Swimmingdancer
Bluelight Crew
I know there are already other threads on things to take or do while withdrawing from opioids (which I will provide links to in this thread), but they seem to mainly focus on drugs to take and on acute withdrawal from heroin or other shorter-acting opioids, and I've had a lot of people asking me what they can take as far as herbs/supplements/vitamins so hopefully it's ok to start a thread. I thought that would be easier than sending out individual PMs to everyone. I am going to focus on methadone withdrawal as it lasts so long so it can be a lot harder for people to cope with, and methadone be especially hard on your health, but really all of these things should be good for any opioid withdrawal, whether acute or PAWS.
Granted, I haven't found the perfect combination that makes me feel great, I am still struggling a lot, but anything that helps is a blessing and I think that others may have even better results than me because I didn't start doing these things right away and had to go through a lot of trial and error, and because someone who has not been dependent on opioids for ~16 years like me may not have as severe or long-lasting WDs as me.
I really think the best results come from a combination of things, and that some of these things do take a while to see noticeable results, so don't just try one thing a few times and give up. If you can only afford a few supplements, please let me know and I can tell you the most important ones to get for your specific situation. We are all different of course too though.
If you are taking other drugs please let me know so I can tell you if there are any interactions with any of the supplements.
Supplements/Vitamins/Herbs:
*most of these things you would want to take in much higher doses than a normal healthy person would need - I can provide specifics on dosing if you want
Morning or early-ish in the day:
*I like to take the following things together as they work better together for a number of reasons*
- B-100 B Vitamin complex (and/or B-6, B-12 and folic acid if you want higher doses of those)
- Phenylalanine (dopamine precursor)
- 5-HTP (serotonin precursor)
- Adrenal complex (methadone, and opioid use in general, is very hard on the adrenal glands, which can cause fatigue, anxiety and insomnia)
- Glutamine (GABA precursor)
- Lysine (reduces anxiety)
- Arginine (helps with healing, immune system, hormones, veins, etc)
- Methionine or SAMe (necessary cofactor for production of neurotransmitters)
Morning/afternoon/whenever:
- Good quality multi-vitamin
- Milk Thistle and alpha-Lipoic Acid (for liver repair and detoxification)
- Potassium (important for the brain, nerves, muscles and more, WD can cause deficiency)
- A good probiotic (for digestive system, rebuilds healthy gut flora)
- Fish oil or flax seed oil (great for tons of reasons)
- Vitamin D3 (for a number of reasons)
- Vitamin C *is hugely recommended by many people, but personally I feel like anything more than a small amount makes me feel worse for some reason. I list it here because many people find it helpful, many doctors recommend it, and it's probably a good idea if you can handle it*
Evening:
- Magnesium (preferably chelated) *reduce dose if it seems to worsen your diarrhea (can take during the day too, helps with sleep, muscle pains, restless legs, etc)
- Calcium (helps with sleep, bones, other stuff - get one that comes with Vit D3 or take some Vit D3 with it, I like soft chews) *you can take the calcium and magnesium together but may want to avoid taking it close to certain drugs/supplements depending on what they are*
- Melatonin *only 0.5mg, taken at the same time every night about 30-60min before your ideal bed time (too much is counterproductive), discontinue if even 0.5mg gives you side effects (weird dreams etc)
- Passionflower extract (a natural mild MAOI antidepressant, relieves anxiety and had a sedative effect, can be taken during the day too for anxiety/mood)
- Kava (relieves anxiety, relaxes muscles and causes sedation, there is some suggestion it may work somewhat similar to a benzo)
- There are a number of other things that help with sleep if you want to know about them too
Diet:
A healthy diet with lots of protein, fresh veggies and fiber is important. If you are having difficulty eating, get protein shakes, green smoothies, things like that. Increased protein intake is neccessary to rebuild your receptors. You might want to take a fiber supplement like psyllium husk - while we think of fiber as preventing constipation it is actually important for preventing/alleviating diarrhea as well. Avoid processed grains, processed sugar, alcohol, and caffeine. Some people might be able to handle some caffeine in the form of green tea, but coffee and energy drinks etc are not a good idea IMO.
Lifestyle:
- Exercise: I definitely don't feel like it, but it's very important to at least get some exercise. I like yoga (and swimming if the air/water are warm enough).
- Get outside and get sunlight if at all possible (use light therapy and/or short sessions in a tanning salon if there is no sun).
- Avoid computer at night, practice good sleep hygiene.
- Meditation, hypnosis recordings, etc can help with anxiety and insomnia.
- Do things you enjoy to distract yourself.
- Take hot baths with Epsom salts for sore muscles and chills.
- Massage, even if it’s self-massage.
- Try not to just be a hermit.
- Make your home nice and pleasant to be in if you at all have the energy (or before starting if you're planning your WD in advance).
Ok I'm sure I forgot some stuff but I think that's enough for now! Anyone else who has suggestions of things that really helped for them is welcome to add them, and any questions are welcomed
Granted, I haven't found the perfect combination that makes me feel great, I am still struggling a lot, but anything that helps is a blessing and I think that others may have even better results than me because I didn't start doing these things right away and had to go through a lot of trial and error, and because someone who has not been dependent on opioids for ~16 years like me may not have as severe or long-lasting WDs as me.
I really think the best results come from a combination of things, and that some of these things do take a while to see noticeable results, so don't just try one thing a few times and give up. If you can only afford a few supplements, please let me know and I can tell you the most important ones to get for your specific situation. We are all different of course too though.
If you are taking other drugs please let me know so I can tell you if there are any interactions with any of the supplements.
Supplements/Vitamins/Herbs:
*most of these things you would want to take in much higher doses than a normal healthy person would need - I can provide specifics on dosing if you want
Morning or early-ish in the day:
*I like to take the following things together as they work better together for a number of reasons*
- B-100 B Vitamin complex (and/or B-6, B-12 and folic acid if you want higher doses of those)
- Phenylalanine (dopamine precursor)
- 5-HTP (serotonin precursor)
- Adrenal complex (methadone, and opioid use in general, is very hard on the adrenal glands, which can cause fatigue, anxiety and insomnia)
- Glutamine (GABA precursor)
- Lysine (reduces anxiety)
- Arginine (helps with healing, immune system, hormones, veins, etc)
- Methionine or SAMe (necessary cofactor for production of neurotransmitters)
Morning/afternoon/whenever:
- Good quality multi-vitamin
- Milk Thistle and alpha-Lipoic Acid (for liver repair and detoxification)
- Potassium (important for the brain, nerves, muscles and more, WD can cause deficiency)
- A good probiotic (for digestive system, rebuilds healthy gut flora)
- Fish oil or flax seed oil (great for tons of reasons)
- Vitamin D3 (for a number of reasons)
- Vitamin C *is hugely recommended by many people, but personally I feel like anything more than a small amount makes me feel worse for some reason. I list it here because many people find it helpful, many doctors recommend it, and it's probably a good idea if you can handle it*
Evening:
- Magnesium (preferably chelated) *reduce dose if it seems to worsen your diarrhea (can take during the day too, helps with sleep, muscle pains, restless legs, etc)
- Calcium (helps with sleep, bones, other stuff - get one that comes with Vit D3 or take some Vit D3 with it, I like soft chews) *you can take the calcium and magnesium together but may want to avoid taking it close to certain drugs/supplements depending on what they are*
- Melatonin *only 0.5mg, taken at the same time every night about 30-60min before your ideal bed time (too much is counterproductive), discontinue if even 0.5mg gives you side effects (weird dreams etc)
- Passionflower extract (a natural mild MAOI antidepressant, relieves anxiety and had a sedative effect, can be taken during the day too for anxiety/mood)
- Kava (relieves anxiety, relaxes muscles and causes sedation, there is some suggestion it may work somewhat similar to a benzo)
- There are a number of other things that help with sleep if you want to know about them too
Diet:
A healthy diet with lots of protein, fresh veggies and fiber is important. If you are having difficulty eating, get protein shakes, green smoothies, things like that. Increased protein intake is neccessary to rebuild your receptors. You might want to take a fiber supplement like psyllium husk - while we think of fiber as preventing constipation it is actually important for preventing/alleviating diarrhea as well. Avoid processed grains, processed sugar, alcohol, and caffeine. Some people might be able to handle some caffeine in the form of green tea, but coffee and energy drinks etc are not a good idea IMO.
Lifestyle:
- Exercise: I definitely don't feel like it, but it's very important to at least get some exercise. I like yoga (and swimming if the air/water are warm enough).
- Get outside and get sunlight if at all possible (use light therapy and/or short sessions in a tanning salon if there is no sun).
- Avoid computer at night, practice good sleep hygiene.
- Meditation, hypnosis recordings, etc can help with anxiety and insomnia.
- Do things you enjoy to distract yourself.
- Take hot baths with Epsom salts for sore muscles and chills.
- Massage, even if it’s self-massage.
- Try not to just be a hermit.
- Make your home nice and pleasant to be in if you at all have the energy (or before starting if you're planning your WD in advance).
Ok I'm sure I forgot some stuff but I think that's enough for now! Anyone else who has suggestions of things that really helped for them is welcome to add them, and any questions are welcomed
