How hard is it to go cold turkey from opioids?

[desura]

The oxy and heroin abuse problem. Like, why is it so hard for people to quit?

 

[olds]

I never understood this. If I don't want to do something, I don't do it.

 

[dullard]

I never understood this. If I don't want to do something, I don't do it.

Think of it like an addiction to breathing or an addiction to eating. Eventually the cravings get so strong that you succumb. Your body doesn't know the drug is not essential like water or oxygen. Heck if you are addicted enough, the drug may be actually be essential to life until you slowly wean yourself off of it. Think about the pain and misery of slowly weaning yourself off of oxygen.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

From my amateur understanding the chemicals they produce target your brains happiness, they can cause indescribable joy. Problem is as they are used they make it harder to be "happy" naturally thus it becomes a cycle.

 

[slayer202]

I never understood this. If I don't want to do something, I don't do it.

lol come on

 

[clamum]

It's pretty hard to understand addiction if you're not an addict or don't have a lot of experience with addicts. It's not gonna make logical sense because addictive behavior doesn't come from the part of your brain that's controlled by logic and higher thinking.

It's kinda pointless to talk about it here though; there's plenty that just think addicts are total losers and they should just "get over it."

 

[Jaepheth]

These drugs create an actual physical dependence where you get physically sick if you quit cold turkey.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opioid#Reinforcement_disorders

"withdrawal from certain drugs (benzodiazepines, alcohol, glucocorticoids) can be fatal. While it is seldom fatal to the user, withdrawal from opiates (and some other drugs) can cause miscarriage, due to fetal withdrawal."

 

[lupi]

Not hard at all, I've gone through entire bottles of opioids in just over a weekend (and that was a fun conversation with the nurse explaining why I was empty already) and never had any issue reducing my dose per pain and stopping when done.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

It's pretty hard to understand addiction if you're not an addict or don't have a lot of experience with addicts. It's not gonna make logical sense because addictive behavior doesn't come from the part of your brain that's controlled by logic and higher thinking.

It's kinda pointless to talk about it here though; there's plenty that just think addicts are total losers and they should just "get over it."

and this too

 

[repoman0]

Not hard at all, I've gone through entire bottles of options in just over a weekend (and that was a fun conversation with the nurse explaining why I was empty already) and never had any issue reducing my dose per pain and stopping when done.

Not hard at all huh, guess that's why it's possible to die from acute withdrawal

Seriously, how does a weekend opioid bender even come close to qualifying as an addiction?

 

[KeithTalent]

Don't know. Only things I've ever been addicted to are caffeine and Street Fighter 2 and it was very easy to quit both of them cold turkey.

KT

 

[Harrod]

I'm not sure, I don't know of anyone close that has a problem like that, however, my sister-in-laws sister has a big problem with them, I don't recall what the number was and what she was on. But I was told that she was taking 18 pills a day of percocet or vicodin.

I asked my wife who is a pharmacist about what that would cost per day and was astounded that someone with that dependency would be able to afford such a habit. Personally the thought of being dependent on anything scares the crap out of me.

 

[slayer202]

Don't know. Only things I've ever been addicted to are caffeine and Street Fighter 2 and it was very easy to quit both of them cold turkey.

KT

haha

I think there's still a chance I could relapse if I started playing Diablo 2 again...

 

[lupi]

Dp

 

[lupi]

Not hard at all huh, guess that's why it's possible to die from acute withdrawal

Seriously, how does a weekend opioid bender even come close to qualifying as an addiction?

I've taken beyond prescribed dose for a short time and a high dose for month+ and never had an issue stopping.

 

[dullard]

I've taken beyond prescribed dose for a short time and a high dose for month+ and never had an issue stopping.

So you have no idea what it is like stopping an addiction then. Addictions aren't one-size-fits-all. Someone could get addicted to something very easily, whereas others don't.

 

[Atreus21]

The oxy and heroin abuse problem. Like, why is it so hard for people to quit?

Horrible withdrawal symptoms, for one.

 

[Ferzerp]

As someone who developed a (purely physical and not mental in the slightest) dependence to a long term prescription medication that I had a prescription for and was using exactly as prescribed, I can tell you that the physical part can be horrible. It wasn't a pain killer, and it was supposed to be safe for long term use. It was a certain sleep aid with a certain moth mascot.

Anyway though. It stopped being effective, so I tried to swap medication a few times. I always thought the new options were making me sick since I would get extremely ill a couple of days after switching. It never even occurred to me that it was the cessation of the other medication. Eventually, since it wasn't doing anything, I just tried stopping it without replacing it. The same symptoms happened. It was like having the flu only much, much worse. Fever, shivering, nausea, extreme dysphoria, etc.

It finally clicked after that point, so I was able to spend 3 or 4 months tapering off of it after visiting my doctor and discussing the situation with him. Even with the long period, there were a few times that I reduced the dose by a bit too much or a bit too fast and was sick. It was a difficult balance, and that is with access to the medication which is completely legal, having a clear mind (there was 0 psychological component to it), and knowing outright what needed to be done.

I can't imagine how difficult the process is for people who find themselves physically and psychologically dependent on something. I was completely flabbergasted when I realized the reason I was ill. Luckily, I have absolutely no predisposition to being psychologically dependent on such things.

Basically, long story short. Anyone who says "I've never had a problem" didn't have a problem because they weren't dependent on whatever it is. I was in that camp too prior to that experience. I was stupid and ignorant.

 

[1sikbITCH]

Your body produces certain things that opioids also provide. Google opioid receptors.

When you ingest heroin or something every day for several weeks at least (not weekend binges on weak ass pills), your brain actually changes to accept the daily flow of these chemicals and stops producing it's own supply.

Now in the morning you wake up "ill" because your body is missing important shit. This is why the first dose of heroin in the morning, also known as the "gate shot", doesn't get you high, only makes you well again.

However opioid dependencies are traditionally easier to kick than tobacco or meth/cocaine because of the extreme psych addictions associated with those drugs.

I snorted heroin for about 2 years on a daily basis, and then I quit. I went down to the methadone clinic on a Saturday and bought somebody's take home for $35.00. I sipped on that for a few days while weaning off the heroin and then toughed it out during week two.
I then quit cigarettes the same way. I wore a nicotine patch and chewed gum for a week. Tossed out the patch and never looked back.

People are just weak.

 

[DigDog]

The oxy and heroin abuse problem. Like, why is it so hard for people to quit?

you can actually die from opioid withdrawal. and if death wasn't bad enough, the cravings are absurdly strong.

opioids block pain signals, that's why they are used in medicine; when addicted, the brain adapts itself to living with much less of this stimulus.
once you stop using, not only does the pain sensation (you might have been experiencing, if you were on opioids legitimately) come rushing back, but nearly *any* sensation, wind on your skin, breathing, muscles moving - is interpreted as pain, a buttload of pain.

TLDR quitting opiates is really hard.

 

[lupi]

So you have no idea what it is like stopping an addiction then. Addictions aren't one-size-fits-all. Someone could get addicted to something very easily, whereas others don't.

Yes, because each individual body chemistry can be vastly different. Just pointing out their are no absolutes as was alluded to in the first couple of post.

 

[skull]

It's pretty hard to understand addiction if you're not an addict or don't have a lot of experience with addicts. It's not gonna make logical sense because addictive behavior doesn't come from the part of your brain that's controlled by logic and higher thinking.

It's kinda pointless to talk about it here though; there's plenty that just think addicts are total losers and they should just "get over it."

I was addicted to heroin for 6 years needles the whole bit. Addicts are losers and need to get over it. Its certainly not like the guy that thought it was like going with out oxygen. Its a lot fun for a awhile and it slowly grabs ahold of you. Until you have nothing in life but that high, then you get sick, your whole body hurts, you get the shits, your miserable. I think its more mental then the pain though. You know not only will I not feel bad but I'll feel great I only need 15 bucks. So you get 15 bucks hopefully $50 and it just keeps going like that until you get the fuck over it.

 

[lxskllr]

I always wondered why people couldn't quit over a period of time. Eg, if you use a $10 bag at a time. drop it 10%, and save the rest for later. Do that awhile, and take another 10% off. Keep on going til you're at 0%. Not much fun, but it shouldn't be much pain either.

 

[JulesMaximus]

The oxy and heroin abuse problem. Like, why is it so hard for people to quit?

Because it is physically and mentally addicting?

 

[skull]

I always wondered why people couldn't quit over a period of time. Eg, if you use a $10 bag at a time. drop it 10%, and save the rest for later. Do that awhile, and take another 10% off. Keep on going til you're at 0%. Not much fun, but it shouldn't be much pain either.

Every addict tries that. You can't do it, it just makes you mad as fuck your not high, its worse than none, you end doing the whole bag.