Opioids The Opioid Withdrawal Megathread and FAQ

[Numb19]

Sorry if this is not in the right forum but I am new here and couldn't find in the guidelines where to post this, anyway here I go and any help is greatly appreciated.

I am 27 years old and am addicted to heroin. I first tried the drug in high school but it was never a problem until about 2 years ago when I started using daily. I started just messing around once in awhile with it and then before I knew it I was using almost everyday, it has been almost 2 years since the addiction took hold. I am no longer myself, while others may not yet notice any changes in me I DO. I am so sick of living this way. No one except one really close friend knows what I am going through and living this double life is starting to mess with my mental health. I have seen this drug ruin a couple of close friends lives and I am dumbfounded that I didn't learn from their mistakes. I work a full time job mon-fri and pay all my bills so from the outside it may not look as though anything is wrong but they would be wrong. I use to always be out with friends, I was involved in sports which I loved and now I work and I stay home doing nothing but getting high and I am tired of it. I got clean once before in which I didn't use for 7 days and felt great but I started up again. It was the way I felt after those 7 days that I really really want to get back to feeling. I felt things that I hadn't felt in months maybe a year. I felt life! I miss that feeling and am really looking to get back to being sober and experiencing life again. Today my close friend said he can get us suboxone this weekend and those words could not have come at a better time as I feel like going on as I have been is a path that I can not carry along much longer. I know if I can get clean this time I can make it last. My question is how many suboxone pills should I get to ween myself off the H. I am 6'3 300lbs and for the last 2 years have been doing about 3 dubs of dope a day via snorting. I asked for 10 pills for sure and I believe they are of the 8mg variety. I know I must start to W/D from the H before I take any of the suboxone but are the 10 pills enough for me and if not how many should I try and get and how should I break them up for use and for how many days. Please any help you can offer on this would be greatly appreciated. I always believed it was mind over matter with addiction but that was before I got addicted to dope. If I could just lay in bed for a week I could just take the pain but that is not an option at this point.

Hopefully trainspotter will see this. I'll give him a nudge for ya. He's got a ton of experience with sub tapering.

 

[The Doc.]

Sorry if this is not in the right forum but I am new here and couldn't find in the guidelines where to post this, anyway here I go and any help is greatly appreciated.

I am 27 years old and am addicted to heroin. I first tried the drug in high school but it was never a problem until about 2 years ago when I started using daily. I started just messing around once in awhile with it and then before I knew it I was using almost everyday, it has been almost 2 years since the addiction took hold. I am no longer myself, while others may not yet notice any changes in me I DO. I am so sick of living this way. No one except one really close friend knows what I am going through and living this double life is starting to mess with my mental health. I have seen this drug ruin a couple of close friends lives and I am dumbfounded that I didn't learn from their mistakes. I work a full time job mon-fri and pay all my bills so from the outside it may not look as though anything is wrong but they would be wrong. I use to always be out with friends, I was involved in sports which I loved and now I work and I stay home doing nothing but getting high and I am tired of it. I got clean once before in which I didn't use for 7 days and felt great but I started up again. It was the way I felt after those 7 days that I really really want to get back to feeling. I felt things that I hadn't felt in months maybe a year. I felt life! I miss that feeling and am really looking to get back to being sober and experiencing life again. Today my close friend said he can get us suboxone this weekend and those words could not have come at a better time as I feel like going on as I have been is a path that I can not carry along much longer. I know if I can get clean this time I can make it last. My question is how many suboxone pills should I get to ween myself off the H. I am 6'3 300lbs and for the last 2 years have been doing about 3 dubs of dope a day via snorting. I asked for 10 pills for sure and I believe they are of the 8mg variety. I know I must start to W/D from the H before I take any of the suboxone but are the 10 pills enough for me and if not how many should I try and get and how should I break them up for use and for how many days. Please any help you can offer on this would be greatly appreciated. I always believed it was mind over matter with addiction but that was before I got addicted to dope. If I could just lay in bed for a week I could just take the pain but that is not an option at this point.

Hey man read your story that sounds pretty common or heroin addicts we always think its not gonna happen to me or I can control it. We make excuses for why we don't have a problem such as I don't steal like typical junkies, I work for my drugs, or I could stop if I really had to but that's all they are are excuses and things you say to justify your continuing drug use to make YOU feel better in your mind.
I remember my first opiate was one single percocet and I felt like I could do anything once the narcotic hit my bloodstream I knew right away I was in for a world of shit. I was right the pills led me to heroin which felt even better and got me more addicted than I could have ever imagined. Almost ten years later I'm still chasing this high to the gates of insanity Suboxone saved me for now but it only covers up this sickness that lies within me the problem is still there. I've seen so many good hard working people succumb to heroin addiction and are left worthless zombies going through the motions hustle get money get dope get high then repeat they lose family's jobs, entire businesses even putting their family on the streets and still they cannot stop their obsession with this drug. I hardly see any good in the dope game it has brought me a lot of pain and hurt taken away my dreams for the future, damaged my body and most of all taken away my zest for life. But there is a reason we continue using despite all the pain and hurt it seems to bring us like the quote from the movie trainspotting
"People think it's all about misery and desperation and death and all that shite, which is not to be ignored, but what they forget is the pleasure of it. Otherwise we wouldn't do it. After all, we're not fucking stupid. At least, we're not that fucking stupid."

But that's so great to hear your gonna try to beat this remember the hard part is staying off once your detoxed, the detox will be fairly easy if you follow my instructions on tapering closely and don't take the sub for too long. With the subs you got If you have 8mg pills then that 10 should be plenty but you may want to find out for sure but if they are 2mg you could just buy 30 pills or whatever you can cause its the same thing but 10-2mgs wouldn't be enough unless you can get by on 2mgs a day but chances are youll need more . What I would do is get the pills to keep safe then finish all your dope I wouldn't get anymore than 10 I mean 5 8s would be fine
even cause the longer you drag the taper out the harder it is to jump you start becoming addicted to the sub itself which will make things a real bitch.

Ive done many rapid sub detoxes and they work better than slow drawn out month long tapers EXCEPT if the person has been taking suboxone daily for a long time like 3+ months for a suboxone matainance program or whatever. If your going straight from heroin to a sub taper and don't want to take the same dose of sub daily for years then tapering quickly is your best bet to not prolong withdrawls and make the detox at the end easier on you

First once you finish your dope wait till you get really sick this could take anywhere from 6-48 hours depending on your metabolism so don't go by the amount of time someone else waited to induct go by what YOUR body is telling you.

Once you feel sick physically and you just want some relief cause your stomachs acting up/cold sweats happening then that's the time to take the sub if you take it sooner well you already know whats gonna happen then im guessing.

Start with 2mgs under the tounge then see how that feels then if that doesn't work do another 2mgs see how that works and you may need 8mgs a day but im thinking 4-6mgs would work but its important to start small and work your way up so you don't get anymore dependant on opiates then you already were and it also greatly reduces the chances of going into precipitated withdrawal but if you do go into precipitated withdrawl then the lower dose of sub you took the less severe the PWs will be.

say you started on 8mgs a good taper would be

-Day 1: 8mgs
-Day 2: 8mgs
-Day 3:6mgs
-Day 4:4mgs
-Day 5:3mgs
-Day 6:2mgs
-Day 7:1mgs
-Day 8: 0.5mgs
-Day 9: 0.25mgs
-Day 10:Nothing
-Day 11:0.25mgs
-Day 12:Nothing
-Day 13:0.125 (or100 micrograms is close enough)
-Day 14: freedom!!!

If you follow this same taper you will only have slight very minor symptoms that wont need to be medicated only for a few days then you got to figute out a way to stay off the drugs and if you keep relapsing and using dope putting yourself in the same pit of despair over and over and constantly having to detox then you may want to think about going on a suboxone program to stabilize and get your life in order but try this detox and get a support system in place fro after detox or even during as you wont feel bad while on the sub you will feel no symptoms during the taper so going to AA or NA or seeing a drug counsler is possible and recommended during the taper and after to help you find ways to keep clean.

good luck my friend I wish you all the best in this battle to take back your life and truly hope you succeed if you ever want to talk im here just private Message me whenever man and any questions on tapering or about subs/detoxing just give me a shout

 

[birdman760]

I've been going throigh withdrawals for years because I abuse my Oxycontin and Percocet prescription every month for the last 4 years and withdrawals are the worst feeling ever, I've tried methadone and overdosed and if it hadn't been for my son finding me in time I did pass away in the ambulance and was narcaned to bring me back, anyways I've tried all the BS ways to treat my withdrawals, so last month my Dr. Prescribed Lyrica for my back pain as well as my usual oxy and percocet, so when I ran out 2 weeks before my Rx, I started taking this Lyrica and It's AMAZING! I have no withdrawal symptoms other than just a slight ache in my legs, about 20% compared to the intense leg aches and none of the the RLS, I have absolutely no craving for pills and no diarrhea, just a slight case of lethargy but nothing close to the regular withdrawals, Ive seen almost nothing online about this helping so I want to let people know this works miracles! And I really really hope this helps!

 

[birdman760]

I was prescribed Lyrica and had it for a few months because it wouldn't get me high, but when I ran out of my pills I was panicking like I do every month when I run out, so I started taking Lyrica and I have to say this stuff works miracles, I have no urge to take any pills, no diarrhea, no RLS, just slight lethargy and just a slight leg ache, no horriable night sweats, plus I actually am able to sleep! Dr's should use this instead on clonodine (idk if i spelled it right)

 

[axfx2]

Been off oxycodone ..have questions

I've been off Oxycodone for a month now. I was on a pretty steady diet from 2008 to end of may 2014.

my question is how long will it take my body to normalize? I keep having hot flashes, irritability, legs feel weak at times.

I'm just not myself yet and I figured I would be and hoping I would be? anyone with experience ??? thanks

 

[pasha]

it usually takes a while to get completely back to normal. the longer you've been off it the slower the rate of decrease in symptoms becomes. it's kinda like losing weight in a way. you lose a lot the first month or so you get on a diet and/or exercise, and then things begin to slow down.

just be patient. especially with the psychological symptoms. it's easy to tell ourselves at times "is this really withdrawal or am i just this way normally" and then revert back to using drugs. 99 out of 100 times it's the withdrawal.

i think a month from now the physical symptoms will decline a lot. the psychological ones slower. the pain in the knees, the hot flashes, the feeling of weakness will subside. the insomnia, irritability, anxiety, and depression tend to linger for a good while longer.

i'm going to move your thread.

anonymous -> other drugs (opioid withdrawal megathread)

 

[Numb19]

I've been off Oxycodone for a month now. I was on a pretty steady diet from 2008 to end of may 2014.

my question is how long will it take my body to normalize? I keep having hot flashes, irritability, legs feel weak at times.

I'm just not myself yet and I figured I would be and hoping I would be? anyone with experience ??? thanks

6 years straight is a long time and if I had to guess your tolerance got jacked up like crazy and you were taking massive doses towards the end?

So yeah, it might take more time than others for your body to reach homestasis (and I believe other factors like your general health and conditoning also play a factor).

But if I also had to guess, you feel a hell of a lot better than you did a month ago or three weeks ago and even last week?

After six years and with a month off, the only "normal" your body remembers is being on oxy, so it will take some time - the heavier and longer the habit the longer it will take but a month is nothing to scoff at man. You're on the right track and keep it up. Every week will should get better.

 

[Buperman]

Hoping this is the right thread for this post, searched around a bit and couldnt find it so i guess it hasnt been brought up yet...

As everyone whos been opiate/opiod dependent knows, right before you are about to start W/D and during it, you buy a bunch of otc withdrawal remedies, try to hustle your doctor for clonidine, benzos, ambien etc., you search the internet and post on forums for ways to stop or ease the W/D symptoms. While taking a bunch of herbs, otc meds, perscription drugs etc., you are just treating yourself like a guinea pig. Excessive use of OTC meds/herbs/remedies can even make your symptoms worse. Example#1:IME like most others, taking alot of benadryl to try to sleep makes insomnia, RLS, blood pressure/heart rate worse. Example#2: I respond very well to Clonidine. It lowers my heart rate/blood pressure which in turn eases RLS, Anxiety and helps me fall asleep. Every withdrawal is different than the first time. There is no "building a tolerance" to withdrawal. The guessing game gets old real quick as to which things will help you and that can even change as well.

So what i want to throw out there is What about DNA/Genetic analyzation? There is this DNA analyzation kit out there now called "23 and me". It goes for around $100. You provide a saliva sample and the company posts all kinds of information about you (that only you can see obviously) online including but not limited to; genetic disorders, inheritted traits, complications, drug responses etc. etc. I wonder if this can eventually lead to you knowing exactly what to take to successfully combat withdrawal symptoms.

Alot of the W/D symptoms are caused by out of proportion levels of vitamins,minerals and chemicals in the body. Knowing what your body will respond to would give you the upper hand and put an end to the frustrating guessing game we all play.

Also, it may seem like I am contradicting myself with "Every withdrawal is different" and "knowing what your body will respond to". Im kind of on the line with it myself but im pretty damn sure it takes alot more than a moderate term opiate/opiod dependency or addiction to mutate your DNA. Maybe after long term usage of opiates/opiods on a consistent basis can mutate DNA but I personally believe this is not true for short to moderate term opiate/opiod dependency/addiction.

Lastly, I have never used the "23 and me" product or anything of such nature for that matter. I have done some research on the product and have developed a theory, that's all. As before mentioned, I believe it could be (with alot more research) a surefire way to curb withdrawal symptoms.

If anyone has used "23 and me" please chime in and shed some light on this for us. How do you think you could use the information provided to you to your benefit in dealing with W/D?

 

[downerhead]

Personally,I'd rather just use the hundred bucks to put towards a supply of subs,benzos and booze.I've kicked dope many times in many different ways over a lot of years and IME this method helps the best with being misersble and minimizes withdrawl symptoms while you work the shit out of your system.Just my 2 cents/own experience whatever.

 

[Buperman]

^ I hear ya. The same combo + a little weed works for me too.

I have a friend who had insomnia so bad that when he tried loading up on xanax he was awake but could barely move and was in alot of pain. Just something that ran through my head and wasnt mentioned. Always good to explore new options. If you know what works for you and it works everytime, more power to you.

As for the people that have $100 bucks to spend on a DNA analyzation go for it and let me know how it worked out for you. Im planning on getting the kit myself but just want to be clean for a while until I do to avoid complications.

 

[pasha]

yah. but hopping on sedatives and benzos to stop heroin kind of defeats the purpose, no? except if you wish to be on maintenance drugs as a long term life decision, which i respect. but if you want to kick opioids all together it's only trading one chemical dependency for another. perhaps what you mean is switching to subs and doing a quick taper. in either case i'd leave the benzos out of the equation completely because they have horrible rebound symptoms even after short term use which could drive addicts back to using in no time.

personally, i use hydroxyzine, pregabalin, a low dose benzo for the first 3 days (0.250 milligrams xanax) and some cannabis. i've used this successfully and never looked back.

 

[Kayla44]

Opiate withdrawal plan - advise

In order to go through about a year H use mostly smoking but last week or so IV using... About .5-1g a day habit detox the following items have been collected in order to help. Some advise on when/how much/which order to use each items. Seems like a taper and then detox would make the most sense.

7 - 10 mg Oxycodone
20 - 50mg Tramadol
6 - 4mg tizanidine
2 - 15 mg buspar
40 - 300mg Gabapentin
14mgs of suboxone strips

The hard part is being unable to get off work during this and roommates can't be aware of the situation.

Advise would be great thank you!

 

[KyleOpium]

I recommend a few more things.

Etizolam - Great for sleep, use it no more than once every other day for a max of 2 weeks.

Phenibut - Great for anxiety, can be used every day as long as you dont go over 250mg. Medically it only has a half life of 5 hours, but I can definitely feel some other things besides gaba being affected for 24+ hours when I take it. Very addictive if used at non clinical dosage. 500mg should be the MAX you take.

Doxylamine - Best OTC sleep aid, I'd put it as sedating as Ambien, but without all the weird psuedo-benzo things that come with Ambien.

Loperamide - For when you run out of your opiates, and need to plug up the leaky ass.

Magnesium - Good for restless legs, and mild NMDA antagonist to reduce tolerance

Kratom (Only stem and vein) - Great for detoxing, you won't get high, use this after your opes are gone. Has high concentrations of NMDA antagonist, and some mild analgesia, but you won't feel euphoric.

 

[Kayla44]

Thanks for the advise! I'm not sure I'll be able to get my hands in the first two and I actually have about 20 Kratom pills also (stem and root) that I forgot to post about so that's cool.

For the magnesium can I just buy that at like gnc or something?

I never get the stomach part of withdrawals, no cramping no
Diarrhea so I'm wondering if loperamide is needed if I don't get that part?

Thanks again!

 

[KyleOpium]

If you don't feel you will have cramps or diarrhea do not worry about the lope.

Make sure you get Magnesium Oxide. It has a 60% bioavailability.

Magnesium Citrate is the most common type out there, but it only has a 10-12% bioavailability. You don't want to waste your money on Citrate. I've found even taking 6x the capsules of Citrate still doesn't work as good as oxide.

 

[pasha]

anonymous -> other drugs (opioid withdrawal megathread)

welcome to bluelight

 

[Stickreid]

sounds like you will reset your withdrawls back to the beginning so you have to start all over any time you had in sober is wasted now im afraid once you did that rush of opiates it put your body right back to the way it was before you started detoxing. you will have to suffer day one day two and 3 again keep in mind next time you want to relapse that you will be put in the same pit of despair you were in previously despite how much clean time you have achieved.

I have a friend who was clean from opiates for 20 years then he decided to get high one day and in a day or 2 he was as strung out and hooked to the dope as he was 20 years prior despite having 20 years clean. opiate addicts cant go back to using causally once addicted it stays in thier brain for life so every time an addict trys to use opiates responsibly after putting in some sober time they usually end up digging themselves into the same hole they were in during their worst point of addiction.

when stating your theories, please do not act as if they are fact. in my experience your theory is completely and utterly false. in no way shape or form will that set him all the way back.
your friend was strung out and addicted again after a day or two of GETTING HIGH. this guy just took a VERY LOW dose of heroin for him and did not get high.

Hey I've been on suboxone for about 4 months I taperd off but relapsed and went on a 6 day binge of iv heroin use. I quit cold turkey and did three days of withdrawal which weren't horrible compared to previously but I ended up using 2 bags(normally use 6) tonight on day 3 of withdrawal my question is will it be as bad as day 1 or what to expect tomorrow

do not worry my friend. in my experience a nice small dose of your DoC during withdrawl is amazing for sleep. just do not make the same mistake trainspotter10102 made by relapsing and becoming addicted again.
one small dose SHOULD BE fine and when it wears off your withdrawls might feel even a little BETTER. hope all is well since this was posted. keep us updated, TIL21290.

 

[Numb19]

when stating your theories, please do not act as if they are fact. in my experience your theory is completely and utterly false. in no way shape or form will that set him all the way back.
your friend was strung out and addicted again after a day or two of GETTING HIGH. this guy just took a VERY LOW dose of heroin for him and did not get high.

do not worry my friend. in my experience a nice small dose of your DoC during withdrawl is amazing for sleep. just do not make the same mistake trainspotter10102 made by relapsing and becoming addicted again.
one small dose SHOULD BE fine and when it wears off your withdrawls might feel even a little BETTER. hope all is well since this was posted. keep us updated, TIL21290.

First of all, where did the original questioner state that he did not get high? He said he did less than he usually does but he did not state that he did not get high and that also does not mean he didn't get high.

Second of all, trainspotter has spoken enough about himself and his history (500mg oxy > 8-ball of heroin a day and now he is on subs) so he doesn't need to hide anything so your second mistake is assuming he was talking about himself.

One small dose "SHOULD BE' fine...you're not exactly oozing confidence here. And what if on the fourth day he realizes that "you know what, those two bags werent bad and I feel ok so I'll just get another two bags..." then maybe three, then maybe six and then maybe another 6-day IV binge before reality hits?

What's next - go cop an 8-ball of heroin and try to IV taper?

 

[Stickreid]

First of all, where did the original questioner state that he did not get high? He said he did less than he usually does but he did not state that he did not get high and that also does not mean he didn't get high.

Second of all, trainspotter has spoken enough about himself and his history (500mg oxy > 8-ball of heroin a day and now he is on subs) so he doesn't need to hide anything so your second mistake is assuming he was talking about himself.

One small dose "SHOULD BE' fine...you're not exactly oozing confidence here. And what if on the fourth day he realizes that "you know what, those two bags werent bad and I feel ok so I'll just get another two bags..." then maybe three, then maybe six and then maybe another 6-day IV binge before reality hits?

What's next - go cop an 8-ball of heroin and try to IV taper?

I did not assume that trainspotter was speaking about himself. that's the one of the reasons why i wrote that post. I see in the second paragraph I did make a typo, sorry.

I am saying this to trainspotter is because he says after 2 bags of heroin, 3 days into withdrawal, all the withdrawal will restart and it will be just as bad as he first was withdrawing off the 6 bags a day.
If you take a small dose right after a week long binge while your in withdrawal will just relieve your withdrawals for a long time and not get you high enough to make a difference.

its in effect the same method as tapering... you use less of the drug so your withdrawal isn't as bad...

I can believe if he has a history, and he feels full withdrawals after doing the same thing the 'original questioner' did.
everyone reacts to drugs differently.
I am speaking about my own personal experience and the experience of people around me and what i've read about other people's experiences.
2 bags on day 3 after a 6 a day week long binge you will have less withdrawal when originally taking the drug.
for me it feels like i start day 3 withdrawals over again. I'm just not nearly as sick. I feel a lot better especially because sometimes i even get some sleep.

I am not an advocate of taking A LITTLE HEROIN during withdrawal. It makes me want more heroin BECAUSE I'm NOT high.
I usually use a quick taper of suboxone over the course of 1.5-2weeks after a week long binge.
there's virtually no withdrawals from that.

 

[The Doc.]

You can believe what you want we have freedom of speech here but in no way is going back to just a little bit of dope during detox fine. Your playing with fire yes your right some people can do that then get back on track but most will reset their withdrawal totally by doing that kind of stuff I do know what I'm talking about here if an addict is in detox and they are in day 2-3 of withdrawal then decide to flood their opiate receptors again obviously its gonna make you feel better at first but then you worse off after that cause now you have to let the opiates you just did leave your body all over after your were almost over the very worst of withdrawal.

I think your just looking to act like a big shot I don't know where you get your info from I volunteer in the local detox down where I live and am studying to have the qualifications to work in there permanently I spend a lot of time in there and have been in detoxing myself 7 times. Weve seen it in detox many times a user detoxes after 5-7 days in there then leaves decides I'll use a little bit to go to sleep then they wake up sick and their brain is screaming to use again. An addicts brain is just this way sure some have extremely good willpower but most addicts don't that why we are addicts.