Opioids Loperamide (Imodium) Megathread v. 2

[Painful One]

Great! My worst fear has been confirmed. I came here to see if anyone else noticed stores not having the 200ct bottles. Fuuuuck. So much for my 7 years off oxy. I liked it much better back in the beginning when no one believed me that loperamide worked! Damn opiate epidemic!

Now I get to see my entire life, as I know it, completely fall apart. This time next week I probably won't have my fiance and two little boys anymore. Or my job. Thanks FDA.

I can't afford $20 a bottle either. I have only used lope to bridge the gaps between prescriptions but lately those gaps have been 8-10 days and I have used a lot of lope. I have had some withdrawal from the lope. I just wanted to tell you what it was like and the best way I found to do it. You really sound like you sincerely think your life is going to fall apart. I believe you can manage this! I know you can! I can still find 72 count bottles cheap at local grocery stores. You could just taper yourself down some.

The lope withdrawal does not fully kick in for two days for me and then the physical symptoms are pretty severe. The withdrawal from lope lacks the mental torture, anxiety, horrific feeling that I can't stand. The hot and cold flashes are bad for a few days and the stomach is real bad for a week. After that there are severe leg pains that last a few weeks. I have also had some bad kidney pain before. Drinking a lot of water and walking around helps. The walking helps the leg pain, back pain, and gets toxins out of you faster drinking some green tea also helps a lot to detox. Sleepy time extra tea (with valerian root) helps a lot for the leg pain and relaxes you.

I found that after two full days without any lope that taking a very small dose of lope eases everything up. Like half your regular dose. You can really cut out a lot of lope fast. I am able to do that a couple times over the next few weeks and find that It really helps to taper fast like that.

Think this through and look at all your options and make an informed decision ahead of crisis time. There are alternatives that are more healthy. You may be just fine without it at this point. I wish you the best of luck.

 

[Squeaky]

Wow. 7 years on 288 mg lope per day. Thats a lot.

I had a post deleted for violating a BlueLight rule, so I will try this: Try searching for anti-diarrheal medication on Google. There are some sellers attempting to get around the FDA guidelines by omitting the word from their sale, but its the same stuff for cheap.

 

[gotagetgoodies]

Omg I keep writing long replies and every time the page times out and it all gets lost! I don't have the patience to write it again damn it. I had a thoughtful response to Painful One lol sorry. I might try again later.

And re the sellers omitting a word, I'll look into that! Thanks!

 

[Jekyl Anhydride]

Hey guys, we really don't allow the posting of vendors or offering to supply someone yourself. I know it's voluntarily controlled OTC and legal, but sourcing/ supplying really doesn't fly here. Another thing is posting prices, I know it seems harmless enough but we decided it's not allowed in OD, aside from HR stuff like micron filters. Thanks

 

[Painful One]

Oops. Sorry Jekyl Anhydride. I did not mean to break any rules. Won't happen again.
Thanks for letting us know. I didn't realize it applied to something over the counter.

Poor gotagetgoodies just sounded hopeless and we were trying to comfort and help him/her with this problem.
This is a problem which is not as bad as it seems after a few days. It quickly improves.
I don't want someone to stay stuck on lope. That is too dangerous.

Anyway, we had good intentions here. Please forgive. Thanks for the nice reminder. Appreciate all your advice Jekyl.
Maybe you have some words of wisdom on this subject?

 

[Jekyl Anhydride]

Yeah posting prices is def not an egregious violation of the rules, it's just OD made it a guideline when I came on. Thanks for the cooperation everyone.

Honestly I'm in the same boat as my box store will be running out of the 400ct packs very soon. Tianeptine seems to be a horrible alternative and even with the possible cardiac dangers, at moderate doses Lope was/is beneficial. I think my plan is to go back to a complete WD and maybe cleaning my act up, though it's much easier said than done. Some of the grocery stores still have the 96ct packs for about the cost of a pack of smokes, so that might be my step down tool for the short term. Overseas vendors seems a little extreme, but I can't say never to possibly trying them.

If I come across something pertinent to our situation this will be my first stop, and While I parrot the dangers of Lope to inform newcomers I really do feel for you guys and this new crisis.

 

[Squeaky]

I think it should be noted that a lot of the troubles we face in life are due to poor planning. I run out of pills because I dont stick to a tapering plan. My kids run out of money because they dont budget.

If youre using Loperamide, or expecting to use it in the future, start planning now and you will be fine. Take time to shop around and see what your choices are. Maybe order a weeks supply. Dont get down to your last oxy and then go to the pharmacy looking for dirt cheap solutions to withdrawl. Thats how everyone switches to heroin, because it works and it requires no planning.

Opiate withdrawl hurts like hell, but it doesnt have to and you can still handle it privately for cheap. Just plan ahead.

 

[gotagetgoodies]

So I have a plan. A shitty one, at best. Re Squeaky's last reply: yeah...i told myself tons of times that I need to stockpile or actually stick to a taper plan. But stockpiling more than a week or so was never convenient (no time to go around town to all the various stores, not to mention never having enough extra money to do a legit stockpile). And as for the tapering, I have a childlike lack of self-discipline and willpower. There...i said it. Sad but true. As soon as I'd start feeling even a little crappy I'd abandon my taper schedule and never try to get back on track. It probably doesn't help that I get little to no sleep on weekdays (like 2 hrs, 4 max) and I'm not the most healthful person in terms of eating habits and activity level...idk how any of that is relevant except to say that I feel like if my mind and body were more "in-shape" I'd probably be more successful at sticking to a taper. But, as it stands, I puss out at the first sign of discomfort.

So, onto the plan. I found a suboxone doctor for $300 initial visit and $100/mo after that. Cheapest in town. I looked into methadone but it often comes with a requirement to attend group counseling and/or one-on-one sessions multiple times a week. Or at the very least requires me to come in daily for dosing for the first 90 days, blah blah blah, I'm sure most of you know how that works. I don't WANT to go on suboxone. But I know I can't do the long withdrawal period associated with lope. At least if I'm doing subs I can have a taper plan with the doctor and have some external accountability that way. and I've detoxed from subs before...i know what to expect if I ever have to do it cold turkey.

The only problem now is $$$! I'd PREFER to not have to tell my boyfriend about any of this so I figured I'd cash out my PTO at work, it would be enough to pay for the first two months of Dr and scripts. But I just learned that I can't cash any out until October 1! Now back at square one lol. FML. My sister is the only one who knows about this shit... I'm completely transparent with her (often to her dismay) so I'm gonna ask to borrow the $300 from her.

Wow. Sorry for the long post. I was smart enough to copy it this time before clicking the button and losing it all! Tbh, I'd rather do a medical detox or something but I don't see how that would be possible without my bf finding out, not to mention the $ factor since I don't have insurance. Going back to my illicit oxy habit isn't possible or even desirable in the least. Fuck that! I don't want to be high, I don't want to be an active addict, I just want to be normal and not be sick. I want to continue my normal life and be in a situation where I can *improve* my and my family's lives. I can't do that last bit as long as I'm dependent on a substance.

Thank you for listening and giving me your feedback.

 

[Pipesnneedles]

Soo finally joined after reading for like a decade...anyway my girl hates when I bang dope so about a year ago I took 4 72 count boxes of dollar general lope and 2 mg aprazolam to see if I liked it..weird high but got itchy and opiate motivated n shit. So fast forward a year of that dose every 3rd day I'm getting sick as hell if I don't dose...Duh lol I was physically dependent on a gram of "raw" a day for like 6 years throughout my 20's before I got semi clean.. So at that high ass dose I was getting extreme muscle fatigue at work and was just embarrassed of my strange ass addiction ( told people i was sick from methadone cause of the similar time frame that it lasts lol) so I tried to quit and.....nope not easy lol..so what finally worked was going 5 days without dosing (2 days of being sick really, then taking my normal dose, then went 7 (4 days of hell) , then another 5, got a dime of dope (.1 "raw) and next day felt fine, and to this day! I think lopes long half life essentially weened me off.

 

[Pipesnneedles]

Oh and the 200 ct boxes are extremely rare to come across now in my area and the " dollar store" ( trying to be vaugue and not source) is always sold out..lake county il area...unfortunately I couldn't bring myself to spend like 23$ on my dose so I stole it 99.9% of the time which is dumb and especially irresponsible being I'm already on felony probation. Also the fact that it makes the whole banning it and all that situation even worse..fuck I feel like a douchbag for that..glad I'm done with it for the most part and if I want to get loaded I'll just spend the -- on a dime fuck it.

 

[gotagetgoodies]

So the idea you have about the long half-life weaning you off sounds interesting. Unfortunately, or fortunately probably in my case, I don't have access to dope or even oxy.

That's crazy though how it worked for you! I'd be willing to try it if I could get my hands on shit. But it's been so long since I've felt a "real" opiate high, I'd be super worried I'd have a full-blown relapse back to oxy (or worse since I don't have the $ I used to back then). So yeah it's good I can't do it that way lol. Best of luck to you though...whatever works man!

 

[gotagetgoodies]

Oh and the 200 ct boxes are extremely rare to come across now in my area and the " dollar store" ( trying to be vaugue and not source) is always sold out..lake county il area...unfortunately I couldn't bring myself to spend like 23$ on my dose so I stole it 99.9% of the time which is dumb...

Oh shit, I didn't think of a store selling an otc drug as source dropping. My bad! But yeahhhh I'm right there with ya, unfortunately. I pay for it when I need to, but no one ever expects someone to be stealing diarrhea pills lol and I don't fit "the profile" like at alllll (shitty thing to say, I know, but we all know ppl make judgments based on appearance and behavior, especially in the retail environment re shoplifting) soooo yeah. I don't even wanna think about what it adds up to $-wise.

 

[Lobsterbutch]

So I have a plan. A shitty one, at best. Re Squeaky's last reply: yeah...i told myself tons of times that I need to stockpile or actually stick to a taper plan. But stockpiling more than a week or so was never convenient (no time to go around town to all the various stores, not to mention never having enough extra money to do a legit stockpile). And as for the tapering, I have a childlike lack of self-discipline and willpower. There...i said it. Sad but true. As soon as I'd start feeling even a little crappy I'd abandon my taper schedule and never try to get back on track. It probably doesn't help that I get little to no sleep on weekdays (like 2 hrs, 4 max) and I'm not the most healthful person in terms of eating habits and activity level...idk how any of that is relevant except to say that I feel like if my mind and body were more "in-shape" I'd probably be more successful at sticking to a taper. But, as it stands, I puss out at the first sign of discomfort.

So, onto the plan. I found a suboxone doctor for $300 initial visit and $100/mo after that. Cheapest in town. I looked into methadone but it often comes with a requirement to attend group counseling and/or one-on-one sessions multiple times a week. Or at the very least requires me to come in daily for dosing for the first 90 days, blah blah blah, I'm sure most of you know how that works. I don't WANT to go on suboxone. But I know I can't do the long withdrawal period associated with lope. At least if I'm doing subs I can have a taper plan with the doctor and have some external accountability that way. and I've detoxed from subs before...i know what to expect if I ever have to do it cold turkey.

The only problem now is $$$! I'd PREFER to not have to tell my boyfriend about any of this so I figured I'd cash out my PTO at work, it would be enough to pay for the first two months of Dr and scripts. But I just learned that I can't cash any out until October 1! Now back at square one lol. FML. My sister is the only one who knows about this shit... I'm completely transparent with her (often to her dismay) so I'm gonna ask to borrow the $300 from her.

Wow. Sorry for the long post. I was smart enough to copy it this time before clicking the button and losing it all! Tbh, I'd rather do a medical detox or something but I don't see how that would be possible without my bf finding out, not to mention the $ factor since I don't have insurance. Going back to my illicit oxy habit isn't possible or even desirable in the least. Fuck that! I don't want to be high, I don't want to be an active addict, I just want to be normal and not be sick. I want to continue my normal life and be in a situation where I can *improve* my and my family's lives. I can't do that last bit as long as I'm dependent on a substance.

Thank you for listening and giving me your feedback.

So I have a plan. A shitty one, at best. Re Squeaky's last reply: yeah...i told myself tons of times that I need to stockpile or actually stick to a taper plan. But stockpiling more than a week or so was never convenient (no time to go around town to all the various stores, not to mention never having enough extra money to do a legit stockpile). And as for the tapering, I have a childlike lack of self-discipline and willpower. There...i said it. Sad but true. As soon as I'd start feeling even a little crappy I'd abandon my taper schedule and never try to get back on track. It probably doesn't help that I get little to no sleep on weekdays (like 2 hrs, 4 max) and I'm not the most healthful person in terms of eating habits and activity level...idk how any of that is relevant except to say that I feel like if my mind and body were more "in-shape" I'd probably be more successful at sticking to a taper. But, as it stands, I puss out at the first sign of discomfort.



Hey, I'm in the Lope boat too myself, more or less the same one, as im going strong at the 400/day dose and really struggling to make all of the days work. I have nothing to add to the Suboxone idea, except that its a really good idea and you should do what you can to make it happen.

Mainly, its about your boyfriend. Addiction sucks really bad, but if you really want to get better, you'll probably need to actually tell him. the reason being is that secrets, lies, the framework for addiction that we make for ourselves breeds itself. trying to keep this from him is going to cause the stress/anxiety/and depression to fester, because you'll have to hide it. you'll feel bad for hiding it, and scared of what might happen if he finds out. For me, this stress and depression of the "big lie" made me take liberties with my taper schedule and ultimately relapse fully. The stress of hiding it made me use more. AND when the inevitable W/D, it feels worse, because not only do you suffer from the symptoms, but you have to hide and explain them away. You can't ask for help when you're hiding, and hiding it may mean that you have to sacrifice your suboxone and go back to lope to keep hiding the fact that you even have a problem at all.

You need to talk to the ones close to you about this, hard as it may be. They may even be understanding, ready and willing to help you get your suboxone and to your doctor appointments. it will take the huge load off of you from hiding it, and if it is such a problem you need help, hiding it from your boyfriend is going to be hard and its going to hurt you a lot.

I don't know your situation, but I know mine, and I didn't start getting help i really needed until I went full discloure with everyone I was close to earlier last week. It wasn't all good, but its the kind of thing that *has* to happen to move forward. Addiction makes us really good liars, but that comes with being addicted as long as we keep the lies. Except im still addicted, but you know what I mean

 

[gotagetgoodies]

You're absolutely right. About all of it. I'll have to tell him because I won't be able to get away with all the appointments and money without him noticing. And just for my own success I need him to know. He's just one of those ppl who think addiction is purely a choice and has no empathy for anyone dealing with it. At all. He thinks I stopped all substances 7 years ago when I got pregnant. He knew how bad my oxy habit was but understands so little about it that he believed I simply stopped doing it all of a sudden. Of course I couldn't. Enter the lope. I've been on it "behind his back" ever since...hes not gonna be happy about that. But sometimes he really surprises me with his reactions to shit. Things I think he's gonna freak out about he ends up being chill about. Unpredictable at best.

I really think he's not gonna quite get it when I tell him, so he might just shrug it off. I'm not counting on him for support really. He's not the most emotionally connected person, he lacks empathy in a lot of ways. So it might just be a neutral topic as far as he's concerned. Idk. We'll see.

But yeah I'm going to have to tell him. He's too easy to keep secrets from and that's not what I need. I mean I haven't exactly been super sneaky about the lope thing, I know he's seen the million boxes and bottles in my car at some point but he's never said a word. He's not the type to question things. That's me. Lol I'd be all kinds of nosy if I saw that shit in his car.

Good on you for taking the difficult step of telling those close to you. Everyone else in my life I have no problem with them knowing. I don't have to live with them. I don't share a home and two beautiful little boys with them. If he wants to my bf could totally turn my world upside down, everyone else can't. He could kick me out and not want me around the kids. What then? I'd be devastated. I'm sure that won't happen but it's always in the back of my mind when I think about telling him.

 

[gotagetgoodies]

My dad is loaning me the money so I don't have to wait until October! Appointment is Thursday morning. I don't know why I'm excited but I am. I know there's a chance it won't work since lope is so damn long-acting and I haven't tapered down at all.

The Dr wanted my last dose to be the one I took this morning a couple hrs ago but there's no way. I'll be starting to withdraw by this time tomorrow (Wednesday) and feeling seriously shitty by my appointment time Thursday. That's my son's first day of first grade, not to mention I have to work Wednesday night and be home with the kids all day Wednesday.

I know they use the COWS scale to quantify withdrawal symptoms and based on what I read for clinicians on how to start sub properly I think I'll be in *enough* withdrawal to start when the time comes.

Anyonr have any experience with that aspect? I read one earlier post here from a lope user who said the sub didn't work so I'm kinda worried.

 

[Lorne???]

Do NOT take a full dose Tommorow; cut it in half and deal with it, its slowly eliminated. And buprenorphine, if I am understanding you, is infinitely better than fucking loperamide

And yes, otc products which can be abused and are neuro toxic and cause heart problems especially, it is sourcing

Keep it clean people

And good luck to you, person posting

 

[gotagetgoodies]

Do NOT take a full dose Tommorow; cut it in half and deal with it, its slowly eliminated. And buprenorphine, if I am understanding you, is infinitely better than fucking loperamide

And yes, otc products which can be abused and are neuro toxic and cause heart problems especially, it is sourcing

Keep it clean people

And good luck to you, person posting

Sorry, I would never have come to that conclusion on my own. Thanks. (re the sourcing)

And re the bupe dosing tomorrow...why exactly do you suggest not taking the full dose? Because I'm pretty sure the Dr will require me to take whatever dose she says. But if I can explain why maybe she'll consider my suggestion?

Thanks for your input.

 

[Lorne???]

I meant the loperamide

Certainly take your full dose of buprenorphine

However, if you can’t go more than 24 hours without taking loperamide, then you should take minimum dose of both, to prevent precipitated wd and make the bupe more effective

Didn’t mean to be rude

 

[gotagetgoodies]

Oh no you're fine! Okay I see what you mean now. I didn't realize taking the both would work. I thought the bupe blocks the receptors. And as far as the precipitated withdrawal I guess I don't completely understand how that works. I mean I know how it's caused, but once it occurs can you not just take more suboxone to make it go away? But then that sounds kinda dumb even as I'm typing it lol. Because if it were that simple why make such a big deal about it and trying so hard to avoid it? Would taking some lope work to get rid of precipitated wd? It's a partial agonist as well though, I believe. The main problem here is that lope is so long-acting. I have no idea if my receptors will be clear enough for the sub to take hold, even if I'm in what seems like *enough* withdrawal at the time I take the first sub dose. Fml.

At the very least I suppose I'll have some good first-hand experience to share that might help others on here lol.

 

[Lorne???]

IF you go 30-40 hours, you shal be fine; even 24 hours and you’re likely ok; just stop loperamide NOW; and they don’t work together, and wasn’t thinking appointment is m, Tommorow, if IIRC

Howe Er, they shall not give you more than 8, or at most 12ng, possibly 4mg, then 4-8 more. Point is, it shall work; buprenorphine fully penetrate ms the nervous system, unlike Lope, which barely does CNS effects, w/out inhibitors, (3A4 inhibitors, multiple doses, and then it just every couple days)

Buprenorphine can work wonders, and getting off lope is arguably tge best decision you have made; trust me, this is my area of expertise, and loperamide doesn’t compare to buprenorphine ‘ - if even 50-75 % of the lope is gone, you will feel like you took a full agonist at first, even a kind of rush - This goes away eventually , though you remain WD free, and it still gives a pick me up, kind of an anti-depressant type effect, and, it is actually an effective analgesic at reasonable doses, for mild moderate pain, especially

Post back as you mentioned, and just try and not stress it shall it surely work out

It is good you have the option, and, good luck hun