Fioricet for opiate withdrawals

[moony84]

Hi. Does anybody have experience using Fioricet to stave off opiate withdrawals? I have a bad habit of using up my entire script of pain meds within a week of receiving them and this usually leaves me with mild/moderate withdrawal symptoms. Today my doctor prescribed me Fioricet for my chronic headaches, and a quick Google search turned up some interesting info on Fioricet being used off label to prevent withdrawals. Just looking for some first hand experiences. Thanks guys

 

[rkay49]

Yes I have used fioricet to help with w/d symptoms. I always got a little pep to my step. Only bad thing is my tolerance grew rapidly.

 

[Missykins]

This question is better suited for "Other Drugs" than "TDS" so I would consider posting it there as well. This drug is a combo caffeine, a barbiturate, and an analgesic (like Tylenol). It's not used very often in the United States. In my opinion, you're simply replacing one addictive substance with another. I
would focus on using your pain medications as prescribed.

 

[skillz~4~thrillz]

you may want to seek profession help with a licensed physician(as in being honest w/ your own pain management DR for a less pain med that is harder to abuse-or a new Pain management DR with whom you could "clean slate" relay concerns you may have about certain meds and their ease of abuse and statistics that support your concerns w/o having to say-I abuse this medication) ,a good Psychiatrist/Physiologist/LPC- preferably one who specializes in addiction- for help with your addiction,addictive behavior,compulsion,ect... or depending on your prescribed pain medication and what it is prescribed for,seeking out alternate treatment for your condition-there are neurological "pain meds" one of which I use for severe pain bc of my previous opiate addiction(2 separate addictions to opiates in my 35 years) and even a maintenance program like suboxone or methadone.
It all depends on what you want to achieve-relief from w/d so you can abuse your meds-a better approach to pain management-or a way to be free from addiction-although in some cases,this is not an option as some ppl MUST have highly addictive pain meds to have any quality of life.
I would definitely include a medical professional as self motivated research cannot provide you with the possible dangers and risks and ALTERNATIVES that a licensed Physician can help you with.
Just some positive suggestions to combat self medication...which as a 20+ year user/abuser/addict...I speak from experience in stating self medication NEVER works.
If you want to talk feel free to PM me anytime. I am here to help.

Much peace and love................skillz

 

[Lolie]

Fioricet has totally different formulations in different countries. Assuming that you're in the US, the low doses of codeine and butabital it contains might not be high enough to stave off withdrawals and taking more frequent or larger doses means you're also going to be ingesting more aspirin and caffeine.

More information about why you use up your pain meds so rapidly would be helpful. Chronic pain is regarded by legitimate pain clinics as a biopsychosocial phenomenon which should be treated by a multidisciplinary approach. This often means using multiple pain management techniques as well as combining different types of medication (opiates aren't particularly effective at relieving certain types of pain).

 

[effie]

Hey there,

After a quick chat with senior staff I'm going to move your post to thr Other Drugs forum as they have a lot of experience in withdrawals and what drugs etc work best - I think you might get a better response for this specific question about this particular medication there - although please, feel free to make a thread here if you would like some general support, help and advice about coping with opioid withdrawals here I'm just moving it because it is more of a "technical" question about drugs. I hope that is okay - shoot me a pm if you have any queries!

Good luck with your withdrawals as I said, feel free to make a thread here if you would like - lots of lovely people here willing to support you and many people who have been in the same boat!

TDS > OD

 

[effie]

Also - OD staff, hi! if you think this is better suited to BDD, shoot it our way

 

[poppyplanet]

Dude I don't think Fioricet will help much with opiate withdrawal, sorry to say. Don't get me wrong though, it will slightly help, but that's it. Fioricet is a barbituate, and a weak one at that. You're better off getting a couple benzos or even taking an ambien if you really have to substitute to feel better.

 

[Alex000]

Plain old Fioricet, without codeine, yes will help opiate withdrawal symptoms. The same goes for Fioricet w/ Codeine except for the fact that you'd still be taking an opiate. Either way, yes it could help. BUT, Fioricet contains butalbital (50 mg per pill), which is a barbiturate. Barbiturates are extremely dangerous due to the fact that they are quite addictive, tolerance rises, and the lethal dose (which isn't much at all) remains the same regardless of tolerance. I would not suggest using this drug for more than a few days at a time, for wd's or in combo with opiates (which can be even more dangerous, very dangerous, in fact). You do NOT want a barbiturate addiction, it is more dangerous and likely more unpleasant than the throws of benzo addiction, opiate addiction, amphetamine addiction, etc. Barbiturate wd's are extremely dangerous, and you will eventually build up to a tolerance that does you in (kills you). SO, if you use them very responsibly, at fairly low doses, for only very short periods, it can help, probably quite a bit. But I can't emphasize enough how important it is to be careful.

 

[Oxide]

Shooting this to BDD, lets see if you can get some more responses there.

IMO fioricet will do you much more good than bad during withdrawal. Of course you don't want to dig yourself into a new addiction, but I think using it as needed with loperamide would be a huge help to you when the going gets tough.

 

[tackyspiral]

ok i have some real life experience with this........ i have been prescribed fiornal as needed relatively long term which is the same thing as fiorecet only instead of acetaminophen which i hate it has aspirin
i dont abuse it and i am an iv heroin addict
it doesnt realy help enough to risk ruining the effectiveness it has for treating migraines in my opinion and believe me i have been very very sick before but i dont recommend taking too much
Especially considering fioricet has acetaminaphon which is soo soo very bad for you to take in high dose............. lets just say i have done it and so i dont go near it anymore partly because i am concerned aout the poss effects on the liver
Soop in conclusion if u feel like shit sure take 2 pills but dont go nuts

 

[ksralyv2mch]

Old thread, was going to ask a similar question to this...

So anyone else got any new experience with taking Fioricet to help with opiate withdrawals? I know the dangers of barbituate addiction and dependency but I'm only planning on using them for the detox... Anyone got any advice? Is it okay to take with benzos/Ambien?

 

[J03]

A few months late but I'm am currently on the beginning of withdrawl once again. I was taking about 100 hydro/oxy a day and now today down to nothing. I had one 10 mg hydro yesterday morning and that's all the opiates I had left. Last night was the worse with not being able to sleep; I took gabapentin, melatonin, and kilopin to help and usually it does but this time nothing. I have to work a long week coming up and I have no idea how I'm going to get through it. I have a couple of floricet tablets that I'm going to take and see what they do. Honestly what I have found to work great for w/d's is a decently high dose of adderall/vyvance, conerta works too but not as well. For me the tired and achy feeling during the day is the worst then you feel so worn out and can't sleep at night. I'll try the floricet and see what it does later today. But like everyone else is saying this like using benzos or amphedamines is just replacing one addiction with another. My advice even though hard and I've done it before and fallen off the bandwagon. Try and get some days off and literally sit at home for almost a week, it'll suck but in the long run you'll be so much better. Just wish I would of stayed clean.

 

[burn out]

Old thread, was going to ask a similar question to this...

So anyone else got any new experience with taking Fioricet to help with opiate withdrawals? I know the dangers of barbituate addiction and dependency but I'm only planning on using them for the detox... Anyone got any advice? Is it okay to take with benzos/Ambien?

I just posted that I am currently detoxing from heroin and took fioricet and kratom yesterday and yes it did help. The day went by like a breeze, although, of course the kratom helped more than the fioricet. What the fioricet did was take the edge off any withdrawal I was feeling despite the kratom. It was like having a couple shots of whiskey but longer lasting and more of just a straight downer vs the excitement I get from alcohol, which I hate when I just want to relax and lie down/sleep. For me alcohol is good for recreation but not for relaxing (unless I mix with opiates) because every time I have a couple drinks I feel full of energy (and I refuse to drink much more than that because of the come down/hangover). I would describe bultalbital as between between benzos and alcohol but less recreational than benzos.

Oh and yes it should be safe to combine with benzos as long as you keep the dosages low. I took four fioricet yesterday along with 5 gram of kratom and noticed significant respiratory depression. Barbituates are not something to play around with from what I understand. Only reason I even mixed emwas cause I have a significant opioid tolerance.

 

[Mamabear83]

Let me just preface this by saying any addiction should be addressed and while I believe some just have their drug of choice things CAN be replaced by that ... Only to ease a deeper issue that lurks inside... This causes the need to seek help... That being said.... (Wouldn't feel right if I didn't stand on my soap box a little) you did come here to be preached at and really with all I just said... I personally know that does nothing... I have gone through opiate withdrawal once before cold turkey... Not having a clue what to expect... Can say while I was only on them a short time it was by far the worse day of my life... Promised to never go down that route again.. Well life threw a curve ball and a few years later am currently going threw severe chronic pain they cannot diagnose... That being said I was prescribed meds that were very much a necessity (think on the floor vomiting from pain unable to move).... But my addiction took over and here I am... Spending money we don't have, lying to my husband... Being an addict... But was so scared to stop cuz of the last time.... Well let me tell you I am currently on firocet right now in the midst of stopping ...while I'm currently withdrawing the most I could say is I'm uncomfortable ... Not dying like before....it's saving my life right now getting me off those nasty norcos..... And making life so much easier ....hang in there... I would never consider myself a strong person so if I can do it you can!!! Xoxo

 

[BioHazard1969]

Solution

PLEASE READ
I have a much, much better solution!!! I too have a soapbox and I apologize for the lengthy response. If this reply helps even one person, its totally worth it.
Avoid the risk of DEATH and for the love of God STEER CLEAR of Fioricet!!! Due to the barbiturate it contains physical addiction comes quickly, very quickly, and I speak from firsthand experience.. Trust me when I tell you that Fioricet is an entirely different animal compared to opiates. The barbiturate it contains takes a very, very short time to become addicted to. It can actuallly KILL YOU when you try to stop using it, (research it on Google to get a glimpse of what I'm talking about). The barbiturate is both highly addictive and very dangerous. A high tolerance for Fioricet, (caused by the barbiturate Butalibal), occurs rapidly, I'm talking in as little as a couple of months, and as little as a few weeks.
There is a MUCH BETTER alternative to going down that very painful & risky path of turning to a barbiturate: Google Suboxone. It and it's brother Subutex, (a cheaper alternative that is used for pain management and has the main active ingredient ), takes care of the pain that brought you opiate use. It also takes care of withdrawal symptoms from opiates and some other drugs, including alcohol. No diarrhea, no loss of energy, no feeling like stir fried sh*t. it is quite the miracle drug, and has been used successfully for many many years in Europe. I tell you this (and no, I don't work for whatever the name of the company is that produces it), because I fear you are jumping from the frying pan into the fire, and it's not a small fire, its a f*$&ing inferno.
I was on opiates for my back - degenerative disc disease, Lortab, Percocet, eventually Methadone (which gave me new horrors in the withdrawal department). Suboxone, (later changed to Buprenorphine, Subutex's generic equipment) has been a miracle for me and unlike other addictive options produces very minor to no withdrawal symptoms should you desire to stop using it. Unlike opiates your life and thinking doesn't revolve around it.
People/doctors generally never speak of or do not know the nasty physical effects opiate cessation can cause for a long time after cessation. Some like impaired judgement due to changes in the brain brought about by opiate use, and extreme fatigue that can last for a year or more after quitting. Buprenorphine allows a reversal of the effects of the rewiring of the brain that opiates cause and eliminates the fatigue to name a couple. No more lying on the bathroom floor due to the diarrhea and pain. I struggled with opiates for about 10 years. It began with Lortab for my degenerative disc disease and progressed, spinning way out of control. I went to some detoxes and to a couple of trips to rehab. Nothing else provided relief.
I tell you all of this because buprenorphine was the ONLY thing I found that worked, without the nasty effects of needing opiates just to feel normal and without the horrifying effects methadone causes. It's pretty amazing, (as I'm still on it for my back and other ailments), The only drawback is that only a limited number of select phiscyians are allowed to prescribe it. I learned that this is due to the fact that the state makes a ton of money from methadone clinics. If the government cared more for sobriety than the dollar, they'd abandon methadone and switch to buprenorphine. Even if you choose a different path to sobriety, I beg you, stay away from Fioricet and the barbiturate it contains. I wish you well, and unless you want to step into a whole new world of pain, with the real possibility of death, please, stay away from Fioricet and any other barbiturate.