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Please help sort out the common remedies used for easing Opiate W/D symptoms!

Space Firebird

Space Firebird

Bluelighter
Joined
Feb 27, 2013
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248
I'm a little confused about which medications are best for alleviating the various opiate w/d symptoms:

What opiate w/d symptoms are best alleviated with Clonidine?

What opiate w/d symptoms might one try to alleviate with Neurontin?

How about Flexeril (Cyclobenzaprine), does it have a use for easing opiate w/d's?

I think it might knock me out pretty good if Zolpidem stops doing the trick.

Valium seems good for anxiety.

I am having some good luck with phenobarbital used for the purpose of sedation. While it is slow to come on, it is also slow to wear off, which for the purpose of relieving opiate w/d symptoms seems a good thing, IMO. Just learn to us it slowly and don't take more if the first couple of pills aren't doing much right away.

Tylenol seems to help basic aches and pains, I don't do so well with NSAIDS.
 
In my experience:

Clonidine - Restless Leg Syndrome, elevated heart rate

Neurontin/gabapentin - Anxiety, skin crawling/tingly/jump out of your body feeling, hot flashes

Flexeril - no personal experience.

Zolpidem/ambien - Sleep, obviously. Be careful and aware of cross addiction.

Valium - Anxiety, obviously. Be careful and aware of cross addiction.


How is your detox going? How far in are you?
 
caseface99 said:
In my experience:


How is your detox going? How far in are you?
Click to expand...

Getting started took over a month, but I've completely committed to quitting opiates now.
There is now no thing that I want more.

I've reduced my usage by about 30% at this point, and I have a taper schedule that runs for about 3 more weeks to hit zero, but I am going to do it faster (probably 2 weeks). The SMART program is the best fit for me. Getting used to the fact that I can take a lot of pain and discomfort without it being a problem was a hurdle. Last time I quit I jumped off too fast and the acutes were super intense. I don't want to do that again. So I am sticking to the schedule, but trying to grab some extra ground whenever I can (for instance pushing a dose back a few hours and just letting it hurt).

I also had only zolpidem and Valium last time and this time I am trying to get some meds that will be better suited to specific w/d symptoms. I froze my ass off last time, I need to be able to regulate my body temp a bit.

I also got myself addicted to Hydromorphone this time, which is harder than OC to walk away from, but I have found some taper protocols specific to it, and I know that people do quit it, so I'm quitting it too.

I've taken Flexeril before, it is a worthless muscle relaxing drug that knocked me on my ass. I have some left over, so there may be a use for when the insomnia isn't responding to the Ambien.

One of the most important things I have learned is that even though my main problem is the using of drugs, that really isn't the real problem. The real problem is being addicted to drugs, which paradoxically stands separate from the act of taking them. So, people stop taking drugs, but it doesn't work, because they haven't understood the underlying conditions that were prompting them to take drugs in the first place. I take drugs to numb myself and to avoid feeling pain. This didn't happen until I hurt my back 20 years ago, and it was so bad that I decided that I was never going to feel that pain again. Unfortunately, I somehow changed that to read "any" pain and I think that is how I got here.

I'm OK with pain again, it is an old friend and one that I am willing to get to know again.
 
in a general sense.

Allot of the Clonidine benefits for detox work by blocking the adrenal spike thats common in withdrawal.. adrenalin causes us to feal whatever emotion we are having really strong so this helps to limit emotional response, so whatever emotion or mood we are in shouldn't be a strong, fear, it also keeps blood pressure down, helps with the skin crawling/burning/ frozen sunburn, sweating, helps tone down the hot and cold flashes and some of the restless legs.. it kinda can just tone the whole experience down quite a bit.

The GABA's are really good with the restless legs, nerve pain, promoting sleep, anxiety, restlessness, relieves the burning, numb painful tailbone and lower back and allot of the other pains, also works really well with the sensitivity to hot and cold. These really are the strongest non opiate medication for withdrawal and is often quite the God send for allot of people.

Flexeril, I tried this and the only benefit I found it to have was to make me sleepy, but as it increased the fatigue and made my mind even more cloudy I did not continue to use it in the acutes. I did use it occasionally when I was off the other medications and into the paws, when the nerve pain and stiffness from work and paws got pretty bad but im not sure if it was worth it then either. It was kinda a trade off, more relaxed muscles but waking up feeling scrambled and even more spun.

Ambien is another gaba manipulator and promotes sleep, I didn't use it but it would likely increase sleep time and possibly promote similar things to the other gabas.

Benzos taken just at night for a few weeks can promote sleep as well as further relieve nerve pain, restless legs, anxiety, fear, restlessness. And as case said even though they work really pretty good its a real good idea to only take them before bed and for a short period. after taking these for years for anxiety and sleep I have realized that I feal much better on less sleep and no benzos that i did on much more sleep and benzos but I think they have a good place if used right in detox.

vitamin D: allot of people who have been on opiates/methadone for a long time become vitamin d deficient. This can cause allot of symptoms including moderate to severe bone pain, dental problems, immune system problems, depression.


Testosterone for males: after a long time or high doses of opiates and especially methadone testosterone level will crash, especially in withdrawal. The use of testosterone replacement therapy can have an extremely positive effect on depression, energy levels, muscle mass, anxiety and a whole bunch more in both acute and post acute withdrawal symptoms. It does however cause so side effects like very low sperm count so it important people research and consult their physicians to see it.


I received limited but worth it benefits from taking both tylenol and an ssri (i used Naproxen) as it helped with some of the body temperature issues and some of the pain.
 
I like Tylenol as well, it is actually a pretty good pain killer.
What is really getting to me right now is just how sad / depressed I am.
It comes on every time the last dose wears off.
It's pretty bad, and not a symptom I was expecting.
I guess I must have been saving it up while life was being a party.

ETA: Also, thanks for the clarifications, I think these meds will help me deal with the w/d's better.
I am trying out the St. John's Wort to see if I can try to elevate my mood a little bit.
 
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You gotta be prepared for the fact that when it comes down to it there is no magic pill - Detoxing is detoxing is detoxing, and no matter what it's going to suck. :\

Depression is one of the more difficult symptoms to alleviate at first, as the drug use has thoroughly screwed with levels of neurotransmitters that directly effect your mood. You're neurotransmitters will level back out, but not without spiking up and down for a little while first. Proper diet and exercise is the absolute best thing for your body in terms of repairing itself. Just be prepared for emotional highs and lows.

In terms of meds that might help, 5htp and vitamin D, off the top of my head. I'll edit this if I think of anything else.
 
Space.. I know you are a spiritual person. its really important to realize that just as brain chemicals effect thought, thought also greatly effects brain chemicals.. especially in early recovery it so important to flip it all positive.. our life is how we choose to perceive it, how we perceive it is based on our thoughts, we control our thoughts.. in the begining its hard but choosing to see the beauty, wonder, and good in all situations works a the little miracles.

ADD take http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/threads/673580-Hey-I-thought-the-grey-matter-of-ADD-could-chew-on-this
Managing depressive thinking

it is a powerful thing to keep our thoughts possitive and here are some threads many of us use to help us do this.
Good things about being off drugs/getting sober
Share something POSITIVE from your day!
Today I Am Thankful For... Ver. 3: Earth, Wind and Fire!
Here is the mindfulness thread.
 
Nice NSA, I think I need to keep a file on my computer with links to all the specific mega threads haha.

And no problem space, keep it up! You'll get through the worst of it just don't give up. :)
 
OP, I am not trying to hijack your thread, but I was wondering if anyone knows what can help the sniffles/runny nose associated with opiate withdrawals?
 
ad lib said:
OP, I am not trying to hijack your thread, but I was wondering if anyone knows what can help the sniffles/runny nose associated with opiate withdrawals?
Click to expand...

Not a hijack at at all, it's what the thread is for; finding the right comfort meds...

STAY AWAY from OTC nasal sprays, unless you want to spend weeks suffering.
 
^^ True, Space - the rebound congestion from OTC nasal sprays basically defeats the purpose of using them in the first place, in my experience anyway.

Ad Lib - PseudoEphedrine works pretty well if I recall correctly. You might need to take slightly more then suggested in this circumstance.
 
I received some Neurontin today, the dosage on the leaflet for seizures is 900 mg / day.
What is the recommended dosage for Opiate W/D's?
 
Trascon Pharmacopoeia for nerve pain says " 300 mg PO tid, max 3600 mg/day in three or four divided doses." So if you are going to use this to withdraw then I would begin it before you actually quit the opiates and increase to a comfortable dose.. from what I have seen most people start to get relief around 800-1000 mg three times a day.. but everyone is different so you will may have to play with it a bit.
 
^^ When I was taking it for suboxone withdrawal last time I tried getting off, I started out with 300mgs 3-4 times a day - the issue I had with the drug is that within a couple months I was taking 800mgs 4-5 times a day in order to get the same effect (my symptoms were still pretty horrible a couple months later, unbearable without the nuerontin, but your situation is totally different and you likely won't need to take it this long anyway but just wanted to point out that tolerance can grow pretty quickly)
 
Space Firebird said:
Not a hijack at at all, it's what the thread is for; finding the right comfort meds...

STAY AWAY from OTC nasal sprays, unless you want to spend weeks suffering.
Click to expand...
caseface99 said:
^^ True, Space - the rebound congestion from OTC nasal sprays basically defeats the purpose of using them in the first place, in my experience anyway.

Ad Lib - PseudoEphedrine works pretty well if I recall correctly. You might need to take slightly more then suggested in this circumstance.
Click to expand...

Thank you both!

Does pseudephedrine increase anxiety levels? Lately I've been more anxious than usual.
 
Yes it can increase anxiety and im not sure it will work for what you are looking at it for. Its my understanding thats its a CNS stimulant, working mostly on the adrenals?, that works as a nasal decongestant and brocial agent through the fact that it constricts blood vessels. Im not saying it wont work but it may not.

You may have better luck with an antihistamine.. possibly Hydroxyzine or benadril
 
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