I would not be so naive, what about when you build it up in your system and become foggy? (many ex-sub users report this) what about when or if it stops working? what about if you feel worse later on? the general notion is that LDN helps for a day or 2 but after that it stops giving those feelings and you become depressed even more.
I do not believe it jumps starts or down regulate endorphins because 3 people I know who tried the LDN claimed they felt ever worse a week later and were in a worst fog for 2 more weeks, and then back to PAWS...Perhaps it may helps some and not others but that only proves that it's not proven to help PAWS in the long term..
I remember I tried the LDN and it put me back in withdrawal, it made me feel good for 1 day or 2 days but then stopped working and felt worse..
Do not be so quick to assume that because it didn't work for you, that it isn't possible for it to work for other people with unique body chemistry. You can't just dismiss saaron3's reported experience with "don't believe ya". You have no idea how they reacted to it, and it seems like unnecessary provocation. The way you endured PAWS is going to be radically different from the way 99 other people would if we put 100 PAWS patients in a room, so to speak...
I bet that each and every person would respond best to a different form of therapy, and I know that this is the last thing that many want to hear, but your chances of succeeding in terms of overcoming opioid addiction are the highest (no pun intended) when you integrate NON-MEDICATION ways of repairing your abused opioid receptors.
If you can afford it, a multifaceted approach seems to be undeniably the best way of proceeding. CBT is often a huge piece of the puzzle that most addicts trying to become ex-addicts overlook, probably because everyone gets so used to treating all of your problems with a pill, or that there's just going to be some drug out there that makes everything better so all one needs to do is find this non-existent miracle drug.
Hence why many doctors tend to throw so many scripts at people in PAWS, I sorta visualize/analogize it as being like a blindfolded firing squad suffering vertigo.... and they're hoping that one bullet will manage to hit the target by chance but you can't predict the outcome, so with all of these drugs in your system, it's pretty hard to identify exactly what is doing what.... What is helping, what is NOT helping, etc, especially because it's IMO/IME rather standard procedure for doctors to try doping people up on
1) benzodiazepines- the universal band-aids for gunshot wounds. For some reason, doctors tend to hand out clonazepam or lorazepam, but I've found these to be the least effective minor tranquilizers, my body chemistry favors triazolobenzodiazepines such as alprazolam, but it's short mechanism of action makes it an impractical choice, especially seeing as how PAWS for buprenorphine and methadone can last so long that by the time the worst of it is over, you now have a benzodiazepine habit to deal with.... I get the best results from a specific dose of diazepam and temazepam, but that's just me. Things can get ugly due to the many people who elect to consume obscene amounts of benzodiazepines during PAWS, hoping to force effects out of a drug it's incapable of producing, anything to feel "better". Brute force does not work here, and this kind of dosing will only increase the dependency on benzodiazepines (the general consensus being that it is one of, if not the worst classes of drugs to discontinue... GABAergics as a whole...). The overall time one spends dependent on yet another drug increases and your inhibitions decrease when you are most vulnerable to relapse.... which is the opposite of what one usually is trying to accomplish when one finds themselves ready to stop taking maintenance drugs and attempt the next step: sober living.
2) clonidine- trying to relieve some RLS and withdrawal symptoms with clonidine, and other substances that are not controlled substances, a very popular one being:
3) Hydroxyzine, (Trade name Atarax, is IMO the best form of hydroxyzine as it is the water soluble hydrochloride salt and it already has a long half life, negating the point of Vistaril (Brand name hydroxyzine that breaks down very slowly, way too slowly for
my needs) yet... it is a "sedative" which can works wonders or not at all, but usually somewhere in between...
depending on your unique body chemistry.
4) Ondansetron (Trade name Zofran, and the generics are just as good for this use) I'd heard reports of this, so naturally the day came when I finally decided to try it, and it helped a great deal with the RLS and hot/cold flashes and overall the menopause-like sensation that withdrawals feel like. I was lucky enough to experience incredible relief from my PAWS, and am very grateful to have this drug in my opioid withdrawal kit/arsenal. NOTE: I have never allowed myself to take buprenorphine regularly enough to become dependent due to the mess that most people find themselves in when they need to get off of it.
The way I see it, even you said it works for two days or so, and I know plenty of people suffering from PAWS that would be extremely grateful for any relief at all, so now that we know that it can be a positive thing.... Just like every single other drug though, the benefits for you were short-lived and dependency brought you depression, a very commonly reported side effect with naltrexone.
