TheManFromRlyeh
Greenlighter
Today is the fifth day of my detox. I got off Suboxone over two weeks ago (~1mg/day for 4+ years), and between then and 5 days ago I was dosing kratom to maintain (10-20 grams/day).
It seems things are going as planned and I've escaped the lingering, weeks long experience of buprenorphine withdrawal. Went through that last year, and this has been much easier. I still feel pretty ill, but based on past detoxes I think it will only get better after today.
At day 5 opioid-free (2.5 weeks off sub), I was able to wake up this morning and drag my ass into school, for me a massive accomplishment. Before today I had a 4 day block with no class, so I tried to take advantage.
Before I get to the suggestions, I'll start with my (stock of comfort meds) - my doses - and the symptoms they've helped me with:
• Xanax (1mg x 7) - 1-2mg - Insomnia, restlessness
• Gabapentin (100mg, 300mg, 600mg tabs/caps x lots) - 100-600mg - Insomnia, restlessness, thermo-regulation
• Cannabis (dried flower x lots) - Bowls all day, joints at night - Insomnia, mood, dysphoria
• Cannabis (edible, 11mg candies x 4) - 1-2 candies - Insomnia, mood, dysphoria
• DXM (syrup, 1mg per ml in a 354ml bottle) - 60-80mg - Most symptoms. For me this dose seems to have a mildly psychedelic effect, coupled with some nice dissociation and anesthesia. It was amusing enough to take my mind off the negative feelings, but not something I can do regularly. Too heavy of a substance.
• Red wine (several bottles) - 1-2 small glasses - Literally every symptom, but it's risky. Too much ultimately makes me feel worse. At a low dose, though, the booze has been a God send. I don't drink otherwise.
Note: I don't consume all of this shit together, I constantly dose the meds on a rotating basis—except the cannabis, I've been smoking around the clock. Some of it I mix, but I've done my diligence regarding interactions and contraindications, you might do the same.
Now a few tips, some of which I don't see suggested very often:
• Sleep with several changes of clothes and a few towels in your bed. You will love this when you wake up covered in sweat at 4:30AM. For me this is one of the most unbearable parts of being sick, any minor relief during those moments is huge.
• If you're physically able, purchase a large aerobic exercise ball and sit on it. This has helped me immensely with the Restless Body Syndrome (the kratom kick seems to have particularly bad RLS). Being able to constantly move and bob around without having to actually stand up can be pretty soothing, and not too taxing.
• Stretching and light exercise ease the RLS a bit. Sometimes it helps if I thrash about like a wild man for a few minutes—literally jumping around and violently swinging my limbs like I'm in psychosis haha—trying to exhaust some of that infinite "inner energy" / restlessness. Getting the heart rate up and actually sweating for the proper biological reason is nice.
• Fill your time with good music. In my case, ska and punk rock music have been indispensable. Upbeat, energetic music can be a nice alternative to coffee in the morning during the period of detox when stims still make you feel like ass.
Singing and shouting the words in the car is mildly euphoric and often moves me to tears.
Anyway, I hope I'm not wasting space with this. Writing it is helping me pass some time, and perhaps what I've said will help somebody else. I'd love to hear from others currently in detox or fresh to recovery, all input is welcome.
It seems things are going as planned and I've escaped the lingering, weeks long experience of buprenorphine withdrawal. Went through that last year, and this has been much easier. I still feel pretty ill, but based on past detoxes I think it will only get better after today.
At day 5 opioid-free (2.5 weeks off sub), I was able to wake up this morning and drag my ass into school, for me a massive accomplishment. Before today I had a 4 day block with no class, so I tried to take advantage.
Before I get to the suggestions, I'll start with my (stock of comfort meds) - my doses - and the symptoms they've helped me with:
• Xanax (1mg x 7) - 1-2mg - Insomnia, restlessness
• Gabapentin (100mg, 300mg, 600mg tabs/caps x lots) - 100-600mg - Insomnia, restlessness, thermo-regulation
• Cannabis (dried flower x lots) - Bowls all day, joints at night - Insomnia, mood, dysphoria
• Cannabis (edible, 11mg candies x 4) - 1-2 candies - Insomnia, mood, dysphoria
• DXM (syrup, 1mg per ml in a 354ml bottle) - 60-80mg - Most symptoms. For me this dose seems to have a mildly psychedelic effect, coupled with some nice dissociation and anesthesia. It was amusing enough to take my mind off the negative feelings, but not something I can do regularly. Too heavy of a substance.
• Red wine (several bottles) - 1-2 small glasses - Literally every symptom, but it's risky. Too much ultimately makes me feel worse. At a low dose, though, the booze has been a God send. I don't drink otherwise.
Note: I don't consume all of this shit together, I constantly dose the meds on a rotating basis—except the cannabis, I've been smoking around the clock. Some of it I mix, but I've done my diligence regarding interactions and contraindications, you might do the same.
Now a few tips, some of which I don't see suggested very often:
• Sleep with several changes of clothes and a few towels in your bed. You will love this when you wake up covered in sweat at 4:30AM. For me this is one of the most unbearable parts of being sick, any minor relief during those moments is huge.
• If you're physically able, purchase a large aerobic exercise ball and sit on it. This has helped me immensely with the Restless Body Syndrome (the kratom kick seems to have particularly bad RLS). Being able to constantly move and bob around without having to actually stand up can be pretty soothing, and not too taxing.
• Stretching and light exercise ease the RLS a bit. Sometimes it helps if I thrash about like a wild man for a few minutes—literally jumping around and violently swinging my limbs like I'm in psychosis haha—trying to exhaust some of that infinite "inner energy" / restlessness. Getting the heart rate up and actually sweating for the proper biological reason is nice.
• Fill your time with good music. In my case, ska and punk rock music have been indispensable. Upbeat, energetic music can be a nice alternative to coffee in the morning during the period of detox when stims still make you feel like ass.
Singing and shouting the words in the car is mildly euphoric and often moves me to tears.
Anyway, I hope I'm not wasting space with this. Writing it is helping me pass some time, and perhaps what I've said will help somebody else. I'd love to hear from others currently in detox or fresh to recovery, all input is welcome.
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