Heroin CT Heroin From an 8-ball a Day. Blinding Headaches and Other Odd Symptoms.

[Sertürner]

As the title states. I am attempting to CT a heroin addiction that I got myself into after being clean from it for years.

I started again back in August of 2020 and need to get clean ASAP. I use anywhere from 1g to 3g or more a day. I can get by without WD symptoms with about 1.5g-2g a day though.

Everytime I try to quit I get this terrible pain at the base of my skull. It's always on the right side where my neck meets my occipital bone. It spreads over the course of a few hours up to my ear (where my skull is behind my ear) and then travels to temple and eventually my jaw.

The pain is excruciating, the whole right side of my head and jaw feel like they are on fire while being slowly crushed by an immense amount of pressure. I dont know how else to describe it.

Any ideas on how to get rid of this pain so I can get through my CT? I cannot take bupe or methadone, it is not an option at all. I just need to ride this out. Any other suggestions are GREATLY appreciated.

Many thanks,
Mr. Deeds

 

[negrogesic]

Not entirely sure what the cause would be. Oddly enough i had pain similar to this description the other day. I've never experienced anything like it and thought for a second that maybe it was a covid-19 onset headache. It was accompanied by strong upper neck stiffness (as youd see with meningitis). One you might Benzos helped.

Benzos and 800mg ibuprofen should help some.

Did the heroin contain fentanyl?

 

[Snafu in the Void]

You are vaguely describing some symptoms I had unrelated to WD and ended up being severe chest/back/neck inflammation. No doctor could ever explain to me where it came from.... I could blame it on alcohol inflammation, but never got an answer.

My entire left neck/chest/back was constantly in massive pain. Every time I moved my head it felt like my chest/back was on fire.

Not the same thing as waking up with a kink in your neck. It was more painful and lasted for months. And like you said, I would describe it as a "burning" sensation.

I was convinced I had cancer and was dying or something (my father had multiple tumors removed from the same spot).... went on for months before I finally went to the doctor.

After multiple x-rays and tests I was fine... simply severe inflammation. A week or two of muscle relaxers and prescription NSAIDs completely fixed it... and it never came back.

Also.... opioids never helped the pain....

Just my 2 cents. It doesn't sound like a symptom of WD to me, but another issue. Your body can be weird.

follow up question: how much do you exercise? do you spend a lot of time sitting? After speaking to many doctors this seems to have been the cause for me. Alcoholism probably played a part.

 

[Sertürner]

Thank you guys.

I currently have been taking alprazolam 1mg 3x daily for the past, almost decade now I think. It helps a little but my dependency to benzos leaves little room for the wonderful therapeutic use of them during WD unfortunately.

I did actually hyperextend my neck (muscles) years ago and a car accident 2 years ago made it a lot worse. Naproxen is all I have and it has been helping a little but it doesn't last long, I'll go get some ibuprofen and see if it works any better.

It is indeed not a traditional WD symptom, but it happens without fail around the 36hr mark. By 48hrs, I am ready to die. Maybe the WD is just exacerbating my already fucked up neck and making the usual pain seem a thousand times worse than it actually is? And/or high blood pressure from WD is contributing to the headache and making the pain in my temple and jaw even worse?

 

[Snafu in the Void]

I did actually hyperextend my neck (muscles) years ago and a car accident 2 years ago made it a lot worse. Naproxen is all I have and it has been helping a little but it doesn't last long, I'll go get some ibuprofen and see if it works any better.

It is indeed not a traditional WD symptom, but it happens without fail around the 36hr mark. By 48hrs, I am ready to die. Maybe the WD is just exacerbating my already fucked up neck and making the usual pain seem a thousand times worse than it actually is? And/or high blood pressure from WD is contributing to the headache and making the pain in my temple and jaw even worse?

Hmm... just being an armchair doctor right now...

WD is probably exacerbating it, when I was sober my pain was most notable.

I also have stage 2 hypertension and yeah, high BP can absolutely cause a headache especially in WD

I tried naproxen when I had this issue, didn't do shit. I'm talking about prescription strength NSAIDs. The good shit, not OTC.

I tried to man up and ride this out.... nah... I had to actually go get medical help and it was magically fixed with the drugs they gave me.

 

[Sertürner]

@SnafuInTheVoid that might be what is going on then.

I unfortunately dont have the ability to go see a doctor right now. I have to just deal with it. I just dont know how. In my arsenal I have:

A bottle of 1mg xanax
Ibuprofen (I'll be getting that asap)
A few 300mg Gabapentin
Kratom
Loperamide (not enough for high dose though)
2 pills of Dicyclomine
Adderall (which does help during the day)

I need something for the blood pressure issue, its horrendous, I can feel it getting real bad and it's a little scary.

 

[Snafu in the Void]

@SnafuInTheVoid

I unfortunately dont have the ability to go see a doctor right now.

What country do you live in? I'm constantly part of the "I can't go to a doctor" crowd because I have no health insurance.

If you are in the US, you can ALWAYS go to a doctor.... fuck the cost. There are options. If you make less than a certain amount there are laws where the hospital can't actually charge you. You have options in the US....

I need something for the blood pressure issue, its horrendous, I can feel it getting real bad and it's a little scary.

Yeah man, I feel you. Light headed, slow winded, constant cold feet and hands, sluggish... my blood pressure was alarming last time I had it checked... for me, a non-obese 32 year old.

 

[Chris42393]

A good medicine to get that pain away is a muscle relaxer such as Flexeril. I've had the same experience... and that shit takes the pain away in less than 45 mins. Im not sure if the pain is from the same SOURCE, but the pain YOU'VE had...and MINE are exactly the same. Maybe it will work.

 

[negrogesic]

Clonidine might help here.

 

[drewbocop]

As the title states. I am attempting to CT a heroin addiction that I got myself into after being clean from it for years.

I started again back in August of 2020 and need to get clean ASAP. I use anywhere from 1g to 3g or more a day. I can get by without WD symptoms with about 1.5g-2g a day though.

Everytime I try to quit I get this terrible pain at the base of my skull. It's always on the right side where my neck meets my occipital bone. It spreads over the course of a few hours up to my ear (where my skull is behind my ear) and then travels to temple and eventually my jaw.

The pain is excruciating, the whole right side of my head and jaw feel like they are on fire while being slowly crushed by an immense amount of pressure. I dont know how else to describe it.

Any ideas on how to get rid of this pain so I can get through my CT? I cannot take bupe or methadone, it is not an option at all. I just need to ride this out. Any other suggestions are GREATLY appreciated.

Many thanks,
Mr. Deeds

I live with those exact types of headaches daily from several head/neck injuries I sustained. The only thing that helps them (as mine are related to tension and nerve damage) is gabapentin or pregabalin which ALSO completely annihilates a lot of opioid withdrawal symptoms for me. If I were you, I would try to taper down substantially to a few bags a day if possible and then get as much fucking gabapentin as you can. If you really want/need to quit, you can do it with just time, gabapentin, and willpower. As you've quit before, I'm sure you already understand this.

 

[Sertürner]

I would absolutely love a few clonidine, unfortunately I have no access to any. Any supplements have a good effect on high blood pressure that you know of?

Flexeril or another muscle relaxer would be great too but I have none of those either, just the meds on the list posted above =/

Any advice on gabapentin dosage? 300mg doesnt seem to do much. I was on it in the past for nerve damage but never have used it for the purpose of WD.

I can probably find some info using the search engine so I'm going to look into that right now. Any links would be appreciated.

 

[negrogesic]

I would absolutely love a few clonidine, unfortunately I have no access to any. Any supplements have a good effect on high blood pressure that you know of?

Flexeril or another muscle relaxer would be great too but I have none of those either, just the meds on the list posted above =/

Any advice on gabapentin dosage? 300mg doesnt seem to do much. I was on it in the past for nerve damage but never have used it for the purpose of WD.

I can probably find some info using the search engine so I'm going to look into that right now. Any links would be appreciated.

High doses of magnesium glycinate (perhaps 1.2g or more) and a bunch of l-theanine (800mg or so) should reduce blood pressure, but not 100% sure how much relief you'll get.

As far as the gabapentin I'd go for 900mg+

 

[drewbocop]

Any advice on gabapentin dosage? 300mg doesnt seem to do much. I was on it in the past for nerve damage but never have used it for the purpose of WD.

I always went ham with 300mg every 45 minutes with some olive oil (which I realize sounds disgusting... it is) to maximize the bioavailability. Depending on how much I had on hand, I always shot for at least 1200mg up to 3 grams if I could. I was prescribed 4 800mg tablets a day, so I had a lot. And boy does it work wonders for the RLS. Without breaking the rules, there are... international ways of acquiring large amounts of it.

 

[Sertürner]

I do have tons of magnesium glycinate and l-theanine so I will give that a shot @negrogesic
I will report how well it works for me.

I'll try the 900mg probably tonight, 300mg taken 30min apart with some of that olive oil and I'll see if that works at all as well.

Thanks guys I am really appreciating the advice, you have no clue how grateful I am for this.

 

[drewbocop]

I do have tons of magnesium glycinate and l-theanine so I will give that a shot @negrogesic
I will report how well it works for me.

I'll try the 900mg probably tonight, 300mg taken 30min apart with some of that olive oil and I'll see if that works at all as well.

Thanks guys I am really appreciating the advice, you have no clue how grateful I am for this.

Just be careful with the olive oil if you're nauseated in withdrawal. lol
It can be surprisingly spicy. You might want to opt for a different high-fat oil.

The magnesium glycinate is something I always have in my arsenal and something I take on a regular basis as well. I've found it to be the superior version and also very helpful for RLS and anxiety. RLS and insomnia are the two things that defeat me in withdrawals. Anything you can do to combat that as I'm sure you know will be the things to take you to the finish line.

 

[OpialiciouslyMe]

Sound like the headache pain you'd see with Chiari malformation. Many people have the non serious form without any symptoms at all and it is an accidental finding on MRIs in most cases. Quoting from the Mayo Clinic website: "Chiari malformation (kee-AH-ree mal-for-MAY-shun) is a condition in which brain tissue extends into your spinal canal. It occurs when part of your skull is abnormally small or misshapen, pressing on your brain and forcing it downward.".

Mine is pure conjecture based on the type of headache you've described. It's certainly something that could be a consequence of a car accident. Opioids would mask the pain and withdrawal can amplify or reveal pain you didn't know you had.
I get a terrible backache whenever I'm in withdrawal for example. Much worse than the one I was initially treating with opioids.
You'd need a standing MRI to see this and NSAIDs wouldn't do anything for the pain. It could be something else entirely. You should really see a doctor or get completely clean and see if the pain persists. That would mean it's not linked to the withdrawal. Withdrawal can throw your body into a state of hypersensitivity to pain.

 

[Sertürner]

Ok so I got my hands on some propanolol, I have not been able to CT so far. Each time I try I just fail. Is this going to be of any use? I figured that it might help with my headache pain and possibly the blood pressure. Any thoughts?

 

[MsDiz]

I think it’s a medical issue rather than WD. Your heroin use is basically blunting the pain and that’s why when you stop it comes on stronger.

With such severe neck pain radiating to head it’s important to get it checked by a dr. I would be worried your neck is unstable. Chiari is also a good suggestion as to what it could be. Regardless the longer you keep using and not dealing with the issue the worse it will get.

 

[Sertürner]

I have a doctors appt on Thursday actually. I also have a UA that day so I will be forced to stop using as of, right now actually. I am going to be drinking a ton of water and pedialyte and luckily I'm pretty skinny so hopefully I will pass the UA. Otherwise I'm in deep shit.

I will definitely be bringing up my neck pain when I see him on Thursday though. It is terrible.

 

[Joey]

Get on a heavy methadone dose. I know this sounds like shit but methadone saved my life a few years ago. I eventually cold turkey the methadone. I am no longer an opiate addict.