Category — Opiate Withdrawal

I’m always reluctant to write about medically related topics, because I don’t want to represent anything incorrectly. Since I’m not a Doctor, I try not to give any medical advice so I don’t steer anybody in the wrong direction. With this post I’m just going to give you my experience and what little I know about how opiates like vicodin affect the immune system.... continue

Oftentimes we focus most of our attention on the acute-withdrawal from opiates, but we fail to realize that there is a far milder form of withdrawal that can last up to 12 months after all the hardcore stuff is over. This “mild” withdrawal is called:  Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome or PAWS for short.... continue

Now that we’ve talked about how to prepare, and what detox medications you can use to help with your withdrawal, it’s time to get through the actual detox process.... continue

The Kick Pack
I remember when I was younger, there was a clinic by my house that would give patients an opiate withdrawal “kick pack” to help them with their detox. You had to sign all of this paperwork, much like the methadone clinics of today, and then they’d give you this little kit full of drugs that you could use to detox with. I personally never got the thing, but I’d heard that it had stuff in it like, Darvocet (warning: do not use Darvocet/Darvon/Propoxyphene), Clonidine, and maybe some Valium or other tranquilizer. Ideally, you want to get through your detox without having to resort to using any other drugs, but sometimes that’s either too difficult, or just not feasible. If you believe in harm reduction, then this post is for you. If you think that a good detox is one that is completely “cold turkey,” then that is understandable, and more power to you…go for it!... continue

As I mentioned in my previous post, a great deal of planning and preparation should go into a detox session. The reason why so many people enter rehab in order to detox, is because it can be a very traumatic experience. One that will most likely put the rest of your life on hold.... continue

I still remember the first time I detoxed from opiates. Back then it was heroin that I was kicking, and I had no idea what I was in for. Though the symptoms are very similar, I must say that withdrawing from vicodin (hydrocodone) is far far worse than the heroin. I’m not sure, but I believe it has something to do with the way vicodin is synthesized that makes it much more painful when it comes time to detox. Vicodin is a semi-synthetic derivative of opium. It is essentially codeine with a hydrogen atom attached to it. Scientists believed that by hydrogenizing the codeine molecule, they could make it easier on the stomach. Well I guess they didn’t account for what happens when it begins to leave the body during withdrawal.... continue

Hello everyone.... continue