Misc (Kratom) Withdrawal

[Backfromthebrink]

I don't understand how it's legal to pull someone off 180 methadone for pain with zero warning.

Me neither. After about the 4th week they offered me subutex from a drug and alcohol clinic but all things considered I turned it down. I thought I was over the worst (I wasn't). I honestly considered suicide a couple of times.

 

[Aga85]

Yeah, morphine withdrawal wasn't much fun at all. I've been prescribed a few different prescription opiates over the years for a chronic pain condition and in the past have withdrawn from morphine, fentanyl and oxycontin. They were all pretty bad but by FAR the worst one was when the pain clinic put me on methadone tablets and my then GP retired and the new one wouldn't prescribe them anymore. I went from 180mg (a lot) to zero overnight and had the most hellish withdrawal that went on for months rather than days. This one was so bad than despite my best efforts I couldn't get upland about and barely had the energy to get up out of bed and go to the bathroom. I didn't sleep more than about an hour a night (split up into 10 minute sleeps) and couldn't eat anything for weeks. I honestly just wanted to die. On about the 18th or 19th day, I got up and walked the 200m outside to the shops and collapses (I think it was from my blood pressure dropping fast after spending so long in bed) and had to call an ambulance (embarrassing since that's who I work for lol).

The thing with withdrawal is that, it doesn't matter if yours isn't as severe as someone else's. 60% of feeling terrible is still terrible. Everyone who has ever been through it is trapped in their own personal hell.

Sorry for the long post

Awww im so sorry you went thru this hell sounds like nightmare. Bless you. Nobody should be going thru thisIm glad you managed tho and feeling better. Congratulations to your daft new doc who wouldnt prescribe you methadone and left you do it cold turkey. Im shocking. He could've made taper plan, and it would be much easier. Yes I agree we are all diffirent and go thru things diffirently. Are you a paramedic ? I was a paramedic in Poland before we came to UK..

 

[Aga85]

Update on my progress with kratom withdrawal...slept all night but took some lorazepam for sleep. Woke up at 1pm as Im working night shift tonight. 4 in a row nooooooooo lol I will manage somehow. I dont feel any kratom cravings, im feelinh more aware of everything, dont feel stoned, no signs of depression or anxiety but this will come later when its time to go to work as Im scared of feeling crap at work. Imodium and magnesium were great help. I will take imodium today and stop. Will continue taking witamin B,C,E,K , fish oil omega 3 and magnesium. Tried 5htp for few days but it made me feel like on prozac so stopped. Hot baths helped me, keeping myself warm, just chilling and trying not to think about symptoms. It wasnt as horrible as Ive thought it was going to be. Only first day was weird, with chills, anxiety, rls, no motivation. Watching movies snuggled on sofa on first day and drinking ginger and chamomile tea helped a lot. But the main point is that I dont think about kratom at all. I used to wake up and first thing I was going for was kratom cause I thought I need to drink it to feel normal. Turns out its not true. I thought kratom was managing my anxiety and Ive thought without it it will only get worse. Maybe thats why I felt so anxious on first day cause I didnt know what to expect and was scared of unknown.

 

[Backfromthebrink]

Awww im so sorry you went thru this hell sounds like nightmare. Bless you. Nobody should be going thru thisIm glad you managed tho and feeling better. Congratulations to your daft new doc who wouldnt prescribe you methadone and left you do it cold turkey. Im shocking. He could've made taper plan, and it would be much easier. Yes I agree we are all diffirent and go thru things diffirently. Are you a paramedic ? I was a paramedic in Poland before we came to UK..

I am a paramedic (well for now....I'm leaving). The ambulance service I work for hires lots if Polish paramedics.

 

[Aga85]

I am a paramedic (well for now....I'm leaving). The ambulance service I work for hires lots if Polish paramedics.

Yeah they do I know, Im just not sure If i could do it again. Was stressful, car accidents stuck in my head, I was overthinking everything. Couldnt switch off. Why are you leaving If I might ask ? X

 

[Backfromthebrink]

Yeah they do I know, Im just not sure If i could do it again. Was stressful, car accidents stuck in my head, I was overthinking everything. Couldnt switch off. Why are you leaving If I might ask ? X

Yeah it's not an easy job. I'm just sick of a few things...they way they treat me....the shifts.....the job in general.

Its always funny when I speak to one of our Polish paramedics on the phone and they say their name..I'm like "errr could you spell that for me mate?" and it's got about 40 letters in it lol.

I love working with my Polish colleagues though. They're all so keen and so polite on the radio.

 

[Aga85]

Yeah it's not an easy job. I'm just sick of a few things...they way they treat me....the shifts.....the job in general.

Its always funny when I speak to one of our Polish paramedics on the phone and they say their name..I'm like "errr could you spell that for me mate?" and it's got about 40 letters in it lol.

I love working with my Polish colleagues though. They're all so keen and so polite on the radio.

It is a hard job. You take it with you home.Thats what I was doing. Couldnt switch off. Hahahah yes some of polish people have really long names. Mine is really long. Both surname and name. I always bloody have to spell it over the phone and it takes me ages hahahah

 

[Aga85]

Well guys kratom was really easy to come off. One shitty day, been 10 days since my last dose and im feeling great. I really start to think that in my case kratom was causing me bigger anxiety and gastritis. Since Ive stopped I feel like my old self

 

[MDPV_Psychosis]

Aga85, congrats on getting clean and staying clean for 10 days. I'm glad to hear you're feeling great and feeling back to your old self again. Good job.

Yeah I noticed that I'd have, on average, a higher level of anxiety throughout the day whenever Im using Kratom. It's usually not bad but it's enough to be noticeable.

I always attributed the slight anxiety to the quasi stimulantness of Kratom. Kinda feels like I've been drinking a bit too much coffee.

Of course, im physically dependent on opioids... So I'd rather take the slightly higher level of anxiety over withdrawals. I am looking forward to being free one day, though. I suspect I'll feel lots better once I get passed acute withdrawals and any lingering PAWS.

 

[Aga85]

Aga85, congrats on getting clean and staying clean for 10 days. Im glad to hear your feeling great and feelinf back to your old self again. Good job.

Yeah I noticed that I'd have, on average, a higher level of anxiety throughout the day whenever Im using Kratom. It's usually not bad but it's enough to be noticeable.

I always attributed the slight anxiety to the quasi stimulantness of Kratom. Kinda feels like I've been drinking a bit too much coffee.

Of course, im physically dependent on opioids... So I'd rather take the slightly higher of anxiety of withdrawals. I am looking forward to being free one day, though. I suspect I'll feel lots better once I get passed acute withdrawals and any lingering PAWS.

Yes Ive noticed on kratom weird rushes of adrenaline, for me it would be okay to use it from time to time but not every day like I did before. But we are all diffirent. Since Ive stopped I feel slightly depressed, no motivation but I know it will pass. Are you regular user of kratom or are you taking opioid pills ?

 

[MDPV_Psychosis]

I have struggled with various opioids over the years. I first got addicted to pills (oxy, hydro) but I was also using whatever else I could get (Poppy pods mostly, heroin, methadone, tramadol, whatever else I could find).

After a few years of constant use I got tired of the addiction so I went on Suboxone and tapered off. Got my self clean and stayed clean from opioids for 3 years.

Then, like a fool, I got some tianeptine about three years ago with the intention of taking it strictly therapeutically (for depression). I noticed the opioid like effects immediately and began taking more and more. I let the addict inside of me take over and I quickly became addicted to high doses of tianeptine.

So I've been hooked since then. Started tapering down a year ago cause I was starting to need huge doses and realized I needed to get things under control. Also started taking Kratom instead sometimes (it's less fiendy, easier to control and easier to taper then tianeptine ime).

These days I don't use much but I'm still addicted/still need to dose consistently to avoid withdrawals... My taper has taken me pretty low but I just haven't found the strength to either taper completely or to just stop. Not yet anyways, I've been entertaining the idea a lot more lately though.

TLDR - sorry you asked a simple question and I rambled on forever. To answer your question: I'm currently both a regular Kratom and tianeptine user who is slowly tapering usage of both.

 

[Aga85]

Tianeptine is an AD isnt it ? Ive heard its good in treating panic disorders. Ive noticed ive got tendency to rely on something. If its not opioids its benzos. Just to make myself feel better. I never used to take high doses of codeine. 3x30mg pills of codeine were enough to boost my mood. And I didnt have to take it every day.I started taking kratom to stop taking codeine all together and it helped me. But got hooked up on it quickly. Wish my motivation came back lol I just crave something all the time to make me feel better. So annoying lol

 

[MDPV_Psychosis]

Tianeptine is an AD isnt it ? Ive heard its good in treating panic disorders. Ive noticed ive got tendency to rely on something. If its not opioids its benzos. Just to make myself feel better. I never used to take high doses of codeine. 3x30mg pills of codeine were enough to boost my mood. And I didnt have to take it every day.I started taking kratom to stop taking codeine all together and it helped me. But got hooked up on it quickly. Wish my motivation came back lol I just crave something all the time to make me feel better. So annoying lol

Tianeptine is AD yes but in higher doses it has opioid like effects. Strong opioid effects when the dose is high enough.

Motivation will return it just takes awhile. Daily exercise will help if you're not already doing so.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Day one no kratom for me (after using it more or less daily for about five months). Gabapentin and CBD seem to cover the bases. I'm definitely a little restless but that's it. I am going to take some melatonin, trazadone and CBD and go to be. Pissed off some fuck stole my temazepam last week, that would have been really useful right now, but c'est la vie. Even though I have shitty insomnia, I don't really need to be taking benzos anyways...

Anyways, great to hear you're doing well OP. Definitely inspiring hearing about your journey with this

 

[Aga85]

Day one no kratom for me (after using it more or less daily for about five months). Gabapentin and CBD seem to cover the bases. I'm definitely a little restless but that's it. I am going to take some melatonin, trazadone and CBD and go to be. Pissed off some fuck stole my temazepam last week, that would have been really useful right now, but c'est la vie. Even though I have shitty insomnia, I don't really need to be taking benzos anyways...

Anyways, great to hear you're doing well OP. Definitely inspiring hearing about your journey with this

Ahhh thats such a good news gabapentin can work wonders. My doc doesnt want to prescribe it to me even tho its proven to work with anxiety and depression. You can do it. First day is the worst I think. Now I dont even think about kratom.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Yeah, the kratom thing has been really really easy. Or perhaps easy isn't quite the right word, perhaps I mean manageable.

I think part of that is because I can only help but comparing everything involve with getting off 2.5 years of methadone and even longer term heroin usage with my mere five months of kratom use. It's entirely different, for pretty obvious reasons. Not that it makes any of this all that much easier, but it is far more manageable with less effort required. The the fact kratom use carries significantly less stigma than methadone or heroin makes coming off it a little easier too.

The only big thing I've noticed is that I have like zero motivation. But I have methods of working on that. Right now I'm trying to just take a break for a few days and reassess where to go from there. Such is detoxing.

I still have to make my own detox/recovery journal about this... I have a feel I probably won't get to it until after I finish detoxing though. I just need to get more motivated before I will realistically start/create it. Retrospectives are good too I guess.

Unfortunately I wasn't prescribed a really appropriate dose of gabapentin for my metabolism and tolerance to such medications, but it was certainly a lot better than nothing. I have to go to a holiday thing this evening, so I'm saving my last 900mg dose for that.

CBD does help a lot, but I can't do much except right now except watch movies or listen to music on something like CBD/THC, so it sort of prevents me from doing what I'd otherwise enjoy. Seems like detoxing from kratom has seriously lowered my tolerance to even something like CBD.

 

[Slow_Mobius]

I usually find adrafinil pretty useless, but for whatever reason, it helps a ton with the motivation problems from kratom wd. I would recommend it.