Opioid Withdrawal Question.

[PieceByPiece]

This may seem a really weird and/or stupid question, but how do you know how long you need to wait before dosing again to avoid withdrawal?

I've been taking Morphine for around 2-3 months now.

I will take a "near enough high" sort of dose at say 10:30pm, and I'll wake up and feel fine (apart from being a little drowsy still/fuzzy headed - drug hangover?). Anyway I then go most of the day feeling fine. No withdrawal symptoms psychically and I don't have any mental symptoms either (like cravings), so then it'll be around 16 hours since my last dose.

Then out of the blue, with a switch of a light, I'm feeling anxious, shaking, extremely nauseated, have a throbbing headache, chills, dizziness every muscle in my body hurts, and I feel so faint I have to lie down.

So the withdrawal symptoms all come on all at once, very strongly and rapidly.

I dosed, and within 15 minutes it was like none of that happened.

I know people take doses of their drug to o avoid withdrawals throughout the day, but how am I suppose to know when to dose to avoid episodes like that when I'm not even having any cravings or withdrawal symptoms?

I mean is there a rule like even if you don't feel any withdrawal, when you're addicted, you have to take (drug) every six hours.

I feel like I'm just wasting drugs just using them to keep withdrawal away rather than abuse them for their pleasurable and sedative effects.

 

[SS373dOH]

This dependant on said drug's half life. Obviously the longer one's like methadone, you can wait ~48 hrs, and the shorter ones, such as morphine, are around 24 hours. Also metabolism is a variable in the equation too. A faster metabolism may mean that you only have 12 hours, or in your case, 16 hours.

I mean is there a rule like even if you don't feel any withdrawal, when you're addicted, you have to take (drug) every six hours.

This would only be the case if you're prescribed opiates for pain, and have to take it regularly.

I feel like I'm just wasting drugs just using them to keep withdrawal away rather than abuse them for their pleasurable and sedative effects.

This is the nature of the beast. Although, going from being in withdrawal, to feeling good or even ok, is quite pleasurable in my book.


- SS373dOH Soul