Opioids Heavy Dilaudid use - withdrawals, continuation.

[emjay]

I've been taking an average 96mg a day (sometimes as much as 400mg), generally plugged.

I've been completely off it for just over a week now. I ordered clonidine online and it's really a miracle treatment - no hyper-adrenaline feeling, no severe leg bone pain, no vomiting, not even a runny nose. The only issues I've had have been fatigue/weakness, lack of appetite, a bit of trouble sleeping, and sneezing... not too bad. Easy, in fact.

However, I have not intended to stop completely. I still want to be able to use it once or twice a week. I suppose my questions are...

How long should I wait for just one use to not just "reset" withdrawals?

Can I become dependent again using only once or twice a week?

And, will my tolerance change very much, and if I'll still have some degree a high tolerance, will it be lifelong?

 

[Cadamec]

You will pick up right where you left off. A little will not do you unless you wait years.. By that, I mean the reasons you use drugs now will have to be different than they are now to avoid the psychological dependence.

Using once or twice a week, you probably will not become physically dependent. Based on your recent drug history, though, I would bet the farm that you couldn't use socially again until you have been clean for many many years.

Your tolerance will not change right away. I don't know and will not hazard a guess when that changes. Especially with that drug because the "high" is so subtle, people sometimes OD chasing the high.

If you were taking as much as 400mg/day, I recommend seeking counseling. I know cancer docs that would not give that much to a dying man.

 

[emjay]

I understand. Getting off has been easy enough that I'm willing to give it a shot. If I find I can't control myself, I will definitely be going abstinence-only.

The first question is my big concern at the moment. I last dosed last Wednesday night. If I took some tomorrow, would it initiate or draw out withdrawals?

 

[motherofearth]

Using once or twice a week will almost assuredly lead you back to your old levels of use. Once you have a habit like yours it is impossible to expect moderation. Even w/o ever having a habit, 1-2 times a week is too often for such a powerful drug such as hydromorphone.

 

[Cadamec]

Withdrawal symptoms generally start about 8-12 hours after your last dose if you are physically dependent. You will know.

I am confused, are you not using daily now? You stated you last used on Wednesday and want to do it again on Friday..

Withdrawal should be tapered and under a docs supervision. Clonidine, loperimide, and some ativan or xanax will help greatly. I like a little weed for that, too.

Cold turkey withdrawals could lead to seizures and your blood pressure could get dangerously high revealing hidden conditions waiting for that scenario.

I do not know how things are in Canada. In the US, many of us go to the ER and they will give us rescue meds to withdraw such as the ones I mentioned above. Some hospitals now are having patients sign forms stating that in the future, they will not be given pain meds if they show up again for ANY reason in order to get withdrawal treatment at the time. Having experienced that once, I tell my friends to not use a hospital "chain" and go to one that is not close by to their home or work that they are likely to visit again for some other reason. (If I break my leg or something like that, I will want the pain meds!)

 

[Tommyboy]

You should wait at least 2 weeks before starting again if you wish to avoid restarting the withdrawals. At twice a week you can become physically dependent considering your previous use, so I would recommend using no more than once a week, with once every 5 days being the schedule. Be careful though because I know people that use once a week that will still get withdrawals. It's basically that the body gets used to being dosed once a week, so since it's expecting it once a week it will have minor withdrawals if it doesn't get that weekly dose.

Taking a 2-3 week break will go a long way towards preventing withdrawals from a once a week habit, but they can still happen, so an even longer break and even less frequent use would be ideal.

 

[Cadamec]

Thanks for filling in some more info, Tommyboy.

 

[Hobble]

If you have enough experience with opiates to take 400mg of hydromorphone per day you probably already know this but I will say it anyways, just in case.

Please careful on your first continuation, since that's how alot of people overdose. Tolerance can drop very rapidly but will rise rapidly too. When I stopped oxymorphone for 30 days and then relapsed, my tolerance had dropped by at least 50%. But only for the first day. By the 2nd day my tolerance was at about 60-75% of what it was before I quit and by the 3rd or 4th day it was almost back to what it was before I quit.

 

[kc2729]

I took roxis daily for about 2 years, and i was up about 180 mg a day. I quit this last time for about 3 months and then started again. My tolerance wad pretty low for about a week, and it started climbing pretty quickly. I was off them once for a little over a year and started again.My tolerance was low at first, but it never resets back to zero, and will always build much faster than someone whos never built up a tolerance. As far as taking them casually, for me anyway, its not going to happen. Once you've developed a habit or dependency, chances are taking the drug again will just kick the craving back in. Casual use for me just slowly turned into more often/higher rising.

 

[emjay]

Withdrawal symptoms generally start about 8-12 hours after your last dose if you are physically dependent. You will know.

I am confused, are you not using daily now? You stated you last used on Wednesday and want to do it again on Friday..

Withdrawal should be tapered and under a docs supervision. Clonidine, loperimide, and some ativan or xanax will help greatly. I like a little weed for that, too.

Cold turkey withdrawals could lead to seizures and your blood pressure could get dangerously high revealing hidden conditions waiting for that scenario.

I do not know how things are in Canada. In the US, many of us go to the ER and they will give us rescue meds to withdraw such as the ones I mentioned above. Some hospitals now are having patients sign forms stating that in the future, they will not be given pain meds if they show up again for ANY reason in order to get withdrawal treatment at the time. Having experienced that once, I tell my friends to not use a hospital "chain" and go to one that is not close by to their home or work that they are likely to visit again for some other reason. (If I break my leg or something like that, I will want the pain meds!)

I have my own rescue meds (clonidine, Gabapentin/pregabilin, loperamide, clonazepam, and ondansetron)

Also, when I mentioned Wednesday I meant the week before. So Friday was nine days later.

Tolerance was low on my first dose but it went right back up on the second. In full withdrawals again.

Bah... who am I kidding? I'll never be able to abstain completely. Even if I wanted to, I have a genetic predisposition to kidney stones that affects me many times a year... those cannot simply be ridden out.

I think my game plan now is just going to be significantly cutting my usage, with the help of the above mentioned rescue meds as necessary.