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Suprised that SSRIs are not more recommended

ExInMil

ExInMil

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Joined
Mar 12, 2014
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I am on day 4 of withdrawal from dope and it has never been this easy before. I am almost positive that since I have been on an SSRI for a few months before hand that it has made the whole ordeal so much easier. The clonodine, gabapentin and kava kava (legal in US) has also helped, but the depression I was expecting with PAWS just didint manifest itself. I was on Subs for months, using dope pretty frequently as well, then 2 weeks before i quit I switched to a week of 20mg-30mg of methadone (pill) and then a week of just dope. Half -g to a G a day for one week. Stopped on Sunday, Sunday and Monday was hell, but I actually slept. Tuesday, I was more or less fine. Then Wednesday (today) I feel like I finally conquered the beast. I am almost positive that this was due to the Effexor I have been on. So if you are about to quit, or just quit. Find a provider near you that will scribe you. You just notice that you havint been down after a couple weeks. Hope this helps some one.
 
Ummm... Its more than likely its the gabapentin that is reducing your withdrawal, NOT the Effexor.

Gabapentin is specifically known to be beneficial in methadone withdrawal but opiates in general are helped with gabapentin.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21869694

Effexor is also not an SSRI but an SNRI and the withdrawals from Effexor itself can be almost as bad as benzo or opiate withdrawal, especially the brain zaps.
 
At the doses I was on (75/mg/Day), it was an SSRI. The SNRI start at higher doses (175/mg/Day) or somewhere around there (wiki for source), but I would certainly be better on SSRI/SNRI than on any opiate. The clonodine and gabapentine sure as hell help the physical symptoms, but as far as the depression associated with opiate withdrawal, it has never been this easy.
 
Its much more likely the clonidine and the gabapentin are responsible for your symptoms being alleviated than such a low dose of Effexor. Gabapentin has a number of off-label uses including both anxiety and depression, especially when the depression and anxiety are as a result of withdrawal from opiates, alcohol, or benzodiazepines.

Either way, congrats on having such a smooth withdrawal. Just be careful not to get hooked on those three meds. They are all particularly nasty to come off of.
 
Clonidine is a blood pressure med. Its not addictive per se but it can cause hypertension if you come off of it too quickly. Its not really something you have to worry about with short term use.
 
Thanks, I didnt think so, but what about the gabapentin? Im on 600mgs "as needed". They are not scribed to me, I have 10 left.
 
Some people have horrible withdrawal symptoms from gabapentin while others hardly feel a thing.
 
Hey ex. and welcome to blue light. =D


Add-on gabapentin in the treatment of opiate withdrawal

neversickanymore said:
Trascon Pharmacopoeia for nerve pain says " 300 mg PO tid, max 3600 mg/day in three or four divided doses." So if you are going to use this to withdraw then I would begin it before you actually quit the opiates and increase to a comfortable dose.. from what I have seen most people start to get relief around 800-1000 mg three times a day.. but everyone is different so you will may have to play with it a bit.
Click to expand...


Allot of times people will get through the acutes and feal great for a couple of days.. then it pretty common for paws to set in. I glad the SSRI seems to be working for you. Please keep us updated. Here is some good information on PAWS.

PAWS LINKS
Why We Don’t Get Better Immediately: Post-acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS)
Post Acute Withdrawal (PAW) Excerpted From “Staying Sober” By: Terence T. Gorski
Post-acute-withdrawal syndrome Wiki
Exercise and Mood

Chemicals and supplements to recover from opiate addiction
Managing depressive thinking

it is a powerful thing to keep our thoughts possitive and here are some threads many of us use to help us do this.
Good things about being off drugs/getting sober
Share something POSITIVE from your day!
Today I Am Thankful For... Ver. 3: Earth, Wind and Fire!
Here is the mindfulness thread.


Nice work so far!!!!!
 
Kat, Snake and Never. Thanks so much for the help. Day 5 and going strong. One more thing,
About the gabapentin, how many days would you guys recommend taking it?
 
Since it has the potential to be phisically addicting I would tapper off as soon as possible as I have seen some people post about some pretty rough detoxes of this. Your coming of strait H right? then I think you are at a good place to be doing this. Like I said though many people get almost a hypomanic phase right after the acute are over. It generally last for 2-3 days. I would just come up with a good tapper with the mgs you have left and when they are gone thay are gone.

What is in your recovery plan to combat any possible PAWS, heal from the damage done from the addiction and to provide a peaceful life that isn't hampered by the underlying addiction?

often times this is the best time to come up with the plan and implement it.. cause when th paws hits allot of people they can find that its harder to deal with and come up with a plan.

Your doing great!!!! =D
 
As always, thanks for the support.
As far as a plan, my very loving girlfriend is stone sober (How she chose me is beyond me). She helps a lot, yet does not understand what I am going through, although she tries. I have a pretty phsycial job that I am going to be getting back to in a few days here. (Took a week off) I started walking more, thinking about what I eat. I really hope this feeling of well being is not due to the hypermanic state people find them selves in right after AW. Because I really do feel like this is the last FUCKING TIME I ever withdraw again. Unfortunatly the same job that I spoke of is most likely going to be a trigger since I know users there and I used A LOT at work. But everyone agreed not to talk to me about H or anything in that relm. I even got my dealers to stop taking my calls. (Altought I dont know if they will stick to it since I havint called em). Like I said earlier, I was on Subs for months (4-5Months) then towards the end I started using H again. I decided to quit it all so I swithed to methadone for a week (20-30mgs) and then to just H (or dope as we call it here) for a week, snorting a half g to a G a day. (Never IVed in my life).
 
Be careful with SSRIs. Yes they're affective for depression but please bare in mind that there are no blood tests for depression and no as much research as possible on the subject - that's my advice. I started taking antidepressants over a year ago, even though I did not agree with them and would preach to whoever would listen about them. There are some extremely good medication for withdrawals but SSRIs are not meant for withdrawals - they are meant for depression.

Of course, this is only advice and it's important that you listen to advice from your doctor first before someone on the Internet.

My advice is as I've just said research, research, research. Sorry if it comes across as patronising it's not meant to it's just that the more we learn and take in, the more empowered we become.

All the best and I hope you overcome the PAWS soon.

Evey
 
Hey Eveleivibe, patronizing you are not. I had been on SSRIs before for depression, so I know what I am getting myself into. I was depressed before drugs, on drugs, without drugs.... Annnnywho, thanks for lookin out tho. Day 8! Past the week mark and back to work I go tonight.... 6-12... cant sleep anyway.....
 
HI ExinMil,

I was taking Venlafaxine for depression until sometime last year, I found it effective in some ways but after a couple of years the side effects just became too much, I don't tolerate SSRIs at all well, this is the only SNRI I've tried.

A while ago I was discussing Venlafaxine with a friend who has a problem with opiates, he said he had heard of it being used in detox, I;d never heard of that so i looked it up :- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18344729 is one of a few links on studies, it does have some similarities to Tramadol so maybe that has soemthing to do with it, I'm no pharmacologist :)

One of the common side effects and one I suffered with was insomnia, I was averaging less than 4 hours sleep a night but it also seemd to have a stimulant action which reduced the impact of the lack of sleep.

Hope your still doing OK, best wishes
 
Oh shit, look at that. I am curious at what the dosage is in that tiny tiny study.....
As far as insomnia, I cant tell if its from the withdrawal or the Venlafaxine, I was taking it before I w/d but I was using dope so I slept like a little baby.... what ever the case may be, this has been the easiest w/d in my life.....
As far a tolerating SSRI/SNRI..... I have never felt any undesirable effects from any of the SSRIs I have tried.... fluoxotine, citilopram.... you know... better living through chemistry.... I have stopped and started, only noticing that I have not been so down in the months following the start.....

Really appreciate the link there, just wish the study was larger, a 20 person study is not going to find anything that will be conclusive.....
 
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