Opioids Hot/Cold Flashes (Last Stage in W/Ds?) -To Better Understand Withdrawl-

[muie]

This thread was opened in the hope that our combined knowledge will help to better understand opioid withdrawl. In my experience there are several stages, each of which exhibit concrete physical & psychological symptoms varying with intensity during the process of withdrawl.

I have noticed that hot/cold flashes are usually part of the last stage/s of withdrawl and also last the longest of all symptoms. I was surprised to find out I was still getting hot/cold flashes after 30 days of being clean. For me these hot flashes are what drive me crazy in the end to the point where I start to use again. What bothers me even more is that these moments happen when everything is going very well in the sense that I'm still suffering mentally (no drive, ambition, motivation...) however during 90% of the time the worst part has passed even though we don't seem to think so mostly b/c we concentrate on 'now' always.

I can get through withdrawl without much difficulty, shitty for a few days physically......very shitty mentally for weeks but its to be expected, however its these hot/cold flashes that get to me where I am okay changing my t-shirt every 2 minutes for a couple of days but it gets exagerrated to the point where 20-30 days pass and I still won't catching any breaks. I get hot flashes much more than cold flashes maybe b/c I take clonidine which plays a role in lowering blood pressure.

I am worried that these hot/cold flashes can cause even the strongest of people whom never get sick to be extremily sensitive to colds and eventually get sick. I believe this could be a result of someone simply being outside for a 20-30min slow paced walk, where even though withdrawling, one is dressed according to weather, he's healthy/tolerant to colds. On a warm sunny day he/she will sweat, then cool off and catch a cold...due to such big amounts of sweat (unless you carry a towel with you at all times, such as is the case with Towlie)

Another example: a warm summer day at the pool. If your getting hot/cold flashes its hard enought to get in the water but once you do your adjusted though the point is that when i'd get out of the pool I'd make sure my body was completley dry after which I'd change back into normal clothes until the next dip, making sure I had a towel for my hair which is short anyways and dries out quickly when outside. In other words I did everything possible to prevent catching a cold or anything else related, also I should mention this happend about 15-20 days after I stopped using. Needless to say the next few days I felt I had cought a cold. I am starting to think that hot/cold flashes could be what is causing the body of the user to be more prone to chest colds/infections, esp in people who do not IV.

I should mention that in 10yrs ever since I started using I have never IV'ed or IM'ed (never injected anything) while all my friends had/have gone to the needle, so I know that my immune system hasn't been compromised by any diseases that could be cought via needles.

I would appreciate all the help you can give regarding more information on hot/cold flashes(from personal experience or otherwise), such as

1. General duration (how long after using do they continue)?

2. When/at what part during withdrawl do they occur (end phase like I am speculating or earlier on)?

3. Any other information you can think of like what one could do to alleviate them a little bit either through medication, excercise, hobby or otherwise (whatever has helped you out in the past)?

I have no one to discuss this aspect with! Any input you can contribute is very much needed and highly appreciated!

For those that aren't familiar with the terms hot/cold flashes, what they reffer to is the constantly changing temperature of the body, from one extreme to the other. Some users get hot flashes more often than cold flashes and vice versa.

As a side note: it is very dangerous to get in either too cold or too hot water (such as a bath) when you are going through such intense flunctuations in body temperature! This can result in death....and this is one of the reasons why hot baths are off limits when it comes to people with either too high or too low blood pressue.

Thanks

 

[Knarf]

hot cold flashes are the first thing I get, along with the watery eyes and runny nose; than the physical stuff oh fun...

 

[waldo777]

Yep I'm with "Knarf", the VERY first thing I would notice would be the hot/cold (H/C) flashes, in fact, it was always the case for me, that when I would start getting H/C flashes I would realize "oh no, I'm starting to go into w/d!" But IME, 0.1mg of clonidine was very effective at getting rid of or @least minimizing the H/C flashes: each 0.1mg pill lasted a few hours and I would take 3 a day and 1 more at night to help sleep.
Maybe you need to increase your dose of clonidine? Or perhaps take it more frequently?

One thing that helped, was taking something that kept me either very hot like a stimulant, or very cold like ice chips and air conditioning...I always found it better to be either hot or cold rather than fluctuating btwn the two. Something you may want to try, just be careful to not go crazy w/ extreme temps like you said.

The most difficult physical symptom for me was always the muscle cramps or INTENSE desire to stretch my legs to the point where flailing them and hitting them was my only (and minimal) help.
However, I have found one thing that helps A LOT: Immodium A-D, a.k.a Loperimide (sic?) I thought Immodium was only for helping with the diarrhea and that it helping any other w/d symptoms was ridiculous, but it works! It really works!
Try 6mg's @ first, and go up to 12-20mg's @ once if needed (its fine). But a dose of around 6-12mg's is, IME very effective at alleviating not just the H/C flashes and the muscle discomfort, but it alleviates pretty much every physical w/d symptom. I eventually was taking 30mg's at once and didn't get constipated, poisoned or suffer from any negative side effects, BUT I started w/ low doses and only began taking that much after gaining experience and doing my research. But try 6-8mgs it might just be your silver bullet,

Goodluck

 

['medicine cabinet']

i get the hold and cold flashes thru the entire WD process. I HATE IT! that has got to be one of the worst parts of WD, you just feel so gross, like you want to jump out of your own skin.

in the past the hot cold flashes have been a part of the PAWS process as well, like that is the one thing you can count on having for most of the time you are kicking.

 

[BrokedownPalace]

For me, the hot/cold flashes have shown up as soon as day 1 of withdrawals, and lingered much after the physical process was over. Clonodine is very helpful, though unfortunately I don't have access to it. I could deal with the anxiety/muscle aches since I am prescribed klonopin and soma, but going from freezing to burning to freezing to burning every 4 minutes while trying to relax is incredibly frustrating.

 

[waldo777]

Like I said above Immodium is very good at alleviating the H/C flashes and other w/d symptoms, and if you're not opposed to such a thing, Kratom and/or low doses of Poppy Pod/seed tea, IF taken at the correct dose will get rid of your w/d symptoms w/out getting you high or dependent (if used responsibly and only at the doses needed to keep you from being sick)

 

[BrokedownPalace]

Yeah man Loperamide (Immodium) is very good at quelling withdrawal symptoms. Personally I am trying to avoid kratom/pod tea since I am almost at the end of my suboxone taper, but those work well indeed. Tramadol is also a viable option.

 

[CaseFace]

Im still sensitive to hot/cold temperatures since getting off bupe a couple months ago. If it's cool im cold and if it's warm im hot. Oddly enough though when it really is hot or cold i feel normal; The heat or the cold is still there, but im 'comfortable' when it's an extreme as opposed to mild temperature, if that makes sense.

 

[asbeen]

I had these so bad one night i went to the cvs carenow clinic for $100 to make sure i wasnt dying...i had a virus, not withdrawl btw (but I've had this with heroin withdral too, hot/cold flashes worse with virus bc of the high fever.) I'd start getting warm from my chest, so so hot, sweating, for a few minutes, then a warm flush followed by normal temp for a second, then uncontrollable chills and freezing cold. Id put a sheet on, try to stay as cool as i could bear, bc i knew what was coming up in 3min. Super hot flash....super cold flash....Lasted from 10pm-930am...i called my dr cousin, he told me it would end eventually. And it did. The only things that helped, tylenol, aspirin, drinking water, putting a cool wet towel on ur head/neck during the hot flashes, that actually let me fall asleep for 2-3min..other than that i had to wait it out. Laying down made it so much worse, but i so wanted to lay down and sleep... so i sat up until the methadone clinic opened at 615, came back home at 730, laid down on my stomach and was finally allowed to fall asleep at 930am.

as far as flashes from opiate withdrawl, I'm curious myself....i used a wet rag to pat my torso/head down to cool it off. With laying on your face or chest, the cool rag absorbs all the heat from your body. You'll believe me when u feel how hot that rag gets after 5min on your forehead.

I'm currently detoxing off of a (5 year) 150 mg of methadone. I'm in my last month of a 6 month detox. I'm all the way down to 13mg! And am finally feeling crappiness beyond my own abilities to cope with. The clinic I'm at gives you nothing to cope with withdrawl at the end. I hear many clinics give you adavant, klonopin and clonidine...or xanex....I'll try to get it legit first via my pcp, but then its off to the dangerous streets, to find meds that i need for their intended purposes.... silly right?

 

[olypen]

i get the hold and cold flashes thru the entire WD process. I HATE IT! that has got to be one of the worst parts of WD, you just feel so gross, like you want to jump out of your own skin.

in the past the hot cold flashes have been a part of the PAWS process as well, like that is the one thing you can count on having for most of the time you are kicking.

That's my experience. First thing to start, usually cold, then sweating then back and forth until i score. It lessens the longer I've been been clean but that hasnt every been long enough for it really to go away entirely. By the end its usually just being cold. Keeping the heat @ 78-80. Now i'm on subs honestly i still get cold on what everyone around here thinks is a"crazy" dose of subs.. but for me is just enough to handle the PAWS and cravings.

 

[Leonoche87]

Less is more...My cat was reading this and he's been on opiates for over 10 years and haaaates the hot and cold flashes shivers chills pins and needles.... However I keep reading ppl saying you should take Imodium or clonodine or tramadol... My cats habit was for 10 years he just got out of a detox about 5 days ago and now has very few symptoms the detox was quick about 4 days a little less even... 20mg methadone day one 15 10 5 then home visterol and clonodine every now and then but as little as possible in order to detox you have to stop putting substances in your body. My kitty was a very bad kitty too IV gear (very good shit too harlem) long term suboxone previous opanas before that and all started by Roxie's 10 years ago now it's 5 days later and feeling about 85-90% he didn't sleep for 3 days after detox and woke in puddles of sweat but after he finnally slept he exercised and he feeling great less is more my friends