Opioids Loperamide for withdrawals

[ChronicFuture]

Whats up everybody?

Well I'm here on my fifth day without Heroin and most of my withdrawal symptoms seem to be going away. My RLS is almost gone(Thank God) and I'm really only left with chills and goosebumps as far as physical symptoms go. I was using Kratom heavily the first three days and ran out, but I feel fine enough without it. So no withdrawals there from Kratom. But I was also using 20mg of loperamide with that every twelve hours or so starting on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and one last dose of 30mg Friday morning. Reading here how painful withdrawals can be from Loperamide has me a little worried.

My question is this, how many days in a row can one use Loperamide without fear of WD's? Is it safe to assume that I shouldn't have to worry? I figured a few days was too short a time to become addicted but I know it takes a long time for the symptoms to show. I'm pretty anxious about it because I just started feeling better today and would hate to be thrown back into WD's. Anybody experience WD's from short term use like this? Thanks in advance ya'll!

 

[Bloodborne1]

I use loperamide on a daily basis, in conjunction with other anti diarrheal meds and opiates because of my severe, unique case of Crohn’s Disease. I’ve been using loperamide daily for over a decade. So no, there will be no withdrawal from using it several days until you receive more heroin.

 

[ChronicFuture]

Nah, no more Heroin for me. This withdrawal shit completely turned me off to drugs in general. In a year Ive gone through Alcohol, benzo, and now opiate withdrawal. Im done lol. Thanks for the reply tho, I feel better. How long would you say it takes to get addicted to it?

 

[somnilicious]

It wouldn't be separate addictions or withdrawals. Loperamide is an opiod with mostly peripheral activity, so as it starts to leave your body(long half life) some slight RLS or peripheral withdrawal symptoms could return but it should be very minimal and in my experience you shouldn't feel much worse than you already feel.

If it becomes unbearable again than perhaps you could take a smaller dose. Then in a few days, if it's unbearable again, repeat with an even smaller dose but you should be fine. Staying clean is a marathon with lots of ups and downs, good days and bad days. You should look into getting some support or ways of dealing with the inevitable tough(bad) days to come.

 

[Bloodborne1]

I don’t see how you could be addicted to it? It doesn’t get you high or anything. I’ve had instances where I ran out and didn’t have another bottle but was too lazy to go purchase more for a few weeks. It never even crossed my mind I needed/craved it.

 

[ChronicFuture]

@somnilicious Thats good advice, Im really hoping I get no RLS as that is my least favorite part of all this and it just stopped happening this morning.

@Bloodborne1 I read some other posts here that some people get addicted to it while using it to get off of other opiates. Thats where my worry comes from.

 

[ChronicFuture]

Its been about 26 hours already since my last dose. Would I be feeling WD's by now if any? or does it take longer to kick in.? I shoulda stuck to kratom to avoid this worry -_-

Sorry if this is all dumb btw. I guess I still have some anxiety from this experience.

 

[MDPV_Psychosis]

I don’t see how you could be addicted to it

It is quite possible to become addicted to loperamide when used in large doses and it does produce some opioid like effects at high enough doses. There are plenty of reports of both addictions and effects around the internet, some unlucky people find themselves taking 200mg+ a day and they experience very serious and intense withdrawals when trying to stop. Seriously, search around: there are some pretty scary stories out there.

It's also worth mentioning that high doses can be dangerous to the heart (as it can induce torsades de pointes), loperamide is best used at therapeutic doses but if it must be used in higher doses then it's best to stick with as small of doses as possible and used for as short of time as possible. For example, it can be useful in a short taper or to bridge use every once in awhile for a day or two. It is not safe to switch to high dose loperamide long term (like trying to use it an opioid replacement / maintenance medication)

 

[Xorkoth]

Its been about 26 hours already since my last dose. Would I be feeling WD's by now if any? or does it take longer to kick in.? I shoulda stuck to kratom to avoid this worry -_-

Sorry if this is all dumb btw. I guess I still have some anxiety from this experience.

It's far easier to get addicted to kratom than it is to loperamide... kratom is in fact an opioid, and is quite addictive, it's just that the withdrawal is milder than full opiates unless you've been doing a shit ton of it for a long time. Loperamide is addictive apparently, but I've taken it daily in high doses for 10 days in a row and never had withdrawals. You might get some small resurgence of opiate withdrawals when you stop, because you likely still have some lingering heroin withdrawal to some extent, or PAWS anyway.

A Bluelighter a while back got really badly addicted to it... but he just never stopped using it after oxy withdrawal, kept using it in high doses. He said the withdrawal was methadone-like. But I wouldn't worry about that from short-term usage.

I prefer loperamide to kratom to come off opiates, because kratom produces its own dependence much more easily.

 

[ChronicFuture]

@Xorkoth That is a relief to hear. The first time I got off H I was using Methadone for a few days and then Kratom after and I believe I ended up having mild Kratom wd's(at least i think I did), I couldn't tell you for sure cuz I relapsed shortly after.

As an update, I did relapse yesterday and smoked a dub of heroin, I dont know how much in weight it was but I get it as a brown rock/powder(maybe a .2?). I know I should have stayed strong but damn I really wanted a break. If only for a few hours. But as of right now I feel alright.

I want to say I do not recommend using Loperamide to anybody because I started to feel my heart beating a little funny the last day I took it and it stayed that way until the next day. I was pretty concerned but it went away. If I ever have to do this again I'll just go the Kratom route, unless I can get my hands on Methadone, which helped a lot on the peak days last time. Thanks for the replies everyone!

 

[Xorkoth]

Yeah kratom is certainly safer than loperamide, no doubt about that. What kind of doses were you taking? I sometimes slip up and relapse on opiates, but never get too deep, and I find that a couple of days of loperamide will allow me to get through the minor withdrawal I develop, but the same of kratom will not work at all, as I will become addicted to kratom (I have spent 6 years of my life primarily addicted to very high dose kratom though, in the past). I can take ~40mg of loperamide and feel almost total relief of symptoms, and then be fine after a few days and not have to deal with withdrawals from something else. At that dosage, I don't feel any heart issues, but I do get as dry as the Sahara desert inside, I have to take various things to increase moisture to my mucuous membranes. It's not just constipation, but like for example my esophagus hurts and feels less pliable, and my stomach feels weird. It's not nice, that's for sure. But it beats withdrawal.

 

[OpiateKiller]

High dose loperamide can cause dangerous heart interactions which has killed people 50-100 mg, but even 30 is a fairly high dose.

If you take 30 mg of lope everyday and just stop chances are you will withdrawal again. It’s just prolonging the healing from heroin

 

[negrogesic]

Withdrawal from daily 30-40mg of loperamide is actually quite severe.

 

[ChemicallyEnhanced]

Withdrawal from daily 30-40mg of loperamide is actually quite severe.

This times a million.

I took 18-28mg Lope a day for maybe 2-3 weeks. The withdrawal was a lot like any other opioid withdrawal but a lot more GI-stuff. I had what I would say was Dysentery for two weeks (I lost 18lbs) and the bowel cramping was so bad I actually cried several times. I was terrified to eat and had maybe half a slice of dry toast or a small bowl of clear soup a day. It took 6 weeks before I could eat without pain, cramps, and diarrhoea.

 

[ChronicFuture]

@Xorkoth I was taking like 7-9 grams of Kratom every 4 hours for the first three days but then I ran out.

Thankfully no withdrawals from either.

 

[Str8 Shewter]

I’m currently withdrawing from Suboxone, it’s been a few days at this point. I guess I’ll get some loperamide. I have some Xanax coming (hopefully). I found some oxy, Vicodin, and tramadol. But I took all that already.

The last time I withdrew off Suboxone I didn’t even taper. I went cold turkey off Suboxone, Xanax, and Ambien. I turned grey and had two seizures. Pretty sure I almost died. Hallucinated and shit. Anyway I’m getting off topic,

I’ll go get some loperamide tomorrow.

 

[medicbarbie2000]

Whats up everybody?

Well I'm here on my fifth day without Heroin and most of my withdrawal symptoms seem to be going away. My RLS is almost gone(Thank God) and I'm really only left with chills and goosebumps as far as physical symptoms go. I was using Kratom heavily the first three days and ran out, but I feel fine enough without it. So no withdrawals there from Kratom. But I was also using 20mg of loperamide with that every twelve hours or so starting on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and one last dose of 30mg Friday morning. Reading here how painful withdrawals can be from Loperamide has me a little worried.

My question is this, how many days in a row can one use Loperamide without fear of WD's? Is it safe to assume that I shouldn't have to worry? I figured a few days was too short a time to become addicted but I know it takes a long time for the symptoms to show. I'm pretty anxious about it because I just started feeling better today and would hate to be thrown back into WD's. Anybody experience WD's from short term use like this? Thanks in advance ya'll!

I’ve used Loperamide several times on its own to get rid of withdrawls from Opiates. It has such a long half life I’ve never had to use it for more than three days. No withdrawls from it at all.

 

[Keif' Richards]

In short, Loperamide (Immodium) tends to reduce symptoms of withdrawal as it is an Opioid in itself. The primary issue with using it for this purpose is the negative impact that it can have on the heart. Like Methadone, it has a tendency to prolong the Qt interval of the heart beat which can lead to death. At any rate, it's something that you should do understanding fully that it's pretty risky.

 

[yubacity]

Would use them in every wd I had and they would help in stupid doses but one time i had really bad pain in my heart a heavy dull pain never used them after that. Yes they help but listen to the people warnings here

 

[medicbarbie2000]

In short, Loperamide (Immodium) tends to reduce symptoms of withdrawal as it is an Opioid in itself. The primary issue with using it for this purpose is the negative impact that it can have on the heart. Like Methadone, it has a tendency to prolong the Qt interval of the heart beat which can lead to death. At any rate, it's something that you should do understanding fully that it's pretty risky.

Agree. At what dose does it become dangerous, and/or duration of actually taking it? I’ve taken 40 mg a day for 3 days and felt crappy, but no where near as bad as withdrawls.