Opioids Will self administration of Narcan make my opiate withdrawals end sooner?

[anarquista420]

I've got a three day weekend and not too bad a black tar habit. Trying to be able to go back to work next Monday and I have enough Narcan to stop an OD, would this flush a small amount of opiates out of my system? I am already weaning myself and am already sick and its Wednesday. Anyone tried this or know how it works?

 

[spacejunk]

I could be wrong, but i'm pretty sure narcan can't speed up opiate wd.

 

[Keif' Richards]

Damned if you didn't just ask a question I've been stewing upon for years. I wish I had something truly constructive to add to the thread, but I just thought I'd show my solidarity with your question.

You've probably heard of these places (most of them "off-shore" for dubious reasons) that offer "rapid-detox", which is exactly what it sounds like; A precipitated, faster withdrawal experience, often times whilst under General Anesthesia. So there must be some way of accelerating the process of withdrawal, whether or not the method includes use of common Opioid antagonists like Naloxone (Narcan) or Naltrexone (Vivitrol, Revia, Depade), I'm not sure of.

Either way, I really don't think that this sort of thing should be attempted by a lay person, even if they possess the necessary medications. While Opioid withdrawal, as we all know, is not typically lethal, there are statistical outliers, including people who have died of heart attacks, dehydration (vomiting, diarhhea) or what have you. Who knows how much more lethal Opioid withdrawal would become if it were amplified by the use of Opioid antagonists. It could be dangerous.

 

[Invisible Helper]

I don't really think it'll speed it up more than like 12-24 hours at most but that's no scientific data just my opinion

 

[Cotcha Yankinov]

Naloxone will not help because it is an inverse agonist and this causes the opioid receptors to disappear

 

[tightlywound]

JUST IME, YMMV, all that disclaimery stuff, this is based on a single experience I had w/ narcan/naloxone after a heroin OD.
I was given IM naloxone in the hospital after an OD and I felt like fucking DEATH for several hours; eventually my boyfriend came and picked me up and upon arriving home I immediately conked the fuck out on the bed and slept hard for like 12-14 hours straight w/ none of the opioid w/d related sleep disturbances (akathisia aka RLS/full body RLS, sweatiness, chills, etc, etc) affecting me at all in that time. when I woke up the next day I felt ...totally normal ...not at all in withdrawal, certainly not high of course, just completely ...sober. and I immediately went out and copped some more dope.
BUT, that experience would lead me to believe that the w/d process CAN be sped up by narcan/naloxone.

 

[phr]

Damned if you didn't just ask a question I've been stewing upon for years. I wish I had something truly constructive to add to the thread, but I just thought I'd show my solidarity with your question.

You've probably heard of these places (most of them "off-shore" for dubious reasons) that offer "rapid-detox", which is exactly what it sounds like; A precipitated, faster withdrawal experience, often times whilst under General Anesthesia. So there must be some way of accelerating the process of withdrawal, whether or not the method includes use of common Opioid antagonists like Naloxone (Narcan) or Naltrexone (Vivitrol, Revia, Depade), I'm not sure of.

Either way, I really don't think that this sort of thing should be attempted by a lay person, even if they possess the necessary medications. While Opioid withdrawal, as we all know, is not typically lethal, there are statistical outliers, including people who have died of heart attacks, dehydration (vomiting, diarhhea) or what have you. Who knows how much more lethal Opioid withdrawal would become if it were amplified by the use of Opioid antagonists. It could be dangerous.

It'll speed it up in the sense that you'll be in full withdrawal sooner, and therefore get through that sooner.

You'll still feel like shit, because it'll take your body a bit of time to up natural endorphin production, hormone levels, etc.
Not to mention it won't do anything for the psychological aspect of withdrawal, which is arguably worse the physical aspect.

It's a gimmick at best and dangerous at worst. Although, iirc, there are reports of people successfully holding back tolerance with very small doses of narcan administered with opiates, or between opiate doses.

 

[Sharp91]

Narcan has only ever brought me down and put me into instant withdrawals, suboxone helps me with withdraws and I've never felt dependent on it. another bonus for me is it doesn't put me into any sort of altered physical or mental state. Keep us posted on the result, you've sparked my curiosity!

Sharp

 

[chelle216]

This is a really good question! My personal experience domes into play in that I was mistakenly given narcan (1 shot plus a 4 hr IV with narcan infused into the bag) while I was on 80mg of methadone. ( I had od'd on coke but the EMS and hospital wouldn't believe me though they nearly gave me a heart attack) The precipitated withdrawal was, by far, the most extreme case I had been through, but after projectile vomiting on the hospital staff and nearly ripping my IVs out because of the agonizing akasthesia I was given a few shots of Ativan. Fortunately, I was then able to sleep and while I was still sick in the morning, it was nothing compared to what I had been through the night prior.

 

[CBDizzle]

Yeah, all I got is my personal experience as well... But, that can be helpful in making a decision. Like chelle216 said, the precipitated withdrawal brought on my Naloxone is hell.. A few years back I decided to try and get off my pain meds. So, I went to a psychiatrist with a list of 4 drugs I needed (Suboxone [Bupe & NALOXONE] - to satisfy my mu receptor, Zofran - drastically reduce vomiting and/or the urge to vomit, Xanax - for anxiety of course, AKA: to keep me from climbing the walls, and Clonidine - to keep my blood pressure at or around normal (only 0.1mg, but still needed, as I was on a high dose of opiates). All four drugs were prescribed upon my request, although I had to go one week with on the subs at one 8mg strip a day for a week before a month supply was written - which was no problem, as bupe is strong and 8mg's is a hefty full dose. This was all done, I did the week and they wrote the rest of the month. But, that was the only time I ever took that shit. When I went to a detox center, all opiate patients were given Subutex (just Bupe, no Naloxone). I had a discussion with the head MD at the detox clinic about this. I noted that my Suboxone experience was hell the first time I took it. I waited like 18 hrs or less after my last dose at the time (not the recommended 24 hrs). This was because I had to go to work, or I thought I was going to...lol. I called in sick. Really sick.
The MD at the clinic said this is typical with Suboxone and that is why they do not use it. Also, since they control the amount of Subutex given and the ROA, overdose and misuse is pretty much eliminated. Although it is absolutely necessary to save lives, I would not recommend taking it to "speed up" a withdrawal, especially not under strict doctoral supervision, in a medical facility...

 

[Godel]

It won't. Narcan does not flush out opiates, it just binds more tightly to but does not activate receptors. Opiates still "hover" around the receptor till narcan wears off. Usually, by the time it has (40 mins) enough of the drug has been metabolized to get you through the danger window of overdose, but the rest of the opiates then rebind. You would see this most clearly with something long acting, like methadone. So even a coma/detox would not help, unless it was for the duration of withdraws, and then only because you are letting your body naturally pass it through.

In short, narcan does not eliminate opiates, that has to happen the good old fashioned way. All it does is temporarily block their binding sites in the body. On the other hand, if you have some Ibogaine handy...

 

[Lorne???]

No- nalaxone is simply an antagonist that binds with high affinity to opioid receptors, without activating them or exerting any other activity

Naktrexone is a different story-it is an inverse agonist, meaning it basically has the opposite effect of a full agonist, and is more potent/ has a higher binding affinity than nalaxone; this is partially why low dose naltrexone can help reverse opioid tilerance

However in severe wd, would not recommend experimenting as it is not well studied for this kind of thing

And ibogaine? It helps some people however it's pharmacology doesn't really qualify it for that purpose, except maybe under specific circumstances and if desperate

Not a big fan myself-not necessarily against it, just don't really recommend it

 

[Pickledlemons]

OP, You'll probably need some time off work either way. If youre determined.. I would try to be in as close to full withdrawal by weekend as you can, then youre at least over the worst of it before going back to work.

 

[Backfromthebrink]

Just saw something above about the detox where one is anesthetized and given narcan then kept under during the worst of the supposed accelerators withdrawl...(The Waismann method)

There is a host of evidence as to why this doesn't work and is in fact very dangerous...I watched a good video on it, which I will try to find.

 

[Lorne???]

^ Yeah that would be useful; you would
kieterakky be better off using short term benzodiazepine therapy if it's a standard fast-intermediate acting opioid
(just don't overdue it and end up on benzodiazepines!)

 

[Scrofula]

OP dealt with this months ago. Mr. Godel bumped it with the answer. I don't see why this shouldn't be archived? PM if you want it back.