Exercises for Restoring Endorphins (opiate addiction recovery)

[arthunter888]

I've had years of opiate use. First 2 were just once or twice a week, now I've progressed to daily. Currently I'm on 60-90mg oxycodone IR daily. Every now and then I'll take more to get a buzz, but normally this routine is just to fell okay. The worst part is waking up. Because of the short duration of oxy, even if I take some right before sleep, I wake up feeling horrible. Sick, cold, depressed.

My goal now is to get my endorphins back to normal, and eventually I can taper down without suffering too much. What are the best types of exercises for endorphin health? Is cardio better than weights?

 

[CHiLD-0F-THE-BEAT]

My goal now is to get my endorphins back to normal, and eventually I can taper down without suffering too much. What are the best types of exercises for endorphin health? Is cardio better than weights?

This is coming for someone with zero personal experience in any situations of drug dependency, but good luck tapering without suffering. If you truly want to mend your body and get off the gear, I dare say you're going to suffer from withdrawals. That's the nature of the beast, I'm afraid.

I really don't see how exercise will reduce the severity of the suffering? If your body is addicted you have to purge it and build it back up to be strong and function without your addiction.

Just as an aside, the best 'natural' release for endorphins is almost universally recognized as sex. Personally I prefer to do that than take pain-killers, or go for a long run, but that's just me.

 

[What was it?]

yo Kitty, a more supporting answer fro him would have been nice. Art, there has been some research into this. Only heavy, high intensity gym workout is said to decrease withdrawals. There was a study into this for some people coming off methadone. Heavy squats, dead lifts, bench press. Sex is also good, as is 30min plus running. It'll hurt in the beginning but if you push yourself through a session you will feel better.

 

[CHiLD-0F-THE-BEAT]

yo Kitty, a more supporting answer fro him would have been nice.

I just expressed my knowledge on the matter - if OP is looking for support they're in the wrong forum. TDS does wonderful things to support their posters - here it's more geared towards education.

Glad to see you are encouraging the benefits of sex, too. Make love don't take drugs! In all seriousness, I'm glad you had something to add.

 

[RedLeader]

yo Kitty, a more supporting answer fro him would have been nice. Art, there has been some research into this. Only heavy, high intensity gym workout is said to decrease withdrawals. There was a study into this for some people coming off methadone. Heavy squats, dead lifts, bench press. Sex is also good, as is 30min plus running. It'll hurt in the beginning but if you push yourself through a session you will feel better.

I could not even imagine trying to do squats or deadlifts during opiate WD. I guess it would depend on the severity of the WD, but I'd think that some of the nastier side-effects could actually put a person at risk of injury if trying to powerlift through WD. Personally, I would save the exercise until after you get completely off of the opiates and then use it as something of a replacement high.

Sex is good too, but unfortunately this isn't realistic for a lot of people (especially men who hate totally fucked their lives up with drugs). Or the opiates have eaten away at the sex drive. Again, I see sex as something that should come later on in the recovery/rehabilitation stage.

Do you really want to get clean from the drugs? If so, do you have access to a Suboxone for a short-term taper (to avoid the pain of acute WD)? I know from experience that it is very hard to enjoy much in life during opiate addiction (other than opiates, of course), and really it takes either some type of interruptive event (rehab, arrest, etc) or some will-power out of left field to quit. When you quit, the sickness and the cold will go away and your body will, after a few weeks, feel as good as it did when you were 18. Good food, good sex (hopefully), muscle-growth, good sleep...you'll look back at all of the time spent chasing the high and realise how restricting that was on your life.

 

[Perpetual Indulgence]

I think exercising is a great idea. It is an excellent replacement. It doesn't matter was you are doing, you are doing something positive.

 

[Ligaturd]

Ok.....so no, no exercise until the physical withdrawals are over. You are just going to make the pain much worse. The idea is to start working out after the physical withdrawals are mostly over so you can start producing more endorphins to both help you feel better mentally at the time and to push your brain to start bringing your opioid receptors back to homeostasis. I also highly recommend taking l-tyrosine, it is an amino acid which is a precursor to dopamine and noradrenaline when it gets processed by your body, take it in the morning about 30 minutes before any food is consumed or it won't be able to get absorbed properly (I wouldn't advise taking it in physical withdrawals either because it will likely push your heart rate up higher and make things more uncomfortable). It will help give you energy and help a bit to rid you of the negative mental disposition that you are likely to be wallowing in for awhile. This with exercise will help you greatly, that's what helped me the most through the post acute withdrawal syndrome. I wish you good luck, you can do it....the only obstacle that is going to be in your way is yourself so be prepared to give yourself a good ass kicking.

Oh and also, I found a good cardio work-out was sufficient for this purpose, I'm not certain but I believe it is a lactic acid buildup that contributes to the pain while in withdrawal and really strenuous, heavy lifting might be a bit too much right out of withdrawal. Everybody is different, I'm probably just a bit of a pussy when it comes to the aches and pains associated with withdrawal. Both cardio and heavy lifting workouts will release the endorphins you need, i'd just start with the cardio for a bit and then progress to the heavy exercises if I were in your position again.

 

[arthunter888]

Sex is good too, but unfortunately this isn't realistic for a lot of people (especially men who hate totally fucked their lives up with drugs). Or the opiates have eaten away at the sex drive. Again, I see sex as something that should come later on in the recovery/rehabilitation stage.

Well, unfortunately being an opiate dependent makes it impossible to attract women, so the sex thing isn't gonna happen. However, what about just orgasm? When sex is claimed an endorphin booster, does this mean the actual intercourse with a partner, or is it just a way of saying orgasm is the endorphin booster?? This is an important distinction since orgasm can be achieved by masturbation, and quite frankly they are better than intercourse-orgasms the few times I had sex in the past.

The idea is to start working out after the physical withdrawals are mostly over so you can start producing more endorphins to both help you feel better mentally at the time and to push your brain to start bringing your opioid receptors back to homeostasis.

I think I'm on a different page than the posters. I should have been more emphatic that my curiosity is to start exercises before I stop the oxy, you know, to "soften the blow" or "pad the landing" a little. It would be much easier to workout on a maintenance dose than deep into WD. If I were to workout before stopping, would it be effective at boosting endorphins, or can that only happen without any opiates in the body?

 

[Ligaturd]

I don't have any direct experience with working out before going into withdrawal but I would hazard a guess that if you haven't gone through withdrawal yet, any excess endorphins would only down regulate the receptors more, probably not by any considerable amount. It is my understanding that the opioid receptors aren't going to start to repair their normal functioning until the source of massive dopamine boost has been removed. It's an accumulated effect, it starts to help you feel better after working at it for awhile; Although it couldn't hurt to try, I haven't read of anyone trying this for this purpose that I can remember. You are probably just going to have to try it and post your results after.
I think that your best bet is just to taper down extremely slowly over a long amount of time if you want to make it more comfortable, you can get it down to just a week of the sweats and some muscle aches and trouble sleeping as opposed to shitting, puking everywhere, wanting to fucking die etc...

 

[-Guido-]

I've had years of opiate use. First 2 were just once or twice a week, now I've progressed to daily. Currently I'm on 60-90mg oxycodone IR daily. Every now and then I'll take more to get a buzz, but normally this routine is just to fell okay. The worst part is waking up. Because of the short duration of oxy, even if I take some right before sleep, I wake up feeling horrible. Sick, cold, depressed.

My goal now is to get my endorphins back to normal, and eventually I can taper down without suffering too much. What are the best types of exercises for endorphin health? Is cardio better than weights?

Hit the weights bro. I got back into bodybuilding and I feel amazing.

 

[PriestTheyCalledHim]

Do cardio exercise.

 

[zzITCHY420zz]

try finding something that you enjoy, or think you'd enjoy. hitting weights or running on a treadmill isnt exactly everyones idea of a fun time, and being in a vulnerable state isn't going to make it any easier. the more you enjoy it the better. if there's a payoff in the exercise itself it's going to make it much easier to do consistently. for instance, if you like playing sports, and are competitive, it might help to slowly try to get into it and make it a hobby (again). healthy habits my friend.

 

[Immortal I Stand]

I've had years of opiate use. First 2 were just once or twice a week, now I've progressed to daily. Currently I'm on 60-90mg oxycodone IR daily. Every now and then I'll take more to get a buzz, but normally this routine is just to fell okay. The worst part is waking up. Because of the short duration of oxy, even if I take some right before sleep, I wake up feeling horrible. Sick, cold, depressed.



My goal now is to get my endorphins back to normal, and eventually I can taper down without suffering too much. What are the best types of exercises for endorphin health? Is cardio better than weights?

Good idea to taper, man. No doubt about it. Esp. @ the daily dose of oxy you took. The fuckin hardest part will be the last few days when you see the last pieces of your oxys disappearing from your stash, but you know what? The w/d will be a hell of a lot less terrible than if you were to suddenly stop the shit CT.

In terms of exercise: since my endorphins are fucked beyond the capacity for my brain to handle right now, even 12 days clean I feel a lack of energy and willpower to endure the 16 hours awake each day. What has helped me bump up my endorphins to some extent are: pushups and simple dumbbell routines (bicep curls, shoulder strengthening, etc) My g/f tells me I need to focus on cardio and all that, but I have no fucking energy to run around the block at a fuckin brisk jog right now, it's just too demanding for me. You though, should think about doing some jogging and 'cardio' exercises while the oxy's still in your bloodstream-and continue to do so as the days count down to your final dose. Man, I have a feeling you'll be ready then. (following the few days of w/d, of course. during those days, just take it easy and sleep with the aid of melatonin and or a benzodiazapine, you'll be ok bro) Keep in touch, and best to you.

 

[Beat It]

Feel like this would be a good thread in the dark side but yeah I'de say cardio would be best but I couldn't imagine doing much the first couple days of w/d's. They are brutal and you get dehydrated. Unless you can manage to drink liquids and eat a lot of food. I wouldn't suggest exercise during w/d's. And power lifting... that is just insane. I don't think you have any experience with w/d's if you think it is smart to do dead lift's while dehydrated and weak...

Anyways, I started exercising after the first 3 days when I could drink water again. It was horrible but I went for a mile run, helped me feel better for about a day. Really ended up boosting my moral overall. I didn't want to lift weights because my appetite was so repressed. Since then, I make sure to run at least every other day. Exercise is a great thing to replace drug use with. Just put an article on here about the "runner's high"

Oh yeah, yoga/meditation are good too. They are both proven to naturally increase GABA, or something like it, in the brain. You can learn how to ease your mind without the use of drugs, and exercise is a healthy way to do it.

 

[arthunter888]

This hasn't been answered yet, so I'll ask again.

When sex is recommended for opiate recovery, which one is actually necessary. Is it intercourse, or just orgasm?

Is there a particular effect that intercourse has on endorphins, or will orgasm have the same effect regardless of how it is acheived (masturbation)?

 

[modern buddha]

^ Sex is recommended for opiate recovery? Since when? That would send opiate fiends running for the nearest sex partner. I can't imagine that would be good in the long run!

Therefore, I'd assume that orgasms is what they would be talking about. However, exercise and eating right can do the exact same thing and more often. You can't masturbate 20 times a day and trying to find sex all the time could lead to someone having sex with whoever and under whatever circumstances. I don't know about you, but I don't want STIs.

 

[Misfit Chick]

Good idea to taper, man. No doubt about it. Esp. @ the daily dose of oxy you took. The fuckin hardest part will be the last few days when you see the last pieces of your oxys disappearing from your stash, but you know what? The w/d will be a hell of a lot less terrible than if you were to suddenly stop the shit CT.

In terms of exercise: since my endorphins are fucked beyond the capacity for my brain to handle right now, even 12 days clean I feel a lack of energy and willpower to endure the 16 hours awake each day. What has helped me bump up my endorphins to some extent are: pushups and simple dumbbell routines (bicep curls, shoulder strengthening, etc) My g/f tells me I need to focus on cardio and all that, but I have no fucking energy to run around the block at a fuckin brisk jog right now, it's just too demanding for me. You though, should think about doing some jogging and 'cardio' exercises while the oxy's still in your bloodstream-and continue to do so as the days count down to your final dose. Man, I have a feeling you'll be ready then. (following the few days of w/d, of course. during those days, just take it easy and sleep with the aid of melatonin and or a benzodiazapine, you'll be ok bro) Keep in touch, and best to you.

Glad to hear your doing good, was wondering how you were doing. Sent you a pm, its saying you have to clear your stored messages to get another pm. As for me i had to start simply by starting a routine, getting up, getting dressed, plan stuff in my day, walk a little bit, and eventually work myself up to working out.Its been difficult with no energy, but its slowly comming back. Hope to hear from you soon. MC

 

[OhCrap]

Masturbation works, sex is better. They both release endorphines that can help with pain and depression, with the latter releasing more good luck, I used Imodium to curb my withdrawal symptoms and I'm 4 days clean and starting to feel OK!

 

[Carl Landrover]

yo Kitty, a more supporting answer fro him would have been nice. Art, there has been some research into this. Only heavy, high intensity gym workout is said to decrease withdrawals. There was a study into this for some people coming off methadone. Heavy squats, dead lifts, bench press. Sex is also good, as is 30min plus running. It'll hurt in the beginning but if you push yourself through a session you will feel better.

You're sort of contradicting yourself with saying "only heavy, high intensity gym workout" and then saying 30 min of running is also good. I also am doubting this study you're talking about.

I've gotten off opiates several times, working out definitely helps getting off. Exercise puts you in a better mood, makes you feel stronger and more capable of getting through everything. Depending what you're doing you can get a good sweat going. It really depends where you are as far as using goes and where you are as far as tapering and WDs in determining which exercise is best. If you're in WD you're probably not going to be able to do anything that intense, but still getting even some easy exercise would be beneficial.

I already have a background with running prior to ever using opiates so I always gravitate towards cardio as my exercise of choice. I've run with mild WDs before and it definitely helps with mood lift and can help in allowing me to get some sleep or better sleep than I would have otherwise. You definitely don't want to do anything too difficult or that is going to make you feel really sore, such as a heavy, high intensity workout. Any muscle soreness you would normally get after such a workout is going to be hurting 10 fold if you're WDing.

 

[SM0K3Y]

I lift and I'm an addict. I've been lifting since before being addicted, stopped and started again during and after my addictions. If you are just starting to lift/workout, get off the drugs first. Worry about cardio after week 2 clean. Trust me it will hurt and be more suffering otherwise. At week 2 you start to feel like you are getting your strength back and is a perfect time to do light working out. Weights I've found to be better do to the fact you look for progress. You are happy when you feel like you are gaining something from working out. Cardio, while very helpful, doesn't show progress. It's all internal (maybe weightloss if you need it) but for the most part weights and lifting are going to be the ones to help you along mentally.

Both will release endorphins, lifting just shows progress, cardio does not. It's really up to you and what you want out of it at the end of the day, but I know myself and most men would benefit the most from lifting instead of cardio.