Thanks for the support. I've got a wife that was super supportive the first time but not so much now. I'm stopping for good, I told her to not allow anymore in the house and I don't buy illegally. I wish an otc sleep aid would work but they don't work ever on me. The insomnia is killer. It throws me into panic attacks because I have a 3 and 5 year old that need all of my attention(tball, four wheelers, food lol). Opiates are not for me. I know my habit was small compared to most on here but I can't do this again EVER. I want this to end soo badly.
A guide to opioid addiction treatments and other medications used for withdrawal
- Thread starter cashtothemoney
- Start date
End of Day 8 of absolutely no opiates and the days are way easier but the nights are still torture. I decided not to use the xanax for the last three nights and haven't slept a wink. Darkness brings on the anxiety and the bed feels like an insane asylum. I'm thinking I'm actually going through a little bit of wd on the five days of xanax because I'm almost certain my problems should be over on the hydrocodone from my past experience and from what I've read. Insomnia is really hitting me hard and the anxiety it brings(something I dont struggle with normally) is wearing on me. That's my update while I sit here in the dark, rubbing my legs for comfort, praying for daylight.
Jabberwocky
Frumious Bandersnatch
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Definitely use the alprazolam at night if you aren't sleeping. If you were dependent on the alprazolam prior to this, it would be better finding a longer acting benzodiazepine to use for a couple days if not simply a non-gabaergic drug.
Not sleeping makes the process infinitely more difficult (as you are finding I'm sure). The insomnia related to acute withdrawal can drag on for longer than other symptoms, especially if you have been using for a long time. Ideally you would be able to take a non-gabaergic sleep medication like trazadone or a gabaergic drug like gabapentin, pregabalin or baclofen (which acts slightly differently than benzos).
Do you have a doctor you can work with to address your insomnia?
No, I don't think you're being a douche, I'm just being critical for other reasons. I'm not sure it is appropriate to characterize a decision like that as a well thought out idea. By it's very nature, that kind of thought process is that arrives at the conclusion that it is a good idea to inject a maintenance medication probably has not involved the deepest investigation or thought on the part of the user. Instead I see it as more a visceral reaction based in long standing thought/habit patterns to the immense pain they are experiencing (whether psychological or otherwise, suffering is suffering) transitioning from a lifestyle where they are using something like oxycodone or heroin to manage their mood to, essentially, nothing.
It's like how no one just decides to wake up one day and inject drugs without generally having a damn good reason (living with intense physical or psychological pain unknown to those who don't feel the need to regulate their mood with powerful substance, considering how inherently painful lifestyle involved in chronic injection drug/opioid use tends to be). No one just decides to up and inject their ORT medication without a pretty damn good reason, however unsustainable or unhealthy it might be.
Injecting buprenorphine isn't exactly the biggest step forward from injecting other opioids, but in early recovery I'm more concerned with moving the person forward however they can. It isn't unfair to say that injecting buprenorphine (while hardly a good idea), is a bit less harmful than injecting something like heroin (for a number of reasons). Faaaaar from ideal, but with harm reduction we try to meet people wherever they're at without judgement or criticism.
Which is why I love HR - we aren't big on coercive forms of treatment that aren't in line with the user's actual goals. Perhaps what the individual using buprenorpine "improperly" indicates is that they are yet to really formulate practical, achievable goals vis a vis their recovery. Allowing them to figure out their own path and giving them the time and support to do this, and keeping them alive during the process (i.e. away from the dope scene) is what is important for them in specific.
Not sleeping makes the process infinitely more difficult (as you are finding I'm sure). The insomnia related to acute withdrawal can drag on for longer than other symptoms, especially if you have been using for a long time. Ideally you would be able to take a non-gabaergic sleep medication like trazadone or a gabaergic drug like gabapentin, pregabalin or baclofen (which acts slightly differently than benzos).
Do you have a doctor you can work with to address your insomnia?
No, I don't think you're being a douche, I'm just being critical for other reasons. I'm not sure it is appropriate to characterize a decision like that as a well thought out idea. By it's very nature, that kind of thought process is that arrives at the conclusion that it is a good idea to inject a maintenance medication probably has not involved the deepest investigation or thought on the part of the user. Instead I see it as more a visceral reaction based in long standing thought/habit patterns to the immense pain they are experiencing (whether psychological or otherwise, suffering is suffering) transitioning from a lifestyle where they are using something like oxycodone or heroin to manage their mood to, essentially, nothing.
It's like how no one just decides to wake up one day and inject drugs without generally having a damn good reason (living with intense physical or psychological pain unknown to those who don't feel the need to regulate their mood with powerful substance, considering how inherently painful lifestyle involved in chronic injection drug/opioid use tends to be). No one just decides to up and inject their ORT medication without a pretty damn good reason, however unsustainable or unhealthy it might be.
Injecting buprenorphine isn't exactly the biggest step forward from injecting other opioids, but in early recovery I'm more concerned with moving the person forward however they can. It isn't unfair to say that injecting buprenorphine (while hardly a good idea), is a bit less harmful than injecting something like heroin (for a number of reasons). Faaaaar from ideal, but with harm reduction we try to meet people wherever they're at without judgement or criticism.
Which is why I love HR - we aren't big on coercive forms of treatment that aren't in line with the user's actual goals. Perhaps what the individual using buprenorpine "improperly" indicates is that they are yet to really formulate practical, achievable goals vis a vis their recovery. Allowing them to figure out their own path and giving them the time and support to do this, and keeping them alive during the process (i.e. away from the dope scene) is what is important for them in specific.
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No, I would rather not use a doctor because I live in a small town and actually go to church with my GP and am extremely embarrassed about the whole situation. I took last week off of work to detox so I started work Monday (after no sleep sunday night either) and actually had a really good day. On top of that, I'm guessing from the hard work, I ended up getting about 4 hours of unaided sleep throughout the night. It was very broken up, but I never had to leave the bedroom. Today was even better than Monday and I actually nodded off watching TV for 30 mins with all the kids in the room. I'm thinking I'm on the downhill side of the mountain now and feeling good. Its funny how a fistful hours of sleep in 9 days has got me so optimistic. Thanks for the support and suggestions, the blue light community is awesome. Hopefully I have the willpower to never have to go through this ever again. I really want to stop for good this time, I've made up my mind.
Jabberwocky
Frumious Bandersnatch
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I'm sorry to hear about the situation with your doctors, but I'm super glad to hear you were able to get some rest and are feeling better. It is indeed quite amazing what a few good hours of rest can do for our mood! So very necessary.
If you end up continuing to struggle with this substance use stuff moving forward, I'd definitely get a referral or find a psychiatrist to work with so you can get more help with what you're going through. It's really hard to manage this condition without professional medical support for many, many people (if not most), however I hear you about the issue with confidentiality, small town doctors and stigma and whatnot.
That is the worst part about all this a lot of the time, having to hide it from those we really should be able to rely upon for support getting through it (such as your GP). But life ain't perfect, that is for sure.
Things are better than they were ten, twenty, thirty years ago, but we have far more to go in terms of moving addiction medicine into the 21st century than what has already been accomplished (it's sad that the treatment has really progressed much since the turn of the 20th century). Maybe as more folks outside the ghetto continue to die from overdoses and a more accurate social awareness of substance use disorder continues to develop culturally, and especially once drug use is decriminalized in the states (I try to be optimistic about this), things will start improving at a slightly faster rate.
But until then I don't have my hopes up. Sorry for the mini rant...![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
If you end up continuing to struggle with this substance use stuff moving forward, I'd definitely get a referral or find a psychiatrist to work with so you can get more help with what you're going through. It's really hard to manage this condition without professional medical support for many, many people (if not most), however I hear you about the issue with confidentiality, small town doctors and stigma and whatnot.
That is the worst part about all this a lot of the time, having to hide it from those we really should be able to rely upon for support getting through it (such as your GP). But life ain't perfect, that is for sure.
Things are better than they were ten, twenty, thirty years ago, but we have far more to go in terms of moving addiction medicine into the 21st century than what has already been accomplished (it's sad that the treatment has really progressed much since the turn of the 20th century). Maybe as more folks outside the ghetto continue to die from overdoses and a more accurate social awareness of substance use disorder continues to develop culturally, and especially once drug use is decriminalized in the states (I try to be optimistic about this), things will start improving at a slightly faster rate.
But until then I don't have my hopes up. Sorry for the mini rant...
Erinben0103
Bluelighter
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After reading this thread I'm still confused about lopermine. Will taking 6 mg actually stop my w/d outright? I am taking everything else I can get my hands on, on the list including clondine (easy to get), hydroxyzine, kratom anything that I can get my hands on really and no I don't care about cross addiction at all I'll keep doing what I'm addicted to as long as the supply doesn't run out. I can't even imagine caring about withdrawals from Kratom or anything like that. Just wanted to comment one of my favorite threads spent a lot of time lurking, new poster.
Jabberwocky
Frumious Bandersnatch
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You're probably going to get the most out of the kratom.
With loperamide, it depends what you're using it for and how large your habit was. 6mg of loperamide will probably help resolve some GI issues like cramping and diarrhea, but for larger habits it takes significantly more to do so (20mg+). Enough loperamide will resolve all symptoms, but that can require very high dosing (again, it all depends the size of your habit) of 60-80mg+. That is risky to do for any length of time because of, at the least, cardiotoxic side effects of high dose loperamide.
Antihistamines like hydroxyzine can make RLS worse, though it you're taking kratom I imagine that isn't as much an issue. Clonidine will be the most useful other than the kratom and loperamide.
Try and look into getting gabapentin. That is an absolutely fantastic medication for acute withdrawal (as well as other things). Between clonidine, gabapentin and loperamide you can essentially resolve all major symptoms of acute withdrawal except for those with the most severe of habits.
What was your habit like before you stopped using opioids? How long has it been?
With loperamide, it depends what you're using it for and how large your habit was. 6mg of loperamide will probably help resolve some GI issues like cramping and diarrhea, but for larger habits it takes significantly more to do so (20mg+). Enough loperamide will resolve all symptoms, but that can require very high dosing (again, it all depends the size of your habit) of 60-80mg+. That is risky to do for any length of time because of, at the least, cardiotoxic side effects of high dose loperamide.
Antihistamines like hydroxyzine can make RLS worse, though it you're taking kratom I imagine that isn't as much an issue. Clonidine will be the most useful other than the kratom and loperamide.
Try and look into getting gabapentin. That is an absolutely fantastic medication for acute withdrawal (as well as other things). Between clonidine, gabapentin and loperamide you can essentially resolve all major symptoms of acute withdrawal except for those with the most severe of habits.
What was your habit like before you stopped using opioids? How long has it been?
Erinben0103
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What was your habit like before you stopped using opioids? How long has it been?
My habit is erratic sometimes will be off them completely, sometimes Vicodin, sometimes completely on heroin which was what I was doing. The supply ran out or I never would have stopped, I had some Vicodin come up but limited. I have been off since about Saturday, I tried finding little residues but I don't think I'm getting anything except dust and debris. It's like 4 days of this how much longer? I'm guessing supply will come back before I can break this I'm just in w/d hell.
My habit is erratic sometimes will be off them completely, sometimes Vicodin, sometimes completely on heroin which was what I was doing. The supply ran out or I never would have stopped, I had some Vicodin come up but limited. I have been off since about Saturday, I tried finding little residues but I don't think I'm getting anything except dust and debris. It's like 4 days of this how much longer? I'm guessing supply will come back before I can break this I'm just in w/d hell.
Jabberwocky
Frumious Bandersnatch
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Ah, see you do have access to kratom (do you can ignore my question about his in that other thread). I'd stick with that and get some clonidine and Gabapentin as you intend. Those three substances should get you through the acute withdrawal and any lingering symptoms comfortably enough.
With cessation of use acute withdrawal takes about a week for short acting opioids, so assuming there wasn't something crazy life methadone in your hillbilly heroin you should be feeling a lot better around day seven.
Generally folks say say day three or four is the hardest and then it gets easier. Expect some minor symptoms, minor by comparison to those during acute withdrawal, to continue for a while after you get past week one (minor insomnia, RLS, mood fluxuations, malaise and/or GI issues - again they will be much, much less significant than there were during the acute withdrawal, but they are annoying when they linger).
With cessation of use acute withdrawal takes about a week for short acting opioids, so assuming there wasn't something crazy life methadone in your hillbilly heroin you should be feeling a lot better around day seven.
Generally folks say say day three or four is the hardest and then it gets easier. Expect some minor symptoms, minor by comparison to those during acute withdrawal, to continue for a while after you get past week one (minor insomnia, RLS, mood fluxuations, malaise and/or GI issues - again they will be much, much less significant than there were during the acute withdrawal, but they are annoying when they linger).
This is an amazing post and I've gotten clean once before so I'm aware of the vitamins and I actually have some Valium to help me but just to introduce myself I am a thirty-six-year-old professional with a secret 60 mg per day opiate habit. The hardest time for me is when I get out of bed bed I am a mom and I love to take care of my children and in my mind somehow the thought of taking a pill and baking an Immaculate desert is so enticing to me but none the less I want to quit I read these threads and I laugh at my own 60 mg per day habit. I'm not a street user so I won't buy them off the street my mother has cancer and I pick up her pills from the pharmacy and it's there where I grabbed my monthly Supply in a handful. I've started to experience anxiety which I never had before and I think it's from long term use of Oxycodone when I go to sleep at night I have an irregular heartbeat and I experience chest pain on the left side of my chest I don't know if I freak myself out or if I'm actually giving myself heart problems so if anyone knows anything relative between oxycodone and heart problems I'd appreciate some feedback then the last I want to get clean and I'm just looking for support here somewhere where I can check in because I spend my DayZ hiding it from everyone else for the last year I've been pretending to taper but I never do. I have 4 20 mg hydrochloride pills of Oxycodone left my goal is to take one a day for the next 4 days and never touch them again. Wish me luck
squidhead
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Best of luck. You can do it. Just never give in.
Today I celebrate 8 months clean from a 100 mgs of methadone daily for 17 yrs. Prescribed.
Methadone withdrawal's the worst. Yours should be shorter than the 2 wks I was sick. I just started feeling like I was 'back' after about 6 months clean.
You'll be just fine.
Today I celebrate 8 months clean from a 100 mgs of methadone daily for 17 yrs. Prescribed.
Methadone withdrawal's the worst. Yours should be shorter than the 2 wks I was sick. I just started feeling like I was 'back' after about 6 months clean.
You'll be just fine.
the last dose
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Im with squidhead may 25 was 6 months clean for me from a much higher doses oxy addiction anything is possible its up to you!.
Megamaniac
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Hi all.
I'm currently on day 7 wo any opiates.
I am simply saying what worked for me. I am definitely not a Dr. I used gabapentin and Xanax. If i had my choice I would have used the gabapentin with temazapam. Not sure about that sp. I have a hard time sleeping and a ridiculous amount of "rls" but it's all over my body. The temazapam has the punch that knocks me out for 8 hrs. at least. The gabapentin, for me, helps tremendously. I have made it 5 days several months ago and then psyched myself out and messed around "just a little bit longer".
This time I did things a little different. I told a friend. I was up to 1.5 g of h a day. Constantly running back and forth. It was taking all my time and money.
I know that I still have a lot of work to do but I'm super happy to have made it the first solid week. Which, for me, is the hardest and scariest part. I had to make up my mind and really commit.
I hope this helps someone
I'm currently on day 7 wo any opiates.
I am simply saying what worked for me. I am definitely not a Dr. I used gabapentin and Xanax. If i had my choice I would have used the gabapentin with temazapam. Not sure about that sp. I have a hard time sleeping and a ridiculous amount of "rls" but it's all over my body. The temazapam has the punch that knocks me out for 8 hrs. at least. The gabapentin, for me, helps tremendously. I have made it 5 days several months ago and then psyched myself out and messed around "just a little bit longer".
This time I did things a little different. I told a friend. I was up to 1.5 g of h a day. Constantly running back and forth. It was taking all my time and money.
I know that I still have a lot of work to do but I'm super happy to have made it the first solid week. Which, for me, is the hardest and scariest part. I had to make up my mind and really commit.
I hope this helps someone
simco
Bluelight Crew
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You're doing great; a week is huge...the worst of the acute withdrawal symptoms should start to back off soon, if they haven't already.
As for the scary part, it's a cliche, but try to remember the old saying, "one day at a time." Staring down the barrel of a long recovery is scary indeed. But breaking it down into smaller goals (like making till tonight without using) can take some of that pressure off.
Sim
~QuirKyNai~
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Best things ive used in withdrawl
Kratom,phenibut,gabapentin or lyrica,benzos,dxm.
But as for suboxone withdrawl...its a much different long drawn out withdrawl..and for this i recomend gabapentin. Or lyrica which ia much stronger version...kratom (good quality)Phenibut is great to use and is similar to gabapentin for me...but it is important that you do not use phenibut multiple days in a row as the withdrawals from thay are unpleasant. .although they do go away prety quick i believe..
DXM...this is probably a really good medication to use during withdrawl as is provides energy and takes a way a good amount of withdrawl symptoms..but do nit go over 120mg..i find that a goid dose is 90mg..also DXM combined woth a benzo works very well..
If you can acquire all these i suggest to rotate differeny regimens and possible combos so as not to get ur body dependant on one specific medication
Kratom,phenibut,gabapentin or lyrica,benzos,dxm.
But as for suboxone withdrawl...its a much different long drawn out withdrawl..and for this i recomend gabapentin. Or lyrica which ia much stronger version...kratom (good quality)Phenibut is great to use and is similar to gabapentin for me...but it is important that you do not use phenibut multiple days in a row as the withdrawals from thay are unpleasant. .although they do go away prety quick i believe..
DXM...this is probably a really good medication to use during withdrawl as is provides energy and takes a way a good amount of withdrawl symptoms..but do nit go over 120mg..i find that a goid dose is 90mg..also DXM combined woth a benzo works very well..
If you can acquire all these i suggest to rotate differeny regimens and possible combos so as not to get ur body dependant on one specific medication
Aga85
Bluelighter
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- Oct 30, 2017
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- 78
Hi everyone. Im not addicted to opioids right now but I was. What saved me was Kratom??thats what Ive thought at first. I managed to come off xanax, valium and codeine. Never used it longer than for few months as I was scared. I suffer with anxiety. Thought kratom was better sollution than taking xanax every day and now I have a problem with quitting kratom. Been using it for 4 months, every day 4g dose twice a day. How can I come off it to avoid withdrawl? Or what to do to make them more "friendly". Dont want to take sick note for work. Thank you for replies guys ??
cj
Bluelight Crew
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You can't avoid withdrawal but you can treat the symptoms. A combo of Clonidine, gabapentin, Lyrica, ibprofin, and a muscle relaxer can be used to help. Some people would suggest a benzo but since you are coming off them I wouldn't go there. Kratom withdrawal should be less intense then heroin or full agonist opiods so I think you can get through. You can also taper before hand to further minimize symptoms
Aga85
Bluelighter
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So should I taper ? Will it help with withdrawls and make them more endurable ? Im so scared of withdrawl. Been thru codeine withdrawl and mirtazapine when doc took me off it cold turkey. Horrible. Dont have a strenght do go thru all of it again. How long is it gonna last for ? Will all the symptoms of withdrawl just go away at some point? Paranoia, anxiety, depression, fatigue ?