Cold turkey heroin withdrawal is, in some cases, fatal, making going cold turkey is not recommended for pregnant women, or people with severe health problems.
It’s critical that you avoid “tapering down” as an excuse to keep using. If you’re out of dope and you convince yourself to buy more just so you can taper, you’re still using and you’re not quitting. When you make the decision to cold turkey, you need to jump. Now. It’s like a Band-Aid, just yank that thing off and get it over with.
If you don’t trust yourself to really make it impossible, get help. Let a trusted friend, family member, or sponsor go through all your drawers with you and take everything away. Don’t throw it in the kitchen garbage, destroy it by smashing it with a hammer and having someone else throw it away at an undisclosed location.
Get someone to check up on you regularly throughout the hard week to come, or better yet, get someone to stay with you and see you through the process. It can be a dark and lonely feeling cold turkeying all by yourself. So don’t.
If drinks other than water nauseate you, try to water them down to drink them. Gatorade will really help keep your electrolytes up, which is essential. Cut the drink with some water and keep it down. You’ve got this.
In preparation, sometimes it helps to take a dose of milk of magnesia (magnesium hydroxide, a laxative) a few days before you start, while you’re still tapering down, to clear out your system and make the diarrhea somewhat milder during cold turkey. Some have found success in taking large doses (30-40 mg) of Imodium for the first couple of days during the worst part of cold turkey, and then starting to taper down to avoid constipation. Try to space out the OTC drugs you take, if any, and avoid abusing them. Natural alternatives like Valerian are also popular and effective in calming your nerves and softening the nausea you’ll experience. Since it even binds to the same brain receptors, think of it like herbal Valium that’s cheap and available at Walmart.
Feeling extremely cold chills will be common for you throughout cold turkey (that’s why it’s called cold turkey). Warm baths can feel really great, keeping you warm and close to normal. When you’re feeling the chills come on and you can’t get warm, jump in the bath or the shower and let the steam work on you.
While you run the risk of further addictions to other drugs, learning more about “warm turkey” methods can help ensure that you don’t fall into their possible traps.
To avoid becoming addicted to other prescription drugs, don’t rely on the same old chain of dealers that resulted in you having to quit heroin in the first place. Don’t try it on your own. Do it the smart way, by getting the professional medical help that’s available to you and taking drugs as recommended.
Try to start with as low a dose as possible. Some clinics start with doses in excess of 70mg, making it “too easy” on some users who hope to quit more quickly and effectively. Communicate with the staff and let them know your intention of quitting, not dragging out the process. If you’re healthy enough for a lower dose, try to force yourself to start smaller. It’s unfortunately common for heroin users to become dependent on methadone, or even become double-dippers, who take methadone in the morning and begin using heroin later in the day when the effect wears off. Methadone isn’t right for everyone, but it’s usually the cheapest option, especially if you can apply and qualify for insurance aid in your state.
You may need to agree to take periodic drug tests, HIV screens, and undergo other procedures to be admitted to state-run clinics. Getting on prescription drugs can be a much more involved process than getting a couple of pills, so prepare to be run through the gauntlet.
Clonidine is a non-narcotic BP med, given by most addiction doctors, quite effective at managing your withdrawal symptoms, especially anxiety associated with the process. Valium and Xanax are benzodiazepines effective in treating addiction, battling insomnia, and treating your anxiety. Phenobarbital and Ativan are relatively-weak narcotics that are sometimes prescribed to help take the edge off. Tramadol is a painkiller sometimes prescribed specifically to combat leg pain or restless-leg syndrome and has proven quite effective in soften the restlessness associated with withdrawal.
Clonidine is a non-narcotic BP med, given by most addiction doctors, quite effective at managing your withdrawal symptoms, especially anxiety associated with the process. Valium and Xanax are benzodiazepines effective in treating addiction, battling insomnia, and treating your anxiety. Phenobarbital and Ativan are relatively-weak narcotics that are sometimes prescribed to help take the edge off. Tramadol is a painkiller sometimes prescribed specifically to combat leg pain or restless-leg syndrome and has proven quite effective in soften the restlessness associated with withdrawal.
Depending on your method of warming the turkey, your secondary withdrawal might be brief and mild, or it might be a close cousin to heroin. It may take several weeks before you start feeling normal again. Go through the same process of selecting a quitting date and committing to it.
These packages are often the end result of family interventions and can actually serve to make addicts feel extremely guilty because of the associated cost. If you cold turkey alone and end up reusing, you might feel disappointed in yourself, but if you withdraw at a place that’s costing your parents thousands of dollars a night, you might feel much more terrible and guilty. Don’t let it get to the point where such a situation becomes necessary.
It’s hard to think of quitting when you think, “I can’t ever do this again, for the rest of my life. " Don’t worry about the rest of your life. Worry about getting to 5 o’clock pm without using. Then start worrying about getting to next Monday without using.
Alternatively, NA can really turn some addicts off. If the idea of spending several hours a week listening to other addicts talk endlessly about using drugs, or if you think that may drive you to use again, seek other social groups that can fulfill a similar hole. Check out bowling leagues, card groups, or any other kinds of sober social organizations that will give you people to talk to about a common subject or interest. Talking to a therapist can be restorative and instructive for many addicts. Deciding to confront your addiction means talking about it, coming clean with it, and being able to discuss it with someone who won’t judge you or your life.
Some addicts find it helpful to put all the money they used to set aside for dope and save it up to buy something nice for big sober milestones. Take a trip, or buy something nice for yourself. You deserve it.
When you get a temptation, picture the garbage can and picture your temptation as a piece of trash. Put it in the can. Screw the lid on it. Keep it out of sight.
If you replace your heroin high with other drugs, it may work for a short period of time, but it’ll also likely keep you hanging around the same types of people, facing the same types of temptations, and you won’t be sober. Know yourself. If you’re still fighting a big battle against heroin temptations and feel like a couple cigarettes a day is your only sane lifeline, don’t try to quit right away. Learn your own limitations and set a series of goals for yourself. If you want to quit everything, by when? Next week? Next month? Set a date for quitting pot or booze or cigarettes if it fits in with your goals for your life.
It may be unfortunate but it’s sometimes necessary to sever old friendships with people likely to suck you back into the drug world you crawled out of. You have to be smart and take control of your own sobriety. If you worry that hanging around a certain person might tempt you to use again, you’ve got to avoid that person. Tell them you don’t trust yourself yet to be around them, but you’d love to see them get clean.
