Recovery Want to go cold turkey! What could help make it less painful?

[Tanejames]

I took the weak way out of my street addiction and joined the methadone programme, I’m on 100mgs a day and it did help, I haven’t used street opiates since I started the programme 2 years ago. But I’m at the stage where I want to get off it, and as fast as possible (cold turkey is what I’m aiming for) but methadone withdrawals are a bitch so does anyone have advice on what vitamins, medications or just tips on how to make it as painless as possible!
Thanks!

 

[kinkyjohn]

I know this may not be what you what you want hear and it may not actually be doing you any favours given your undecscribed life situation, but I would generally recommend avoiding going cold turkey at all costs.

Even for drugs that don't kindle (i.e. benzos / alcohol in paticularly are notorius for having a worse withdrawal each time) it's not good to put yourself through that pain. It actually serves as a very strong incentive to return to drug use both before and after the experience.

What made this insanely clear to me was fentanyl withdrawal. It's basically the worst withdrawal you can imagine .. way outside the bounds fo human experienced .. but when I finallt worked out how to walk away with almost no withdrawal (a strange titrating dose of buprenoprhine) I found the hold the fent had on me was very minor .. easily brushed away even.

When I've gone hardcore put the plasting sheeting down style opiate widthawal it's almost never worked for any sustained period so these days I live by the mantra that cold turkey is bad news. It will give you more of a desire to re-use than the drug itself does.

Can you get some bupe? (buprenorphine) It can be a life saver for rapid opiate detox - you can get functional in a week and well in two (add a week or two if you're a long term opiate user). Not the way it's prescribed .. but if you stop taking it within a week or two of starting it you will have no bupe withdrawal to cope with and you'll be over the worse of the opiate withdrawal. The two drugs stop the withdrawal of each other but are not physically addictive in the same way so you can safely bait and swich. Do be aware though that given time you will become physically addicted to buprenorphine so you have to stop using it quickly .. I usually get off it in a week .. but don't for chrissake let it got for more than two weeks.

If you wanna chat more I'll try and be around (I am a junky .. so don't expect prompt responses ..). I have a LOT of experience of crazy withdrawals and you can PM if you prefer. Though .. in the spriit of HR and getting other people to check out what I'm saying when I'm running my mouth off .. I suggest you try and stick to discussion on the forum

Best of luck .. I feel your pain! Your not alone!

KJ!



This of course presume you've never been on bupe maintenance - if you have then it probably won't work.

 

[Nurse Ratched]

Am I correct in saying that you are on 100 mg. of Methadone and you want to jump now? Whoa Nellie...Don't even think about it. Some methadone users will be in shortly to have you taper and then expect months of depression even after jumping from less than 5 mgs. I can't offer a lick of advice except wait for @negrogesic or @OpiateKiller or there are quite a few others with some really solid advice. I am truly pulling for you as I know 'done tapering and withdraw will be a challenge. I truly hope you are up for it and stay the course if that is what you truly desire. One thing I have seen which you might already know is that kratom, benzos, gabapentin and clonidine will be wonderful helpers ( taken only when you are at your worst ) and then discontinued. Have you been on it at 100 mgs for both of the 2 years?

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

Taper, taper, taper. Dont put yourself through unnecessary suffering.
.

 

[kinkyjohn]

I agree wtih FUBAR actually ... The rapid bupe detox I describe above will work with 100mg of mehadone. In practice that is a tiny tiny tiny dose compared to the batshit crazy stupid shit I was doing with fentanyl... but if your in a detox programe the mechanism and support processes should be available when it comes to slow dose titration, so maybe it's worth giving that a shot first.

Stepping off 20mg (but will hurt like hell) of methadone will be easy .. stepping off 100mg won't be. Plus you can work/act normal when tapering etc. etc.

edited: to add hurt like hell to stepping off the 20mg methadone

 

[Phoenix_03]

I took the weak way out of my street addiction and joined the methadone programme, I’m on 100mgs a day and it did help, I haven’t used street opiates since I started the programme 2 years ago. But I’m at the stage where I want to get off it, and as fast as possible (cold turkey is what I’m aiming for) but methadone withdrawals are a bitch so does anyone have advice on what vitamins, medications or just tips on how to make it as painless as possible!
Thanks!

Ugh methadone withdrawal...I get several weeks of take homes and I recently "misplaced" one bottle, figured I'd be fine for 1 day til I picked up my new bottles. No. Nonono was not. I've done cold turkey 'done years ago and it was hell. Maybe in the back of my head those memories messed with me and that's why I felt so shitty for that 1 day. I know one thing...never again! I ate so many Xanax that day, I reached a neutral state of not miserable, but not good. Horrible. Please don't jump off 100 mg, that's suicide without the relief of death

 

[DeeDeeDrug]

Cold turkey at 100!! Wow, you’d be a glutton for punishment praying for death! Titrating is really the safest, most comfortable detox for methadone. It has one of the longest half lives so not only are the withdrawals brutal, they last longer because of the build up in your system (which takes about 2 weeks to vacate), Something like 5-7 half-lives.