Opiate Self-Detox

[aqua1260]

I just took my last Vicodin and am quitting cold turkey after a year long addiction. I once experienced the horrors of the w/d symptoms (insomnia, leg retlesness, bone pain, diarreah and the worst depression and emptiness a person could possible bear). I have decidedf to detox myself with Valium which I believe is the only way to get trough the w/d phase as the depression would just cause me to relapse, and I am NOT going back. I have ruined my entire life and have to get back on my feet. How do i take these Valium properly and taper off so that I am not just left with a new addiction. I am determined to use this method but am afriad of doing it wrong. Help me with any expertise you might offer in the area.

[MarkSichelCSW]

You need medical supervision. This isn't something you should do without a doctor or hospital or rehab facility. Please get real life medical care ASAP. This is not something that can be dealt with on an online message board.

[Imagine...]

In my honest experience getting off opiates should be done with help. I've been in your shoes so many times before, thinking I could do it with Xanax or Valium. I used both of those, ambien, my daughter's ADD meds anything to get through the w/d. It'll last several days peaking around day 2 or 3. What helped me more than anything in the world was Clonidine it takes away the worst of the w/d not all of them but it makes your life a little more manageable. When I got clean this last time, I'm on Day 23 off the lortab/vicodin/hydro whatever you wanna call it, I checked myself into the hospital. Of course you have to be ready to harm yourself to be admitted during opiate w/d b/c it's not life threatening. I told the ER I just wanted to take lots of xanax to sleep through the w/d. They considered me suicidal, I don't think I was but who knows at that time. After a couple days I started attending NA meetings and am now attending Intensive Outpatient Treatment in an effort to NEVER relive the horrors of active addiction.

Email me if you want to talk more. I've been there more times than I care to remember.

Heather an addict living in the moment just for today!

[aqua1260]

It's very comforting to know that other people have some idea of what it's like to have to go through what I am going through. After day23 of being off of the Vics can you tell me your state of mind? I want so badly to just feel normal, to just enjoy day to day life, and right now it seems so far away...How are your spirits, your mindstate at this point being clean as long as you have? I'm only on day two and I know I have a road ahead of me of misety...or not??? I just want my life back and i'm terrified that it will never be the same. Thanks for the reply it was very comforting to have a connection to someone out there who actually GETS it.

[aqua1260]

Hey all, I'm on my 5th day of home detox and went to a doctor as suggested who gave me Xanax for the anxiety (only two weeks worth to be careful and I also found that using muscle relaxers (flexeril,soma) for example helped in the process for both sleep and the leg pains. I was also put on Lexapro which seemed to have an immediate pleasant effect on my mood. This detox has been bearable because of the tools (immoduim, carisporodol, tylenol pm,valium) and I'm hopeful that the Lexapro will help me get my stuff together and move on, and live cean and healthy. I wish luck to all of u going through this -its definetely hell on earth but things always look up again- it's inevitable...

[jeb jansen]

tommorrow i am going to begin a self heroin detox. the only reason I am doing this on my own is because I do not have insurance to get into a hospital and the rehabs that take people with no money in my area have waiting lists a month long. Plus I have to get off right now. My life is a mess, the money is gone but I have still not completely ruined my life and know that if I continue I will. I have Xanax, Soma, Elevil, Lexapro, Naproxen and Tylenol PM. to help ease the withdrawals. However I ran out of drugs for one day about 2 weeks ago and within 24 hours the withdrawals were horrendous. Goose bumps, labored breathing, sweatsd and then cold chills, no sleep at all, a horrible sense of smell and taste and uncontrollable sneezing. I thought I was going to die. However I had not committed to kicking nor did I take my medication to ease off. Again If I could get into a rehab center I would go but I have no choice to do this myself. I want off this horrible cycle of opiates so bad and am not in denial that I am a drug addict. If I can only get through the withdrawals I have AA groups nearby, several recovery books and know the 12 step program in and out. Can anybody tell me how long the withdrawals will last and is it possible for me to do this on my own? Any thoughts or comments are welcome. Please help me.

[tramp]

not to stray from the importance of this topic, and i hope Mark will not mind, but the waiting lists are terrible. when i worked for harbor lights i would have to say the #1 cause of relapse were the waiting lists. we would detox them, set them up with treatment, counseling, etc. then they are on their own for a month or two. right.
the saddest thing is to finally reach a person with a lifelong history of addiction and dissapointment in the system, then to have a thing like this happen.
it is on a scale with losing ones faith. sometimes it never returns.
i was lucky when i finally went for treatment, they told me the waiting list was 2 weeks to a month, i told them i didnt know if i would be alive in 2 weeks. i must have looked it, after a few phone calls i was admitted to the ddrc.
proffesional people do not seem to understand how precarious that moment when we reach the decision to make a change is.
another fortunate thing for me, MN still has recovered addicts working in the recovery field. i hope at least some of you will be as fortunate as i have been.
while i kicked opiates many times on my own, it is much, much better ( and comfortable) to do it with help. one thing i have found on my own, some of the drugs i used to take the edge off, ie phenos, reds, tui's, were very dangerous. withdrawel from those drugs IS dangerous. most cause severe cramps at the least, at the worst convulsions and death.

[Erinlt420]

jeb i sent you a private message, i believe i can help you, respond back if you want

[jeb jansen]

Erin,

You answered my missive that I wrote while about to embark on a self home detox. Well it failed after 1 day and a half. And it has nothing to do with me craving to get high. I want to quit bad right now. It was the PHYSICAL pain which was shockingly bad after just that short of time. This is what I endured until 10 this morning when I literally had to cop for fear of AND I REALLY MEAN THIS having a possible cardiac arrest. If you saw Jamie Foxx kick heroin in the movie "Ray" it was worst than that. Sleeplessness yet barely enough energy to get out of bed. Horrible taste and smell. Sweats and cold chills. Ringing in the ears. tearing eyes. But the worst thing I endured was the dry heaves. I could not eat because the very thought of food made me want to wretch. However on 3 occasions I embarked on an alarming secession of dry heaves and sneezing which made me come about this close to stopping my heart. There is no way on this earth I could have endured more without a doctor or nurse in the vicinity. So I waited until my source began the business day bad bought 5 balls of black tar for $100. 20 bucks a ball. Within 20 minutes of using I felt wonderful. Heroin is an amazing drug. Do not misinterpret. Amazing in a demonic horrific way. The physical kick on a cold turkey or even augmented by all of the drugs I mentioned was unbearable. So now what do I do? Have kicked heroin using Methadone before. Let's see 3 times. All successful. In fact this last 7 months of sobriety from November 2004 till June 2005 before I relapsed (trigger was a girlfriend breakup) was done with a methadone 21 day detox during the first 2 weeks of November 2004. Relapsed in June 2005. However I remember quite well the kick was just a little better than today's disaster and I was not using as much dope. So trust me you will have withdrawals.
I would not recommend getting on a Methadone maintenance program for these reasons. Everybody is different so this may NOT apply to you but......
1) From my personal experience and many others I know the methadone habit is just as bad but you don't get high. At first you get a little high but soon after you don't. But you still have a habit and have to "score" every damn day. Day in and out. Miss a dose you will be okay. Miss two you will get dope sick. The only difference between methadone and heroin is that it isn't against the law and you can function in society a bit better. That is, if you don't mind sweating through your shirt on a 60 degree day. AND people notice. "Why are you sweating man it's 60 degrees".
2) The night sweats are terrible. You will literally turn your bed into a swimming pool. PLUS LITERALLY SWEATED ALL DAY LONG EVERYDAY.
3) Numbness in the extremities. Your arms particularly when you sleep feel like they are paralyzed.
4) Nightmares. You will have really weird nightmares.
5) Total loss of sexual appetite. In makes you impotent. You can't get it up after using methadone for a month or two.
6)Massive weight gain. If you are on maintenance figure on putting on 25 to 40 pounds because of water retention. I would say 85% of the people on methadone balloon up. It's very common.
7) Nausea. You are generally nauseous all day long. Just the thought of food makes you sick except for sweets which is why people really balloon up. I can look at pictures of celebrities who have battled opiate addiction and tell by how fat they are if they are on methadone or not. Courtney Love who just got a "you are doing really well" from a judge in her probation case has ballooned up like a Zeppelin. I can tell that she is on the done.
6) The drag of what to do on holidays or when you want to leave the state of missing a day because of whatever. Take-homes and all of that bs. A huge pain in the ass.
7) And finally: Methadone is not as bad as heroin because you don't have to worry about getting busted and if you are mainlining your arms clear up but that's about it. Other than that Methadone is a heroin addiction without the high and with much worth side effects. Methadone is horrible Erin. I would suggest you get off after 21 days and put up with a bad but not as unbearable detox. As for me? Now I don't know what the heck to do. Might try a 21 day Methadone detox. But that Methandone. Oh no not again. What I would love is to go to one of those 3 day rapid detox places. They literally put you unconscious for 3 days and when you wake up all of the dope is out of your system and the worst of the withdrawals are over. I would give my right arm to go do one of those places. However Money money! It cost a lot and I don't have it. My only other way out is to keep harassing the two places in Southern California who have what they call county beds. For $200 bucks they let you in for 10 days. I did that too, once and stayed sober for two years. Two problems there is a long waiting list and the way they work is bs. you have to call every day at 8:30 and you have no idea if or when you can get in. So you cannot make plans in regard to jobs ect. So what can I do man? thanks for the reply. I really appreciate it and have to so something fast.

[zapper]

This is my first post here, been here for a few months.
Your post caught my attention, for I like you want off the drug and cold turkey is the only way for lack of money and I want to use still yet I want to stop. I have been on Percacetes for a year I am now rolling them up in paper and taking a hammer to crush them and sniff them, I just took 3 an hour ago and now I am not high...what a waste and the highs are short lived.
To the point I am on Xanax 1MG 4x/day 10 MG Valium by my shrink, also Prozac and Seroqel 50 MGs for sleep, I read that this drug can help with sleep and anxiety attacks, now that I have this drug I hope it will help me. I slept like a log, has a calming effect, yet everyone if different...I was once on it for sleep but it made me mean, angry, aggressive and I will take that over being freaked out. These drugs I am not addicted to mentally I don't want to get a high and the feeling does not spark me thank God. I hope your the same with the Vailum, yet after being on that drug you will be addicted to it Physically Dependant, you will have to slow detox off this if on not by a doctor. My Doctor (s) don't know of my addiction to pain killers, I don't want them to for they may take me off my medications I do need for a number of mental issues I suffer from.

Here is something I read on Seroquel...
Seroquel Reduces Opioid Withdrawal Symptoms

Reuters Health

Wednesday, November 23, 2005


NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The use of the antipsychotic drug Seroquel (quetiapine) during opioid cessation appears to help relieve the symptoms of withdrawal, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Dr. Harold B. Pinkofsky and colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania, studied patients undergoing outpatient detoxification from opioids.

The patients were initially given eight 25-mg tablets of Seroquel. They were told to take 1 or 2 tablets every 4 hours as needed for symptoms of withdrawal or craving. Doses were increased if the drug was tolerated and the patient reported a benefit.

A total of 213 patients were treated with Seroquel in the clinic. Of these, 41 percent completed the program, with at least 5 days of abstinence. After some initial success with Seroquel, the patients were asked to complete a medication questionnaire for quality-assurance purposes.

Of the 107 patients who completed the survey, 79 (74 percent) reported that Seroquel helped reduce cravings for opioids and 52 (49 percent) said that it helped reduce withdrawal-associated anxiety. A reduction in pain was reported by 24 patients (22 percent), and 22 patients (21 percent) reported that Seroquel helped alleviate insomnia. Fourteen patients (13 percent) reported an improvement in appetite.

Four subjects said that Seroquel had no benefit. Seven patients were not able to tolerate the drug because of side effects. The patients received an average Seroquel dose of 206 mg/day.

"It appears that (Seroquel) may play a role in opioid detoxification, although the...mode of action is not known," Pinkofsky and colleagues write. "The results of this analysis suggest the need for further investigation."

SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, October 2005.

[Erinlt420]

Hi, that is so true, I have used seroquel to detox, i look 50 mgs when ever needed for withdrwel it it worked after about 2 weeks so i would recommend it

[katielynn]

Hey Erin, I got myself off of Oxy's by myself. I did call the doctor and he gave me a prescription to help, but I only took them if I absolutely needed them. I was doing two 80's a day just so I wouldn't feel that pain. You have to really want to get clean and change your life. You have put your body through so much that I felt the pain of withdrawl was needed. I will never allow myself to go through that much pain again, so I have been clean for 4 and a half years. You only have ONE life, why spend it wasting away?