Many people have asked me the question: “Does cocaine help with opiate withdrawal?” In this article, I’m going to explain the effects of using cocaine for opiate withdrawal.
During the several times, I went through detox at home, I never used cocaine for opiate withdrawal. In my opinion, using cocaine for opiate withdrawal is not the best remedy there is.
First of all…it’s illegal.
Second of all…it’s expensive.
Then when you add in the fact that you never know what it’s cut with, and I think you know where I’m going with this.
For some individuals, using cocaine for opiate withdrawal can alleviate symptoms such as depression and fatigue.
However, in my opinion, there are natural supplements that can be used to treat these symptoms – which are more effective, safer, cheaper, and legal.
Does Cocaine Help With Opiate Withdrawal?
So, does cocaine help with opiate withdrawal? Well…that depends. According to personal testimonials I read on various forums, using cocaine for opiate withdrawal has helped some people reduce the severity of their withdrawal.
However, the majority of testimonials I read were from people that had negative experiences using cocaine for opiate withdrawal.
Most people said cocaine exacerbated diarrhea and stomach issues, increased their anxiety, and made the opiate withdrawal process much worse.
Still, others stated that using cocaine for opiate withdrawal helped in the short run, but after the coke wore off, their symptoms were much worse.
Pharmacology of Cocaine For Opiate Withdrawal
Cocaine, also known as “Coke,” is a powerful stimulant drug. Most people snort cocaine into their nostrils, but some people smoke it or inject it into their veins, which significantly enhances the effects.
The effects of cocaine come on within a few seconds and last between five and ninety minutes. The reason using cocaine for opiate withdrawal actually helps some individuals is due to specific pharmacological properties of the drug.
Cocaine acts by inhibiting the reuptake of:
- Dopamine
- Norepinephrine
- Serotonin
This results in a net increase in these neurotransmitters in the brain.
While you’re going through opiate withdrawal, your brain is lacking these neurotransmitters, as well as others, and that is one of the main reasons you have anxiety, depression, insomnia, and other unpleasant symptoms.
Thus, using cocaine for opiate withdrawal can have a mood-boosting and withdrawal-decreasing effect for some individuals.
Studies on Cocaine For Opiate Withdrawal
I just read a study that had some very interesting results. Researchers examined the effects of cocaine use on opiate withdrawal symptoms.
Here are the results:
In a 6-month randomized trial comparing 125 opiate-dependent patients who were assigned to four treatment groups (2 or 6 mg of buprenorphine and 35 or 65 mg of methadone), we examined the effects of cocaine use on opiate withdrawal symptoms measured on a 25-item scale on which the scores range from 0 to 75.
For the methadone-maintained patients receiving the relatively low dose (35 mg), weekly withdrawal symptoms were highest when the urine toxicology for that week indicated no cocaine use.
Similar associations were found for buprenorphine. Thus, when using cocaine at a low maintenance opiate dose, persistent opiate withdrawal symptoms were reduced, which is consistent with previous naloxone-precipitated withdrawal studies.
Interestingly, with a higher dose of buprenorphine (6 mg), cocaine may have increased opiate withdrawal symptoms, suggesting a possible mechanism for the reduction of illicit cocaine abuse also recently observed in another study in patients treated with high dose (120 mg) methadone maintenance.”
Does Cocaine Help With Opiate Withdrawal? – Conclusion
Well there you have it…cocaine can help with opiate withdrawal for some individuals, and it can make the withdrawal symptoms worse for others.
Since cocaine helps by increasing concentrations of specific mood-boosting neurotransmitters, I recommend using natural supplements that do the same thing.
Supplements are safer, nonaddictive, and healthier for your body than cocaine.
Many individuals going through opiate withdrawal have obtained relief from anxiety and insomnia, as well as many other symptoms, by using a popular Opiate Withdrawal Supplement.
It’s a bit expensive and not available in stores (you have to order it online), but despite these challenges, getting yourself a 30-day supply of this powerful opiate withdrawal supplement might be just what you need to help you get your life back on track.
If you can afford it, I also highly recommend taking this awesome supplement, because the benefits are just too good to pass up.
Click here now to view my best home detox program.
If you have any questions or comments about the use of cocaine for opiate withdrawal, please post them in the comment box below.
I want to speake for my experience, this is not an advice. Plus, im not a doctor (only a nursing student who stops the University this year only to get finally clean).
I was addicted recently to 600+mg/die of oxycodone, i dont have any phisical pain (but, you know, pain doesnt discriminate) and quit half of dose and then went cold turkey from 360mg/die.
I was on methadone, then suboxone and then methadone again for over 7 years (im 28), i was clean only 3 months years ago but relapsed soon.
The whole point, before my intro is: i dont like cocaine so much, for the reason you said, its expensive and its ridiculous half-life force you to take a line every 30-45min, and the comedown is nasty.
I was in withdrawal, i got all my comfort meds: xanax, zolpidem, clonidine, kratom and lyrica.
I was taking all that stuff (with a reason and scheduled) and the first day for me was horrible, i through to going straight to hell. The second day my mindset was better but all the weakness, chills, sweating, lack of sleep, anxiety, and cramps got me stuck on my bed or couch, counting the minutes that passed like hours.
On 3rd day i call a friend, i ask some coke and… I spoke all day to him, from 5pm to 2am, i invited another friend and soon my gf. For the come down i took always xanax (2mg because i got tolerance to benzo, im using it by a year+)
The 4th,5th and 6th day I took cocaine (no more than half a gram daily) splitted in small lines. The day flight away and when i was alone i wasnt depressed, but I wanted to do stuff, playing guitar, ps4, chess and all tat stuff.
For me cocaine was a godsend (im atheist), here the downside: i spent something like 150€ for my meds, and something like 250/300€ for cocaine. Definitly the most expensive recovery I ever made (most clinic in Italy are free) but it helps me a lot.
Peace.
In 2002 I was in a horrible car accident. I was t-boned by a fire truck going 95 miles an hour with inoperable lights, sirens, or brakes. It left me with a broken neck, 4 ruptured discs in my back, a cracked tailbone, torn ligaments and tendons in my hips, permanent nerve damage, a torn rotator cuff, torn tendons at the base of my skull, and a severe concussion. Needless to say I had numerous surgeries and was put on pain meds. Back in 2002 opiate pain medication wasn’t such a major problem and the drs never told me I would become what they call medically dependent on it. Well unfortunately My story isn’t over the stress of the accident, surgery, recovery, bills from not working, and family issues I was eventually misdiagnosed and Aggressively treated for multiple sclerosis for three years but continued to get worse and worse along with the side effects of 28 different medications along with three different opiate pain meds (which were only taken when needed…less than prescribed), my pcp referred me to a new rheumatologist who has since diagnosed me with lupus, myofacial pain syndrom, fibromyalgia, and rheumatoid arthritis. I only take the opiate pain meds and benzodiazepines when I’m in a major flare up which normally last 3-6 weeks. Then I get about 3-4 weeks when I either only need one pain pill in conjunction with my other meds or my other meds (3 immune suppression meds, anti inflammatory meds, muscle relaxers, neurontin, six or 7 vitamins, and cymbolta that treats both chronic pain syndrom and depression, etc…just to name the ones I can off the top off my head (because there r so many—I pretty much take every but cholesterol meds, heart meds, diabetic meds, and brain injury medication—-I think u get the picture.
I hate having to take the opiates and what I am prescribed to take take during a very bad flare up is five 30 mg oxycodone a day, three 20 mg oxycodone a day either in conjunction with the 30 mg or in between depending on how my body is acting, three 1 mg klonopin throughout the day and 15 mg of ambien at night to sleep, and two 15 mg oxymorphone (one in the am and One at bedtime), and three-four 4 mg zanaflex muscle relaxers every 6-8 hours. All that is just to treat the pain and help me sleep during bad flare ups…my other meds which are B6 & B12 to help with fatigue , vitamin D to help strengthen skin, bones and connective tissue, 5000mg of vitamin C because of the horrible immune system, 250 mg potassium because I take a water pills and to minimize daily muscle spasms, cramping and Charlie horses that r so bad they leave my muscles black and purple for weeks, DHEA-1 to stop early aging, memory decay, increase lifespan, help immune system fight disease, decrease depression naturally, also help with fatigue, And Vitamin E to help with skin rashes, and vitamin K because I take a water pill because of lesions on my kidneys and bladder (ty lupus for that and the kidney stones if I drink too much pop juice caffeine or anything but water, three 25 mg of prednisone to keep inflammation of skin, joints, organs etc to a min, two anti inflammatory drugs, two immune suppressant drugs, 800 mg of neurontin 3 times a day for nerve damage and to help protect me from seizures if my immune system attacks my brain (lupus attacks ur organs and connective tissue), antifungal creams because I get fungal infections in my rashes if the humidity is high for two days or it rains two days in a row, steroid cream to help with the rashes as well…needless to say I feel like I take meds every day all day. If I’m in a flare up I can take up to 50 pills or so
In day day, if I’m not in a flare up I average about 35 pills a day plus creams.
Now that u know my story and I do apologize for the book; when I’m in a flare up it can last anywhere from 3 weeks to 6 weeks the longest was 3 1/2 months…with three hospital admissions in that time frame. I hate taking the pain meds but I literally cannot move, walk, drive or do anything for that matter without them during a flare. Then I take them for so long that my body gets used to having them…it gets addicted…and I go through withdrawals which have triggered a rebound flare up because of the stress withdrawals put on your body and stress and weather r my biggest triggers. I think I do pretty well only taking the 3 pain meds, muscle relaxers, benzodiazepines, and sleeping pill when I actually need them and not every day of my life but I can’t stand the withdrawals. I’ve tried tapering but that only works if I only need to take one or two pain pills a day, when I have to take more for longer than 2-3 weeks the withdrawals r so bad that I end up suffering with opiate withdrawal sickness, and a rebound flare up which in most cases has me taking more pain meds. The drs tell me that pain meds to me r comparable to BP meds to a heart patient or insulin to a diabetic. I just don’t want to b on them every day. The stigma is horrific, plus my mom and dad both were heroine addicts for 26 years before one of many overdoses finally took them so I really don’t want to take the meds unless I need them. The drs also say that if I took them every day as maintenance meds that my pain, lupus, RA, nerve damage, fibromyalgia and myofacial pain syndrome would be better controlled with less flare up. Which to me mean no flare up no need for pain medS. So my long winded question is how do I break this cycle that withdrawals are not triggering more or longer flares yet stay comfortable enough to function as a single mom of two teenagers during flare ups. They did try everything before putting me on the opiate pain meds and honestly the two main reasons I don’t want to take them
Daily for the rest of my life is one: addiction runs in my family it’s only a matter of time before I would need more and more to work along with my family history of opiate addiction and two: I’m so afraid that the way the DEA acts towards these meds now that one day I’ll get cut off cold turkey and have to go through withdrawals after years of being highly medicated which cannot happen I’m a single mom and cannot take the time for rehab if that would happen. I’ve seen it happen to a few people in my lupus support group). So what do I do any advice or do u think I’m handling it the right way? Any and all suggestions are welcome. Again I apologize for the book. Thank you for your patience.
Ps: my rheumatologist sits on the board of rheumatology and the board of pain management in my state so he does know what he is doing.
Hi Nicole,
Here is a quote from what you wrote:”. The drs also say that if I took them every day as maintenance meds that my pain, lupus, RA, nerve damage, fibromyalgia and myofacial pain syndrome would be better controlled with less flare up. Which to me mean no flare up no need for pain medS. ”
I think you are missing the doctors point here. No flare up does not mean no need for pain meds because taking pain meds as prescribed is the reason for no flare up. It sounds like once you start to feel better and your quality of life improves, you want to discontinue your pain meds because something in your conscience is telling you you’re ADDICTED, not DEPENDANT.
In your condition it’s okay to be dependant, because the alternative is worse. In fact, on that regimen of narcotics it would be impossible for anyone not to be dependant. Making that distinction clear in your mind May help alleviate any shame or guilt that may be lurking due to family history, possibly not fulfilling your paradigm of a good mother, etc. Imho, if you are not snorting, injecting, selling, or taking your pain meds for any emotional or recreational reason, then you are not addicted, you’re dependant, which is ok.
Also, if you are following your medication regimen as prescribed, in the unlikely event that you are cut off completely your plan of action should be to go to a detox at either a qualified hospital or rehab. You would need detox, not rehab. Detox can usually be done in a week or less, whereas rehab can be anywhere from 30 days to six months. Understandably you are not willing to do rehab with your teenage kids to care for. However, desperate situations require desperate measures and I would venture to say you could make a week or less of detox happen if you HAD TO.
Sorry for the long response. Kindly note I am rooting for you to find true happiness and quality of life, whatever that means to you. I have lots of opiod and drug experience from both sides of the fence if you know what I mean. Take care sweetheart, cheers.
Hi Nichole,
I wish I had a solution for your question. Matt sounds like he may know what he is talking about. I just wanted to let you know that I’m cheering for you and wish you all the best.
Hey Matt!
I️ was down to a small sliver of Suboxone I️ was wandering if cocaine could help with the Suboxone withdrawals. It was the first time I️ ever did it and I️ felt great but the half-life is not thru yet
Hi Matt my name is James and I’ve been on opiates for 3 years now and I hate it. I’ve lost pretty much everything I own now losing my house that I rent. What’s a natural way to get over there sickness? And help me sleep? Thank you for helping us addicts out.
Hi James,
There are many methods of reducing withdrawal symptoms and helping your sleep during opiate withdrawal. Here are links to my Top 3 articles that can help you answer these questions:
How To Use Kratom For Opiate Withdrawal>>
How To Mega-Dose Vitamin C To Stop Opiate Withdrawal>>
How To Use The Finch Formula For Opiate Withdrawal>>
Hello Matt I am caught in a 15 year struggle with being addicted to opiats but only after a major motorcycle accident where I broke both legs and ankles in over 43 pieces before this accident I wouldn’t even take anything not even Ibuprofen and I had broken plenty of bone before this accident but could fight through the pain. This accident was different and only by a Blessed surgeon was I able to keep both my legs, but even tell now I’m not sure saving them was my best option for my overall health. My question to you is do you feel this is a necessary addiction. I have fought to get off the opiates 3 or 4 times in my life but after living in pain everyday I always ended up taking them just to take the edge off my pain not to get high. I am at one of these cycles again beating my self up for being dependent on drugs. This is not who I am, but I owen my own business that forces me to stand and walk for 8-10 hours a day. So I guess what I’m asking you is with this kind of damage done which most of it being nerve damage that makes both legs feel like they are in buckets of ice water. Do you feel that your natural remedies will be strong enough to help me finally stay off the opiates ?
I also suffer from arthritis In both ankles and hips as well as throughout my body from other injuries and have just started using a new home remedy that has relieved some pain with few days of uses. ” Borax conspiracy “
I have been addicted to opiods for 3 years recently I have been using cocaine for about 3 weeks now… I have not done any Percocet since I have been using cocaine…my question is when I stop using the cocaine will I still go thru withdraw then because I don’t have any drug use ? Or since I haven’t taken the opiods for so long will I be over the withdrawal for them?
If u have managed to use cocaine for a long enough time to stop withdrawing, then you’ll be ok. Of course, you’ll most likely feel super depressed for a bit but it’ll pass. Nothing is worse than full on opiate withdrawals!
I am 18 days off of opiates. I have been extremely tired and still have that nausea feeling with a foggy mind. I did some coke on my 18th day and I have not felt this good in weeks. It made me feel normal and have energy. I am just using low dose to get over those ongoing symptoms.
I’m glad you’re feeling so much better Marge. That break from feeling bad is probably nice. 🙂
Dear Matt- I need to ask you a few questions hoping I can find a way to talk with you- can I have an e-mailing to reach you– Thank You! Joanie
Hi what is your question?
Will they start a Suboxone program if u have a little cocaine in your system. Went out of town and didn’t have any med and I thing I drank Some drinks with cocaine in it and trying to start detox program very soon. Need to know