How to stop the pain of opiate withdrawal?

I hate to say this and it won't work if you have an addictive personality, so be cautious.  Small amounts of methamphetamine have helped me kick an addiction to morphine pills/heroine.  I've taken a lot of pills and the withdrawal for them all is basically the same.  What others say about the maintenance pills is correct too, methadone is highly addictive.  

The things posted here are good ideas and what you should do.  But if you find you can't make it, small amounts crank does help.  It gives you energy and masks some of the discomfort. I've found huge amounts of coffee also help to a lesser degree.  Keep in mind that crank can be mentally addictive!  If you buy a 1/4 to 1/2 a gram and use amounts no bigger than can be covered by a pencil eraser it can help.   

If you think you're going to swap addictions, don't even try! Also, don't try Tramadol.  It will take the symptoms away, but it too is horribly addictive.  Try the methods posted, take time off of work, it will be your worse/best vacation ever.  Save this idea as a last resort.  Worked for me, but I hate speed, so....

I'm kicking right now, no speed, so it is doable. And yes, sadly, I've done it many times.  

Good luck on your recovery!

 

This is my third attempt at opiate withdrawal and I'm day today. Overall, this withdrawal hasn't been too bad, because I did some things that I believe have greatly helped me and for those of you just starting this journey, some advice: Don't fill your day up going to message boards and freaking yourself out PRIOR TO the beginning of your withdrawal. If you are an addict, your brain is quiet adept at creating excuses for you not to quit. You really, REALLY have to want this, because there is NOTHING on earth that will prevent SOME withdrawal discomfort. Nothing. You will just have to go through it. I know it's hard and I'm not gonna sit here and tell you that it isn't, but if you are DETERMINED you can do it. Okay, things on hand that helped me:Vistaril-25mg tabs. This is an antihistamine/anti anxiety medication. YOU WILL BE GROGGY as hell on it, but the first few days, you will want to be. FOR ME personally, this worked extremely well in keeping me calm and taking my mind off the pain. I also took it three times a day the first few days as well as 2 1mg ativan that I take only at night for sleep, but is also prescribed for anxiety. This along with the vistaril, is one of the reasons I believe I have made it this far. The vistaril literally kills the anxiety. You can take it for sleep, but take it about an hour or an hour and a half before bed, then a 1 mg ativan. YOU WILL SLEEP. Vistaril is not for everyone, it just worked for me, is non addictive with NO side effects except grogginess.Ativan- I have this prescription. 1 mg prn for anxiety and at night for sleep. I have taken this med for over five years, religiously. I don't like the feeling of depression that comes with it, so I do not use it for anxiety, unless I am in the midst of a panic attack, at which point this works extremely well. If you can get your hands on a benzo, do it. This will keep you very calm and will help you sleep, again, I slept through the first three days.Zofran (Odanestran), this will, undoubtedly be your very, VERY best friend. This is an anti emetic. IT WORKS and has NO side effects for me. I still had a lack of appetite, but it allowed me to eat and I forced myself too. IT allowed me to keep everything down. I lived on bananas the first few days, because they went down easy and it didn't get my gag reflex going. I hate five to six the first few days. This was tremendously helpful to me. I never vomited ONCE while taking this medication. You'll still feel sick, but you won't lose electrolytes through vomiting. The benefit of this med, is that it tends to CONSTIPATE as well, so like an opiate, you're not going to get diarrhea. I had stomach cramps the third day. I took the zofran twice a day, morning and night, then I took an Immodium AD for the slight stomach cramping and it was gone. Ironically, because both constipate, I found myself taking docusate gel caps to keep the bowels going. This medicine does not make you drowsy like promethazine. One of the most frustrating things reading about opiate withdrawal is that people get all dehydrated from vomiting, when there are meds out there that PREVENT it. Now get this, and it's very important: If you can keep fluids and nutrition down, you will not escape withdrawal, but you will get better MUCH faster and it may even be mild (depending how heavy a user you were) opiate withdrawal. I cannot stress enough how important it is to keep food in your system, as well as much water as possible. I swear by this. I have done this three times. The first time, I was not healthy enough, due to autoimmune, to keep going. The second time, I chose to take the pills again, and did for 12 days then now off again. THis is also what can happen if you get back on thinking you can do it. YOU WON"T be able too. You must want to stop. Period. I was on oxycodone 45 mg. a day for over two years. That's not an overwhelming dose, but it doesn't matter, the withdrawals from ANY mg's are still hell. If you have enough med to titrate and you're strong enough, DO IT. I did this the second time and it helped. Okay, back to the meds: Immodium-get some. ONLY take it if you NEED it. I usually take ONE when the stomach cramps start and then see what happens. We are trying to clear our systems of drugs altogether, and when you are uncomfortable, you will feel panicky and want to take MORE than you should....of anything. Don't. It's just as dangerous as taking too many opiates. TAKE AS NEEDED. Some folks in withdrawal overload on this stuff and I Don't know how they do it, because too much backs me up and then I feel even MORE nauseous. Just when needed, please!Clonidine 1-2mg. This is a great drug for reducing blood pressure as well as inducing sleep. I used this through my second withdrawal and it helped a lot to keep me calm and helped me sleep along with the ativan. The thing about opiate withdrawal is that you're so freaked out about it, that it can exacerbate every single symptom you have when you are STRESSED about it. BE PREPARED and you will be just fine! No, it's not fun, yes, it sucks, but you will get through it. Be extremely careful with this med, because it can drop your blood pressure so much that you can become very dizzy and even faint if you get up too fast. The last thing you need is a ding on the head during withdrawal. If you have a bp monitor, use it. Take your bp before you administer and an hour AFTER. If your blood pressure is down, DO NOT take anymore. Check it again in about four to six hours.Vitamins- I'm taking vitamin B12, C and D. No more. I do not take herbals and will not. I had blood work to see if I was deficient in ANYTHING and everything came back perfect. Another sign that I was healthy enough to endure withdrawal. If you are sick for ANY reason, please talk to your doctor before you begin withdrawal. It will be incredibly difficult to do if you have illness or are unhealthy. The best thing to do is to go through withdrawal with your doctor's help, but if you cannot, then please make sure you are WELL enough to tolerate it. Have bloodwork done to check your levels. Make sure you can get scripts above that will help if you can. Get exercise before you start, even if it's just walking. You won't feel like doing this the first few days. AT ALL. But if you do, do it.Water/Food- Cannot stress this enough. I believe the reasons people have such an incredibly difficult time during withdrawal is the loss of bodily fluids and electrolytes through vomiting and diarrhea when NONE OF THIS IS NECESSARY. You do not have to puke your brains out and you do not have to spend your life crapping your brains out. AGAIN Zofran, promethazine Immodium STOPS all of that so you can eat and drink. You will want to drink plenty of water. If plain water makes you feel sick, flavor it! Drink a lot of TEA. Sleepy time and peppermint are fabulous and very soothing. I'm going against the grain here too in what others recommend, although I know this has worked really well for me: The idea of 'staying busy' the first few days may work for some who are experiencing MINOR withdrawal but it is NOT for those with moderate to severe withdrawal. Do what your body WANTS to do. Remember that your body is equipped well to tell you how you feel. Address each symptom as they come. SLEEP. This is something you will struggle with later in withdrawal as insomnia will be beating down your door. Sleep is MANDATORY in feeling better. If you are well nourished and taking in fluids, keeping youself calm (sedated) you WILL get through the first few days of withdrawal much better than if you are unprepared. I slept the first three days, did not obligate myself to anything for a WEEK. I did what my body told me to do, while also exercising extreme self care. Once, the acute withdrawals have passed, you will have plenty of time to get off your butt and get moving again and it will help when it comes to PAWS time, but during acute, nuh uh. Just ride out the storm the best you can with the above meds, if you can get them. This really can be done. I'm on day 6 and still do not feel right, but much better than three days ago. I still take zofran for nausea and have been eating consistently and drinking a lot of water. yesterday was the first day I felt well enough to take a short walk. This is okay, you're doing something GREAT for yourself now, so don't be so hard on yourself...be proud of yourself and give the gift of self care to you. Stay positive. When cravings come, think immediately back to how you felt when you got up in the morning feeling like a mack truck hit you because you were already in withdrawal from just sleeping at night! It feels great not to get up in the morning and have a pill on your mind to take to feel 'normal'. When we are at that point, it's time to stop. This is when the drugs start to take over your life and you live for every pill. REMEMBER how SHITTY you feel everyday taking them. About yourself, about your life, how tired and groggy, unmotivated, etc. Is it really worth having a drug run your life? There are other was to deal with pain effectively without adding more toxins to your body. There IS a point where the drug is not as effective and we need more and more. It's a miserable way to live. Anyways, I hope this helps and just know that you can DO THIS. You're doing the nicest thing for yourself that you can possibly do.God bless and good luck!

Hi,

I lost my mother to lung cancer too. From dx to death was ten months. Same amount of time. I am so sorry for the pain you're feeling. It's a MONUMENTAL loss and it's a terrible way to die. Then your grandmother on top of it. I understand why you would want to numb out. Those are very painful experiences.

I just posted how I did my withdrawal. I'm on day six.

Do you have access to a therapist? This might be a really good time to do that in order to not onlly deal with the withdrawal, but also to deal with the pain of your losses. When I started taking mine (they were prescribed though), I had just lost a relationship. It was excrutiating for me, so not only did the meds help with genuine medical pain conditions, admittedly, they kept me nice and numb.

While going through withdrawal, all the emotions I had not felt for nearly two years have been coming in waves. This is why I suggest getting a therapist first to help you. YOu don't even need to say you're an addict and withdrawaing, just start going to deal with the pain of these deaths. IT WILL hit you during withdrawal.

I think your mother and grandmother would want you to stop this. If you have a child, especially. I guess the only thing i can say to this, is to look back at the values your mother and grandmother instilled in you. You want to instill those beautiful things into your child, right? You have to be well to do that. As far as your husband goes. Many addicts are afraid to tell their spouses. Keeping secrets is a horrible thing to do and I'm sorry you feel this way, but I would encourage you, if you have a strong, loving and HEALTHY marriage and partner, to share this with him. You may be very surprised at the response of support you will have from him. Its up to you, you know him I don't, but I do know that fear often prevents us from doing something we should do ANYWAY, no matter what, because our pill addictions are a big secrets. Mine wasn't but I let people know that I was dependent. I am not an addict, but I was VERY dependent. THAT scared me. The numbing out scared me when I realized what was going on and the power of the pills.

I will check in again and see how you are or if you've posted. Perhaps you have found another site, but this one, I think is one of the best for openness and a few reality checks. Great support here, even if it's been years since people posted, many have been huge contributing factors to my own recovery.

Blessings to you.

woow, im actually moving to williston, nd in two weeks and wanted to be clean before i left, but i know when im working 12 hours a day 12 days in a row ill be more worried about other things and withdraws wont be as bad as normal.

I am in the same exact situation as you. We could be the same person! Withdrawals are the worst, as you know. There is an upside to all of this! I hate the fact that I have to take just to feel normal! The high is not what it used to be, if any at all! My family does not know either. They think I have the stomach flu when I go through withdrawals. Here's what to do so you won't have to go through the nasty withdrawals, you probably already know this, but If you are ready, then you will do this, keep remembering that when you are sober, how much better you actually feel! I know the pain of losing your loved ones will always be there, but I am talking about feeling the clarity of life! Enjoying your daughter growing up, enjoying sex! Anyway, to avoid getting sick, just downsize the amount you are taking, You didn't say how much you were taking, but you have to go down slowly, if you are taking 10 a day, take 5 and then cut 5 in half, so your brain still thinks its getting the same amount. A lot of it is the fun of taking them. I don't mean to put you on another drug, but once you are off the opiates, you will actually be able to enjoy vicodin! If you are like me, a vicodin doesn't even phase you!! But if you come off the opiates, you will be able to enjoy vicodin or Norco. I know that is bad advice but I can't imagine (never) taking anything again, Thinking about that discourages me from quitting but thinking that I will be able to take vicodin, helps me stop taking oxy, again sounds bad, but something to look forward to. If you ever run out of vicodin, at least you wont throw up and have diarrhea. The craving will still be there but you know what I mean, I wish you the best of luck, just start taking less a little at a time. Cold turkey is the worst! The first 4 days are hell! But you know all this, I wish I never started, it did get me through a very difficult time as it did you but I feel if I had vicodin handy in the first place, I wouldn't be in this position. Again, the very best of luck to you. Do it for yourself, Do it for your baby girl!

I've been on pain meds for 6 months. While I haven't been on them long I can tell you that dependence has no time limits. I started on 7.5 oxy and then went to 8mg dilaudids, then to 25mcg fentanyl patches along with the dilaudid. I was on them for severe back pain that was thought to be cancer but turnd out to be sarcoidosis. I took my last dose 3 days ago and let me tell you it was hard to get to this point but soo worth it. Those meds physicaly and emotionaly numb you to everything around you and when you finally start to feel better, at least for me anyway, you get overwhelmed with tears of joy. I now have a greater appreciation and conern for those with more profound addiction. Hang in there and I promise each day will be better than the last.

i have a question. i have been taking roxy (30mg oxy basically) for about 3 years but only on the weekends. i remember one summer i took them everyday (about 30mg the whole day) and at te end when i quit i faced the withdrawls but didnt know it was withdrawls. keep in mind when i took them only on weekends i never had withdrawls because it wasnt enough for my body to depend on them i suppose. buf i have been taking them for the last 4 months or so and so far only stopped for a day(relapsed afterwords) and the only annoyance i felt was that i couldnt sleep. i took opiates because i injured my back at work and decided to self medicate like an id**t so i took them everyday. i took a fentanyl patch 6 hours ago and i just feel like the pain subsided alot. im just worried i will withdraw from these.

To the guest who is taking both hydrocodone and oxycodone they are pretty much the same thing snd you may get withdrawl symtems if you lower your dose to quickly. Im surprised your doctor gave you both.

I suffered from opiate abuse over the past three years. Quit cold turkey several times, went back to "normal" and always relapsed back to get that "feeling" I had previously conquered. Tramadol was my opiate of choice, and let me tell you from experience, it is nasty animal. I have severe spondylitisthesis with a bulging disc. My opiate use was via prescription. I was never the severe abuser, typically took 300mg of tramadol a day, 150mg AM and 150mg late afternoon. In addition, I consumed hydrocodone for break-thru pain. For what it may be worth, I have found a recipe that works quite well for opiate withdrawal. Particularly for tramadol, which is the nastiest I have ever experienced, and believe me, I've experienced them all. Here is my advice and recipe. I am not a medical doctor, therefore I can only speak from my past experience and the actions I took to eliminate withdrawal and stay clean: I decided to eliminate the source, as hard as it to do or imagine. {Whether that is friends, dealers, doctors (and in that regard, particularly refills). If you have a refill available, forget trying to get off of the particular opiate now, you WILL fill it. Cut the cord and decide to leave this lifestyle, you are better than this and you WILL do this without going back} Once the decision had been made to exit this one horse circus town, this is my simple, yet highly effective experience: *please note: I work full time, have a beautiful wife, and two kids, 2 and 4. I have a very professional job and am in an executive level position. Based on my experience, this is the KEY. Lyrica, yes, Lyrica. I was prescribed this in addition to my pain pills. I had taken it a couple of times (though it was not in my daily routine), but had a big bottle of 100mg pills. Once I noticed the withdrawal settings had kicked in (aches, soreness, stomach issues, bad mood), I happened to take 400mg of Lyrica that evening. It was miraculous, within 45 minutes, ALL symptoms were alleviated. Lyrica's effect is long-lasting, for me it lasts a solid 14-18 hours. Based on my experience, it works best in the evening. I did need to increase the dose each evening, typically in 100mg increments as the tolerance builds quickly with Lyrica. Once on day 5 of withdrawal (or 900mg), I tapered down 100mg per night. In my experience this taper method provided minimal withdrawal for me (a couple of poor nights sleep), which is where Valerian Root helps. I am 6' 2" and 190 lbs, if that helps provide some guidance. I took no time of work, lived a fairly normal life, though Lyrica will cloud thoughts, etc. Had I only known this in the past, as I've quit all opiates cold turkey (tramadol by far the worst for me) and had to take off work. I speak from experience and can tell you, this works. I've now been 8 days clean and refuse to go back.....

I detoxed multiple times off of 30s (about a 5 roxy a day habit, damn that's a lot of money) but its never going to be easy. Truthfully, every slip up is another setback and will just make your withdrawals worse. i usuallyI always use suboxone, but it must be used responsibly being that suboxone is one strong drug. I usually start the first day or two with an 8 mg strip and work my way down as fast as possible . Right now I'm on day 4 and already down to just two milligrams. I plan on working my way down to 2 mg then 1 mg the .5 mg then nothing. On top of that, hot showers will work wonders when it comes to getting sleep and feeling overall better. Opiate withdrawal is the devil , and no one should have to go through it. Problem is , we've done it to ourselves, so in that sense you reap what you sow I guess . By about day 5 ill usually start feeling a little better, and that's just the physical part . The mental part is what makes people relapse and make mistakes . You have to be ready to quit or there's no point in Even detoxing. I'm 23 and am pretty sure this is the most serious I've ever been about quitting. It's time to put all of the BS behind me, and live a normal, real, functional life . I suggest you do the same . I'm sure you already know this but it only gets worse . Get the f**k out while you still can. Good luck and stay strong .

I'm 19 and I've been taking Methadone for about a year. I got them from a friend. Today I ran out of them. I'm really scared to go through withdrawls. Is there anything that will make it better?? Thank you!

Sam , when u say one year , how much were you taking each day, and were you taking it everyday? If its been a daily thing with more than 30mg/day, you are in for a tough time, my friend. You may have to go get on a 21to 45day detox at a methadone clinic. You have been taking something that has the power to completely grab you and not let go for a long, long time. I'm almost 60, been on methadone for 31 years now and my life is controlled by this drug. Don't end up like me, its not worth it. Take what you need to stop hurting and then end this habit while you are young. Methadone saved my life but I could have done it without this drug if I had been serious about quitting all those years ago. This was back in 1983, man. Good luck to ya Sam. Rodney

I can't remember what the name of this restless leg syndrome med is called, but a friend gave me to try and it worked..after taking it for 2 days within 4 days of withdrawing off of 10-14 a day 10/325 hydrocodone been addicted for 8 years..the first 3 days were tough, but I got through it. No desire to take any opiates, but its all mental afterwards...I smoke cigarettes now and life is better without being on opiates. I see life in a clear view. I wish everyone luck bc WD is no joke..felt is if I was going to die. Omg!!

I was shooting about 6-7 bags a day of heroin.I recently got 4 8mg strips of suboxone.i started with a whole strip and cut them down to taper off.Its day 7 no opiates and I'm down to 1mg of subs.i feel okay most if the time and smoke lots of weed.im actually gonna taper off at .5. Do far so good.weed and subs.lovin it

Hi, I have a dear friend who's son is trying to get off heroin. Could you please tell me the name of this product your speaking of. I'd appreciate it very much. Thanks!!