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Opioids Getting off of IV and going back to oral only

C

cay

Bluelighter
Joined
Mar 29, 2009
Messages
113
Hey guys, I've been IVing my medicine for about 9 months now and I've decided to stop. I knew I would not be able to stop with knowledge of having my remaining diluaded so I quickly took it all. I have about 2 weeks before my next appointment and only extended release medication left. Now I could easily substitute with heroin like I did last month but the point of this excercise is to stop taking medicine IV. Essentially my question for you guys is there any way to manage the cravings to shoot. I've heard of people shooting water, and I'm considering it, but I want to know if there are any other ways. Also, a dramatic drop in opiate intake with only the ER pills left, but I had to get rid of the diluaded. It's worthless Oral, ok snorted (but I hate snorting), and fantastic shot, I shoot 8-12mg of dilauded every 3 hours or so. Next month I'm going to have my doctor switch my over to Oxycodone (no reason to shoot, it has a BA of 76%, and extra 20% won't do much) so that I don't have medicine to shoot.

Anyways, how should I work out these next 2 weeks? Should I pick up some Heroin to help step down, if so should I snort it or continue to shoot it? Is it possible (with the assistance of other drugs) that just taking my ER orally will be fine?

Thanks and I appreciate it.
 
So.....you just up and decided to stop shooting your dilaudid, but you're gonna switch to oxycodone(percocet?) orally all the sudden?.....just seems weird.....Did you start feeling remoresful about being an IV drug user all of the sudden? Because a habit's a habit....If money wasn't an issue and I had a steady supply of IR dilaudids comin in, I'd just say....fuck it!!
unless I wanted to quit, in which case I'd either go to a detox, go on methadone/suboxone or detox myself somehow(never happened like that for me....
Shooting water seems like a horrible idea that will just send you into a craving frenzy, so IDK
You must have a serious condition if youre being scripted that much dilaudid, and maybe you legitimately need to stay on opiates....
I mean, methadone works for some people for pain....God knows, theyll give you as high of a dose as you want!!....
As far as oxycodone goes, theres a bunch of different preparations of that...you can still shoot the "roxis" or whatever they are(I'm strictly H), so if you end up getting scripted those, youll still be screwed....I just don't see what you're goal is here....Cutting down?? Not letting your family down?
 
^Alright cowboy- let's reign it in with the inquisition already. No one needs to explain there motive for making a healthy lifestyle change. This is a harm reduction forum. Therefore, if someone is interested in reducing the harm they inflict on themselves, you should support rather than patronize them.

Using dope now would probably be the most counterproductive thing you could do. And if your going to shoot water, use sterile saline instead. Take it orally and use benzos for a few days if necessary to get adjusted.
 
I'm sorry if I'm bein a dick here....It's just, what's the difference? IV dilaudid, oxy? I mean, are you tapering down? Tryin to put down the needle? Short term heroin seems a tad dreamy to me? and shooting water? I dunno....yeah, goin back to oral opiates is safer than IVing pills, and I support that! !00%! just make sure you sterilize the pills and wear rubber gloves before ingesting them orally!

everything goes smoother with a low dose benzo...Whoa! I take that back!! You will die! I repeat, "You will die!!"....

I'm sorry.....I AM being a dick.....Realistically, you;re probably gonna jones a little bit cutting back...A little marijuana...low dose benzo, hot showers, a little exercize...chamomile tea, a regular sleep schedule.....will probably help...I'm off all opiates now and I've turned into an obnoxious drunk, so I apologize.
 
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I hate to tell you man, but dilaudid is The worst opioid to have in this situation IMO.

It does virtually nothing to those with tolerance when taken orally, and is possibly the best opiate to IV.

Maybe get your doc to prescribe oxycodone or hydrocodone. Those are mixed with APAP so you won't be tempted to IV. Except oxy does come in forms without APAP of course, but IME oral oxycodone is by far the overall best ROA definitely.

Tl;dr switch meds, taper, or quit unless you have the willpower of buddha
 
I would NOT suggest shooting water if you are trying to break yourself from a needle addiction, that will only perpetuate it. And it would likely make you want to IV opioids even more, because you are feeding the needle addiction and because you will be disappointed after you inject the water and will want to inject some opioids instead. I would recommend reading up on how to manage cravings. I posted some tips on coping with cravings here: Excellent new method to quit addictions and improve mental health (They do really help, I stopped injecting).

All for alleviating the withdrawals, I think your idea of switching to oxy is a good one, and like you said it will be less tempting to IV than Dilaudid. If you still have trouble adjusting check out our Opioid Withdrawal Megathread.
 
^You mean with oxycodone right? It was my impression that the OP currently is using hydromorphone, so 1mg oral is not going to equal 1mg IV. They were just talking about asking their doctor to switch them to oxy next month.
 
Oh, I misread the OP. I thought they were shooting oxycodone.

I think that them switching to oxycodone would be very wise. Hydromorphones oral BA being so poor, it may trigger IV relapse. Also, I think that oxycodone is a bit better of a pain killer, but that's just my subjective experience.
 
When people say "Shooting water," they don't mean just shooting the water and that's it. They mean, take the medicine orally (or however it's prescribed), and shoot the water to help with the needle craving... so IMO, it's not THAT bad of an idea. Eventually, you MIGHT get used to taking the medicine orally, and realize the needle isn't doing anything for you anymore so you'll drop it.
 
I wouldnt suggest shooting water do to the fact that if ur going to do it every 3 hours there is a possibility of droping your sodium level and going into cardiac arrest. i have been shooting 8 mg D's for about a year every day three to 5 times a day. Along with shooting heroin and any other water soluble opiate i could find. I recently (three months ago) had an over dose and had two really close friends OD and die and one friend OD infront of my twice. He stopped breathing and lost his pulse for ten minutes while i gave him CPR. I finally resuscitated him and he was breathing and had a pulse. IT took another ten minutes to get him conscious and walking. Him being my best friend and all scared the shit out of me, but 30 minutes later we dosed again. We knew we couldnt stop on our own and we were going to eventually die. We joined the methadone program and for the last three months i have only slipped three times. Pretty damn good for my situation. At a dose of 80 mg it gets rid of all cravings for opiates and after a while u dont even get high on them so the shooting part just becomes pointless. after it becomes pointless i was able to get off the done and made a full recovery. I did use benzo's as a crutch also but i have been on those for 4 years. THEY REALLY HELP ON THE BAD DAYS!!!!!
 
IVing water dropping your sodium level? I mean I'm not a doctor here, but 1 cc of water every few hours?! doesn't sound right.....
 
Swimmingdancer said:
No, I don't think shooting water is helpful. I've tried it, as have some of my friends, and it only feeds the needle addiction.
Click to expand...

Swimmingdancer said:
No, I don't think shooting water is helpful. I've tried it, as have some of my friends, and it only feeds the needle addiction.
Click to expand...

I have also had friends who have done the same and it really just feeds the needle love and isn't going to do anything but trigger your desire to use needles. Honestly, my boyfriend and I quit IV heroin about 1 1/2 years ago and a good part of our addiction had gotten to be the romance with the needle, so I understand where you are coming from wanting to just shoot water but I don't personally know anyone who has been successful with just shooting water. The good news is, is takes 30 days to make a new habit or break an old one. You can do it, it won't be easy but it's possible.

Honestly, after going through some uncomfortable physical/mental stuff in the weeks to come you will be glad you chose to stop IVing. I can relate to your situation, as an ex-IV heroin user I also have severe chronic pain that is controlled with opiates. I knew I had to switch to meds that were not abuseable or required way too much work to abuse, have you tried the matrix-fentanyl patch that doesn't have gel? Perhaps switching your long acting to something that isn't easily abused would make the transition easier?

It is never easy to break the IV habit but you can do it! All that shooting water is going to do is elongate your IV quitting process when the point is to get away from the needle. You might not like this but to give it to you straight, if you want to quit IVing and you do have a condition that requires you to take narcotics you are going to have to make a really big lifestyle change to be able to maintain a normal existence and manage your pain. Being an addict and having chronic pain is very difficult and requires quite a bit of balance and willpower, switching to an ER med that is not abuseable is a good step, and of course quitting IV. Or you could try to switch to Butrans the buprenorphine patch, as it is a powerful narcotic analgesic and the patch only gets changed every few days or every week to my understanding. Managing pain and addiction is extremely difficult and admitting to yourself some med changes need to happen in order to find a balance is probably a good step, either way it is great that you are quitting IV.

This probably isn't that helpful but the only thing I could do to help cravings to shoot when I quit was to remember that I would survive the craving and it would pass eventually. After doing that every day and hanging on by a thread (as far as wanting to shoot) for a couple weeks, it actually got easier and the cravings to shoot lessened more and more every day until before I knew it, it was today and I haven't used needles in 1 1/2 years. I never thought it was possible but I'm so glad I gave up the needle. Good luck, and kudos to the good harm reduction decision, your body will definitely thank you in the long run.
 
Why not try plugging your DOC for a while? That way you get to use the syringe and have that ritual, without ACTUALLY using the needle. Good luck with stopping IVing, it's a big deal. I wish I could.
 
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