Surprised By Opiate Tolerance

[Syrax]

I've been lurkin' on this site a while. Just started doing opioids recently.

I wanted to express my absolute astonishment at how fast a person becomes tolerant to these drugs. Every person is different I know. But it's insane how quickly I have to up my dose in order to get the same effect. I've certainly gained an appreciation for why people love opiates so much after doing them. But I'm not sure I could ever consider doing these drugs over the long haul with how fast tolerance builds.

Also, I wanted to say that I appreciate what this web site provides. In addition to the general harm reduction advice... Reading the stories on here can make it easier for people to make the right decision to not go overboard with drugs.

At first you're excited because the effects are so amazing. But I'm starting to realize why this shit is so problematic. I'm taking them in pretty low doses, which may be part of the issue... Perhaps tolerance builds quickly but then once you're doing a lot more of the drug it starts to progress at a slower rate.

Just saying... 1) Opiate tolerance is a lot more insane than I expected it to be, even at this level. And is probably a major deterrent to me continuing to use these drugs. 2) I appreciate the stories I've read on this forum. They really can sometimes go a long way in helping people to establish healthy boundaries with drugs.

Opiates are really awesome, but I don't like where this is going...

 

[effie]

Hi Syrax, welcome to BL!

I'm really glad you are finding the site useful - it is a truly amazing resource.

Back to your post - it's really great that you have had this realisation. A lot of people don't, until it is too late..

You can spend your life chasing that high, always upping your dose, always searching for more.. but it will be a futile chase, and it does not go to a pretty place as you are aware.

What do you think you need to do, to stop heading down this path?

 

[Syrax]

Well, once my script runs out I'll be done for now. My access is pretty limited at the moment unless I start searching around aggressively which isn't going to happen. This definitely won't be the last time I do opioids but once I run out I'll be done for a while. If I'm going to do them though I can't imagine not doing them constantly. They don't seem like the kind of drug that you would do just on the weekends or something, that seems kind of ridiculous to me personally though I know many people do it. But reading this site helps to continuously remind me of the need to exercise caution. So if I get access in the future at some point, which is kind of inevitable these days, I'll try my best to be careful and keep things to a short-term basis.

 

[anterrabae]

It is pretty astonishing how quickly one can become tolerant/addicted to opiates. Even opiate-like drugs like Tramadol. I've been abusing opiates for probably a decade now, I'm glad my tolerance is down to the point where codeine will give me a good buzz, but I've definitely been on the darker path of insufflating oxy 80s and roxis with plenty of harsh withdrawals and close calls.

It's a blessing that you don't have access to more, it's a drug that will cause you to lose so much more than the high is worth.

 

[Syrax]

The script ran out. I have to say it's pretty crazy how bad I felt after stopping. In no way am I saying it was even remotely comparable to what people with real habits experience. I can't even imagine how bad that shit would feel. It's what nightmares are made of, for real.

It only lasted like a day and a half but I'm not used to feeling that disgusting. I don't get sick very often, etc. I guess that's what happens when you're taking pills 24/7 even if it's a small amount over a short period of time.

I feel better now. But I felt really awful after stopping. Might have something to do with having anxiety I don't know. Because my anxiety went through the fucking roof when the last dose fully wore off. And now it's back to reasonable levels. But I also had a runny nose and just generally felt fucking horrible. Like a pain I couldn't get away from and wasn't coming from anywhere.

If I had more pills I know I would've had to do them before stopping. So I'm glad I don't. If I do opioids again I definitely have to keep it to like once a week or something. But that's not how my personality usually works. It feels like if you're going to do them you might as well do them 24/7. So I'm probably better off staying away.

Knowing I'll feel like that after stopping habitual opioid use does discourage me from using them to some degree though. Which is good. But I definitely can't forget that high now either.

As if it hasn't been said before... Fuck though. For anyone considering using opioids habitually, or at the beginning stages of sliding down that path... You really really better make sure the feelings they get rid of are really awful. Because if you start using them all the time, stopping use is going to produce a really terrible nightmare. And if you have anxiety, depression, chronic pain etc on top of that to greet you when the nightmare ends, you're possibly setting yourself up for one hell of a fucking bad trip.

It's scary. By no means would I consider myself an addict. No way. But if someone had offered me more pills a few days ago while I was using I would've taken them in a second. But after getting off them, if someone offered me pills I could turn them down.

Just saying... some of us may be a lot better off tolerating the mental pain that the opioids take away than ingesting chemicals to deal with it. The way things are now, I guess there's pain in life you just have to tolerate and accept sometimes. Knowing that... if you start using chemicals to feel better in the short-term you'll end up with a much much bigger problem down the road.

Access is really so important in staying away from this shit in the short-term.

I definitely can't forget that nod though...