Opioids MY 12 steps for opiate w/d, using only OTC stuff

[slothosaurus]

i'm sure many users on this forum have gone through opiate withdrawals before, and i'm sure we all have our own ways of dealing with it, but my 12 steps involve solely OTC things, with an optional 13th step requiring things not OTC things. This is what i do, and i'd love some suggestions or comments to help me or others get through things with greater ease. they are ranked in general order of the time line in which you'll use them, but some are ordered higher based on importance or another factor. thanks in advanced, and i hope you enjoy.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

here's what i do/get to prepare for my w/d's:
but first, a small word of caution: opiate w/d's are awful. they can cause deep depression, nearing and sometimes reaching the point of suicide. They are also very bad health wise, and quitting cold turkey has killed many people. I personally can deal with the depression, and the physical side effects, but i suggest you get medical attentions. this is only meant to share my thoughts and experiences, not as professional medical advice.

1. a fan, somewhere you can not wear pants, and a friend to help grab you the stuff for the w/d's
2. lie in bed
3. heating pads for my legs, neck, and lower back
4. one shot of 80 proof liquor every 1-3 (pref. 2) hours
5. anti-diarrhea meds every 3-6 hours depending, and benadryl, along with a multi-vitamin and some aleve.
6. a lot of new games for my phone, or borrow games for my xbox or nintendo DS from friends, or maybe some light hearted comedies
7. carbonated beverages, preferably not sweet
8. nice, hot baths with epsom salts
9. some awesome porn and a place to masturbate
10. milk and oreos, or another food that you have to eat slowly that you really enjoy
11. if you smoke, grab an electronic cigarette, but regular ones work as well
12. access to the internet for various things


(+13.) if you're not opposed to it, some weed, though this step is optional

----------------------------------------------------------------------

i'll explain my reasoning for each choice below

a fan, a friend, and a place where pants aren't required - a friend is obvious, and should be easy to find as most friends will want you to stop your addiction. a fan and a place where pants are required may not be so obvious for those who haven't been through opaite w/d's before. you end up going through cold sweats. like... A LOT. being chilly and not sweating your butt off can really help out. also, keep in mind that if you ever need anything from the store (lighters, video games, movies, food, water, etc...) get your friend to do it.
lying in bed - helps to play your video games which keep you distracted from the pain and/or nausea, also helps with neck and head aches
heating pads - help with muscle pain on my neck and lower back, as well as legs, but mostly on the legs to avoid restless legs
one shot every 2 hours - helps you sleep as it builds up later on in the day, and relaxes your muscles, as well as makes you feel a bit distant from the pain and the problems you're facing
anti-diarrhea meds, vitamins, benadryl and aleve - we all know you get the runs when going through opiate w/d, so otc meds can really help out here, the vitamins are for replenishing the vitamins your body lost during the runs, and the aleve is to help a little with the pain. if you have access to benzos or muscle relaxants, give them a shot in very small doses if you have no tolerance, and if not, try benadryl at the recommended dose to help with RLS, sweating, shitty runny nose, and sleeping. there was a comment saying DXM (like from robotussin) helps, but i've never tried it and would rather stick to benadryl.
lots of new games/movies - staying focused on something else prevents me from focusing on the pain and depression. they're entertaining, challenging, and fun. make sure the movies you pick also are lighthearted, opiate w/d can cause severe depression and you may end up in tears for an hour after watching the notebook.
carbonated beverages - i don't like sweet things on an empty stomach, and opiate w/d kill my appetite, so something like this for nausea helps before you go to use the bathroom, and in general keeps your mouth moist
nice hot baths with epson salts - really, this one is for enjoying yourself and having some "me" time if you can later in the week as w/d's are less rough, as much as it is for relaxing muscles, but early on, relaxing the muscles is a must
awesome porn - because you've been on opiates for so long, you're body is bad at producing the chemicals that naturally bind to the opiate receptors your brain has, making an orgasm the only happiness you'll have for a week or so after quitting the drug. just don't cum too quickly - it can be easy i know as your body is getting used to feeling more, but try to make it last and you'll be happier, i promise. if you end up only being able to cum quickly, try reading erotic fiction instead - it takes longer and can be very enthralling, letting you last longer and enjoy it more.
milk and oreos - you really won't be hungry for the first few days (3-5 for me, but i've heard for most they're hungry around 3-4 days in) but after you're done being hungry, you want something that you HAVE to eat slowly, as it'll prevent nausea from over eating or eating too quickly, it's also important that you enjoy it, as you'll have been very depressed for a good while
nicotine - i know it sounds bad to replace one habit with another, but it's much easier to quit smoking and just be bitchy for a few days than it is to get through opiate w/d's. the nicotine helps with my mental state, as well as helps with the general ill feeling of opiates. nicotine, however, is a balance. just enough is very useful and helps a good bit, but past a certain point you'll feel even more nauseous and get even worse runs. I generally smoke each day through w/d's, but i know some who swear by smoking the first day, avoiding nicotine the 2nd and 3rd days for runs / nausea, then going back to it the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th days, and those friends don't even smoke. just remember your lighters guys.
internet access - being able to talk on forums online, ask questions, check your work email, talk to friends on facebook, and watch free tv shows or whatever can really help. I know my first times through w/d's i really needed to talk to people - if nothing else just to keep my spirits high. knowing i wasn't alone in the pain and that others had gone through it and ended up perfectly fine helped me a lot.

some bud (optional) - this one really helps on the first few days the most with muscle, joint, and what feels like bone pain. it'll also help you sleep better. i generally like to smoke a good bit the first few days, then go easy the next ones. it helps with nausea, and the pains, even the restless legs, but mostly for me, it just lets me be happy, as w/d's are hell and can be very depressing. again, remember lighters guys!


We all know that opiates can be rough, and i hope that my post and suggestions helps you in any way at all. let me know what you think, and i'd be happy to answer any questions, just... again, be safe guys, if you can't deal with the mental or physical side effects, or even before you try doing this at home EVER, seek professional medical help. i'm just a guy on the internet, and although this works for me, it may not for you.

one bit of advice i can offer with 100% certainty though, is to drink lots of water (at the level you're supposed to take, not what you say you take), a bit of gatorade for electrolytes, and to make sure you fill yourself (when you get to eating) with nutritious, healthy food that is light on your stomach.

------------

edit #1: if you can find benzos, give them a shot, i love me some valium (diazepam) or xanax (alprazolam) on the first few days. a skeletal muscle relaxant can also be nice though. I have a script for carisprodol (soma) and have easily accessible clycobenzaprine and they both help a lot, but have different functions in my w/d steps. soma is more useful, imho, for being active or doing something, whereas clyclone tends to make me absurdly tired and i use mostly for sleep. Also, though this thread was meant as a way to get out information about going through w/d's with OTC or easily available substances (weed), it was a mistake on my part not to mention how useful benzos are. PS: remember to keep lighters around for the weed and cigarettes if you smoke either one - walking a mile and a half or trying to drive there and having the turns hurt your head more is never, EVER, a good idea. be safe guys, meaning don't drive when you can't (and if you can, you probably don't need this thread all THAT much, haha). also - a suggestion was made regarding using DXM to relax your muscles. Although I wouldn't personally do this, it could prove very useful to a few people, just try not to hallucinate (i did once and woke up on the floor, quickly realizing i had shat myself. robo-tripping is no good imho). if you have no available benzos, DXM may be an option in small doses, especially in a cough syrup or allergy medication as those can help reduce nausea, sweating, and the sensation of restless legs, as well as a few other minor side effect. However, i'd honestly rather not robo-trip, even at all, just take the reccomended dose of benadryl, and take a shower/bath and wear heating/cooling pads.

edit #1 in short: benzos work wonders with withdrawals, i prefer valium and xanax, but others may work. centrally acting skeletal muscle relaxants also help, i like soma for the day time, and cyclobenzaprine at night. remember lighters for cigarettes and weed, don't drive if it's too painful to get up or you feel nauseous (that's why a friend was in step number 1). DXM may help, but i have no experience with this, i'd prefer to take the recommended dose of benadryl to help sleep and take a nice warm shower/bath.

 

[doozpatrol]

Weed, diphenhydramine, loperamide and maybe some ibuprofen since everything you do hurts or at least feels rank, everything after that is mindset and killing time, after all its a waiting game. The mental aspect is whole different beast for me, i know my body (how long it takes to start feeling like human again) but my mind, fuck its like a breakup everytime; the less the think about it in waking life seems the more to dream about it, but plugging your tentacles back into the world is really your only option, as a Dasein your are always being-in-the-world anyway.

 

[slothosaurus]

Weed, diphenhydramine, loperamide and maybe some ibuprofen since everything you do hurts or at least feels rank, everything after that is mindset and killing time, after all its a waiting game. The mental aspect is whole different beast for me, i know my body (how long it takes to start feeling like human again) but my mind, fuck its like a breakup everytime; the less the think about it in waking life seems the more to dream about it, but plugging your tentacles back into the world is really your only option, as a Dasein your are always being-in-the-world anyway.

no i completely agree, maybe it's just me, but i really feel like i do best under stress when i have a mental note of each step in a process to something i want to achieve, whether that be studying for my next midterm at college, or getting over withdrawals smoothly and cleanly. I figured others out there might need guidance, so i posted this in hopes that others may enjoy the same levels of success without illicit activities that i have.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

You might also want to be able to have complete control over lighting in your living quarters right by your bed-side. I know how horrible it is when all you want to do is lay down and close your eyes, but the light is on. So instead of getting up and turning it off, because you don't feel good, you just try to block it by putting something over your head.

Getting enough water and food is essential. You will also want to attempt some physical exercise once you feel "able" to do it. Please don't try to do that when you're still going to be having the runs of course, but maybe day 5-7, or later on, when you are up for it, get some comfortable clothes on, and go for a walk. Don't push your body too hard, just allow for light exercise to start generating whatever amount of endorphins it will. This will help.

Finally, if you are trying to avoid psychologically triggering stuff, don't stay in the place you've been using. Find somewhere else to go. You'll forever have associations to the drugs, the drug paraphanilia, and even the areas in which you typically used. These associations can lead to triggering cravings if you are prone to psychological addiction. It is possible to be physically addicted to opiates without being psychologically addicted to them, but that's probably not the norm here.

Nonetheless, I would also personally replace benzos for ethanol, as ethanol only makes me seriously depressed, and I get the feeling other people - at least some - are effected this way too. The right benzodiazepine, like diazepam, or lorazepam, alprazolam, or maybe even temazepam, will work wonders the first few days. Just don't get enough of it to get a benzo addiction if you are prone to that (I am not, I rarely use them now) but get at least for the first 3-4 days, and if you can hold onto just a few for any especially rough days after then, you'll also be thankful for the last few being a stash for bad days.

Finally for #9, if you can't help but get off as soon as you start, just go back at it again in a few minutes.

no i completely agree, maybe it's just me, but i really feel like i do best under stress when i have a mental note of each step in a process to something i want to achieve, whether that be studying for my next midterm at college, or getting over withdrawals smoothly and cleanly. I figured others out there might need guidance, so i posted this in hopes that others may enjoy the same levels of success without illicit activities that i have.

I'm the same way, I fair so much better when there's a set list of directions to refer to whenever I start to forget where the hell I am in the middle of things.

Last but not least...

If you are going to be smoking weed... please be aware, keep plenty of lighters around you. Be sure no one will take them either. The last thing you want to do, in the middle of heroin withdrawal, is to have to go walk and buy a lighter, just so you can smoke some weed and eat/go to sleep/relax/feel "ok" enough to go forward. In the apartment I used to live in during the story I wrote in TDS, I was literally less than a 30 second walk to a convenience store.

But where do YOU live? A mile and a half away from the closest seven eleven? More than likely hahaha. Think about it though, lighters do die.

In college I was even so obsessed with being able to predict when a lighter would die, I saved a few dead lighters, and weighed them, compared the weight to a new one, and figured out how much in weight was just the lighter fluid. :D This way you could use a digital scale at any time to know exactly how much lighter fluid you have left!!! hahaha.

 

[tannypack101]

Maybe a low dose of DXM? maybe in the range of 150-200mg...that dosage has me pretty numb and feeling good without any side effects. It might ease your withdrawals, but i have no first hand experience wit em.

 

[slothosaurus]

@captain.heroin - I completely agree with the benzo thing, but some people don't have readily accessible benzos, so i figured, why go through the thomas recipe when i could just share what i do when i have nothing around? once i had to sit around literally all day in agony waiting for a phone call back from my guys only to find out that one was out of town for a week, the other couldn't find anything, and one got arrested the night before. there were no sources, and i didn't know how to cope. that's what this thread is for - OTC, or easily accessible (step 13) ways to get through opiate w/d's of any kind (i'm personally coming off oxy right now, and going through this, feeling like hell, but still being able to talk on the phone slightly slurred and exhausted sounding, able to just say that i stayed up all night.

i agree with the lighter thing, that's definitely something i haven't thought of, and, luckily, haven't run into trouble with. i tend to buy lighters 16 at a time from my local kroger so it's never been an issue, but i also smoke 1/2 to 1 pack a day, so idk if that's exactly a fair comparison.

on the physical exercise thing, i've definitely heard that working out in the later half of the week without can help release endorphines and help w/d's, but i'm generally took anxious or depressed or in pain to give a shit or be physically/mentally able to actually go outside and exercise.

on the subject of the lighting in a room - yeah, i 100% agree, i'm coming off oxy and some fentanyl patches with nothing until friday (today is wendesday) to take opiate wise, and i still live in a dorm/apartment off campus here at UGA, and thank god my roommate understands that i'm in pain (though i often am, due to 2 pinched nerves, 3 bulging discs, muscle spasms, and a torn muscle after an accident, so yeah, he's used to me being in pain, and is very helpful about it)

however, i definitely have to reiterate that this post was meant for using OTC meds and/or easily accessible illicit substances (weed in this case being the only one), and that though i agree that benzos are easily the best cure, this is a close second for me when i have no sources available.

edit #1: forgot to reply to "tannypack101", so here i go.

@tannypack101, i've personally never tried DXM to help with w/d's, and after a little research, smaller doses tend to help people "relax" or "chill", but i'm not sure i would want to tell someone to take some if they don't know how much to take, have never taken it before, and when it can go very poorly (i've gone a bit crazy on the stuff, waking up on my floor realizing i shat myself.) Regardless, i'd much rather suggest taking benadryl in the recommended dose instead of taking any DXM at all, as benadryl helps with sweats, nausea, sleeping, and restless leg syndrome, among other things. that may work for many people, but i'd rather not suggest it, as it isn't largely safe, can impair your judgment into taking more opiates ( if you have any around and are just trying to quit because you want to [ i've heard that people actually do that, but i don't believe it. ])

edit #2: i forgot to say thanks for the comments guys, and that i appreciate them very much. i'm glad others have taken note of my suggestions, and i hope it eases a little bit of the pain of w/d's for people addicted who just ran out, or for people who are trying to quit. also, i edited the original post to reflect some of the thoughts and opinions of those who have commented after my initial post, adding benadryl to the list of suggestions, as well as sharing my opinion on muscle relaxants and benzos (that they help, but this was meant for those going through w/d's who only have access to cheap drugs (weed) and/or OTC stuff), as well as reminding people to bring an excess of lighters, and that i didn't know about how useful DXM was, but that i knew benadryl was very useful.

if anyone has any information regarding the use of DXM during withdrawals though, please post and let me know about said experiences so i can either a.) try it to help out myself and the future readers of this, or b) to tell people to not touch the stuff so they don't try it on their own.