Doing really well by any standards. Dillies have such a short half life that one would be in w/d without their normal dose within hours. That is, IV/IM. Don't know much about oral, although it shouldn't be as bad w/d wise. If you're doing that well. Skip every day or cut down to 0.25mg if possible. What I always did in w/d when tapering was seeing how long I could keep myself from feeling like absolute horse shite before taking any more, whether it be 12hrs, 24hrs, 48hrs etc.
Don't give up the gabapentin yet as it's probably making this process much easier on the body. Definitely work to eliminate the opioids first, but don't rush too much as the idea is to avoid anything trauma ensuing.
Railing 0.5mg should set one into w/d fairly quickly if they have any kind of habit. Like well within 24hrs. If it's at the point where you're sleeping 5+ hrs/day, cut down the dose and frequency of your dilly dose and KEEP on the gabapentin. Give it a week or two of feeling comfy taking 0.25mg dillies every other day or at most only once per day intranasal. Then once you cut off all the dillies keep on the gabapentin at the same dose you have been on for another 7 days (after which acute w/d from the dillies will be more or less over as it's pretty short acting) then see how you feel and SLOWLY cut down on the gabapentin.
Remember we're not doctors here thought. I really hope you can find someone in your area whom you can talk to who is, or at least a counselor or someone who could actually help you. Like you could stop at a needle exchange if they have them in your area (illegal in FL?) or some other harm reduction organization and speak to someone about where you can help your friend find the help she needs. Or have someone else go for you if you're worried about family service bullshit (HR orgs are pretty good about that though, although again I have no exp with FL).
Priority right now (given you've made SO MUCH progress): Get off the dillies and stay off them for 7+ days
Priority then: Once you're off dillies for 7+ days and you begin to feel okay, taper off your gabapentin (which if you haven't been taking grams of it a day for years will be much easier).
Best thing you can do to help yourself: don't drink any alcohol, eat as much as your can (for two, ya) as healthy as you can, take your vitamins and everything else you should be taking given the circumstances, and get as much rest as possible. Exercise will make the w/d process go fast and help everything along, sleep included, but you want LOW IMPACT stuff. That is something that would be good to talk to a personal trainer or your doctor about actually, what kind of exercise you can safely do and then do that as much as you can. Exercise, food and rest are the biggest help in w/d. People tend to forget to eat considering how shitty they feel and it makes the process soooooo much worse.
Check into the recovery forums and the dark side or whatever for more help about this process. They'll be able to help you more than OD perhaps? Also check out healthy living forums on food and dietary info as well. There is a lot of support your can find here on BL, but you should get out of OD and link to your thread here, perhaps give a few details about your friend's current situation. But remember, you need real help in real life, and what we can help you with on BL is limited.
However, given that you do seem to be pretty well and stable, it sounds like your
friend can do a lot for herself, in which case BL can be of good use. But you'll still have to seek it out. Try posting around.
EDIT:
From a health professional (nurse? I forget now) whom I would trust with my unborn baby... and whenever you see the words heroin or iv, replaced them respectively with dilaudid and intranasal.
See these posts:
Flip hon you were right, I was gonna definately pop in on this one.
Trying to detox while pregnant at any point in the pregnancy can result in miscarriage. If you are pregnant and using opiates, the best treatment is Methadone Maintenance(MMT).
It has been shown that babies born to a mother taking Methadone have only mild to moderate discomfort and are usually fine within a few days and can go home unless other problems arise.
Research with mothers on methadone has shown that the fetus only becomes dependent on the Methadone and not addicted. I know some may disagree and not believe so, but I work with pregnant mothers as a case manager and this is the protocol of pregnant women addicted to opiates.
If anyone tells a pregnant woman it is OK to detox or go cold turkey is an idiot. No one should give a prenant mother advise that could be harmful, unless it is a doctor or nurse or someone else who is experienced in this area. I hate to sound harsh,but a detox or cold turkey approach can lead to miscarriage, which in turn can lead to hemmorrhaging in the mother and often this can lead to hysterectomy, or even death if the mother does not receive medical attention immediately. The uterus has a rich blood supply and a woman who is hemmorrhaging can bleed out or lose a very large blood supply in very little time.
If you are pregnant and on opiates, part of getting good prenatal care is being on Methadone. Continuing to use Heroin while pregnant will make it that much harder on your baby and they will go through withdrawals when born and often they are born prematurely.
Don't be afraid to go to a methadone clinic because you are worried about what people will think. There are counselors who are often trained to only work with pregnant mothers and will help referrals for prenatal care, medical insurance through the state, and other programs for pregnant women.
I would certainly be more imbarrassed to be seen buying dope pregnant than I would being seen at a methadone clinic.....And I speak for myself only!
While I did not use during my pregnancies, I know it can be difficult to where to turn and what to do in this situation. If keeping the baby is the option you choose, get the best care you can. Especially if you want to keep your baby once it is born. If you tested positive for heroin, Social services will get involved and most likely take your infant. But, if you are involved in Methadone Treatment and have a doctor and others working with you to avoid this, your worst issue would be monitoring you for the use of illicit drugs and other opiates and to monitor the baby for weight, and other issues related to the needs of a newborn.
I know my post was long, but this is an area I do have experience in as well as working with other IV drug users and if anyone needs help, you can send me a PM and we can help to work this out.
I won't judge anyone, I am an addict myself on Methadone, but this is an issue that I am very involved in and don't want to see anyone go through the hell of losing their baby and to get the help they need during pregnancy and the help to stay clean after.
http://forum.opiophile.org/showthre...hiles-Pregnant&p=153253&viewfull=1#post153253
I just wanted to put that out there about going cold turkey while pregnant. To answer that guys question about his gal getting off of everything early in her first trimester was fine.
Methadone is used to women who are using other opiates with a history of addiction. Because of the ups and downs of opiate use, many pregnant mothers will find themselves in withdrawal often during pregnancy due to lack of drugs availability, or lack of money to buy there drug of choice; Oxycontin, Vicodin, or any other opiates used. Because Methadone lasts for 24 hours, it is a better choice for pregnant women so they do not experience w/d that can lead to stress on the baby and increase the chances of miscarriage.
In women addicted to cocaine and methamphetamines, it is found that stopping the drug and good prenatal care is about the best way to help maintain them throughout their pregnancy. While it is still a chance that these babies may be born premature, or low weight, they can still be healthy at birth with intervention and good prenatal care. They are tested during the pregnancy and then at delivery for meth or cocaine.
What is sad, that many women will avoid treatment due to fear or they are unable to give up their addiction. While they may want to have a healthy baby, they often find that they are just unable to stop and are afraid of the reaction of others if they did seek help.
http://forum.opiophile.org/showthre...hiles-Pregnant&p=153449&viewfull=1#post153449
So moral of the story?
Practice good prenatal care and see that doctor and keep seeking help whenever you need it.
Noticed in the ways the people Candy is talking about in these quotes applies and does not apply to you. If you've only been using for a year or two (under like five I'd say), methadone almost certainly isn't a good idea for you unless it's for the length of your pregnancy, and even then I can't be sure. From what we've been told your friend doesn't sound like she fits the build of someone who is unable to give up their addictions. I hope this is true, as your certainly can make it so, if you haven't already!
Funny thing is, like 25-40mg of methadone, 25mg once w/d comes on, assuming it does and you're not out of the woods, then another 15 if you feel it coming on again (25mg may very well be all you would need, just once and never again) a couple days later and that would get you through the rest of your taper in an extremely smooth way. And gabapentin wouldn't be so much of an issue then either. Not suggesting it necessarily, iono if I'd do it myself in the situation, but funny in a way considering some folks on maintenance take 4-8 times as much on a daily basis. Kinda sad imo, but if they need it and their lives have improved, who am I to judge. Besides, that's not the topic here.
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
