• 💊 OTHER DRUGS 💊 Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Notable Threads 1 Notable Threads 2
    Dangerous Combos Addiction Support
    Emergency Services Benzo Guide v.1
    Addiction Stories Scary Case Studies
    Biology, Pharmacology & Drugs 101
  • Select Your Topic Then Scroll Down
    Alcohol Bupe Benzos
    Cocaine Heroin Opioids
    RCs Stimulants Misc
    Harm Reduction All Topics Gabapentinoids
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums

Opioids What can opiate withdrawal be compared to?

Physically: a mild-to-moderate cold or flu + food poisoning + exhaustion + getting beat in the muscles and joints with a baseball bat.

Mentally: losing a loved one and then getting left at the altar by your fiance the day after losing your job. And then there's the anxiety and depression...
 
someone has killed your entire family would describe the thoughts you can feel initially.
 
oliphill said:
The absolute worst feeling in the world.
Click to expand...

Benzo withdrawal is much worse than even the worst opiate wtihdrawl in my opinion. I have never come close to going to the hostpical for opiate withdrawal but benzo withdrawal can be so scary (nto to mention fatal). Like the depression so crippling way more than opiate withdrawal, and opiate withdrawal depression is fucking horrible to begin wtih. Just the way your body feels not to mention the insane rebound anxiety, and if you have mini seizures its scary like what if you have a grand mal and you live alone and therse noone to help?
 
i would get major restless legs when kicking heroin.i would be so exhausted id lay in bed but then the cold chills would kick in, then the hot flashes, then id be so fucking restless id have to stand up and just walk around my bedroom.then id collapse onto my again within 5 minutes from exhaustion..2 minutes later id have to piss but couldnt make it downstairs..literally there was no way i could walk downstairs as i was so weak from the withdrawal so pissed in an empty gallon container...stomach hurting like hell so i bend over my bed and dry heave as i havent eaten anything in 3-4 days...everything SMELLS bad when kicking as well, noises are intensified...the depression is unbearable..everytime i kicked heroin i would be up for days with no sleep at all..whe i kicked oxycontin i was up for a week straight, no sleep...then after all of the physical withdrawals subside, you get to look forward to months of anhedonia, dysphoria and anxiety which leads to crippling depression..
 
kelany17 said:
HELL. The flu+restless leg, anxiety, depression, the worst of it all, is no damn sleep. When you have the flu, at least you sleep your life away.I think we could all agree that if you were as tired from W/D like when actually have a flu, so many wouldn't dread the w/ds and just maybe, a lot of ppl wouldn't be opiate addicts. To me, is finding the secret to being able to sleep 12hrs at a time, up for maybe 2 hrs to shower, eat(if u can),hydrate, then back to bed for 12 hours until the w/ds'are over. Even Serequel, which usually knocks you out, doesn't work when in opiate withdrawl.
Click to expand...

Unless it's the tale-end of my withdrawals sleep is not an option. Then again I haven't cold turkeyed that many times since I have gotten on bupe a few years back after being in a methadone program. That would be awesome to get 12 hr sleep. thats why withdrawals are so bad for me is it's like double the time. if you are withdrawing for 6 days say, it feels like 12 with the amount of sleep you get. Time goes by so damn slow lol.

Enough xanax helps knock me out, but I was dependent on 4-6mg daily alprazolam in the past, so when i take pretty heavy doses of benzos for more than 3 or 4 days I actually get these acute withdrawals which are pretty severe albeit short lasting.
 
Living in Hell for 2-3 weeks depending on what type of opiate you used.
 
All i have to say is that i go through amphetamine wd from time to time (off doses of 140-210 mg vyvanse or 80-120 mg adderall) and it is like vacation on the beach in mexico compared to when i try and kick oxy/suboxone. The worst thing for me is just the fact that sleep is impossible which just makes all the other symptoms so exacerbated; especially the fucking RLS. Just talking about this shit gives me the chills. I can't imagine what the people hooked on benzos or alcohol go through which is supposibly even worse and it can kill you. IMO if you want to play with fire do it with stimulants. At least you can just sleep through the 5-7 days of wd and not have to be up the whole time basically counting down every single second of every minute of every hour of every day.
 
vicapro said:
...I can't imagine what the people hooked on benzos or alcohol go through which is supposibly even worse and it can kill you.
Click to expand...

Been there, never gonna do that again. PERIOD. Fuck.
Opiate withdrawal (going through a mild one now unfortunately) is a joke (I don't mean that literally, I sympathize with everyone and anyone who has gone through opiate withdrawal and I know it's no fucking joy ride) when compared to benzo withdrawal. I was on benzo's everyday straight for 2 months. I was taking Etizolam, Xanax, Lorazepam and Clonazepam everyday, switching up the doses and types trying to see what mixes good with what and how it affects me. During that month and a half I also picked up a bad crack habit and binged on crack for a week straight as well for the first time, 3 rocks a day. Anyways, long story. One day I said fuck it, stopped the crack after that week (smashed my pipe for psychological re-assurance and boost) and told myself that I don't need this shit anymore and just stopped cold turkey, crack and benzo's. What followed the during the next 3 weeks was hell on earth for me and the stupidest thing was I didn't even know why this was happening and I thought it was some form of flu/disease.

I actually thought I was dying on the inside and outside (if that makes sense). I remember waking up one night after stopping (can't remember how many days it had been) with an intense pain in my stomach, extreme nausea (but I couldn't throw up for the first few hours, just dry heaving and gagging) having to take a shit at the same time but couldn't, sweating profusely, feeling cold and hot, shaking and clenching so bad I thought I was gonna break something. I remember laying on the washroom floor in pain and shivering for hours until I somehow decided I should find a softer warmer surface to lay down on, like my bed. I couldn't sleep for more than an hour without wanting to throw up all over myself and just shivering, ripping the blankets of myself only having to pull them back on a few seconds later. This was the first 3-4 days.
After that, the physical symptoms decreased to the point were it finally felt like I had a typical flu and fever. I still had nausea and abdominal problems. But the shaking had decreased. I just remember laying in the bed moaning from the nausea and feeling so fucking tired but I still couldn't have a proper sleep.
This is when the psychological symptoms started to kick in to full fucking gear. The next week and a half I don't know how I made it without killing myself. (wow just typing this up and thinking back is making me feel sick). I would pace around the house nauseated and feverish, moaning and just tearing up from the extreme sadness and anger I was feeling. At times I couldn't stop myself from tearing up and just calling out to people in my house scared outta my fucking mind that this was it , I was somehow going to kill myself. It was insanity. Literally. I was having the most extreme panic attacks, my heart was beating so bad and my thoughts were racing. I was thinking all this irrational stupid shit all the time 24/7, at the same time having a fever, feeling like throwing up , stomach cramps and bad constipation. I can't even properly begin to explain what was going on in my head. Just imagine the words "straight jacket", "psychosis" and fucked up beyond whatever you thought you could imagine to the point were your just about to lose control but somehow by some miracle you don't.
Anyways, this psychological delirium lasted for a good solid week until it gradually lessened with the support of the people around me.
The week after that I was STILL struggling with physical symptoms. Still had stomach issues and felt weak and "sickly". Eventually by the end of the third or fourth week I was almost back to normal.

Fuck, I don't know what was worse, the physical symptoms or the psychological ones ( I think the psycho ones outweighed the physical ones 60-40). I'm somehow convinced that what I experienced was also due to the fact that I had actually at the same time contracted a stomach virus coupled with withdrawal symptoms. Anyways, I'll never know.

That was a chore to write up/ think of again.

Ironically after all that, I'm going through a small opiate withdrawal stage now. Fuck it, I think I'm just going to stop for this year. It's been too taxing on the mind and body to keep having these phases.
 
It's hot out, but your still shaking cold.
It's cold out, but you're still sweating.
You're very tired, but can't sleep.
Not in the mood to do anything fun, because nothing sounds fun.

While I was withdrawling from hydrocodone a couple years ago, that's how I felt. I was taking 5-6 showers a day to try to kill time, and it made me feel a lot better after every shower.
 
I think withdrawal really varies on each person. I'm a regular user, I probably take one-two day breaks every week or two, sometimes more than that. The only withdrawal symptoms I've noticed are heavily watered eyes, yawning, tired, slightly sore, mild insomnia etc. The only problem I really have is irritability.
 
This is by far the most accurate description of WD's hands down. When I was in severe withdrawals, I would punch a newborn baby in the face if that got me well. The worst part by far, for me, was the restless leg/body (akathisia)
 
If I had to compare it I would say kicking alcohol is much worse and Benzos the very worst. Opiates tend to kick at different rates dependent on the DOC and duration. You have all the info from the people above. I sweat like crazy and temps go up and down without reason. Cramps and flu like symptoms. It sucks but its manageable. With all serious withdrawals it's the after affects of being sober that kill you, the fact that you must take anti depressants or other benzo's you know you will abuse and the cocktails prescribed to feel normal. Opiates tend to leave me depressed but not out of my mind like benzos and alcohol where my heart rate and BP are through the roof.

I'm not making light of it. There's a lot of puking from both ends but it definitely can be done without supervision if need be.
 
For me (without going into much detail) I'd compare it to the worst flu ever, with a huge element of desperation mentally. The luxury of sleep is unavailable, so I am unable to escape my physical and mental/emotional agony.
 
Once you reach that higher level tolerance range the withdrawals can hardly be compared to anything natural. But, if I had to compare them to something, it would have to be...... running a 100km marathon and after being so exhausted you can barely function, yet your body, especially your legs and feet, CANNOT stop moving- even though you are more sore and achy than you have ever been in your life you continue to twitch, shake and stretch your legs. Yet, regardless of how tired you are, sleep is impossible, boredom is maddening and ultimately death sometimes feels like a better option.
 
As far as acute acute withdrawal, shall we call it, that's a pretty good description dip ;) how many of us actually know what it feels to be long distances runners AND severe opioid addicts remains as yet unknown however

I was always so happy (as my major doc has always been heroin) I never suffered any stomach discomfort past the diarrhea and GI issues. But never had to deal with puking, thank god/od team. =D

as we all know and has been said, I'd like to reiterate how w/d can differ from person to person, dose to dose, etc. etc.
 
Benzos only help a little bit, they ease that anxious stomach wrenching feeling but only for a little while. You will still get sick, you will still suffer. Best thing to do is either not run out, or just never take them enough to get an addiction. I am going through this right now, and I'm on my second day of withdrawls. I have tried everything to cease the withdrawls but nothing works and if it does it only last like an hour. Guess that is better than nothing though.
 
for people calling any opiate a "weak" or "pussy" one is just ignorant . take enough of any opiate agonist and youre going to fucking wd.

the worst for me is the leg kicking and skin crawling . ugh . makes me feel it just thinking of it
 
Your withdrawals change over time..they adjust with your mind and body, becoming more intense as your habit grows and your body becomes weaker, especially with age.. In the beginning, what may seem like really bad withdrawals will be laughable after 10 years, even 5. An example, I never used to puke my first couple of years when i was in w/d..just have achey bones, cold sweats, etc..but after a while, vomiting became a big symptom when I was sick and the aches got even more intense. When your young, your body can also deal with it better because your strong..but as you get older, it hurts more and takes longer to recover. That's with any sickness or psychical problem. A broken bone on a 15 year old is going to heal a hell of a lot faster than on a 50 year old.. Now when I get sick..You'd think I was near death, furiously knocking on heavens door..or hells door most likley. :\ Hah. It gets fucking bad. The flu on crack. But I'm grateful that it is so bad now.. becomes it is a big detterent to relapsing.. I don't not use because I don't want to do heroin..I don't use because I don't want to go through the agony again when I inevitably get strung out and have to kick..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top