Opioids Getting off Heroin methadone with just Loperamide

[rideITout]

Hi all, been reading on here like mad for the last 10 odd weeks, been looking for a way to get off all opioids for good!


A little about how and why I got on Heroin, it started off after I had a bad bike crash snapping a leg in half and getting put on iv Morphine for 4 weeks and then Oramorph, then was put on 100mg Tramadol and 60mg Zomorph a day for 6 months, then the Doc's stopped my script! no taper down just stopped it and would not give me more or any help!




So I started using Heroin about 2 years ago starting with 0.2-0.4mg a day but slowly moved up to a gram most days if and when I could afford it...

For the last 2 years I have been in my home mainly sleeping only going out to score, I have lost 3 stone I'm now 12 stone never been fat lol but before I had my accident I was running 10k 3 times a week, but I got so week I could hardly walk 500 yards to the shop without collapsing!





So after ending up in hospital in January this year, I have made my mind up to get and stay clean! Tried again with my Dr still no help so I had to contact Drug services Rise! I have had 2 interviews with them but I'm still waiting! so in February I asked the Dr again! and this time they gave me a whopping 120mg of Codeine a day for 2 weeks then 60mg a day for 1 more week! they told me that's all they are allowed to do now... so I ended up relapsing back on Heroin but I soon weaned myself down from a gram to 0.2mg a day with the odd binge, then on the 28 of March I got hold of some Methadone, I started off with 20ml a day got stable for a week then weaned down to just 6ml a day!! had bad diarrhoea RLS only getting an hour or two sleep crying feeling like crap, then I had the last of Methadone on 16 so 4 days ago now, normally I get il 24 hours after last of my Methadone, but on the same day as I stopped it I started Loperamide at just 6mg as all I had, the next day I had 8mg Loperamide on waking up and 6mg 5 hours before bed, yesterday I had 2x 8mg and felt amazing! running around cleaning very clear mind full of energy! today I had 8mg Loperamide on getting up and I feel so well the best I have been in 3 years by far!





Why am I feeling so good on a low dose of Loperamide? buzzing!


I'm planning to start tapering down on Loperamide tomorrow is that too soon?

I'm not constipated but never really have been on Heroin,
I can't stop eating for the last 4 days i'm eating 5 meals a day! always hungry!! and i'm drinking 5lt of water a day too!






PS I'm on Citalopram and val's too been on them both for 8 years, and have gone cold turkey lots of times only last 4 days! one more thing the Meth was giving me heart palpitations, bad chest pain! making me close to passing out! but that is passing now...

Any tips or imput is very welcome

 

[Jabberwocky]

It could be that you over estimated the severity of your dependency. That is pretty common, as it?s so fear enduring to even think about this stuff quite a bit of suffering is the product of over active expectations. The placebo (or nocebo) effect is very powerful.

It is a LOT easier to kick after only two years of problematic use (assuming it has been largely problematic - it isn?t always so, even with something like heroin). It will only get harder if you get sucked back into it. Perhaps try and use this as a motivation to throw yourself into the healthy habits that will help keep you from going back to opioid use.

Not saying it?s easy, cause it isn?t. But you?re in a good place to keep moving away from illegal drug use leading to headlessness

 

[rideITout]

Hi toothpastedog, you posted this in another thread, so a'm i right in thinking the 20 odd days i tapperd down with Meth did all the work? and the only signs of withdrawal i have is the runs, which the Lop is not stopping...

"There is some cross tolerance between opioids for sure, but it still would take time for you to become dependent on an opioid you aren’t currently using. So another opioid will serve as a stopgap, allowing your body a bit more time to equalize, as you’re only dependent on particular opioids right now, and your body is only used to the particular binding properties of fent. Basically substituting another opioid with different binding properties helps you adjust more slowly to a new baseline. It’s basically that different opioids create differebr dependencies, despite affecting the same primary neurobiology."

 

[Jabberwocky]

How long were use dependent on heroin before trying methadone? And then how long and at what dose we’re you taking methadone.

20 days would be enough of a taper if you only used methadone for that time to transition/detox from heroin - that is essentially a methadone facilitated detox. I’m just unclear what your use history was like prior to stopping the methadone.

With a longer methadone habit it generally take significantly longer than three weeks to taper off, but if you weren’t using a really high dose or only used it briefly it makes sense.

 

[rideITout]

Just over 2 year dependent on heroin, with most of them years taking a gram a day, and yes i only used the methadone for 20 days, started at 20ml for 6-7 days then worked my way down to 6ml on the last day (day 20) now i'm at 4 days without any opioids apart from the Loperamide as i have the runs, but thats all that's wrong with me.

 

[Jabberwocky]

That makes sense then. You essentially just used methadone to detox from heroin. That is precisely one of the ways it is intended to be used.

Sometimes the runs can last a while post acute withdrawal. That was one of the worst parts for me. Taking more fiber, fruits and veggies and getting exercise will help get your GI system back to normal. Go easy on the loperamide, as taking more than the absolute minimum will only delay that process.

If you have to take loperamide, nothing wrong with that. Just be mindful it is a very powerful opioid in terms of the GI system. Perhaps try 1-0.5mg ever 30-60 monies instead of just taking a big dose at once.

Or maybe just start with 2mg once an hour until you stop feeling the need to piss out the bum. I forgot your took 8mg the other day so 2mg is probably a good start.

 

[rideITout]

Day 5, Thanks toothpaste that good to know, a little update i am feeling good, with no cravings for heroin methadone etc, and my stoles are harder, just can't stop eatting drinking!

Lastnight my chest pain heart palpitations was getting so bad i had to stop the loperamide as i read they don't mix with SSRS well, so its been 24 hours without any, and my palpitations have gone away.

This is now the longest i have gone without opioids in my system in years! i really hope i can stay this way.

 

[rideITout]

Update i have started coughing up fluids! Like i have heroin yesterday! so i am now going into withdraw! frezing and twitching like hell, tearing up and noes is running, but my mind head is still mostly clear! i don't have any fear, but a fuzy mild head ack, bleary vision and the runnsare back!

 

[rideITout]

After yesterday feeling liky crap i took 4mg of loperamide, (was 30 hours from last dose) and started to feel a little better around 3-4 hours latter, still coughing up fluids and hardly got any sleep with RLS, but today i'm ok! i had 2mg (1 tab) of loperamide on waking then 1 more about 2 hours after that, and going to take 1 now, still have runs, but started eating and drinking loads again, will be a week free from methadone tomorow!!
New problem i had a dealer offer me some free heroin this morning, i'm not intrested in it, but i never been offerd it for free before!

 

[Keif' Richards]

All substances in question are Opioid agonists. I don't think it should come as a surprise that they can all treat Opioid withdrawl in varying ways.