Opioids Lyrica for opiate withdrawals

[Tryptamite]

I have a 7 year history of opiate addiction. I was addicted to heroin and methadone.

I had six months clean time and I recently went on a week long binge of hydromorphone and methadone. I should have been in for moderate to severe WDs. This is day 3, and I have been taking high doses of lyrica. Today I took 800mg in the morning. I will take another 800mg tomorrow and then on day 5 I will go back to my prescribed dose of 250mg.

I have felt minimal WDs. Apart from some mild stomach issues I am in good health I am even enjoying the lyrica buzz. I would say my WDs are at a 5% level of what they would be without lyrica.

I just wanted to point out this miraculous escape from the horror of opiate withdrawal. I know some people already know about this. Has anybody else got an experiences using lyrica for opiate withdrawals? It is also a wonder for benzo WDs. I find the withdrawal from lyrica to be minimal and very easy to manage with a fast taper.

 

[pbuilder]

Yea gabapentin and pregablin, along with phenibut are all supposed to be pretty great for opiate withdrawal. However, since you were clean for 6 months and only used for a week, maybe you were expecting worse withdrawals then you actually were going to get, because 6 months of clean time will almost reset your tolerance and then a week of usage will give you some minor-moderate withdrawals for a few days at most, but they shouldn't be too bad to begin with. I don't doubt the lyrica helps a lot but maybe they aren't all that bad from only a week of use in the first place.

 

[Jabberwocky]

clean 6 months and 1 week use will be no withdrawals.

I use gaba and phenibut almost daily; as well as being on suboxone. they are all great for withdrawal but also are addictive themselves. my Dr. loves to tell me that all the use of gaba will NEVER lead to a WD but I beg to differ; well, he does say the use of ONLY 1600/day wont lead to WD but I usually use 3200MG+, so we'll see come that day but its what the phenibut and suboxone will be good for.

 

[Tryptamite]

Phenibut is also great for withdrawal. So is gbl.

I beg to differ. I definitely suffered withdrawal. Perhaps not as bad as I expected. But enough to disrupt normal life at least.

 

[mike.vick]

I suggest using against phenibut, it's suppose to be a terrible drug in general. With extreme tolerance and horrible wds in short time

 

[Keif' Richards]

Withdrawal can set in remarkable quick with each successive cycle of dependency/abstinence. For instance, after being clean for 3 months (2-3 heroin uses in that time) I used methadone 3 times in one week and had a very mild sickness for about 48 hours. It was nothing severe. No emesis, diarrhea or cramps, but the restless legs/akathisia made me unable to sleep, which for those who work, can be a real bitch in an of itself. Aside from myself, I've heard plenty of opiate/oid users who have had long-term sobriety experience withdrawal from only two straight days of relapse.

You'll find a lot of threads out there about the use of pregabalin/gabapentin - they are not the same, but in my experience, their effects are quite similar - in mitigating opioid withdrawal symptoms. But, I think it can't be said enough, as maybe getting the word out there will slowly draw the focus of the medical community and give these a full attempt in clinical use, if not on their own, in conjunction with already "accepted" medications.

OP: As a side note, because I, myself use pregabalin (Lyrica), do you experience any kind of ataxia/convulsion(s) when you take high doses like that with no tolerance? I have had a couple of episodes in the past where that same dose has caused such ataxia that I've hit my head.

 

[Keif' Richards]

clean 6 months and 1 week use will be no withdrawals.

I use gaba and phenibut almost daily; as well as being on suboxone. they are all great for withdrawal but also are addictive themselves. my Dr. loves to tell me that all the use of gaba will NEVER lead to a WD but I beg to differ; well, he does say the use of ONLY 1600/day wont lead to WD but I usually use 3200MG+, so we'll see come that day but its what the phenibut and suboxone will be good for.

Sorry for the double post. I reread the thread and found this nugget. Boston, I was under the impression that supplemental GABA was unable to pass through the Blood-Brain Barrier and was pretty much ineffective.

 

[P.o.T.u.S]

Lyrica is perfect for withdrawal,one reason is that its not an opiate so u do not keep extending the physical dependence any longer than u have to like with subs or methadone..also it takes away most of the anxiety and depression of the psychological addiction..it has a slight numbing of the body as well so it takes care of aches and pains..gotta love lyrica

the only downfall is tolerance raises quickly so short term use is ideal..also u dont wana trade addictions so id say a week tops on duration of use

 

[Tryptamite]

Yes, withdrawal can set in remarkably fast with prior history of addiction.

No I do not experience convulsion or similar on high doses of lyrica, just a slight "drunk" feeling and a little stoned.

Lyrica tolerance is already setting in after the 3rd day. I do not have enough in my stash to keep upping the dose. I think it will be like 500mg tomorrow and then back to prescribed dose of 250mg. Hopefully it is enough.

 

[MilzyWilzy]

I too take Lyrica. I take 400mg per day.

I would advise you not to take this long term, the withdrawals are absolute hell if you get hooked.

It is a fantastic drug, but watch out for the tolerance, addiction potential and the hellish withdrawals.

Be careful x