Quitting Heroin at home with my Husband

[Desperately Trying]

Hello all, this is my first post on bluelight even though im a long time lurker today is the day I found the courage to post. My story is basically the same as many of us who find ourselves slave to our DOC. Mine just happens to be the devil's drug of heroin. My husband and I got clean in oct of 2015 only to relapse in june of 2016 and since then it has been a vicious cycle between daily use, sick days, getting more and starting over. We are both at an official place of wanting to quit again but just feel lost on how to get through the brutal withdrawals. We have tried to taper with whatever kind of pain pills are around but with no success and have tried the otc meds on a rough day simply to get us through until we cop but what we need is advice on how to use the otc meds to help us get through the 3-5 days of the worst of it so we can function best as possible during that time as jobs and a small child depend on it. I guess my question is this.. Does anyone have any advice on how to dose with otc meds or any other suggestions, tried tricks or tips for us.. Anything would be appreciated!! Im lost and even those words of encouragement could mean the difference for me right now.. Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to respond to me!!

 

[Bearlove]

Hi there and welcome to the site.

We have a 'Sober Living' section where people are going through - gone through the same thing so I will move your post for you. I know that from reading the site that people will often suggest 'Kratom' but the other that people seem to mention a lot is loperamide (immodium is one brand).

Yes it can help with one of the more obvious problems of reducing opiate but can also help with the withdrawal process. Lots of information posted around the place about it.

Good luck and well done for giving it another go

 

[Rubylyn]

Sorry to hear about your struggles. Have you thought of going together to a methadone clinic or suboxone doctor?

 

[Desperately Trying]

Sorry it took me a little while to respond but I really do appreciate you both taking the time to reply to my OP! In response to your suggestions Bearlove we have never tried kratom, I will admit to Googling it to see what the hype is all about but I live in a rural area and wouldn't have the first clue where to find it, (closest head shop is prob 60 miles) and I have no idea how to go about ordering it online as far as reliable sites and things of that nature. I do not mean to come across as "sourcing" as I know it is against the rules of bluelight, I am simply telling the truth as to why I haven't tried it, no need to speak on it further. And Imodium is my best friend on a day I need to wait to get but I haven't tried it for more than day one, as I'm a failure and rarely make it further than that. Also thank you for the move to sober living i wasn't sure where to put it! ?
Rubylyn in response to your suggestion of some type of maintenance therapy we have both considered it however we both have hesitated to make the jump due to a fear of admitting in a medical setting of being an addict. I don't know how that's handled as far as my medical record and I personally have 2 surgeries coming up, one this month and one to be scheduled possibly in June or July depending on my recovery from the first one. And my fear to be completely honest is they will withhold narcotics from me when I truly need them if i admit I have a problem. Thus I have decided to wait until after both surgeries to taper and either attempt cold turkey again or then attempt the maintenance therapy. As far as hubby goes he has the same fear as I do, not because of pending medical procedures but simply because of it being on his permanent medical record and it's already like you as for a Drs kidney if you ask for a pain pill in our local er if you are there for legitment pain so being known as an addict would mean you could probably be carrying a limb in the front door, you wont get more than Tylenol. Also I am not currently working due to my health issues but I was a long time employee of my local hospital, took an extended leave of absence but back in Oct it ran out forcing me to resign but I was assured as soon as my health is on track again that my job will be there. Another reason I am afraid is because of being denied my job back if it's in my medical record that I'm on maintenance therapy for opiate abuse. So as of this moment I feel stuck in a way and I'm literally surviving day by day.
I thank you both again for your replies! Enjoy the rest of your Sunday! God Bless! ?

 

[simco]

Hi, DT...I just wanted to mention, regarding kratom, a couple Google searches will help you find reputable ways to acquire it. You're right, we have to be careful to avoid sourcing questions/answers on BL. But there is lots of good info out on the Web about it.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Sorry it took me a little while to respond but I really do appreciate you both taking the time to reply to my OP! In response to your suggestions Bearlove we have never tried kratom, I will admit to Googling it to see what the hype is all about but I live in a rural area and wouldn't have the first clue where to find it, (closest head shop is prob 60 miles) and I have no idea how to go about ordering it online as far as reliable sites and things of that nature. I do not mean to come across as "sourcing" as I know it is against the rules of bluelight, I am simply telling the truth as to why I haven't tried it, no need to speak on it further. And Imodium is my best friend on a day I need to wait to get but I haven't tried it for more than day one, as I'm a failure and rarely make it further than that. Also thank you for the move to sober living i wasn't sure where to put it! ��
Rubylyn in response to your suggestion of some type of maintenance therapy we have both considered it however we both have hesitated to make the jump due to a fear of admitting in a medical setting of being an addict. I don't know how that's handled as far as my medical record and I personally have 2 surgeries coming up, one this month and one to be scheduled possibly in June or July depending on my recovery from the first one. And my fear to be completely honest is they will withhold narcotics from me when I truly need them if i admit I have a problem. Thus I have decided to wait until after both surgeries to taper and either attempt cold turkey again or then attempt the maintenance therapy. As far as hubby goes he has the same fear as I do, not because of pending medical procedures but simply because of it being on his permanent medical record and it's already like you as for a Drs kidney if you ask for a pain pill in our local er if you are there for legitment pain so being known as an addict would mean you could probably be carrying a limb in the front door, you wont get more than Tylenol. Also I am not currently working due to my health issues but I was a long time employee of my local hospital, took an extended leave of absence but back in Oct it ran out forcing me to resign but I was assured as soon as my health is on track again that my job will be there. Another reason I am afraid is because of being denied my job back if it's in my medical record that I'm on maintenance therapy for opiate abuse. So as of this moment I feel stuck in a way and I'm literally surviving day by day.
I thank you both again for your replies! Enjoy the rest of your Sunday! God Bless! ��

It is illegal to deny someone a job simply because they are taking an ORT type medication. It might be easier to get your job back and then get on a formal maintenance medication if you have any concerns about this, but technically you could sue them (assuming you could prove it) if they discriminated against you on the basis of your using this particular type of medications.

It's super easy to find kratom online, and it is probably a better idea to get it from a vender you find through google than from a local headshop (you'll definitely get a better deal cost wise online). Kratom is definitely a good idea for you because it is almost certainly less harmful long term than significant doses of loperamide is.

 

[KraziKat]

Agree with the above. So many reputable kratom vendors via a google search. And headshop kratom is generally crap – dont go there if you dont have to.

And it really does work, at least in my experience, at alleviating my 200 mg oxy habit.

 

[closeau]

Maybe im a jerk but if you teally wanna get clean try the old fashioned way. Withdrawl is the price we pay for our use. Opiate wd is cruel unusal punishment. My best friends kicked heroin 7 years ago he refused Subs and methadone cause something told him he had t endure pain. Well not wanting to be dopesick is major reason he stays clean he never wants that again so fight thru it and never forget addicts have short memories ya know? I woukd use Kratom as last way its addictive also and more money not that much compared to dope but you dobt wanna lick one addiction for anothe ive tried Kratom it is what it is i rekon. Just another opinion. Good luck and welcome

 

[jdfisse]

Actually it is not illegal to deny someone a job based on being on ORT, especially in the medical field where there is often less barriers to access for drugs of abuse. In fact, there are only a handful of states that have medical boards that allow medical professionals to be in an ORT program and maintain licensure. I deal personally with state medical boards and as "great" as ORT is, the professionals responsible for administering it are often very against it behind closed doors. I always work with the FAA and they certainly are not going to work with anyone on ORT. Law enforcement in the jurisdictions I work in is another field that doesn't deal with ORT recipients. There is some strong promotion of ORT by some members of this site, but I believe in full disclosure.

 

[d3athadone]

Theres just no way around it, your going to suffer. If you have some valium that will help. I find weed helps me do other things around day 4-5. It can distract me. Its only a week. Don't be afraid. Im on day 5 now. Feeling a bit better. I mean its hell, but so what? Just don't be afraid. There is no over the counter anything that will help u. Its all just gonna make it worse. Maybe a few immodium might help. The fact is that if you do the crime you gotta pay the time. If there was any cocktail or relief, people would be getting off this shit more frequently. You just gotta be tough

 

[d3athadone]

also I don't recommend methadone or whatever unless your serious about being on opiates for a long ass time. It took me like 5 years to get off methadone. Shit fucked me up. Even when u gget off at 1mg, which is what I did, your still a zombie for a month. Its ridiculous. Also, you can still use on this replacement drugs. Its basically a back up for a lot of junkies, I rarely see people do it right, and when they do, they usually regret getting on the program in the first place.

 

[closeau]

Methadone is bad stuff. I was on 160mg a day for chronic pain that Dr was fired for doing that. Took me a year to wean down off it was hell absolute hell. Suboxone is thecway to go for sure.