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Much Help needed...

B

BassWobbles

Greenlighter
Joined
Oct 21, 2011
Messages
9
Background: My gf was addicted to heroin for 10 years. She has been clean for about 4 years besides 1 relapse. Recently she has relapsed again and has been using up to 1g (IV) a day for about 2 months and is on the verge of losing everything, including her 10yr old daughter.

We have tried twice to get her off using a few suboxone and benzos. The suboxone just seemed to throw her into even worse withdrawal, even after waiting about 24 hours after her last shot. This makes her so miserably sick that she ends up getting more dope to combat the sickness.

We are planning on trying a taper method now. Here's a rough schedule i've pulled from another forum...

Day 0: 1g
Day 1: 0.5g
Day 2: 0.25g
Day 3: 0.125g
Day 4: 0.125g
Day 5: 0.063g
Day 6: 0.063g
etc

Could the shear amount of dope in her system cause the suboxone to not work like it should, sending her into withdrawals? Maybe after tapering on dope, the subxone might work better? I have 3 subs left but could probably get more.

We also have some k-pin, a few xanax, and some etizolam at hand. I have never been an opiate abuser nor have i even tried heroin, so this is a new territory for me. Can anyone give me advise/comments on this? I will be the one administering the heroin dosage as well as the suboxone when it it's time for that.

Thanks <3
 
Maybe you should try Ayahuasa or Ibogaine, I've heard it can really do the trick.
As a smoker and past mdma addict, I don't believe in lowering doses to be the way to go. I base my opinion on the fact that even if the dose is lower, it's still trying to solve a problem with the problem instead of the solution, which always made it worse in my experience.
But heroin is physicaly addictive unlike MDMA, so stopping all at once... I wouldn't know much about that.
I wish you the best of luck to you and your girlfriend, let us know what happens!
 
Just throwing this out there. I'm not saying that your Gf is lying but I'm not saying she's not either. I know when I was using I had family that would offer to give me subs to get off the dope. I would always tell them they didn't work and that they made me worse off. I just wanted to shoot dope. Suboxone should work for just about anyone. But I'm sure there are some cases it don't. I know the first day of subs in my experience was rough but the days get better after day 1. Sometimes you have to buckle down with a lil tough love and say this is what your going to do if you want to be with me. But be prepared for the worste because an addict is NOT going to quit until there ready.
 
Lilunwell said:
And quitting is never easy on anyone involved. Just sayin.
Click to expand...

It's been absolute hell.

Thanks for the replies.

We're on Day 1 now.
.25g this morning around 8:00 and she's feeling fine. I'll give her another .25g later on today and that will be it for the day.
 
One thing with suboxone is if she took it too soon after her last H dose, it would throw into anticipated withdrawals, making her very sick. This taper plan might work but she needs to be strong in her decision to finally quit for good. My suggestion would be a medically supervised detox if this fails.
 
I gave her the other .25g around 4pm today. At that point she only had some mild discomfort/anxiety. Just picked up the rest of the dope we'll need to get her through the taper period. Staying positive...
 
I respect you an awful lot for sticking by her through this. It isn't your problem, but you stuck in there to help her.
Above all, you being there to support her is going to do better for the recovery than any medication can.

IMO tapers can work, but you need to control it.
When I would set aside my stash for a taper, I would end up dozing much higher than I planned on because I was in control of the dosage.

Good luck to you and your gf brother, much respect for stepping up to the plate for her. She's lucky to have you in her corner :)
 
Opium, thank you for the kind words. It really means a lot. <3. You're right, it isn't my problem but I love this girl and I'm determined to help her get through this, no matter what I have to go through.
I have the dope locked up in my safe which I only have access to. I'm using my .001mg to weigh out her doses correctly. Tomorrow it will be 2 doses of .125g each. Ill also be picking up some Imodium to help the reduction in the amount of heroin.
 
Day 1 ended with 4 etizolam and 2 Benadryl before bed.

Day 2: she woke up feeling pretty shitty. So at 7:30 I gave her .125g.
 
After doing some more research yesterday, I decided that a slower taper might have a better chance of working, due to the fairly large habit. The new taper schedule I decided on is:
Day 0: 1g
Day 1: .5g
Day 2: .375g
Day 3: .35g
Day 4: .3g
Day 5: .25g
Day 6: .2g
Day 7: .15g
Day 8: .1g
Day 9: .05g
Day 10: cold turkey (benzos)
Day 11: suboxone as needed starting with 2mg.
Today is day 3. Gave her .125g this morning around 7:30.
Any thoughts?
 
I would agree with the poster above who suggested a medically supervised detox.

Anyway, at a certain point you both need to be aware that no matter how slow the taper, things will get ugly. There is no way to entirely mitigate the pain of withdrawal symptoms. The main reason I agree with being medically supervised is that it would hopefully prevent her from screwing up the taper by taking too much. I get that you're holding her dope for her but I sincerely doubt you can watch her 24 hours a day for three weeks or so to prevent her from going to cop once the withdrawal symptoms get really severe. Have you ever been through withdrawal before? It turns people into animals... if you can afford it, I think it's better to let professionals handle it. I get that you want to help out of love, but I want you to know exactly what you're getting yourself into.

Whether you do this at home or not, you need to be prepared to continue way past day 11. In my experience detoxing even off of 2mg suboxone after a long period of daily opiate use can be really, really uncomfortable.

Good luck, I'm rooting for you both.
 
24 hours is probably not enough; I waited 36 hours until going onto Suboxone (and I was snorting powder; not IVing it) and it worked fine for me. 24 hours isn't long enough IMO.

I'm sorry to hear about what your girl is going through and am wishing you both the best of luck.
 
I really hope you get through this. It's such a hard thing to do and fair play to you for helping her. That kinda thing builds one of a hell of a solid relationship. I think when you get to the Suboxone you will find, hopefully, a HUGE difference. I was on methadone, a 90ml dose for 18mths and all the time I was desperate for heroin and the only time I didn't use was the drought in 2010.
But with Suboxone I found the mental craving, especially for a needle in my arm, was quenched significently. As posted before, wait until MINIMUM 24 hrs, longer if possible, because it will be BAD.
Anyway I think taking things day by day and keeping her as entertained and comfortable as possible. If her mind is occupied then it helps so much, as you know. Maybe go out for little walks, even if its to rent a movie or buy some sweets. The gentle excercise will help alot. Talk about things that you both want to do in the future. Run her a bath. If possible maybe get out of town for a night or two? go to a hotel or something. I found getting out of the room i'd drink my methadone in or shoot heroin in made a big difference.
As silly as it sounds, buy her a journal and give it to her. Tell her to write in it. Because like if she reads back over it in a week she can see a passage of time, she can see a progression...in two weeks then even more progress. It will occupy her mind and help her focus a bit. I have written so much and I thought it was a little bit silly at first, but it did work, because a month later I wasn't in the same place as I started and I could map that out.

A personal tip, now i suffered SO BAD with leg cramps...there is this Chinese Medicine called 'Woodlock' its this super menthol kinda Deep Heat kind of oil you massage into your body to help muscles. I swear, if I didn't use that on my legs coming off methadone...well i wouldn't have got through it!
Also big doses of L-Tyrosine(can help in the production of Dopamine) can help a huge amount to chill out and reduce the panics and worry. Some mulit-vitamins and supplements like Valerian root can help her too.

I think both of you are very brave to do this and every day is ANOTHER new day. Best of luck to you both and feel free to PM me if talking more would help.
one more thing, maybe a different ROA might help her a bit? I think skinned shots last longer than IV shots and while you don't really get the rush, it tides you over and is good a night because you get a bit more sleep.
 
this is the GF. I made it through the taper, but went to my doctor and he gave me detox meds for a week to help with the discomfort. I am trying my best not to get on subs, but if it makes the mental easier, then i might reconsider. Thanks for all your support for my BF and myself. We need it, and yes he is great/
 
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