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Opioids Taking a break from oxy, but?

T

TJvaper

Greenlighter
Joined
Aug 30, 2011
Messages
40
Location
Ontario, Canada
Hi all. I'm an experienced oxy user, but I am no longer happy with how the drug performs. Of course, there is the tolerance issue, which has gotten too high for me. I am currently at a single dose of 80mg despite my best plans to keep it to once every 2 weeks at no more than 60. haha, good luck with that plan, right? I know many people take higher doses, but for me, well, at 80mg I don't like the reactions; worst is the pain in my stomach; also annoying is the persistent hiccups. I won't even mention the itch, because that's there regardless of dosage.

So, bottom line, I have decided on a 6 month hiatus, in the hope of getting some control over my addiction. Now, here's the catch: I am planning a one-time lapse in six weeks time on my birthday. So, knowing my dose now is 80mg, what can I expect to be an equivalent dose in 6 weeks time? I have no idea and hope someone here has some insight that can help. Thanks!

Jeff
 
it won't be possible to calculate that dose.

i would recommend dosing a couple times to see where your tolerance is at by then. that is, assuming you are at little risk for lapsing into daily use (i don't know how long you've been able to keep it to once every two weeks, and i don't know if you've had previous issues with daily use).

NOTE: NMDA antagonists reduce the development of tolerance a bit. it works if you take them at the same time you take the opiate. it won't reduce tolerance or anything, though, just stop its inevitable increase.

an over-the-counter NMDA antag is dextromethorphan (cough syrup). the side effects might be too much at the dose required.. ketamine is better suited, but harder to find obviously. if you get DXM, be sure to get a bottle with only DXM as the active ingredient.
 
I'd have to agree with QWE.
All we can really do is guess. Everyone's physiology is so different that it's a crap shoot.

For example I've quit opiates once. Took 2 months off, probably the only time in 3 or 4 years
that I've gone longer than 24 hours without a dose of something.
I made it 2 months was in a lot of pain & some other issues & proceeded to dose up.
Low & behold not even a noticeable tolerance reduction.
By my estimates maybe a 5-10% decrease if that. By the next day when I dosed again it was worse.
I actually needed higher doses than before I fucking quit. Needless to say I was very angry but I digress.

Another example would be a friend of mine. He quits for a week, barely out of withdrawals maybe a day or 2 past.
He doses up & get folded on less than half of what he was using before he quit for a week or so.
I mean straight nodded out, folded & proceeds to do so again for days before noticing tolerance returning.

By looking at these 2 examples we see 2 completely different effects from stopping use & passage of time.
I quit for longer but had no reduction, my friend quits for a week & gets massive reduction.
As such the variance is just to high to really give you an accurate answer.
As QWE suggested test doses may be necessary to establish how you react to time without usage.

Hope that helps a bit. Sorry if it's not the most clear & concise but I just woke up & am waiting to see
if the dose I just did gets me to baseline or not & sweatin it atm.
 
Thanks for the replies folks. Some interesting things noted. re DXM, wish I'd known that earlier, but will remember that in 6 months time. Very little risk of lapsing into daily or consecutive day use, haven't done that in quite some time. My bi-weekly plan ended up weekly about half the time, around 10-12 days the rest of the time. Never experienced any WD during the 12 days off, unless PAWS is just a craving, I did have that. Funnily enough, now that I have decided on this break, the cravings have disappeared. Last dose was Thursday and usualy by now I'd be thinking how nice it would be...not now. So for me I believe it is just mental conditioning, we'll see.

The toleance diffs in people makes sense, my 12 days off gave me no reduction in tolerance, but I do hope 40+ days will, maybe not though, sheesh. I don't believe my back pain will be an issue during this 6 weeks, or the 6 months. It has reduced considerably lately with constant chiro and physio. I can feel it atm but not to a degree that requires medication anymore. So I will do as qwe suggests and try I think 60 on my bday. If that doesn't work I may try again one more time with a higher dose, or not and just go the distance. Thanks again!
 
Let me just warn you, opiate tolerance is fairly forgiving in that it drops quickly with abstinence, and while in the future it can go back up more quickly than it normally would, I'd take a fairly lower dose of oxy than you are used to the first time, and adjust from there. Opiate overdoses, more often IV opiate overdoses, often occur when a relapse occurs, and the addict miscalculates his or her tolerance. So if you are giving it a break, start slow if you start up again.
 
Thanks Alex, OK you've convinced me, 40 it will be in 6 weeks. Ohayou, yes cold turkey other than the one planned relapse. I do of course have other drugs to rely on in the interim. I have THC (weed), which I love (hence my ID here), and tolerance never increases for me. I also have T3s which I will have to use sparingly, they are after all opiate based also. Thanks for the well wishes!
 
Try something called Kratom. If you make a cup of tea with that and pop a 5mg only you ll be in heaven. Tea by itself is just tea. :-) I had taken myself off of oxy few years back when it was possible on low doses, a week later took a piece of the 80 about a 20 mg crumb and almost died I was at work thankfully they called an ambulance. My doc told me it was time release and I shouldn't have broken it. But I am trying to tell you even 40 after a long time is a dangerous dance. You don't want your Birthday to be your last. Take care and good luck.
 
Right, I wouldn't go over 20mg your first time back, maybe 30mg at the most. that is the safe play anyway, IMO.
 
Thanks again. OK, noted, I'll keep it to 20 after 6 weeks and see how it goes. Good points, good posts all, thanks! I've heard of Kratom, but have no idea where to get it, I'll ask around.
 
Well. this is tougher than I thought. Ohayou was right. Made it 18 days up until today and now just took 40mg. It actually wasn't bad over the 18 days, took a trip to Florida in there, didn't really have wd symptoms. Last night I had an upset stomach, don't know if it was wd related. But today, I'm having a flare-up of back pain, and so the early relapse.

I've decided now that perhaps cold turkey is just not doable. For me, or probably most of us. Since I have already relapsed I will try instead a taper down routine. I will forgo the birthday relapse and now try for double the 18 days, to 36 days. I am not going to take more today either. I am not trying to get high, just looking for some relief today, hopefully I have taken enough for that.

So, just the continuing story. Hope this helps others in a similar situation the way the folks on this site have helped me.

All the best,
Jeff
 
Dude you went 18 days without taking any without any bad effects... you should consider yourself lucky! Any acute withdrawals would start happening within hrs after your last dose if you were even slightly dependant, and would last up to 5 days when things would start getting better and easier. You say you cannot do this Cold Turkey, but you already did. You DO NOT want to become dependant on this medication. If you managed 18 days until now, as I said, you're fine. Don't get yourself in too deep, then you'll find it extremely difficult to not take any and then you will begin to understand EXACTLY what withdrawals and what stopping CT will mean. If you find yourself in pain, try a different, non narcotic, painkiller. Good luck.
 
OK, time for an update. I have not taken oxy since the day after my last post, so now just over 7 weeks, so just past the 36 days I was trying for. I have used only codeine in that time to relieve some aggravating back pain, no more than 180mg, and no more than twice a week. So oxy tolerance reduction is possible, but it's not easy. Here's what I did. I severed my ties with my dealer, but I made sure that I had not depleted my stash, so that when my tolerance is back to manageable levels, my stash will last for a couple of years. I then took my stash and hid it in a location that was hard for me to gain access to (in my case, in my in-laws basement). So, now we will pay them a visit on Easter, and I think I will remove a little, just to whet my appetite again. Since the remainder will remain there and we don't visit much more than monthly (3hr drive), it will of necessity be a one-of dose. I have already asked on this forum what that dose should be and there is no easy answer, so I will start with 20mg and go no higher than 40.

Some things that helped me in this journey: Exercise and the the knowledge of good health for longevity in this life. Please get to know your body, and win a desire for good health and a long future on this planet. Learn from others who have been down this path, aka Whitney. Find an interest in life and persue it. Whether it is a business idea or a hobby, get your teeth into something real that matters to you and run with it. Removing my stash from my immediate and easy access was crucial, if the stuff had been around I would have found some excuse to do it. So for all of you in my position, take hope, and for all who helped me along the way, a big thank you!
Jeff
 
Hey Jeff, I wanted to congratulate you on your run of abstinence! That is no easy feat. Great ideas with where you keep your stash, and I think the 20-40mg dosage sounds perfect.

Removing your stash is a great idea.
 
Thanks very much tricomb! As said, no easy feat (that may have been an understatement, haha), as many of you know. I just hope this info, and my journey, will inspire others to moderate their usage. Opiates are very nasty, and very compelling, at the same time. I hope to prove that recreational use is possible, if rigidly enforced. So far so good.
 
Thanks toothpastedog, and I agree! My target is a single dose at 20mg. If I find I've reached that level on Monday, I will be satisfied and will attempt to settle into a monthly dose. That's recreational enough, safe enough, and moderate enough that it would not concern me much, healthwise. If that level hasn't been reached my next target will be 9 weeks. And yes, leaving the stash where it is will help, and even work into my eventual monthly routine well. And unfortunately, checking in here does not help me, so if I gotta go the nine weeks you won't see me around 'til then.
 
Yea, I hear ya. Gotta do what you gotta do. TDS helped me a bit when I was in uber early recovery mode. Just a thought, but even then, triggers abound.
 
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