Opiate PAWS -- getting over through anxiety

[dragoman]

Hi Guys & Gals,

3 weeks clean off Oxycodone (~200mg/day for 6 months). Withdrawal handled easily with high dose Pregabalin and Loperamide. After 1 week of Pregabalin, 1 week of depression and this 3rd week mostly anxiety. I can sleep okay if I don't consume caffeine.

Anxiety sometimes begins as I wake up and can last all day.

What would you guys recommend? Exercise, correct? I have access to Lorazepam (1mg works okay for me) and Clonazepam (1mg works pretty well).

I also had been taking Clonodine but had to stop as it was triggering gout attacks. Same problem but not as severe with Pregabalin and peripheral edema effecting gout.

I have seen the horrors and dangers of benzo withdrawals up close and personal (heart attack). Benzos do help me with anxiety and I haven't abused them although I have had them in my medicine cabinet for the last 10 years. However, I do understand right now that I am quite vulnerable right now in opiate PAWS to replacing one addiction with another.

So, what is the safest way to take the benzos during PAWS? Not more than 2-3 times a week in small doses, e.g. 1mg?

Any advice amigos? This anxiety is really tough and I know it will lessen but it can be pretty debilitating. BTW, I don't drink anymore.

Thanks,
Drago

 

[blueheaven]

I am an opiate addict (one week clean -- again -- as of today, not loving life atm but whatever) and have long term anxiety and depression issues. My pdoc (who knew my history and my family history, which is EPIC) and I had a deal - if I found myself using benzos daily for two weeks, it was time to talk about a different approach to managing my anxiety. Less than two weeks was ok. I don't know what he based that on, but turns out I never did end up using them daily for more than two weeks at a time - even during pretty massive crises like being stalked, my child going to juvenile court, losing my grad school funding, etc. Even with my extraordinary desire to go to sleep and not wake up for a few years, I am still not abusing them right now, though I am taking more than usual right now since I'm dealing with an opiate that has a loooooong half life.

This is purely anecdotal of course and ymmv, and aside from them easing some WD issues and generally making panic easier to manage, I have never especially *liked* benzos just for the sake of taking benzos, so somebody who likes the effects would doubtless have a diff. response. But just thought I'd share what my doctor had set up for me.

ps. dosage would, of course, depend on what benzo you are talking about, and as you know, the effects of clonazepam and shorter acting benzos can't always be compared neatly due to different half lives.

 

[Crunchytheclown]

I'm about four months from my last tramadol and eight weeks from my last kratom dose and the anxiety still hasn't gone away. My whole body is always agitated. I can't relax and enjoy much of anything. It's miserable I don't feel normal. My blood pressure is constantly elevated. I have to take small doses of loperamide to get through the day a little more calmly. I'm not sure why it works, but there are times when I must take it just to calm myself. The small amounts I'm using shouldn't have central nervous system effects. Still, it's the only partial relief I can get from a feeling of madness.

I'm really eager to feel normal again. Could I be going through PAWS? I really feel as though my body has been permanently changed by all this. I'm hope regular sleep (about two weeks now) will help promote the healing process.

 

[The Shadow Self]

PAWS is a motherfucker, but it does get better. Trust me. I WD from opiates more than once, the last two times were Fentanyl habits. Coming off of it was literally the biggest nightmare of my life. I stopped Tramadol, stopped Hydrocodone, and a long time ago, Morphine, and as bad as the Morphine was, Fentanyl made WDing from Morphine seem tame. Yes, it's THAT bad. Anyway, the last time I used Kratom to alleviate some of the WDs from the Fent, and I will say that Kratom is a miracle compound for helping Wds more manageable. I used it daily for a couple of weeks and slowly tapered after about a month. Although I had really fucked up sleep and high anxiety, along with depression as part of PAWS for quite a while, and thought it would never go away. Lo and behold, after about two months, things were getting much better. I actually started to sleep better. I really thing that the depression and lack of sleep are the worst parts of all of it. Between the two, at times, you just want to sit there and cry. I know it. I lived it. And I hated every minute of it. Again, I also thought PAWS would go on forever, as you measure your life in seconds and minutes instead of days, weeks and months. Been there, but trust. It will get better. Hang in there. You will some day look back on this, hopefully sober, and it will seem a distant memory. But as all of us who've been addicted before, time seems to stand still while waiting to get better. Good luck, and hang in there.

 

[msox12]

I'm about 2 weeks off my last tramadol and 2 days since i used kratom last... to try and help with the tramadol/hydro/oxy withdrawals. I feel like dog shit. My dr started me on wellbutrin 100mg 2x daily and clonidine .1mg at night. Nothing is helping. I'm constantly restless- thats the worst part. The depression is so bad. it doesnt help that im waiting to start my job on 12/7 despite getting it two weeks ago and do nothing but sit in my boyfriend and my apartment all day while hes at work because i have no car... I've only been on the wellbutrin for 3 days (same with the clonidine). If I could just get over the restlessness ... I would do anything... how is it still this bad when I havent had a tramadol in so long??

 

[Soulgasm]

Benzodiazepines are kind of a grey area in opiate recovery depending on how predisposed you are to addiction with them. IMO, as long as you don't rely on them as a long term solution and are actively applying other strategies, you'll be alright. Keeping the dosages low and sporadic usage helps a lot. But really, it's best to avoid them if they're not necessary. Exercise is GREAT; it's by far the best tool I've found in recovering my mind and body from opioids. Notable mentions: a high protein diet, meditation, expanding your horizons, a good indica strain of cannabis, yoga, good sleep patterns (getting a non-habit forming sleep aid prescribed for a few months helps a lot)

 

[Crunchytheclown]

Thanks Shadow Self. I'm now at week 10 and still the anxiety comes on randomly, especially at night, which causes insomnia. I can tell there's a difference, though. I've seen some improvement. I haven't had a panic attack in a few days. Wish I could get some sleep, though. I just took some valerian which I hope will work.

Any word on when the anxiety might completely go away? Like I said, I'm 10 weeks out from my last kratom use and I'm really getting desperate to relax a bit.

 

[The Shadow Self]

The goddamn sleeplessness is a straight up bitch. I think it had the most deleterious effect on me through all of WDs from opiates/opioids. It does get better though, but it's a slow process. I have foolishly gone back to opiates after WDing, and I am a complete idiot after all I went through. Now, I have a tramadol habit, only about 2 months old, that I have already started to taper. I have enough to taper down to a decent amount before I jump, and I have many ounces of Kratom on deck for that, which will help quite a bit. But yeah...I think most people with an opiate addiction fear WDs, and it almost becomes frightening as fuck just thinking about WDs. Almost like you can't even enjoy a minute of the habit because you always have the creeping thought of the eventual WDs, which always come. Like I say to people...unless you have an unlimited supply of opiates, WDs are in your future. Either that or death. Sad, but true.