Opium withdrawl signs and how to make it a little easier.

[samuraigecko]

Hello.

As most anyone will know any opiate substance is addictive (duh). SWIM often both travels overseas to smoke O and makes his own on occasion (sometimes more often than not but not always).

The first warning signs for opium addiction (as with most opiate addictions) are general flu symptoms. Coughing, lots of phlegm, runny nose, bone and muscle aches etc. These symptoms are present when one goes for more than 12 to 16 hours or so without any doses. (sometimes more sometimes less, depends on the person and their own general health and level of addiction). SWIM notices in particular that it mainly starts (for him) in the throat with lots of phlegm produced and alot of "midnight" coughing.

SWIM wanted a way to control this so he could go longer periods etc without feeling the "need" for smoking O. He is not suggesting that this may work with other addictions etc. After SWIM has had a bit of a binge on his opium and is left with none, He always has on hand some "OxyNorm" 5mg capsules. (Remember that Oxycodone, The active ingredient of OxyNorm, is also a semi-synthetic opiate and is also addictive.) Swim uses a combination of will power and ONE OxyNorm capsule at night. He says that this alleviates some of the more unpleasant side effects of Moderate addiction withdrawal. SWIM also guesses that this would work with 5mg morphine tabs or similar opiate pharmaceuticals in low dosages.

Remember the idea for this is to "ween" One off it, not to replace one addiction with another so no recreational dosage is mentioned of recommended. If one has an extreme opium addiction (which is doubtful since it is not a highly prolific drug) then one may use higher doses and work down. But the basic idea is to ween off completely by using small doses to alleviate the symptoms at first until one feels ready to try none at all.

Probably ALL SWIMs would be interested in such methods or ideas as the same thing is not necessarily going to work for each individual. Input is appreciated to help others whom want to keep this "recreational" and as pleasant as possible. What works for SWIY's? Goods and bads? etc etc.

Reputation Comments on this post:

good post.

[cra$h]

same idea of weening yourself from anything can apply. you could use it from hangovers, cigarettes, or even coffe. it tends to work with me, but you just have to have the self control.

[Orchid_Suspiria]

OxyNorm?Swim has never heard of this,is this some maintenance medication?Does it exist in the United States?Is it similar to methadone?

[cra$h]

my brother hasnt heard of it either. can it be bought in a regular store?

[Mint boi]

as op stated they are 5mg oxycodone capsules. Its a well documented drug in the opiate section.

can it be bought in a regular store?

no

[samuraigecko]

OxyNorm 5mg is Oxycodone 5mg, a fairly weak opiate drug (pretty much the same as Endone etc). The same opiate consistent which is in OxyContin only in weaker doses and it is an immediate release capsule, not controlled release like OxyContin (the Contin part of the name meaning "CONTINuous release").

Hope this has been of help.

[JJx23]

Originally Posted by samuraigecko

OxyNorm 5mg is Oxycodone 5mg, a fairly weak opiate drug (pretty much the same as Endone etc). The same opiate consistent which is in OxyContin only in weaker doses and it is an immediate release capsule, not controlled release like OxyContin (the Contin part of the name meaning "CONTINuous release").

Hope this has been of help.

Oxycodone 5 mg tabs are far from weak. Percocet is a pretty potent drug, now if you are comparing it to Morphine and Heroin, sure.. But Percocet can be dangerous, believe me I know, I went through Perk withdrawals and it wasn't a fun 4 days. I just had foot surgery and am on Perks, was off them for 4 months before this, I am only taking them short term, have no urge to stay on them as I am not hooked to them, I am a strong person. But saying that Percocet 5\325 is weak is false because it isn't, at least for me. Everyone is different however.

[jayjohnson81]

Interesting timing. SWIM has cut out pod's and research regarding. Runny nose and some bone soreness (in areas abused from youth - knees/kicking/martial arts) - along with slight headache. This being about 24 hours from last dose - slightly weening from previous days. Fact is - unless one is very meticulous and self-controlled, weening is a tough thing to do alone.

Most prominant is the `buzz` feeling - and not a good buzz - but a buzzing sensation, almost like feeling like ones actual body is receeding from the skin by a little bit. SWIM also notes it's possible a combo from a daily benzo (val and/or xan) habit (1-1.5 of either max daily), along with daily alcohol use.

SWIM readily admits being alcoholic and addict to mind altering substances. (SWIM, in all truth and honesty says if you never even try a drug once, you will never feel the pain of going too far... which happens more often than most will admit.)

As of today, SWIM had only 546g(seeds) of poppy pod SEED tea (?milk?) - which the seeds made difficult to remove solution, so final seed-milk gave only slight and brief relief.

SWIM has benzos and booze (NOT A GOOD OR RECOMMENDED COMBO) and a lack of serious enough symptoms to avoid a problem, but will be carefully using those through next day, then hopefully getting kratom incense to aid in relief the day after.

"Just a taste... can only lead to just a little more..."

[ukdj07]

Originally Posted by samuraigecko

Hello.

As most anyone will know any opiate substance is addictive (duh). SWIM often both travels overseas to smoke O and makes his own on occasion (sometimes more often than not but not always).

The first warning signs for opium addiction (as with most opiate addictions) are general flu symptoms. Coughing, lots of phlegm, runny nose, bone and muscle aches etc. These symptoms are present when one goes for more than 12 to 16 hours or so without any doses. (sometimes more sometimes less, depends on the person and their own general health and level of addiction). SWIM notices in particular that it mainly starts (for him) in the throat with lots of phlegm produced and alot of "midnight" coughing.

SWIM wanted a way to control this so he could go longer periods etc without feeling the "need" for smoking O. He is not suggesting that this may work with other addictions etc. After SWIM has had a bit of a binge on his opium and is left with none, He always has on hand some "OxyNorm" 5mg capsules. (Remember that Oxycodone, The active ingredient of OxyNorm, is also a semi-synthetic opiate and is also addictive.) Swim uses a combination of will power and ONE OxyNorm capsule at night. He says that this alleviates some of the more unpleasant side effects of Moderate addiction withdrawal. SWIM also guesses that this would work with 5mg morphine tabs or similar opiate pharmaceuticals in low dosages.

Remember the idea for this is to "ween" One off it, not to replace one addiction with another so no recreational dosage is mentioned of recommended. If one has an extreme opium addiction (which is doubtful since it is not a highly prolific drug) then one may use higher doses and work down. But the basic idea is to ween off completely by using small doses to alleviate the symptoms at first until one feels ready to try none at all.

Probably ALL SWIMs would be interested in such methods or ideas as the same thing is not necessarily going to work for each individual. Input is appreciated to help others whom want to keep this "recreational" and as pleasant as possible. What works for SWIY's? Goods and bads? etc etc.

hi your half right about the symptons i was addicted to opium it is not pleasent i recomend not having it to much lol but is good for ocasional use

withdrawal ( clucking . cold turkey . rattling . )

flu rarelly but happens as ure amune system is shit
sneezing not pleasent like 1-7 evry 30 mins
leg akes ibroprofine will help
stomache cramps hurt liek mad so use voltrol it helps
sweating
using toillet alot

so any ov these you no ur addicted ounce you get to this stage dont do it again i no it has a hold of you beacuse its a powerful drug so be carfull

[rocksmokinmachine]

How to make it a little easier:

1) Diclofenac (a non steroidal anti-inflammitary) will help ease aches and pains in the limbs. Ibuprofen is a close second if this is not available

2) Diazepam, to help relieve muscle spasms (kicking), or similar benzodiazepines can be very helpful during times of withdrawal. Also helps promote sleep which is near impossible. When SWIM was a heroin addict, benzodiazpines where always the next option when heroin was not available.

3) Cough/cold remedies. Can be taken with a non-opiate analgesic such as asprin or acetaminophen, which can be used in combination with NSAID's without any interactions.

Then there is always the methadone or buprenorphine route, but is not always the best option it can somtimes make the problem worse (especially with methadone). For going cold turkey, this is really helps ease the pains of withdrawal

[BumpBump]

co-codamol - or nurofen plus with codeine are a life saver when doing a mild opiate withdrawl.
But swim has done a cold turkey from H, and another from codeine neither where nice but both can be done. Swiy will have to bite the bullet at some point though and stop any opiates, so expect 7-10 days of aches, pains, lack of sleep, restless legs(the worst part trust swim)

Swim recomends some GHB in larger doses for sleep problems, but find it makes the pain worse when not sleeping.
If you become addicted to valium it's worse than opiates!

swim now can gets withdrawls after 3-4 days use of any opiate(yes 7-10 day withdrawl). Swim thinks his body has a memory for it now as at first swim used H for a month with no problems.

[rocksmokinmachine]

The worst thing one can do is substitute with a milder opiate. This will make it a little easier.

A long acting benzodiazepine - Diazepam

An NSAID - Diclofenac

A rage of non paracetamol containing cough and flu rememdies

This is the best advice I can give without the obvious medicine such as methadone/buprenorphine.

[JJx23]

Let me tell you, it sucks to sleep at night and I am on my third day off pain medication (Percocet), my legs are always moving, stomach pains, coughing, runny nose, sneezing, etc.. My dad says I only have another day of this, he though it would be done by today, so hopefully it is. I took Percocet for a bad wrist and I guess my brain was used to it so I am suffering a little now, but I can take it, I mean I can only imagine people who are using stronger stuff. But this withdrawal is definitely tolerable, I mean besides the leg cramps I can take it, it's like me being sick, nothing too extreme, I might even go up and play bball because I need to strengthen my wrist anyway.

[rocksmokinmachine]

Subutex (buprenorphine) is by the far the best medication SWIM has been on. There are no physical withdrawal symptoms and psychological withdrawal symptoms seem to be non existant.

That is the best bet.

[mtndawg]

SWIM used to have some ruff times after a (2-3) week binge of codeine, hydro, or oxycodone and found taking otc sleep aids (Tylenol or pain PM tablets) helped reduce withdraw symptoms considerably-especially loss of sleep. SWIM does not suffer from withdraw anymore, very strange, at a loss to understand why but SWIM thinks his body and mind has accepted (after many years of enjoying the poppy) has decided to leave him in peace. Has anyone else experienced what SWIM now considers a blessing?

[Creekboy]

Vicodin has a half-life of 4-8 hours; therefore, WDs will begin for most between 8-16 hours after last dose taken. Most people express that W/Df eels like the worst flu they have ever had in their life. You will likely experience severe achy joints, weakness, restless legs syndrome, headaches, lack of clarity in thought, irritability-does not play well with others, severe “coffee jitters” to the extent that it is difficult to sit still and some experience involuntary muscle twitches, general feeling of “the all overs”, nausea but most do not report vomiting, and most report diarrhea. WDs will increasingly worsen up to about days 3-4 and then begin to turn the corner and stabilize.

It is best to plan your needs and shop in advance of starting. When you externally provide the body with chemicals that alter the brain, the body reads the signal and reacts by stopping its own natural production levels. So, when you cold turkey stop the external source, it jolts your body and whiplashes your system into wakeup mode. All those little workers have been snoozing for however long you have been administering the external supply source. Now the alarm bells are ringing all throughout your system, and they are running around like keystone cops screaming “oh s**t!!!!” They will get back on the job for you again, but it takes a while for them to get synchronized and functioning efficiently again.

If possible, keep on hand a Multi-Vitamin, Multi-Mineral, B-Complex 100mg, Zinc (pain-take only after eating food), & St. John's Wort. It took them a minimum of 1 week to achieve maximum relief level when days 1-4 are likely to be your worst WD days. You may not feel depression now, but WDs usually results in the onset of depression until your body acclimates and can regulate itself. Building a nutriment base BEFORE will help lessen WDs and lessen the level of additional supplements you will need to help you cope. Waiting til you are actually in WDs to start taking supplements will mean that the supplements will be less effective and you will likely need substantially increased levels.

[Melalicious]

swim experiences the flu symptoms and the body aches all the time, mainly when 1-2 days has been where swim has not had any form of it in her system! she is trying to not become a slave to it everyday and has slowly weened herself down to a dosage every 2-3days of codeine....so far...so good!

[sbt8080]

I think the main thing here is willpower, which SWIM has very little of, and prior to today, thought he had none.

SWIM has been using pod tea and taking 400 to 800 mg of codeine daily for quite a while. He recently decided to try giving up opioids altogether, because SWIM cannot afford to maintain his habit and cannot stand the thought of relying on such substances to get through his daily life.

SWIM is currently going through painful, very annoying withdrawal (currently on day 3). He cannot sleep, even after drinking alcohol and taking four Diphenhydramine HCl tablets before bed. He has sweats and chills, feeling cold but sweating all the time. His whole body aches, and he can't stop blowing his nose. He also feels very, very restless, and cannot sit still. He is tired but can't sleep, and hungry but doesn't want to eat.

SWIM almost broke down today. He stayed home from work because he knew he could not concentrate in his current condition. Extremely agitated, he decided to say "screw it" and just drink some tea for relief from the withdrawal. He grabbed a batch of his pods, and began grinding them up with his electric coffee grinder. In the middle of preparation, however, he regained his composure, and said, out loud, "What the hell are you doing?"

Angry at himself, he then grabbed a garbage bag, went through his whole house, and threw away all of his substances. He threw out about 100 jumbo-sized pods, 200 50-mg codeine tablets, and even the electric coffee grinder he used to grind up his pods. It is garbage collection day, so he immediately took the bag out to the street. He couldn't help but look out of his window every 30 minutes or so to see if the bag was still there, constantly entertaining the idea of going out there to bring it back in. But, eventually the garbage truck came, and he watched as they took his evil substances away for good.

SWIM feels very, very good about his decision. While some SWIYs may be able to do opiates "responsibly" and not get addicted, SWIM cannot. He has too little willpower, and feels he will get addicted to any addictive substance put in front of him. So, the key ingredient for beating the withdrawal, SWIM has found, is SWIM's own willpower. He is still going through the withdrawal, and expects the next couple of days to continue to be rough, but he hopes it will only get better from this point onward.

[Melalicious]

Originally Posted by sbt8080

I think the main thing here is willpower, which SWIM has very little of, and prior to today, thought he had none.

SWIM has been using pod tea and taking 400 to 800 mg of codeine daily for quite a while. He recently decided to try giving up opioids altogether, because SWIM cannot afford to maintain his habit and cannot stand the thought of relying on such substances to get through his daily life.

SWIM is currently going through painful, very annoying withdrawal (currently on day 3). He cannot sleep, even after drinking alcohol and taking four Diphenhydramine HCl tablets before bed. He has sweats and chills, feeling cold but sweating all the time. His whole body aches, and he can't stop blowing his nose. He also feels very, very restless, and cannot sit still. He is tired but can't sleep, and hungry but doesn't want to eat.

SWIM almost broke down today. He stayed home from work because he knew he could not concentrate in his current condition. Extremely agitated, he decided to say "screw it" and just drink some tea for relief from the withdrawal. He grabbed a batch of his pods, and began grinding them up with his electric coffee grinder. In the middle of preparation, however, he regained his composure, and said, out loud, "What the hell are you doing?"

Angry at himself, he then grabbed a garbage bag, went through his whole house, and threw away all of his substances. He threw out about 100 jumbo-sized pods, 200 50-mg codeine tablets, and even the electric coffee grinder he used to grind up his pods. It is garbage collection day, so he immediately took the bag out to the street. He couldn't help but look out of his window every 30 minutes or so to see if the bag was still there, constantly entertaining the idea of going out there to bring it back in. But, eventually the garbage truck came, and he watched as they took his evil substances away for good.

SWIM feels very, very good about his decision. While some SWIYs may be able to do opiates "responsibly" and not get addicted, SWIM cannot. He has too little willpower, and feels he will get addicted to any addictive substance put in front of him. So, the key ingredient for beating the withdrawal, SWIM has found, is SWIM's own willpower. He is still going through the withdrawal, and expects the next couple of days to continue to be rough, but he hopes it will only get better from this point onward.

goodluck to ur swimmer friend!! any withdrawal is a tough one, and as swim often suffers from them with opiates (codeine) she understands the ride the swiy is on!

swim has just gotten over a serious bout of tonsillitis! where it was impossible for her to swallow anything! she would continue to fill her glass up with a drink she wanted so badly, but bcoz the pain was unbareable, swim could not drink!, therefor swim has gone without her codeine fix for almost 5 days! WHICH HAS BEEN HELL!! ontop of having fucked up tonsillitis, withdrawal symptoms ontop of it!!

luckily swim knows her limits and willpower, and has gone days without before, many times by choice! but still suffers from a few of the mild symptoms!

swim hope all goes well for sbt8080's friend!

[Creekboy]

quiting cold turkey is definately one of the toughest things u can go through . Swim found a few things that helped alot along the way to ease the symtome of WD's . if swiy a planning ahead and have time get a few things together to help ease the symtoms.

Try to pickup and drink gatorade it will help replace the electrolytes. Grab some aspercreme for the joint pain cause it is gonna be their.

nyquil : get at least 2 bottles as it will help with the aches and pains and sleeping.

Also try tylenol pm

swim know swiy cant eat much but try to eat healty during this process nothing tastes good going through wd so it souldnt be to hard.

bananas are good to help w/joint pain and stabilize the central nervous symtoms.

try and see if swiy's family physician would give some phenegren to help with nausea. this stuff helps alot.

swim has also heard the neurontin is very good for all the aches and pains goin through WD.

hot baths several times a day

heating pads and warm blankets will help keep muscles warm.

just swim 2 cents hope it can help some

Good luck

[sbt8080]

Originally Posted by Creekboy

quiting cold turkey is definately one of the toughest things u can go through . Swim found a few things that helped alot along the way to ease the symtome of WD's . if swiy a planning ahead and have time get a few things together to help ease the symtoms.

Try to pickup and drink gatorade it will help replace the electrolytes. Grab some aspercreme for the joint pain cause it is gonna be their.

nyquil : get at least 2 bottles as it will help with the aches and pains and sleeping.

Also try tylenol pm

swim know swiy cant eat much but try to eat healty during this process nothing tastes good going through wd so it souldnt be to hard.

bananas are good to help w/joint pain and stabilize the central nervous symtoms.

try and see if swiy's family physician would give some phenegren to help with nausea. this stuff helps alot.

swim has also heard the neurontin is very good for all the aches and pains goin through WD.

hot baths several times a day

heating pads and warm blankets will help keep muscles warm.

just swim 2 cents hope it can help some

Good luck

Thank you for this wisdom; SWIM will try some of these things. SWIM actually has half a bottle of Gabapentin (Neurontin) on-hand from a surgical procedure he had a year ago, and he never thought to try taking it. I will remind him to take it.

[bloodred1889]

swim has chronic pain and takes dihydrocodone, when swim first started asking doctor for pain relief she was given diclofenic, this was shit it didnt help swims pain atall and swim hated the stuff.

recently swim has been having withdrawels due to the fact she has been on opiods for a year or so.

diclofenic is a life saver for withdrawels, it takes away the restless legs, helps you sleep and it lasts a long time.

its also really easy to get hold of at a doctors.

so it may be shit for severe pain, but withdrawel pain its great.

thats what swim thinks anyway :P

[sbt8080]

SWIM's aches have already mostly gone away after taking 800mg of Ibuprofen and 200mg of Gabapentin. However, the restlessness is by far SWIM's least favorite part; he absolutely cannot sit still.

Having noting else on hand, SWIM has gotten mildly drunk in order to relax. Although not the best way to deal with WDs, SWIM has found it to help somewhat. SWIM would go running for a while to get some exercise, but there is a lot of ice/snow on the ground where he lives and it is bitter cold.

[Creekboy]

swim has also been hearing of a new miracle drug called suboxone. it is supposed to take away all WD symptom's when coming off of opiates. the way i understand it is that suboxone is also a opiate that you dont get the euphoric sensation from. you have to be careful with it also causing can be addicting also . some people think its trading one drug for another . but i will let you make that decision.swim will copy and paste a page i looked at the other day. i think you have to have a doctor give it to you also. Seems you have to have some kind of training to even be able to give this stuff out.

Buprenorphine (Suboxone) is an opioid medication. Buprenorphine is similar to other opioids such as morphine, codeine, and heroin however, it produces less euphoric ("high") effects and therefore may be easier to stop taking.
Naloxone blocks the effects of opioids such as morphine, codeine, and heroin. If buprenorphine and naloxone is injected, naloxone will block the effects of buprenorphine and lead to withdrawal symptoms in a person with an opioid addiction. When administered under the tongue as directed, naloxone will not affect the actions of buprenorphine.
Buprenorphine and naloxone is used to treat opiate addiction.

keep us updated and good luck.

[samuraigecko]

Originally Posted by Creekboy

swim has also been hearing of a new miracle drug called suboxone. it is supposed to take away all WD symptom's when coming off of opiates. the way i understand it is that suboxone is also a opiate that you dont get the euphoric sensation from. you have to be careful with it also causing can be addicting also . some people think its trading one drug for another . but i will let you make that decision.swim will copy and paste a page i looked at the other day. i think you have to have a doctor give it to you also. Seems you have to have some kind of training to even be able to give this stuff out.

Buprenorphine (Suboxone) is an opioid medication. Buprenorphine is similar to other opioids such as morphine, codeine, and heroin however, it produces less euphoric ("high") effects and therefore may be easier to stop taking.
Naloxone blocks the effects of opioids such as morphine, codeine, and heroin. If buprenorphine and naloxone is injected, naloxone will block the effects of buprenorphine and lead to withdrawal symptoms in a person with an opioid addiction. When administered under the tongue as directed, naloxone will not affect the actions of buprenorphine.
Buprenorphine and naloxone is used to treat opiate addiction.

keep us updated and good luck.

sorry for the back to back posts here but one didnt see this post and felt the need to reply.

Suboxone (or Bupe as SWIwe call it here, short for buprenorphine) can be just as hard to come off as any other opiate in some others experiences one has seen. It is like the whole methadone thing, replacing one evil with another which often can be worse (this is especially the case with methadone, its success rate is not high). Suboxone tends to also make its own problems evident after continued use. One and SWIM has seen this in many of their friends.

One wishes that it was as easy as taking something like Bupe . . . . unfortunatly that is not the case . . . small dosage opiates, a bit of valium and a SHITLOAD of will power is all that is generally needed, anyone can do it, it just depends on how strong they are . . .

Hope this has been of help