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kindness

Kratom for Methadone withdrawal

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First up please delete or move if this isn’t a good place for this question... 

 

So I am currently on 100mg of Methadone a day, I am planning on coming down off this dose in the next while.  I believe the fastest allowable reduction is 5mg every three days.  I have come off various opioids/opiates over the years so know what I am in for, I also understand that until  around 40mg the going isn’t too rough, it’s the reduction at the power end that gets worse.  

 

So just assume that I live in the US and legality isn’t an issue here.  Had anyone got any first hand experience using Kratom to assist with withdrawals from Methadone?  Or if not from Methadone then from other opioids/opiates?  I would really like to hear others experiences or ideas here.

 

cheers 

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 I don't have experience in this style of battle  but if you can sift through the shit(and there is heaps)  you might tease something out of use over at reddit in r/Kratom if you haven't looked over. 

 

Strength to you bro, rid yourself of the liquid handcuffs. 

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Cheers mate, had just been reading through a bunch of stuff over there before checking back here on the thread.  There is a wealth of info on reddit that was useful.

 

I will report back here once I have a bit more to contribute for the benefit of others who might be interested in following a similar path.  

 

Cheers again bro <thumbs up>

 

 

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Nice one I've wondered this myself as I'm in a similar position.

I'm currently on 29 trying to get off, at the highest point was 120. Going down five a month from there was very easy until I stalled at 65 for a few years. Then tried again untill 40 or so and since then I've only been going down 1 a fortnight or month but had been drinking a lot. Since I quit drinking a month or two ago it's felt a lot easier so far and am planning to try drop 1mg a week now and see how that goes. After 7 years plus I'm very over it and been 'clean' for about 2 and a half years, could be worse though lol.

Keep us posted if you can and good luck✌️

 

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I'm now on 24 and going fine so far, probably once I get to 10 or so the real battle will start.

 

kindness if you're still on 100 I'd advise dropping 5 a week max until getting down to 50 or 40 then slow down from there if need be.

 

Wish I had more first hand info on Kratom but of course plants are evil while a synthetic that leaves you with months of withdrawal is a ok :rolleyes:

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Hi Kindness,

Having had decades of experience with opiates, including these substitution programs...and being a fan of Kratom, I would say Kratom is going to have a hard time staving off the full withdrawal effect fo methadone at 40mg (depends how long you've been on too..if only a few months you'll have it easy).

Kratom will only fill the Mu Opiate receptor (same one that Suboxone works on) but  leave the primary Delta opiate receptor still empty and thirsty. 

I think if you moved to Suboxone (but keep tapering down after stabilising) and then to Kratom the transition would be easier.

You'll want Red strains and probably need to dose every hour or two.

happy to chat further if that helps,'

cheers,

Flux

 

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Sorry for my slow reply guys.  Thank you for the responses.  I’m currently dropping 5 a week as you suggest levi’.  I haven’t experienced any withdrawal worse than when I was up around 100 thus so far so good.

 

i had an absolutely horrible response to some Kratom recently... was trying some out to see what affects if any and wow!  I was the most ill I think I have ever been.  I felt like my stomach had acid burning around the entry and exit to it - I vomited until I didn’t have energy to get up off the ground and was within minutes of calling an ambulance.  

 

I did some research following this and found that this happens for some people... so at the moment I’m pretty unlikely to use it unless I am really suffering.  

 

Anyhow.  Yeah, the journey away from opiates continues.  

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Sorry to hear that krat was so rough for you. I haven’t had to face a similar battle to you, but I have found krat to be a great plant ally...

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Yeah, I think it was because I had a few grams with a small amount of water on an empty stomach.  Just the bitterness of it made my stomach quite upset.  I’d had it a bunch of times previously and been okay.  I think in future I will either make a tea or load it into capsules.

 

im not expecting to really need it until nearing the lower numbers. 

 

 

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I’ve only chewed fresh leaves really. Made a few teas, but fresh leaves were more pleasant for sure...

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27 minutes ago, MountainGoat said:

I’ve only chewed fresh leaves really. Made a few teas, but fresh leaves were more pleasant for sure...

Fantastic.  I’d much prefer the fresh plant as well though I’d imagine getting hold of one wouldn’t be easy... likely to not enjoy the weather where I am either.  Is it an easy one to grow?

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It was easy to grow up until they scheduled it. It’s difficult to propagate though...

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Good to hear mate sorry for hijacking your thread a bit:blush:, I've been fine so far but was dropping very slow most of the time, 5 per month mostly.

 

1 per week from 30, and now on 21, has been all good though I know the last 20mg is gonna be way harder than the first 100:rolleyes:.

 

I brought a Kratom plant form SAB just before they were outlawed but unfortunately it died due to neglect as I wasn't in the best state at the time, same as a few sally D's which is a shame, many years ago so hopefully it's ok to say now:scratchhead:

 

I remember at the time I even had a successful cutting from it but might have been tough getting them through winter hear in Melbourne anyway, I'm sure tree's must still be around but too hard to find.

 

That sound like a nasty reaction though, I tried a couple capsules of 20x extract (probably a half gram) back then too but never noticed much, surely due to having an opiate tolerance so I'd imagine it's only really useful for opiate naive people.

 

Peace

 

 

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Hey I'm on 80mg methadone, on a valium taper (was doing 250mg a day) then told my psychiatrist who freaked out told me to go to ED  immediately as I'm prone to seizures (I thought I could handle it on 20mg/day.. and handle it at home); Anyway long story short - went from 250mg to 30mg in 7 days, some of those days were ok, some weren't. Great staff at St Vincents hospital.

Edited by Entheogenic garden
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I apologise for starting a discussion and disappearing for lengths of time.  I have been quite busy.  I previously spoke about my experiences thus far with Kratom during a couple of visits to NZ and yeah for me, very unremarkable.  I had to try anyway being me but of course with the amount of opiates I’ve shoveled in over the last few years and the subsequent ‘golden standard cure’ of methadone treatment I’ve been on for a year now it was never gonna touch the sides.  

 

I think i just wanted some hope there might be something that wasn’t more opiates that would relieve those dirty arse withdrawals methadone affords one.  How bloody naive of me to think it qpuld

be fairly easy and I wouldn’t really feel it till 40.  No.  Not even.  It’s beem fucked.  I hate the shit even more now.  I could chuck a mad rant but likely you’ve all heard it anyway.  My biggest fuck toy in the face system is them not believing I have low testosterone BECAUSE of the methadone.  Even though other countries routinely check their male methadone patients levels as it’s a known and accepted side effect.  You try telling that to a doctor as some drug addict barely worth acknowledging - judging fuck out of me when I probably wasn’t more than you and gave more people jobs in the last five years... but hey, fuck it let’s stick with the stereotypes coz they just work, ya know?!

 

woops, ranted.

 

 I’ve seen docos from the states of people kicking heroin habits using just kratom, I guess if one were ballsy enough they could wean down, chuck one more in and get over to Bali and kratom it up for a bit?  I hear it works.  It probably does?  But if so why don’t the thousands of US addicts shove their super expensive methadone doses up their privately run clinics arses and withdraw off into the easier to get off and cheaper Kratom sunset?  

 

Im sure time will tell.  It’s big business over there this methadone stuff.  I think we all know what’s coming next.  I just hope more anecdotal evidence of successful replacement or use for withdrawal gets put before they realise that the  Kratom purchased at bars and over the counter currently is actually exactly like an Oxy 80 or actually closer to Fentanyl and methadone has been the golden standard for 50? years?  Why question the data?  

 

Anyhow.  All the best to my friends on this thread walking a similar path as I.  It’s hard, I am down to 47.5 now.  Probably go to 2.5 a week instead now, it’s jiat to uncomfortable between 4am and 8am when that chemist opens.

 

When I’m nearly done and homeostasis has nearly returned I may take a

teip to Bali or NZ for the last week or two.  It might help them but truely forget it formuse during a normal ORT taper.  Doesn’t help. Bummer

 

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Ive taken Kratom daily for around a year now (4 strains cycled) .  I feel great everyday and believe it has strengthened my immune system too,  havnt had a cold since taking it.

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hey man you've done really well to drop that much in that time, definitely has to be slow and steady unfortunately but I'm with you just so sick of it which makes it tempting to try speed up.

 

I've spent well over 10 grand now at the same chemist and the fact the government pays for it then the chemist charges anything they want drives me nuts, don't know how that's legal.

 

I'm on 7 now, was fine dropping 1 per week from 30 something until I got to single digits it got harder, now doing 1 only every fortnight from 9 and plan to go down by only .5 once I get to 5 as of course each time you drop the same amount its a bigger ratio than the last drop.

 

anyway we're getting there, I know one person who got off completely which I try and keep in mind just gonna take a bit longer than I thought:rolleyes:

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Congrats on make the choice to get of methadone maybe look into ibogaine treatment for opiate withdrawls if kratom isn't for you, Have you tried smoking kratom it always reminded me of euphorialess cannabis. Buphrenorphine was my go to once i got down low enough.

I was on 150mg for 5years before i slowly reduced over 3yrs down to 30mg, jumped over to suboxone having been years ago on subutex without issue. Worst mistake i could make apparently i'm deathly allergic to naloxone musle seizure face and mouth swelled so bad i couldn't talk properly, hospitalised twice in one night almost suffacated the second time two hrs after they discharged me on the front driveway at 1am. Then my clinic which only has a doctor in once aweek suggested i jump back on methadone the following week and to just keep taking the naloxone/bupernorphine till then, as only pregnant women can have subutex. Lucky my g.p gave me enough subutex till i could get back in to the clinic doctor. I told the clinic this they complained to the medical board and they warned him if it happened again he would become a restricted proscriber. This is the same doctor who was the only one to provide a maintence dose for my gram a day oxycodone habit while i waited to get on the program., even after being busted doctor shopping up and down the coast. While other doctors wouldn't even see us after that. I was outraged how my clinic treated my g.p and never went back i just spread a week of 8mg subutex out over two weeks, made sure i had lots of temazapam for the last week and first clean week as well lorpirimide(gastrostop) which is a opiate that doesn't cross the blood-brain barrier.

sorry got a bit off topic

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Remembered about this thread and thought I'd check in.

I've been off methadone completely for 5 or 6 weeks now after stopping from 4mg a day (except 2 doses of 2 mg each). Was planning to keep going down by 0.5 increments but once I realised I could skip days at 4 I just decided to try, probably should've kept dropping but I had been doing it gradually over ages and hadn't used in 3 years which obviously made a huge difference.

Been struggling a bit with drinking again since, and too much junk food so gained a fair bit of weight but thems the brakes aye.:rolleyes:

Anyway it's definitely a struggle, especially cravings being opiate free for the first time in 12 years or so, but felt it's important to mention it so some people might know it's possible to get off as it definitely seems impossible at times but ain't. :unsure:B)

Btw my doctor suggested switching back to subs to get off but for me it was better to just keep tapering down

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Hi Levi,

Great to hear you doing well and that it wasn't such a hellish struggle after all !

Good move to keep reducing rather than going on subs - the withdrawals are lesser- but last a hell of a lot longer (so essentially are the same just drawn out). Regarding cravings though, its a good idea to find a new activity - study, creative pursuits, gardening - anything productive to fill that need for dopamine in your brain and purpose/satisfaction in your life that the drugs once filled. 

Check out the Thomas Recipe for supplements and the like that will make the whole process and general heath a lot better: https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/opiate-addiction/related-topics/the-thomas-recipe/#gref

cheers,

Flux

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For me Top notch Meth made my 500mg -1g a day oxycodone withdrawals nothing worse then a bit of an acidic stomach and the occasional vomit. Coming off Methadone 150mg taped over a year down to 30mg was easy the switch to bupernorphin nearly killed turns out i'm deathly allergic to Naloxone. Long story short after anaphylactic shock for the naltrexon and almost suffocating at 1am trying to make it into the house to go back to hospital. Then my clinic told me to keep take for a week till they could see. No chance saw my g.p who gave me straight bupe to make till i saw the clinic, never went back detox from 12mg to 1/2 a mg over a week what a nightmare, made my outrageous oxy habit and meth assisted withdrawal a wonderful frolic.  Have you tried smoking kratom in a bong? Also Ibogaine is used to rapid detox from opiates in Mexico and Oz. And some people even use loperimide the OTC anti diarrhea opiate that doesn't cross the blood brain barrier (not without another substance to smash it through into the brain) as a slow taper method for those without access to other opiate treatment.    Best of luck which ever way you go. Also methadone does cause low testosterone any methadone proscribing doctor should know this. If not don't mention the methadone if its an issue, instead talk about your crippling depression, no sex drive and inability to get an erection.  I got tested but under 10 requires treatment mine was 10.1 or 10.2. So i was stuck with those tops side effects but no treatment option.

 

 

Edited by Chemiconaut
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