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opiate withdrawls & prescription meds

uumpaloompa

Bluelighter
Joined
Jul 14, 2003
Messages
2,188
Well it seems lately i've been going through a cycle of off and on. and everytime i feel like it's time to lay off for a week or so it's too late and i'm feeling withdrawls. during withdrawl periods i've been fortunate enough to find medications to almost aleviate withdrawl.

i've managed to come accross some tricyclic antidepressant's. mostly trazadone & amitriptyline, as well as gabapentin, flexeril, vistaril, and sometimes clonazepam and alprazolam.

i've noticed a combination of gabapentin & some TCA or flexeril kills ALOT of the pain in my legs and body, as well as a good portion of the anxiety. i've found benzos help with acute anxiety attacks during withdrawl, but i find without some kind of TCA i can't sleep to well.


anybody have good experience curing withdrawl symptoms with other meds?
 
Yes. Used a lot in detox/rehab centers, is the blood pressure medication clonidine.
Believe it or not, this med has worked wonders for some of my clients. If one adds loperamide to that mix- those two together have been called a Godsend, for addicts in full-blown WDs.
Throw a benzo in there for any WD related insomnia and general anxiety issues, and IMHO that's the best combo out there...good luck, you can kick this monkey if you REALLY want to....:)

p.s...edited to add: Just be careful not to trade an opiate/oid dependency for a benzo dependency!

And once again, good luck...you can do it if you want to.
That's all...

p.p.s...Well, maybe not. ;)
If you are going to attempt to use clonidine for opiate/oid WD, let your doctor know what you're doing, as only he/she can provide you with information, to make it less painful, and may know of a condition that you might have, where clonidine would be contraindicated, due to a personal syndrome or something that you might have. Basically, this is really something you should talk to your doctor about- to see if it's right for you. But, I have seen some dramatic turnarounds using clonidine and loperamide (OTC as Immodium AD) to get you through the rough first part.
If you don't think you can talk to your GP like this (like you're a minor or something), tell him/her...honesty is your best policy at this point... :\
Just thought I'd bring that up...:\
 
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You are right about the clonindine soundpharm. That has to be one of the best non-opiate reliefs for WD. .2 mgs takes away that severe throbbing that seems to make WD so much worse. Im pretty sure it has to do with blood pressure because thats what clonidine is Rxed for, high BP. Clonidne has helped me make it through many a long night. And yeah, throw in some loperamide and valium, and you can make the best out of a shitty situation.
 
uumpaloompa said:
Well it seems lately i've been going through a cycle of off and on. and everytime i feel like it's time to lay off for a week or so it's too late and i'm feeling withdrawls. during withdrawl periods i've been fortunate enough to find medications to almost aleviate withdrawl.

i've managed to come accross some tricyclic antidepressant's. mostly trazadone & amitriptyline, as well as gabapentin, flexeril, vistaril, and sometimes clonazepam and alprazolam.

i've noticed a combination of gabapentin & some TCA or flexeril kills ALOT of the pain in my legs and body, as well as a good portion of the anxiety. i've found benzos help with acute anxiety attacks during withdrawl, but i find without some kind of TCA i can't sleep to well.


anybody have good experience curing withdrawl symptoms with other meds?


They made me go cold turkey in rehab the first time... this was after a 100 mg OC per day habit. Cold turkey was 20 mg Valium, Amitriptyline and 100 mg Thorazine. NOTHING HELPED.

I went through withdrawals again a few months later at my home. I had Flexeril, thought it would help, DIDN'T.

For me, NOTHING helps except lots of Xanaxs and weed (and I don't like weed except for this and medicinal purposes). W/Ds make me want to blow shotgun holes through my wrists but yet I somehow end up hooked and without again. Vicious cycle.
 
soundphaRm said:
Yes. Used a lot in detox/rehab centers, is the blood pressure medication clonidine.
Believe it or not, this med has worked wonders for some of my clients. If one adds loperamide to that mix- those two together have been called a Godsend, for addicts in full-blown WDs.
Throw a benzo in there for any WD related insomnia and general anxiety issues, and IMHO that's the best combo out there...good luck, you can kick this monkey if you REALLY want to....:)

p.s...edited to add: Just be careful not to trade an opiate/oid dependency for a benzo dependency!

And once again, good luck...you can do it if you want to.
That's all...

p.p.s...Well, maybe not. ;)
If you are going to attempt to use clonidine for opiate/oid WD, let your doctor know what you're doing, as only he/she can provide you with information, to make it less painful, and may know of a condition that you might have, where clonidine would be contraindicated, due to a personal syndrome or something that you might have. Basically, this is really something you should talk to your doctor about- to see if it's right for you. But, I have seen some dramatic turnarounds using clonidine and loperamide (OTC as Immodium AD) to get you through the rough first part.
If you don't think you can talk to your GP like this (like you're a minor or something), tell him/her...honesty is your best policy at this point... :\
Just thought I'd bring that up...:\


How does one go about getting Clonidine? Do you just tell your doctor you're withdrawaling or what? I've never had the balls to do that...

I had 30 a few years ago, but my Mother found them in her house and flushed them thinking they were "pain pills".
 
damn, you were taking thorazine for WD? ^^ Thats a heavy medication, its like the chemical equivilent of putting your brain in a straight jacket. As for obtaining clonidine, (brand name Catapress) its pretty easy. Its not scheduled or anything, so you could probably get it from patient first of one of those other amulatory clinic places. Yea thats what i would say, go in and tell them the deal and ask for it. Its not like its recreational or anything, i doubt anyone takes it to "get fooked up"

Its given for high blood pressure, so i dont think you could ask a doc for it w/o having high BP. But its given for WD all the time because it works really well. They make a patch too that i think lasts for 72 hours, you can put one on and lessen the WD severity quite well.
 
yep, clonidine is now indicated for wd symptoms, it is a godsend. It seemed to work best as a pill rather than the patch form, and the lower your dosage of your choice of drug the better when starting clonodine. But, yea, for me, it took p robably 60 percent of the physical problems, xanax another 20 and and didnt know about the loperidamine, so that would have probably made it very easy...

Clonidine is a must have for a wd kit.....
 
Not sure how much neurontin you take but you can go up to 3.2grams a day or more, really one of those meds you can take as much as you need to get the effect desired (within reason) because it has no acute or chronic toxicity & is quite selective.

Baclofen has been a godsend for me getting off methadone. Not only that I was having major problems still using 3-6x Week heroin, the first day I tried baclofen the cravings stopped and I don't even think about drugs now for days at 6-7 day at a time.

Baclofen works like mild GHB (sorta!) it is as good as clonidine and better for psychological symptoms. It will almost totally abolish that god-awful emotional feeling of withdrawal that you're falling apart. Baclofen helps with cravings for fat, nicotine, coc., meth, and opiates. And it's still good to take even if you slip and use because you will get less reward when you use and find yourself less and less driven to use.

I got it from by doctor by telling him exactly what I needed it for. You'll prob need 20-80mg/day.

Don't drink any caffeine containing beverages...caffeine plus naltrexone produces withdrawal in people who've never had opiates! Caffeine lengthens the withdrawal and makes it worse.

D,(lesser extent L?) Phenylalanine Increase endorphins & block their breakdown. D, L- Leucine does the same. They relieve pain & decrease consumption of alcohol & opiates-pain relief is blocked by naloxone.

Sodium decreases opiate receptor sensitivity however; Magnesium and much more potently manganese increase receptor sensitivity. Magnesium is kinda calming too..helps gate NMDA receptors which go arwry with opiates.


Abstract on use of Baclofen in opiate withdrawal
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=824212

Results: Baclofen and clonidine were equally effective in treating the physical symptoms of withdrawal syndromes. However, baclofen showed a significant superiority over clonidine in the management of mental symptoms.

Journal of clinical pharmacy and therapeutics (J. clin. pharm. ther.) pp. 347-353
Take care! Eat healthily whenever you can manage.
 
medicine cabinet said:
damn, you were taking thorazine for WD? ^^ Thats a heavy medication, its like the chemical equivilent of putting your brain in a straight jacket. As for obtaining clonidine, (brand name Catapress) its pretty easy. Its not scheduled or anything, so you could probably get it from patient first of one of those other amulatory clinic places. Yea thats what i would say, go in and tell them the deal and ask for it. Its not like its recreational or anything, i doubt anyone takes it to "get fooked up"

Its given for high blood pressure, so i dont think you could ask a doc for it w/o having high BP. But its given for WD all the time because it works really well. They make a patch too that i think lasts for 72 hours, you can put one on and lessen the WD severity quite well.

Yep. Those stupid fucks gave me Thorazine for WD. The facility I was put in was "cold turkey" only, meaning no methadone or Bupe, not even Xans. The only good thing about being there was had I not been, I would have put a bullet through my brain...

Does Clonidine help the restless legs/arms? That is the worst part of WD for me.
 
clonidine never really helped me with restless legs. it does however curb some of the uncomfortableness of withdrawl. like hot/cold flashes, slows down your heart rate a bit. taking too much i've noticed would really make me feel light headed as shit, to the point where i would black out a bit upon standing up. muscle relaxants and some tricyclic antidepresants really are the only thing that seem to help the leg pain.

amitriptyline, or flexiril, lopermide, gabapentin, and some benzo, mainly alprazolam. help me get through pretty well without pain, anxiety, or insomnia.

however at the present time all have is a few 300mg gabapentin pills, 8, .5mg xanax, 18, 25mg visatril. i might go to the ER to get some more stuff though. this really wont hold me well during withdrawl.
 
Crimethink said:
Not sure how much neurontin you take but you can go up to 3.2grams a day or more, really one of those meds you can take as much as you need to get the effect desired (within reason) because it has no acute or chronic toxicity & is quite selective.

Baclofen has been a godsend for me getting off methadone. Not only that I was having major problems still using 3-6x Week heroin, the first day I tried baclofen the cravings stopped and I don't even think about drugs now for days at 6-7 day at a time.

Baclofen works like mild GHB (sorta!) it is as good as clonidine and better for psychological symptoms. It will almost totally abolish that god-awful emotional feeling of withdrawal that you're falling apart. Baclofen helps with cravings for fat, nicotine, coc., meth, and opiates. And it's still good to take even if you slip and use because you will get less reward when you use and find yourself less and less driven to use.

I got it from by doctor by telling him exactly what I needed it for. You'll prob need 20-80mg/day.

Don't drink any caffeine containing beverages...caffeine plus naltrexone produces withdrawal in people who've never had opiates! Caffeine lengthens the withdrawal and makes it worse.

D,(lesser extent L?) Phenylalanine Increase endorphins & block their breakdown. D, L- Leucine does the same. They relieve pain & decrease consumption of alcohol & opiates-pain relief is blocked by naloxone.

Sodium decreases opiate receptor sensitivity however; Magnesium and much more potently manganese increase receptor sensitivity. Magnesium is kinda calming too..helps gate NMDA receptors which go arwry with opiates.


Abstract on use of Baclofen in opiate withdrawal
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=824212

Results: Baclofen and clonidine were equally effective in treating the physical symptoms of withdrawal syndromes. However, baclofen showed a significant superiority over clonidine in the management of mental symptoms.

Journal of clinical pharmacy and therapeutics (J. clin. pharm. ther.) pp. 347-353
Take care! Eat healthily whenever you can manage.


I have to mention in regards to Baclofen that there was a study done in Iran regarding Baclofen for opioid withdrawal and that the results were promising. I will try and dig the study up if I can.
 
Geez, i have TONS of Baclofen laying around here. I had two scripts of it but it didn't work and i was switched to Soma. So i just saved the Baclofen, not sure why.. i can't throw away any pills lol.

Next time I'm in w/d I'll give it a try.

RPG
 
* if you often lay off for a week, or measure you're time off opiates in weeks, you don't have a horrible addiction, and thusly your withdrawals aren't too bad. Do what you think is right, but you should only be getting some minor leg and back pain, and a jonesing for opiates, aka, nothing. I'd just go with some clonazepan and cannabis, and lay off opiates before you get a true addiction. Suboxone will also help greatly, but take small doses and be careful when mixing with benzos.
 
people seem to be overlooking tylenol... it does do a little for the leg pain, enough to let you sleep at least, if you're benzo'd up...
 
Lyrica has helped me several times in the past when in this situation.Neurontin, some, but not as much.
 
Clonidine isnt really RX'd for hypertension anymore its like a 3rd line medication, I told my doc (in a clinic not regular dr) that i wanted to try it again because it worked for me in the past.. I had mildly high bp just from being in the dr office so he gave it to me..i wwas gonna tell him it was for WD if he argued.. it isnt a first line of defence against hypertension anymore so u might hafta come clean.. xanax, motrin, immodium ad, and clonidine should help some and l-tyrosine is supposed to help u get your energy up after the kick.
 
I find a combo of a benzo preferably temazepam with clonazepam, lopermide, lyrica or gabapentin and seroquel can keep me pretty comfortable. Dimenhydrinate is a good one to have on hand as well because i sometimes get real fuckin dizzy from withdrawals and that stops it. It will also help stop the vomiting if you get it. Thankfully i never have gotten vomiting during withdrawal.

But a taper really is best for sure. Even codeine pills will help you feel atleast somewhat normal.
 
I know some SSRI's (eg sertraline) will reduce your ability to get high from opiates. Would this be dangerous as a possible barrier to using again? Eg if it takes up some receptors and you did try to dose opiates again, would this not allow them to be processed, leading to them sticking around for too long in the body? Don't know but maybe it would help to cut down on opiates when you can no longer get a high from them.
 
I know some SSRI's (eg sertraline) will reduce your ability to get high from opiates. Would this be dangerous as a possible barrier to using again? Eg if it takes up some receptors and you did try to dose opiates again, would this not allow them to be processed, leading to them sticking around for too long in the body? Don't know but maybe it would help to cut down on opiates when you can no longer get a high from them.

Sertraline mainly stops you from using codeine, seeing as it takes up the enzyme (CYP2D6) used to convert codeine to morphine. It wouldn't be helpful for other opioids really, and in my case I found codeine to work fine whilst on Zoloft 50mg a day. It wouldn't be dangerous; any opioids that are metabolized by that enzyme may have their high extended somewhat, similar to the effect grapefruit juice or tagamet has.
 
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