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Heroin Don't want heroin deciding my fate anymore

sunshine1964

Greenlighter
Joined
Nov 17, 2012
Messages
2
Hello there, I've been reading this message board for a while now and have always found it to be very helpful so I figured it was time to create an account and post.

I could really use some help. I've been doing heroin for over a year now. Daily for just about a year. I started shooting up in August, got freaked out and signed myself into detox a week later. I did my time in detox, all the while feeling miserable and as the hours went on, I became more and more depressed. When my detox was over and I was released I immediately went and bought a bag. Since then, I have cut down my use and have gone a week to 10 days at a time without partying (had methadone to help with the withdrawls)

I think alot of my problem is my issues with depression and just a feeling that I have no reason to live. Somehow, within the past few weeks I've been able to (with the help of my fiance) shake those feelings. We've been talking seriously about the future and our plans and goals. Before they seemed far fetched and unreachable. But now that the dark cloud has lifted I really want to start working on them.

So, here I am posting....I've never tried to detox totally alone, but I've been planning on this for a few weeks knowing that my fiance would be away for the weekend. I just finished up what I had, so I know that by morning I'm going to feel like crap but I'm hoping that since I dont have anyone to complain to that maybe I wont focus on that. And without him here, maybe I wont be such a big baby and will just deal with it. I'm also not in walking distance to town, so it would take a bit of planning to actually get my hands on something.

If I can get through the next few days and be through most of the major withdrawls when he gets back home it will be the best gift I can give him and myself. I've been trying to focus on our plans for the future with hopes that it will be enough to get me through.

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions on how to get thru the withdrawls and how to get thru the next few days as easy and fast as possible?

Thanks so much for your help
 
It's good to see someone that wants to take the initiative to better themselves by kicking a strong opioid, if you do your quality of life will most likely improve as far as your depression in general after you make it through not just acute withdrawals, but also PAWS. That being said you needto prepare as much as possible, it's no easy feat.

First and foremost you needto eat right and get hydrated, make sure your health is good before starting the ball rolling. Personally I would advise you to procure at bare minimum Immodium, clonidine ( propanalol also works ). I would also pick up some benzodiazepines to help with anxiety and take the edge off ( just be careful not to switch addictions ). IF you can get it a miracle drug during withdrawal is pregabalin ( Lyrica ).....it helps with sleep, the RLS and the crawling out of your skin feeling. I have had success in the past with strong willpower using small doses of codeine or hydrocodone ( 60mg codeine / 7.5 hydro tops ) at night for sleep.


As CH said you may want to consider using suboxone for a couple months to detox.....

Good luck to you, if you have any general questions about kicking cold turkey or maintainence i'll be around here.
 
It's good to see someone that wants to take the initiative to better themselves by kicking a strong opioid, if you do your quality of life will most likely improve as far as your depression in general after you make it through not just acute withdrawals, but also PAWS. That being said you needto prepare as much as possible, it's no easy feat.

First and foremost you needto eat right and get hydrated, make sure your health is good before starting the ball rolling. Personally I would advise you to procure at bare minimum Immodium, clonidine ( propanalol also works ). I would also pick up some benzodiazepines to help with anxiety and take the edge off ( just be careful not to switch addictions ). IF you can get it a miracle drug during withdrawal is pregabalin ( Lyrica ).....it helps with sleep, the RLS and the crawling out of your skin feeling. I have had success in the past with strong willpower using small doses of codeine or hydrocodone ( 60mg codeine / 7.5 hydro tops ) at night for sleep.


As CH said you may want to consider using suboxone for a couple months to detox.....

Good luck to you, if you have any general questions about kicking cold turkey or maintainence i'll be around here.

Thank you both so much for your responses, unfortunately right now my resources are limited so I have no choice but to go cold turkey. And to be honest with you, its putting me into a bit of a panic. Its seemed like a good idea last week....hell even last night! But now I'm questioning my decision 8o

Regardless, its where I'm at. I have some motrin and some tylenol pm (which sometimes seems to make my rls even worse) I'm trying to stay upbeat as I am all alone and my fiance is hours away and I have no way to even call him (I was hoping that would give me some strength not to cave in, strange as that seems) So I suppose ay advice to kick cold turkey would be greatly appreciated (I will be able to get methadone or suboxone when he returns from his trip if I need it to maintain) The only other thing I was going to try to do is occupy myself with TV or a good book....hell...I even bought some craft stuff and some new nail polish to do my nails (like I'm going to want to do that when I'm feeling like crap!) I was just trying to think of things to occupy my mind.......

Anyways......I appreciate you both taking the time to help me out. Thank you.
 
This thread has some good information that could help you get through the withdrawals.
 
There's plenty of information here, so I'll be brief.

You have the power. We all do.

Be not a slave to emotion, be a servant to compassion. Be not a slave to pleasure, but please others. Be not a servant of impulse, be a master of foresight.

Verily, I say these things with great sincerity,
All these things are in your grasp.
 
Hey man,

Hang in there. I as well have been battling a heroin addiction for a while. I strongly recommend you detox somewhere and then consider after care. I just left treatment and currently have 60 days clean, feeling amazing. I also recommend once you have completely detoxed trying Naltrexone therapy. It is an opiate antagonist which blocks the effects of exogenous opioids and also helps a ton with cravings, best part is that it does not lead to dependence or tolerance. Please seek help and then even more help after that. Multiple meetings a day man, sit in the front, share your story, get sober contacts and most of all get a sponsor. Good luck, you can do this if you really want it.
 
I'm voting for naltrexone too. With motivation it is an excellent medication and is quite underestimated. It does help with the cravings also, at least for me.
 
I'm voting for naltrexone too. With motivation it is an excellent medication and is quite underestimated. It does help with the cravings also, at least for me.

I think its too risky to recomend as a front line treatment. Have youi read the threads where people dig the implants out of there bodies? Yikes!! I mean im on sub maintenance and it sucks but naltrexone seems barbaric to me.
 
When I was in detox, the nurses/doctors talked a lot about Vivitrol, which is just a monthly naltrexone injection. They say it takes away the cravings almost completely.. and you can't use on it even if you tried. However, It hasn't been around that long.. and it just seems to good to be true. I have a friend who is getting on it.. so I'm curious to see what happens. Sounds like a miracle cure but hey, thats what they said about suboxone too when it first came out.. though they are two very different chemicals. Who knows.
 
I think its too risky to recomend as a front line treatment. Have youi read the threads where people dig the implants out of there bodies? Yikes!! I mean im on sub maintenance and it sucks but naltrexone seems barbaric to me.

I'm not talking about implants but tablets that one takes voluntarily each day. I never would take implant etc, the point is that you decide to take the medication each day, which in turn will help you if you have trouble controlling your impulses or cravings. I saw that the OP is truly motivated and therefore this treatment could be beneficial to her, clearly it won't be for everyone.
 
Could always try an Ibogaine dose. Though it can be dangerous from what i have read. They say it works for many addictions and does good at blocking the receptors to many addictive drugs including nicotine. Other than that i would recommend suboxone. It has helped several people i know out quite much and getting their lives on track. Plus saving A Lot of money for other activites.
 
i wouldn't go through wds without subutex it's just too painful

but then you have to withdraw from the subtex.

id rather have a week or so of feeling like death and get it over with than drag it on for a month.

PAWS is the worst part of WD imo. Thats when most people relapse.
 
Just remember that a lot of the depression you feel is directly related to withdrawals. Even if you were depressed before starting opiates, it most likely was not this severe. The feelings will pass.

There are tons of OTC options for tapering or dealing with withdrawals. If you're worried about methadone/suboxone becoming an addiction of its own, you might try kratom. While it can be addictive as well, the withdrawals are nowhere NEAR as severe as true opiates. It's cheap, easy to obtain and legal in most places.

Other things that might be helpful for acute withdrawals: DXM & loperamide. Ginger root, OTC pain relievers, 5-HTP, kava and valerian root can help with individual w/d symptoms.
 
As long as you don't stay on the bupe for a long period of time..which I made the mistake of doing.. it isn't that hard to come off of, certainly not to the extent of detoxing from a hardcore heroin habit. But like I said, if you've been on bupe straight for a year, two years etc.. your body is so used to it that it's a real bitch trying to hop off, even at a low dose. In my experience, bupe is a great drug if used for only 1-3 weeks, maybe a month.. where you are stabilized for about a week on a dose and spend the rest of the time weening. That way your on it long enough to get through the worst of the withdrawals, but not on it long enough to become incredibly dependent on the bupe.
 
^ oh boy, im scarred to come off bupre :(

suboxone has really been a life-saver for me! i would probably be back on the streets shooting dope without suboxone. it allows me to maintain grades in school, have somewhat of a social life, and it is great when im really craving..

lately i have been craving a full-agonist pretty bad, im not sure if the bupre is not holding me aswell as it did, or if it is just a normal thing to encounter>

though! i must say, you really do have to want to change for the better in order for bupre to work, most people get on, still have addictive tendencies, and end up addicted to crack or methamphetamine or benzos which is kind of what happened to me.

there are only so many drugs i can abuse now because im on sub, basically psychedellics, stims, marijuana, and gabaergics. it has been getting a little redundant lately, but i just keep trucking!!

good luck man, i hope you find what you are looking for! :)
 
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