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ways to combat withdrawal fatigue?

jammin83

jammin83

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Dec 30, 2014
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Overdue for a tune-up and gonna shoot for a week, maybe two week break from EVERYthing and take it from there. can't seem to get over this final hump. i can deal with the acutes but lately ive just been getting sooo tired its hard to function. i don't have time to not function right now bc i had a couple short weeks at work and am playing catch up. i also don't take off of work for drug related issues or for much of anything really.

been using the insidious kratom for about six months now. there was a period of time where i was dosing kinda high and frequently but got over that. i changed jobs and went like 7 or 8 days without it and used it pretty sparingly from then on but have been using it more frequently the last few weeks bc my supply was dwindling and thought 'heh, what the hell?' yeah fucking myself, but not too bad, or as bad as i used to. so i end up dosing like every third or fourth day bc i never really got over the withdrawal entirely and been having to dose that often bc i get some days that kill me with exhaustion and slug brain.

i know its just kratom and its not that bad. certainly don't care about the aches or runny nose, anxiety or any of that shit just cant be exhausted. my situation is a little unique and my nervous system is more sensitive than it used to be. so i become dependent on things easier and get worse withdrawals. it also takes longer for me to recover than the average joe. so im not being a total pussy.

i work a relatively physical job so i really can't be that tired. i could take off, but it could be a couple weeks to get back to 'baseline'. I use that term loosely bc baseline doesn't really mean anything to me anymore and its not a definitive state. i kinda feel like im in withdrawal all the time, hence the substance abuse. it could also be a nervous system thing as im still 'recovering' from zyprexa and was pretty wired for the last two years. so yeah, i know i need to take it easy.

so im trying to tune myself up here, make everyone happy and take a break. i had plans to do a little cross tapering with amphetamines but the gestapo pitched a fit about it and took my stash. super annoying bc it seemed like a pretty stellar plan to me. get through the week without kratom using small amounts of stims, then crash from the stims on the weekend, chug coffee and red bull mon - wed and try not to have any major melts throughout the process. now im working on plan b.

any tips on trying to stay functional for this last little rut im in? could just get more amps if all else fails but getting busted would be a blow to my lady whom i promised that i would try and sober up. im doing it for me too...
 
I work a relatively physical job as well (fishing) and what I use to combat fatigue (just "fatigue" generally speaking, not WD fatigue) is just coffee and caffeine tablets. I've found that as long as you get adequate sleep daily (I usually get 6 or 7 hours/day, which is enough for me most of the time...) caffeine is a decent enough stimulant.

When I was using heroin, I'd get through WDs from that by snorting or shooting methamphetamine. That's another example of using a stimulant to fast forward through opiate WD, lol. But this is kratom we're talking about so I'd just suggest some nice strong coffee as a stimulant...? Sorry I couldn't be more helpful ha...it's just that, beyond getting adequate sleep, I'm not sure of any ways to combat fatigue other than to use drugs, but you're trying to stay sober so...caffeine it is? heh
 
Working out, or even just going for a strenuous walk, actually really helps with the fatigue for me. That and caffeine, as well as eating right, three good healthy meals a day.

Making sure you apply HALT to your daily life will also help:
  • H: Make sure you don't get too hungry, so regular meals and healthy snacks are a must. Don't forget to eat as healthy as possible. Nothing wrong with some candy or treats, but go easy on them. Too much sugar or fat all at once will zap your energy right out of you, or make you crash shortly thereafter like with sugar and caffeine.
  • A: Recognize when you're getting angry, stressed, frustrated or irritated and take action to counteract your negative emotions so you don't get all wrapped up in them, as they will drain your energy like nothing else.
  • L: When you start feeling alone, or disconnected from others, reach out ASAP to your sponsor or trusted friend so you can get back to feeling connected again, because loneliness will drain your energy and make you depressed just like anger. BL can even help with this, as you can always talk to folks online anytime day or night, so it's very practical that way.
  • T: Make sure you're getting enough sleep, at least 6 and ideally 8-10hrs a night, and take short 1-2hr naps during the day if you can't get a solid 8 at night. And don't forget about good sleep hygiene, like not exercising right before bed, not watching TV or looking at a computer or cell phone screen for at least an hour before bed, and not using your bed for anything but sleeping (and maybe sex:)).
 
^ good points re: diet & exercise. Totally forgot about those for some reason...especially diet, eating well and regularly gives you tons of energy.
 
Who are the gestapo? Honestly your withdrawal should be up to you, and someone else should not be making decisions for you...

I agree with the diet and exercise. Do you have any benzos. A small dose of benzos (1mg of xanax or klonipin 10mg of valium, 1.5mg of ativan etc) will really help with the mental aspects of withdrawal. I only suggest this if you have not abused benzos in the past.

Something else that worked well for me during withdrawal and PAWS was I downloaded Lord of the Rings online and played that. It took my focus away from feeling shitty.
 
Dont forget the power of music! Find something that pumps you up (for me stuff like hardstyle and, damn I am forgetting the name of the genre, but anywayd, find whatever gets you amped up and motivated just by listening to it. Music can be seriously powerful stuff when combating challanges like PAWS.
 
Oh man, trust me, I feel your pain.
I was on Kratom for a long time myself taking over 50 grams a day!!
The tiredness lasts a couple of weeks, but I have found coffee to be the best way to get me up and going.
I would take 1 immodium and be okay to drink some coffee without worrying about my bowls!

It gets better, I promise you. I know from experience, I'm going thru it right now.
Much love to you, try to hit up some meetings, meet new people, just try to get up and do something!
 
thanks for the replies guys.

dont have a ton of time right now bc im about to head to work.

chef, the gestapo is my gf. she means well, but lately has been acting like a cop. she doesn't know that im in withdrawal. amphetamines aren't on my approved list of substances. she freaks out about meth but is ok with coke. lol ive never had a problem with stimulants and i barely use them. i know ive been hitting things a little harder lately and was planning on taking it easy on my own. she things if she doesn't get upset with me then things won't change. i haven't been on any major strung out sessions in over 6 years. i run a pretty tight ship imo and don't ever let things get out of hand. honestly, if my brain wasn't fucked up then i wouldn't even be having any withdrawal symptoms right now. i only use the stuff like 2 or 3 times a week. sometimes less.

re diet and exercise. i am doing ok with my diet. eating better than i was. i feel like i exercise all day at work and don't have energy for anymore. its more of a mental fatigue than anything. its some next level shit tho. coffee and energy drinks aren't cutting it. i was doing ok but started getting irritable with one of the guys yesterday and was crashing after lunch so i took a little. today i took the last of what i had. so im planning on trying to get through tomorrow and rest through the weekend. hopefully monday i will have enough energy to work on coffee and red bull.

im really not trying to stay sober long term from everything. prob gonna leave the kratom alone for a while after this, opis are something that i have difficulty regulating. i do take breaks though and i felt my addiction getting stronger so im trying to reel it in. between everything else i have going on right now, its not super easy but i can handle it. don't care for AA or meetings really. ive been to a lot of them and its not my thing. i usually feel like getting tanked after i leave for some reason.

burnt, i work on a painting crew. im sure alaskan fishing is a pretty challenging job, but also pretty rewarding. i think you got me beat in the physical department.

sober living really has some good vibes so i appreciate you guys chiming in. ill get back with yall later but gotta run for now. cheers.
 
It varies, sometimes 4 or 5 hours sometimes 7 or so. I can't really sleep more than that. I have to take a seroquel or zyprexa to get any sleep. Usually after a couple nights of no sleep I sleep ok.

I feel exhausted but can't sleep bc I feel wide awake with the brain thing. Its confusing. But typically I guess around 5 or 6.
 
I strongly suggest taking your meds in order to get more than just four or five hours. Until you start getting in the habit of getting more sleep it will probably be very difficult to combat the fatigue of withdrawal or even PAWS for many (myself included). That is what I hate the most about kicking, the insomnia. Fuck that shit.
 
They're not my meds. I quit taking APs a while back. That's what fried my brain. I only take them when I need to sleep. A few times a month at most. I would never take them daily again. The only med I take is gabapentin. I have access to as many of those as I need but don't really make me tired.
 
I hear ya, antipsychotics have some seriously fucked up side effects that psychiatrists generally fail to mention to their patients. So very said, considering some side effects would seem permanent I believe.
 
Something that works for me is not using my phone or computer an hour before bed. I keep the tv on just for whitenoise though.

Less screen time before bed will help you shut your brain down easier.
 
burnt, i work on a painting crew. im sure alaskan fishing is a pretty challenging job, but also pretty rewarding. i think you got me beat in the physical department.
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One of the few jobs I've worked other than fishing was actually working on an industrial painting crew in Texas. They treated me like a slave at that job (and at 7 dollars/hour, I was paid almost like one lol)...spent most of my days with a sweat-soaked dust mask strapped to my face, in a sealed off high-rise, sanding drywall.

Would much rather do fishing than that shit, even on the bad days 8( I'm not sure if that's anything like your position, though.

But anyway, considering this:

jammin83 said:
its more of a mental fatigue than anything. its some next level shit tho. coffee and energy drinks aren't cutting it.
Click to expand...

...and this...

im really not trying to stay sober long term from everything
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...I'd probably recommend a short-term regiment of Dexedrine, actually (or Adderall/Vyvanse/etc.)
 
I've found modifying ones diet helps tremendously combating fatigue in withdrawal. I ate continuously through out the day and made sure I got adequate protien and fat, and had both every time I ate. I also stopped highly processed foods and focused on just eating whole foods. Try consuming around 200-300 calories every two hours. Also make sure you take a good multivitamin and a good vitamin b complex - Garden of Life puts out quality products. Also drink a cup of green tea (Rishi puts out an excellent matcha) every three hours. Keep track of not only your protien consumption but make sure you are getting all of the amino acids required as well, those are critical to healing. The aforementioned should help you recover from the AP as well.
 
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