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Opioids Leg pain/restlessness in opiate withdrawal...any ideas for help?

Clonidine may help with the RLS, and you might want to get it anyway to help with other symptoms of withdrawal so see how it works for your RLS as well.

BINGO! That was the one drug that provided enough relief for me to be able to sleep. Otherwise, I'd lay in bed curled up in a ball and I would just shake and as long as I was shaking, sleep would not come. Once it would stop, I could finally get some sleep. Mind you, this was a result of a forced cold turkey coming off 400mg Oxycontin daily. Needless to say, I was miserable for a few weeks. I have flashbacks of those times and the experience definitely scarred me for life. I wouldn't wish that experience on anyone!
 
Zoey, I have gotten those injections quite frequently in the past in my L5-S1. My doc does a series of three, he says that it most effective. They work great for me, too. The last series I had reduced my leg pain resulting from nerve compression for almost a year. Unfortunately I don't have insurance right now and they are $500 out of pocket. Totally worth it IMO, but I just don't have the money right now.....
 
the best thing that worked for me during this was taking a magnesium supplement and using moderate doses of DXM. but depending on the severity of your withdrawals it might not even work for you :/
 
drinking while in opiate withdrawal sucks, and I can't even think about drinking alcohol while kicking.

Hey it worked for me, lol. But yeah that's why I said use at your own risk, I guess everyone responds differently. Prior to this I had not had any alcohol to drink for about 4 years so my tolerance was zero, and a heap of wine put me fast asleep even during kicking withdrawals. Only draw-back is after a few days you'll probably start throwing it back up...
 
I have been taking opiates for about 5 yrs, my RLS is soo bad and I have been clean for 9 days already it has slowly got worse. I have been taking valerian root and lots of alcohol to combat it, but it's not working great. I either go to sleep real late or wake up after a few hours and feel like shit. Has anyone else had symptoms this long and if so what else can I do. Don't really want to jump to another addictive drug. Please help!!!!
 
I dont want to steer you on the wrong path as you are making a good choice here, but I have heard that people shaking from alcohol withdrawls take ativan. Its not addictive in the sense that it doesnt contain opioids, and is similar to xanax but seems to not have the addictive qualities of xanax. Its just an anti anxiety medication that is usually given to people having panic attacks. If nothing else it might help you sleep. Wish you the best. Not a doctor, though, so i would do some research on it and talk to your doctor so you can potentially get a script for it. All the best dude, good luck.
 
RLS is a dopaminergic imbalance, hence why it occurs during withdrawal. Your spinal cord is used to being bombarded with huge amounts of dopamine, so decides to go spastic when stopped.

I have pre-existing RLS. It sure make's opiate WDs *fantastic*. I wonder if a regular dopaminergic imbalance could be behind my regular RLS? I've never been able to find out much about it. All the doctors I've seen were absolutely no help at all too, same goes for my back pain. Most I was ever given was a muscle relaxer that just exasporated my RLS. They never even looked into the problem, just wrote me a script and sent me on my way. That's about all you can get with shitty florida free insurance. Sorry to be a bit off-topic though.

And to the poster above me, Ativan is Lorazepam. That's a benzo and I'm pretty sure it can be addicting just like any other benzo. Though I'm no specialist on benzos. They never appealed to me, except when I used to have anxiety attacks.
 
Lopermide and benzos.

Exercise the legs to tire them out, easier said than done though

I hate that shit too, one of the worst w/d symptoms IME. When i quit heroin i spent many nights waking up screaming obscenities and kicking myslef out of bed onto the floor. Hurts like hell

Good luck
 
If you have an overseas pharmacy(not hard to find) you can aquire a dopamine agonist like Piribedil that should def help. I've found gabapentin and, to a lesser extent, phenibut to help as well, but as is always the post-script for phenibut; be careful of addiction to it. I know i've fouund other thiings that work. I'm going to think about it and get back to you. think dopamine agonists.
 
I have phenibut. It also exasporates my RLS and it turns it into a weird painish sensation. Drinking too much alcohol will do that too. Though kava/benzos are fine to my legs. Weird, eh?
 
My doctor gave me Ropinirole for RLS.. maybe your doc would do that for you?
 
no worries it just sucks when people bump month or year old threads and it starts a chain reaction of no use, only bandwidth consumption.
 
clonidine worked amazing for me.. came of a 150mg methadone + 260mg oxy + 6mg Xanax + exTARcuriculars a day habbit.. in three weeks buy tapering and .2 mg of clonidine every three and three quarter hours. Slept, ate, and functioned without severe pain or any nausea.. the whole damn time. Four months clean.. ha i been down one time, ive been down two times.. NEVER GOING BACK AGAIN.. Sexual orgasm will def help with the RL thing, i had awful RL every time i tried to kick before the clonidine .. Hang in there.
 
Hi, this is my first post, I just wanted to say that even though this thread is old, I found it via Google because i am withdrawing from heroin for the 100th time (literally) and am trying to find something to combat the RLS -- my most hated symptom. Unfortunately I don't have access to a doctor or the money to pay for one, no insurance, and anyway the WD is starting today so I wouldn't be able to see a doc even if i had any money. my heroin habit was $200-300 (2-3 grams) a day so i really had nothing leftover. managed to get a few xanax and klonopin (like 10 pills total, 2 mg each) but i've been taking them sometimes so i already have a tolerance... was really hoping to find out any other ideas, the only thing i haven't tried that i've seen mentioned in these threads is nyquil, so i got some and i'll try that. the rest of the advice is either prescription so i can't get it, or is stuff i've already tried and it didn't help. anyway, thanks for the advice... i'm going to be in WD for the next week or so but i'm determined to stay clean this time... been using IV heroin for 10 years, gotten clean countless times and it's never "stuck" but i feel like i'm finally getting sick of it. if i can manage to get past the first few days it does get easier.
 
Take about 40 mg of lopermide 1/2 hour after an antacid, and a paxil, if you can find it. For real, just don't get hooked. Like they said above, vitamins may be a start. Nothing would get rid of my restlessness besides opiates themselves.
 
This may be a very temporary solution, and is not a good idea since it will make things worse. First of all, drinking while in opiate withdrawal sucks, and I can't even think about drinking alcohol while kicking. Next, once the alcohol wears off it will make all the opiate withdrawal symptoms even worse since it increases anxiety, and becoming dehydrated will make your leg muscles ache even more. For all of these reasons I recommend using alcohol to try to alleviate your symptoms.
"For all of these reasons I DO NOT recommend using alcohol to try to alleviate your symptoms." *fixed* :)

ativan. Its not addictive in the sense that it doesnt contain opioids, and is similar to xanax but seems to not have the addictive qualities of xanax.
This is not true. Ativan, while a benzo and not an opioid, is definitely dependence-causing and should only be used infrequently.

Take about 40 mg of lopermide
I wouldn't start off with 40mg. Everyone responds to loperamide so differently, start with like 4mg and raise your dose from there. Also note that loperamide (Immodium) is an opioid, even though it normally doesn't have very much activity on the brain you are still putting opioids into your body so take that into consideration and if you use it do so minimally and taper off it.

lostbyfindingit:

Do ALL of the following (not just one):
- get as much exercise as you can manage every day (I know it's hard when you feel like shit, but seriously try to force yourself; swimming, walking and yoga are all good)
- take magnesium supplements every day (as much as you can handle without aggravating your diarrhea; chelated magnesium is the best, otherwise use citrate not oxide)
- take hot baths with LOTS of Epsom salts every day
- do NOT drink alcohol (most people feel much worse once it starts wearing off)
- dextromethorphan (DXM) helps some people but personally I feel worse once it starts wearing off
- take something to help you sleep - NOT a dopamine antagonist or antihistamine, those will make it worse (benzos, gabapentin, Z-drugs, etc are good choices if you have them)
- before bed (or if the RLS is bothering you during the day) do this: lie flat on the floor and try to relax completely for 10-15 min, AND/OR another technique is to use a thick dowel or round broom handle and put it under your back next to your spine (not on your spine). You can keep your knees bent with your feet on the floor or bed. Relax completely, letting your weight onto your back. It's ok if you feel tilted to one side. Do this for 5 min or so. Then place the dowel/handle on the other side of your spine and repeat. Please let me know if you want further instructions on this technique, it really does help IME.
 
I was clean for 2 weeks and then had a bad relapse, I am soo sick of Norco's! I am really not looking forward to the wd's again. However I am feeling confident I can stay clean this time my RLS is always the worst and it lasts over 2 weeks, I dunno if that is normal. Anyone have advice on how they kept clean, at my 2 week period I start to crave bad again and I am just sick of no sleep and feeling like crap. I try to exercise, but I work 10 hours a day and am tired after, maybe I just need to force it. I have to quit as my habit is costing more money then I make and I am just sick of the feeling. I want to thank all for the good advice on here. I will come back and post my updates, please wish me luck I am going to be strong this time!! I wish everyone else lick on quiting or hopefully never getting addicted! Goodbye Norcos!!!
 
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