I'm currently for the first time in my life attending college which i had started back mid January a little over a month ago now. All was well at first since i had gotten out of the whole detox and rehab situation in early October and came back home. I was doing alright for a while with a few minor 1 or 2 day slip ups on crack and or heroin, but for the most part had been doing much better than the past and like i had previously mentioned before, I finally got myself enrolled in college (community college, still living at home) and now since about mid January I've been using heroin daily again. I can't go back to another detox or rehab and I truly don't have the luxury of just laying in bed for 1 - 3 days to wait for the worst of it to be over before my subutex can kick in to help, and oh yeah im prescribed to subutex, which i had been doing great on previously but obviously haven't taken this past month or so... So what should i do now since i know i need to keep going to college daily and obviously i cannot continue using so i am planning on ending this run either tonight or by tomorrow afternoon by 1:00 p.m. when my class ends. So besides waiting out the full day or so to be able to take my sub again, are there any other suggestions as to how i can overcome this for the rest of the week even though i cannot lounge around in bed so i need to be able to stay strong and atleast get up for school everyday and i know if i stop by tomorrow then by friday, Saturday the latest the worst will be over with the physical withdrawal part and possibly sooner due to me being luckily prescribed to subutex. I've kicked at home without going to treatment many times previously but most of those times i wasn't actually doing anything with my life so now that i am i need help, advice, and support as to how i can make it through this week ,approximately the next 3ish days, thanks in advanced... I hope to hear some feedback and even constructive criticism is welcome as I'm completely open minded to any and all suggestions with good intentions.
Need advice and help asap how to get clean off heroin again ASAP
- Thread starter TL978
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Jabberwocky
Frumious Bandersnatch
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HI TL978, I'm sorry to hear this. I have moved your thread to Sober Living where you will be more likely to get some assistance.
oldhippytony
Bluelighter
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Congratulations on completing a formal treatment protocol last fall and taking steps necessary to enroll in college. Getting clean opens doors while addiction closes them. Additionally, you are lucky to have medication to assist you in stabilizing your world. I became physically addicted to heroin in the mid-1980s and have cycled through the physical dependence > cold turkey > physical dependence > cold turkey merry go round a hundred times (thrice in a jail cell). Most occasions taking place before buprenorphine became available and a few times since. It never gets easier. Even after bupe did become available to me, the transition from physical dependence back on to bupe (as you wrote, the period before your "subutex can kick in") gets more difficult each time. This is true even if my run is not long lived. Hopefully you will only need to endure one more of these uncomfortable transitions: the one that awaits you in the next day or two.
Others may chime in recommending some teas or comfort meds that may be available to you. I have no experience with these. Kratom is an option. Don't get your hopes up however as I find that it just takes the edge off, only slightly. Basically, there are no shortcuts. You have been using heroin daily for well over a month so you are going to have to endure a couple of days of being uncomfortable. Everytime I pick up dope, I pay the price, eventually. If you bite the bullet, WAIT LONG ENOUGH BEFORE REDOSING YOUR SUBUTEX SO AS TO AVOID PW (important: Google "cows scale"), and transition back to buprenorphine, in less than a week you will be out of the woods.
The only thing I can offer is hope. I'm one of millions who felt hopeless, yet with the help of other people managed to get clean and make themselves useful to themselves and society.
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Oh I've detoxed in every way you possibly can whether it be in a detox, mental hospital, jail cell, crack house, homeless outdoors and in my car and couch surfing, also back at my parents place, girlfriend's college dorm, etc. And it's Always just about the same living hell just with different aspects of things compared to the other ways... I honestly used all day yesterday up until last night at like 8:30p.m. and it's now almost 5:30ish p.m. so just 3 hours from being a full 24 hours off of the heroin and truthfully besides having extreme cravings, feeling very lethargic and low energy/tired/exhausted,and slightly achey but nothing major whatsoever... I feel absolutely fine in every other way which is strange considering the fact that 9/10 times by now I'd normally be vomitting , covered in cold sweats, barley able to stay awake and or get out of bed... I actually would have normally had all of these symptoms by this morning in previous withdrawl attempts but i woke up today and was able to goto college and I've also had no diarrhea yet and I'm not yawning excessively and along with the cold sweats, the worst symptom i normally would have by now would be just overall being covered dripping in sweat nonstop which hasnt been the case at all today... I mean my palms and ass are slightly more sweaty which isnt anything horrible at all and is completely bearable and i dont have beads of sweat pouring down my forhead and face which would have normally been happening long before now... Actually would have began this morning in normal withdrawls I've had but this time so far almost 24 hours later it hasnt which is strange so what would you say is the cause of such minimal symptoms? Did i get lucky? Or something?!
Not to scare the crap out of you, but was your H cut with something that was longer acting? How well was it sourced? Could just be that your body is responding differently. If you are going to induce on sub it would be a good idea to wait until you are full-blown. Maybe it won't come! Good luck man.
Oldhippytony, I always appreciate when you share btw.
Oldhippytony, I always appreciate when you share btw.
Jabberwocky
Frumious Bandersnatch
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What is your habit like right now? If you're not using super frequently, it's possible the habit simply hasn't gotten to a point of resulting in the kind of acute withdrawal you're more familiar with. I've had plenty of experiences during my tenure of dope use where I wouldn't experience withdrawal for 24 hours after last use.
What lead you to discontinue taking buprenorphine and using heroin instead? Generally when someone stops using their medicine and starts using heroin/opioids again means something needs to be addressed in how they are managing their recovery. Generally this seems to be related to a lack of support and/or increasing stress in life. Having started college recently it makes sense you'd be stressed.
In terms of the ongoing drug use issues, what is keeping you from starting buprenorphine again? A weekend would be a time you could induct again, as it doesn't take that long. I'd really recommend you start taking the buprenorphine (properly inducting to avoid precipitating withdrawal). If that doesn't work, I'd strongly suggest you look into methadone. At the same time, I'd suggest exploring other avenues of recovery, such as peer support groups, learning how to meditate, and generally focusing on self care.
What is your self care like right now? That becomes extremely important in college, doubly so when one is dealing with addiction on top of everything else.