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want to quit opiates for good need advice?

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downfallin

downfallin

Bluelighter
Joined
Jul 8, 2010
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188
Location
Somewhere in California
Hi, I`ve been an opiate addict for around 8 months I think, although I`ve been on and off of them for over 2 years with bouts of "binges" that lasted anywhere from a week to a month. The past about 8 months I`ve been using everyday almost (at least 5 times a week) and never go a day without pills by choice always because of money, or because I can`t score any that day. Anyways its been causing a ton of problems in my life lately and I just ran into an old friend who has been clean off of opiates for over 7 months now and I decided that I also wanted that.

I`ve decided that I`m going to wean myself off for about 1-2 weeks and then stop. Ive been taking usually about 30-90 (sometimes higher almost never lower) mgs everyday of oxycodone with some morphine, or hydrocodone thrown in when I can`t get any oxy.

Does anyone have any advice on how I should go about this weaning? I was thinking of taking 15 mgs of morpine for 4 days (just because I have some left over) then buying some norcos and taking one a day for a couple of days then dropping to a half a day for a few days then quitting altogether. I realize that this is pretty quick of a wean but I really don`t have the willpower to do a drawn out wean and I know I`ll fail if I try that, I`m just trying to make it so that WDs are bearable enough that I can put up with it and go to work/school.

Any comments/suggestions are much appreciated and I know that there are some bluelight members very educated/experienced on this subject and any support will be very appreciated. thank
you all.

Oh and also I suffer from depression/anxiety and have since a couple years before I was introduced to opiates and am currently taking an SSRI medication lexapro at 10 mgs. I know WDs will exabberate these symptoms so if anyone has any advice on supplaments (preferably not benzos but mabey for the first 3 days) or other things I could do to help alleviate or at least downplay these things I would appreciate that alot thanks again.
 
^ That's not very constructive, broagan.

Downfallin, it really comes down to "mind over matter." If you tell yourself withdrawals will be hell, then they will be. When I quit heroin, it wasn't really that bad and I was a heavy user for a month or two before I quit cold turkey, without supplements or anything, just willpower. It was like having a bad case of the flu for a few days.

Hopefully someone else will come around and give you an answer you're looking for. Until then, I say quit on a weekend when you don't have work or a lot going on, and suffer though it with the knowledge that it'll be over soon.
 
The quick taper the OP described should skirt the major WD symptoms. But one thing you might want to beware of is that you may not feel like "yourself" for a good month or so.
 
downfallin said:
hi, i`ve been an opiate addict for around 8 months i think, although i`ve been on and off of them for over 2 years with bouts of "binges" that lasted anywhere from a week to a month. The past about 8 months i`ve been using everyday almost (at least 5 times a week) and never go a day without pills by choice always because of money, or because i can`t score any that day. Anyways its been causing a ton of problems in my life lately and i just ran into an old friend who has been clean off of opiates for over 7 months now and i decided that i also wanted that.good for you - wish you the best, and remember you're not too far into an addiction, so your chances of success are much higher

i`ve decided that i`m going to wean myself off for about 1-2 weeks and then stop. Ive been taking usually about 30-90 (sometimes higher almost never lower) mgs everyday of oxycodone with some morphine, or hydrocodone thrown in when i can`t get any oxy.

Does anyone have any advice on how i should go about this weaning? I was thinking of taking 15 mgs of morpine for 4 days (just because i have some left over) then buying some norcos and taking one a day for a couple of days then dropping to a half a day for a few days then quitting altogether. I realize that this is pretty quick of a wean but i really don`t have the willpower to do a drawn out wean and i know i`ll fail if i try that, i`m just trying to make it so that wds are bearable enough that i can put up with it and go to work/school.
that sounds solid to me, i prefer the quick-taper models in cases like this. One huge thing tho - i've never known someone who did a 1+wk taper with instant-release, full-agonist opioids like you mentioned. I see that as prone to failure, please consider - and these are suggestions, so look into them, not giving medical advice - think of either finding a proper taper-pill (bupe/suboxone/methadone), and/or find someone who can hold your taper pills. This person must not be prone to enabling, they need to understand that a dose can never be given ahead of schedule, once the schedule's set. In theory tho, i see a 10d setup as very solid here, i'm just concerned about it being executed properly.
any comments/suggestions are much appreciated and i know that there are some bluelight members very educated/experienced on this subject and any support will be very appreciated. Thank
you all.

Oh and also i suffer from depression/anxiety and have since a couple years before i was introduced to opiates and am currently taking an ssri medication lexapro at 10 mgs. I know wds will exabberate these symptoms so if anyone has any advice on supplaments (preferably not benzos but mabey for the first 3 days) or other things i could do to help alleviate or at least downplay these things i would appreciate that alot thanks again.i'd be wary of benzos, especially if you've abused them in the past, have a very addictive personality, or have any history of benzo or alcohol abuse in yourself/family. They'll help, but can easily become a problem of comparable proportions. Your anxiety/depression will kick up, you'll need to expect it and deal with it yknow? Keeping busy whenever you can, even if on pointless work, helps a ton. But, i can't say there's much that'll help with depression. Anxiety can be helped with stuff like magnesium only for the muscle tremors, but it also helps the opiate-induced muscle issues, so heavily recommended. Cyclobenzaprene is also useful here, especially for the rls many get, and it helps sleep. Aside from those, there's immodium, but that's mostly for the gi effects of opiate w/d's. I'd strongly urge you to make sure your diet stays in line as much as possible, and stay hydrated. Try to get down meals as often as possible, really nutrient-dense meals, with vitamins and *always* be drinking a lotta water
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;p;p
 
addictivepersona said:
Downfallin, it really comes down to "mind over matter." If you tell yourself withdrawals will be hell, then they will be. When I quit heroin, it wasn't really that bad and I was a heavy user for a month or two before I quit cold turkey, without supplements or anything, just willpower. It was like having a bad case of the flu for a few days.
Click to expand...

I dunno, some benefit greatly from expecting (the reality) that it will/can be hell. Not knowing that can be a huge issue and really exacerbate it for some, while, as you said, some others do hype it up and make it worse. IMO the best way, by far, is to prepare for the most *likely* symptoms, and know what they could be at their best/worse. That tends to help many people through the acute period he's preparing for. (@OP - I mean acute *relative* to you, your time period/#'s will not give you the worst w/d's, but they WILL be there, so know what to expect - can find pages on these boards w/ very detailed writeups on what to expect, all things you can get OTC to help, etc etc ;P )
 
Your WD's should be pretty mild. You just gotta get past the first 3 days or so
 
I binged on Vicodin for 3 weeks... I stopped without weaning myself off. I spent 2-3 days vomiting and going through pure hell. I felt like I wanted to rip my skin open and crawl out. It's been 5 days so far, and I'm still having diarrhea, constant goosebumps, cold sweats, anxiety, hot flashes, trouble sleeping, reoccurring dreams, vivid dreams, irritability etc... Not very fun. At least it has gotten easier now. The first 48-72 hours of withdrawals are the worst part. I will never touch this stuff again.

I can't even fathom the thought of the pure agony that a long term user (2+ years) would go through. My grandmother has been on opiates for at least a decade for fibromyalgia. I can't even imagine how that would be, nor would I ever want to know.
 
II was doing approximately 6 x 7.5 mg a day. Believe it or not though, I am not exaggerating. I was also taking Tramadol, Robaxin and Somas. lol.
 
Ok so I ran out of money, but did tapering up to this point and think i should be okay enough to get through this. I took a xanex bar this morning, but i honestly don`t like benzos all that much, and Im not taking anymore and it was just something my friend gave me when i told her i was quitting opiates. And she is an ex-heroin addict so I just said alright basically haha.


Oh and @mysecret that sounds really intense Im glad that you quit when you did, Ive heard some are prone to harsher WD symptoms than others and that sucks that that happened after only 3 weeks even with trams and somas thats pretty unheard uf to me at least.
 
downfallin said:
Ok so I ran out of money, but did tapering up to this point and think i should be okay enough to get through this. I took a xanex bar this morning, but i honestly don`t like benzos all that much, and Im not taking anymore and it was just something my friend gave me when i told her i was quitting opiates. And she is an ex-heroin addict so I just said alright basically haha.


Oh and @mysecret that sounds really intense Im glad that you quit when you did, Ive heard some are prone to harsher WD symptoms than others and that sucks that that happened after only 3 weeks even with trams and somas thats pretty unheard uf to me at least.
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It is weird. I felt like Bob Arctor when he went to New Path in the end, but not to that extent, in the movie 'A Scanner Darkly'...

Have you experienced any withdrawals yet?
 
if you want to quit using opioids, you will.

motivation is all it takes.

seriously.

i didn't quit until i wanted to quit. sounds kinda stupid but it's the truth.
 
I was addicted for 8 years. At the peak of my addiction I was takinging at leaset 20 norco a day. I found a methadone clinic and did a 21 day out-patient detox. I havent touched the stuff in almose 5 years. I could not taper or go cold turkey. My medical conditions just couldn't handle it.

Good Luck!
 
enoughorangejuice? said:
if you want to quit using opioids, you will.

motivation is all it takes.

seriously.

i didn't quit until i wanted to quit. sounds kinda stupid but it's the truth.
Click to expand...

This quote about motivation is so true. Motivation might not be all it takes, but it is the MOST important factor in coming off opiates.

Personally to cut down my oxy habit I tapered then switched to codeine and then tapered that off till I was free. This technique may be hard depending on where you live (codeine is OTC in Aus) but it worked well for me so I feel like I should share it. Of course as I stated before you need the motivation to do it.

I don't have much self control so I actually handed my oxy to a friend who is a non drug user and that forced me to go on codeine for awhile and then by the time I could get more oxy or get my oxy back off my friend I had already lowered my tolerance and killed a lot of the cravings.
 
Damn ok starting all over again after about a week and a half of oxy binge. Oh well time to pick myself back up and try again... Oh I was meaning to ask is there any otc med that works like clonodine?
 
@SangierRainsford sorry for taking so long to reply but yeah, the reason i dont just use a taper med is because i really dont have access to them, well actually methadone i do, but what i really want is some subs but i cant find any who has them, and i dont really want to get this on my medical record.
And also the medications u mentioned i know immodium is otc but what about the others like Cyclobenzaprene? I wanna get it right this time ughh haha.
 
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