Cold turkey or tapering

[GoingGold]

So I've recently got myself in a tough spot that I find impossible to get out of. I started snorting Heroin in a very difficult time in my life. That lead me to have severe lung problems and eventually asthma , weight loss the whole 9 yards. I came across powder fentanyl , thought it'd be a great idea to try that instead. Of course it didn't clog my lungs and make it impossible to breath normally but here I am 6 months later stuck in the grips of this hell. It's destroying me physically and mentally and becoming quite obvious and I want nothing more than to have my life back. I've read it could be fatal when having other medical issues so my question is should I just attempt cold turkey or will tapering myself off be less harmful ? I wish to taper off but I don't feel I'm being clean by doing so ?! Please help

 

[Bearlove]

Hi there and welcome to Bluelight

If you think that tapering will be better for you then taper! It's not about going from a user to a non user overnight - it's about making the decision to get off the drugs and following through with your plan of action.

I have moved this post from 'Homeless' to Recovery as I feel you will get some better replies and information.

Good Luck
Bear

 

[bonomoopiojo55]

GoingGold you said you have medical issues, your safest route would be to see a doc. coming off fentanyl can be dangerous, seriously, it is nothing to mess around with. Clean time is as individual as all of us, if the doc wants you taper than so be it you can count clean time from the day you surrendered to this god awful disease, best wishes bono

 

[absent minded]

It might be worth looking into suboxone or methadone for maintenance or tapering. I recommend suboxone over methadone if you haven't tried either one already yet. That way you can maintain or taper at your own pace rather than at the mercy of a doctor at a detox facility

 

[What was it?]

With a fentanyl habit I'd personally go to a private doctor, keep it off records and do a fairly quick methadone taper. Make this your rock-bottom and never look back dude!

 

[manboychef]

With a fentanyl habit I'd personally go to a private doctor, keep it off records and do a fairly quick methadone taper. Make this your rock-bottom and never look back dude!

It might not be that easy....methadone is tough on some conditions related to bones, circulation. I would maybe give both suboxone and methadone a trial run and see what works best for you. It is going to be hard gold, but I know you can do it. I second the whole private doctor idea. Some sadistic folks run some detoxes and rehabs.

 

[GoingGold]

Thank you all for your quick replies. I want to save myself the embarrassment and a little bit of dignity rather than going into a detox , I'm wondering if there's any outpatient programs? Also with the tapering, how would I go about that? I feel completely clueless and at a dead end at this point... ? I should add I am a 21 year old female and haven't got my lady flow in about 3 months with no pregnancy .. Any connection ?

 

[w0w0mg]

An ex of mine never got hers when she was using, but quickly started getting it back when she got clean. No worries.
Also with your taper I would suggest getting some suboxone to do that with.
Of course - I still think it's possible to taper with your other DOC too.
Just start going down on your dose daily until you reach that ZERO point.
It will be rough, but it will be worth it.

 

[bonomoopiojo55]

Going I was in similar situation, once you detox your hormones will wake up. A while ago, years actually, I went through the same thing, did come back when I stopped using, had 4 kids actually, you would be better to get subs or methadone but just my opinion, I am doing the sub route, best to ya, bono

 

[thelung]

You need to seek a medically supervised detox. Definitely do not go cold turkey, you could die. At the very least, you should talk to a doctor and take medications for the withdrawal. Be strong, you can do this!

 

[Burnt Offerings]

taper benzos, cold turkey opiates

 

[aihfl]

IMO all the people telling you to taper are doing you a major disservice. Fentanyl is dangerous shit. After stealing one of my dad's patches when he was back in the hospital, it was the only time in my entire addiction history I thought I might die. I was so afraid I'd die if I blacked out or fell asleep that I dragged myself in the tub and turned on the shower to keep myself awake. Seriously, go see a doctor, dude.

cold turkey opiates

HAHAHAHAHAHA, thanks for the laugh. That was a good one. You were joking, right? RIGHT?

 

[Burnt Offerings]

It's hard to taper street heroin. Yes you can use pharmaceutical "maintenance drugs" but that's not really what I'm talking about. Heroin is the only opiate addiction that I have experience with...I just stopped doing it. Only been sober for about a month but...yeah. I cold turkied that bitch like I was in the cold cut section! *boom*

 

[aihfl]

It's hard to taper street heroin. Yes you can use pharmaceutical "maintenance drugs" but that's not really what I'm talking about. Heroin is the only opiate addiction that I have experience with...I just stopped doing it. Only been sober for about a month but...yeah. I cold turkied that bitch like I was in the cold cut section! *boom*

Obviously you're completely unfamiliar with just how powerful and dangerous fentanyl is. As in 50-100x more powerful than morphine. It makes street heroin look like aspirin. No personal attacks in sober living

 

[Burnt Offerings]

Fentanyl is a lot stronger than diacetylmorphine, but from what I've heard the WDs actually last a shorter time period than heroin. I'm not sure where you're getting the "potency of analgesic effect = intensity of WD" equation from...

But what's with the personal insults? :/

 

[Burnt Offerings]

"potency of analgesic effect = intensity of WD" equation

I just double-checked the opiate equivalency page on BL and yeah, WD symptoms are definitely not established this way. Methadone, which has the reputation of being probably the worst opiate/opioid to cold-turkey off of, has less potency mg-for-mg than diacetylmorphine (heroin). I thought we we're talking about WD here...

 

[aihfl]

but from what I've heard the WDs actually last a shorter time period than heroin. I'm not sure where you're getting the "potency of analgesic effect = intensity of WD" equation from...

I guess I'm the dumbass. Since fentanyl withdrawals are shorter than that of heroin, obviously that must mean it's safer #sarcasm

Just because you successfully did something risky, you shouldn't dispense the same, potentially dangerous advice to others. It's irresponsible.

 

[Burnt Offerings]

I would never argue that it's safer, in fact I'd argue that it's more dangerous. But that's when you're using. Not when you decide to stop using.

Again, the only thing I have knowledge of, first-hand addiction-wise, is heroin. If I'm wrong and someone cares to explain why then hey, that won't bother me...it wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong. But I don't think that fentanyl use causes potentially life-threatening WD symptoms for most users, certainly not on the level of benzodiazepines/alcohol/barbiturates etc, so I'm sticking with "cold turkey".

 

[cj]

I think OPs best option is to consult a doctor preferably an addiction specialist who can advise her with full knowledge of the medical problems she hints at in the first post. My personal opinion is that tapering with a long acting opiate like methadone or suboxone is going to be a better option in the long run when it comes to withdrawals and post withdrawal symptoms. Lets not forget that the battle really starts after the initial detox is over and all the reasons for initial use come back along with PAWS.

 

[GoingGold]

Yeah , tried quitting the fentanyl cold turkey .. Lasted about 8 hours because I thought i was close enough to death so I guess you can say I won't be trying that again. It is nothing like coming off of heroin. At all.
I was given prednisone to help with the lung issues but haven't started taking it yet because of the drug use. I stopped snorting the fentanyl and landed right back in heroins lap .. I just want to know if it would be dangerous to go ahead and start the prednisone treatment ?