that you’ll be too sick to eat). And tell anyone who asks that you have Covid. Find something to binge-watch on Netflix. And strap yourself in for the crappiest roller coaster on Earth.

I tried tapering dozens of times. I was so focused on NOT feeling like s**t that I always cheated. Then I would run out of pills at the end of the month and ‘treat’ myself when the bottle was full again. Then the cycle started over. Tapering is a hopeless game for me.

If you’re reading this, find a way to cut yourself off from access to whatever your using that you want to quit. Even if it means you have to change schools, jobs, leave town, or go to rehab. This started out as the tapering thread, but the lady who started it has moved on to a better life. Now it’s the thread for people who can’t taper but still need an answer.

 

[Squeaky]

Kratom and time. Quickly, Kratom blocks opiate receptors and renders standard opiates useless. It’s sort of the same as using a soldering iron to stop a bleeding wound. It stopped me from looking forward to my next ‘high’ from oxy because I couldn’t get ‘high’ anymore.

 

[papercuts]

Kratom and time. Quickly, Kratom blocks opiate receptors and renders standard opiates useless. It’s sort of the same as using a soldering iron to stop a bleeding wound. It stopped me from looking forward to my next ‘high’ from oxy because I couldn’t get ‘high’ anymore.

Really not a fan of soldering iron treatment or kratom because that flat feeling when you're opiates don't work, nah, I'll get off this very soon, but if I start kratom then I'm back at square one with a more expensive substance to buy than I'm on now.

 

[papercuts]

In many ways tapering opiates is almost the same as staying at the same dose of opiates, it feels like deprivation either way. I want to go down and then up in my doses, then I get to feel something. I don't manage to do it. Most days I just take my self imposed maximum and some days I take more.
Is it tapering if you go CT then use a bit for relief, or is that just failure?

 

[polo792]

I have been trying to get out heroin since last year, my plan was to be done by the start of 2024 but just fkn mad that I keep putting it off. I did go over day without using but then went to get on the next day. I have a pt a day habit and I also have Norspan patch which is 5micrograms that is a slow release over a week. I seen to be able to get to around 22hrs and then I go and score. So Tomo I'm going too stop w wasting my life & time on this stuff. Its so much better when u don't need anything to sleep or to function. I'm hoping it's not going to be too bad. Well keep updating my progress with this attempt.