Opioids White knuckling to get clean, have you done this with any success?

[fixedatzero]

I'm wondering if anyone has just moved on from an opiate addiction to get clean without rehab, NA, etc.. I've used for about 2 years and I know this is the last straw w/ the Opana withdraw. I don't know why but I'm freaking out at the thought that I need rehab or NA (though I'm freaking out about pretty much everything) and I feel like I can do it with the support of my family rather than those services. I don't want to obsess about it either so I'll hear what any of you have to say, experiences, etc.

I'm day 3 opana withdrawal btw. I want the fears/anxiety/depression to leave me and hopefully they will subside soon.

 

[ControlDenied]

they will subside down and there is no recipe for successful recovery, only making the right decisions and taking it day by day. you can get counseling and such, it wont hurt, but dont depend on it as its all up to you ! [all seems obvious, and its harder done than said, I know, just giving you some answers and hopefully you will feel better tomorrow]

 

[BrokedownPalace]

After being dependent on IV heroin for a few years, and then over a year of ~70mg methadone daily I managed to quit methadone cold turkey. NOt recommended. It was beyond horrible, I was sick for about 3 weeks before it started to get better. Because I jumped off at such a high dose, no amount of suboxone would help me.. I had tried rehabs and detox and stuff with no success, and had finally had enough of daily opiates and just said fuck it and quit..

I have been off of methadone for about 6 weeks now and besides a few pills since then I have been more or less clean.. I still take my prescribed soma and xanax, which helps immensely with the RLS I still have and the wicked anxiety that has now been amplified since jumping off.

Quitting cold turkey with no help from outside resources is doable, but the willpower required is very immense.

Opana is tough to withdrawal from, but you should expect the physical symptoms to subside after about 5 days, but the lingering mental effects can stay for a long long time. At this point, I would recommend atleast seeing a therapist/psychiatrist so you can work on getting to the root of your addiction problems and also potentially getting proper medication to keep you anxiety/depression in check, so you do not relapse.

The PAWS (post acute withdrawal syndrome) led me to relapse many times before I finally started getting properly medicated for my mental issues which have plagued me since long before I started using opiates.

Just stay strong, feel free to private message me if you need any help.. Good luck

Mike

 

[Cane2theLeft]

^please listen to this.

I can't count how many times I've seen people come on here all gung ho about finally getting off, getting all their medications ready and preparing for the acute withdrawal. Suffering through those horrible withdrawals, having no plan past that and going right back making all of that misery meaningless if not destructive because then you feel like a fucking failure.

ANYONE can get through 3 days, 5 days or a week of intense opioid withdrawal with some supplies and the right mindset but if you only prepare for 3 days, 5 days or a week then how do you expect to be successful beyond that?

How long did it take you to get to the point you're at? Months? Years? And you think you can just walk away from it all once the opioids are completely out of your system and you get passed the physical withdrawal? If people were capable of this then why would most opioid addicts require treatment and support and medication and maintenance just to function somewhat normally?

There is always hope but if you want to give yourself a chance, you really need to plan past the withdrawal and figure out what you need to do to live sober, how you are going to deal with the PAWS and whatever issues lead to your abuse in the first place. Its a HUGE task to change everything necessary in your life to go from an addict life to a clean one and this is why most people require some kind of help for these attempts at change to stick.

 

[k.dre]

I think you need to be open to almost any way of keeping clean once you stop. If you're going into sobriety but only half assed then that is what your sobriety will be like: half assed. Think about it, you went to any lengths to feed your addiction, to get high, to stay high. If you really want to give sobriety a chance and to fight for it like you fought for your addiction then be willing to try anything to stay sober. By going into saying I want to stay sober but I won't do this this this this and this, then your sobriety doesn't has much of a chance.

I think a lot of people in here might think I sound like I've been to too many AA/NA (same thing in my opinion) meetings, then you would be right. But I stayed sober for 4 yrs by doing that and it was the most at peace i'd been with myself in 15 yrs.

Just something to think about.

 

[nicksndimes]

Just to kind of condense what everybody else is saying, this is a huge decison and one that is worthy of intense planning. Tapering the dose down is the first step in becoming responsible for your own actions. Not only will this greatly reduce the pain of withdrawl, but it is also an achievement of sorts.

The next step would be to find the thread on here that deals with supplies that will greatly help you maintain some level of comfort.

So really, don't put yourself through the extra suffering of cold turkey, its not like you are achieving something more just because you went through agony. Plus, the more uncomfortable you are in the beginning, the more likely you are to go back. You would be amazed how signifigant creature comforts are while trying to achieve this daunting task, but I have 24 days now away from opiates following the list I posted on the thread I just mentioned.

 

[ControlDenied]

I guess I've never done total cold turkey since in Canada we have tylenol 1's over the counter which are a lifesaver when you feel like you could strangle a small child just for some painkiller relief
I've also used tramadol prescribed by an unscrupulous doctor [yes, in this country, as opposed to the US, getting tramadol is probably the equivalent of a young guy getting scripted 100 oxy 80s a month down south, LOL].

you can use home remedies and such to taper down, but if its your first time doing this, you'll need to be under someone's strict supervision and care - if your family or other loving people isnt available/willing, go to a detox unit or ask your doctor. sure, detox is a gloomy and scary place, but its better than shivering in pain and climbing out of your skin for a week.

 

[villian]

I generally agree with C2L but I have a caveat, I have seen people on this site with smallish habits like a couple months of ~50mg hydrocodone jump off onto suboxone because they are afraid of withdrawals.

If you have a small size short term habit going onto Suboxone (or methadone) will likely get you overmedicated by your doctor and make your habit worse. In my opinion it is wiser to cold turkey these habits or do a taper yourself directly off the full agonist.

Just my $.02, I'm not a doctor though

 

[hobhead]

ALWAYS, always quit cold turkey! no matter how long addicted, no matter how high the dose, no matter the opiate! get the shit done with no drama, no money and time squandered in sessions, meetings, moaning with other addicts in group sessions.
just stop and face the music for a few weeks when you have hit your personal rockbottom.
then it's over and done.
i say this because i have stopped CT several times and restarted more than once. methadone was the most humiliating experience i have ever had with an ignoramus social worker type-it's what drove me to the final CT rodeo and i have never looked back.

 

[villian]

The problem is quitting cold turkey isn't really correlated with long-term success and leads to relapse more often then not.

I understand your logic though, and I have a year sober post cold turkey

 

[ControlDenied]

I'm kind of of hobhead's school of thought; "old-school" style; but basically, there are many things that "work", but they only work if you Try.

 

[Londoner]

Cold turkey, or 'White knuckling' as you call it worked for me the one and only time I had a habit that I knew I had to lose. I won't say it was easy or even ok in any way but it can be done. I flew from Europe to Malaysia, finished my H on the plane (stupid I know, I snorted the last few lines just before the announcement was made that the death penalty is enforced for those caught with drugs)... I got a fEw hours sleep that night and then no more for the next 5 nights, I'd get some sleep during the day but at night it was just impossible, I was puking up, sweating, shivering, had the shits, aching and grumpy. I had no other drugs to take the edge off, tooh immodium to help my stomach but not in the doses people talk of on here, I flew to Australia after 3 sleepless nights, was up all night for the next 2 but on the 6th night I took some nytol and a few beers and got to sleep, throughout all that time my legs were jiggling about and I was chain smoking cigarettes, I spent hours in the bath as I felt a bit more comfortable in hot water, the first night I managed to sleep was amazing! After that week I kept busy and was fine, I had no contacts and met loads of non addicts who I hung out with and went drinking with etc, didn't use for a year until I came back to England and now I got a habit again that i am tapering down before quitting CT again... It can be done but you're going to have to be really strong, delete any numbers you have and lock yourself in for a week, the physical issues will pass in that time and then the real challenge begins... Good luck, you can do it!

 

[Cane2theLeft]

I generally agree with C2L but I have a caveat, I have seen people on this site with smallish habits like a couple months of ~50mg hydrocodone jump off onto suboxone because they are afraid of withdrawals.

If you have a small size short term habit going onto Suboxone (or methadone) will likely get you overmedicated by your doctor and make your habit worse. In my opinion it is wiser to cold turkey these habits or do a taper yourself directly off the full agonist.

Just my $.02, I'm not a doctor though

Excellent point, my comments were to people who have large, chronic habits. its disturbing to see people with small habits who could quit with (relative) ease inappropriately get hooked on a far more powerful opioid for years.

The problem is quitting cold turkey isn't really correlated with long-term success and leads to relapse more often then not.

Don't question his methods! He is an expert after doing this successfully dozens and dozens of times

 

[BrokedownPalace]

^Exactly. Getting thru the acute physical withdrawals cold turkey is do-able, but without the proper support/help afterwards, relapse is very possible. Seeing a therapist/psychiatrist and getting to the underlying issues you have, is key. Being sober and miserable is not productive, and will more than likely lead to relapse and you'll have a habit again in no time.

Looking for help to deal with the PAWS and addiction problems in general is not admitting defeat. It is without a doubt a good idea to see someone after getting 'clean' so you can take care of whatever issues may have led you to use and continue using in the first place.

 

[ControlDenied]

This is true, but many of us live in areas where getting treatment without being rich is extremely difficult. What are those in a rural area/or who are poor supposed to do then? I think the only option then is to create your own therapists out of people you talk to, your friends, family etc., and exercise, do lots of activites, and figure out through various feedback why you became addicted and why you shouldn't relapse and how to prevent it. I am learning this on my own, I would have to be getting therapy 24/7 for that to be the mains means of relapse prevention. You can only get 24/7 therapy in big cities or in a very well-run [i.e. expensive] rehab centre.

 

[Pegasus]

I advocate kratom for opiate withdrawal because it is a true transition to sobriety. Your addiction fades over the course of around three weeks and then you have little to no actual opiate addiction remaining. If you truly want to quit, at this point you have the ability to just stop without much trouble from withdrawal.

 

[villian]

This is true, but many of us live in areas where getting treatment without being rich is extremely difficult. What are those in a rural area/or who are poor supposed to do then?

I live in the poorest county in my state and I was offered a free bed in detox and cognitive behavioral therapy for only $20 a month.

Help is often much more accessible then people think it is.

 

[BrokedownPalace]

This is true, but many of us live in areas where getting treatment without being rich is extremely difficult. What are those in a rural area/or who are poor supposed to do then? I think the only option then is to create your own therapists out of people you talk to, your friends, family etc., and exercise, do lots of activites, and figure out through various feedback why you became addicted and why you shouldn't relapse and how to prevent it. I am learning this on my own, I would have to be getting therapy 24/7 for that to be the mains means of relapse prevention. You can only get 24/7 therapy in big cities or in a very well-run [i.e. expensive] rehab centre.

I live in a rural area, and am poor.. I am on disability and food stamps and my county has a free mental health center that medicaid pays for fully, that has very good therapists and a great psychiatrist.

It is false that you need money to go see a therapist/psychiatrist.. There ARE resources available for everyone, having little money is no excuse in my opinion. If you can afford a heroin habit, then finding a few bucks to see a doctor should not be a problem.

If anyone needs help utilizing resources for people with little/no money please let me know, I have myriads of sources and places that can help you out.

 

[mr. mudd]

I didn't exactly white-knuckle it but I did come off a huge nine year oxy and methadone habit in about three weeks. It took me about 2.5 months to start getting more than 1-2 hours of sleep per night. It's still bad sometimes--I slept about 45 minutes last night--but when I go to the gym I sleep better. I walk about 1.5 hours a day on top of whatever exercise I do, and I still get crazy RLS at night.

I've done oral tapers on ms contin and rapid detox under anaesthesia, but this last round took the friggen cake of horribleness. Coming off long-acting opiates is the worst. I used suboxone but didn't really stabilize on it as it made me too anxious.

As horrible as it was, part of me is glad it was so bad because I don't think I could do it again. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who doesn't have a really good reason to quit (beyond "I don't like being addicted to opiates, I don't get high anymore" etc.). Good reasons include "this habit is going to kill me because it's making X condition worse and potentially fatal" or "this habit will cost me the job for which I went to school for 10 years" or "I've run out of the money I stole from the hell's angels and can't afford these drugs now and I'd like to be sober for a bit before they kill me slowly". You know, stuff like that.

 

[Pegasus]

^I also think that if you're addicted multiple times in life, the later addictions are more painful to discontinue. It certainly seems to be the case with me, and I seem to recall others experiencing this as well...