Can I post pictures of my meds?
I don't think there is a
need to and I'm not sure if OD really likes people posting photos (and if the photo links to a site that sells anything that's not allowed).
Anyway I tried to stop my kratom again after I got all the supplemets. I took all as prescribed. the day before yesterday was a blur because I came home and past out. I did not care for if I am sleeping I am not taking kratom. I slept for about ten to hours waking up periodically. I have not slept for more than four hours in the last month so this was very much needed. The next day I awoke and felt normal for about an hour so I took all my supplements as prescribed (by the label) and felt good enough do handle the day with no kratom, Pregabalin, Gabapentin and even ibuprofen. I hope this continue to works this is my third day on nothing but supplements from a health food store. I have had some really hard days but for the most part this was not very hard. If you research and talk with like-minded people you can beat this opioid addiction. There is way better pain relievers and euphoric supplements that there is no reason for us to be stuck on prescription medication. I watched my brother at 22yrs old check himself into the hospital because he was suicidal and now he can barely function at times. He is/was no more fucked up than me. He is also trying some of these medications after he has seen what they have done to me. We are both doing way better psychologically.
Wow, that's really good to hear
So now that I am down to just supplements can I still get dependency?
The only thing on your list I've ever heard of being dependence-causing is the kava and that's extremely rare and has been in people using very high doses every day for long periods of time. I've personally used kava long-term and then stopped abruptly with no problem, as have many people I've known. However since you are already dependent on benzos and I'm not sure the strength of your kava extract it's something to be aware of.
As for the other things, if your supplements help and you then stop taking them you may no longer feel as good, but that's more akin to, say, switching from eating healthy food to junk food as opposed to a drug dependence.
I am starting my benzo taper too because I have no bad withdrawal anymore. I have went from six 1mg Xanax a day to about three or four. Is that because the of the L-Lysine? And is it helping my taper or just increasing my tolerance?
All of those things you listed could potentially be helping with benzo withdrawal. L-lysine might potentiate benzos (not by increasing the blood levels etc but by possibly making their effects stronger at the receptor level), but it shouldn't do it by
that much, and it shouldn't be
raising your tolerance if you are lowering your benzo dose. Kava could synergize with benzos in some way as well. Although studies are unclear and contradict each other it's theorized that part of the way kava might work is sort of similar in action to a mild benzo [
EDIT: See
this post I made about kava helping new receptors to grow in animal studies]. I definitely think it is helpful and harm reduction to use these kinds of supplements to help you get off benzos, just try not to take huge amounts of the kava. I think it's fine to use them while tapering if you feel like it helps, just try to use the minimum amounts necessary and continue tapering the benzos relatively quickly if possible. The GABA is unclear, there are studies that say it doesn't pass the blood brain barrier, but presumably it is at least able to act peripherally (outside the brain and spine) so it could synergize with benzos in that way by making more GABA available - benzos work by enhancing the effect of GABA at GABA-A receptors. Theanine may increase GABA levels in the brain.
If you know a taper method that worked for anyone else that would mean the world. I am going to try and go Xanax to Klonopin to Ativan.
I would not do the Ativan personally. I would just taper using the Klonopin. Ativan is short-acting, gives you high levels/effects fast, then withdrawals come on fast, so it's like an up/down/up/down. Klonopin is long-acting, comes on more slowly and more gently and wears off slowly and gently so it's more suited to tapering. I'm not sure what dosage of pills you have or how easy they are to break into fractions? The clonazepam (generic Klonopin) I had were 0.5mg and very easy to break into smaller pieces so I could do a taper like 2mg, 1.75mg, 1.5mg, 1.5mg, 1mg, 0.75mg, 0.5mg, 0.375mg, 0.25mg, 0.125mg, 0.0625mg.
Also is the GABA as in Gabapentin or Pregaba all in the same?
GABA (gamma-Aminobutyric acid) is our chief inhibitory (calming) neurotransmitter (it also has other functions). Naturally the brain makes GABA itself, and GABA taken as a supplement should not be able to pass through the blood brain barrier in significant amounts. However, GABA supplementation
has been shown to have calming effects in studies but the mechanisms by which it does this are unclear (and it's subtle, it's not like taking a benzo). There are GABA receptors outside the brain so it should at least be accessible for them. Gabapentin and pregabalin were designed with the
idea that they would be GABA analogues, drugs that acted as though they were GABA, yet were able to cross the blood brain barrier, but in reality they
don't actually bind to GABA receptors like GABA. We don't fully understand how they work but a big part of it is likely by binding to voltage-gated calcium channels - I can try to explain more or direct you to relevant threads or studies if you want.
You really gotta check the amount of kavalactones in your kava products. They can vary greatly, and usually the health food items are shit.
From the description it sounds like possibly the Herb Pharm kava extract, which is made from the whole root and is supposedly good quality, but I've never tried an extract myself, only whole root, powdered root or capsules. I've never actually had a problem finding decent kava at health food stores myself. And I've had excellent quality root before so I do know what to compare it to. I think because potency can vary, and the effects on different people can vary, plus it can synergize with certain drugs, the best idea would be to start with a low dose. Also if Tryingtokickit is just wanting to take it to help with PAWS/anxiety/insomnia/quitting benzos/etc, then it's best to just take the minimum needed IMO.
KICKIT
not sure how it alleviate s otheriwithdrawal symptoms.. if that's what meant by feeling better...