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Opioids Is there a way to successfully taper from poppy pods?

Checking up on you MLK!

Hopefully no news is good news. Be sure and check in now and then okay?

Wishing you well :-)
 
Update on me, well I am still here and thankfully still stabilized the last few days. I have some mental cravings sometimes, but otherwise no physical withdrawals of any kind. I do have to admit though that I really just want this part of things over. I just had to order more to get me through until my insurance kicks in and to taper with. I really hope it isn't stronger than my last shipment as I really don't want to have to re figure my dosage again!!

I did finally get a scale and weighed my current dose, it is 11 grams twice a day. So now I just need to figure out a taper plan for beginning Monday, any ideas??


adamgreen....I am glad my story is helping people! About the clinics, when I was just calling around I told them that I was just on opiates. Most did not ask what kind. I did however take a couple doses off and substitute with vicodin so if needed I had an idea of the strength of what I was taking in comparison to things they would know. Really though I can't stress how much better things are now that someone else knows. The support has been great to finding which way I want to go from here and it helped the anxiety a lot as well. I am sure tapering is possible without anyone knowing but it is for sure much easier without it being hidden!!!

Jayjohnson....The doctor really didn't know much about the pods at all, although he had heard of them. I mentioned to him the long life they have in your system, but that shouldn't be much of an issue because he likes there to be 3 days of withdrawal before he starts the induction anyway, which scares the life out of me, but I am trying not to think too far ahead. I also did at least know what to tell him as far as a ballpark of the strength, since I substituted a couple doses with vicodin to get an idea.
 
Glad you've managed to stablise yourself MLK :) And yay on the scales success! ^_^
I'd imagine, with the state of the Pod market at the moment, that you may end up getting similar strength pods to the ones you have at present.

But, if you don't, then just take it easy and roughly work out an equivalent dose ;) It shouldn't be too hard..... Actually... I've just thought - You could grind up the new ones and mix it all together with any of the other ground pods that you have left over from the weaker batch :)

Yer doing really well MLK :) I just want you to remember this and to remind yourself of this in times of need (when you're feeling blue, down or like you're not doing well) :)

Good luck on the Buprenorphine too hun ♥
 
Update on me, well I am still here and thankfully still stabilized the last few days. I have some mental cravings sometimes, but otherwise no physical withdrawals of any kind. I do have to admit though that I really just want this part of things over. I just had to order more to get me through until my insurance kicks in and to taper with. I really hope it isn't stronger than my last shipment as I really don't want to have to re figure my dosage again!!

Chances are the pods you just bought are crappy but if they are not mixthem with your present stash and establish baseline with them. And remember- you didn't order pods to get high- you ordered your tapering meds. Big mental difference, huh?

I did finally get a scale and weighed my current dose, it is 11 grams twice a day. So now I just need to figure out a taper plan for beginning Monday, any ideas??

Great work. Two questions:

1. Do you want to work it down to one dose or do you want to taper both doses right down to the end like I'm doing this time?

2. Do you want to go fast, slow, or really slow?

Once you decide those two things we can figure out a schedule no problem.

adamgreen....I am glad my story is helping people! About the clinics, when I was just calling around I told them that I was just on opiates. Most did not ask what kind. I did however take a couple doses off and substitute with vicodin so if needed I had an idea of the strength of what I was taking in comparison to things they would know. Really though I can't stress how much better things are now that someone else knows. The support has been great to finding which way I want to go from here and it helped the anxiety a lot as well. I am sure tapering is possible without anyone knowing but it is for sure much easier without it being hidden!!!

I'm SO glad you have support at home now! One more tool to help you. Right on!

Jayjohnson....The doctor really didn't know much about the pods at all, although he had heard of them. I mentioned to him the long life they have in your system, but that shouldn't be much of an issue because he likes there to be 3 days of withdrawal before he starts the induction anyway, which scares the life out of me, but I am trying not to think too far ahead. I also did at least know what to tell him as far as a ballpark of the strength, since I substituted a couple doses with vicodin to get an idea.

I'm curious as to what your 11g pod/Vicoden equivalent is?

I'm SO proud of you for stepping up like you have. You are inspiring me every day MLK!

Keep us posted!

Peace!
 
Chances are the pods you just bought are crappy but if they are not mixthem with your present stash and establish baseline with them. And remember- you didn't order pods to get high- you ordered your tapering meds. Big mental difference, huh?



Great work. Two questions:

1. Do you want to work it down to one dose or do you want to taper both doses right down to the end like I'm doing this time?

2. Do you want to go fast, slow, or really slow?

Once you decide those two things we can figure out a schedule no problem.



I'm SO glad you have support at home now! One more tool to help you. Right on!



I'm curious as to what your 11g pod/Vicoden equivalent is?

I'm SO proud of you for stepping up like you have. You are inspiring me every day MLK!

Keep us posted!

Peace!

I want to taper both doses right down to the end. I don't want too fast of a schedule that I fail but I don't want to drag it out too long either. I think at least in the beginning I might need to see a good bit of movement in the right direction to believe it can work, but with minimal discomfort and hopefully minimal anxiety. I am actually reading so much information about subs that I am back to perhaps trying to taper down completely to get off the pods. I at least want to see about giving it real try to see if I can avoid the subs altogether.

I must have actually somehow weighed wrong yesterday, because I weighed again last night several times and my dosage weight was 10 grams.

The equal dose of vicodin is so hard to figure out because the vicodin is shorter acting, so I needed more of it before i ever needed another dose of pods. But it seemed as though 3-4 vicodin 5/500 (every 4-6 hours) starved off withdrawals and after taking them I notmally felt about like I feel after taking the pods.
 
Okay lets call it 10g 2x/day

Since you want to move right along lets drop 30% for three days:

7g morning/7g evening
7g morning/7g evening
7g morning/7g evening

If you're feeling okay and ready to press onward lets now drop another 30%

7x.70=4.9 so we'll call it 5 even:

5g morning/5g evening
5/5
5/5

You'll be feeling it here most likely. This is where I cut back to 10% drop because I'm a wimp! Lets see how you feel here and then YOU call the shots as to whether you want to take another 30% drop or slow down.

At ANY point you feel you need to stabilize further do so! At any point you want to take smaller drops do so! This is YOURS and ALL yours. This is just my suggestion based on what has worked for me. We are all different and we all have to do what works for us. This is NOT a race, there are NO comparisions being made, no judgements, period, right?

Right!

Take a look at the above and see what you think. If it looks good and you want to give it a shot then jump in. If you want we can adjust anything in any direction YOU wish okay?

I hope you're doing well today and I hope you're feeling positive, hopeful, and courageous.

Wishing you a great day MLK!
 
I'm curious also what the clinic/doctor you liked thought of your situation in regards to the opiate you are on. Strangely very few doctors (even those specializing in addiction treatment) know about pods. I want you to be able to confide in the doctor, but know that if he/she isn't familiar with pods that you might need to hold off on taking the suboxone for at least 48 to 72 hours from your last dose of pods.
Pods were not my DoC, but my filler between availability, but it's been my primary method for a few weeks. When I told my doctor I was taking "poppy pods" he told me he wasn't familiar with the term. After explaining it to him he told me he thought it was some new slang for heroin and that a few other people had talked about pods but never really explained it. He was sympathetic to the fact that it's very hard to figure out exactly how much drug you are taking in and pretty much took me at my word that I was able to tell that I was replacing an Xmg per day morphine habit.

I took my first Suboxone dose almost exactly 48 hours after my last cup of tea and had no problems with precipitated WDs. I start having normal withdrawls within 24 hours, however and by the time I was given my dose I could hardly stand due to "the fear" and was sweating and twitching like mad. Since everyone seems to have differing reactions to the tea (and everything really) I was told by the dosing nurse that the rule of thumb is that you can start once you are WDing enough that they can look at you and tell.

Congratulations to all those that are (and have) tapering off pod use. I attempted to do this a while back and only made the problem worse, as soon as I was feeling ill I would dose again, I had doubled my usage (from once a day to two, literally double) within a month. Maybe the fact that I was doing pods along with whatever I could manage to get my hands on had something to do with my failure. I wish you the best of luck, you have more will than I.
 
Ashwaganda and Bacopa, Noni with a smidge of Kratom (I can't stomach Kratom but it DOES help). THe BANK mix has several modes of action to get you where you wanna be. It reduces w/d by reducing tolerance, stimulating Mu like receptors (but not the same one's) and potentiating and reducing your dose while mimicking effects. Someone I know has been able to replace an entire dose with BANK easily.

The biggest problem tapering seems to be the dark circles under the eyes. Otherwise anger can go a long way to determine you.

Some just cut in half, add BANK (couple pills of each with 2 TBSP kratom) .

NEVER take an opiate while tapering. A Hydro is like adding another pod reversing your progress. Testing to see what effect for what? It's a bad mind game IMHO.

Someone I know has been very successful doing the above and has tapered off 4 times in the past year without any major issues; goes a LONG way for the mental part, too because some have a pleasant opiate like feeling without the dirty urine. Another thing if you can (work wise) is sleep deprivation while skipping a dose. Watch TV or get addicted to the internet or something else addictive and see how long you can stay up. Once you're exhausted (too tired to sleep and staggering around) hit the Bacopa, Noni (morinda citrifolia) Ashwaganda and a TBSP Kratom and off to sleep you go without a pod dose. Try to cheat yourself out of doses however you can. Typically 24 hours without anything (but BANK) then resume to 50% for 2 days then repeat for a fast taper. That day with nothing (the day after you don't sleep-so your body reacts to BANK) does wonders to speed it up if you know you're getting that dose after the 24 hours, the mental part is counting the hours. Putting it in a physically different location helps to prevent cheating, too (someplace you can't just drive to in the middle of the night).

Those are the methods someone I know uses religiously. It's possible if one is angry enough at the fact the pods have made you their bitch (meaning you do what the pods say when they want and how much they want). THe enslavement can end. It doesn't have to be that hard. There's another forum where the BANK method is used to reduce as fast as 1/3 tapers since 1/2 might be a bit much. Be careful of Kratom tolerance. The good thing is one can alternate days between kratom and pods since they're not cross tolerant. Same with Bacopa tolerance. They all have different modes of action so they all help to stave off w/d's while adding that feeling.

Hot baths help, too. If you have a doc who can get you some suboxone/subutex, you're golden. That stuff can get you off a 20 pod/day habit in just 3-4 days without pain (seen it many, many, many times over the past 12 years). Never go on maintenance; that's not what it was invented for. weaned off a big habit and was surprised to have ZERO symptoms (and a buzz each dose without the addiction as it tapered)...but that person has no connection to a doc with subox now :X Some would pay a grand to get a subox run so consider yourself blessed if you have access to subox!

I can't believe no one has mentioned BANK here (I just made that up) but Bacopa Ashwaganda, Noni and a touch of Kratom makes it all cake given the alternatives and lack of subox cure or other helpers. Thank GOD FOR HERBALS!

If you're doing OK, don't change a thing. DOn't let my comments make you do anything different (unless it's suboxone; which kicks the pods off your Mu receptors and replaces them with subox...it's a forced taper/Mu receptor replacement mechanism that is like none other).

Do not smoke pot if you're likely to give a urine in the next month or so; that's the only issue with pot.

Someone else I know also got sick of it all and went to the ER and asked for a Narcan shot (immediate 100% withdrawals); she got over it all in a day sick as a dog and that was that; she's going to 12 step meetings and is a happy camper now for 6 months!


There are massive resources on the net now that can help herbal medicine-wise. I just found a few more herbals. I imagine all together would easily equal dose 1 and 2 and that would be the end of it; you'd feel better while your Mu1receptor was being starved feeding the Mu2,stop those in 3 days and yer dun!

Here's just one of the many I've found. Do your own research and see yourselves. I am now imagining a BANK + XXXXX concoction that would be the end of this enslavement! Meanwhile I'm sticking with the BANK as being a huge help. Please check into Ayurvedic, Chinese and old NZ medicine. Most of these are found in herbals (except one but I found two substances that mimic it so buying 2 of those in lieu will have to do since no one sells Pukatea. Tetrahydropalmatine looks promising; I just need to find the herb that carries it and add that.
Someone I know has gotten a lot of encouragement; hence finding this thread. They thank you very much!
 
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Hamclamp, I am somwhat following that taper plan. I adjusted it a bit and tapered down to 8 grams. Although this weekend my doses got all out of whack as far as when I was taking them, so I likely delaying the taper until tomorrow and using today to get the dosing times back on track, my reasoning for that was no matter what I did last night I could not sleep, but I was no longer dosing anywhere near bedtime. So at 4 am I took half my normal dose and was able to sleep, then when I got up this morning took the other half. Then tonight I will take the remaining dose not too long before bedtime. Tomorrow I will actually begin the tapering.

Jayjohnson, I have a question for you if you are still around. I know you tapered down and then jumped with the subs you had. Was that fairly easy to do? Did you have any aftereffects of the subs? It turns out I didn't like the clinic I was speaking about last week as much as I thought I would. Something just doesn't feel right to me. There is another clinic I could go to and I do believe they will start me on the smallest dosage possible, not some high dose like most places. I know they won't technically wean me off quickly, but I was thinking maybe I could wean myself off after they gave me the script. I have read horror stories about being stuck on suboxone and how getting off is even worse than getting off what you are on. So i don't want to be on it long at all, but was thinking it might could help me get off the pods and then within days dump the subs too, which I think is something like you did? Do you have any insight into that?

hyena, Thanks for all the help. I will do some research into all the things you mentioned, but have to be a bit honest at this point I am a little scared of things I don't know well. I thought the pods would help me get off vicodin and here I am. However you also mentioned using the subs as a quick jump off? Have you done that? If so how? And did it leave you with any withdrawal/bad effects from the subs?
 
Down to 8g already? Hell you're doing GREAT! Easy does it and you'll be down to nothing in no time!

Good job!

If you taper down over the next couple weeks I would be real surprised to find you'll needs subs. If you're holding steady at 8g twice a day that's a pretty low dose. Don't get me wrong- ya gotta do what ya gotta do so do whatever it takes for YOU to get where you need to be.

Glad to hear you're hanging in there.

Keep up the great work MLK!
 
I am hanging in there. Yesterday I didn't fully taper. My timing of my dosing was off and I needed to get it straight somehow, so to hold me over I did take 2 grams in between doses, since they ended up being about 15 hours apart.

However last night about 8:30 I took 8 grams and this morning at 8:30 I took another 8 grams and some L-tyrosine (it made me feel wierd before, but now seems to be helping). I am at work today and am holding it together, did get some anxiety that has been holding me back from eating and I know I need to eat, so around lunch time I took 1/4 of a .25 xanax and that helped me. So far so good, however I know time will tell how it will all go.

I have made an appointment with a sub clinic. I am really trying not to go that route and want to do this on my own, but I want to at least talk to them and get some of my questions about their program answered. I also think it helps me to have a plan B, in case this plan doesn't go that well. Its not what I want, to go on subs, but when I look into the eyes of my son, I realize how much he really needs the full attention of his mom and in the end I know I need to do whatever helps me to give him that. He is my world and I just hate how I got here and wish for so much better for him. Sorry, my emotions just easily take over these days.

So on ward and forward I go, giving this taper a real chance but having a backup plan in case. Hope everyone else who is in the midst of using, tapering, or is clean is having a good day today!!!
 
Jayjohnson, I have a question for you if you are still around. I know you tapered down and then jumped with the subs you had. Was that fairly easy to do? Did you have any aftereffects of the subs? It turns out I didn't like the clinic I was speaking about last week as much as I thought I would. Something just doesn't feel right to me. There is another clinic I could go to and I do believe they will start me on the smallest dosage possible, not some high dose like most places. I know they won't technically wean me off quickly, but I was thinking maybe I could wean myself off after they gave me the script. I have read horror stories about being stuck on suboxone and how getting off is even worse than getting off what you are on. So i don't want to be on it long at all, but was thinking it might could help me get off the pods and then within days dump the subs too, which I think is something like you did? Do you have any insight into that?

I'm still around, I'm sorry I didn't respond sooner but last week I started a new job so I don't have much free time these days.

To be honest I could possibly have gone without the suboxone completely, but because I had it, I used it. Sub is very strong for such a tiny thing, and most doctors will put you at a higher dose than you need. They have a good reason for doing that, but it might not be in alignment with your reason for wanting/using sub.

If the clinic you were at didn't feel right, I'd say respect your gut instinct. Do check out other clinics/doctors though because I think having a small prescription for sub is a good backup plan to have. A good taper plan has backup plans!

I can't say for certain if I had aftereffects from the sub, because I was drinking alcohol after I dropped with sub. (Which I don't recommend!) I do think a 3-4 day sub taper after the pod taper is a very good option to have. Better to have the sub and not need it than to need it and not have it, right?

At this point I think the best advice I can give is to stabilize on pods and taper if you can until your med insurance kicks in. Then (or during that if possible) find a good doctor who you can talk to (and be heard) who can help you with whatever options/meds will ease the transition off opiates. One thing I've learned is everyone responds differently, so being flexible and prepared are essential. And if you can afford it having a good doctor who knows about addiction medicine on your side is best.

I wish you the best, I'm still keeping an eye on this thread and I'll help however I can! I want to see you get to where you want to go.
 
Its not what I want, to go on subs, but when I look into the eyes of my son, I realize how much he really needs the full attention of his mom and in the end I know I need to do whatever helps me to give him that. He is my world and I just hate how I got here and wish for so much better for him. Sorry, my emotions just easily take over these days.

Don't apologize for feeling emotions, that's a good thing and being on opiates didn't let you feel them. So already you are doing the best thing for your son by getting off the opiates. Please remember to be good to yourself and have realistic expectations on the time it takes. You are going through a difficult time but the end goal is to get off opiates and allow yourself to be the best mother you can be to your son. We can't change the past but we CAN change the future. Hang in there, you are doing the right thing!
 
Jay, no problem at all and congrats on the job!!! That is wonderful and show how much better things can get in life when you are clean. I am so happy for you! Thanks for the advice. I did decide against the first clinic. Things sounded good on the phone but after going, didn't feel good at all. I do however have an appointment with another clinic next Monday to be able to actually talk to the doctor there, which I will have to pay in full for that visit since my insurance will not be in effect yet, but that's okay. I really do get good vibes from that clinic and have since the first time I talked to them. I plan to do as you mentioned and continue to stabilize and taper until the middle of the month. I figure by then I will have an idea of how my tapering plan is going and I will already have my foot in the door at the other clinic in case. That way if at the end, I need the subs I can head there. Now, if that is the case I may need lots of advice because I really only want to do a short, fast taper on the subs and they are certainly very new to me. I will cross that bridge when I get there though. I do plan on perhaps trying to see the addiction psychiatrist there even if I taper myself off to get that extra help to stay clean. Thanks for your encouraging words about what I am doing. Its hard on the bad days because my son is really used to having my undivided attention and then I feel like I am failing him and that kills me. I know though that the end result of being clean will in turn give him the best mother I can be, so I am trying to stay focused on that. Thanks for your continued support from the beginning. You have been a huge help to me!!


Well, I kept my taper plan down yesterday! I actually went out to do a few things with my husband after work. It wasn't easy and I was able to feel the lessened amount of pods but all in all it went well. Had some restlessness, sore muscles, and a bit of anxiety but nothing I couldn't work my way through. Last night I didn't sleep as well, but still got in several good solid hours. I have been taking the valerian root and melatonin at night with my dose to help me relax and sleep. I also have been taking L-tyrosine and B-6 in the morning with my dose to help me get through the day. So far. they all seem to be helping! This morning I took my 8 grams. I am not at work today, so sometimes I think that actually makes it harder to stay the course. I do plan however to catch up on some e-mails to some friends I haven't been in touch with for awhile and am going to try my best to get to the gym since I hear that helps a lot! Hoping it turns out to be a successful day! I am planning on dropping to 7 grams tomorrow, which isn't much, but I have some things to do this weekend in which I once again can't be in bad withdrawals so I am just going to drop that little bit, be sure I am stable, and then hold steady through the weekend.

Hope everyone's day is going well today! No one ever said the journey would be easy, only that it would be worth it, that is my motivation statement that I keep reminding myself of today because it will be worth it all to be clean!!!!
 
It's great to hear that you're feeling more able to cope with the withdrawal at the moment MLK :)
It sounds as though you're not scared of the process anymore, not letting the anxiety take over your thought process and just getting down to bizniz which is fantaka ^_^

Keep it up! Remember - try stick to your lowered dose for a good while so you can start to feel "normalish" on it ;) I know you don't want to draw it out too much but it probably will help :)
 
^Thanks! I am not as scared of the process anymore, actually I feel more determined by it. Now, what will happen as I continue to drop in dosage I have no idea but I am trying to stay as positive about that as possible and taking it one day at a time. I also think the fact that those around me know and therefore understand a bit more if I am having an "off" day really helps!

Well I dropped to 7 grams this morning. Had a bit of a rough time but mainly because I didn't sleep so well last night and ended up taking a xanax about 2 am, which knocked me out and made me sleep a bit past my morning dose. So when I woke up this morning I was shivering, shaking, restless, the works but still took just the 7 grams and for now its holding me. I am planning on remaining at 7 through Sunday since this weekend I have to once again being doing things that really prevents me from being in withdrawal. Then Monday i will be dropping again, how much likely depends on how I am feeling at 7. I would love to drop to 5, but am also realistic and if need be will drop to 6 instead. I also have an appointment now with the clinic I have been talking to for next Monday, just to meet the doctor and ask all my questions to him. If I don't go the sub route I will likely go to that clinic for some addiction counseling, since they offer that regardless of if you are in their sub program or not.
 
Sounds like you're making progress and that's a big mental help. Just knowing you're moving towards your goal no matter how little at a time is the difference between feeling trapped and seeing the end in sight. Keep us updated, and if you do go the sub route I'd be really interested to hear how that whole process works. Sounds like a great idea to get the counseling they offer whether you use the subs or not.
 
Hell YEAH!

You're sounding SO much better these days MLK! I'm so proud of you!

It makes it a lot easier when you can stabilize, huh? Now it's not so scary and like you said: your confidence is way up there now. Good deal. Don't be surprised if there are more bumps along the way but it won't be such a shock if it happens. You know how to get through it now.

I think going to counselling is a great idea even if you don't go the sub route. You've got nothing to lose and everything to gain. Take advantage of every resource- that's what they are there for.

Thanks for popping in on my thread- it really feels good to know that people care. I got worried because I could not find this thread. If I had my wits about me I would have checked my subscriptions duh! I looked and looked and finally found it right up top.

Right up top- that's where YOU are headed MLK: All the way to the top!

Peace.
 
Thanks everyone for checking in on me!

adamgreen, I will let you know about the subs and what I find out tomorrow after I go. I plan on asking lots of questions. At this point I do not plan to go on subs, but want to be prepared should the plan change. I do plan to try to get in with their counselor regardless.

HamClamp, I am really feeling better these days. Still having some down moments, but nothing like what first followed after I started this thread. I am determined to kick this thing. I truly want nothing more to do with it at all! I am actually looking forward to seeing the counselor. I think it will be a nice help. I have enjoyed your thread, I try my best to check in each day and see how you are doing. It is such an encouragement to me as well to follow along. We will get there, I know it!


Well, I dropped to 5 grams 2x a day today, so far so good. I believe I had begun to stabilize at 7 grams, so decided to go for it despite the fact that I was out of town and away from home and that made me nervous. I get a little antsy, chills, etc near the time for me to take my next dose but certainly doable so far. Now, I will probably feel the drop more tomorrow than today, and I am sure the lower I go the more bumps there will be, but I am trying to remain confident and not look too far in the future. No matter if its slowly or quickly I will beat this thing!
 
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