Heroin Can you recommend a 'less-demanding' alternative for a maintenance user who is ready to move on?

[BlackL0tus3ater]

Hello,

I have severe depression, insomnia, and general anxiety. The first two since childhood, the latter since the onset of my codependent rxship with Ms. Poppy (7 years, IV. Short periods of abstinence, no longer than ~4months)

Here is my situation: when I was constantly trying to quit, I put myself in danger, was miserable, and was generally unsuccessful. I decided to embrace maintenance use, then actually found tapering down to a very low daily level pretty easy.

I have never found legal medications which make any impact on my mental health problems or insomnia. I have looked. (weed doesn't do much for me, I wish it did)

Other recreationals don't help either- for some reason, opioids really fill whatever deficit my mind was made with.

Even at this low dose, its a costly habit and I resent being on a chemical tether. I want to travel and look forward to the plane ride instead of dreading spending it in the tiny shitter.

The other factor is my skin. I want it to heal and I want to be hot again. It's been especially bad after contracting MRSA a few years ago (ironically not from shooting up, but quickly spread to multiple sites as a result). Ugly scars, sores. It's all I see and I worry it is all other people see also.

I have considered maybe poppy tea? Opium pipe? (after work type thing)

Anyone in a similar position find a gentler downer to sooth a burning mind? I am open to any suggestions, whether legal or ...., natural or lab made.

[priorities would be effective, accessible, cheap. Natural would be cool, but not necessary]

thank you!

 

[albatross]

Kratom tops the list by far. Otherwise morphine, methadone, buprenorphine are all common as maintenance meds. Poppy pod/seed tea is scarce and expensive these days.

 

[Larimar]

Kratom works really well but don’t expect it to feel as great as oxy .. It will hold you over , gives good energy and mood boost . Don’t try to take too much to get higher though cause you will throw up .

 

[DKs]

From what you're describing: why not try methadone? You'd probably get a prescription, too (maintenance therapy). Buprenorphine might not be suitable as it lacks all damping and sedating properties of typical opioids. It tends to be rather "agitating" actually.
What about benzos (in case it is possible in your area to get hold of a script)? - They're actually the only really suitable drug for real anxiety, inner tension, sensory overload and such. Everything else (such as antidepressants) does normally not work at all is the underlying cause is not a classical depression. However, GPs just don't prescribe benzos because they're afraid of their potential for addiction, but they work very well and are, after all, not as addictive as many people want to make you believe.

 

[morphonorconic]

I second these suggestions. Since it sounds like you've yet to try any of these, maybe start with kratom since it's DYI and you can start whenever you choose, but definitely consider buprenorphine. If you can tolerate it well, it can literally change your life almost instantly, and give you stability day to day and freedom from the grind. Methadone is perhaps less scary but much more complicated in that daily visits to dose are required as opposed to monthly scripts with bupe. The supervision of a prescribed course of treatment is a must for most folks, myself included, because it gives support and incentive to adhere to your goals and gives you resources you may not have access to on your own with say kratom.

Edit: Pod tea could be a good choice too, but it is expensive and easy to get hooked into abuse patterns same as dope IME. High quality pods contain hudreds of milligrams of morphine per ounce, plus codeine and other alkaloids. Care must be used to not trade one bad habit for another potentially worse one.

 

[Ganjcat]

I honestly think I prefer methadone to heroin it kicks in gradually, it's always 100% pure government strength purity is no strength man for the first time in ages I have had basically no heroin for the last 4-5 days just methadone I feel so clear headed and naturally tried my legs ache and feel tired but in a good way I have not been able to feel my body and emotions like this in ages and if I don't think it's strong enough today I can just take a few promethazines and weed if I have it i don't even bother getting heroin if I only got a tenner I just get a ten bag of weed that's what you want on methadone I'm off for a nice spliff that stinks I'm so faded..

 

[DKs]

consider buprenorphine. If you can tolerate it well, it can literally change your life almost instantly, and give you stability day to day and freedom from the grind. Methadone is perhaps less scary but much more complicated in that daily visits to dose are required as opposed to monthly scripts with bupe

This depends on your jurisdiction I assume in most parts of the world you can get Methadone take home, just like Buprenorphine. In fact in (at least most, if not all) European countries, for example, Buprenorphine and Methadone are handled in exactly the same way. And as I said: Buprenorphine lacks ALL damping effects of typical opioids. This stuff might be useful for you if you use Cocaine as well as Heroin or if the rush is the only property you really seek in an opioid and Buprenorphine is really great at reducing cravings in these cases, but it doesn't seem, from the initial post of the thread starter, to be the right choice.

I honestly think I prefer methadone to heroin it kicks in gradually, it's always 100% pure government strength purity

I agree 100%. I just don't understand why anyone prefers dirty street Heroin if they can get pharmaceutical grade stuff. Pharma opioids are so much better, more pure and plus Heroin just doesn't work very long. You have to re-dose often. I guess it is just that myth about this "kick better than so-and-so-many orgasms": if you don't have this in a substance of "abuse", you'd have to admit that there is no difference between genuine chronic pain patients' opioid use and junkies on the street. You can't wadge war on drugs that easily any more.
Besides: most people only start iv-ing heroin anyways only because other routes of administration et to expensive.

 

[Lawrence Arms]

2nd and 3rd'd for Kratom. Has gotten me off morphine many times successfully. Unpopular opinion it looks like around here, but I am highly against bupe/subs (yet still on then) - unless you like the idea of a lifelong tether, which you said you don't. It's the one reason I buy my subs $10-20 a pop instead of getting a script. Because I don't want to be stuck on them forever, like literally all of my other ex-opiate, now sub addicted, friends :/

 

[deficiT]

Echo sentiments for kratom. There's really no better answer for opioid addicts of any stripe. Tis the cannabis of opioids, think that's an apt comparison. Have been dependent on it for six years, has helped me quit drinking and using harder opiates like heroin and such. Withdrawals and side effects all tolerable if you keep your daily dosage low.

 

[TheInvisibleStoner]

The OP never mentioned what they are on.

I only gathered they are on some type of "maintenance" and ready to move on from it as they don't want to be dependent on a chemical. And it costs too much.

What are you taking now? And how much? Simply stepping off maintenance and changing up to something else doesn't really exist. You need to taper down and get clean. From there, you will have unlimited options on how to deal with your anxiety (without the need for a daily drug or required to pay or else you are sick). But again I don't know what you are currently taking.