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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards

Please Help; tapering/stopping PST

D

DucatiD1911

Greenlighter
Joined
Jan 8, 2017
Messages
9
Hello all, I am new to posting but have lurked for a while getting tons of useful information and the time has come for me to finally post and ask for help. Also I'm not sure if this is in the correct spot or not. I am very sorry if it isn't the right place to be posting this.

So here's the deal, a few years ago I was diagnosed with a pretty rare illness, especially for males, doubly rare for a male my age (now 24 at the time 21). It's a very long and complicated story. But I will sum it up for you all so we can get to the question(s) I have, so here goes; I lost the doctor I had been with for 2 years and being on mediumish doses of pain meds every day for those two years I was scared to death of withdrawls. I was searching for a new doctor and found one, but it was gonna be 3 weeks before they could see me and I knew I would run out and be in withdrawls in just a few days so I took to the Internet and found Poppy seed tea. I found a good brand that is unbelievable consistent and started using it(Saftley and only as much as I absolutely needed). And it really worked wonders for me because I had found a good brand. Well the new doctor would only give me Lyrica because they didn't believe in opiates, which was fine bc the Lyrica and PST were making me feel totally fine and I was resigned to just using the PST as I wasn't using it to get high but using it for legitimate help with severe pain (not that there is anything wrong with people getting high if that's what they wish).

Well that was roughly a year ago and I have been on PST pretty much every day for the past year, taking roughly 1 pound a day, might be a bit less or a bit more as some days were worse than others. Well I have no beaten my disease and it has gone into remission and I can stop using the PST. However I have no idea what the correct tapering procedure would be. As I said these seeds are EXTREMELY consistent and I have always bought in large bulk amount to make doubly so of that. I was desperately hoping some of y'all would be able to help me set up a tapering schedule. Keep in mind I am not in a huge rush. I would like this to be as comfortable and the least painful way, if possible. I understand that my body is now addicted even if I myself am not necessarily(if that makes any sense) and so I want to try to taper off as best as possible before I take that plunge and jump off and hopefully by doing that it will make dealing with the withdrawal symptoms much easier/shorter.

I was told Lyrica would help immensely with the withdrawls once I finally was 100% off of the PST. In addition to that and Imodium for the diarrhea, I have Xanax I can take of absolutely needed but I was planning on not using it. I'm praying someone here can help me set up a schedule so I can taper down and off of this stuff. I never wanted this in the first place but I had little option. Thank you in advance to anyone who is willing and able to help me, I appreciate even the smallest of help.

Sincerely,
Dave

P.S. - If you are wanting to know a more detailed reason of why I no longer was seeing the same doctor and all of that stuff, I will tell you it's just very long and I didn't want to make this any longer than it needed to be.
 
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No one can help me? I really need some guidance in this tough time. Someone has to be able to give me some guidance.
 
Hey my friend, so I've used poppy seed tea but never was addicted to it strictly, but I have heard it can cause withdrawals that can potentially be pretty serious. That being said, 1 pound doesn't seem to be the largest dose I've heard of people taking around 5-10 pounds of seeds a day, but the potency varies greatly depending on the source.

I would suggest working your way down from 1 pound to 3/4 - 1/2 a pound and see how you feel, and eventually 1/4 a pound, to do a taper to make it easier on yourself.

I would do it like this:

Day 1-5 - 3/4 a pound
Day 5 -10 1/2 a pound
Day 10-15 1/4 a pound,
then you could probably just jump off from there.

Really you won't know how bad withdrawals will be till they happen, so you'll just have to test the waters and see, If you are confident you could just stop cold turkey and see how it goes, maybe you can beat it and that would be the quickest way, but a taper would be the least painful way.

Best of luck and I'm glad you've decided to stop taking them, you'll thank yourself in the future.

You can message me if needed, I have withdrawaled from oxycodone, fentanyl and heroin.

Oh and the xanax will be a liver safer if you're trying to sleep, which is always my worst withdrawal symptom, so I would recommend 1-2 mg at night to try and get some sleep.
 
Thank you so much for your help! I sent you a PM but I am only allowed to send one message every 3 hours which seems a bit ridiculous but I'm sure there's some reason for that even if it seems excessive to me. So I will just have to ask my questions on here.

Ok ok so in regards to the taper, is it better to go down to a 1/4 and then go down even smaller until there's not enough to actually make any amount of tea then jump off or is it best to just jump off at a 1/4 a day? Would you recommend any weed to help with anything? I have seen some people recommend it for nausea as well as just feeling less like crap. Also I assume I should only take the Xanax at night when I am ready to go to sleep? Do you recommend the Lyrica for the RLS?

Now I know PST has variable alkaloids but my seeds are truly amazingly consistent. I know that doesn't really matter bc I don't have some way to test it but I'm just saying that it is very very concistent and I also ordered in huge bulk so that each batch of tea I make will be equal as much as it can be. Will that help the taper at all being that there is a good concistency to them, or does that not matter that much? Also if I do this taper, how bad/how long do you think the acute issues will last? I am just curious of a time frame. Sorry for all the questions. Again thank you so much!
 
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Hi Ducati, I think the reason for a lot fewer replies is a lot more people here have stopped pills or H more than tea. Hopefully they will find you, although Relapz has given you great advice and a schedule to work with that you can adjust as necessary.

The Lyrica will help greatly with the general unpleasantness of the withdrawal, but as I'm sure you've read your tolerance will rise quickly. If you don't know about that there is a thread about it. Search under pregabalin.

Relapz is right that the Xanax will help you sleep. Insomnia is awful during withdrawal. Xanax or other benzos will help with it. You will want it to sleep. Immodium is also great just don't take a lot. Different people recommend different things so I will tell you I used 4 mg doses. Some people take higher doses because it's an opiate (doesn't cross the blood/brain barrier) to help with physical withdrawal. It can be very dangerous to do that and you're just prolonging withdrawal.
The only other thing people use is methacarbomal, a muscle relaxer, to help with akithisia and RLS. The thing is that muscle relaxers tend to be hit or miss. If it works for you great, if not (like me and someone else who tapered here named "the last dose"), not great.
I think you're going to have a gentle experience and honestly worrying about it makes it worse.
Congratulations on beating your disease! PM me if you want support. Relapz has a lot more experience than me. Good luck!
 
Thank you cduggles for the reply and advice! I really only have one more question and that is if y'all think Buprenorphine is worth taking at all to help or not? I was told that it helps withdrawl symptoms and I have access to it but I don't want to use it if it isn't something that I absolutelyshould take to help like the Xanax lope and Lyrica. I have used different drugs before but never constantly in large amounts because I've heard horror stories about withdrawls and that is why I am so worried, especially because of been on this for a year and before that was on other opiates for a while.
Thank you again!
Sincerley - D
 
Sorry clonidine is one more medication that can help with sleep and adrenaline rushes. It's used to lower bp. It is really helpful for sleeping! If you have high bp (you're young but I don't want to assume anything), you need to coordinate with your doctors and depending on how much you take (I took less than.1 mg while a taper buddy took it 3 times a day) you need to taper off. I don't know how he stayed awake!! Okay, that's the toolbox!
 
I don't have high BP at all. It's usually always perfect when I go in for check ups. I'm in ok shape, used to be in great shape but once I got this damn disease and it caused all this insane pain, it made working out and running ungodly hard, and I certainly could be in better shape which is why now that I am able, I am working out again. Also the one withdrawl symptom I am worried about the most is the restless legs/loss of sleep. Does the RLS and sleep part go away after a weekish or is it something that is going to be present for months? I see some people saying RLS is part of PAWS and others saying it's not so I was just curious. I ask bc I tried to quit cold turkey 2 weeks ago and only made it 2 days before I said fuck this I'm gonna taper off. So that's what I've been trying to do is get everything I needed ready to taper off and then jump off. The only reason I tried the cold turkey was I had someone I knew personally assuring me that my dosage of the PST would make me mildly uncomfortable not ungodly uncomfortable. And it would only last 2-3 days, but the one thing that made me stop as the freaking RLS. I really didn't feel that bad or off or anything, it was just the RLS/insomnia that got to me. Do you think I should even worry about the Buprenorphine?
 
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You could take the taper even further below 1/4 of a pound, even down to like 1/16 if you were still experiencing withdrawal symptoms, but yes clonidine will help as well, seems you have a good arsenal of medication to help you get through this.

I would suggest staying away from suboxone just due to the ability to get addicted to that, which I currently am on for maintenance, if you can get off clean I would try your best, but suboxone can be a great tool if you can only use it for a couple days to do a taper with
 
Hi D- Buprenorphine isn't something I've had experience with, BUT :) I can tell you that it isn't a comfort medication.
The short answer is no, in your case as I understand it, you do not want to take it.
It's used for opiate replacement, like methadone. (Otherwise these two medications are completely different.) You take it and then taper off of it.
It doesn't sound like anything you'd be interested in using. It's not to help with withdrawal symptoms, it's to replace what you're taking.
But here's a little more information. Buprenorphine is a mixed partial agonist opioid receptor that binds tightly to μ‑opioid receptors. Basically, pain doctors like it because it takes a massive dose of really strong opioid pain medication to displace buprenorphine. In other words, unless you have something really strong like fentanyl you aren't getting any more pain relief or higher.
I know you took your tea for pain, I'm just explaining.
One last thing. I jumped of 80 mg of oxy (most people jump off 20-30mg). I was terrified of stopping but more terrified of tapering. It wasn't a walk in the park, but nothing was worse than I had imagined.
Okay, on a practical note, you can only send messages every 180 minutes because you're a greenlighter. You need 50 posts to be a blulighter. I went to The Dark Side Forum and posted short things like what is your mood in one word. I just sat down and did it!
Hope this helps!
 
Hi D, I defer to Relapz that you can use buprenorphine (suboxone, subs) for a few days for symptom relief.
However, you're just replacing one opiate with another and extending your withdrawal.
Methacarbomal is supposed to help RLS. I didn't have RLS with my withdrawal except my feet moved a little.
I have a bad reaction to methacarbomal so I'm the wrong person to talk to about akathisia/RLS, although I know it's hellish.
Do a quick search and I'm sure you'll get loads of information
 
Thank you very much! I won't even worry about the Buprenorphine then. I just wasn't sure if it would be better to use it or not. I don't think I will be able to get methocarbamal, but I will try. I did search about the RLS and everyone basically said sometimes it last day, weeks or even months and some never get it at all. So I'm hoping and praying the taper will reduce the RLS as that really is the only issue that I can't just deal say to my self "it's fine it'll pass. You got this. ". idk why and it makes me feel retarded and like a failure bc it's something that doesn't even cause you harm like vomiting and diarrhea etc can.
 
You asked some questions and I don't know if Relapz answered them. The people I know who used weed did so for appetite. They used edibles and seemed to think they helped. I didn't use weed, so I don't personally know. No judgement!
RLS is awful for some people and not for others. You also need to remember you are tapering now, not quitting cold turkey. Very different experiences.
I think you should take Xanax to sleep and Lyrica when you need it (you'll know) and keep in mind how quickly your tolerance will rise.
I think the consistency of your tea is going to help.
Honestly, the really hard thing is that we don't know how much you're coming off of. The taper part you shouldn't have severe withdrawal symptoms.
Ideal meds: Lyrica, clonidine, xanax/benzodiazepines, immodium, methacarbomal.
One addition for nausea: Zofran (ondansetron). One of the moderators swears by it.
That's what you want in terms of comfort meds.
I'd be careful with subs, as Relapz wrote, they are addictive. But if you could have someone hold them for you it might make you feel better.
 
Do NOT feel that way about RLS. Trust me, there are people who will immediately say the worst part of tapering/discontinuing is akisthisia/RLS. It's no joke and unless you've experienced it (I have under very different circumstances) it's very difficult to explain. Anyone here who has understands. Keep posting if you like or PM me or Relapz for help, Okay? You've got this!
 
cduggles said:
You asked some questions and I don't know if Relapz answered them. The people I know who used weed did so for appetite. They used edibles and seemed to think they helped. I didn't use weed, so I don't personally know. No judgement!
RLS is awful for some people and not for others. You also need to remember you are tapering now, not quitting cold turkey. Very different experiences.
I think you should take Xanax to sleep and Lyrica when you need it (you'll know) and keep in mind how quickly your tolerance will rise.
I think the consistency of your tea is going to help.
Honestly, the really hard thing is that we don't know how much you're coming off of. The taper part you shouldn't have severe withdrawal symptoms.
Ideal meds: Lyrica, clonidine, xanax/benzodiazepines, immodium, methacarbomal.
One addition for nausea: Zofran (ondansetron). One of the moderators swears by it.
That's what you want in terms of comfort meds.
I'd be careful with subs, as Relapz wrote, they are addictive. But if you could have someone hold them for you it might make you feel better.
Click to expand...

Agreed completely, thanks for covering the bases with what I didn't. This forum truly is a blessing and a well of valuable information from some incredibly knowledgeable people. It sure has helped me, I would also add weed can be helpful to just keep your mind off of the cravings.

Good points cduggles
 
Thank y'all so much for the replies. Relapz it wouldn't let me send you a message except once every 3 hours so I'm stuck till 12:47 am before I can reply to you. I do have a question, would you recommend when I get down to the 1/4 a day doing that every other day or just do it for 5 days and then jump off?
 
Hi D- I don't know if you saw this or it was unclear. I'll edit it to try to make it clearer.

cduggles said:
Okay, on a practical note, you can only send messages every 180 minutes because you're a greenlighter. You need write 50 posts total on any thread in any forum on BL and you will have no limits on PMs or anything. You'll become a bluelighter. I just went to The Dark Side Forum and posted short things like what is your mood in one word. I just sat down and did it!
Click to expand...
 
The longer you can taper the better. If you can set a strict taper over a months time, you can jump off without any withdrawal symptoms whatsoever. Start with what you would consider a fairly strong dose and cut it down every day. The difficult part is not coming up with excuses to do more (which is easy to do) when you start not feeling your dose (which will be after the first few days). Good luck. Message me if you like. I have much experience with taking opium orally and detoxing as well.
 
Cduggles - Actually I didn't see that you posted that anywhere. It isn't popping up in my feed here. But I did however see it actually just now when I was looking through the rules and other things. I mostly don't get why it limits you to once every 3 hours, that is to say I just don't understand the reason for it. But I do appreciate you telling me as I had to read the rules as well as what each title means a few times before I found where it said that. I will just have to do it. I only have about 42 left to go so I should be able to do it fairly quickly.

Jackie - thank you for your reply. I find I generally am very strong willed and if I decide I want or need to do something I will do it. Also, I didn't really use the PST for getting high, I used to for pain management and so I don't have that mind set of "oh I can just make another batch and get one more high" so to speak,(I am not judging or dissing anyone who has thought/said/done that because I have done that with other things just not this, so I wasn't saying it in a pretentious or stuck up way and I hope I didn't offend anyone) and hopefully this will help me in the taper and beyond but my body is still dependent on it as its been a bit over a year, it would be impossible not to be dependent on something. So you think after a month of a taper I wouldn't really have many symptoms of withdrawl to worry about? If that's the case that's even more reason to do a taper over the cold turkey method as some people have mentioned I should do it that way.

And to all 3 of you, I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart for your help. It's very reassuring that you all have offered to be there and to talk if I have any problems or have issues with the symptoms. This truly is a great community.
 
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