Opioids Taper to ameliorate opiate withdrawal

[whoracle699]

Hi all. I am currently on a 2-3week long fentanyl habit - I smoke between one to two 100mcg stickers every day-and-a-half/two days, and this frequency has slowly been building up to daily.

I am interested in stopping, but am afraid if I go cold turkey I will relapse. Also, I study and have a job and am afraid the sight of me shivering, my stomach cramping and legs shaking uncontrollably and me running to the toilet every 30minutes will get me fired and make me a social pariah.

I am desperate to kick this habit, it is seriously affecting all aspects of my life negatively.

The patches are insanely expensive for me and I cannot afford them anymore. Therefore, tapering off with them is not an option.

The only other opiate I have access to is heroin. I wanted to ask - when should I start using H to taper (withdrawal symptons kick in for me ~24-30hours after last fentanyl usage) ?

How much should I use (I know this is subjective, so i'm really asking - how can I gauge how much is right for me - I'm obviously only interested in reducing withdrawal symptons, not getting high!!!)? At what frequency and for how long?
If relevant, my only method of administration for H is snorting.

I realize tapering won't completely remove the withdrawal symptons, and yet I'd like to make it the least unpleasant possible.

I apologize for the long post and would very much appreciate any advice you guys might have. Thanks!

 

[falsifiedhypothesi]

Tapering with street heroin is a very bad idea, it might get you high one day, leave you in withdrawals the next, and make you OD the day after that. How long have you been using opioids? You may not even experience withdrawals depending on your past use

If you absolutely must taper with street heroin then use volumetric dosing. If it's actually heroin and not fentanyl then it will mostly get converted into morphine, but that doesn't matter because you're using it for tapering and consistency is more important. If it's fent then there will be no potency loss

 

[darvocet21]

If WD doesn't kick in for ~24-30 hours you may want to stop on a Thursday and tough it out with comfort meds for sleep and such over the weekend, maybe call in sick Monday, 3 weeks smoking 100 or even 200 micrograms a day is a light habit don't let your mind tell you different.

 

[whoracle699]

Tapering with street heroin is a very bad idea, it might get you high one day, leave you in withdrawals the next, and make you OD the day after that. How long have you been using opioids? You may not even experience withdrawals depending on your past use

If you absolutely must taper with street heroin then use volumetric dosing. If it's actually heroin and not fentanyl then it will mostly get converted into morphine, but that doesn't matter because you're using it for tapering and consistency is more important. If it's fent then there will be no potency loss

Unfortunately past experience dictates I will definitely withdraw....
I've been using opioids on off for 4 years.
I started this "round" with virtually no tolerance.

I have no way of knowing how pure the H is, whether it contains fentanyl or anything else....

 

[Nojeb]

If WD doesn't kick in for ~24-30 hours you may want to stop on a Thursday and tough it out with comfort meds for sleep and such over the weekend, maybe call in sick Monday, 3 weeks smoking 100 or even 200 micrograms a day is a light habit don't let your mind tell you different.

A 100mcg/h patch doesn't just contain a 100mcg of fentanyl, it contains 16.5mg of fentanyl. If OP smokes two 100mcg/h patches per day he is using ~33mg of fentanyl every day which is A LOT! I have also been there, and it's not pretty. I was smoking upwards of three 100mcg patches a day. Like falsified said; if this is the first time OP has been using he might not experience much withdrawal at all, compared to someone who has been through it 100+ times. He will definitely get some withdrawal symptoms like sweating, sleeplessness, restless legs, high bloodpressure etc, but it's still best to just try to get through it without the street H. Get some benzos for sleep and anxiety relief and take a week off work. You can also try buying some pregabalin or gabapentin to ease the restless legs/nerve pain symptoms. Other opioids/opiates should only be your last resort, but if you decide to get some it should be buprenorphine. DON'T take buprenorphine less than 3-4 days after you took your last fentanyl hit! It will make you go into accute withdrawal that won't be able to ease without extremely high doses of fentanyl. Many have died because of this as when the buprenorphine is active it's suppressing the fentanyl, and people take more and more fentanyl to override this. When the buprenorphine finally goes away you already have a deadly dose of fentanyl in your body and nothing to supress it.

 

[whoracle699]

A 100mcg/h patch doesn't just contain a 100mcg of fentanyl, it contains 16.5mg of fentanyl. If OP smokes two 100mcg/h patches per day he is using ~33mg of fentanyl every day which is A LOT! I have also been there, and it's not pretty. I was smoking upwards of three 100mcg patches a day. Like falsified said; if this is the first time OP has been using he might not experience much withdrawal at all, compared to someone who has been through it 100+ times. He will definitely get some withdrawal symptoms like sweating, sleeplessness, restless legs, high bloodpressure etc, but it's still best to just try to get through it without the street H. Get some benzos for sleep and anxiety relief and take a week off work. You can also try buying some pregabalin or gabapentin to ease the restless legs/nerve pain symptoms. Your last resort should be other opioids/opiates, but if you decide to get some it should be buprenorphine. DON'T take buprenorphine less than 3-4 days after you took your last fentanyl hit! It will make you go into accute withdrawal that won't be able to ease without extremely high doses of fentanyl. Many people have OD when doing this because as the buprenorphine goes away the high dose of fentanyl they took slowly takes over.

Unfortunately I have been using these patches on-off for 3years, and before that OCs for a year, so I have experience with opioids.
I have gone through withdrawal under similar circumstances many times, the last one not too long ago (maybe 6-7 weeks ago....)

It was fucking horrible.


The physical symptoms gradually get worse and peak after 3days, day 4 I'm able to eat light foods (fruit and such) without immediately vomitting them and sleep for roughly 4hrs straight ,(not a minute more).

By day 6 most physical symptoms are gone, though it takes bout a month till my sleep goes back to normal.
The depression and feeling of emptiness can last upwards of 2months.
But I am diagnosed with bipolar disorder therefore take 3 different psychiatric meds, one of them a powerful antipsychotic - maybe that's why I go through all the shit I've mentioned.

I'm sorry if I digress and this info isn't relevant...
I have little to no access to benzos or any other "comfort meds", or buprenorphine. Just the H, which again I don't know what it contains or how pure it is or anything else, really....

Would appreciate more or any advice regarding the possibility of tapering with street H, though I understand it's less than ideal

 

[Kenified06]

I'm in detox right now and using Gabapentin and tramadol. Can you get any gaba? I would say also if you switched to hydros, tramadol low dose for 3 or 4 days and jump off it might cover up any symtoms you may have coming off fent. Just go very light on them

 

[darvocet21]

A 100mcg/h patch doesn't just contain a 100mcg of fentanyl, it contains 16.5mg of fentanyl. If OP smokes two 100mcg/h patches per day he is using ~33mg of fentanyl every day which is A LOT! I have also been there, and it's not pretty. I was smoking upwards of three 100mcg patches a day. Like falsified said; if this is the first time OP has been using he might not experience much withdrawal at all, compared to someone who has been through it 100+ times. He will definitely get some withdrawal symptoms like sweating, sleeplessness, restless legs, high bloodpressure etc, but it's still best to just try to get through it without the street H. Get some benzos for sleep and anxiety relief and take a week off work. You can also try buying some pregabalin or gabapentin to ease the restless legs/nerve pain symptoms. Other opioids/opiates should only be your last resort, but if you decide to get some it should be buprenorphine. DON'T take buprenorphine less than 3-4 days after you took your last fentanyl hit! It will make you go into accute withdrawal that won't be able to ease without extremely high doses of fentanyl. Many have died because of this as when the buprenorphine is active it's suppressing the fentanyl, and people take more and more fentanyl to override this. When the buprenorphine finally goes away you already have a deadly dose of fentanyl in your body and nothing to supress it

That makes much more sense. Disregard what I said