Matt teaches people how to get off opioids strategically and as comfortably as possible. He quit opioids 9 years ago then became a counselor at an Opioid Treatment Program. Present day Matt is an Opioid Recovery Coach, Author, Podcaster, and Speaker. Check out his Virtual Opioid Recovery Course to learn everything you need to quit opioids holistically. And you can call/text @ (619)-952-6011 for more information on coaching.
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mw
Re: Grapefruit:
In my own research of, and personal experience¹ with, prescription opiate² pain medication, the easiest and most effective type of grapefruit is white grapefruit juice (from) concentrate.
Why “White Grapefruit” as opposed to the more common/popular Ruby Red or others? I don’t have the data to definitely support my conclusion, but I suspect it contains a higher percentage of the furanocoumarin, bergamotten.³
Why “from concentrate?” The method of production probably influences the resultant juice’s chemical proportions significantly. Mechanically pressing/reaming is likely to extract more bergamotten from the fruit’s pulp/pith than
manually reaming. And, although one could scrape the white pith from the rind and consume it along with the juice, pulp and membranes, grapefruit is not normally eaten that way.
An important clarification:
Grapefruit is not actually a
“potentiator⁴” of opiates, but an inhibitor of the body’s ability to metabolize/deactivate drugs, including hydrocodone, oxycodone and many others.
1) Decades of both acute and chronic low back pain.
2) Long-term use of prescription hydrocodone, oxycodone ER & IR, plus a few others.
3) Bergamotten is a potent inhibitor of the enzyme Cytochrome P450 3A4. CYP3A4, expressed primarily in the gut and liver, is the body’s primary defense against xenobiotics, and metabolizes many prescription drugs. Another potent CYP3A4 inhibitor is the antacid/proton-pump-inhibitor Cimetidine (brand name Tagament), available OTC. (If you use this, follow label instructions carefully!)
4) The term “potentiator” is perhaps a convenient shortcut, but technically, grapefruit does not make drugs more “potent.” Instead, it reduces the drugs’ “clearance,” i.e. inhibits the body’s ability to deactivate the drugs. This effectively increases the drugs’ halflife, making their effects *last longer* — but does not make the effects stronger. However, a second dose of the drug a few hours later — by which time the initial dose normally would have waned — may *seem* more potent, simply because the first dose has not yet been cleared (deactivated/eliminated) from the body.This could effectively “double up” —putting 2 doses in circulation— possibly creating a dangerous overdose. For this and other reasons, consumption of grapefruit
is contraindicationed in the warning/interaction literature of approximately 50% of current prescription drugs.
Re: Grapefruit:
In my own research of, and personal experience¹ with, prescription opiate² pain medication, the easiest and most effective type of grapefruit is white grapefruit juice (from) concentrate.
Why “White Grapefruit” as opposed to the more common/popular Ruby Red or others? I don’t have the data to definitely support my conclusion, but I suspect it contains a higher percentage of the furanocoumarin, bergamotten.³
Why “from concentrate?” The method of production probably influences the resultant juice’s chemical proportions significantly. Mechanically pressing/reaming is likely to extract more bergamotten from the fruit’s pulp/pith than
manually reaming. And, although one could scrape the white pith from the rind and consume it along with the juice, pulp and membranes, grapefruit is not normally eaten that way.
An important clarification:
Grapefruit is not actually a
“potentiator⁴” of opiates, but an inhibitor of the body’s ability to metabolize/deactivate drugs, including hydrocodone, oxycodone and many others.
1) Decades of both acute and chronic low back pain.
2) Long-term use of prescription hydrocodone, oxycodone ER & IR, plus a few others.
3) Bergamotten is a potent inhibitor of the enzyme Cytochrome P450 3A4. CYP3A4, expressed primarily in the gut and liver, is the body’s primary defense against xenobiotics, and metabolizes many prescription drugs. Another potent CYP3A4 inhibitor is the antacid/proton-pump-inhibitor Cimetidine (brand name Tagament), available OTC. (If you use this, follow label instructions carefully!)
4) The term “potentiator” is perhaps a convenient shortcut, but technically, grapefruit does not make drugs more “potent.” Instead, it reduces the drugs’ “clearance,” i.e. inhibits the body’s ability to deactivate the drugs. This effectively increases the drugs’ halflife, making their effects *last longer* — but does not make the effects stronger. However, a second dose of the drug a few hours later — by which time the initial dose normally would have waned — may *seem* more potent, simply because the first dose has not yet been cleared (deactivated/eliminated) from the body.This could effectively “double up” —putting 2 doses in circulation— possibly creating a dangerous overdose. For this and other reasons, consumption of grapefruit
is contraindicationed in the warning/interaction literature of approximately 50% of current prescription drugs.