Jimmy9212

Going to meetings..and having asked sponsors as well as mine, there is a general consensus to exercise ASAP. It seems to be helpful even while withdrawing to aid in getting dopamine and other feel good chemicals back in ones head - naturalllllly.

What is everyone's thoughts?

I'm asking as a friend is going to withdrawal tomorrow since he kicked today at noon.

I ran and walked on day 1. It made a great difference. Helped a lot!

Ok..thoughts?

rich7v

Still new here. Been reading a lot of posts. Seems pretty evident people here know what they are talking about because they have been through it.

Exercise, sounds like a great idea. Will help get your body back in chemical balance naturally. But I think it will also help keep your mind occupied.

Yes, it think it is a great place to focus your energy.

totfit

Exercise is THE fundamental main thing that helps me stay sober, happy and sane.

Jimmy9212

Thanks for the quick replies..

I told him it takes about a week or two of withdrawals..but I didn't exercise on day 1. I waited until day 9 or 10. I wonder if his W/D's will be easier or minimized by exercising on Day 1.

He has been on opiates for a few years.
I've tried telling him not to do too much or expect everything to be better quickly..

Jimmy9212

Anyone else have any good solid I put on exercise and opiate withdrawal?

teatreeoil007

Exercise for me has always been a must regardless of where I'm at or what I'm doing in life.

I think it's particularly helpful in dealing with opiate withdrawal because with good exercise you get some of those endogenous opiates going in your brain (endorphins). So you could look at it this way: You are replacing external opiate intake with internal. However, you may not get a super duper 'runner's high' until your brain has adjusted. The time that is spent putting opiate chemicals into your body was time that your body got the message it didn't need to manufacture its own as much. It's still capable of doing so, but probably won't be fully up to snuff right away.

Aside from the endorphin release, however, that exercise can bring, it's very beneficial in so many other areas and healthy. Either way, exercise is win-win in my mind as long as one doesn't overdo. It's also highly important to give your body good 'fuel' (food) for good energy to workout. I get so much better workouts when I eat right.

Exercising on day one? Why not? If a person feels up to it and is motivated to do that, I say go for it. Exercising well during the day may also help with insomnia.

zerothehero

I felt I needed to ease into exercise to avoid hurting myself. I started with walking and gentle yoga. The body has taken a beating, so no need to push too hard early on. Stretching and walking will go a long way in the right direction. Just my two cents.

AdelineRose

I have never been able to fully exercise right out the gate when I would withdraw from heroin. I did find though that the days that I forced myself to just walk, walk, walk that I was able to get in a better mental space then just thinking "I feel sick, I feel like I am going to die, etc...you know the drill".

Any type of movement I think is helpful, also forcing yourself you drink as much fluids as possible, and forcing down food and taking vitamins have all helped in the long run.

Soberwolf

exercise is good but while your body is its earliest stages if recovery let the focus be on healing the mind body & soul drink water eat fruit & vegetables they have vital nutrients & a excellent source of natural vitamins

Marcus

When I saw this thread I was thinking - what take drugs and exercise? I guess I am still sick in the head.

I think a little movement is great for everyone regardless. This was especially true for me coming off opiates / heroin. I was unable to get out of bed or off the couch during many of my kicks until about day 4. Once I was able to I would push myself to get the blood and brain flowing again. A healthy sweat versus flop sweats from detox.

Glad to put that behind me. 4 and a half years since I had to do that and don't miss it one bit!!!

JennaRoseMadre

Marcus, Congrats on 4.5 years!

Bird615

After blowing off my weight-training workouts and being very sedentary for the past week, I've started waking up very depressed the past few mornings. In my experience, exercise definitely affects my mood. Time for me to get back at it.

Just make sure to ease into if you're just starting out, as was already mentioned.

Jimmy9212

Marcus, that's awesome..and inspiring!

Mad bird..I'm the same. I *need* to otherwise I just lay around. It's horrible.

I'm going to walk/run/jog tonight. Let me k ow how your workout goes.

teatreeoil007

Grats on 4.5 years Marcus!!

This is good thread Jimmy. Glad you started it.

For me the hardest part is getting started...once I get started and just start MOVING...I never REGRET exercise. I try to give myself breaks and not have a mentality of all or nothing as that tends to shoot me down because I erroneously may think that unless I have a stellar 2-3 hour workout in which I do intense cardio for 90 minutes followed by weight training I am somehow falling short. No, it's better to walk for an hour than skip out totally.

zerothehero

Ha! My wife used to do the Stairmaster with a cig hanging off her lips.

August252015

Zero - I used to drink wine then go run on the treadmill or lift weights. Awesome idea! Oh, and did I mention this was usually around 2am? Such good sleep, exercise and health habits I had...

RedManc7

Definitely even just a walk to get the blood pumping and the fresh air helps massively - I always wanted to hide from the world when withdrawing but when I ventured out I always felt better. You surprise yourself sometimes thinking you can't face the world etc but it's never as bad as you think.
Long term exercising as said already is a massive help in staying clean.

RedManc7

Wine! Biblical lol!
I used to smoke Heroin then do Bikram yoga. I had an internal debate with myself before and decided the smack would help with my flexibility.
Needless to say I stopped going to Bikram after a while but carried on using.