Opioids withdrawl from opiates

[WeThePeople]

I have been using opiates for a little over a year now. I love them, i fucking love them. But now come the issues and side effects that go along with this drug. Problems at work, family, social life, ect... Im ready to quit and get my life back. Over the past few months ive started dabeling in the H. Wow! I it! But enough is enough, as iam broke and in tons of debt mostly due to my use. Not to mention my connections are drying up...H is about the only regular option and i want to stop before it gets worse. Ive experienced two-three day droughts a few times over the past year and boy i can tell detox will be rough. Im glad this website is here, its been helping me get the info i need.
I was considering going to a substance abuse treatment center at the local hospital, i was there about five years ago for alcohol treatment and the people were great. My biggest concern is sleep, i need my sleep more than anything otherwise im worthless. I hope the perscribe me something to help with sleep at least. Thanks for listening

 

[Oxide]

This website has been a lifesaver for me as well. As a fellow addict I feel your pain. There are options though if your conviction to quit is strong enough though, and this website can help. I'm not telling you not to seek professional detox treatment, but if it's beyond your means, I'd recommend stocking up on Loperamide and trying to get your hands on benzodiazpines, tramadol, or Kratom. All of these will help IMMENSELY with your withdrawal symptoms and make the kick that much easier. These all have addiction potential of their own, but it shouldn't compare to heroin in terms of 'working' for you.

Loperamide is very very useful (you won't get high, but you will sleep finally) when nothing else is around and you can't wait for the Kratom to come in the mail. I'd recommend starting at around 12 mg and going up by 2-4 mg every hour until you feel well. Once you're well don't re-dose for at least 24 hours or until you have a bowel movement. Make sure to drink lots of water and eat what you can to help with the empty stomach crampy feelings.

If you choose tramadol/kratom/benzos you can work out a taper schedule that works for you, the longer the taper the easier but also the harder it is to stay on track, you start thinking you can cheat. Don't cheat.

Also, get a little marijuana to help boost the comfort of the comfort meds you choose.

One last thing, if your withdrawals involve severe rls like most do, avoid antihistamines like Benadryl at all costs. You can do it, stay strong.

 

[BHannon24]

Why do you say to avoid those?
Also look Into suboxone too that helps with the withdrawls immensely

 

[Oxide]

I have noticed and heard from others that specifically Benadryl worsens the symptoms of opiate-withdrawal induced RLS. Very few things help with it, I've had decent results from a quinine and methocarbomol + ibuprofen. Still not very effective but it seemed to give me enough relief to be able to sleep.

Buprenorphine can indeed assist you in detoxing, and has had immense success. Although, like methadone it's a very powerful opiate with an extremely long half life, and if and when you decide to quit that you can look forward to weeks of withdrawals, instead of days.

 

[WeThePeople]

Thanks Oxide!

Man i guess i just dont understand the whole buprenorphine thing...isnt that just feeding my addiction for opiates? Why would anyone want to go from one opiod to another and have to go through withdrawls at some point anyway, right?

 

[yuhhhhh]

The Dark Side has a ton of threads about opiate withdrawal. if you are interested i would suggest poking around there for some info.

if you are considering an inpatient program i would absolutely suggest it. i honestly believe it was the only way i could get through the first month of hell. tomorrow will be 60 days clean and i had been shooting dope and eating pills for about 4 years. it has been hard, no doubt, and i totally understand the fear. the insomnia was difficult for me to cope with especially since i was in a treatment facility where i couldn't take anything to help me fall asleep. but there are a number of ways to help relieve the insomnia particularly exercise. obviously it's a struggle to be active when you are in the throws of withdrawal but you absolutely have to make yourself. anything to help your brain raise endorphine levels that are so depleted.

send me a private message if you want to talk in depth about what you are facing, i would be happy to help in whatever way possible. good luck and remember that you are not alone.

 

[yuhhhhh]

Thanks Oxide!

Man i guess i just dont understand the whole buprenorphine thing...isnt that just feeding my addiction for opiates? Why would anyone want to go from one opiod to another and have to go through withdrawls at some point anyway, right?

it just softens the blow of withdrawal in some ways. it's not a cure all, don't get me wrong, but it is a huge help. i only took it for 9 days when i kicked and i tried refusing my dose on the second day at an inpatient treatment facility but the withdrawals were so harsh around the 24 hour mark that i finally caved and asked for my dose. at the time i thought i had failed in some way by not being able to withstand the withdrawals but after i noticed the difference between the withdrawals of basically going cold turkey and the withdrawals after just a week and a half of suboxone i realized how well the drug works. it's a life saver for a lot of people. even if it is something that has to be taken permanently it's far better than the alternative, in my opinion.

 

[BHannon24]

You also need to take into account that if you try tapering with full agonist's its much easier to fail however tapering on a substance that doesn't really get you high at all just makes you normal is much easier and there for you can jump off at a very very small dose and the withdrawl is not nearly as bad. Yes your trading one for another but It's much easier not having to worry about your fix all the time and also the legal problems that come from using illagal drug's which a lot of addicts are doin unless prescribed their drug of choice

 

[Crake]

I have noticed and heard from others that specifically Benadryl worsens the symptoms of opiate-withdrawal induced RLS. Very few things help with it, I've had decent results from a quinine and methocarbomol + ibuprofen. Still not very effective but it seemed to give me enough relief to be able to sleep.

Buprenorphine can indeed assist you in detoxing, and has had immense success. Although, like methadone it's a very powerful opiate with an extremely long half life, and if and when you decide to quit that you can look forward to weeks of withdrawals, instead of days.

In my experience the Benadryl or Gravol also made my RLS worse... And for me the RLS is probably THE most aggravating symtom. I will also highly recommend drinking some Tonic Water with the quinine in it if you have bad RLS. I have tried pretty much everything there is for the RLS and the quinine was the last thing I tried. I was very surprised it worked to be honest. Just mix some juice or w/e with the Tonic Water if you can't stand the taste alone and it should help some.

Not to scare you, but just so you are aware- read up on the side effects of quinine before you take any because there are some serious possible side effects. Even if you drink the whole 2L bottle of Tonic Water, you will still only be getting a fairly low-end dose of quinine medically speaking, so it is a very low risk anything would happen, but its better to know worst case so you can get medical attention.

 

[The_troubles]

I feel your pain.
I'm three days in to a drought after a three-year (or so) daily opiate habit. I have to tell you guys, this Kratom has made this kicking the easiest ever. and luckily I have my hands on some benzos (saved them up just in case). I didn't let my tolerance get up too high, but christ, I'm usually out for 5 days moaning on the couch like a baby when this happens. With the Kratom, I'm able to sleep, work, watch movies, feel almost - ALMOST - normal. All thanks to this site.

 

[Oxide]

Don't underestimate Kratom, it can be tricky. I'm sure you know that but the only reason I say it is because I've failed a few tapers because I like it too much and ended up suffering worse than I would have been if I had stuck to it. Withdrawal from it is just as hard as kicking most other opiates, it may be a little more forgiving but it is still extremely unpleasant. The RLS is at least twice as bad as normal poppy-derived opiate withdrawal in my experience, coupled with mind-numbing depression, and the usual gambit of symptoms. Although I must say when used correctly Kratom is a godsend for withdrawals, and quite good on it's own, or even mixed with a little tramadol haha.

 

[BrokedownPalace]

Check out the following thread - The Opioid Withdrawal Mega Thread and FAQ. It is quite a large compilation of information dealing with different ways to tackle opioid withdrawal. There is no free lunch with opiate addiction and some suffering is going to occur, but there are numerous steps you can take to reduce the suffering to a manageable level.

Personally, I think that an in-patient setting is a good idea. For me, if I try and kick while at home I can never handle it mentally since I know heroin is just a short drive away. But if I am somewhere where access is totally cut off, and accept this fact, it is much easier to get over.

I just had to kick cold turkey in jail while I spent 9 days there. It was not fun at all, kicking an IV heroin habit in jail, but I knew I wasn't able to cop and accepted the fact and it was not as bad as I had anticipated. It was a horrible experience, don't get me wrong, but mentally it was a whole different ball game than trying to kick at my house. I had no choice. Limiting your choices and availability of opiates greatly reduces the mental anguish/anxiety one goes thru while trying to detox.

IF you decide to go the at-home route, try and utilize the vast amounts of information on this site about how to deal with detoxing. You'll find plenty of info about OTC medications, prescription meds, suboxone/methadone, vitamins, activities, etc.

Whatever you choose, I wish you the best of luck and just try and stay strong, you'll be okay. For me the physical symptoms of heroin detox start improving after about 4 days and at about 7 days I am basically back to 'normal'.

For most people, the acute detox is the easy part. STAYING clean and maintaining sobriety is the hard part, you need a game plan for after you get thru the withdrawals. Be it rehab, AA/NA, therapy, etc. You have to do something. You seem like a smart person though and I am confident you'll be okay. You're making the right choice.

If you need any help finding anything on bluelight or want to talk about detoxing/etc, feel free to private message me.

Cheers

 

[Hope22]

I have never joined anything like this before but I was doing some research on detoxing off opiates with suboxone vs.methadone because I relapsed. I got clean at rehab 3 years ago with a suboxone 5 day detox. I had a 4year habit of 2-3 grams a day. I also was prescribed all sorts of prescription drugs for my ankle. I've had a few slip ups along the way but this is the first relapse that led me to physical dependency again. In my research I found some excellent advice and also some advice that my experience and knowledge proved to be...well wrong. I saw many comments about tapering off with suboxone and was surprised that nobody mentioned the method my rehab used for me...which was very effective and did not leave me addicted to the suboxone what so ever. The 1st day was an 8mg strip...4mg at 7am and 4mg at 5pm. The 2nd day went up to 12 mg...6mg at 7am and 6mg at 5pm. The third day went up yet again to 16mg...8mg at 7am and 8mg at 5pm. The 4th day you were cut off completely but the doses from the previous days linger and carry you through. Then the 5th day you get 2mg in the morning. This could be your final day but if any wd symptoms persist you can take 2mg a day for up to 3days. Everyone at my rehab used this method and it worked even for me who had a very large habit. It was even easier for people with smaller habits. The hard part for me is the mental aspect. The mind is so powerful...that's why inpatient works best. However...I just relapsed about a month ago and I don't have the luxury of going away with life's obligations. I have no choice but to try to get myself together on my own for the time being so if anyone has any advice...please respond. I have 6 10mg methadone pills someone gave me but I never used them before and I don't want to screw this up so I was thinking about getting 6 8 mg suboxone strips and doing what I did at rehab 3 years ago. Im open to any opinions or advice for my situation.This is my first post since I joined...it probably belonged under another topic...lol...but I will get the hang of it.