In the process of quitting, trying to get over opiate addiction.

[MindOverMethadone]

Hello, name is Jason and the title pretty much says it all. I've been coming to bluelight for awhile now to get as much help as possible. Pretty much what I'm looking for is maybe some support. I know it's selfish of me not to contribute anything before asking for members to talk me through all this, but i have gone to extreme measure just to get off these bittersweet pills that I like to call OC's.
Today is technically my 4th day, cold turkey, and the withdrawals have barely subsided (still have the chills and gi problems). I've left everything and everyone I love, moved out to Korea with my parents, knowing that i would have absolutely no access to any form of opiates what-so-ever.
So if you have any advice or just a thumbs up would be greatly appreciated.

mind over methadone.

 

[theotherside]

You can beat the opiate addiction.........4 days in you are almost out of the worst part. For more help/support/info visit our The Dark Side forum....tons of good info. Good luck and welcome to bluelight

 

[MindOverMethadone]

I forgot how hellishly cold it was here in Korea. Public transportation system is very well done here so the majority of people, including myself, have to walk in this brutally cold weather just to get from point A to point B.
I would be using loperamide in the states right now to ease some of the pain, but it's not readily available here. Neither is good chronic...ugh...and my parents are annoying lol.

 

[theotherside]

It is cold and nasty where I'm at too......I'm on opiate maint....5mg's of hydro every 4 hours so I'm not too warm on the inside either!

 

[Captain.Heroin]

I forgot how hellishly cold it was here in Korea. Public transportation system is very well done here so the majority of people, including myself, have to walk in this brutally cold weather just to get from point A to point B.
I would be using loperamide in the states right now to ease some of the pain, but it's not readily available here. Neither is good chronic...ugh...and my parents are annoying lol.

I am sorry to hear how cold it is there. Best of luck quitting, and welcome to Bluelight!

 

[Aarius]

To MindOverMethadone

I have some things to say to you and every ounce is intended as sincere support.

Approaching the last week in November 2010 if someone had told me I would be posting on sites about getting off "Opiates" I really believe I would have laughed.

Now I know so many things both about myself and about the dark and ugly world of prescription opiate use. Last night I sat here and wrote a "book" about my recent experiences in first coming to grips with the absolute fact that the US FDA had pulled all Darvon and the derivatives of this opioid such as Propoxyphene and others. Along with that fact was the absolute fact that I would never again in my life fill another prescription for Propoxyphene.

For 31 years I have taken Propoxyphene Hcl 65 Mg moving up from 4 capsules a day in 1994 to 6 capsules a day taken almost every day of my life until the last week of November 2010 when by agreement with my Dr. I would stop immediately and replace the Propoxyphene with Oxycodone - which did not work. Then we changed to Hydrocodone which also hated everything about my personal chemical makeup.

I really don't want to write another "book". I feel compelled, however, to explain a little about how my 31 year marriage to Propoxyphene became more a way of life with little to no conscious thought that I was so very much a "drug addict", especially when a lot of my time was spent arresting and locking up people involved with drugs in illegally.

I followed my Dr's orders to the letter and even though I had well over a week's supply of Propoxyphene left on my last Rx I would put it all away and to this moment have not taken another Propoxyphene pill.

The Oxycodone and then Hydrocodone she wrote me to "take the place of the Propoxyphene" was perhaps the biggist mistake she has made in her professional career.

Not only had my system become so accustomed to Propoxyphene over the years the fact is that Propoxyphene from the very beginng was for me that illucive "magic pill". It has always worked well past my highest expectations but also with none of the "side effects" often reported incuding any degree of euphoria even on a 6 capsules a day regimine.

I wanted to believe the Oxycodone and later the Hydrocodone would seemlessly slip into my life and no one would ever be the wiser nor would I need to undergo any type of "lifestle change". At that time I had had NO IDEA what was about to happen to me.

Because I so disliked the Oxycodone and the Hydrocodone I resolved to just stop taking anything and then just deal with "whatever" would happen. I thought, "How bad can it be? I mean it's not like Propoxyphene is Heroin or for that matter any number of legal hard narcotics just a Dr's prescription away." Somehow, MindOverMethadone, I think you know what I'm talking about.

It was in the 3rd day after not taking anything that I began experiencing "weird" sensations that started out mild enough and I really began thinking all is well.

It started with simple restless leg syndrome that progressed to the point of the most excruciating experience I've ever known. By now my chest, arms and hands were involved. So was my neck muscles and I found it impossible to sit and then to my horror I discovered it was equally hard to move about.

With my eyes fixed firmly on my phone and maybe seconds before calling an ambulance I forced my self to try the Internet one more time. To my direct question posed to Google I was shown several URL's having to do with a drug called SUBOXONE.

I then decided to take just one of the Hydrocodone to hopefully relieve at least some of the hell I was experiencing. If indeed it did maybe I could make it until my Dr. came in to the VA and my decision was to be on the phone at the exact moment I knew she was scheduled in.

I did make the call and I did speak with a relief Physicians Assistant. I was in her office as fast as I could get there. I took with me several pages I had printed out about SUBOXONE and she was smiling from ear to ear until she could get me to shut up. Within an hour or so I was sitting in front of the one and only trained and licensed Physician in the use of SUBOXONE in who knows how many miles in either diection.

He sent me home with a prescription for SUBOXONE and very detailed instructions what to do.

Almost exactly 6 minutes after taking the first 2 Mg SUBOXONE tablet sublingually all the torture I had just know throughout my body was GONE!

I was to take one SUBOXONE tablet every 4 hours to totally alleviate all the "withdrawal" sypmtoms.

I took the next dose exactly 4 hours later and did not require any more that night. The next day I waiting until the withdrawel symptoms began to become unbearable before taking the next dose, my 3rd SUBOXONE tablet. Again in almost exactly 6 minutes I did not have so much as a headache or any indication I was completely in the grips of a little pink monster.

As mere precaution I took he 4th dose several hours later but to my astonishment and even though it had been nearly 8 hours after my last bout with RLS and the other torture I yet had absolutely no sensations of withdrawal.

Now in the mid evening of Monday, January 10th, 2011 I am so very proud to tell you that at 1 PM this date I sat before this Dr at the VA and willingly handed him my remaining Propoxyphene, my Hydrocodone and the remaining 8 SUBOXONE tablets. After visiting with him and receiving some very wise counsel about recurring desires to start taking any Opiate again and the psychological affects of my having gone thus far through this "life altering" event and the thoughts and feelings that were just about guaranteed to happen I looked at the bottles of "drugs" I had left on his desk and I walked out - DRUG FREE ! ! !

Will SUBOXONE have exactly the same effect on anyone addicted to Opiates? I have no idea. Will SUBOXONE help ANYONE addicted to opiates to have a more humane withdrawal to the point of complete independence? The answer is a resounding YES!!!!!

What if none of the things I have mentioned helps you get off opiates once and for all? Would a friend who has a rather unique perspective into what it is like to be held prisoner by a stupid little pill or tablet be somethng you could use?

If the answer to that is yes then you have a friend - even if you find SUBOXONE, it works great and later you find yourself engulfed by psychological trailings of a complete and total withdrawal please know that I have been there and that I truly want to help.

Sincerely,

Aarius (You can email me from my profile page)

 

[MindOverMethadone]

I can completely sympathize with your experience except I must adhere...Suboxone is what got me here to begin with. First and foremost, with suboxone, I am a firm believer that less is more. I When my Dr. told me to start off on 4mg's twice daily, I was only taking 1mg, maybe less, and I was perfectly fine. Sometimes I would be fine up til 3 days!
I took about 1 mg for about a month, then about half a mg the next month and when I tried to quit cold turkey, the withdrawals were WORSE than my 300+mg oxycodone withdrawals.

How is this possible? The suboxone must have built up in my system during those two months and we all know, suboxone is ONE POWERFUL DRUG. Please, anyone reading this, if you decide you want to take suboxone, plan on making it a short taper. Do not take it longer than necessary. Once the time comes for you to stop, you will regret ever taking it.

Right now I am on day 5 since my last dose of suboxone and i'm not going to lie, I don't feel any better...whatsoever. In fact, I feel like it's getting worse. Maybe the withdrawals have not plateaued yet. But what I'm saying is, i have cold turkyed while on Oxy and the acute withdrawal symptoms usually went away within 3-5 days.

Suboxone...methadone...I'm sure it's been stressed a million times before. Unless you're some 5 bag a day heroin addict, do not even consider it. I can never encourage anyone to taper use full agonist opiates, but honestly, that's what I wish I did.