Could loperamine (small doses) be easing my VERY protracted WD? Or dragging it out?

[beeej]

Hi there, I originally posted this in Basic Drug Discussion forum, but i'm guessing it was'nt the right place, i havent been here in a while. There used to be an opiate based only forum, but i can't find it. Forgive me if it actually is, but i'm still feeling like shit right now. And i can't even seem to figure out whether formatting (as in paragraph's etc) just doesn't work anymore or i'm missing something other than parts of my body and mind right now. I've read some similar threads in here so thought this would be OK. I'm just pretty much finishing up on a home detox from 30ml of methadone which came down from 135ml over 4, almost 5 years. With several stumbling blocks. Mostly chalky brown coloured ones. lol. i Also used the usual opiate pills before the gear, DHC, morphine etc for a few yrs... Anyway, I started getting restless thinking i'm gonna be on methadone forever near the end, and to put it short i decided enough was enough through frustration with the never ending cycle, and just decided to STOP. So... Commence the the worst month and half of my life so far (now at 2 plus weeks from end of that period to today) as it's still going just nowhere even close as bad as the full on WD was. Oh i'm now getting a Naltrexone script... If your actually reading this i'll get to why that bit is relevant soon. I'm using loperamide (recommended doses) for diarrhea still, because thats probably the worst effect and most heavy thing i cant seem to shake as much as the rest. I'm still sleepless alot of nights, zero energy, sneezing, coughing, very occasionally vomiting, usually *because* of coughing too much now, but its popped up on its own a few times. But what i'm starting to wonder is whether the use of the lope's, being an opioid whether it crosses the BBB or not is protracting and dragging out the mega trailing timeline of WD's??? What if the receptors in the rest of my body are recovering faster, because the receptors in my stomach are being fed nicely? What will happen when the rest of my body has fully recovered, will my GI system still be 'opiod' dependent...? lol. That would be like a smash in the face to TBH. Would be really grateful if anybody would chip in! And no im not currently using the naltrexone, tested half a pill on medical advice first and told was safe with the loperamide (VERY WRONG), and learned that lesson FAST! Wwhhooaaaww.... Just for the info, never do naltrexone until your either flushed well past 10-14 days or have no opiates in your system whether for buzz or function. You will seriously regret it, and ther'll be nothing you can do but ride it out. Stay safe.

 

[Stickman Roxy]

I think lope drags it out a bit but nothing crazy. I'm taking about 50mgs a day and will stop on the 6th day. Just my preference

 

[Jekyl Anhydride]

When you say recommended doses of Loperamide, do you mean 8-10mg max? (per day) I can say from experience that 100mg+ will wreck you if taken for longer than a week but 8 mg should affect your gut only as it's not enough to overwhelm the P-gp transporters that expel it from your brain. I've literally cold turkeyed off 100mg of Methadone after 6 years and after the acute symptoms subside, the Post Acute W/D symptoms (PAWS) still linger for 8 -12 weeks before slowly easing up themselves.

I'm not sure how long you've been using the Lope but it's like any other opioid and can be tapered off of. Even if you have been taking it for a long time, cutting 1/2 mg every few days till your off isn't insurmountable. You just came off a potent, long acting, opioid and now your out of the worst part and moving on to the more mentally challenging phase. Not that PAWS is a cakewalk but you won't be "leaking" from every orifice for several more weeks. It's now going to be the urges to relapse you'll be fighting vs crazy flu like symptoms. Even if your guts are still upset when cutting out the lope, it will not protract your real W/D from the methadone. but you are right about the peripheral (gut) opioid receptors freaking out after naltrexone. Just keep cutting it down.

I would suggest you slowly drop your Lope dose till things start moving faster then you would prefer and hold that dose for a few days, then continue dropping. Of course the sooner the lope is out of the picture (or lower than what it's at now), the sooner you can start the naltrexone which will not only act as a safety net, it will help speed the recovery of your opioid receptors so endorphins can be felt again. It doesn't seem unreasonable to handle one major issue at a time. Eat healthy and take care of yourself as you've been through hell but daylight is in sight.