Opioids The Opioid Withdrawal Megathread and FAQ

[robertdavies]

Hey guys! I finally managed to get a month clean from opiates today (and benzodiazepines) and just wanted to share what helped me.
I tried over 10 times over the course of the last year to get clean, all failed. Even if I managed to get to the 5 day mark where people ~just start~ to feel better I would get another wave of chills/WD symptoms and relapse.

THIS time, I took a sabbatical from work. The MOST important thing is time, and changing habits.
For acute WDs I took a combo of 150mg lyrica and 0.1mg Clonidine q6hrs for the first like, week. Then q8hrs, then q12. Then only Lyrica maybe once a day or every other day if I still got the shakes.
For insomnia: the lyrica and clonidine combo helped but even benzos couldn’t get me to sleep properly the first 2 weeks. So sleep when you can.
Over the counter doxylamine succincate is helpful, as well as 10mg Ambien.
I also found Flexeril (cyclobenzaprine) to help quite a bit just to get me to sleep.
I have to say, WD-ing from Benzos and Opiates is it’s own special hell. I was physically dependent on benzos, but not addicted, per say.

Long story short: Lyrica, Clonidine, Flexeril, Ambien and get on OTC meds as soon as you can, and OFF the prescription meds because all of the above can cause physical dependence which is the last thing you want (again), but just listen to your body. Also, the only cure I found for RLS is a hot bath. I didn’t feel better for about 3 weeks. Getting 30min of exercise daily was crucial for me as well as staying busy. Staying in bed was a trigger for me since it was so depressing it just made me want to get high. And just remember
“your strongest desire at the moment is not your deepest desire.” Changed my life.

Great news keep it up!

 

[Shortec Stublue!!]

Interesting how you say “staying in bed” was a trigger. Often most people think sleeping as much away as possible helps. I’m with you, you tend to ruminate about how bad you feel and then relapse. Great post ?

 

[NicoOregon]

Hey guys! I finally managed to get a month clean from opiates today (and benzodiazepines) and just wanted to share what helped me.
I tried over 10 times over the course of the last year to get clean, all failed. Even if I managed to get to the 5 day mark where people ~just start~ to feel better I would get another wave of chills/WD symptoms and relapse.

THIS time, I took a sabbatical from work. The MOST important thing is time, and changing habits.
For acute WDs I took a combo of 150mg lyrica and 0.1mg Clonidine q6hrs for the first like, week. Then q8hrs, then q12. Then only Lyrica maybe once a day or every other day if I still got the shakes.
For insomnia: the lyrica and clonidine combo helped but even benzos couldn’t get me to sleep properly the first 2 weeks. So sleep when you can.
Over the counter doxylamine succincate is helpful, as well as 10mg Ambien.
I also found Flexeril (cyclobenzaprine) to help quite a bit just to get me to sleep.
I have to say, WD-ing from Benzos and Opiates is it’s own special hell. I was physically dependent on benzos, but not addicted, per say.

Long story short: Lyrica, Clonidine, Flexeril, Ambien and get on OTC meds as soon as you can, and OFF the prescription meds because all of the above can cause physical dependence which is the last thing you want (again), but just listen to your body. Also, the only cure I found for RLS is a hot bath. I didn’t feel better for about 3 weeks. Getting 30min of exercise daily was crucial for me as well as staying busy. Staying in bed was a trigger for me since it was so depressing it just made me want to get high. And just remember
“your strongest desire at the moment is not your deepest desire.” Changed my life.

Love that quote

 

[Ticket]

I just came off benzos and opiates too. Lemme tell ya, holy hell. I am never doing that to myself ever again, unbelievable. I've been trying to get off opiates for years, so I do feel amazing that I finally have. I took the longest route possible lol, I have ADHD and sensory processing issues, so I'm extremely sensitive to wds, it's just unbearable to me and I cave in, so I went well below even subs (after tapering from 34mg daily at the highest, over several months before landing on 2mg daily and splitting them upon realizing there was no way in hell I could jump from there) onto norspan patches, 10mg a week, then 5mg a week, then cut a 10mg patch into thirds for 3.3mg p/week, then cut a 5mg patch in half for 2.5mg p/week, then left the last 2.5mg patch on for 2 weeks, then used lope for the diarrhea for a few days, then switched to 2mg lope p/day for a 3 days, then 'jumped' from there (can you still call it jumping at that point? For most people that'd be a completely unnecessary shuffle lol). Still had to manage the acute symptoms with paracetamol, metaclopramide, doxylamine, telfast, kpin (which I was also using to taper off the benzos), and lots of weed. Been 2 weeks since my last bupe and 4 days since my last lope, 2 weeks since last benzos, woke up today feeling pretty much human. Not great, but immeasurably better than the last like 10 days or so, which have been a special kind of hell. Still breakdancing all through the night and my stomach hasn't settled yet, the worst of it kinda comes in waves with each wave a little weaker than the last, but I'm functional and that's a huge step up. Also haven't had any cigarettes or alcohol in the last month, maybe this time when I say 'this is gonna be my year' on New Years I'll actually be right for once lol

 

[GetMeOutOfThisCRAP]

What do people think about using stims to get past opiate withdrawal? You could risk losing alot of weight since your appetite is already down, but couldn't they help discomfort and depression alot?

 

[Larimar]

What do people think about using stims to get past opiate withdrawal? You could risk losing alot of weight since your appetite is already down, but couldn't they help discomfort and depression alot?

Yes if I’m out of my oxy I will take a adderall to make it thru work but when it wears off you feel even worse and it kinda makes the restless legs worse as well. But it will help you get shit done for a couple hours .

 

[Ticket]

I take 74mg of Concerta every day anyway, so I don't really know how wds and stims might affect someone who doesn't already regularly use them/has ADHD, but I'd imagine it could maybe work temporarily then just make things worse when they've mostly worn off. I know a good amount of people tend to avoid even caffeine during wds because of the heart rate, palpitations, sweats and shakes, anxiety, jitteryness etc. Might help for a while with an energy boost and maybe overriding some of the brain fog and flatness/depression though.

 

[PrincessRN]

What do people think about using stims to get past opiate withdrawal? You could risk losing alot of weight since your appetite is already down, but couldn't they help discomfort and depression alot?

I tried that with adderall before, just to function during the day time while in WDs. You still feel the withdrawals really bad, but the anxiety isn’t as bad when the drug kicks in, however the comedown is hell. Once the mood elevation is gone, you’re left with worse anxiety and for me, palpitations, super depression and extreme drug cravings. It’s like borrowing happiness from yourself and then plunging into the negative. It’s not worth it. The only thing I found effective is just time. It takes time to feel normal again but you will. If you can get some look into Kratom, I hear that can help a lot.

 

[nznity]

What do people think about using stims to get past opiate withdrawal? You could risk losing alot of weight since your appetite is already down, but couldn't they help discomfort and depression alot?

gabapentin/pregabalin works wonders for withdrawal. Stims are just gonna exacerbate your discomfort, anxiety and when ur coming down suicide thoughts can appear. so it's a no-no.

 

[psychetool]

Is there any way to get on methadone if my piss is clean ? In pdx sick as a dog, need help. Been taking seroquel but it doesn't help. Shoot me a message ?

 

[Ganjcat]

I cant even make it 24 hours with dope and i dont even get into withdrawal( the physical) just the mental of knowing i dont have any or have any money to get some drives me crazy luckily I raised £20 and got 3 bags for 20 I had 1 and 1/2 and now im gonna have the rest and play heatherstone I dont know how anyone can make it through withdrawal when you have been taking it this long mine got really bad after taking codeine for 2 years and 4 years later now i still take codeine(which i can still feel albeit have to take much higher dose) since starting H 3 months ago I literaly 'tried H' when I was out and just used it every single day since honestly I dont think I can ever get back to how I was some days I have glimpses of what it used to be when im in that middle of being high and being sober before the withdrawal and cravings on the brighter side my grandma who didnt even know what a laptop was until I showed her treated herself to one so she can go on bingo which mean i can use it to and man i gotta say typing, reading compared to using a mobile is a breeze I forgot how much I love laptops and all the stuff you can do on it its also perfect for dope as the flat surface and be used to flatten my foil and drop the stuff on.

Is there any way to get on methadone if my piss is clean ? In pdx sick as a dog, need help. Been taking seroquel but it doesn't help. Shoot me a message ?

AHH a Bruce Lee fan! most people on here think Bruce lee was bulshit I remember posting a thread about him x its good to see a fellow fan! I also never heard that quote before cheers hes got a lot of good ones I suspect bruce lee was a drug user but unlike most he didnt let the drugs control him his strict exercise regimes meant that he had more than enough natural endorphins so he wouldnt get addicted after all he was greater than most men.

 

[Shortec Stublue!!]

Jesus Christ Almighty @Ganjcat please use some punctuation, that was painful.

I am not even sure when dissecting what you said, I even have the jist!!

 

[psychetool]

At least you gotta plug Ganjcat, I tossed all my #'s to make it through court ordered rehab without slipping.... fucking stupid....

 

[PrincessRN]

Ok I know this isn’t what this thread is for necessarily but I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone on this thread who shared their stories and their tips for getting through WDs. I never would have made it out if it wasn’t for you guys. 4 months sober and counting!! I’ve only ever come on here when I was desperate and suffering.

To everyone still going thru it, it is possible! If I can do it, so can anyone who wants out!! I was SO heavily addicted, taking the equivalent to over 1000mg of morphine daily, and 60mg of Valium daily for over 3 years - I did not have small habit.
But thanks to everyone who shared their stories and experiences, it gave me SO much hope to keep going and honestly helped save my life.

 

[tarman]

Well... I'm on day 4. I was about a .2 or .1 heroin a day user, snorting it. Very decent stuff. Never really wanted to push beyond that because then I wouldn't feel it. Still though, .1 day will give you hella withdrawals. Sure, it sounds like lightweight shit. It's not. I can't even imagine people who shoot it. I just can't. My hats off to you folks who quit. What a hellish nightmare.

My last line was Tuesday 2:30am (Monday evening). So I'm closing in on 96 hours.

I've been using kratom... it helps but then I gotta jump off it. Luckily, I have a great gaba connection, but... the problem is... I don't like gabapentin. I want to like it. But... I just don't. I take like 200mg and it barely helps me sleep. I can't even imagine taking like 600mg or even more. But, I'm hopeful that it will help jumping off kratom, and just like take 100mg for breakfast, 100mg at lunch, and 100mg when I get home. Do that for a few days.

Anyway... I'm hoping that I can taper the kratom down soon. I used to able to maintain at 12g per day. This time quitting feels different.

I dunno, I'm rambling. I just wish I had some benzos. And I hate benzos. You can see a pattern here. My gaba system doesn't give me the warm fuzzies like it seems to do for virtually everyone else. Although... I took some gabapentin last night, and after 3 hours, it kicked in ANNND, I got 2 hours of sleep.

What sucks is that the insomnia, which is maddening and very frustrating right now, will give way to PAWS. And for me, PAWS = tired. Tired all the time. Different than the muscle fatigue from direct withdrawal, but still almost as a debilitating.

I just read a thread about taking bupropion for PAWS. Fuck yeah, I can get on board for that.

So yeah... day 4, not feeling that great... still getting the zaps. Still crying at the drop of a hat at something. I'm a fan of Big Cat Rescue in Tampa Florida, and like... all their videos make me cry. This will pass, very soon. But then the PAWS. Ugh.

Luckily... I got me some helper things. The adderall 30 mg I should be able to split into like 4 doses of 7.5mg apiece. That will help with energy. I did adderall daily for like a year, and when I ran out, it sucked, but I didn't withdrawal. Been a while.

Anyway, hoping to get more out of the gabapentin. I don't like taking high doses because I don't like the way it makes me feel. I guess I need to man up and take a 600mg dose or something. That should help me sleep. I just wanna sleep. I took Xanax the first two nights. It didn't get me to sleep BUT it did help with restless limbs. I'm rambling.

Anyway, anyone out there who reads this later, I just want you to know I empathize.

 

[PrincessRN]

Well... I'm on day 4. I was about a .2 or .1 heroin a day user, snorting it. Very decent stuff. Never really wanted to push beyond that because then I wouldn't feel it. Still though, .1 day will give you hella withdrawals. Sure, it sounds like lightweight shit. It's not. I can't even imagine people who shoot it. I just can't. My hats off to you folks who quit. What a hellish nightmare.

My last line was Tuesday 2:30am (Monday evening). So I'm closing in on 96 hours.

I've been using kratom... it helps but then I gotta jump off it. Luckily, I have a great gaba connection, but... the problem is... I don't like gabapentin. I want to like it. But... I just don't. I take like 200mg and it barely helps me sleep. I can't even imagine taking like 600mg or even more. But, I'm hopeful that it will help jumping off kratom, and just like take 100mg for breakfast, 100mg at lunch, and 100mg when I get home. Do that for a few days.

Anyway... I'm hoping that I can taper the kratom down soon. I used to able to maintain at 12g per day. This time quitting feels different.

I dunno, I'm rambling. I just wish I had some benzos. And I hate benzos. You can see a pattern here. My gaba system doesn't give me the warm fuzzies like it seems to do for virtually everyone else. Although... I took some gabapentin last night, and after 3 hours, it kicked in ANNND, I got 2 hours of sleep.

What sucks is that the insomnia, which is maddening and very frustrating right now, will give way to PAWS. And for me, PAWS = tired. Tired all the time. Different than the muscle fatigue from direct withdrawal, but still almost as a debilitating.

I just read a thread about taking bupropion for PAWS. Fuck yeah, I can get on board for that.

So yeah... day 4, not feeling that great... still getting the zaps. Still crying at the drop of a hat at something. I'm a fan of Big Cat Rescue in Tampa Florida, and like... all their videos make me cry. This will pass, very soon. But then the PAWS. Ugh.

Luckily... I got me some helper things. The adderall 30 mg I should be able to split into like 4 doses of 7.5mg apiece. That will help with energy. I did adderall daily for like a year, and when I ran out, it sucked, but I didn't withdrawal. Been a while.

Anyway, hoping to get more out of the gabapentin. I don't like taking high doses because I don't like the way it makes me feel. I guess I need to man up and take a 600mg dose or something. That should help me sleep. I just wanna sleep. I took Xanax the first two nights. It didn't get me to sleep BUT it did help with restless limbs. I'm rambling.

Anyway, anyone out there who reads this later, I just want you to know I empathize.

Stick with it!! You’ve gotten this far! Are you able to get your hands on some clonidine? That was a huge game changer for me. I also don’t like gaba or lyrica, but the clonidine helped immensely, and any doc would prescribe it. I know what you mean by no energy. No energy, no motivation, just a physical and mental weakness. But it truly does go away with time.

 

[tarman]

'Preciate the kind words. Day 5 today. I'm just worried about kratom dependence. I've been on about 24g per day, give or take. Taking it since Tuesday.

I need to see a doc and get some clonidine. I do have some baclofen. I'm just worried about combining it the kratom.

 

[tarman]

Day 7 today. Not quite as good as i'd like, but I can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.

One drug I will tell you about right now is baclofen. HOLY SHIT. It's fine to take with kratom. But wow it's just... perfect at easing the anxiety and restless leg. It has so far helped me to sleep 6 hours two nights ago and about 5 hours last night, with some very comfortable dozing afterward until like 10am.

Baclofen is short acting, and needs to be redosed like every 4 or 5 hours (or more, if you're early on), but my god, i was blown away by how much it helped. My hopes for something to help were dashed when gabapentin was shit. I probably wasn't taking enough, but gabapentin, even at low dosages, just zonks me out too much, and not in a good way. Baclofen on the other hand, is clean, and like... jesus there might even be a little euphoria with it. Just a skosh.

As far as kratom, I'm down to 2 grams every 3 hours and honestly, I probably could go longer. I have had little time chunks here and there where I haven't done it for like 6 or 8 hours, but that was just a couple times. Today I really felt like I didn't need to take it. But 2 grams every 3 hours is 16g a day, and I'm fine with that for now. Tomorrow I go back to work, so I will be forced to go 4 hours after morning dose. And I may only take a gram or gram and a half and go into work, then redose at lunch. My goal is to get down to like 10g per day. As far as what I'm using, I really like the "slow" varieties from hungry hungry happy [animal from africa] website.

I'm starting to feel the PAWS, but let me tell you... after 5 days of sleeping for AT most an hour or two, even with xanax and gabapentin, sleeping 5 and 6 hours with the baclofen was a godsend. I think it may be coincidental timing, like I may have slept okay if I hadn't taken it but I don't think so. It's a fucking miracle man.

We'll see how I am tomorrow. PAWS for me is just pure tiredness. Luckily, I have some adderall, so i'm fucking ready. Bring that shit. As far as combatting PAWS, I have a few ideas- I have red algae DHA, it's basically fish oil, but just from red algae, not fish. So I'm gonna go hard on that, vitamin c, magnesium, resveratrol, b vitamins. I may try that gorilla mind shit.

Anyone try L-theanine? That's definitely on my radar. Any advice on good drugs for PAWS will be appreciated greatly. For me, I get a little depressed during PAWS, but really it's just I'm tired. Like, I work an 8 hour job, and by the end of the day, I'm gonna be tired. Not quite there yet, I'm still in the end stages of the acute phase, but I can feel myself forging ahead into post-acute territory. Baby steps.

 

[Hezman94]

dont take quetiapine inwithrawals
for years i took that shit now on risperidone
i thort i was rattingafer seven hours it was just bad akathisia and that.
if u need something for slleep mirtzapine or trazadone
hydroyzine helps
cannabis oil helps
i got twenty thirty mg codeine imon orphine as itis
butfor past week been abusing oxy
so using codeine to get my morphine dose bck in gear

 

[tarman]

Alright, day 12 of cold turkey! Time is still moving slow. Like, I look at the calendar and remembered that I snorted bumps of heroin all day last Monday 12 days ago (last scrapings desperation bump Tuesday the 14th).

I'm doin alright... but now I'm transitioning to the Post Acute Withdrawal phase. I can see why lots of people relapse at this point. I find myself being cocky on the sly. I also have no energy, but can't fucking sleep well to save my life. The kratom and baclofen kinnnnd of help. But like... I'm just good for a few hours of sleeping and that's it. 2 or 3 hours. It fucking sucks. Benzos used to be easy to get, now they're gettin locked down. This phase is in many ways one of the most frustrating, because I do feel better. But I am sooooo tired all the time. I need to make a distinction between being tired and the body and limb fatigue that is experienced in the acute phase. This is different. This is almost the 2 week mark. I wake up.. after having been in bed for 10 hours (with maybe 4 hours of sleep cumulatively), and I'm still tired. I feel the exact same as when I went to sleep. Going to work has been rough, just because at my job I fix computers and have to fucking walk to users' offices all fucking day. It's a big building. I'm puttin in like, literally a mile or two walking a day. hahaha okay maybe less, but I should measure it

One good thing is that my kratom use has dropped significantly. It wasn't easy. But... I would go to bed and wake up, and not feel like I needed it. By the time lunch came around though, I was feeling the need. Just a warm tingly feeling, like a very mild first phase withdrawal. However, with each passing day, having my last dose at night, and then not dosing until noon got easier with each day. By Thursday and Friday, I was even contemplating not doing my lunchtime kratom dose. I don't want to make this sound like it was all smooth sailing. Like I said, I could feel some unpleasantness. But it was a cakewalk compared to real opiate withdrawal. At this point, day 12, I'm down to like 6 to 8 grams a day. Easy. 2 a lunch, 2 when I get home, 2 to reup, and 2 before bed.
As I've mentioned earlier, baclofen is a fucking lifesaver. I love that shit. I have a line on gabapentin, but I fucking hate that drug. I want to like it. But I'll never forget I tried to take it for withdrawal, and it sucked. I didn't take enough admittedly. But the dizziness and unwell feeling scared me from taking more. Anyway, I'll probably take the gabapentin in low doses soon when I run out of baclofen. But yeah anyway, y'know, 10mg baclofen... it helps for rest. Lately, I've been going to bed fine.. sometimes at 7pm, but then waking up 3 hours later. That's the point at which I've been trying to leverage baclofen. I dunno, I probably should take it before I go to bed the first time. Pop 20mg for good measure. But anyway, I still am extolling the virtues of baclofen. It's nice and mellow and easy going, and chillllllll. Way better than gabapentin.

Anyway, I'm thinking of trying gorilla mind. Anyone ever tried that shit? My theory is I can shorten PAWS if i nurture my brain and potentiate neuroplasticity. We'll see. Red Algae DHA, resveratrol, b vitamins, milk thistle, selenium. I'm also trying to do lumosity... but it takes effort. I was big into it back in 2014 and I remember it didn't make me feel smarter... it made my feel less depressed and helped my brain "think" easier. Thoughts were clearer. I dunno. We'll see. I just have to be disciplined and take all this shit.

Finally... I will say that my stash of adderall has been a godsend. Just like 2 or 3 mgs. I barely feel it. But my god, it helps with the tiredness. Probably will bump up to 5mgs a day this coming week.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far.