Heroin Need advice on tapering

[hearty_opi]

Ugh... So since I've been out of jail I started using again... I know I know I shoulda just stayed sober. Anyways, I'm up to around 4-6 bags a day, IVed, not much. I have 4 10mg Methadone and a bunch of Alprazolam. My question is... how should I put what little I have to best use, meaning as little WD pain as possible. I dont expect the WDs to be TOO bad; I'm comparing to the last time I kicked which was cold turkey after 3 yrs of opiate use, mainly H. I can get more Methadone n Xanax if needed but my goal is to get off everything not end up trading one addiction for another. Thanks so much for any advice.

 

[qwe]

how many bags are equivalent to, say, 30mg hydrocodone or something?

how long have you used daily, after resuming use?

use the alprazolam very regularly, like 4x a day every 6h. then 3x a day every 8h when you are sleeping enough that rigid 6 hour segments cut into your sleep.

i'd use maybe 1-2mg alprazolam per dose during the first week, with an extra 0.5-1mg before sleep (alprazolam isn't very suited to your purpose, being so short acting, but it's better than nothing, and better than ethanol). during the second week, 0.5-1mg. third week, 0.25-0.5mg. fourth week, 0-0.25mg.

after that, good luck with paws. note continued use of alprazolam will grow a monkey 10x the size of heroin, even though your anxiety will suck you should stick to the taper plan.

you'll want other meds besides alpraz, too. don't be dependent on alpraz for all of the anxiety/insomnia/etc relief during the taper. advice on that is all over BL.

if your daily use was a couple months or less, cut the duration of alprazolam treatment in half imho. aka 0-0.25mg by end of week 2. make sure to write up a plan before jumping into withdrawal.

about the methadone, that's not very much. it can ease the landing, though. i'd recommend how long to take it, but i don't know how much your bags do.

 

[hearty_opi]

how many bags are equivalent to, say, 30mg hydrocodone or something?

how long have you used daily, after resuming use?

use the alprazolam very regularly, like 4x a day every 6h. then 3x a day every 8h when you are sleeping enough that rigid 6 hour segments cut into your sleep.

i'd use maybe 1-2mg alprazolam per dose during the first week, with an extra 0.5-1mg before sleep (alprazolam isn't very suited to your purpose, being so short acting, but it's better than nothing, and better than ethanol). during the second week, 0.5-1mg. third week, 0.25-0.5mg. fourth week, 0-0.25mg.

after that, good luck with paws. note continued use of alprazolam will grow a monkey 10x the size of heroin, even though your anxiety will suck you should stick to the taper plan.

you'll want other meds besides alpraz, too. don't be dependent on alpraz for all of the anxiety/insomnia/etc relief during the taper. advice on that is all over BL.

if your daily use was a couple months or less, cut the duration of alprazolam treatment in half imho. aka 0-0.25mg by end of week 2. make sure to write up a plan before jumping into withdrawal.

about the methadone, that's not very much. it can ease the landing, though. i'd recommend how long to take it, but i don't know how much your bags do.

I had only been off dope for around 2 months when i picked it back up and I've only been back on for a couple months... that's why I'm not too worried about kicking again, WD shouldnt be too bad, keyword 'shouldnt'. I am only doing around 4-6 bags a day. As for the equivalency to hydrocodone Im not even sure at all.

 

[Znegative]

Take 15mg of the methadone the first day and use as small a dosage as possible of alprazolam if you are having insomnia or persistent anxiety. I would not use More than 15mg though, it should be enough to hold you to the point where your comfortable enough to function.

Day 2:10mg of methadone-as said before, use the alprazolam as sparingly as possible. Try to only use it once or twice a day(MAX).

Day 3: 7.5mg of methadone.

Day 4:5mg of methadone again.Seems like a little, but this is a potent opioid, and youve still got the build up from the previous three days's dosing.


Day 5:2.5mg of methadone (yes it can be felt).

once you jump off you'll probably feel somewhat uncomfortable. I don't know what your situation with Xanax is, but if your not a regular user, take it sparingly. It can be helpful for withdrawal, but frequent use (especially high dosages >1mg) can lead to a very serious physical addiction. In the days after dropping the methadone insomnia will definately be an issue. Use the alprazolam for this.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.