In opiate w/d limbo... advice please!

[Call.me.ish-nodddd]

Hey all,

4th time going through detox from opiates. I'm 30. Since 15 I've been using various opiates. I tend to go on benders and then stop for long periods. Only before when I stopped I was forced to stop because I was broke and I'm not the type to do illegal shit to get dope, so cold turkey hell for me it was.

Well this time I'm not broke, in fact very successful and make a lot of money. 5 months ago after six years clean I found a heroin connect not even searching for it like damn fate. I knew better but said hey just one time for old times sake. Ha, well 5 months later here I am back to a gram a day habit yay (insufflation).

I now live in Europe, so I can get 30 mg codeine otc (500 aceto). My wife has a regular script of xanax.

For the past week I've been trying to taper, like go longer and longer in between taking heroin and o only take enough not to feel sick. I'm between, I'm taking the codeine and .25mg of xanax which seems to help a lot and that's fine. I dont want to take the xanax much longer tho, cuz i never went thru benzo w/d but i hear it's worse than h.

I'm trying to minimize the discomfort but all it seems I'm doing is putting myself in this limbo between discomfort, self will, and a bit of relief (when I do the h, or less-so when I do the codeine/xanax but still some relief.)

Don't get me wrong is nowhere near as bad as cold turkey, but even with the worst of my habits the CT w/d usually last 3 days and then I'm fine. Now I'm going on day 6 and the discomfort is pretty much the same as day one. At this point it feels like I'm on a shitty maintenance schedule.

The only improvement I can see is that for example at the beginning every 4 hrs I was craving H. Now it's like every 12 hrs and it takes less to fulfill those cravings.

On looking for advice. Does it seem like what I'm doing is gonna pay off, or am I just putting off the worst of the w/d and in the meantime feeling generally uncomfortable nearly all damn day? Should I just suck it up and do another round of cold turkey this time?

This is probably my last hurrah with dope. Got a family now and to much to lose to be messing with this. Any help, advice,support is greatly appreciated. Thanks y'all...

 

[Raysu]

Well first off good job on being able to draw the line and set limits and make an effort! That said yes I think you are prolonging the inevitable and the waxing and waning will remain unpleasant I think until you quit all substances. Codeine is a drug not everyone processes great so it may not be doing too much for you. And if you take doses without doing a CWE the acetaminophen over time is taxing. But if it's keeping your h use from getting to the point where you'll wind up broke again then it is t in vain either. If you are sincere about quitting I'd seriously consider medical detox as it will cover more symptom relief and end the tug of war going on in your body. Or consider adding other supportive measures at home between vitamins and such. Best of luck to ya!

 

[Call.me.ish-nodddd]

Hey, thank you so much for your reply. I've had worse habits than my current one and for one reason or another, i seem to recover very quickly. after 3 days cold turkey, i'm usually back to feeling pretty much normal... minor discomfort but nothing that can't be handled with an OTC. And never any depression (besides those 2-3 days when it feels like there is nothing good or right in this world). Medical detox is not an option for me as I have pretty demanding responsibilities for my business at the moment. Maybe later in the summer, but that would mean keep using til then and i don't want to. I think it might be a bit overboard for my current usage as well. I thought i could soften the blow somehow and ride it out to avoid those 2-3 days of hell. the fact that it's longer and longer between cravings is encouraging i guess, it's just that, while not in full blown w/d hell, it's just an all day feeling of general shit. at this point, i'm not even sure which is better.. 2-3 days of hell or this week of blah i've just been through. anyway, thanks a ton for your feedback. oh I have been taking vitamins and trying to eat well and exercise some on a stationary bike.

my main question is if this is going to pay off... like if cravings have elongated to 12 hrs, will they go to 24 hrs for example? and then progress from there? if that's the case, say that happens in the next 4-5 days, i much prefer this route of detox to the 2-3 days of CT.

 

[Raysu]

The depression is normal and my first wds did not involve it to the degree recent one had. Overall the body withdrawals at more challenging rates so over time they tend to worsen so it is good you are stopping now. I'd guess your cravings physically would continue to improve. For me codeine and Xanax did not remove that as well as long acting opioids did. The needle fix cravings have always been strongest for me even to the point is considered slamming water just to satisfy the craving. Never did but the pull was there. Maybe look into the Thomas recipe in case there is something you could add to help a bit more?

 

[Call.me.ish-nodddd]

I've never spiked it so I imagine the w/d you're talking about are not the same as mine. something you said interested me though... you too have used codeine and xanax to combat w/d before? you say long acting ones are better... what would that be? my wife has fybro and gets basically unrestricted tramadol 37mg. I've heard tramadol works for some not for others. I haven't tried it. Is that a long-acting one? any experience with tramadol for w/d symptoms yourself? in any case, which long-acting ones were you referring to? thanks again! my biggest issue is that with the codeine and xanax combo (60mg cod / .25mg xanax) it only last a few hours. It takes away 75% of the worst symptoms, but i'm forced to keep shoving them down (every 6 hrs, but there's 2 hrs of a higher level of discomfort that i force myself to endure). I esp dont want to get addicted to the xanax. never taken them before, have zero tolerance, but i can tell even at such a low dose .25mg, i like the effect.

 

[Raysu]

Yeah for me Xanax was the only benzo with rec use potential for the effect. Others required combos to be felt personally but as far as anxiety goes clonazepam was my saving grace and at minimal dosing. Valium and clonazepam are the most common long acting benzos. Xanax is short lived but most potent. Long acting opioids are methadone, Suboxone, subutex, and loperamide as far as commonly used ones go. Tramadol tended to make it 6-8 hours at best for me. Codeine turns into norcodeine to take effect and some bodies do this better than others which is why there are some who prefer it and others feel it's a joke, much like tramadol.. Tramadol is no fun for me and sent me to the ER with my first panic attack which I believed at the time to be a heart attack. I've used it minimally since but only to bridge the gap so to speak. It did so-so. Some people prefer it to standard opioids though so it may be of benefit if you are amoungst the lucky ones. It has many contraindications though so if you take other meds be sure it's a safe addition. To me the only perk was it bought time and had a plastic taste that is reminiscent of quality hospital IV drugs or Coke when insufflated. Others may disagree but the plastic taste was undeniable and something that triggers slight euphoria for me though again short lived. Truly any benzo across the board is kind in helping with the anxiety which is very peevalent in my recent wds and it targets that cause. I think for a better comfort you may require an opioid not an opiate to cushion things but that opens another box of worms and unless you go into maintenance is just another risk. For me tramadol on a heavy use wd would be like a splint on a broke bone-does the trick but the suffering remains moderate.