dr00

Hi every one. My name is Drew and I am a 28 yo male from South Bend Indiana. I have been struggling with addiction to opiates, from which I have not been off of for more than 2 weeks for 10+ years.

While searching for different tips and methods used to self detox, I stumbled upon your site and was very impressed with how down to earth and thoughtful the members of this forum are.

I have been to NA/AA meetings before but have always felt looked down upon and also felt pressure to be religious. I am a very VERY spiritual person but that is between my heart and soul and my creator.

It has been difficult for me to find a place where people will not only be able to understand what I am going through but to be encouraging and consistent. 99 of my family doesn't understand physical addiction at all.

So in closing...I am going to start detoxing this afternoon, it is almost 11 in the morning here and I am already starting to have some withdrawal symptoms. My hope is that I can have a community of support and clarity to help me through the physical parts of my addiction recovery and also to help me in getting back on my feet and into a normal livelihood after withdrawing.

Has anyone here had any success with opiate detoxification and if so what did you do? Anything at all would help, including what meds you used, what methods to sleep/eat/not shake like a newborn. Also any type of activities or other things that I can do to help passify me through this horrifying time.

I am putting myself at the mercy of this forum and hope that this time I can make it stick and wake up in the morning happy instead of waking up to a runny nose and paralyzing fear. Thank you all so much even for reading. Like I said, anything at all would be very appreciated, tips, ideas, questions, comments or just a friendly 'good luck' would be tremendously helpful for me since I have very few people around me who understand the monster I am going up against. Thank you all!

Anna

Welcome!

I'm glad you've made the decision to get off drugs and begin to detox this afternoon.

While we cannot give any kind of medical advice here, we absolutely encourage you to do this. I'm sure that members with specific experience will be along to offer their support.

Skye2

Drew

dr00

Thanks you guys.

Is there anyone else on here who has gone or is going through opiate/opioid withdrawal?

I understand that medical advice can't be given and respect that. Is it ok to discuss what medical treatment I am deciding to take myself if it doesn't involve taking advice?

My biggest thing here is hoping that the members of this forum have been through the same thing and have some words of advice or encouragement. I am trying to make a kind of reward system for myself to have something to look forward to in a way to pacify the pleasure part of my brain.

I am going to be doing some exercise, running, etc and also taking lots of hot baths with gurly smelly stuff and lighting candles and cleaning the crap out of my house to havea comfortable place to be in while at the same time "rewarding" myself with different foods, activities, music and the like.

Is it ok to discuss what the ER has given me if it doesn't involve forum members giving advice regarding it? Like if it worked for them or other questions or comments like that? Hope this is ok but if not I certainly understand and respect that and look forward to hearing from some other opiate/opioid addicts.

My main drug of choice is heroin, I am an IV user and anyone on here who has or had the same situation are the main people I would like to hear from. I know that addiction is addiction regardless of what the vice or substance, but IV heroin addicts have certain challenges that others don't and vice verse, so any one on here as I have said that is in the same boat as me I would love to hear from! Thanks again so much you guys, really starting to get uncomfortable and scatter brained, replies would mean so much right now!

wiscsober

Drew you are making a great decision...congratulations.

I'm sure you will get a lot of people to read your posts and give you support.

Check around different forums/threads especially the narcotics recovery ones.

Many many people have done what you are doing and now live life free from narcotics.

May good health be swift for you.

least

to SR! I'm glad you're getting clean. You've come to a very supportive place to do that.

Dee74

Welcome Dr00

you might want to also look in at our substance abuse forum:

Substance Abuse - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information

D

Aiko

DR

Glad you got to the site...
I have never been hooked on them thank God...
But got my own front lines...

My best advice.... is Running/swiMming/cycling... any cardio is great... in the sea front in the countryside...
I deal with it like that when I am going up the walls...

Get puzzels... do not laugh... you have to keep your mind bussy...
Buy a notebook and write and write ,,,, anything that gets out of your head...

Get tools for when you are in the front line..
You could reading URGE SURFING google it.
and there are books to help you... AVRT, the AA big book is on line...

and Any time you are struggling...
We are here...

IT DOES GET BETTER but HAVE TO PUT UP A BIT LONGER.......
You have to get it out of the system...
I hope it gets better soon...

dr00

hey its gettin ever worse now going to the ER to get the usual clonidine and promethazine tonite, probably around 10 or 11 pm so they arent too busyand have 3mg of klonopin for the next 24 hours...i am hopeful that i will eventually fall asleep, at best turn my mind from volume 11 to volume 5 or 6. yawn and cry about every 10 minutes, nose running like the rio grande and stomach and back feels like its stuffed full of warm garbage. The worst part more than anything else though, is a feeling that is a mixture of horrible impending doom and a sudden tragic event occuring all at once and your heart and stomach and body feel overwhelmed with this sense of the end of the worldly anxiety and fear and...its hard to put into words really.

but any way i very much appreciate you guys but to quote a well known meme, "**** bout to get real"

wish me luck on my sleepless night!

Dee74

Going to the ER is always a good option, too - glad you did

D

Weaver

Glad to see you are seeking help.

Please be well and come back to the forums. They are a GREAT place for support and advice (non medical of course )

Mirage74

Hey dr, glad you're deciding to stop. I've known a couple of heroin users and they detoxed with suboxone. Ask your doctor about it. Good luck

dr00

suboxone and methadone are not options for me, i have gone through numerous times of using just those to maintain normalcy and the only difference is i dont get the energy and enjoyableness that i would get from heroin. in fact they make me kind of zombie like, in a limbo between normalcy and addiction. i am a very well informed user, more so than any others i know and after ten years i know alot! got some klonidine and promethazine as per usual from the ER and the clonidine is miraculous for some of the worst symptoms. also have some ensure to keep every nutrient in me without having to eat lots of food and get sick. i am getting some klonopins and seroquel from someone also, they help alot. with this combo i am hoping to get through the AWS part.

I also use small amounts of weed to really put the kabosh on the remainder of any symptoms i have. i dont know how it is viewed upon here but i use it strictly for the medical purposes in this case.

and trust me as i said i have been around forever and know that there is addictive potential with the benzos but i am using them for a certain medical benefit. my main goal is sleep, even if it is an hour or two, but sleep is key for me right now.

still no other opioid or opiate users out there? that's surprising given the vast, vast number of everyone from the simplest tramadol addict to the hardest core heroin junkie, there are an estimated 1 million americans addicted to opiates nationwide but i think the number could be twice as high personally.

Dee74

Did you look at the other forum Drew?

D

Alexandra307

Hi- I am going through the same thing. I am using a small amount of suboxone to help me get through it. My doctor recommended I try Clear Withdrawal and I was curious if you have ever tried it. She said that a lot of the herbs and what not in in are great for helping stop some of the symptoms, but I am skeptical.

I have found that running a lot takes me mind off the opiates and watching movies and keeping myself from thinking of opiates.

Copycat512

Drew, hi, just hopped on and saw your story. Three year vicodin addiction here. Quit 2 weeks ago. My physical withdrawals not as bad as expected but I miss them pretty badly. Lots of points during the day when I would normally pop one and now cannot. I feel your pain.