(Click here to watch the video on YouTube)
In this article, I’m going to teach you how to use loperamide for opiate withdrawal. Loperamide hydrochloride is the drug in the over-the-counter anti-diarrhea medication called Imodium AD. There is actually a lot of misleading and confusing information on the internet about using loperamide for opiate withdrawal. I intend to set the record straight and give you a clear, concise and correct assessment of the benefits and precautions of using loperamide for opiate withdrawal.
Why Opiate Withdrawal Leads to Diarrhea and Other Gastrointestinal Issues
Before I teach you how to use loperamide for opiate withdrawal, it’s important that you understand why withdrawal causes diarrhea in the first place. Drugs like heroin, Morphine, Methadone, hydrocodone, and oxycodone are opioids.
Opioids are a class of narcotic drugs that relieve pain and slow down the Central Nervous System. When you take an opioid, it binds to your opioid receptors in the brain. When the drug enters your system and fills these receptor sites, the receptor “turns on”.
To further illustrate this, imagine that the opioid drug is a key, and the opioid receptor is a lock. When the key (drug) is placed in the lock (receptor), the door opens (turns on) and that’s when you feel the effects (pain relief, euphoria, respiratory depression, constricted pupils, constipation, etc.)
Problems arise when you start taking opioids consistently over a period of time. Tolerance to the drug can develop quickly, so you start needing more opioids to achieve the same desired effects. Eventually, you can develop a physiological dependence from taking opioids consistently, even if you are taking low dosages prescribed by your doctor. If you stop taking opioids abruptly after a tolerance has been established, withdrawal symptoms can arise.
You see, our bodies weren’t designed to handle these powerful, concentrated drugs. When you take opioids on a regular basis, your body starts creating more opioid receptors. When you stop taking opioids, now you have all of these extra receptors that are empty, and that’s why you experience withdrawal symptoms. The withdrawal symptoms then become the opposite of the drug effects. So instead of relaxation, you have anxiety. Rather than pain relief, you experience exaggerated pain.
In place of the constipating effect opiates produce, your body rebounds quickly in the opposite direction. This leads to opiate withdrawal-induced diarrhea. Luckily, you can use loperamide for opiate withdrawal symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea and stomach cramping.
Loperamide For Opiate Withdrawal Benefits
Many people have eased their symptoms by using loperamide for opiate withdrawal. Loperamide is beneficial because it acts as a mu opioid-agonist on the myenteric plexus of the large intestine. This is just a fancy way of saying loperamide has the same effects that opioids do on your stomach. Loperamide is a synthetic opioid, though it does not get you high. This is because Loperamide doesn’t act on the Central Nervous System (CNS).
In fact, a common misconception is that loperamide doesn’t cross the Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB). In reality, loperamide DOES cross this barrier, however, it gets IMMEDIATELY pumped back out into NON-CNS circulation. So to sum things up, loperamide is a synthetic opioid drug that doesn’t get you high (doesn’t stay in the brain), although it does have powerful opioid effects (constipating) on the large intestine.
My Experience Using Loperamide For Opiate Withdrawal
I used loperamide for opiate withdrawal several times during my addiction. Each time I knew I could count on loperamide to stop my diarrhea and stomach cramping. What I love about loperamide is how easily accessible and inexpensive it is. Since it is so cheap (only a few dollars), I started keeping it in my medicine cabinet for opiate withdrawal emergencies. For acute opiate withdrawal, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND using loperamide for opiate withdrawal diarrhea and stomach cramping.
How to Use Loperamide For Opiate Withdrawal
When learning how to use loperamide for opiate withdrawal, it’s important to know the precautions as well as the benefits.
The following criteria will help you determine how to use loperamide for opiate withdrawal safely:
- Loperamide can be addictive.
- Try to use loperamide for only 3-4 days to help ease the worst of the symptoms.
- Use loperamide for opiate withdrawal for no longer than one week.
- Loperamide for opiate withdrawal can lead to a physiological dependence if used for too long.
- Use the least amount of loperamide possible to obtain relief from opiate withdrawal diarrhea and stomach cramping.
- Depending on your severity of addiction, you may need to use a small or a large dosage of loperamide for opiate withdrawal relief.
- Drink plenty of water and Gatorade while using loperamide for opiate withdrawal to avoid dehydration.
When you purchase loperamide for opiate withdrawal, the directions on the back of the box will say to take two caplets after the first loose stool, and one caplet after each subsequent loose stool. The directions will also inform you not to exceed four caplets in 24 hours. I will tell you right now, I greatly exceeded those directions when I used loperamide for opiate withdrawal. I used about four caplets at a time, and I probably took that dosage three times throughout the day, for a total of 12 caplets (24 mg) in 24 hours.
Note: Everyone is biochemically unique with varying degrees of addiction severity. You may only need a few caplets of loperamide like the directions say. Alternatively, you may need even more loperamide than I used.
Taking Mega-Doses of Loperamide For Opiate Withdrawal
After reviewing many of the threads on forums, I’ve read some pretty cool stories on using loperamide for opiate withdrawal. Some people have stated that mega-doses of loperamide (15-60 mg) not only stopped diarrhea, but it also alleviated nearly ALL of their symptoms. I’ve also read about people actually getting high on these mega-doses, and some have even become very addicted to the high from loperamide. Apparently, many opiate abusers have reported things like Vitamin C, grapefruit juice and cimetidine (Tagamet) can help push loperamide to pass the Blood-Brain Barrier. Furthermore, many people have stated that it does cross the BBB at high enough doses, even without the products I just mentioned.
CAUTION!!! Some people have become addicted to loperamide. Do to using it for a prolonged period of time (usually a few months or more) at large doses, people have even ended up in the hospital with serious heart problems…some resulting in death.
To order loperamide for opiate withdrawal, click below:
Kirkland Signature Anti-Diarrheal Loperamide Hydrochloride 2 MG Caplets, 200-Count Bottles (Pack of 2)
A Typical Loperamide mega-dosing protocol looks like this:
- Day 1: Take 400 mg of Tagamet followed by 24-30 mg of loperamide or less washed down with a glass of grapefruit juice (GFJ) every 5-8 hours, or as needed (some individuals will only need 16 mg of Loperamide every 10-12 hours).
- Day 2: Take 400 mg of Tagamet followed by 20 mg of loperamide every 5-8 hours, or as needed, all washed down with GFJ.
- Day 3: Take 400 mg of Tagamet followed by 18 mg of loperamide every 5-8 hours, or as needed, all washed down with GFJ.
- Day 4: Begin to lower you loperamide dosage by half, but continue to take with 400 mg of Tagamet and wash down with GFJ.
Note: Since everyone has varying levels of addiction severity, this protocol may or may not work for you. Based on your unique needs, you may benefit from raising or lowering the loperamide for opiate withdrawal dosage. Listen to your body. Make adjustments as necessary.
To further reduce opiate withdrawal symptoms naturally, I always recommend taking a High-Quality Opiate Withdrawal Supplement combined with loperamide.
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 on how to use loperamide for opiate withdrawal, please feel free to post them in the comment box below.
And click here to learn about my opioid detox & recovery coaching program.
Hi Matt, I was taking suboxone for two years and I transitioned onto kratom 3 weeks ago (following the KTAT method from your Ebook). It has worked really well so far and I am now at the stage of starting to taper off kratom for the next three weeks before I stop kratom completely.
I tried to lower the dose of kratom today to begin the taper and I had a few mild but still disconcerting withdrawal symptoms. I’m wondering if I could use loperamide to help me taper off kratom? Like maybe take loperamide for 5 days now so I can lower my kratom dose and then stop for 10 days or so, then do another 5 days of loperamide next time I lower my kratom dose?
I’m would really appreciate your advice on this and thanks SO much for your wisdom, I am so happy to be free of Suboxone and it’s all thanks to your website!
Let me tell you… I am currently sitting at my desk working while also withdrawal from a 90mg\day Roxy habit. I’ll hit the 24 hour mark in about 2 hours. All I can say is thank you, thank you, thank you! I googled everything I could to get off these stupid pills and I’m soooo happy I came across this page. This morning I woke up and felt like crap so I took 1 teaspoon of Kratom, since I know it takes the edge off in 20 min or less. I don’t plan on using it anymore through my withdrawal, just needed it to function enough to get to work. I also took 8mg of lope. 2 hours later I took 8mg more. Just now I took 6mg. I have noticed I’m up to pee CONSTANTLY and I have a headache I can feel coming so I’m obviously not drinking enough water. But other than that, I think I’ve found what works for my body. I can’t believe I might actually be able to kick this! Thank you again!
This worked for me!
16 year of non stop opiates, heroin, methadone, opium, etc and I managed to stop using loperamide + omeprazole + grapefruit juice.
Thank you so much, I only built up the confidence to do it after reading on this site, I’m going to say it was easy, but the acute phase was certainly easier than I was expecting, what caught me was the post acute phase. Still recovering after months.
Matt thank you for all you do here truelly a godsend so I was on methadone over ten years got down to 15mg then had to do a rapid 10 day detox because the grant paying for it ended suddenly so I turned to Imodium to help cope it’s been about two weeks I’ve used the meds starting with 6-7 pills and gradually down to just one a day but if I skip a day my RLS and sleeplessness is about the same anyway but I shit like constantly not nesseaarily diarrhea but still very uncomfortable my question is how long should I expect this to go on because I currently discontinued use cuz I think I’m just delaying the inevitable?
I’m a little late as it’s now 2020 but long story short, I got on suboxone about 6 yrs ago and last week when my monthly appointment came around, I couldn’t pay the $200 and they refused to see me after never not paying or peeing dirty. I have known about lope for many years as I would use it to help in between fixes in the height of my addiction. I am in DTs from not having my suboxone and went and got some lope to help. I know subs are different but I hope they aren’t so different that the lope won’t work. I took 12 2mgs to start hoping that I won’t need to go higher. Any advice on my situation would greatly help! I am a mom of three and a wife who is fighting to keep her marriage due to some infidelity in the recent past by my husband, so have a lot going on but just want to be done with the sub and the expense every month!
Thanks
Cass
I’m same situation but not a mother. The lope really helps and if you can get ahold of kratom that does wonders too. Both are addictive as well but kratom is soooo mild….it just taste like shit. If you go that route I recommend chasing it with chocolate milk or orange juice
I quit hurting from methadone by about day 28. Worse experience of my life. I was in a long term detox…..specifically for opiate addicts. Doc told me that it would literally just stop one day..i woke up day 28 and felt fine..keep it up!!!
some time now and finally got the bravery to
Hi Matt.
This is likely off-topic, for which I apologize.
I’ve been taking Immodium for birth related issues for the last 30 years, starting at age 8.
Recently, I’ve tried going cold turkey, not on opiates, but on pot, which I’ve likely smoked close to 2 grams a day, for the last 10+ years.
And the outcomes have been the exact same, the last 5 times I’ve tried to do so, over the last 9 or 10 months.
Outrageous bowel movements; I’m going somewhere between 40 to 60 times a day, and wind up incapable of keeping hydrated, even though I’ll drink literally over 10 liters of water a day.
It absolutely ruins my day-to-day life, and I’ve not yet been able quit.
Any ideas?
Could the loperamide be activating with my fat cells, which pot absorbs into, so that quitting pot keeps my body from absorbing the loperamide?
I’m as desperate here as Princess Leia leaving a message with R2-D2, though my symptoms are likely much less intense than what opiate withdrawal brings.
Lopermide will not help marijuana withdrawal. You are dehydrated because of all of the lopermide you are using. This article is for opiate users using lopermide to get through withdrawal. Lopemide is classified as an opiate, albeit a weak one. There is nothing lopermide can do to help kick a marijuana habit (unless extreme diarrhea is a huge side effect of kicking pot). I think you are making things worse by taking so much lopermide when it’s not needed to kick pot.
Try to stay busy and use CBD oil or something to get off pot. Everyone is different of course but comparing opiate withdrawal to marijuana withdrawal is like comparing an inferno to a heating pad.
Yes it is best to seek professional help to detox and not to try it on your own. But these detox centers are not FREE most addicts don’t have a penny to their name and these rehab places try to get family and loved ones to sign over their house to pay for their $50,000 rehab bill. So saying don’t try it on your own seek professional help is usually not a option. Plus when you get thrown in jail they don’t give you anything your cold turkey naked in a cold cement cell. So the help that people are giving to detox at home is very helpful.
Matt is it ok to take loperamide (Immodium plus) while still taking 1.75mg subutex.
Only if that amount of Subutex is giving you withdrawal symptoms. Once you feel symptoms of your dose being so low, the loperamide may help. But it helps the most once you’re completely off Subutex.
To anyone still questioning whether or not lope will ease your WD problems… it WILL. And trust me here I threw myself out as a guinea pig with this because I thought, why not? Ive been on herion and any opiate I could find since the age of 12, I’m 28 now and LOPE helped save my life.
I have done every dose I can think of, ive downed 100-200 2mg pills at a time (I am NOT telling anyone what to do, I am simply tell YOU what I have personally done) and the only adverse affect was that I obviously pooped a bit funny for a while. So what. As a hardcore drug user that’s the LEAST OF OUR PROBLEMS. When in FULL WD’s, either 48-100 of those 2mg pills will take 95% of your misery away. I have never gotten high, not even close. I simply no longer felt the urge to either kill myself or just steal to get more drugs, which I am sick of. Opiates ruled my life, id take and steal from every one of you, right behind your back or in your face I did not care.
My point is lopermide is not going to kill you, or come close to it. It can and will HELP you though, but the mental game is up to you.
may I know what is Tagamet 400 mg
So glad I found this link i will beat this 2 I kicked her ion 20 years ago and stupidly found thease wonderful opioid tablets it’s got me right now I kicked it cold 5 months ago for a short time but heads in a different place not wanting the pain.
Can confirm 100%. I’ve also taken similarly high doses of lope at once (100 pills down the gullet) on a fairly empty stomach followed by A LOT of water/Gatorade, and though it’s definitely not immediate relief, within a few hours all of my symptoms subsided. I’m talking: no more stomach cramps, no diarrhea, no vomiting, relief from hot/cold flashes, no runny eyes/nose, no more sneezing, and general deliverance from feeling as if I could crawl out of my own skin. I haven’t used Tagamet or grapefruit juice as a potentiator, though maybe if I had, I wouldn’t have had to ingest an entire bottle of lope. My boyfriend told me about this little trick, and aside from weird stool (as you said- that’s the LEAST of our problems & we are definitely no stranger to this…) and more pronounced dehydrated feeling (remedied easily with Pedialyte/Gatorade/good old water-
(which should be watched closely during ANY detox protocol…hydration helps so much more than people realize!) This detox trick using lope is *PURE GOLD*- no joke!
*IMPORTANT* ONLY USE THE TABLETS! DO NOT USE LIQUIGELS OR LIQUID LOPERAMIDE!
Lee, I’m glad you have found relief using loperamide but I did want to throw out a disclaimer to others reading this. The dosage mentioned in the above post could be taken by someone with an extremely high tolerance ONLY. This large a dose could easily cause most people to overdose which could lead to death. Just wanted to point this out as a precaution to keep everyone safe. Loperamide will work at much lower doses for most people, even those with a higher tolerance. Please start low and move up slowly until you find what works for you. Take care.
I have a question. Do I have to take Tagamet every time I take loperamide every 4 hrs? And my fiancee went and got me liquid Imodium instead of the pills. Is that the same thing? I’m coming off of 60mgs of methadone every day for 10 years.
Thanks for sharing this. So glad you have found that lopermide works so well for you.
My healthy 23 year old son died exactly two months ago today. He was an opiate addict who admitted to me numerous times that he often used loperamide in large doses to get high. He said he never bought it, it was easy to shoplift and available in every store. My son was in recovery at the time and doing really well. For the first time in a long time he was hopeful about getting sober and staying sober. He had just moved from a very remote and restricted residence to a sober living in town. He couldn’t handle the freedom and the temptation was apparently too strong for him to resist. They found him unresponsive in his bed the next morning. Paramedics were called and he was rushed to the hospital but it was too late. They did a drug screen that came back negative. I told the ER doctor about his loperamide abuse and she had never heard of it. She didn’t think it was worth putting in his chart for the Medical Examiner. After 6 weeks I called the ME to get a status report and he said that all of his organs were healthy and they hadn’t found anything that could have caused his death. I asked about loperamide and he said there wasn’t anything in his chart and he hadn’t heard of abusing it to get high either. Today he called to tell me my son had a lethal level of loperamide in his blood and that was his cause of death. Loperamide is dangerous in the hands of addicts who may be tempted to take larger does to get high. There is not enough warnings out there about the dangers and I believe there are most likely a lot more deaths from it that go unreported because medical professionals aren’t aware of it’s abuse. There isn’t even a warning on the labels of it being potentially lethal. I’m going to do what I can to change that!
I am so sorry for your loss. Please accept my sincere condolences. Thank you for posting this. You may have saved a life in doing so.
Hi Matt\
and a goverment going after our diarrhea is a joke and is a great joke for a stand up comic. i just came from Costco and they are now behind the counter and im 67 and i kicked heroin cold in the 60ies and it only took 5 days and your back to normal and i did it many times. And today i still work and i need pain meds when i work 3 days a week for i i had multiple surgeries on my disks in my neck but do physical work a few days a week and then need anti diarrhea for a couple days a week . A nd this is how my life is and it works for me for i only take them 3 days a week for i do not want to get addicted again and use Neproxon in between but spending money to regulated them is a joke and more money in our corrupt system . For if your with drawing go ahead and take anti diarrhea and dont believe these stupid stories .
I feel for you and your son but taking EXTREME amounts of EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING IS LETHAL! Do not blame the lopermide here.
I hope you’ll be careful using loperamide. Please read this.
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/05/03/476615084/getting-high-from-this-drug-for-diarrhea-can-be-fatal
Thanks for your post, and so sorry for your loss. Thanks for the insight on the dangers of high-dose loperamide. If your input saves even one life, you have made a huge difference.
may I know what is Tagamet?
i’m sorry for your loss Karen. i praise your effort to turn a tragedy into helping others. I support you raising awareness about the dangers of this drug. Loperamide did help me quit oxycodone when i was going through such severe withdrawal that i’d rather just continue doing it then to feel so horribly when quitting cold turkey. this site actually helped me create a plan, stick to it, and finally cut my dependance off of oxycodone.
anyway, fight the good fight Karen.
Jon, I don’t think you are qualified in anything to say that ‘loperamide is not going to kill you or come close to it’. I think websites like this are dangerous Because anyone can create a stream of information that they feel is “helping someone”. Coming from someone who is in recovery and has worked as a counselor just like the author, I would never dream of writing an article to try and “coach” people or encourage a loperamide detox protocol. These things are best left to professionals and frankly loperamide is for diareah, if you don’t have it you should not be taking it. There is a reason that there have been facilities built and people trained for the exact purpose of helping drug addicts detox. I plan to do everything I can to warn others about “self detoxing protocols” and the dangers that lie within because the 23 year who passed was also my brother. I believe it is naive to say that “the drug is not the one blame” because, there is no way an addict could ever be trusted to ever use anything that even comes close to mimicking the feeling of an opiate high without pushing its limits. If you or anyone for that matter needs help breaking free from the bonds of addiction, please please seek professional help and stop listening to these “internet heros” who are not qualified to manufacture advice to a population of people who are not capable of self regulating. God bless.
Josh, sorry to hear about your brother. And sorry you don’t think any opiate addict out of the 40 million worlwide is capable of using over-the-counter remedies or other medications to do a home-detox.
I love to see your passion for defending your beliefs and helping to spread the word that loperamide can be addictive and can kill you.
I also love your passion about spreading your belief in the need for people to go to traditional treatment rather than use websites like this. You must feel that is the only solution that could ever help, and since that is your belief, good on you for telling others about your beliefs in what you think is right.
You come from a place of wanting to help people, and my only feedback to you would be number one, to change your beliefs about addicts. You talk about them like they have no ability to recover without your rules for recovery. Try to view them as having the power to do anything they want and achieve any goal they have with the right focus and courage.
And number two, try to be a little less angry when you comment on a website that doesn’t blog about your beliefs. Everyone is entitled to their own views about recovery.
You like abstinence-based treatment that views addicts as powerless and not able to self-regulate. I come from a harm-reduction background as I was a counselor at a program where we prescribed methadone, Suboxone, and other meds.
Thus, I believe that people should choose the path of recovery that resonates with them, not the path that traditional counselors and 12-step sponsors say they all need to take.
There is no one religion for everyone, and there is no one ice cream flavor for everyone. There is no one movie genre for everyone, and so why should there only be one path to recovery for everyone?
In case you didn’t know, there are many paths to recovery.
And I can guarantee you that likely tens or even hundreds of thousands of opiate addicts have been able to use potentially-addictive drugs responsibly to end their opioid dependences from home for good.
I’m one of those people, and I’ve corresponded with literally hundreds of people that have been able to do that using my website info. And I’m just wondering if that is only from people that wrote comments and emails of their success, I do wonder how many people have got off opioids at home without writing about it.
That’s a fun idea for me to think about. Not an idea or belief that you share, but hey, to each their own.
I’m really sorry that your brother died from loperamide abuse. You have every right to be mad, and I’m sorry for your loss. You’re welcome to direct that anger towards me and this website if you like.
Keep spreading the word that loperamide can kill but please don’t view addicts so negatively. That’s not very nice.
I wish you the best. Take care, and continue to live in congruence with your beliefs. That is an admirable quality Josh. Keep up your strong recovery and continue doing what you feel is right. God bless.
I disagree with your opinion about not trusting an addict to self-detox without direct guidance of a professional.
I was addicted to painkillers for over 10 years after getting hurt in an accident, and I didn’t realize how bad the withdrawal symptoms were until I quit taking my prescribed meds.
At that time, I was running a fast growing successful company and was working up to 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. I didnt have time to deal with the withdrawals, so I asked for suboxone to help keep me stabilized so I could continue to run my company.
I slowly weaned down, but every time I tried to quit, I suffered and could not function well enough to work.
Once I discovered that Immodium AD would stop most of the withdrawal symptoms, I was finally able to get through the opiate withdrawal stage and quit for good while still meeting the demands of my business.
Most people that I know that are hooked on opiates want to quit using them and are sick of having to be dependent on them to function. For them, the hardest part of quitting is getting through the withdrawals and I send them the link to this site for tips on making the process easier.
You think so Josh? I’m laying here now wanting to unzip my skin and step out of it. These facilities you speak of, don’t work for those without money or insurance. I got hurt a year and a half ago… Haven’t been able to work or walk since…. Ssi disability had for a year jusy give me the run around. I am addicted to opiates now BECAUSE I was hurt.. And I don’t off them. But they won’t HELP me fix what the hell THEY broke… And with no way to see a pain clinic for meds. And no way to see an addictionologist for help….. In these FACILITIES you so wanton toss around.. What do I do Josh????? Please do tell me… What do I do? I want to bullet in my head for how I feel, and cause I have no money Im not human. Free clinics. Will not write any narcotic. If you are at a free clinic you must be less than human.. If this will help me any Jon.. Thank you. Ill try anything.. I’m tired of the hot scalding showers.. Which believe it or not. Works instantly. But my water heater can’t keep up. Hot hot bath does the same. Thanks for your help Jon
You don’t blame the drug, because people make their own choices. You should be blaming the government for not allowing safer drugs to be available. I’ve gone through many stages of addiction and withdrawal, and never risked anything ridiculous like taking 100 pills of something. As I’ve always said, ALL should not be policed for the safety of the few. But either way, my condolences.
It’s like saying cake and brownies should be illegal because some people are morbidly obese due to their inability to control their eating. Or alcohol should be illegal because some people can’t drink responsibly.
Not advocating for loperamide but do you have any how expensive those treatments you speak of can. Be I pay 400 dollars a month for methadone. Insurance does not pay for it. It does pay for suboxone but only will let you switch if your methadone is at 30 my or less. So if for some reason you can’t pay for the methadone your screwed if your above 30mg. What are these people supposed to do when hung to dry by the medical professionals.?
I quit hurting from methadone by about day 28. Worse experience of my life. I was in a long term detox…..specifically for opiate addicts. Doc told me that it would literally just stop one day..i woke up day 28 and felt fine..keep it up!!!
You utter moron, why don’t you stop for one second and maybe let that deranged and addled brain of yours actually think something through logically and rationally and understand the REALITY of the science of loperamide actually causing heart problems and death in some people, so yes, you can absolutely blame the loperamide because it is the cause! The fact that you think it is OK to put your misinformation onto a lady who lost her son to the very drug you are defending, to even be so low as to tell her not to blame the drug that killed her son, for killingnher son BECAUSE IT DOESN’T SUIT YOUR VERSION OF THE FACTS!? Wow. You really need to look at yourself.
So sorry for your loss. It’s wonderful you have passion to help others through this horrible epidemic. God bless you and your son. ❤
I have just been prescribed a box of 30 loperamide, ive been searching the net to see how to get high off them, i was really tempted to try them but after reading your post ive just changed my mind, i am sorry for your loss, you may have just saved my life, thank you, peace and love KS.
I and I’m so afraid to stop taking these pills I have been taking Vicodin oxycodone Percocet and morphine for seven straight years. I take approximately 15,000 mg a day. I never wanted to consider myself an addict because the reason I started taking them was when I lost my mom and my dad and when I took one it blocked the pain of emotions. It has been 7 years and I am a mother a housewife and I don’t know how to get off of them. I am so afraid and the strange part is nobody in my family even knows I’m taking them. Please give me some help and advice I’m afraid of the pain of going off of them both emotionally and physically but I need to be a mom again and start caring about the real world. I’m just very lost.
I know your struggle. Try Imodium. Don’t take too much. I have quit quite a few times but always started back up again. I lost my mom and dad, and when I am out of my stash I start to think and I’m immediately depressed. These do help you to not feel the pain. You have to feel the pain. Do it for your family that you do have. Imodium really helps, it will not get rid of everything but you will be able to function. I wish I knew who you were so I could talk to you. Good luck.
How in the hell do you take 15,000 mg of morphine and the other opiate?? Youre tolerance must be insane. I mean if youre taking 30 mg Morphine alone youre taking like 500 pills a day. That’s crazy. I will pray for you!
Morphine has poor bioavailability so 30 mg taken orally isnt much at all. I agree the poster has quite a tolerance if the dose mentioned was accurate. Remember tolerance is something that happens naturally over time to all of us.
Probably referring to Vicodin/Percoset. That’s only about 20 pills a day, which isn’t that uncommon for people that have a high tolerance. I knew a few people who were taking at least 20 a day just to stop withdrawals. Fortunately, they got help from a doctor and were prescribed suboxone.
I thought my tolerance was high at my peak taking 320 mg oxycodone daily. Certainly blew through a lot of $ back in those days. Methadone and suboxone are life savers for sure.
I know where shes coming people.have a miss conception of how the milligrams work with vicodin a 7.5 mg pill will be confused with 750mg so if you add that up you would think whoa and morphine can be measured in mcg not mg
I have been in your boat and honestly between the Imodium and hot baths I still felt incredibly depressed. So I talked to my doctor about Zoloft and I was very skeptical at first. But within a week to two weeks I started to actually feel like a normal human being again and could actually get out of bed without wanting to die. I definitely think Zoloft changed my life and the Imodium definitely helps with the with drawl while you’re trying to take care of the house and kids. I know that this struggle is extremely difficult I know it first hand. But I’m not a doctor so I can’t recommend treatment obviously but it’s worth a shot to try and talk to your doctor about Zoloft or a depression medicine that will help with the aftermath of depression that swarms in. I’d try and get on it before you quit honestly, since it takes 1-4 weeks to start working. Good luck ❤️
When you said you take 15,000mg a day, was that a typo? I cannot imagine a human being surviving off of 15,000mg of vicodin a day. They tylenol would destroy a humans liver with that dosage. I’m hoping you have come off of the opiates and are back to be a good Mom by now, but I’m just very curious if you meant you took 150mg a day and not 15,000 mg. You had a comma in there so I’m just very curious as I have never heard of someone ingesting that amount of vicoden daily. God Bless you and take care of yourself
I find it entertaining how people who have no experience at all taking loperamide will tell you that it doesn’t help withdrawals. I just want to punch those people in the throat. Truthfully, it does help with withdrawals. It helps with more than GI problems (diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, etc.) At higher doses, it will help with restless leg syndrome, and physical discomforts. It’s not going to help with the psychological problems because of the inability to cross the blood brain barrier but it’s been my experience that the physical withdrawal symptoms are the worst. I’m a recovering addict. I was a paramedic in one of the busiest and most advanced EMS systems in the United States. I have a BAS from a University in high standing. So I have the knowledge that I need to speak of loperamide from a chemical and healthcare stance and now I can speak of it from an addicts viewpoint. Anyone with basic knowledge of chemistry can see how loperamide can help physical withdrawals. It’s what I call a “no brainier.” I used it and it worked wonders for me. It has to be taken at high doses but I took really high doses and had no issues. Its no worse for you that what you are already using if you are an opiate addict. The dose that I used to begin with was about 40mg-60mg. Maybe one day the dumb asses that have no idea what they are talking about will just shut their mouths and let the people who do know talk to addicts and provide help for them.
Hi Scott,
I’m a high dosage user no iv’ing ever though and I’m about to try this method. I was wondering if you could elucidate on how heavy your opoate usage was when you started this detox and also whether you augmented the loperamide with Cimetidine. Also if you could expand on your loperamide doses during your detox please. I know it’s asking for a lot of info, but if you choose to answer any of my questions this is the most important. Will megadosing loperamide with or without cimetidine increase the time needed to safely switch to subutex? My plan was to megadose on loperamide with cimetidine for the first few worst days and then switch to subutex. Is this safe to do without inducing precipitated wd’s because of cimetidine allowing the loperamide to break the blood brain barrier? Or would it be safer just to megadose loperamide without the cimetidine? Or finally is neither method safe (because of loperamide being a synthetic opiate) if I’m planning on using subutex as quickly as possible which for me curiously has always been at least 72 hours before I can safely induce and that’s going cold turkey. Thank you so much for any info/help info you can provide. Matt please feel free to weigh in on this as well thank you!
Mark, while I haven’t made the jump from loperamide to subutex (buprenorphine) I have jumped from both methadone and oxycodone to suboxone (buprenorphine) and once dosed to early leading to precipitated withdrawal symptoms so I believe I can weigh in here as well. The biggest thing to keep in mind when going on buprenorphine from any opiate is that you must be completely in withdrawals before taking the first dose. Since all of our bodies are different that time line will not be the same for all of us. Generally you want to be 2 days off of short acting opiates and three days off of longer acting ones. If it were me I would go strait to subutex (once in full blown withdrawal of course) but if you must take loperamide for one or two days then wait until in full blown withdrawal (no less than 24 hrs after lope dose) before dosing subutex. This may take a couple days so you must wait it out. Truthfully imo it is far easier to go from short acting opiate to buprenorphine than long acting because you don’t have to wait near as long before dosing and less likely to dose to early. Yes it sucks to wait until you are in full blown withdrawal but believe me it is far less severe than precipitated withdrawals, trust me. I hope the switch goes well for you. Also I don’t know if subutex comes in a film it just a pill but with suboxone the film is much better than the pills imo. It has better absorption (so I’m told) all I know is I need much less of the film than when dosing with a pill and it’s easier to control your dose since you can cut the film to any size you want. For me I prefer a lower dose than a higher. Buprenorphine is different than all opiates in that more is not always better. Doesn’t rationally make sense until you have tried it. Hope this helps my friend.
Danke Jeff, I agree with your comment pretty much in its entirety. It’s always nice to see great minds thinking alike,
nicht wahr?
I haven’t seen medical cannabis listed once in this comment thread, and next to loperamide, happens to be one of the most affective withdrawal supplements to work in tandem with whatever detox method you prefer (methadone, subs, loperamide, etc.).
Getting a medical marijuana card is one of the smartest things I ever did (I have spinal arthritis and Degenerative Disc Disorder and was prescribed Norcos and Cyclobenzaprine). I haven’t had a need for pills in over 2 years.
Cannabis also saved my sanity, alongside loperamide, when detoxing off of heroin after struggling with a near-10 year addiction that went from me dosing every-once-in-a-while to a near gram-a-day addiction after a tragic loss that I experienced.
Good luck to everyone who is dealing with being embattled with withdrawals. I’ve never known what it felt like to be so uncomfortable in my own skin until I started having severe withdrawals. I had an appendix that burst and honestly the discomfort and level of suicidal thoughts were pretty much the same. You’ll do ANYTHING to rid yourself of the discomfort and pain, so I applaud everyone who has been able to muster the will and strength-of-spirit to battle the opiate Devil himself.
Hi Geoff,
Cannabis sure is a good one. Thanks for posting this great info. I’m going to link to my article I wrote on it back in the day in case anyone wants to learn more…
Marijuana Eases Opiate Withdrawal Symptoms>>
I’d like to add that while I use marijuana regularly and actually at time of putting this up, currently detoxing with 2mg Subutex. Anyhoozer, While weed helps a lot please be sure to inform people that the 1st 14-24 hours after last opioid usage are what I like to call the Noidnerves anxiety. Marijuana increases anxiety (especially sativa) and isn’t what I’d recommend those first critical hours unless of course you’re also nauseous for which a fat draw and lung full will kill yet, you’re really running Peter to pay Paul as in, throwing up, gone. Hello anxiety. However, all of this is based solely on a double blind as a bat scale. Ty
Jaye – Your post brought me sheer joy! You should be published in a detox blog/journal/pamphlet….. “laugh, and fuggetaboutit.”
That I found to be true concerning cannabis for opiate withdrawal, it did help but I’m a multiple drug user so I had to also take copious amounts of benzos with it to avoid panic attacks!
I have been on taking Oxy from 50-70mg a day. I have had an opiate addiction since 2016. I am desperately trying to quit. I came across this blog and have read every ones stories. I have tried to quit cold turkey with no success because of the withdrawal symptoms. I have used the Imodium but not like how you have mentioned. Can I just use the Imodium without the GFJ and Tagament? I have only previously taken 4 2mg Imodium once a day and it didn’t help. Could you suggest a dosage I could try? I didn’t realize Imodium could be taken more than once a day. Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated!!!!!
I had to take 20 pills which I don’t recommend. But with using 180mgs a day a low dose was not was just enough for me. otc pills don’t have much effect on me anymore I have been on the hard stuff for so long.
Hello: I’m sure this has been asked several times, but there are too many posts to sift through, so I’m going to ask it again. I’ve been using Kratom coming up on 4 years in October and I have decided enough is enough. I’m tapering off this and next week and will stop taking Kratom altogether in 8 days or so. I would like to use Loperamide to ease withdrawals, but only if it does not delay withdrawal. In other words, I would rather feel really bad for 4 days versus 8 days of mild withdrawal. So my question is does Lop delay withdrawal at all…..even a tiny bit? A second question would be: Can 4 days use of Loperamide cause dependence on Loperamide? Thanks in advance for you reply. Drew
Hey Drew, if it were me I would take LOPE for four days, tapering down every day and then stop. May I also suggest picking up some DLPA (probably will have to order it online, swansons is good and cheap) to take in the mornings and melatonin (found at your local grocery or drug store in vitamin isle) to help with sleep. If you need more help with sleep (as I always do) I would suggest tryptophan and Passion Flower (best Passion flower I have found is Bulk Supplements) as well. There are also a few different supplement mixtures that are made specifically for coming off opiates, you can find links to these at the bottom of this page. Their night and daytime formulas of most of these with mixtures of different herbs and amino acids that both his withdrawal and help the body to stabilize quicker than it would otherwise. Hope this helps.
Jeff, thanks so much for the prompt reply. I really appreciate it!! Erroring on the side of caution, can you recommend a dosage for the LOPE?
Drew, honestly it’s hard to say not knowing your tolerance but like you said I would err on the side of caution and start low on day one and only go up if it isn’t helping at all. If it helps even a little I wouldn’t go up. If it were me with a lower tolerance I would start with 8 to 10 mg (4 to 5 pills) every 12 hours or so. If I had a medium tolerance I go up a little to start. Keep in mind the higher a start dose the potentially longer it will take to taper off. With a kratom habit you shouldn’t need to start to high to get some relief. Lope won’t remove all withdrawal symptoms for sure but it will help with a smoother transition into opiate freedom. Hope this helps.
I should also mention a taper schedule. If it were me I would find a starting dose that helps with some withdrawal symptoms on day 1, dosing twice a day. Starting on day 2 i would drop my dose by 1 pill (so if day one was 6 pills twice a day then day two would be 5 pills twice a day). Then drop one pull each day until off lope. Imo there really is no wrong way to taper just make sure you are dropping your intake each day. If you want to speed it up you could drop with each dose instead of daily. You really have to find what works for you. Everyone is different so don’t feel like you have to stick to my suggestion to the letter. Hope this helps
Again, thanks so much, Jeff. So glad I posted!
No problem. Please post your progress if you feel up to it. Hope everything goes well for you.
Just used lopes for a 5 yr 35 gram kratom habit tapered a wk then 20 MIL dose lopes twice daily wrkd great.
Loperimide saved my life.
I was on oxies for 10 years and it took 10 days on lope to end my addiction.
However, I had to take 60 mgs of lope to start and I tapered from there.
I had no adverse effects from the lope just remember to stay hydrated.
I also have a question about the GFJ. What does it mean that it helps the Loperamide “cross the blood brain barrier?” Could you explain this in layman’s terms? I’m on day 2 off opiates after taking 6-10/10mg norcos daily for 10 years. Loperamide is easing a lot of the WD symptoms and I can still go to work so far. Mornings are really hard for me though and it takes every ounce of EVERYTHING to get up and get moving. Any special suggestions there? I took 5 loperamide in am and 5 in pm when I came home (along with tylenol and advil). Thank you!
Hi Lula,
If a drug crosses the blood brain barrier it means that you will get high on it.
I have been off of all opiates for about two months now and I still struggle with a lack of energy and restless legs at night. So I can relate with having no energy in the morning. I struggle to get me through the work day. But just think, after ten years you have done the impossible- you are clean for 2 days.
Loperamide saved me, although I had to take 20 – 30 daily to feel normal. And yes, it took away ALL the nasty withdrawals.
To think how many times I suffered when I was out of pain meds and did not know of this life saving drug.
Keep it up Lula, you are not alone in this struggle.
So try to chug down some 100% grapefruit juice with the LPOES, it makes it more effective. I only drink a 16 ounce glass, that’s all.
And congratulations.
Matt do you have any suggestions for online support groups? Many people live in areas where they have no one to talk to, to trust, or to feel safe with. While some small towns have great doctors, they also live in this small town with small minded people and often HIPPA laws don’t get the best “honor” in smaller places (yes even the doctors). Any suggestions for online support. I know there are a zillion forums but something trusted and true?
I had a level two spinal fusion (PLIF) in September 2016. I was completely amazed at how the doctors pushed the pain medications and Soma. I’m have to say for the first two weeks I probably did indeed need them. But Month after month for 4 months I now find I can’t go a day without them. I don’t use the Soma but I was at 10mg of Oxycodone every 4 hours except when I slept. I couldn’t get out of bed because of the pain first thing in the morning I took 2 Oxycodones just to get out of bed. My life seemed to be one big blur! I didn’t think I had an addictive personality but holy cow it happened quick. The doctors were no help at all and cut me off cold turkey at that 4 months. It wasn’t until my PCP helped me to taper with a new script but I found I just couldn’t do it. I soon ran out and that’s when I searched everywhere for help. I was mean to everyone around for no real reason and even hated myself. At my wits end and hoping to get rid of this demon I followed your program and I was completely amazed! I am now on day 3 and I actually left the house to go to the store. I actually smiled at people, had spring in my step and feel like I’m living again and have zero pain! I’m lucky enough to have a prescription for Xanax PRN but haven’t even had to use that. I’m now tapering off of everything *luck be with me* I haven’t had a pain killer in 3 days now and honestly have zero cravings. I can’t imagine how people who have had higher doses and longer med addictions managed. Withdrawals are horrible no matter how big or small and who you are. God bless you all and hang in there…it can be done, it will get better. Thank you Matt for your insight, compassion and commitment for helping people.
I’m glad you were lucky enough to be on such a low dose of pain meds. I personally would have to take ten of the oxy 10s just to get out of bed to go look for something to kill the withdrawal. The amount you took is an example of a doctor not pushing pain meds. I was prescribed 320 mg oxycontin, 120 mg. Of Methadone soma prn daily. That is an example of a scorer pushing meds. The actual physical withdrawal from methadone is 2 years. Don’t get me wrong I’m happy for you. You were in a small pond I’m glad you missed the ocean.
Oh my gosh! I can’t even imagine the horror of what you went or are going through. I feel very fortunate I stopped in time before going deeper. Your analogy of the small pond and the ocean hit it right on the head. I truly feel blessed. I wish you the best and thanks for your reply.
Hi Stephany,
Thanks for sharing a bit of your story. It is so inspiring!!! I’m wishing you the absolute best and I love your heart and motivation. Keep it up! 🙂
Hi Matt,
I’m not sure how often people come to this website anymore since most of the posts are a few years old. If you are still checking on this site I wanted to let you know how well loperamide worked for me. I have chronic knee, hip and lower back pain due to injuries and a knee surgery that didn’t go well. It actually made everything worse. This was 6 years ago. Fast forward to today…I have been prescribed 15 mgs oxycodone taken 5 times throughout the day. I wanted to get off the pain meds because my tolerance is going through the roof. I found taking the loperamide helps so much in stopping the horrible withdrawal symptoms. I appreciate you helping people like me who feel hopeless at times with this vicious cycle of opiate addiction. Thank you so much.
I still upload at least 1-2 posts every week. And thanks for commenting on your experience with lope. Keep up the great work.
Hi all! So glad I found this site. Like just about everyone here, I started using OTC codiene products for legitimate purposes, but my god, they make you feel great. Working 5 night shifts a week, 2 small boys, painful and protracted divorce and custody battle…well, it helped. It stopped helping, so used more and more. Here I am, about 8 years later attempting to wuit for good. I have had to go thru wds about 5 times due to the new rules around codiene hrre in Aus but I am determined to quit. Recently started cymbalta for pain and depression, have been on it for a week. Have used lope for dry times before…it works. So, here I am. Took 40mg last night and have found out that I can go 24 hrs between doses of lope. My idea is to drop 10mg a day til i am on 10mg. Then drop 2 mgs a day. The rls is my killer…. no sleep sucks with a 2 yo. Will keep you updated. Btw so lovely to come across a site which not only supports, but listens and gives sound advice.
Thanks for the comment Melinda! I appreciate your contribution and wish you the best. 🙂
Hey Melinda, that sounds like a good plan. I hope it goes well for you. Please ask if you have questions, we will try to help. Keep us posted.
Not sure that laws on the product or even the result for you. I can however tell you that I was able to get through all my withdrawl symptoms and was able to control the desire. I used kratom. There was a bill to have it pulled from the shelf but from what I understand is it did not go through. Yet anyway. I had sleepless night, spasms, pain, RLS, and several trip to the bathroom. Kratom saved my life. I did not devolope an addiction to it and the many people I have helped have not either. This is just my experience. It worked for me and several of the people suffering as I did. Only one has become a habitual user of the product. He says it takes his pain down dramatically. When they pulled the product off the shelf and he had to stop using, he did not have withdrawl symptoms. Now that its back on the shelf, he is again pain free.
Myself and many others need all the help and advice to handle the detox from opioids. Loperamide has been a God send.
I recently read a story that stated Loperamide dose not work and the dangers of using it while overcoming withdrawals.
I noticed it was written by a drug rehab center. The facility conveniently listed their phone number and website address below the article.
Yes those rehab centers are writing articles with one agenda:
Get traffic to their website and scare everyone into choosing rehab instead of detoxing from home.
loperamide is helping me tremendously….
but what if i don’t want to get clean and sober?
just waiting till i can get my hands on some more more more…morphine, oxy, hydrocodone…whatever
how does one make themselves want to become sober?
why would I want to live in reality?
i’m also taking lops and works great… but it’s also working well for it’s intended purpose… diarrhea. i’m so constipated it’s becoming uncomfortable. i’ve tried drinking lots of water, fiber, stool softener and other things… but can’t beat the constipation. i’ve also used suppositories. amy suggestions?
Enema. They work quick so be prepared.
any specific brand? where can i find these? sorry for the, probably, stupid questions… i’m desperate to find something that really works
No specific brand. Just go to the nearest drug store or Walmart and pick up an enema. If you are severely backed up get a saline one (large bottle). It may seem a little awkward at first but if you really need it you will get past that. Just follow the simple directions on the box and you should get relief within a few minutes or less. Going forward, you could also get some stool softener to take while you are on immodium if needed. This will be a good help if taken regularly. If it has been a while you will need to start with the enema though to get things going again. Hope this helps.
Day 26…suboxone free. Life is getting better.
777, I am so glad to read you are still doing well. I’m sorry it took so long to reply, I wasn’t getting updates on replies for some reason. I am glad I found your reply now. Hope you are still doing well. Would love to get an update if you can.
Hi Matt, Mary and Jeff. Day 19…opiate free. Hanging in there. Hope all is well in your worlds. Your friend.
Hello again friends..!!! Matt, Mary, and Jeff…sorry for taking so long to update. Your kind words, suggestions, and encouragement are more helpful than you know. Day 14 without Suboxone…and I have not made an appointment with Suboxone Dr. Wanted you all to know…I am still opiate free. I know this article is about Loperamide…but I must admit…I broke down and tried the Kratom. Being very careful with it. Just wanted you all to know…I am at least opiate free, and doing well. And to say thanks again. Will keep you all updated.
Will Loperamide help with the AWFUL anxiety attacks ? I take Opana ER & Norco (for breakthru) for pain due to a neurological illness, but do not need it some days, and would like to take a “drug holiday” for my GI to settle down a bit, as I can stay in bed if my pain gets bad, but the w/d symptoms, especially at night, are awful, that anxiety feeling I call “The malignant tickle”. I DO NOT in anyway abuse my meds, all taken according to Rx, NEVER chewed, always take whole, in fact rarely exceed 1/2 the Rx’d daily dose, I never a “step up”, on same dose for 10+ years, not matter how bad the pain. I actually get sick to my stomach from the amount i take daily 2-3 X 20mg Opana ER, 3-4 Norco 7.5/325 day), but there are times, on weekends, I can lay down and relax and “deal with the pain”, and would like to take a drug “holiday”, but again, that goddamn anxiety feeling prevents it.
Pietro,
Loperamide works well for many different symptoms, including anxiety for some. You may want to ask your Dr. for something that is designed for anxiety or even Clonidine which is a blood pressure medication but prescribed by many Drs. to help with the anxiety that comes from opiate withdrawal.
~Mary
OAS RECOVERY SPECIALIST
Oh…if anyone is interested…(Have read a few comments on price of Loperamide), my local Wal-Mart sells 72-2mg caplets for under $5. Equate brand. That seems like a steal to me. And Loperamide is Loperamide…you don’t have to spend the big bucks for the name brand. Just saying. Hope everyone is doing well.
I get my loperimide by prescription for those with insurance. Same dose 2mg brown caps. prescribed for ibs.
Hello friends!!! Day 5…..and I am doing well. Slept well last night. Just took 14mg of loperamide. That pit in my stomach returned about an hour ago…and I am relieved knowing the lope will resolve that problem shortly. My third day taking lope…so I am going to try and give taking anymore lope for at least a couple of days. I probably need a bowel movement anyway…lol. I know I am not following Matt’s exact recipe…but I am just rebellious like that…lol. You know….it is day 5 now, and I keep waiting on the withdrawals to smack me…and so far…it just hasn’t hit me hard yet. I keep waiting and waiting…and it is driving me crazy…because I am anticipating it. But it has not really arrived yet. And I keep thinking …”Well…maybe this is the worst it is going to get.” I honestly have never had such mild withdrawal symptoms. Just thankful I have managed to stay away from the Suboxone doctor another day. How freeing it feels to know…I do not have to make another appointment…give another urine sample…drive to the pharmacy…wasting more and more money. Anyway…doing well…and wanted all to know how much I appreciate the words of encouragement. Just one more day clean…one more day closer to getting my freaking soul and mind back…;)
Day 5 is great, keep it up. Suboxone withdrawal isn’t as severe (to me) as full agonists but it just lasts much longer. Seems like you are doing good so far, that’s awesome. I wanted to recommend a book written by dr Gant on addiction that Matt recommends here called End My Addiction Now. He goes into depth on what happens in your brain when on medications/drugs for long periods and recommends amino acids and herbs mostly to help correct the problems caused instead of medications to mask the symptoms. I found it very informative and easy to read. This therapy is more for after the initial withdrawal period (although helpful during as well) to get the brain working properly quicker and help avoid relapse. You can find it on eBay or Amazon used for only a few dollars. Matt has an article here that covers some of the info in the book if you want the basics. Just wanted to mention that since I am glad I found it. Hope you continue doing well. Keep us posted.
Thank you Jeff…you are appreciated.
Hey 777, just checking to see how you have been. Hope to hear an update from you.
???
Day one. I relapsed and M finding things to be difficult with the withdrawal. Been using dilaudid everyday for 2 years. I want to quit any help is needed. Thank you.
Hey Mike, I understand what you are going through and it’s tough. May I ask a few questions to get more about your situation? What was your daily dose of dilaudid and roa? how did you quit before? Can you get a script from your doc or are you doing this without the help of a doctor? If you can I would suggest a script of clonidine and gabapentin or lyrics. If this is not possible you may can find these elsewhere or look for another option such as a lope taper. Matts article explains it well here. I would suggest starting lower on dosage until you see how your body reacts to lope. Also, check out other articles here as there is much info. I hope you do well and stay strong my friend.
Through day 4…just took 6mg of loperamide. What wonders it is doing for that pit in my stomach. I really feel confident…I can beat this…this time. The one peculiar thing I have noticed about Suboxone vs. Hydrocodone withdrawals….is that incessant craving Hydrocodone plays on ones mind. It is much more fleeting with Suboxone. Maybe that has something to do with Suboxone’s long half-life. I don’t really know. So far so good Matt. By the way…I want to say…your article, without a doubt is the most informative and educated of all sites I have visited. You broke it down…just as it is. I still read articles that claim Loperamide doesn’t cross the Blood Brain Barrier…but I trust from your well thought out documentation…that it actually does. So much mis-information on the web. Thanks for your in depth knowledge. Aware you are not a doctor…and that you have to make disclaimers…I however salute you…for stepping forward with what you know. There isn’t a doctor one I know of…that would let me in on the ‘real’ secret. Heck…doctors don’t even warn you…that if you get addicted to an opiate…you will go through horrible withdrawals. Never had a doctor warn me of that. So I say screw ’em…lol. Sometimes I think they are just legal drug dealers. Ok…rant over. Doing well..and going to bed…and wanted to say thank you again Matt. And Mary. And Jeff.
Wow!!! You guys are great!!! Thanks Mary, Jeff, and Matt. I really appreciate all the info. I managed to stay away from Sub doc today. And honestly…not feeling too bad right now. Day 4…and I would expect to feel a lot worse than I do. Going to try and just stick it out. Taking the loperamide seems to be doing wonders…even in small doses. Took 12mg around 2:30 this morning…then another 12mg around 7 this morning. I managed to fall asleep. Woke around 4pm today…and took just 4mg. I figure if I keep saying yo myself…”Just get through today, and I can go to the Sub doc tomorrow…tomorrow wil never get here.” Lol. Taking everything recommended seriously…and I do appreciate it. So far…I think the psychological trauma is what is bothering me most. I was on Subs about 4 years ago…and had a horrible experience getting off them…but I was drinking a lot of alcohol then too. And really wasn’t ready to get off of them. This time…I am much more determined. Thanks for the help and encouragement…sometimes just talking with someone who knows what you are going through really helps the psychological aspect…even if it seems we just want pity…lol. But whatever works….right?!?!? Thanks again for your quick resoonses…Matt, Mary, and Jeff.
Hello Matt. Hello Mary. Want to thank you both for your insight. I have soent the last 3 hours reading every post. Was a hydrocodone addict for 10 years. The last 2years I was on Suboxone. I am on day 3 without it. Banked a lot of it because I felt my doctor was not tapering me down quick enough. 3 months ago, after “banking” several scripts…I decided to taper myself down. Well…..I did pretty good…I got down to 2mg a day. Afraid…however, that wasn’t enough of a low dose. And because of the half-life of Suboxone…I am sure the real withdrawals have not started yet. I keep hoping it isn’t going to get worse. I am afraid I am kidding myself. I had heard of immodium before and found some tonight and took 12 mg. But because the withdrawals have not really kicked in yet…should I wait to start the immodium? I hate all the symptoms of withdrawal…but the pit in my stomach is usually the worse part for me. Just panicking…I suppose. Even to the point…I am considering calling my Suboxone doctor tomorrow to see if he will allow me back in the program. He and I have a pretty good report with each other…so I am sure he will. But I really want off. Tears are welling in my eyes….because I miss the Suboxone…and that scares me. It just made my mental status bearable…even without the high hydrocodone gave me. I think I am just being very emotional right now out of fear of going back to Suboxone doctor. I kind of hope he will refuse me. But I may be singing a different tune in a couple of days when the Subs have left my system. A little background I probably should have mentioned first. I am a Firefighter for a large city and hurt my back lifting people down a flight of stairs 10 years ago….and doctor put me on hydrocodone. I fell in love. They made me feel like I was 20 again. I was so naive to the implications of opiate abuse then…that when I stopped taking them…I too went to the emergency room notrealizing I was in full blown withdrawals. (I couldn’t help but laugh when I read another posters same experience. And yes…I know it really isn’t funny). Well…I took 12 mg of lope…and as of right now everything is tolerable. I guess I am just wanting some support so I don’t go back to Sub doctor tomorrow. For I truly want to. I appreciate this thread Matt…and your input too Mary. Thank you both for your time anderstanding and selfless reaching out. Me…:)
Hey, I understand fully where you are coming from to. I hurt my back years ago and started with hydrocodone then moved to oxycodone then years later methadone then finally to suboxone. Usually day 3 or 4 is when suboxone withdrawal really hits for me then lasts about 12 days total but the Imodium should bring relief. If I were you I would call your suboxone doc and ask only for clonidine – even tell him not to give you suboxone. Clonidine is the most common med given during opiate withdrawal and will help take the edge off. It’s just to easy to turn back if you have them on hand. Also, I like Mary’s idea to alternate Imodium with kratom. Kratom is a plant that also binds to the opiate receptors in the brain but it is much weaker than opiates. That should help you through the first couple weeks at least. Check out mmmspeciosa for kratom and stick to red Bali or red Borneo, red veins will probably help the most. I hope this helps you push through. You can do it my friend.
Thanks Jeff. Appreciate you.
No problem 777, hope you have a good day. Stay strong.
I was in a hurry before and completely forgot to mention DLPA. This is an amino acid that can be found in local vitamin or herb shops or online and the stuff is great to help feel better and give a little energy to get through the day. Be sure not to take it too late because it could keep you up at night. Matt has articles here on DLPA as well. Another that works well with DLPA is NALT wich is a more bioavailable form of tyrosine. If you’re having trouble with sleep the Clonidine I mentioned before should help with that as well but you could also check out herbs and supplements such as L-tryptophan, Valerian root, lemon balm, skullcap and others but the most helpful with sleep imo is Melatonin. It can be found basically anywhere locally in vitamin/herb sections of grocery stores or pharmacies. To me the herbs work much better when taken together and with melatonin as well. Hope this helps. Stay strong.
777,
I’d say it’ll take a few days (min. 3) before withdrawal symptoms start since you have quite a bit of buprenorphine in your system. You didn’t say how long you’ve managed to stay at 2mgs, and that can make a difference. Now let me start by saying that 2mg is still a relatively high dose of bupe. I know many Drs. are still trying to make this amount be the end of the taper, but I disagree with this. I’m not saying that it can’t be done, because many have accomplished stopping suboxone at this dose, but from those that I’ve come in contact with who have succeeded I will say that most did so with the aid of other medications &/or herbs (Kratom, mmj). Others did so, just facing the withdrawal head on & then there are those who felt manageable withdrawal & slight discomfort. In my opinion much of this boils down to the absorption and bioavailability of bupe since the absorption rate can be inhibited by many things. For instance, a person who takes 2mg and takes it after brushing their teeth, using mouthwash (especially with a high alcohol content) and doesn’t eat, smoke or drink anything before taking suboxone, allows Sufficient time for absorption, and doesn’t eat, smoke or drink directly after probably gets much closer to the full amount of bupe than one who doesn’t follow the same protocol. The absorption rate of sublingual administration of bupe can be anywhere from 20% to 70% which makes a dose of 2mg equals
.4mgs to 1.4mgs actually absorbed. Sounds crazy, right? Things like having a dry mouth and PH balance being changed by illnesses and infections can affect the amount of bupe absorbed also.
Ok, enough about that, let’s get to your situation at hand. So, should you ask for more to continue a taper or should you try alternative methods to combat any withdrawal that you may or may not feel….right? (and I was hoping for EASY questions today! ?)
I think you’ll find that if you presented your problem to many different forums that you’d get many different answers. If someone answers and they themselves are “stuck” on bupe and having issues they will probably tell you to get out while you can. Others who think of suboxone as a “miracle cure” for opiate addiction would either say to taper lower or why even get off at all. So, I guess what needs to be said is to listen to your own thoughts on this.
If you’ve had a difficult time tapering or the use of subs makes you feel like you’re not yourself (this was me; no energy, flat emotions) then getting off now is probably the best. However, if you want to ensure your best chances of minimal to no withdrawal are determined to adhere to tapering, then yes, I would recommend continuing subs.
Should you choose to stop now, know that there are things that you can start doing that will help and things to have on hand to help stave off symptoms or use to fight them as they occur. Changes in diet and routine can be very helpful. Eat lots of protein, fresh fruits & vegs. Protein helps the brain produce more energizing dopamine and norepinephrine and helps in the natural production of endorphins. These chemicals being low in the brain makes many of the withdrawal symptoms worse. The nutrients needed to assist in their production can be found in the fresh fruits & vegs, but also multivitamin and nuts & seeds. Make sure to stay hydrated. Even slight dehydration can make withdrawal more severe.
Cut out excess sugars, starches and caffeine as they inhibit the production of neurotransmitters. Exercising is a great way to make your brain produce more dopamine. Vigorous exercise is best as I’m sure you’ve heard of “a runner’s high, which is a natural production of endorphins (long missing during opiate use) making that “it feels great” feeling. Meditation is another dopaminergic booster, as is getting plenty of sunshine. *Whether you decide to continue tapering or not the things I’ve just mentioned should still be done but only if your Dr approves.
The supplement DLPA (DL-phenylalanine) contains amino acids which aid in the production of dopamine and also assists the brain management of pain. With the production of dopamine, this supplement helps relieve minor depression, mood issues and physical discomfort. NAC (N-Acetyl L-Cysteine) is a good accompaniment with DLPA as it facilitates in both the production and distribution of dopamine.
Serotonin levels are often low while in withdrawal from opioid making one feel pessimistic & gloomy. This can also cause insomnia and anxiety. The supplement 5htp can help regulate serotonin levels. Those who are already taking antidepressants (especially ssri’s) or using supplements for anxiety should consult with a Dr before taking this because too much serotonin can lead to a very serious (& sometimes fatal) condition called serotonin syndrome.
There are many many articles on this blog that have different examples of methods used by successful people to get off of opiates. One way is by mega-dosing vitamin c, another involves using a withdrawal aid known as Calm Support. The good thing about there being many choices is that if one way doesn’t work, you keep trying until you find one that does.
Personally, I was also on suboxone and just wanted OFF! I felt awful on it. I tried jumping off @4mgs using kratom. I didn’t make it. Looking back I think my dose was too high & I was expecting too much. Every little symptom caused me to feel the doom & gloom and I went too long (17 days) dosing high amounts of kratom so that I always felt pretty good. Oh, I probably could have continued with using kratom until the chances of withdrawal felt from suboxone was gone, but that called for A LOT of kratom, which I then considered a new dependence. I just didn’t have it in me to fight another dependence. Some can do it this way though and then eventually taper off of the kratom with great success.
What I did instead was go back to subs, continue tapering but with a new focus which was overall health of my body (with focus on brain and endocrine systems). The changes I described above (diet, exercise, meditation & supplements ) made a huge difference in how I felt on subs and made me more motivated to taper.
So you have a decision to make. I’m not sure if I’ve done anything to advice you but maybe something I’ve said has at least given you some new knowledge to help in your decision making. Aside from the things that I have already said, here is a list of things that may help (because I figured, why not make your decision harder…..lol, ):
PRESCRIPTION MEDS
*Lyrica or Neurontin
…..(Pregabalin or gabapentin)-moods, ……sleep, rls, pain, most symptoms
*Clonidine….sleep, anxiety
Mirapex or Requip….rls
Medical Marijuana. ..anxiety, rls
*Tramadol….most symptoms
OVER THE COUNTER
*Immodium….many wd symptoms
Passionflower, kava, valerian, lemon balm…..anxiety/ sleep
Green tea/L-theanine….moods, anxiety
*indicates substances that can create dependency issues, be careful.
~Mary
OAS RECOVERY SPECIALIST
*Disclaimer- Please do not consider these recommendations as being medical advice as I am not a Dr. Please speak with your Dr before taking any medications, supplements or herbs and before making changes to your diet & exercise routines. Follow medical advice.
Thanks Mary. I truly appreciate the time you spent sending all that information. My words cannot express the gratitude my heart feels. Thank you
I am an opiate addict with a 17 year addiction with small amounts of clean time (usually w help of methadone so NOT really clean lol) who recently quit a 90mg methadone daily habit, ended up replacing w IV fentanyl habit (rendering cheaper opiates nearly useless due to ridiculous tolerance). Recently my supply dried up and right around my kids birthday maga indoor waterpark trip. I decided to finally give immodium a try and let me tell you i am glad i did. I have been at a waterpark all day w my 7 year old and another autistic 7 year old and feel fine. Besides little appetite and achy lower legs i feel FUNCTIONABLE. A true miracle. This is my first day and i had to run to rite aid next to the resort to get it AND took a whole rack (24mgs) but not at once and plan on less tomorrow and every day after. I KNOW I can do thus. My longest clean time was done mostly cold turkey after suboxone for first 5 days, so i have the tools and at nearly 33 am ready to use them. Opiates are some serious stuff, stronger than a mother’s love, and this is a real blessing. A trip not ruined by my terrible attitude and constant diarrhea. I am almost chipper. I had scoffed at this method and refused to even give it a try for 17 years and now i really wish i had sooner. Strongly reccomended.
Jeff, thanks for this site. I am on day 4 of withdrawal from 50 mcg patches of Fentanyl. I’ve been on the medication for 13 years, prescribed by a doctor. I was so sick of the daily rollercosaster of the opiates. I have known for years that with the help of my doctor, I have been treating withdrawal symptoms much more than the pain. So far, using loperamide, I have had minimal withdrawal symptoms. My pain level has increased, but has been manageable. I went through withdrawal after a surgery about 20 years ago, so have put off detoxing for years due to the fear of withdrawal again. I wish I had known about loparamide sooner, but am glad I now do!
Hey I’ve been on methadone 130 mg for past 10 years. Long story short I was used to getting it every month, the doctor switched it to every 2 months. I received 2 scrips. You would think I would be more careful, but I threw the second script away. I called Dr office they won’t replace it. My only choice is cold turkey. Will Imodium help? I have to wait 25 days to see doc again.
Mike,
Loperamide may help some, but even if you mega-dose as high as some people have explained on online forums, I doubt that “lope” alone will take enough withdrawal symptoms away to make a significant difference since 130mg is still quite high. A good quality Kratom will probably help much better. Will your Dr help by prescribing some comfort medicines? If so, at the very least you could ask for clonidine, something that will help with sleep & something for rls (if this is a symptom that you have). You can also ask for Lyrica (pregabalin) or Neurontin (gabapentin). Lyrica is a controlled drug in the US but it is not a narcotic. Neurontin is considered by many as “Lyrica’s little brother”. However, many Dr’said are aware that both of these have proven successful (especially @ higher doses) at helping to manage opiate withdrawal. They do both carry a risk of dependence, but if only used for a short time, the benefits will outweigh the risk.
~Mary
OAS RECOVERY SPECIALIST
Thanks for the comment. At this point I don’t know what is worse, the constant wanting to die or not having the strength to pick up the gun. I’m taking 300 mg of Imodium daily,and it does help a little. Calling my Dr. Is not an option. If they e even thought I needed comfort meds they would drop me.
I have chronic pancreatitis, and a deformed pancreas, so I need the meds, but at the same time, I am hooked on them. Now I’m scared of taking to much Imodium, running back and forth to children’s hospital, trying to work so I don’t loose my home, and dying at the same time.I just don’t know at this point.
Mike,
If you can’t get comfort meds from your Dr, you can always check with your family Dr or local health clinic Dr because most will write clonidine. It is a blood pressure med but it also has properties that help for opiate withdrawal.
There is a product that can be ordered online called Vitadone. This is made specifically for methadone patients and it helps with many of the side effects that some have with this medicine.
The awful feelings of no energy, no motivation and screwed up emotions are pretty common for many who take either methadone or suboxone. I was stuck on a high dose of subs and thought about trying to stop taking them since I felt so damn bad. Of course in reality, I probably would have relapsed if I had done it, but tapering was just not going to happen. It’s contradictory that I hated suboxone at the time and couldn’t taper it, yet that’s where I was. Thankfully, I learned about using supplements (especially amino acids) to adjust my brain chemistry problems that suboxone was causing. Brain chemistry plays a huge role in both physical and emotional symptoms felt on these two drugs.
I focused on adding dopamine and Serotonin. These two chemicals are commonly deficient in those with opiate addiction, and especially during opiate withdrawal. Once I had built up dopamine in my brain I started feeling like “me” again. Adding a good multivitamin was crucial and so was giving up the sugary caffeinated beverages which stops the amino acids from doing their job. My energy came back, my moods were no longer “flatlined” and probably the best effect was that I found motivation again. I was motivated to get off the couch and do things to enjoy my life. But the best had to be motivation to continue with my taper. Adding serotonin helped with the depression and anxiety I felt. Once I felt pretty good….no, incredibly good, I was also able to begin exercising and meditation. These are just two activities that will also increase dopamine and helped stave off withdrawal symptoms.
L-tyrosine, DLPA, L-dopa & mucuna pruriens are supplements that help build dopamine. 5htp helps build serotonin. A diet high in protein helps dopamine and the creation of natural endorphins, which have been replaced by the use of opiates.
Eating healthy, exercise, using supplements and meditation got me out of the MAJOR SLUMP that I was in and is what I attribute to finally being successful. Looking back, it’s a good thing that I made these changes bc had I just “jumped off” the medicine when I wanted to, relapse was almost guaranteed.
~Mary
OAS RECOVERY SPECIALIST
Thank you for your reply. I wish they made a dopamine reuptacke inhibitor. Spelled wrong. My brother successfully quit methadone by going to a psychiatrist he prescribed codeine sulfate, this is the class 2 version. This is not an option for me. It did, however work for him.I am also duel diagnosed, for p.s.d chronic major depression, and schizophrenia, and of course I’m out of these meds. Plus abusive relationship. If there is a light at the end of the tunnel God only knows were it is.again thank you for commenting it is nice to talk to someone… Anyone.p.s I have tried vidadone. It was sold at a clinic I went to. P.s.s am I taking to much lopremide? I’m sorry for buggn u so much.
Mike,
When I used lope to get through opiate withdrawal, It took 10 at a time about 4 or 5x a day before I found relief & for my friend it was closer to 20 3 or 4x a day. BUT…(!)…I knew this could be dangerous and that taking loperamide for very long can cause very serious complications that have for others has caused very painful problems, especially @ high doses. Drinking plenty of water was necessary to do and I never did this any longer than 3 days. I also used both Kratom & lope, alternating days. I would choose this way should I ever go through this again.
Of course this is only my personal experience and you should discuss any use of otc medicationso or herbs with your Dr.
Try poppy seed tea….head to the Reddit of the same thing for dose and harm reduction.this is old but I was here lol. Mother Poppy can be a cruel mistress so respect the lady and you will have zero worries…..but do not fall for her…….I warned you
If you are going back to opiates just go to a suboxone doc or methadone clinic. Might as well have stable dosing and be legal for that matter. I did try poppy seed tea and poppy tea over ten years ago during a dry spell before I found methadone clinics. My biggest struggle was the taste of the tea. I struggled just getting it down. Also you have to be careful since some are very weak needing allot and others very strong so you never know what you are going to get. Be careful with that for sure.
Cratom is bunk for opiate withdrawal. It’s hard to know what works unless you actually try it. I have tried a lot of things. 20 2mg Imodium with one 40 mg Prilosec a multi vitamin some kava kava and GABA takes the majority of the withdrawal off me.
Thank you for the kind words Mary.
What is Kratom and where do you get it? Expensive?
Thanks Jeff, the melatonin supplement helped very much last night. I woke up surprised, feeling positive and rested finally! I haven’t felt the need to take and lope yet. Just sticking with vitamins and hydration so far.
Thank you Mary for your support! I’m not taking any suboxone at all as I’ve heard it’s even worse than opiates to withdrawal from (at least the amount I was taking) I have a doctors appt Friday and going to be straight up with them and see if they can give me some meds to help out. I know I still have a long way to but I’m already feeling like I’ll make it this time! Fortunately, I’m in very good physical shape and I think that’s helping. I’ll keep posting my progress. Your guys support is really helping as well. Just to be able to talk to people who understand is awesome! Thank you
Determined,
I’m so sorry that my first reply (that was about suboxone) was just a bunch of …..crap!? (for your situation) I admit, I confused you with another person’s situation. (Jeff had given great advice to that person too!) However, I updated my comment. So sorry for the confusion! I’m glad the melatonin is working. I’m also glad that you keep your eyes one the prize!
~Mary
Great to hear the melatonin helped you to get some much needed sleep. I’m glad you haven’t needed the loperamid to, keep it up and stay strong. As for your doctor’s visit, when I went my doc wasn’t going to give me anything after explaining everything until I specifically asked for Clonidine. He was familiar with it and gave me a script. I also asked about gabapentin but he didn’t want to prescribe it since he wasn’t familiar with it as treatment for opiate withdrawal. I wished I would have printed out some info to give the doc and possibly got that script as well but that’s ok. I think Clonidine is very helpful during the acute stage of withdrawal. Hopefully you are getting near the end of the initial acute phase which is typically the worst part. Of course it will take time for your body to repair itself and get back to functioning as normal. The dlpa we mentioned before can help speed that process up along with a high protein diet and excersize. I would also suggest starting a probiotic to get your gut working properly again. Even if it doesn’t seem like you need it it would be beneficial. Doctors refer to our gut as the “second brain” since a lot of the things we need (like serotonin) are produced there as well and taking opiates for extended periods affects our gut as much as it does our brain. Taking a probiotic helps to clean out the gut and get it working properly which will speed up your recovery. Hope this helps. Please keep us updated as you go along.
End of day 4. Feeling good for the most part. Didn’t take any lope today at. Didn’t feel like I needed to. Just an herbal energy supplement to get going in the morning. Finally got a bottle of DLPA! Should I wait till tomorrow morning to start taking it?? Still not sleeping like I used to but good enough. I got cravings yesterday evening pretty bad, not necessarily for pulls, but just something to take the edge off. I drank a beer and was content. Between my business and caring for my son I don’t have any free time until he goes to sleep and I think that’s helping keep my mind off of wanting to get high. Life seems brighter!
Sorry it takes a while before I get these messages for some reason. I would only take dlpa in the morning and maybe early afternoon but nothing past 3 pm or so since that caused trouble sleeping for me. It must be taken on an empty stomach. Dlpa is an amino acid (in protein) so if any other protein is in your stomach already not much of the dlpa will be used. It is very helpful stuff but don’t expect to get high or anything. Dlpa only helps to get you back to normal. I also noticed it helped more after a couple days of taking it but did help some on day one. I’ll write back later since I just arrived at work I should get back. Hope this helps.
It’s good to remind yourself that you are doing this for your son to. It’s great motivation imo. To me taking tryptophan helps take the edge off. I usually take 500 mg a couple hours before bed then another 500 mg at bedtime along with melatonin but that first dose helps with those racing thoughts and all. Also I like skullcap. It doesn’t make me drowsy at all but helps some with anxiety and passionflower (I think Mary mentioned it) may help some as well. I don’t get much from passionflower alone but if I take it with tryptophan or skullcap or one of the other herbs I have I get more out of the combo.
Hey Matt, first I want to thank you for your help and wisdom. It really helps! So today (day5) feeling much more clear mentally and not thinking to much about wanting pills. I’ve quit before and made it this far but not with counsel or DLPA, melatonin, etc. and I feel much happier about everything. I’ve only taken 1000mg of DLPA first thing this morning and feel just fine aside from being a bit sore from work but that’s normal. It’s awesome really! I’m focused 100% I think I’m going to stick with melatonin, L-thesnine, passionflower, and valarian root for the late evening as my sleep is improving. And DLPA, ginseng energy supplement, and healthy eating during the day. If I start to feel like I’m getting weak mentally I will definitely get the I am a little apprehensive though because of the labeling, don’t want my wife to see it. I hate keeping it from her but I feel like if I can stay sober, then eventually I won’t have that feeling of guilt (I hope). As for the doctors appt, they called this morning and rescheduled for Tuesday, so bummed about that. I can feel it though, in my mind, I know this is the last time to struggle though withdrawal and addiction. I know also that I still have a long way to go as well. One day at a time! Thanks man! I’ll keep you posted
Hey Determined, I’m glad you are battling through this my friend. Day 5 is great. Keep it up and keep us posted here on your progress. Have a good weekend.
P.S. The $300-400 a week I’m saving is helping my cause! I’ll spend that on my son instead. Also my wife is pregnant with our second child (girl this time) so I should probably start saving for whatever she will need. Your definetly right about my son being a big motivation. He is my heart and soul. He is the reason I started my business and reason I push myself to the limit and beyond making sure he has a better life then I had growing up. And now I’ll have two children and honestly that’s the reason for this change. My wife also has a big part. We’ve been together since I was 18 her 16 and she means the world to me. I have a lot to loose and I’m determined not to. Again thank you thank you for caring Matt.
Hey Determined, how was your weekend? Are you still doing good? Hope to hear from you on your progress my friend.
Hi Jeff, had a great weekend! Still moving forward on my journey. End of day 9 and I feel awesome. Physically and mentally. My body feels like it’s getting back to a normal cycle aside from an occasional upset stomach. Had my doctors appointment today and he didn’t prescribe me anything for the withdrawal but said if I needed to come back in to get one he would do it. I’m still just sticking with my routine and it’s working great! I can really feel the DLPA helping along with a ginseng energy supplement every morning. My energy level is way up and my focus is back. I feel more confident everyday. Life is better without the burden of opiates 100%. Thank you! I’ll touch base again soon. Take care Jeff
Determined,
This is such an AWESOME thing to read first thing in the morning!! It feels like its gonna be a great day!
~Mary
I’m so glad to hear you are doing so well my friend. Keep it up and stay strong. Allow me to offer a friendly warning as well (from someone struggling with opiates for 13 years) every time I got clean then relapsed the withdrawal was far worse. Please keep that in mind if you are tempted to start back (or have any cravings). Only offering this in hopes to help you avoid relapse. Hope you continue doing well my friend.
I’m currently on day 9 of heroin withdrawals, and while searching for info on insomnia that might help me out, came across this article. I enjoy reading other experiences to remind me I’m not alone, and even if I feel like I might die, many others have gotten thru this before! I had to comment that I completely agree that each time I subsequently started using after being clean for a good period of time, (this last time I was nearly 2 1/2 years clean and got a case of the “f-it’s” about 6 months after i watched my boyfriend pass away.) Now, I kick myself because it’s NOT worth it. This is my 4th time getting clean and each time the withdrawals are worse and last longer, even if I was only using for a month! It’s insane!! And while I’m ready to shoot myself at night while I’m tossing and turning with no sleep (no more than about 15 mins at a time, maybe 3 times a night, and this is day 9!), I just pray that tomorrow is better!!
Hey Christine, congrats on 9 days clean off heroin, that is awesome. Thank you for commenting, it is an unfortunate truth that definetly sucks while going through it. And like you said, others have gone through this and made it to the other side so hang in there and stay strong. Lack of sleep is one of the worse lingering symptoms that can take a while to get back to normal. I’m sure you have tried many things to help get some sleep but allow me to suggest a few that have helped me. First, I would suggest a trip to the doc if it’s possible, there are many meds that can help withdrawals and with sleep. If this isn’t possible maybe something else will help. Definetly look at melatonin (my favorite is Natrol fast dissolve 3 mg but any of them should work. There are many herbs that can help like Valerian root, hops, skullcal, Magnolia bark, Mothers wort, and some amino acids like L-Tryptophan & GABA that could help with sleep. If you haven’t tried DLPA (morning/daytime use only) I would suggest that as well. It is an amino acid and can help your brain to get back to producing the proper chemicals as it should. Another one is L-Dopa (Mucuna Pruriens) Generally these products will help some by themselves but much more when combined. I take all of these in different combinations. As you know, time is what is needed to heal but maybe you can find a little help with these along the way. There are others that can help, some I am hesitant to mention because of their own addictive potential. But the ones I mentioned are non addictive. I hope you find a way to get some sleep. Stay strong and keep us posted here on your progress. Take care.
Jeff,
Will you contact me @ info@opiateaddictionsupport.Com
~Mary
Hi matt I’m on day 2 of no opiates and not feeling very good at all. I started taking I immodium hcl this morning with grapefruit juice and starting to feel better a little. I have been taking Percocet and Norco for about a year and a half just to get take away the back and joint pain from working. Started with Norco from the doctor until he stopped my rx with for no reason. I started buying off the street to manage my pain but began to abuse quickly. I run my own business and support my wife and two small children. I’m so tired of this cycle and tired of wasting my hard earned money on these stupid pills. But in order to be productive and work hard I need them. It’s frustrating to say the least. I keep it a secret from everyone including my wife for fear of judgement. I want to be free of these chains for my family’s sake as well as mine. I’ve started with herbal supplements, vitamin C, and immodium so far and not feeling great but able to function somewhat. Thank you for what you do! It has given me hope that I can make it through this.
Hey determined, I understand fully where you are coming from, your story is similar to mine. I wanted to mention a couple supplements that may help you. Check out DLPA (start with 500mh and increase up to 2000mg 3 times a day if needed) to help during the day, may help you with energy and just to feel a little better (don’t take to late in the day). And if you are having trouble sleeping check out melatonin (Natrol Fast Desolve 3 mg is my favorite) and L-Tryptophan (500mg to start and increase up to 1500mg if needed). There are many others that help but this is a good start and should help you fine some relief along with the loperamid. Make sure to taper your lope dose daily so you don’t trade addictions. Please come back to share how you are doing or ask any more questions. Best of luck my friend.
Hey Jeff, I’ve been looking for DLPA but can’t find it anywhere. I picked up some a supplement with melatonin, L-theanine, and some botanicals. I really hope it helps tonight. I haven’t had much sleep at all last 3 days. Making it really difficult to work in 100+ degree weather. Also got some other supplements for energy. I think the biggest thing that’s helping so far is determination to get clean and healthy. Ever since I was in high school I’ve always drank or did drugs one way or the other. opiates grabbed ahold of me in a bad way though. being a father now has made me look at myself and say no more! I want to be a good role model for my kids. I have worked extremely hard to build my business and don’t want to throw it all away. I’m going to make it through this one way or the other. This time I have a lot of hope finding these tools to help my body and mind rebuild the damage the pills did. I’ll keep posting as my journey continues! Thank you for your support!
Hey, I hope the melatonin worked for you last night. You sound very determined to be clean of opiates and that is what is needed to get there, you will get through it my friend. As for the DLPA I always purchase it online but vitamins shop sometimes carry it. Swanson is super cheap and works great. Also powdercity has great products at the best prices but most things only come in powder form so not as convenient. Hope this helps.
Determined,
The advice Jeff has given you has been some of the same things that I would have said. As for you not being able to find dlpa (for dopamine production ) there are some good alternative you can look for. L-tyrosine, mucuna pruriens (velvet bean) & l-dopa also help dopamine production.
This advice I repeat to anyone who is facing withdrawal. 1. Stay hydrated! Being dehydrated, even a little, can make any symptom worse! 2. Exercise & get sunshine as much as possible. I know it’s hard, but hopefully you’ve found a dose of loperimide that has eased your symptoms and helps make this possible. 3. If your muscles spasm or are hurting, use plenty of Epsom salt in a hot bath. Absorbing magnesium through your skin is more effective than an oral supplement.
Lastly, keep that Determination! That is the best, no BESTEST? tool to use use in addiction RECOVERY!
~Mary
OAS Recovery Specialist
*Disclaimer : Please speak with your Dr before using any supplements or starting an exercise regime. Suggestions given here should not be considered medical advise.
I appreciate this site… it gives me some hope. I have been taking 2-4 8/2 suboxone strips for the past year. it’s getting to the point where I can’t afford this prescription. I know that I’m about to withdrawal… because my last refill is running out. I’m scared… petrified of the withdrawal… I’ve tried twice and failed. I’m going to try the recommended dosages given on this site…. I pray it helps. my one question… can I take these in conjunction with my suboxone, so I’m not “jumping off” from such a high dosage? I’m thinking taking 1/2 a strip daily and taking the immodium, but will it cause a withdrawal (like if I took a sub and then some Vicodin, for example)?
Ryan,
Hello! I’ve recently been asked by Matt to join him in OAS (opiate addiction support) and help answer questions. It just so happens that I’m very knowledgeable on the subject of suboxone; having successfully tapered after being on it 2+ years. If I understand your your question, you’re asking if you were to take the immodium while you’re still on suboxone, would it put you into precipitated withdrawal- similar to what would happen if you were to take a vicodin while on it. So, do I understand you right?
Well, first let me explain that your assumption of taking a vicodin (or any other opiate) while you’re ALREADY TAKING SUBOXONE will cause withdrawal is wrong. It’s actually the other way around- opiate 1st then taking suboxone can cause a severe, immediate, withdrawal BUT once you have suboxone in your system taking opiates on top of it will not. The pharmacology of it all is a little complicated so I won’t go into it here. (Unless you want an explanation of course, I’ll do my best to explain in later comments)
Ok, with that out of the way, I’ll answer your question about taking Immodium as you reduce your dose in preparation of “jumping off”. The answer is: DONT. At least not as a withdrawal aid. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with using it as its intended (anti-diarrheal) bc it won’t hurt you, but to use it “in conjunction” with suboxone, I don’t recommend it. The reason is that it should be used for a short amount of time (3-4 days at most ) and once you finally jump you may very well need it then.
Now, I know this isn’t part of your question but I would like to dig a little deeper, so maybe I can offer some tried and true advice. How many 8/2 MG strip do you have left? Do you want recommendations on what you should be doing and supplies you need for “the jump”? Do you feel READY to be off suboxone, feeling confident enough in yourself to fight cravings and urges that will come? Would you prefer to stay on suboxone? Do you have insurance? Have you tried to find another dr? Is there a chance that you could qualify for the Here to help program from the makers of suboxone, or a program offered thru bunavail or zubsolv? (There actually used to be a coupon for two weeks free for one of these other formulations, I’ll have to check to see if this is available.)
~~Oh yeah, I forgot!! ? DO NOT…I REPEAT…DO NOT read any of those HORROR STORIES that Google finds so easily! ?
Thank you, Mary for the reply and the information… many things I didn’t know (seems those prescribing to me are hiding things). You definitely understand my question. I guess I was under the impression that using immodium would help with withdrawal… either I wouldn’t go through or the symptoms would be manageable. I’m back to being very scared to go through this again. I have seven left.., I was taking 4/day. I’ve used the suboxone discount card… but really haven’t looked into programs (not sure where to look… tried googling once, but didn’t see anything)… the problem is… on paper… I don’t qualify. I have insurance and make good money. it’s the issue with my wife… when I came clean about my Vicodin addiction… she took all my debit cards away. I went to a dr. and he prescribed the suboxone… well she HATED that,.. and made me make a choice her and the family or the suboxone. well, I “chose” her… but behind her back, been supporting the suboxone by using refund money she doesn’t know about. I should’ve had enough money to get to next refund… but an expense came up that I had to deal with… which has left me with $.30 in my secret account… which is why I am where I am now. I’m not ready to get off, which is one thing that scares me (maybe more than the withdrawal itself).
Ryan, if you’d like, send me a pm and together we can work out a way to get you in the group using an alias. Usually we don’t allow that, bc we are VERY PROTECTIVE of our members’ privacy. I have to leave right now and do “Mom duties” at the baseball field, but I wanted to respond to let you know I’m willing to listen and help. There’s a great book that I wish all of our loved ones would read I think it’s called WHY DON’T THEY JUST QUIT. (Have to look, not sure) My husband also considered suboxone just a “legal high” and anyone taking it as just having an easier way to get their D.O.C. (drug of choice). So, I understand that aspect too. Look into Kratom to help withdrawal though, in case you haven’t yet. I will get you info on any discounts soon.
I appreciate all your help. I’m glad I found all this out now… I put a lot of hope in the immodium… I am discouraged… I actually had hope that I wouldn’t go through serious withdrawals… looks like I’m in for a rough ride. not sure how I’m going to get through this… but I have no other options… since my funds have run out. by my calculations… I’m going to be pretty miserable in a week. sorry for being a downer… just very scared. I can’t thank you enough for your advice and quick replies. means a lot
Ryan, Imodium doesn’t take away all withdrawal symptoms but does help make it a smoother transition. I also understand where you are coming from hiding your suboxone use, I also use in secret from my wife and family and hate that I have to hide it but I get the same reaction as you. I know your funds are low but if you could make one more trip to the suboxone doc ask for a script for Clonidine. It is used to ease opiate withdrawal and is very helpful. If you need to just go to the doc and later tell your wife you had a sinus infection or something and got prescribed antibiotics. That should cover your visit and the script cost (if you choose to do this). Btw, there is nothing that will take away all of your withdrawal symptoms but there are things that can make it much easier to go through. There are many herbs and amino acids that can help with sleep and nerves during withdrawal as well. My favorites are L-tryptophan, 5-htp, and melatonin for sleep and skullcap and Motherwort for nerves and/or sleep as well and DLPA during the day for energy and to be able to function. There are others that help me as well but everyone is different. If you have 7 strips left I would try to spread those out as much as possible. Try to only take 1 a day (if needed take half in morning then half in afternoon to help it last all day) for a few days then drop to 1/2 for a few days then 1/4 strip. The lower you can get the easier your final jump will be. Hope the best for you my friend.
Ryan, I’m sorry to say that the free trial offer that Bunavail once had has ended. So let’s start over. First thing is, don’t think of yourself as doomed for bad withdrawal, bc the mental part will make you feel that every sneeze or muscle ache is much worse. There are ways to minimize withdrawal for sure. It sounds like you’ve not been on suboxone for very long, so that will help too. It’s important to understand a little about suboxone’so halflife. (This is the time that it takes for half of a chemical to leave your system) The halflife of buprenorhphine is on average about 37 hours. So with the amount you’ve been taking it will be a few days before the worst of the withdrawal will hit anyway. I’ll tell you flat out, you’ll hear stories from some who say, “I start feeling withdrawal after 12 hours” or “every morning”, but the pharmacology of bupe says you shouldnt. Of course if your mind is made up that withdrawal does hit that fast, then you will feel withdrawal that fast. Let me use myself as an example. When I was new to treatment I would often let the “addict mentality ” take over and use more strips than I was prescribed, after all, ~~if 2 makes me feel good, then 4 will make me feel twice as good, right!?! Sure! I THOUGHT SO!? Well, what happens with this way of thinking? You got it! ID RUN OUT EARLY! ?? I’d wake up the first morning and reach for my dose…….UH OH! I’d remember what was in store for me and sure enough, if I managed to get out of bed, I was a mess; struggling to find relief. The truth is if I had other opiates available at the time, I probably would have used them. Thank goodness I didnt! Since that would have risked failing the drug test at my sub Dr and getting kicked out. Like I said, that was earlier in treatment. Flash forward about a year later….by this time I had something CLICK in my brain that made me begin to take RECOVERY serious. Being the type I am I researched about addiction and this medicine alot. I even began tapering my dose of suboxone because that “CLICK” made me realize that I didn’t want to be dependent on anything to live a normal life. I learned about the pharmacology of bupe and the halflife. I understood that it just didn’t make sense that I used to feel SO AWFUL when I would run out early. I decided to try an experiment to see how long I could go before withdrawal kicked in for me. I knew I wouldn’t have the MENTAL STRESS of being OUT to deal with, since I had accumulated quite a large stash to taper with. The experiment ended at around 70 hours, because it was then that I felt my legs had begun a slight ache as I was going to bed. I said, “OK! EXPERIMENT DONE!? Because WHY suffer needlessly when I can just get in the safe?” (After all, I’m NOT SUPERWOMAN! lol)
But this experience taught me that I felt withdrawal early because I KNEW I WOULD, when in reality the medicine had to leave my system enough for withdrawal to hit. The mind is a powerful thing!
What I recommend for you is that you don’t take your dose as normal. Wait it out until you feel it physically and can’t go any longer. Then, take take just 2mg of it. If you’re actually feeling the physical withdrawal from it, you’d be amazed at how much relief a dose that size will give you! In my opinion, the dose of suboxone you’ve been taking for a vicodin habit is a ridiculous amount anyway and 2-4 MG may have been plenty to start with. This is a STRONG MEDICINE! Much stronger than most realize!
Cutting your dose down QUICK will extend the amount you have and provide a better taper. Jumping from a high dose is hard to handle, I won’t lie. But jumping from a smaller dose is much more doable, especially with the aids mentioned on this site. Start exercising and eating healthier-adding plenty of protein. This will go a LONG WAY! Also start a good multivitamin with minerals and keep yourself HYDRATED! I agree with Jeff that you should get a script for clonidine. You can actually go to about any Dr for this prescription as its the most common thing prescribed for opiate withdrawal and it truly does help! Most have found Neuron tin or Lyrica extremely helpful to combat withdrawal. Most importantly keep reaching out! It really does help to talk with others who have been there!
Disclaimer: any suggestions mentioned are not to be considered medical advice. Discuss with your Dr before taking any supplements or medications and before beginning an exercise regime
I want to add something. I wish every loved one who is against MAT (medication assisted therapy) for addicts (especially suboxone) would talk to me about the subject. I USED TO BE that person…before my problem with addiction began. I was against suboxone and methadone too! I had a daughter who was a drug addict and I considered her to be a lazy “junkie” with no morals (which is what I thought of anyone who abused drugs). I fought so hard to get her to STRAIGHTEN UP, even having her arrested. I first heard about suboxone years ago when she said that she was on it. I considered it an easy LEGAL HIGH! I gave her NO SUPPORT! (Oh how I now regret that!) Then my life changed in an istant when I hit a tractor trailer head on and was seriously injured. Thus began my relationship with pain pills that I eventually made my SOUL MATE! I became dependent of course bc that’s just what happens with narcotics. Over time I began abusing my pain medication and getting by with it since everyone knew that I was in “awful pain”. (I repeatedly reminded myself and others of that! Lol) Anyway it became a problem- financially, my health, my relatuonships, EVERYTHING was affected by MY ADDICTION! I opened up to my psychiatrist who (I didn’t even know that he was also a presciber of Suboxone at the time) explained SUBOXONE therapy to me and asked if I wanted to try, since all my attempts to stop the medicine had failed. I decided that it was worth a shot.
My time on suboxone gave me the chance to repair the damage I did in my relationships, but it also gave me the opportunity to work on my own issues that caused me to abuse drugs. The active ingredient in suboxone simply doesn’t work like other opiates. Once a person is put on a maintenance dose, there is no EUPHORIA that you get from short acting opiates like hydrocodone, oxycodone, heroin, etc. It actually blocks the opiate receptors which causes no feelings of being HIGH. Is it perfect? NO,its not; some people are going to abuse it, but for a person who is serious about recoving it is the best advancement in modern medicine for treating opiate addiction and can save lives!. The chances of relapse are much less for someone who actively participates in suboxone therapy. Also, chances are even lower when that patient has support from others! So see, I’ve been on both sides of the fence- thinking suboxone is just another thing available for “junkies” to abuse/ to having to use suboxone myself to overcome my own problem.
*BTW I no longer refer to all drug addict as lazy “junkies”. I have learned that the STIGMA around addiction must die in order for the epidemic to be stopped. I USED TO BE part of the reason the stigma exists.
Good advise Mary, I tried to leave a comment earlier for Ryan but lost wifi just after sending it so don’t know if it went through. My comment, however, is similar to yours and you are absolutely correct on precipitated withdrawals with suboxone. If taking another opiate, then suboxone is started before most of that opiate is out of your system (should be in severe withdrawal) you will go into precipitates withdrawal which are worse than standard withdrawal symptoms by a long shot (ask me how I know 😉 but once suboxone is in your system other opiates can be taken without going into precipitated withdrawals but suboxone will block the affects of those other opiates (to some extent depending on dose). I also mentioned that imp it’s best to wait until off suboxone before starting a loperamide taper. Anyway, I won’t bother rewriting my entire post if it didn’t go through, I will just second Mary’s advice here. Hope this helps you Ryan. Please keep us posted on your progress here.
I’ve been battling heroin addiction for about the last 6 months. I went to detox program and used subtext for 6 days while I was there and had 12 days heroin free…..only to come home and start using for the past 12 days in small amounts.
Any suggestions on the dosage I should take safely and any recommendations to deal with the anxiety besides benzos.
I’d greatly appreciate any feedback.
Hey Jello, I don’t know your H dose so it’s hard to say what will work for you but maybe start with 6 to 10 loperamid (12 mg to 20 mg) and go up from there if needed until you find a dose that helps. Just add 1 or 2 every 30 minutes or so but don’t get crazy with it. Lope is helpful but is not going to take all w/d symptoms away. Start tapering after first day or two and stick to taper schedule. As for anxiety try Skyllcap, Motherwort, and Passionflower herbs and Tryptophan to help sleep along with melatonin. If you have a doc to visit ask for Clonidine to help with withdrawal symptoms which will help take the edge off and help sleep as well. Best of luck my friend.
Hey man, o just picked up some generic immodium…I didn’t have enough money to also get the tagamet , will out still help get rid of the physical wd’so? I don’t usually suffer from nausea thank God, but I get it real bad as far as the crawling skin, cold sweats, foggy head, lethargy, restless legs, and muscles feeling like they’re tearing off the bones…
I have used Loperamide for opiate withdrawal. It was very helpful in relieving the sweating, chills, muscle twitches and rls. Did it take all symptoms away? No, but it did make them much less severe. I took a dose if 20mg/2x a day, sometimes more. I’ve heard of others who get relief from less, and some used more. I wouldn’t use it any longer than about 3 days; You don’t want this medicine to cause severe intestinal problems. Make sure to stay hydrated, a MUST during withdrawal, but especially when using Loperamide. I also used an antihistamine that really helped me get some sleep.
Disclaimer: Suggestions made for the use of any medications should not be considered medical advice. Please speak with your Dr before taking any medication.
Hey Jorddddan, yes it will help without the Tagamet. It will not take away all withdrawal symptoms but will help you get through it easier. Just remember to only take enough to get some relief and start tapering from there. Go down at least one pill/dose a day to ensure you don’t trade one addiction for another. Best of luck my friend.
So glad I came upon this site. Been tapering down the last few days and today is the first day with nothing. Took 20mg of Imodium liquid gels and could not believe how fast relief came. Restless legs are calm. The aches and pains are gone. I still feel that mental fuzziness and tiredness but it’s bearable. Also helped the stomach issues as well. I have kids to care for and this helps immensely.
one question, does anyone get super constipated taking these high doses or is it no worse than the slowed down system from narcotics?
My IBS is so freaked out its just bringing me back to normal. Make some fruit smoothies with a little Metamucil thrown in and you’ll be back to normal in a couple of days.
I am glad that I can across this website. I want to try the loperamide but am afraid that it won’t help me at all. I’m a heroin/opiate pill addict and I’ve tried many times to get off the stuff. I recently just tried to quit without the help of anything but that didn’t last long. I have two young girls I need to take care of so I’m wondering if there is anyone out there that used this method and was still able to function. How did it help your withdrawal symptoms? Did it alleviate them all together? Thanks in advance!
Hey Chere, this method definetly helps with some symptoms of withdrawal, possibly all with some people, depending on how much you were taking and for how long of course. Basically this is just a smoother transition than cold turkey. You will still have to taper off Imodium to get to opiate freedom so there will be withdrawal to go through but it is much easier using something like this. The key is tapering quickly so you don’t become dependent on Imodium. Hope this helps for you.
Works very well. Will take away 90% of physical symptoms, will allow sleep, but your mental symptoms will have to be dealt with another way. My dose was 4-8mg every 90 minutes throughout the day. Additionally, I slept 6-8 hours a night. If I woke in the middle of the night, I would redose and fall back asleep. You will need to trial an error your own situation until you get the correct dose down, but start small then increase as needed. Don’t get frustrated, just try a different dose as needed. It may take several efforts over several months to get a good regiment down and then to actually quit. This was not only the only solution for taking away physical symptoms, but it was the only way I could sleep (unless I had my hands on Xanax).
Word of warning if you’re taking megadoses of loperamide. I was a recent ICU patient because of it. I was taking 40mg twice sometimes 3x’s a day. I ended up blacking out several times….literally palpatations, gasping for air, instantly dropping to the floor. Doctors thought I was epileptic. I wasn’t. I was born with a congenital heart defect called Prolonged QT Syndrome. Little did I know that the high doses of loperamide were making it worse. Finally when I blacked out 5x’s in 24hrs I went to the hospital. I was in full Torsades de Pointes. Constantly going into vtach. Two bags of magnesium were hand squeezed into my IV to make it stop and save my life. I spent 5 days in ICU and 2 days in Cardiac Telemetry. Doctors said I was extremely lucky I came in when I did. Social services were called cause I blacked out while caring for my kids. I truly thought this was a wonder drug and it was….until it almost killed me. I understand the pains of withdrawal. I’ve been on everything under the sun since 2003. It was a lifesaver. But now the stuff terrifies me. I learned that even in people who DON’T have underlying heart issues like me….loperamide can CAUSE them. People please just be careful!!!
Hi Everyone, reading your comments below has really given me hope and I am preparing to stop my life sucking habit. I live in Australia and have seen Immodium but not A. D. I am assuming that it doesn’t matter as long as the active ingredient “loperamide Hydrochloride” is present, then it will work?
Thanks so much for this. I am still worried that my tolerance is so high that it might not work, but I am going to try my best. Good luck to all, and I hope and pray for us all to kick this life destroying drug from our lives permanently, and stand by eachother to help each other. Thanks and good luck to all struggling with this, or any addiction.
I have stopped maybe 30 times but my post depression after quitting is so long and tough, I often relapse with weeks or months and do t stay clean long enough for my depression to pass and my lethargy to give way so I end up using just to feel normal. Normal to me is basically having some energy to get about my life and nit being depressed to the point of not sleeping and not socialising because I feel so down. This time, if I stop, u have promised myself that I will give myself 6 months, a full 6 months. I want to stop so so bad, I hope this will help me get through the withdraws then I cm take on each day at a time. Thanks.
Hey Imspent, I fully understand where you are coming from with depression after opiates. I think allot of it stems from not having energy to do anything and not getting any enjoyment from life but I’m certainly not an expert. You are correct about Imodium as long as the active ingredient is loperamid that is all that matters. Keep in mind that loperamid is an opiate so it is also addictive but if tapered properly and taken for a very short time it can be helpful to get you past your original opiates withdrawal, then you only have to push through loperamid a withdrawal which is not as bad (if taken/tapered properly). I hope this helps you to get to an opiate free life. I wanted to mention if you have access to a doctor that will prescribe gabapentin it has has helped many on here get through detox with little or no withdrawal symptoms. Matt has an arrival about this here as well. I hope the best for you my friend.
I will be there. I’m in the same boat here in Texas USA. Hope you are well.
I am also in Texas and struggling with opiate addiction. Thinking about trying this method to get through withdrawals.
I’m a father of 3 and I’m so ashamed. I can’t talk to anyone.
Hey Ashmed, you can talk here if you want to. If we can help you out in any way we will.
Jeff is right, Ashamed… you can talk to us in here and not have to worry about being judged. I’m new but reading the comments I can tell people are friendly and understand what you’re going through. I hope you’ll let go of some of that shame… no one ever asks to be an addict, and we all have various reasons for what’s happened. The fact that you came in here and even spoke up in the first place tells me you recognize that there’s a problem, and that’s very respectable.
I really found this page helpful i looked this up b/c i just saw on my local news here in Birmingham,Alabama that they are going to try to make this like pseudoephedrine were you are limited to so many monthly and I.D has to be shown. I never heard of it till today so i looked it up and found this page. I have been on the meathadone clinic for a few years now and have been thinking of stopping the info you have gave me i will do i have tried to stop before but it was so bad and i did not knw what to do.It pisses me off that instead of giving info like you did they just want to ban it. Any way just wanted to say thank you
I have used loperamide for my heroin addiction. In massive doses. When I say massive, I always start loperamide detox amount relative to my opiate tolerance amount. I use it in relation as if I am using 2 Grams a day of heroin, then I would need close to 100mgs of a lesser opiate like hydrocodone to alleviate my sickness. So my non-narcotic remedy of loperamide would be closer to that, 100mg first dose. ( I have forwarded higher but found not necessary to go over 100mg first round. Then I cut that dose in half every 8 hours for the first 48, then the last 24 hours 8 mils, cut to 4mg fit the last 12 hours. And nothing after that..
Non-narcotic detox off heroin, morphine, pain pills, with almost no withdrawals ( cold chills and insomnia are not escapable for me) with in 3 days..
How are your withdrawal symptoms with using the loperamide? Can you function? Do you feel the symptoms? I’m wanting to try this method but am scared that I wont be able to function as I have two young girls I’m responsible for. Thank you.
I’ve been taking Suboxone, anywhere from 8-16 mg., for the past three weeks (with a few days taking nothing thrown in there). Since the withdrawal from Sub is so long, I understand (I’ve heard up to a year), if I use lope to help me with the Sub withdrawal, but can only do it for 4-5 days without becoming addicted to it, when I stop using it, won’t I be right back in full-blown Sub withdrawal?
You are doing a great service and I appreciate your articles and advice. Thank you.
I don’t believe it lasts a year please somebody chimed in and correct me if I’m wrong. I am currently using 390 mg of oxycodone every single day. 3 years ago I stumbled upon loperamide as a replacement and use 72 to 120 mg and it’s like I never missed a dose of oxy. I am now going to use it as a 4 to 5 day detox and quit forever. I have an unlimited supply of money from a new job and I thought I could go on forever but wasting $9,000 a month is just plain stupid. I’m going to start tomorrow when I go to out I do know that I have to take them about 12 hours before my last dose Runs Out hopefully it works again. I am tired of meeting dealer every two to three days hoping he has them and people are starting to wonder why I always go into the bathroom every couple hours. I’m tired of the devil and all the Havoc it has cost me in the past and now my habit is out of control. Thank you for all the advice and I wish everyone a speedy recovery who is serious about it. I will post my recovery daily. Thank you all
Hey, I’d just like to say thank you for this article. It’s really helped. I’ve been addicted to opiates for about two and a half years now. I thought it was going to take my life but when I found this article, it gave me hope. I decided to try the mega dosing about two weeks ago. It was easier than I thought. Very helpful in avoiding the withdrawals. Well I took the Imodium for about a week and haven’t had any in about three days. I feel ok now. Just a headache every now and then, but still good!!!!! Just wanted to thank you and share. You’ve helped save my life.
it’s interesting reading these testimonies and get a lot of good info from them. I’m dealing with my 68 year old sister who was on methadone for 35 years and lost her ability to obtain the drug and so she switched to suboxone. She soon found out that she could take Clonazepam (klonopine) and get high. Matters got worse and she ended up in a psych ward totally flipped out of her mind. It’s been 2 years now that she hasn’t been a steady user but I still find various types of drugs from time to time that her so called friends give her. Scum bags. Most recently I found Loperamide, also known as Imodium AD. Don’t be fooled folks, druggies snort this drug to get high. It does contain a synthetic opiate. So, watch for it.
I’m so glad that you are having success. I’m trying to detox from opiates and I’m trying the high doses of Imodium to help me with symptoms. I feel like an idiot for getting to this point and I have too much going right in my life to fuck it up with drug addiction.
I just need a little support and I’m too ashamed to tell anyone
Hey Nerdgirl, I understand where you are coming from, no one knows about me either. I want to tell those closest to me but am afraid at what they will think or how they will react. It can be tough going through this alone but there are many like you. I hope it goes well with the loperamid dosing. Please share how it helps and your dosage if you can. I would start low and work your way up though. Be careful.
Thanks for your reply! I’ve been tapering off but still having terrible muscle aches, restless legs and racing thoughts. I’ve taken 6 Imodium yesterday and another 6 this morning along with ibuprofen and kava and was able to sleep a few hours last night and just now I napped for an hour. I work tonight so I’m
About to get into a hot shower and try to eat. I’m going to make it. How are you?
I am still tapering off suboxone (currently at 0.25 mg daily from 16 mg) so I will be making the JUMP soon. I will be using loperamide to help through the 12 day withdrawal (average) that suboxone has and stop after that. Because of my low daily (morning) dose I am already got experiencing some withdrawal symptoms, mainly sore muscles/joints, trouble sleeping, and racing thoughts/anxiety. For me melatonin is a must for sleep along with either valerian root, tryptophen (yes, the stuff in turkey) and magnolia bark – I get a full nights sleep most days with these I just hope that continues once I jump. Also, Mucuna Pruriens (powder city) helps some with racing thoughts at the end of the work day. I have tried allot of supplements (mostly herbal) and these help the most for me. Kava helps some with relaxing muscles but I don’t get very much from it, everyone is different and some say it helps allot. Along with my taper I have been eating better (high protein diet) and starting to excersize a little which is supposed to help your body heal quicker. I hope you continue to do well tapering off loperamid and being opiate free. Please keep us posted on how you are doing if you can.
I slipped up and used for a few days but I’m back on track and the Imodium is really helping. Getting the opiates lowered/out of my system has been an eye opener. I’m feeling more positive and it’s also been very helpful to HAVE to go to work. It takes my mind off the symptoms. I even went out with friends to the renaissance festival today and walked around feeling better about everything! I also wore myself out a bit and I know that it will help me sleep. Everybody please hang in there and don’t give up hope. It’s hard to get clean but your life is worth it.
Hey, glad to see you are doing well. Honestly, we all slip up at times so don’t let that get you down. The key is to get back on track with your taper as quickly as possible and try to do better next time. Sounds like you are back on track so that is great. Keep going strong.
I tapered off on my dosage and felt like hell for a few days but I’m getting better. Slipped up
And took a few more over the last day to help me get through a very grueling work weekend but I’m going to make it. Also got my hands on a few Xanax to help with the sleeping which has been a real challenge but I slept 9 hours last night! Struggling but determined to succeed. Hope you are doing well!
Hey Needgirl, how are you doing now that more time has past? Still doing well I hope.
Support is here if you want it
I’m happy to report that I’m hanging tough and getting through it. Withdrawal symptoms are greatly diminished and I’m feeling like I
Have more energy than I’ve felt in years. I’m drinking a lot less too! Thanks everyone!!
I greatly needed to read this. I just took a mega dose of Imodium. Waiting to see if it will help my anxiety and restlessness from being off my tramadol. …. In need of help…
Hang in there because your withdrawal symptoms WILL get better. It takes some time but I’m pulling for you.
Hey Nobody Girl, hope the Imodium helped for you, and remember to taper some daily. Keep us posted on your progress.
I feel ashamed, too. I’m a scientist and totally addicted to opiates that I started because of a back injury. I still have pain, so I am taking them legitimately, however, even on the days that the pain is not as bad I still use them. I feel like I can’t tell anyone because I’m in a very high-level position at my job and I’m a mom. Don’t really know where to turn.
The Imodium helped quite a bit but I think that the fact that I had tapered off helped more. I’ve slipped up a couple of times but I’m determined to be free of this addiction. I also took Advil, calcium/magnesium and zinc and kava. Doing it alone is the toughest part but this forum has been a tremendously helpful outlet for me. My job is quite physical and having a few particularly busy shifts helped wear me out enough to catch a few hours of sleep here and there. You are not alone! Addiction is not a moral failing. You owe it to yourself to remain determined and try whatever it takes to break free. I’m here for you even though you don’t know me from Adam’s housecat.
Hey T, if there is anything we can do to help please let us know. I completely understand where you are coming from. I wish I could just get this all behind me but it seems those who have never been addicted to opiates just don’t understand. So many of us didn’t intend to get high or anything, we were just taking what was prescribed for pain by the doctor (who we are told to trust) and addiction followed. Anyway, I hope the loperamide is working for you. I believe this method does work if done properly for only a short period. I was able to get off pain mess several years ago using suboxone for a couple weeks and it worked great. Unfortunately a short time later I was prescribed pain meds for tooth pain (root canal) and ended up back on them. Once you are off the meds I would suggest not taking any opioid for at least a year (or longer if possible) this would give the brain time to heal back to its normal function. Also check out a book called ‘End Your Addiction Now’ by Dr Gant. He teaches about taking amino acids and vitamins to help speed up the healing process in the brain. I will say that DLPA is defunitely helping some for me and L-tryptophan for sleep (just to name a couple). I hope the best for you. Please keep us updated on how this is helping you.
Just checking up on you…
I have been on 150 mg of methadone for over 10 yrs and today I only took 40mg. I am unable to afford my clinic anymore so this will be the final week I am there. They are giving me 10mg less over next 3 days so that I’m at 0 by time I am no longer a patient.
Is it ok to take loperamide the way it’s been suggested while I’m still taking methadone or do I need to wait until 3 days from now when I am at 0. Please help.
Going from 150mg to 40mg has been hell and it’s only the first day. Hoping I can use what I’ve learned here to help but don’t want to start if it’s going to effect the methadone that’s in me now. Thank You
Hey Ralph, that is a big drop of your methadone for sure vi dosed at 120mg a few years back before starting suboxone. You probably should dose loperamide at the same time of day as methadone but if it were me, if methadone dose is in the morning the I might dose lope in the evenings at a low dose to start to see how it is working. Once yo are off methadone completely you could raise you lope dose up some but if your goal is to be opiate free I would suggest tapering down some each day over a week or two until you are finished. Methadone should be out of your system within two weeks (at least mostly) so the acute withdrawal should be over by them. You can also check out kratom to help here other than lope but only use enough to get you through the first couple weeks and taper some daily so you aren’t trading one addiction for another. Hope this helps my friend. I am in the same boat as you just tapering off suboxone and almost finished, currently at 0.25 mg daily. We can do this.
Sorry I meant to type shouldn’t dose methadone at the same time as loperamid. Phone auto correct.
Thanks Jeff, being sick is why I’ve avoided tapering down off methadone all these years and unfortunately my situation has forced me to do it much quicker than i could have ever imagined. After so many years at 150mgs being this low is terrifying.
I didn’t sleep at all last night even with Benadryl, Clonodine, and 2 OTC sleep meds. I tried 10mg of lope but it didn’t do anything so I’m gonna try 20mg soon and see if I can get some relief tonight. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone my friend. Thanks again for your advice, best of luck on your recovery.
Hey, I also wanted to mention a few things that might help you sleep. First off I take melatonin (Natrol 3mg fast desolve is my favorite) daily 20 before bed. Also, valerian root (cheap and good quality on powder city website) is a great help I usually take around 800mg 30 min to an hour before bed. I would start with these two if it were me for sure. I find that alternating other supplements besides valerian help each to stay more affective. Magnolia Bark, chelated magnesium & calcium mix make a good combo together and l-tryptophan or 5 htp (these are similar and both work but I prefer tryptophan). Basically I alternate these three combos but take melatonin every day and they definetly help me. Most importantly though, try not to worry about not getting much sleep in the beginning. I know it’s hard sometimes, but for me, constantly thinking about how not sleeping and looking at the clock to calculate how many hours I will get if I fall akseep now, will keep me up even longer. It’s usually when I give up and tell myself “guess I’m not sleeping at all tonight” that I finally fall asleep and get a few hours. Hope this helps you some my friend.
Hey Jeff,
I’m hoping you can answer a couple questions for me? I am currently on suboxone I am on 8 MG and wanting to get off of it myself and have you tried the lope with detoxing from subs at the same time? I am just so sick of having to wake up and take something to feel normal for the day so to get off of this crap easier and sooner than I originally thought would be absolutely a miracle!
Hey Layla, I am currently down to 0.25 mg suboxone strips daily. I have not taken loperamide during my taper as of yet but am planning to once I make the jump off subs. I have found tapering sub is relatively easy if you do it slowly (whatever is comfortable) and don’t be in a hurry. Try lowering 1 mg a week (or two weeks if needed) and it that is to uncomfortable drop only 0.5 mg at a time. The beginning for me was easiest until around 1 or 2 mg you can start slowing the taper down some. There is no painless way to do it that I have found but there is very minimal withdrawal if you taper slow enough. There is no wrong way to do it so do whatever is comfortable if you go this slow taper route. If you just want to be done ASAP you can do a fast taper but it will lead to more withdrawal. Some fast taper with success so it is up to you. I don’t see why you couldn’t use lope during you taper if needed but dose you suboxone for the day first then wait at least an hour before dosing lope, and I wouldn’t dose lope to late in the day either just to be sure you avoid any precipitated withdrawal from the next sub dose. This may not even be an issue since you are already on subs, I have never had precipitated w/d once I was on subs but it’s best to play it safe I guess. I am happy to help if you have any more questions. I will be jumping off soon and I’ll post back how the lope helps at that point.
I’m not Jeff, but thought I might thrown in what worked for me. This is my humble opinion. I detoxed off Subs with ZERO withdrawals. I did it a little differently than most. I was at 8mg per day. Suboxone has, for the sake of argument, a 72 hour half life. I took an aggressive approach and cut my dose in half after every four days. This is fairly easy with the strips. Once you get under 2mgs, you need to really pay attention to the size of each daily piece. It becomes problematic to try and figure out what the mg per day is so you’re focusing on the size of the piece. What I did differently than most, is that I didn’t have a drop off point. I kept going until I couldn’t cut the pieces any smaller. At the end they were the size of a ball point pen tip. One other thing I did was that when I reached the point where they about 2mm X 2mm in size, I dissolved them in a tablespoon with a very small amount of water. I then let it sit and dissolve for 5 minutes, mixed it up with a straw and snorted it. This worked for me. I’m not saying it will work for everybody. It took me about 3 months. When I stopped, there were no withdrawals, I slept like a rock and never was depressed. See what works for you. You may have to cut down at a slower rate than 50% or increase the number of days you stay at the same level.
That’s great Jim! I’m glad you successfully got off the subs. I believe there is no wrong way to taper as long as it leads to getting off. Unfortunately this is not my first time getting off subs and my past couple times were rather easy in comparison to this time. The only difference is I have been on subs a much longer period this time. If I were giving advice to anyone considering getting on suboxone I would tell them to keep it short and use it to quit. Maybe 3 to 6 months at the very most but the shorter the better.
I know what you mean about this tiny pieces of sub strips to. At 0.25 mg I am cutting each 8 mg strip into 32 pieces and they are tiny. Let me mention something else here to, once tapering started getting a little harder to stopped just dropping to the next dose and started alternating. For example my last drop was from 0.29 mg to 0.25 mg and it went something like this:
Day 1 – 0.29 mg
Day 2 – 0.25 mg
Day 3 – 0.29 mg
Day 4 – 0.29 mg
Day 5 – 0.25 mg
Day 6 – 0.29 mg
Day 7 – 0.29 mg
Day 8 – 0.25 mg
And so on for about two weeks then I would alternate day between 0.29 mg and 0.25 mg for two weeks then I would take two day on 0.25 followed by one day of 0.29 for two weeks then only take 0.25. Because of the long half life of subs this plan works well at slowly lowering the amount of sub in your bloodstream at any given moment. I certainly didn’t go this slow in the beginning but once I got down under 0.5 mg I had to start slowing down allot in order to keep withdrawal to a minimum. I know this isn’t for everyone but works for me and I will be jumping off soon. Like I said, I don’t believe there is a wrong way to taper off sub as long as it leads to being clean.
Brother……. prepare for hell is all I can tell you. I aint suggesting shit to you. But I was on done for 3 years started at 40 mgs and went up ten a week till I reached 120. Well i lost my g.f. cause my dick wouldn’t work. Lost my job cause of nodding out at work. Basically, my life was going to hell no matter what I tried. I went down 10 mgs a week till I got to 10, then I went down 1 mg a week…… I was fine till my second day off of done. Then my world came crashing down and my sex drive came violently back. But I went from an athlete to a fat boy. So being jobless, fat and soon to be homeless, well I guess you know the woman weren’t beating down my front door. I actually started back up on pills cause I found that vicoden withdrawal was way easier than methadone withdrawl. Plus it helped curb the constant sex drive that came back with such a vengance. Anyhow bro, I finally stepped away from the vicoden by very slowly weening off of them. Plus used some adderall for some energy. I only tell you this cause I’d done every opiate under the sun and every way how to do them. And NONE of their withdrawal were as bad as methadone. THAT SHIT WAS SATAN. I wish I could tell you that I’m all clean and sober. I’m not. BUT I’M NOT PHYSICALLY ADDICTED TO OPIATES ANYMORE. It is nice to be broke on Tuesday now and not have to worry bout my fix till Friday to get through the week. Good luck mate.
Coming off methadone definitely sucks but can be done. I have done a few times but the easiest time by far was when a friend gave me one suboxone 8mg strip (back before I had tried subs) and I cut it into 12 pieces and desolved one piece a day under my tounge each morning until I get to the last piece, I decided to cut it in half on the last day to taper slightly. So a total of 13 days on subs then stopped. Not saying there were no withdrawal symptoms at all but this was probably the easiest time by far. I think the key was I didn’t have anything else to take and told my friend up front not to give me any more. I was off opiates for two years after this before regetibly getting back on them. I would not suggest long term suboxone use unless there was no other option but a super short taper helped me for sure. The same concept applies to loperamide and kratom, if taken short term to help ease withdrawal they can help. Tapering or planning a definite schedule and keeping it is key imo. Withdrawal is always worse if you fear it coming so encouragement is far better to someone going through it in my opinion.
Btw, I should add something for anyone reading my previous comment on using suboxone as a quick taper. Do NOT take suboxone until you are well into full blown withdrawal and off all opioids or substances that act like opioids. After methadone you must wait 2-3 days before dosing but shorter duration with short acting opioids. Search online for how long to wait if unsure. If you dose to early you will have precipitated withdrawal which is far worse than traditional. Years ago I dosed to early after methadone and my precipitated withdrawal lasted 6 hours before easing up. The longest 6 hours of my life. I was under the covers in bed kicking the sheets in the air with my eyes closed in the middle of the day for 6 hours with the worst flu like feeling you can imagine. I felt like the guy in trainspotting :-). It was long ago but I will never forget that day. Just wanted to give a warning to anyone considering this method. Dosing at the right time will bring relief from withdrawal, more so on the second day at lower doses. Usually takes an hour to kick in for me. Hope this helps.
I was on methadone for a year. 120mg got down to 65mg then stopped cold turkey because I moved. It took 3months to get over withdrawals and I still suffer from slight withdrawal symptoms here and there and its been a year after quiting. So I tried Imodium today and so far its taking it away. Thank god. I feel like no matter what I’m stuck with random withdraw symptoms because of the methadone and not tapering off it.
Hey melBells, what you are experiencing is PAWS (Post Acute Withdrawal) and they can Come and go for a while. The key is getting your brain to heal back to its proper function before opiates which takes time (up to 18 months with some). There is an amino acid therapy that can speed up the process, check out a book called End Your Addiction Now by Dr Gant. Great info that I think is beneficial to many. Matt has an artical here about it and you can purchase a used copy on Amazon or eBay super cheap, maybe $4 or $5. Hope the best for you.
Hi, Matt – Here I lay on the couch fighting a sinus infection, bronchitis, and severe asthma. (Yes, I was prescribed an anti-biotic and prednisone today.) After two years of taking Opana ER and IR (ER against my will but it is forced on you because it is “DEA friendly”) we are starting to suspect the Opana, especially the ER, is exacerbating existing asthma. My physician switched me to IR only 10 days ago but not at a high enough dose and I fell into withdrawals. I struggled along until I realized I would run out too soon. I decreased from 1-10 mg ER and 5-10 mg IR yesterday (total 60 mg) to 1-10 mg ER and 3-10 mg IR today (40 mg). I only have 5-ER and 3-IR tablets until Monday when the IR is filled. I have read that Opana withdrawals are very difficult and painful. Will the abovelisted Loperamide dosage be sufficient? Do you know how happy I was to see that SOMEONE was online as recently as April 7th of this year? 🙂 I appreciate any guidance you can provide. I am not an addict, but I am physically dependent. Thank you in advance.
Whats the difference beteeen the 2?
Amen!
IR – instant release
ER – extended release, supposed to last longer.
Hi Matt! I don’t have words on how to thank you for posting this remedy for opiate withdrawal! I found this sight 2 days ago. I went and got everything I needed to start. I was a little scared because I’m on dialysis and was a bit hesitant on such a high dose of loperamide.
I don’t take pain meds to get high. I get legit prescriptions every month for pain. I have such a high tolerance now it’s ridiculous. When I first got on the meds they worked great for my pain. Then they were not working as well. So instead of telling my doctor I would just take a little more of my meds. It has gotten worse and worse. I am so sick of being dependant on these drugs. Of course I would run out early and go through withdrawal. Its like being in he’ll! I actually still have some meds but I’m at my wits end. I don’t want to be on them anymore.
So I started the loperamide yesterday with the tagament and GFJ. I am on a low potassium diet because I’m on dialysis so I just drank about 1/4 cup of the GFJ. I am amazed! I have not had any pain meds in over 24 hours and I am not having ANY withdrawal symptoms! Yes I’m in a lot of pain in my shoulder and my back. I was drug by a horse and it messed me up pretty bad. They can’t do surgery due to my dialysis access is in my upper right arm and I have a pacemaker that is placed on the same side as my injury and the lines from the pacemaker are too close to where they would have to open me up. I don’t know how I’m going to deal with this pain! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I am in shock that I’m not having withdrawal!!!! I was very sceptical but after reading these success stories I decided to give it a try!! It 100% works for me!!!! Thanks so Much for helping me and all the others that are in the he’ll of addiction!!! God Bless you Matt!
I’m so glad this article helped you! And I really appreciate you taking the time to leave such a detailed comment on your experience. I’m sure it will help many people. Congrats on your MAJOR accomplishment, and I wish you the absolute best in life my friend. 🙂
I am definitely considering this. Pain medication specifically norco has ruined my life. I’ve been addicted a little over 2 years now and am tired of the stress everyday wondering how I’m going to get my next fix. My mom is prescribed them and she ends up running out early because I always beg for them and she feels obligated to say yes. I’m done with them, took my last one at 3pm this afternoon. I need something to help reduce the withdrawal symptoms as well as keep me up and functioning everyday. I have a job that I can’t call in to anymore. I just wanna feel normal again but I’m afraid of getting sick especially while being at work from taking so much lopramide. I have to work at 11am tomorrow and probably won’t be buying any until the morning. I surely hope it helps, I’m tired of feeling worthless and dependent on those pills.
Hey Matt,
I’m about 8-9 hours from day 4. It feels like I’ve fought the longest and slowest war of my life up to this point.
I have not been a big user, about 2 1/2 months to 3 months sorting Black tar herion every day.
I was hiding it from everyone that cared about me and at first it was great but even two months in a realized I made a mistake. So last Friday I confessed to my gf and told her I need to help me detox. She’s a good send and has sat by my the entire time.
I was only using screaming hot showers and Advil/Aleive for the symptoms but yesterday and early this morning into day 3 I have been vomiting everything I put in. Liquid, food, etc.
So long story short I’ve only been using loperamide for 3-4 hours but it’s been the best hours of this already long journey.
I not going to replapse back into serious withdrawal though once I quit taking the lope in a day or so. Also I’m taking about regular dosage and it seems to be doing wonders.
Reading everyone’s storeies has been motivating and reliving. We can all do this and we can all be better. Here’s to hoping none of us have to relive this satanic experience.
-peace
“Long and slow war..” – you sure said it. Heroin addiction has to be one of the hardest challenges to overcome in life. I’m so inspired to read about your success using this method. This post has a lot of great success stories, and I thank you for sharing your experience thus far. Feel free to keep us all posted. Take care friend.
Matt can I use omeprazole instead of tagament? Will I still get the same results without the tagament or grapefruit juice?
i dont know really wtf is up with taking 10 to 20 2mg pills , i took 3 , and im on 48 hours of withdrawals (Real imodium Ad In Gel Capsule) i was using 200mg of OCD (im from Canada) and Fentanyl , since those 3 pill today i really feel alot better . i could say it removed 50% of the the WDS , along with weed i dont say go and smoke weed if u never did you wont feel good , if you’re a normal user it can help you for moral , depression issues whie Lope fix the other things , i am taking 0,5 mg rivotril 3 times a day those are (prescribed by amy Dr ) beacause i cold turkeyed once of oxy and all drugs and opiates , ive never IV my self tho too scared of that shit . sry for my words but anyways take a read and respond
.
Loperamide DOES act on the CNS, DOES get you high and DOES cross the blood-brain barrier, at above-normal doses. I know this for a fact as do many, many people on the street, because I’ve taken it many, many times because of the price and the fear of opiate withdrawal. This has been debated in forums for close to a decade, and only the people who haven’t tried it insist it doesn’t get you high. For those of you who know the truth, the link below is one of the best websites I know of detailing the horrors of loperamide abuse. The best advice I can give to avoid the 30-60 days of withdrawal — switch to another opiate with a shorter half-life for several weeks before attempting a detox, and please try to educate about loperamide. I just noticed the Wikipedia article on loperamide, after many many years, has finally been updated to mention that the drug does cross the blood-brain barrier in high enough doses.
https://madmargaret.wordpress.com/2014/01/15/going-through-loperamide-withdrawal-tips-on-surviving-the-addiction/
I linked to that website in the article. By far the best blog on loperamide there is.
Hey, that’s great – I’m at work so I didn’t get to read the whole article (sorry!). But loperamide used to be such a well-kept secret, and now the local stores NEVER have Imodium on the shelf, so I think we’re having a full-fledged epidemic here.
Yeah, it’s hard to believe that the powers that be have used me my entire life as a Guinea pig. Things that come around, go around. So until one of there’s get hooked, we are in this alone. Epidemic’s don’t discriminate. Thank you all for sharing your personal stories. Hang in there, Gimpy
Try this formula:
take one Imodium
then eat all of the lumps in the litter box
You know Bobby, there are honest, sincere people out there looking for help, there are some, l won’t say all deserve it but maybe they do and a lot that need help and don’t know where to go, you are not the one to decide or even make a comment.
If this doesn’t apply to you then go somewhere thar fits your mentality, which from reading your comment I’m sure you could find a good deal of idiots out there that may appreciate your stupidity
Let the people here help one another
Good job. You’ve managed to be stupid and unfunny at the same time.
Hi my name is felix in 5 hrs it will be day two thnk you so much for the lop remdy it has worked ,alot of fluids water gator ad and I’ve been great I took 10 lop last nite and slept 6 hrs. I was very happy,and today I took 6 this morning and another 6 this afternoon feeling ok a lil tired but I’m basically good went out for a walk about 15 mins going to keep lowe ring dosages of lop as suggested just wanted to thnk everyone for there advice
Matt,
Is there anything you could say to help understand what people should expect after 4 days if they follow the above “using Loperamide Day 1, 2, 3 and 4”
As long as this is working what is expected on day 5
Thanks,
G
That depends on what types of opioids you were using, how much, for how long, and many other factors. However, if you read through the comments there are some AMAZING success stories of people using it for a few days then feeling fine after stopping. Wishing you the absolute best. Take care.
Well just to keep u up, this is my final day for Lop, started with 20 or 40mg and cut down to 10 and then 8 that evening from there I have been taking 8 morn, 6 sfternoon, 6 night for the last 3 days (tomorrow I may take 2 and then 2 and and Monday 1 and 1
But to let you know I gave had NO withdrawal symptoms to complain about just tiredness. That’s in the morning and things seem to come around
Also tomorrow I start to with the energy pills that are on here, taking all 4 every day and going to try and exercise the fear of the week until Friday to see if my energy and strength comes back
So far GREAT
I know no guarantee but I am very impressed with the results so far
Just hope I don’t have some issues with the Lop and get hit all at once
Still have 63 tramadol left – decided to do this last week looked at the bottle and put it in the drawer and it’s still tbere, hope I can leave it there
Thanks, Matt for putting this out, it should help a lot of people if they decide on there own, I know people are different and may have different reactions to this, let’s hope not
I’ll just be happy to be able to send my Dr a Thank You note for throwing me out on the street and not trying to help
Thanjs again,
G
Hey G, hope it is still going well for you. Are you off the lope now or still tapering? Please updat on how it is coming off lope completely. Thanks.
I started with last Tram on Sunday morning and took 20 lop at bed time, got up felt ok just weak, 5hen took 15 lop and next 6 hours went to 10 then 7 hours 8 lop, I just feel somewhat weak at times but get a little energy here and there. Tuesday morning took 10 then 8 and 8. Wednesday morning 8 again and everything seems tge same, can cope with things but takes a little while to get tge strength
I am just wondering that starting tomorrow I plan on cutting down on the Lop to 1/2 every 6 to 8 hours
Now can anyone tell me what I can expect for Friday morning
Thanks, G
I did start last night, had my last Tram yesterday morning so I took my loperamide last night when I went to bed and slept, woke up OK but a little more tired then usual, is that the lop making me a little tired
Also after getting up a little shaky and about 15 min started feeling decent
I did take my lop again but I’m cutting it down each time
I’m hoping to make this a 4 day deal then take a week off and work on strength and energy
Any input appreciated
Tks, G
Typically just coming off opiates makes people extremely fatigued. So happy to hear you’re making it! And please check out this article that is all about getting your energy back fast:
How To Get Your Energy Back After Quitting Opiates
Hang in there! The energy is the last thing to come back in most cases. Just get through the struggle and on the other side it’s amazing.
Matt
Thank you, i’m trying very hard, not a drug addiction just have been on Tramadol for about 2 years and can’t get off, new Doctor said not a narcotic and do not have to taper, I THOUGHT, then when I went back for more said ain’t filling it since I’m on my own and I was at 3 to 4 a day and last month 6 to 7 for a bad back that we can’t explain so I’m just going to end it and hope that it’s the Tram that is causing all of this, NO DOCTOR KNOWS OR HAS A CLUE
Just thought you could give me a better insight because doctors have no clue
Any info, not holding it to you just trying to get all info possible to plan and maintain this program
Thanjs, G
I totally hear ya. It’s your body and it’s good to do research so you know how to treat it the best. I commend you.
I have heard of this before and enjoyed reading all the success stories. I’very been on tramadol for couple years and was ready to go off and out of no where had severe pain in my back, new doctor had given me a script and I had mentioned my back problem but just got a “need to take a cold towel like her son when he works out” no clue what that meant, I’m 63 never had any back issues and no clue what happened but I increased my daily intake to 300 to 400 every once in awhile, my script said take 1 to 2 by mouth 4 times daily so I felt I was okay until I went back and she said I took to much and would not refill them so what to do but I plan on doing this in about a week, have some tram left so just getting prepared, it sounds great just hope it does work. Don’the have enough to taper so it’s going to be do or die now and I just hope I get some of the results others are getting
Will post when i start and hope to give you all a success story
Thanks, G
Aren’t the success stories compelling?! Really cool to hear about so many people quitting opiates with minimal symptoms. Looking forward to hearing from you again.
I have been in wds for 2 days now. 4 days since last 50mg methadone use.
Along with immodium is there anything that you have heard that works that isn’t too expensive I could find at the store,
Check out this article that relates to your situation: Methadone Withdrawal 101: Learn How To Beat Withdrawal
all you need is the lopermide. i take 10 twice a day and have no sickness at all. just a little tired. this has helped me get through this without being sick. never would believe it if i didn’t try it. i take klonpin twice a day to help as well but thats something I’ve been taking for years anyways.
BE PATIENT with loperamide. After swallowing it, it take about 4 hours for it to fully kick in. But when it does, you’ll feel the relief. For me, at about the 4 hour mark, I suddenly get drowsy and feel like going to sleep (which is usually impossible in withdrawal). Yes, loperamide works for withdrawal, but not in the first hour.
Thanks for sharing your experience using loperamide. Take care!
hey Matt – question: should u take Lope on an empty stomach? I’m on day 4 or 5 (can’t recall)… I took 10 this morn and felt really stoned, but now it’s 8 hrs later & the yawns/watery eyes are returning. I just ate dinner, should I wait to take the lope a bit, or should I just eat some more. i had a 1/4 clonidine, valium, Kava, gabapentin… but they can be taken with food. I’m worried about a stomach ache if i take lope too soon… for once – i might err on the side of caution & wait an hr… it’s not too bad – no hot/cold, but getting restless legs…
i’m taking a break from Phenibut (bcos i’ve used it three days ina row) but i have Doxylamine Succinate and diazepam to sleep… I have codeine too, but i’ve vowed not to take it two days ina row. I may have jumped the gun thinking i was through it so soon…
Also – one thing i found that did help is a thing called a Sole (pronounced Soley) – made of Himalayan Salt – (google it) and it has heeps of minerals. It’s obviously not suitable for everyone – but it did help me
Thanks man
Kratos works!
this is a miracle. i found out on you tube and have no withdrawal symptoms. i have tried quitting so many times and couldn’t deal with the withdrawal symptoms,only leading me back to using. i have been clean three days without being sick at all. besides being tired and mild belly ache im perfectly fine and can continue my normal day.
Funny i found this one year and a day after posting. Been reading a lot about positives of lope for WD. I been kinda going off the rails w the dope last month or two due a new job w increased income coming in. The job is gone (it was a temporary position), and so is my money. I am starting a new job Monday. To the point, I also have a tram RX along w diazapam and gabapentin. (Gab n tram are an EXCELLENT comedown btw) I went hard n violated my policy of no dope n tram on same day. So i ran out of tram a week and a half early. I read some other forums and decided to take a “mega dose” of about 35 lopes chased it w a. “Parachute” of about 2 tbsp of black pepper (none of the other lil helpers laying around so i improvised). It has worked and dried up my nose and ALMOST took away my sneezes. I was wondering what to take w the lope so i didnt need such a large amt of lope. You have very excellent recommendations w realistic expectations posted. I def could use a lil more to get me back to normal but I doubt i was going to sleep w out it. I doubt i got the most out of it. I hope tomorrow w some tagament and a lil grapefruit juice and some tonic water i can do a lil better. Been planning on quitting any ways w the new job, so i guess this is a pretty good time and method. Hope the lil extras will help boost the effects, thx.
Anon, I thank for for commenting, and I wish you the best of luck on your journey towards quitting opioids for good. I hope you’ll update us all on your progress. Take care!!
Dam matt,
This is one amazing post and mega-comment response. I get depressed and lonely when detoxing and it’s heartening to know I am not alone. Anyway, this is not “swims”first rodeo:P never thought I would end up back sick in bed wondering how this last 2 weeks happened. But with everthing I do know I crossed reference xp on the Internet and low an behold a over the counter cure that is affordable. Today is day one off the junk, and following the guidelines of this post, I am functional. Cleaned house, made dinner and made apps. Will continue to follow suggestions. Tyvm ! Oh just so some of you know, most places sell lope for 24 for 5-6 bucks. It’s super cheap online, but if you are like me and broke and sick now. I would check your local dollar store. The one by my house sells a 12 pack for, well I am sure you know how much. Bought enough for 4 days and gfj, now if I could only find cheap tagamet locally.
I’m really glad you found value reading this post. And congrats on taking measures to quit opiates!!! Day one and you’re cleaning house and doing other stuff?! Remarkable. I sincerely appreciate you adding value to this thread by sharing your experience. Feel free to update us with progress reports as time goes on. Take care 🙂
Just an FYI that this is significant medical advice. Hope you are a doctor. People in my area are dying from loperamide overdose
Actually, this is not medical advice. By accessing or using any page on OpiateAddictionSupport.com, you agree that you have read, understood, and will abide by the Full Disclaimer, as well as all of the other Policies that are listed at the bottom of this website. In case you missed it, here is just a sample of the disclaimer:
DISCLAIMER: All information and resources found on OpiateAddictionSupport.com are based on the opinions of the author and are meant to motivate readers to make their own health decisions after consulting with their health care provider. I am not a doctor or psychologist. Readers should consult a doctor before making any health changes, especially any changes related to a specific diagnosis or condition. No information on this site should be relied upon to determine diet, supplements, exercise or tapering protocols, medications, or to make a medical diagnosis or determine a treatment for a medical condition. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. NO information on this site should be used to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease or condition.
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Matt are we supposed to take the Tagamet an hour before the lope? I’m on day 2 and taking 20 mg lope with 400 mg Tagamet washed down with GFJ, but I take it all at once. I’ve been seeing people say that they take it an hour before the lope but I’m not trying to get high, I just want to be off my morphine habit and the WD symptoms keep driving me back to using.
I have been using morphine for several year , I’m on my 4 th day without it . I have been using about 20 loperamide every 10 hours and have virtually no major withdrawals ( chill, skin crawling etc . ) . I have been able to sleep without completely soaking sheets with sweat . In my opinion this seems to work for me . I would recommend this to other addicts to try .
Thanks so much for sharing your experience. Those are some absolutely wonderful results. Congrats on quitting morphine that is amazing!
I am on day 3 off norco. I have been on for 6 years.I was wondering if I’m through the hardest physical part? This is my first time posting on here. I’ve been reading everyone’s success stories and they say after 72 hours the physical part starts to lift up! I’m in 5 hours I will be at day 4.. Please someone tell me the physical part is almost done!!!!
Congrats on deciding to quit Jessica! And yes, that certainly is a lot of ingredients you have right there. I see this post was 5 days ago. Would love to know how you’re doing now.
Throughout the day much loperamide would o person need to take.
It depends on many things, including severity of opioid dependence, biochemical uniqueness, and many more factors. Some people use a little, some moderate, and some use large doses.
I was using 30-50 mg of oxy for two months. I want to thank you for writing about lop. It is a miracle. I started it this morning with GFJ and vitamin C. I have no withdrawals just tired. But I’m up and about doing my daily thing and watching my Grandkids. Thank you Matt
Glad lope dosing is helping you Marie. Could you share what dose you are taking and how many doses per day? Thank you.
Would just like to say thanks so much. On day 3 which should be awful and it’s not. It’s not great but it’s doable. Works like a charm. Thanks again.
Glad it worked for you, and thanks for sharing your experience. Take care!
Hi Matt, thank you for your info and understanding. I,d like to share some of my experience in the hope that it may be useful to others.
I,m an addict with history of multiple substance abuse spanning over 20 years. Opiates were my drug of choice, also alcoholic, however if I could swallow it, smoke it, eat it, sleep with it, spend it, anything not to deal with reality I did it so I just call myself an addict.
I have experience of going cold turkey numerous times. I tried all sorts depending on preparation/willingness/desperation-Thomas Recipe, Lyrica, clonidine, parkinsons medication, valium, amytriptyline, alcohol, propranolol, I could comment on the effectiveness or lack of for each of those but this page is about loperimide. I hadn’t come across this page back then so I had my own regime…I took 6, 2mg tablets morning, afternoon, eve plus 40 mg propranolol morning and eve…akathisia, specifically rls was always the deal breaker for me…loperimide, for first time in my life…no rls. The worst I felt was mild cold and weird mix of elation of how easy it was combined with episodes of incredible sadness. I also slept, normally I,d be tormented all night, fall asleep for an hour about 8am then wake hyper, but very anxious and emotionally exhausted. It is my experience that loperimide for a short time is a very valuable tool in helping alleviate acute opiate withdrawal symptoms
To stay clean and sober, to live a life where I,m not constantly looking for external things to change how I feel I had to change how I went about things. I did a year in a day treatment rehab and I do 12 step meetings every week but I tend to keep on the fringes. I keep close to those I find like minded and keep my distance from those who want to dictate. I do weekly voluntary work to help provide a safe, social space for people in recovery. I walk a lot as i find this particularly helpful to calm a racing mind. I try to eat enough-not too much or too little, both destructive to my well being. I continue weekly counselling so that I can talk over how I cope/deal with things.
Loperimide helped me, by the point I was reducing opiates and tackling withdrawal I had a full support system in place and greatly appreciated getting through it far smoother than anytime previously. I,d ended up in hospital twice before as a result of od’ing on non opiates when trying to stop the wd rls. I can only speak for myself but I know the level of desperation I was in when the rls kicked in night after night. I was in intensive care as a result of swallowing far too much amytriptyline in a bid to stop the rls, not to end my life. I had no access to anything else and in panicked distress took those to try and get by with disastrous and almost fatal outcome. Loperimide, for me, was a miracle. It was cheap and easy to acquire and didn’t have any high for me to enjoy or get used to.
I,m a 40 something, professional female who is living completely clean and sober for over a year now. The last year has been the most challenging but I,ve also been the happiest I,ve ever felt. No more existing, I get goosebumps with happiness and know I can get through a day without worrying about going into a withdrawal. I wish you all the best, thanks for your work here.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience and leaving such a detailed comment. I enjoyed reading about you story and your success, and I wish you the absolute best life has to offer!!!
I’m an H Addict, Im really wana quit and cant aford alot of other treatments so i was relieved when i heard about this method, im almost out of my d.o.c, trying to stretch it to get thru the work week so i can detox on the weekend, atleast get thru the worst couple of days knowing i wont have to do nething so im woundering how long after my last use should I wait to take lop? Should i be in full wd or can i start taking it after some hours after my last hit and just start to feel the wd since it takes some hours to kick in and feel relief? Should I take on an empty stomach? And what dosage would u recommend for a pretty moderate addiction usage? Thanks in advance.
I’m going to go ahead n start my lope withdrawal tonight n say a prayer n hope it all goes as well as it has for everyone else I’ve read,I just want to b able to get up n the morning n look forward to the day n not fear it
Hello I’m from the UK and this Xmas period I’m going to quit heroin and Subtex currently per day I take £20 worth (0.3 of a gram) and a fraction of a Subtex tablet so it’s in my system and I don’t have to start from scratch with them. I’m going to smoke my last bag of gear on Xmas eve/day then jump on the Subtex after five days I will be cutting down the Subtex until I am on virtually a crumb. I have 200 Loperamide tablets on there way from the US is it wise to take the Loperamide the same day as I take the last crumb of Subtex or leave it for a day or two ( I have a full-time job and will have to plan this out using the weekendshower as the two day break. I also have 30mg Flurazepam 20 of and will have 75 10mg valium in place before Xmas eve. Is this the most sensible way to withdraw from the Subtex and the heroin I have been reading up on posts regarding the use of Loperamide any pointers will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time Neil Vince.
good luck my friend, hope the best for you,i also quit a long time ago, get all your bills paid, put all things on the back burner and go for it my friend. it is hard but you will feel great after 2 weeks, i thought it was the end of the world, know i feel realy good, ood luck neil
40mg with GFJ is day and night. believe it
Hi Matt,
Wow, what a gift this discussion has been for so many people! Thank you for sharing your wisdom with all of us who struggle with addiction.
I took ultram for about 3 years and suffered extensive withdrawal symptoms. I’m a mama of three kiddos and it was an awful experience that put me in the ER. I tapered off the tramadol but still left me with terrible withdrawal symptoms; restless legs, sweats, body chills, nausea, and headaches… For ten days. Then, I discovered kratom. My husband and I thought it was a super safe alternative and non-addictive. A year later, I now fear that I may possibly be addicted to kratom. Do you know anything about kratom withdrawal and the loperamide hydrochloride? The reason I’m fearing withdrawals is because most recently, I started struggling with insomnia, restless legs, and night sweats. I need to sleep! Still taking the kratom during the day but maybe need to stop?
Thank you again!
Hi Matt – I cannot tell you how incredibly happy and relieved I am that I came across this site. I stumbled on it by accident actually because I was looking up information on the safety of taking more anti diarrhea medicine than that is recommended on the packaging. I couldn’t believe what I was reading as I had searched extensively for years trying to find ways to detox off of pain medication without all of the horrible side affects (which I have experienced on several occassions). Just recently I had taken more of my hydrocodone than I was supposed to and ran out way too early so I decided to try taking 20 lopes the morning after I ran out. Not only did I not get the upset stomach but I didn’t get the awful chills and horrible stomach cramps that are associated with diarrhea. It was like a miracle! On the second day I took around the same amount and on the third day took 1/2 the amount. I quit taking the lopes all together on the 4th day and I feel great. I’m just absolutely amazed how well this worked and I thank you soooooooo much for this information. By the way I’ve been on pain mediction for about 6 years and have experienced absolutely horrible withdrawals when I’ve ran out of my medicine. This truly works. Thank you!
Hi Matt,
I’ve been reading all of these posts and am inspired by the notion of a painless withdrawal from opiates. I am a mother and a working pofessional and I have never been in such a low and dismal place as I have been these past 5 years using oxy. Yesterday at 9:30 a.m. I took my last 8mg of oxy. Today I read about the mega dose lope and am giving it a try. I am terrified of the sickness that comes with cold turkey quitting. I just cannot function. Do the lopes work without the tagamet? I took lope with vitamin c. So far I am off that nasty drug since yesterday and I am so hopeful that this will help me through the rough withdrawal phase, afterwhich I am going to discontinue the lopes. Any feedback woudl be appreciated.
Kindly
SD
Many people have informed me how well the loperamide worked on it’s own, without the other stuff. I’ve heard good things from it.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. This comment is for informational use only. It’s not intended to treat, diagnose, or prevent any disease. Always check with your doctor before changing your diet, trying any new supplements, medications, exercise or opiate tapering programs.
Hi Matt, used this protocol this summer and got clean without major withdrawl. Problem is have problem in my lower back that has kept me needing opiates. I have a terrible time moderating the fast acting 30mg and was doing great on 2-3 doses on 40mg OxyContin daily. No chasing or insulfating. Insurance now won’t cover the time released so I’m stuck with 30mg really having trouble so I was thinking of just stopping all together and giving Kratom a shot. I am probably around 160 mg daily for a few weeks and 6 weeks continuous use. I have gabapentin for nerve pain that helps a lot also. I’m scared about jumping off and want to know your thoughts and info on Kratom as a pain medicine.
Hi Matt,
I actually have had many readers email me or comment how well switching to kratom has worked for pain relief as an opiate alternative. The onset and come down are much longer in duration than short acting opiates, and kratom is actually very powerful, so many people find great pain relief in it. I don’t know about your low back issues, but I suffered from chronic pain in the past and the following book really helped me, but I’m not sure if what I had is the same thing as yours. It might be worth taking a look on your part:
Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection
This works. It saved my life. Thanks!
Ha! AWESOME! You and many others. Thanks for leaving a comment on your experience. Take care. 🙂
dude – i dunno why u deleted it – you do say DILATED. You MUST mean CONSTRICTED. When yr eyes go small, they’re CONSTRICTED, not DILATED – yeah?
Thanks for pointing that out. That’s a typo and I can’t believe you’re the first person to point it out. Glad to have it correct on the article now so I appreciate your comment!
Hi I am on day 3 of no percocet. I have been taking 18 pills of lope a day . 10 I’m the am and 8 at night. Do I just stop taking them tomorrow no taper ? You say only take them 3 or 4 days
I’m not a doctor so I can’t tell you what to put in your body. But I will tell you that the longer you take it, the more your body might come to depend on it. Please ask your doctor what course you should take, and I wish you the best of luck Michelle.
I’ve learned taking the lopes the last few days along with a few opiates (usually the last of your supply and knowing you can’t get anymore) really helps with all w/d symptoms, they have helped me get through many times. I have to take mega doses usually 15-20 lopes in the morning then the same amount in the evening, after 3-4 days the w/d symptoms really start to go away and energy comes back and start to feel normal
I just wanted to add some input here. I am a diagnostic pathologist and the science behind this is right on as far as the chemical makeup and adding in the components of Tagamet to make it cross the BBB. I am also an opiate addict. I have been prescribed Norco for almost four yrs now and my body has become physically dependent on the medicine. Even though I am prescribed this for very valid reasons ( I have a crushed vertebrae and degenerative spinal stenosis) I have become sick and tired of having to take pills to function properly. I take 12 10mg Norcos/day and they no longer work for pain control. My Dr’s solution is to put me on much stronger opiates but I’ve declined every time out of fear. I decided yesterday that I was done with all of it! I’ve been taking Loperamide and Tagamet with GFJ and I have ABSOLUTELY NO WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS other than the occasional body ache which is easily remedied with some Ibuprofen or Aleve. The dosage of Lope that I’ve been taking at one time is 30-40mg along with 200mg of Tagamet and a glass of GFJ. Today at 4pm will be 24hrs. with no Norco which is HUGE for me. I haven’t gone anymore than 3 hrs. Without them for 3.5 yrs so I am ecstatic. I just thought I’d share some of my story to help the next person suffering with horrifying WD symptoms. I will keep you guys posted over the next few days and see if anything changes.
24 to 30 milligrams are you out of your mind? the pills come in two milligram form. you supposed to take 13 of them?
Take the recommended dose on the box if you are having upset stomach and diarrhea don’t try to take a whole bunch to alleviate withdrawals the only way to get through them is mind over body any easy way out is just going to make it worse especially considering that imodium is an opiate
That is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Mind over body? Obviously you’ve never suffered real opiate withdrawal. I’ve taken 60 -100mg and have found that to be a sufficient amount for pretty heavy heroin use. Cut down each day.definitely works !
I just started my withdrawals from kratom and I’m using the loperamide to help, how much can I take without it being dangerous and is it a hazard at high doses or will I be okay?
Yeah you can take up to 200 of them at a time. Mind over matter my ass, try telling that to someone who is in full withdrawl. I just took 12 and im doing ok.
I completely agree that guy is an ass,i just got out of detox from shooting 10 to 15 grams of heroin a day. Its Sunday now and been home since thanksgiving! I take 15 Imodium at once and I’m not completely sold on this process but I’m trying it. Ive been an addict for 25 years and overdosed around 10 times. This has got to end I can’t handle it any longer!
Mind over matter my Ass. Amen. Clearly that commenter has never been in withdrawal or wouldn’t have made such an ignorant comment! I’m about to try this and i sure hope it works
I agree, mind over body won’t help with w/d symptoms. Idk if lope is safe, but u can actually have seizures from opiate w/d or u can od from massive doses of opiates to alleviate their w/d. So if u r suffering from w/d u have to weigh the risk of one versus another. I have went thru w/d myself several times and thought I was actually dying it was so horrible. I didn’t know about loperamide but if I did I would have considered at least trying it. I am a nurse (not practicing now for obvious reasons) and the easy access to pain meds was too overwhelming for me. I had been on Percocet after having surgery and when I stopped the w/d kicked in and I made the mistake of treating the w/d with more Percocet! BIG MISTAKE. I don’t think loperamide could be more dangerous than taking 40 10mg Percocet a day. Best advice: when u finally r able to stop, DONT got back EVER 🙂
Please ask your doctor if this is a good combination for you. Depending on what medications and/or supplements you are already taking, there are many factors to consider.
hi Matt. I wrote a whole story here but lost it before posting. Anyway thanks for all that you do and my bottom line question was, can I take Suboxone after 24 hours of loperamide? I have a bad heroin addiction but have read everywhere that taking suboxone sooner then 24 hours after my last shot of heroin will result in precipitated withdrawals which are even way worse then regular withdrawal. I was wondering if I can use the loperamide as bridge to get the 24 hour mark post heroin since right now after only 4-5 hours I start to lose my mind perhaps because my habit is large that 24 hours seem possible. Or maybe I will feel good enough with the loperamide (and I have xanax and pot as suggested with Gatorade etc) that I won’t need the suboxone. But I already have 8 strips and want to know my options. This is all of course my luck I’m time constraints because I am going away next week and want to bring little to nothing with me. Please advise. And thanks for all you do! Joe
Now there is a question I’ve never got before. Very interesting. You know, I honestly have no idea. But I will look into it, and please do the same!
Greetings Matt was wondering if you had an answer to the above question. …I was asking myself the same thing and I’m getting ready to do the 24hr withdrawal period starting tomorrow night from heroin with a large habit myself before staring my suboxone and was wondering if I can use loperamide to help me get to that point or will it make the situation longer before I can start the induction into suboxone. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Sounds like u do alot of good for people and glad to see it. Very nervous myself hoping all works out…trying to be positive and would be great if it could use a mega dose to help me get to the 24 hrs mark. Thanks g
???
Have u came up with any answers on this one
Wondering how this worked out for you…I’m in the same boat and thinking the same thing????
You absolutely should not take subs within twelve hours of taking loperamide — it’ll kick into a super shitty withdrawal. You MUST, MUST, MUST already be dope sick when you begin to take suboxyn. This is not true of subutex, though — subutex does not block opiates in the same manner as suboxyn. But good luck getting your hands on subutex …
Hi Matt, started this regimen yesterday after three years of rx opiate dependence. I took 20mg yesterday at 11am, then another 20mg at 3pm, and 16mg at 10pm. I was able to fall asleep for 3&1/2 hrs last night after game one of World Series. Woke at around 5am and didn’t feel too bad. Had a cup of decaf (stay away from all stimulants) they exacerbate the creepy crawlers and rls. At around 7:30am I took 16mg and it is now 12:30pm of day one (24 whole hrs) of not taking an opiate. I don’t feel great but I know what I would be feeling if I didn’t learn about loperamide. I added a daily men’s vitamin supplement, Benadryl and massive amounts of fluids. Juice, Kool-aid, water and Gatorade. So far so good!!
Thank you for posting as this is very informative and helpful. KO’
Thank you Kelly, you have given me some hope. I will write to Matt with the details.
Thanks for sharing your experience! You know, I’ve been getting a lot of comments and emails, more so than usual, of people quitting opiates and I’m super pumped for all of you! It’s great to see people taking charge of their lives and moving past the phase of life being scared of opiate withdrawal symptoms. Such a pleasure to hear from you Kelly. I admire you courage and I sincerely thank you for leaving a comment, as it lifts me up, and more importantly, many other people will benefit from reading it. Take care 🙂
Does it Loperamide also help with withdrawl depression, fatigue, and insomnia?
Hi Jake,
For some people it takes care of most symptoms, but the fatigue is not something I’ve seen go away, no matter what is used.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. This comment is for informational use only. It’s not intended to treat, diagnose or prevent any disease. Always check with your doctor before changing your diet, trying any new supplements, medications, exercise or opiate tapering programs.
Thank you for the quick reply. So that’s good news. I had a moderate opiate habit that I am once again trying to break. However I never experienced the flu like physical withdrawal symptoms most people mention. Mostly just the 3 I mentioned: Fatigue, Depression, and Insomnia. There were some other very minor ones like extra sweating, sneezing, slight cramps, but they were very minor and those three I mentioned were profound. And the problem was I couldn’t even take Benadryl for sleep cause whenever I took it after quitting opiates, I would get RLS. Never without it, but always with Benadryl. So if I can get a decent nights sleep and feel a little better, that will be a big help.
Now, if I only take a large dose 2 or 3 times max, will there be any negative withdrawal symptoms?
Not sure Jake. I’ve heard of some people taking a few large doses and not feeling any symptoms, while others have had just ok results. Since everyone is different biochemically, no way to tell. But I’ve also heard that Benadryl, Flexeril and other medications can cause RLS, and that is no fun! You’re doing great Jake. You’re researching and you’re focused on living a better life. I admire your courage and strength. Take care.
Thank you so much Matt for dedicating so much time to others in need! Don’t let the haters bring you down. We all need information like this to make informed adult decisions.
I have done so much research on avoiding opiate withdrawals that my head could explode. I’ve been addicted to pain pills for more than 8 years and I’m so ready to quit. But like most, it’s the withdrawal symptoms that keep me coming back.
I am going to start this protocol ASAP. I have a full bottle of my pain pills, but no time like to present! I’ll go to the store and get all my supplies and take a few days off of work just in case. But after reading ALL the comments, it looks like I really won’t have much down time to deal with. I am very excited to try this out.
Again, thank you for your time to help others!
Blessings,
Michelle
Thanks Michelle. I’m glad you’re doing some intense research, because knowledge can lead to action! You’re mindset appears to really be in the right place, and I honor you for you courage! Hope to hear from you again for a check-in!!! Take care.
How did this work for you? I’m starting today and hoping for the best.
I am absolutely disgusted by this page. I have a son that passed away from this very thing!! If you have an addiction problem by all means get help, but do it through the advice and support of a medical profession, not through idiots on the internet!!! I am helping to raise my grandchildren who will never get the opportunity to know their father because he chose to follow the advice of “internet advice” rather than through a medical profession. DO NOT TRY SELF HEALNG…IT IS NOT WORTH IT!!!!
Dont lay your guilt trip on these people LADY. Its all your fault your son is dead, you gave him no other option so he had to turn to the internet to find help! This website is helping plenty of people, sorry your son had to be collaterol damage
Yea I don’t believe her or her son wasn’t educated enough and took hundreds of pills.
This is the most honest and helpful page that I’ve come across. This page saved me from a 10 year addiction that would have eventually killed me. It gave me alternatives that worked wonders were others have failed. I have seen no information on this site that would even come close to hurting someone. It’s actually quite the opposite. It’s very conservative and safe. I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but my situation was caused by a professional. Most of them have clue what their doing, causing these severe dependencies, while offering no viable solutions when it comes to stop. I’m not saying that all sites are good because that’s far from the truth, however this site is not one of them. Take your bullshit elsewhere lady. And by the way, there’s probably allot more to the story than your telling us. Not a whole lot of Imodium overdoses reported in the us!! I’m thankful for sites like this where people can be open and honest.
I am so so soooo GRATEFUL TO GOD to learn about this LOPERAMIDE 2 MG OPIATE WITHDRAWAL AID. As someone else had posted, I rarely experience the physical flu like symptoms of withdrawal. My symptoms are more psychological….such as severe boredom, agitation, feeling lonely or depressed, not knowing what to do with myself. I had only $2.00. I went to the local dollar store and got 2 $1.00 boxes with 12 in each box. I decided to take 12 at 10pm. I also took Vitamin B complex , Niacin, and a multivitamin. I woke up in the morning feeling ready for the day. Since I have a true desire for a new life, I haven’t even craved any morphine, which was my prescribed med, but I mistook it, usually 60 to 90 mg every other day or so. Tylenol, heating pad, reading positive material, prayer, deliberately refraining from having any cash on me….I have been up and alert all day. I don’t have a high feeling. I have a calm feeling. Kinda hard to describe. I feel extremely hopeful now. I know I am on my road to recovery. My willpower is still involved; I still have thoughts of the pills. But with all that I have put myself through with the struggle, the pain of continuing the vicious cycle outweighs the pain of quitting. And now, there’s not any pain. The FEAR I had of quitting. I have replaced my fear with Faith. Positive thinking and believing in myself again is vital. Rebuke negative thoughts about how many times you have failed. Visualize yourself on the other side. Get humble and forgive yourself. Stopping the drug use is only part of the problem. I am so glad that I tried this. Placebo effect or not. Its even better if its a placebo effect. I cut down by 6 each night. Prayer first though..in all aspects of life. Gods Grace is Sufficient. 2 Corinthians 12:9. Through our weakness, we are strong. If I was granted one wish, it would be that I successfully make it to the other side without the need for any medication whatsoever. When, not if, that happens, I am, for the first time in my life…EXPERIENCE TRUE FREEDOM AND REALLY LIVE!!
Some people don’t have the luxury of seeing a medical professional….
The advise n pills from my doctor are who got me in this situation in the first place n then when u tell them u have a problem they look down on u n turn their backs n leave us out here to fend for ourselves,so all I can say is thank u to Matt n everyone else on here who have given me such hope that I can actually live a normal life again
Well since we’re pointing the finger and playing the blame game here’s one for you…
During rehab that I attended (which is a 12 step based rehab that your son would have gone to had he sought “official” help) I’d say roughly 98% of the addicts and alcoholics in there had some kind of trauma as children and we self medicating since to dull the emotional pain.
So in other words… you’re his parent. What did you do to save him? Don’t like that kind of sentiment? OK then don’t give the same out to other people esp when the are helping more people overcome addiction than you are. (99.9999% or more of whom don’t die from their preferred withdrawal method.
Jess this comment section is full of some seriously bitter people. I thought I was on the bitter side of sweet but sheeesh
I just want to add my experience with loperamide. I’ve been taking opiates for 8 years with a few small breaks in between. For the last 4 years I’ve been struggling to stay clean. I’ve just recently found kratom and loperamide to be a miracle for relief from withdrawal. I use to run out of whatever opiate I could get my hands on and then have terrible withdrawals and still have to work. Anyways I’m on day 2 into withdrawal and not feeling much physical symptoms at all. I took 20 mg of lope and 5 grams of kratom (meang da) and I feel great. Before I would be thinking of a way to score some pain pills just to feel normal. This has been a lifesaver for me.
Thanks for sharing your experience Micheal. Glad you are doing so well!
Hi Matt ! I to just finished the loperamide w/d method that worked pretty good for me. I have been in pain control for over 25 yrs currently taking methadone. I ran out, as I do every month & tried ur method. I was pleasantly surprised by the way it eased all the symptoms. I’m a little different than the rest of us as I have to take pain meds for an intestinal problems along with bulging discs in neck, spine & Lower back & curvature of my spine. My problem is living in Florida where all the MD’s here are terrified of the government and its penalties, pharmacies that play gods & distribute at THEIR discretion and one and on. My main problem is the sweats. Is there something other than mide to help this system ? I hate that I have to take anything & have tried to get off everything only too be put back on something for pain -partially b/c my blood pressure elevates so high when I’m in pain-and the pain itself. So, usually, 1 a month I go through this and it sucks. I’ll be 60 yrs old in a year and you are the only person I can count on for this ‘dilemma’. So, thank you & if there is something for the damn heat I can take, please let me know.
Hi Robin,
Glad the method worked well for you! And as for the sweats, I know that is an unpleasant side effect of methadone for some people. Please read the following article which should answer that question for you:
http://jaoa.org/article.aspx?articleid=2093682
Matt: I’d like to know if you have any pointers to long-term, low-dose use of Loperimide – I want to see if my symptoms line up with any known studies.
In my case, I’ve been taking 4mg to 12mg daily since 2008, my usual is 8mg per day, in combination with a prescription cholesterol reducing drug that has a side effect of constipation.
My reason for this odd combo is due to having my ileum removed during a carcinoid tumor removal from my intestines – without some powerful measures to “stop me up” I would just pass liquid all of the time with little control.
During the past 7 years, I have increasing felt like I have the flu + head cold feeling, and a diminished ability to think and reason with decreased drive and zeal. Headaches too.
I’ve decided to try eliminating the loperimide and increasing the cholesterol drug to see if it does the trick.
In my life (fortunately), the Rx opioids given after operations have never led to an addiction issue; I typically take them for a day or two and am glad to take no more. Likewise, I don’t think I’ll miss the loperimide unless my bowel situation gets out of hand.
Thanks, and I apologize if my query is off-topic.
HI Jerry,
I wish I could answer your question. I know how loperamide can help with acute opioid withdrawal symptoms, however, I haven’t studied about long-term use of it in small doses. Perhaps your doctor can respond to that. If you find out the answer, I would love to know. Best of luck to you Jerry.
Matt and everyone,
I stumbled upon this thread looking for ways to help some close friends who are battling opiate withdrawal and everything that comes with it. I myself am an opiate addict who has been clean since December 2012. I started on opana after a car wreck in 2011. Things got so bad I was an IV heroin user by August of 2012. I probably would never have quit if it weren’t for me getting in trouble with the law. I had an awful withdrawal in jail where there were no available remedies whatsoever. I had tried many times on my own to quit before with no lasting results. Anyway, I came here looking for at home remedies and I just want to say that it’s nice to see that people are so positive and encouraging towards each other. It’s more important than you think to not go at this alone, put your pride aside and lean on someone who cares to help you through this nightmare. Even if your support comes from online threads, it’s important to find someone to listen and relate with. Anyway, Matt thank you for what you do and all of the well written and informative information and feedback. And to all those who’re struggling, stay calm and reach out…. this too shall pass. Peace!
Thanks for the comment Bradley. I appreciate you taking the time to share a bit of your story, as well as some great advice at the end there!
Can someone please help me!!!, I came across this site about the loperamide for helping with detox last week when I was desperately searching online for some help. I have been taking subs for 3 years now, weaned myself down to 1mg a day then ran out and found this site. Started taking lope the first day and have been continuing since. Today is day 4, the lope is helping, I am not taking it in extreme doses, 3-4 a time 2-3 times daily. Yesterday only had to take twice but today is day 4 and you state to start dropping you dose in half, but today is the worse I have felt and actually had to take a 3rd dose already so feeling defeated. I am EXTREMELY scared of the stories I have read about becoming addicted to lope. Can you become addicted to lope if you only take for a week at no more than 16mg a day?? I thought that was the recommended dose? I have dt’d from subs before and was still feeling withdrawals 10 days out, so do I just stop the lop on day 6 (2 days from now) and just ride the rest out so I don’t become addicted to the lope? Please help
People usually get addicted if they are taking mega-doses with cimetidine (Tagamet). You are not taking much, and you aren’t using Tagamet to help push it pust the blood brain barrier. So it’s not getting you high, and that is how people typically get addicted, due to the high.
Though some people I’m sure get addicted just to taking loperamide by itself, though from the cases I’ve read it’s around 80-100 mg and up per day for months. You’re also coming off Suboxone, which has a very long half-life, and this protocol is an example of one for a detox from short-acting opioids.
Probably best to stop the loperamide sooner than later, and 6-7 days should be max for Suboxone withdrawal. There are many other things that can help instead of loperamide. Your dose isn’t very high, though it’s a powerful medication and there is always the chance for addiction, so you must be careful and weight the options.
Please refer to the following articles:
Suboxone Withdrawal Remedies That Work
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. This comment is for informational use only. It’s not intended to treat, diagnose, or prevent any disease. Always check with your doctor before changing your diet, trying any new supplements, medications, exercise or opiate tapering programs.
Won’t taking this much Imodium cause major constipation?
Perhaps, but it all depends on how much the dose is, how much opioids an individual was taking, for how long they were taking it, how good their digestion and regularity already are, their own unique biochemistry, and many other factors.
Diarrhea for me is one of the top withdrawal symptoms from subs. It’s so bad that the large amounts of lope help to regulate and not constipate. I had the same concern but when taking correctly for ones body it is very helpful.
Thanks for sharing your experience Scott, and that is the same response I had to lope…it just balanced me, no constipation at all.
I came across this article and would just like to share my story here so that I may be able to help someone who needs help with going through the terrible and also frightening effects of withdrawal from opiates.
I started out taking prescription pain killers around 2007. I was prescribed Norco 10’s 6x’s a day after a car wreck for about a year. I was taking this medication as prescribed up until February 2008 when I had found out I was pregnant with my, turning 6 years old this October, son. When I found out I was pregnant I started questioning whether I should continue taking this medication or not during my pregnancy. During my own research of the effects it could possibly have on my unborn child, I chose to stop taking it. I just quit “cold turkey” not knowing it would make me have withdrawal symptoms. I started to feel so horrible by the 3rd day that I went to the Emergency room because I thought I had a TREMENDOUSLY HORRIFIC case of the flu OR maybe even food poisoning. Once I got to see the ER doctor, he went through my medical history to see if there would be anything that “stood out” to be a warning sign to him of what could be causing me these symptoms. He then asked me if I was still taking my prescription pain killers. When I told him I had stopped taking them about 3 days beforehand, he then asked “and these flu-like symptoms, how long ago did they start?” I told him I had started to feel it coming on about 2 days ago and it seemed as if things were just getting worse and not any better. That was the reason I had decided to make my visit to the ER. I felt more sick than I had ever felt in my entire life!! That’s when he told me he believed I was in withdrawal from the opiates that I had stopped taking. He then told me that going through opiate withdrawal during pregnancy was too risky and I would be risking miscarriage if I went through with it during my pregnancy. He then gave me another prescription for the Norco’s that would last me through the weekend until i could get into a “Methadone clinic” due to it being a Friday night and they wouldn’t take me at the clinic until Monday morning. I had no idea at the time what a methadone clinic was. So when I asked him to explain to me why I needed to go there, he told me that I needed to be on methadone to save my unborn child’s life. So obviously being a concerned mother to be, I asked no other questions and did as he told me to.
Once I started the methadone clinic I felt better instantly and could function again without worry of a miscarriage.
Over the months of my pregnancy, taking daily doses of methadone, and going to “groups” at the clinic, I was convinced by all these staff members and other patients of the clinic, that I would be on methadone for the rest of my life. The staff always told us to look at taking methadone as you would if you were someone with diabetes. “A diabetic needs insulin shots to control the disease of diabetes just like an addict has the disease of addiction and needs the methadone”.
I listened to this for 6 years before I decided, “There has got to be a way to get off of this medication and not be ” locked down with the liquid handcuffs (as everyone described this life of going to the clinic every day to get their dose of methadone). So, in February of 2014, I decided I was going to do whatever it took to “unlock those liquid handcuffs). Luckily, my mom was willing to do whatever it took to help me with this and knew it would NOT be easy on either of us. I packed up enough things for my son and I to stay with my mom for the next 3 weeks while I planned to try and go through the worst feeling withdrawal symptoms I could have ever imagined. Obviously I didn’t know EXACTLY how long my withdrawal would last because every person is different based on the length of time you have been taking the medicine, what medicine you withdrawal from, (methadone, suboxone, heroine, pain killers, etc.), what dose you had been taking daily, and your bodies response to it all. So, I made a plan to set aside 3 weeks but would add more time to that if needed.
I had been earning “take home bottles” at the clinic and “banking” them just in case I wanted to go on a vacation outside of the state so I could take the medication with me. So I wrote out a plan for myself using the “take home bottles”. I first started out only taking half of my dose for that first day of using my take home bottle for that day which was 10mg of the 20mg I had been taking. The next day I took 5mg. Then the 3rd day I took 2 1/2mg and the 4th day I took the last 2 1/2mg. Yes I felt withdrawal symptoms starting by the 2nd day. But they weren’t unbearable until a couple of days after my last dose.
My mom had volunteered to not only watch my son during this withdrawal process so I didn’t have to, she also waited on me hand and foot and got me anything she could to make everything go as smoothly as possibly for me because she knew this wasn’t an easy thing to do. I fought my battle long and hard trying everything I could think of to ease symptoms. But sadly, I was so depressed from the symptoms of withdrawal, I couldn’t see a “light at the end of the tunnel” and just wanted relief. So I ended up relapsing around my 8th day because I thought I should have started to at least feel a little better. But, I knew I didn’t want to go back to that awful methadone clinic. Instead, I made an appointment with my family doctor to get her advice on what to do. When I finally got in to see her, I was in luck!!! She prescribed me Suboxone to keep me from relapsing or feeling anymore withdrawal symptoms!!
I took the Suboxone for about 1 1/2 years. I started them in April 2014 and took my last dose on Thursday September 10th, 2015!!! Yes you read that right!!! Just a week ago this past Thursday, I took my last dose of Suboxone I will ever take again!!!
It wasn’t easy at all!!! But I am on my 8th day with no Suboxone and feel awesome!!! The ONLY days I had horrible withdrawal symptoms were the first 3. And I believe I could have had a little more relief on those days as well if I would have come across this website sooner!! On day 4 I was so desperate for relief I started searching the internet for anything someone said worked best for them.
So I bet those of you who are still reading this are wanting to know the “secret” of how I went through such a short withdrawal with relief on the 4th day that seemed it took away ALL my symptoms and by the 6th day I was done with taking ANY medication at all and I’m on day 8 feeling GREAT!!!
Well, this first thing I tell you about was the most important to me. You may have a different look on it but this is MY personal opinion. I believe in the power of prayer. So I prayed so hard that 2nd and 3rd day and told God to PLEASE take over for me in my time of need and help me get through it somehow. I wanted so desperately to be free from taking methadone or suboxone or even taking pain killers or buying heroine, just to feel “normal” and “function” that I was putting this into God’s hands trusting he would get me through it. Sure enough, he came through for me!!! I stumbled upon this website and found that Imodium AD along with Tagamet and Grapefruit juice would help ease your symptoms. At first I thought it sounded crazy. But I was so desperate for relief that I wanted to try anything!!! So while I was laying on my couch where I had been from day 1 because I could barely even find the strength to get up to use the bathroom at times, my mom went to get the Imodium AD, Tagament, and Grapefruit juice and brought it all over to me. I took the meds and at first thought it wasn’t working because it had been a while. But then, just when I was about to give up, WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! I LITERALLY FELT LIKE SOMEONE JUST FLIPPED A SWITCH INSIDE OF ME TO OFF!!!! NO MORE WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS AT ALL!!!! I WAS SO SHOCKED I STARTED CRYING!!!! My mom saw me crying and asked what was wrong. I said, “That’s just it, NOTHING is wrong now!! God has answered my prayers!!! It REALLY DID WORK!!! I continued to use this combination of ingredients until day 6. I woke up that morning on the 6th day feeling like I hadn’t felt in years!!! No withdrawal symptoms and no need for any medication at all!!! Of course I still thought in the back of my mind that as the day progressed I might feel like crap again and needed to take some more of what I now call the “miracle meds”. But, I was determined that I wouldn’t let the little things make me believe I needed it again. And guess what………..I haven’t had to take ANYTHING in 2 days and I feel great!!!!
This is ALL thanks to God AND Matt!!!! God lead me to Matt’s website here and Matt provided the info I needed for these ingredients so I could FINALLY get some relief!!!
So I just wanted to give a HUGE THANK YOU to Matt for caring enough for others to take the time to put this website together and share all this information here about opiate addiction and what may help us get through it!!! You are awesome Matt!!!
Anyways, I am hoping that by posting my story here it will help at least one person but hopefully more!!! And to anyone who made it this far reading……. Thank you for taking the time to read my story!!!!
Hi Renee,
What an inspiring story!!! I’m so proud of you, and I thank you sincerely for sharing your extraordinary experience with me and the other readers! It must feel so good to be free of opioid dependence, and you’re doing so amazing. I love hearing success stories, and yours is a GREAT ONE!
I would love to convert your comment into an article in my Success Stories! blog category. If this sounds good to you, please email me at finchy444@yahoo.com and we can discuss it, or alternatively you can simply reply to this comment. Take care and well done!
Hi Matt!
I’m sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I haven’t been able to get online for a while. I would be honored to have you use my story as one of your success stories!! I feels so good to be free of those meds!! Thanks again for all the info you have put on this website!!
Renee
Great thanks for your contribution! I will post your story in the next day or two 🙂 I just emailed you asking for some details.
Renee,
I’ve been reading this site for more than an hour, and while EVERY story is amazing, yours had me in tears. Your story is truly awesome and I thank you for sharing it
I am about to take this same journey not for the first time in ny my life unfortunately but ive decided I SIMPLY CANNOT LIVE THIS WAY!!!There is no end and it isn’t living….it exixting.
Im very angry, disappointed, and hurt that I am once again in this position, but I have honestly come to the conclusion that I would rather not live at all if it means existing this way.
I too have heard ” rumors” about ” Loping” and came to thw internet to research it. There are many, many such articles but this site just for some reason ” hit home”.
I will be starting this by the weekend.
Thank you Matt for your honesty and your recommendations. I know you are not in any way presenting this as medical advice. I appreciate that you are trying to help others with a better alternative.
Thank you Renee bc I’ve foubd myself crying out to God as,well and it seems he has answered me with this site
I’ll post again when I start in a day or two. It’s really a,relief to have someone to talk to as NO ONE IN MY LIFE KNOWS I’M IN THIS SITUATION AGAIN.
I was clean for many years and I just can’t handle the disappointment that I will be to them if they knew.
So this,serves as not only info on help with wd symptoms but being able to talk about it
Again…..Thank you
Try not to beat yourself up In Hiding. Keep in mind that there are many of us who get addicted to these opiate drugs for all types of reasons. Some of us experiment and use these drugs for fun and end up addicted and many other’s are put on them by doctors for pain and then left high and dry when all the problems start that go along with these meds.
I am on opiates for pain and I probably will be for life given my injuries and health issues that limit the medication I can take. I have detoxed before simply to recover my tolerance and give my liver a well needed break. I am about to do this again soon, having not detoxed for almost three years. I was overjoyed when I found out about Imodium and I am really hoping that it makes the withdrawal easier for me this time. I am on 25mcd fentanyl patch and oxycodone 5/10mg as needed for BT pain. This is my first time detoxing from the fentanyl and I have heard it’s a bitch. Given the low does I’m on, I’m hoping that it won’t be too bad especially with the Imodium. The last one I did was Oxycontin 20mg and the same does of short acting oxycodone.
In the past I have managed to stay all opiate pain meds for a couple of months, and use other methods to treat my pain, such as Ibuprofen and other anti-inflammatory meds. This is no longer an option for me, because of stomach issues, so I have to say I am a little worried about the pain and keeping it under control. Ideally my goal is to get to where I was in 2009, where I often did not need pain meds regularly unless I had a flare up. Having said this; and given my worsening condition, this may not be doable, but I intend to give it a bloody good go.
I intend to start this regime in a couple of weeks once I’ve seen my GP and discussed my options and written out a strict plan. I will let you all know how I go.
Many times we hide these things from our loved ones because of their expectations of us. Some people simply do not understand that an addict really cannot promise he or she won’t relapse. And for someone who have never been dependent on opiate medications, they can’t possibly know how we feel as hard as they try.
Sometimes we just don’t succeed in staying clean and there can be many reasons for that. Those feelings of shame are just so overwhelming. All we can do is pick ourselves up and keep plodding on.
It’s been really great to read everyone’s story’s here and many thanks to you Matt for all of your hard work in putting this together in order to help us. I will post again and let everyone know how my detox regime goes.
Take care everyone, and good luck you all of you going through this.
Whitney
Hello Matt.
I’m on day 2 of heroin withdrawl and last nights sleep was not fun.
I tried valium 30mg and it made me kind of loopy and extremly hungry but it did nothing for Rls ( weird ) could imodium actually help with sleep? I’m doing this detox with only ibuprofen and with valium but since that didn’t help I don’t think I’ll be using that again. I’m afraid of using anything that will set me back in any kind of way. By the end of my work day I’ll be on day 3. Thank u so much
The loperamide protocol has helped a lot of people reduce symptoms, including RLS and insomnia, though it doesn’t work for everyone. Please read the following articles that I believe will benefit you:
How To Stop Restless Legs From Opiate Withdrawal
How To Mega-Dose Vitamin C To Stop Opiate Withdrawal
Congratulations on deciding to quit heroin. I’m so proud of you for going through the sickness to come out on the other side and take your life back. If you have any more questions, I’m happy to help. Take care.
I have been dealing with chronic pain for years. I have real pain from disc and compressed nerves, but I also have overused the meds in fear and desperation. The oxycodon is just now working. I am out, and am detoxing. How long will it take, will I ever be able to take pain meds again? I know it is my fault, but I feel screwed now. If I tell the doctors I feel like they will stop helping
Please read the following article to learn more about how long withdrawal might last:
Opiate Withdrawal Timeline: How To Stop Withdrawal
I been n addict for 4 year hydrocodone it was my choice of drug doing 120 mm of the hydro every day I finally knew that this is It last chance for me I’m putting my 100% this time
Oscar you can do it!!!! 100% is the way to go and I’m proud of you for your amazing determination!
Why tagamet? Can I use loperamide on its own? Or with kratom?
Some people use tagamet to help increase the effects, but it is not necessary, and it can be dangerous. Kratom is so strong you don’t need loperamide in addition.
Disclaimer: I am a Strategic Intervention Coach, not a doctor, so I can’t give professional advice regarding aspects of the body, only the mind. This comment is for informational use only. It’s not intended to treat, diagnose or prevent any disease. Always check with your doctor before changing your diet, trying any new supplements, medications, exercise or opiate tapering programs.
I’m going on day two and I feel awful and I just know it’s about to get worse. I just cried all day today because I hate this feeling so much. I’ve tried to get off several times and I can’t bare the intense craving in the pit of my stomach so much that I just go right back to them every time. I want to be free but it’s so hard and emotional. I’m so frustred and just want to call my connection so bad. Trying to be strong and fight this time but it’s so hard… I feel alone and ashamed …
Thank you so much for this info. I am grasping & holding on to anything I can. Again thanx.dez
You’re welcome, and I hope this info helps. Hang in there.
I am on day 6 of Buprenorphine withdrawls. Tapered from 12mg down to 1mg in 1.5 months. Approximatly 25% of my dose every 5-7 days. Loperamide and Clonadine has helped tremendously for me. However I only used a large doses of Lope the first two days.
Day 1: I took 10 2mg right before bed and 1 .1mg Clonadine
Day 2: Awoke feeling tired but not sick, Assuming the loperamide was working, I took another 10 2mg pills and one more .1mg Clonadine. Day turned into a blur as I became EXTREMELY FATIGUED for the remainder of days 2-3.
Day 3 – 6: Took 4 2mg Loperamide and .1mg Clonadine before bed.
I still have minor fatigue/Insomnia but am doing well overall. About to start day 7 🙂
Thanks for sharing your experience using Loperamide for opiate withdrawal Cory. As for the fatigue, check out a recent article I wrote:
How To Get Your Energy Back After Quitting Opiates
And congrats for your awesome accomplishment! Day 7 and going for it!!! Good for you Cory. 🙂
My son died on 12/31/14 from a combination of loperamide and Dextromethorphan. He learned from sites like this that loperamide could help him with his withdrawal. He was also suffering from pneumonia. The initial toxicology report showed neither of these drugs. His death certificate came back with cause if death ” undetermined”. After a discussion with my sons girlfriend, I relayed new information to the ME. They expanded the testing to look for these 2 medications. The ME is now issuing a new death certificate stating the cause of death is a result of these two meds. My son went to sleep and the effect of them on his central nervous system suppressed his respiratory drive. He never woke up. So please, stop your internet pseudo doctoring. You may be a recovered addict but you don’t know all the consequences.
Hi Kim,
I’m very sorry to hear about the death of your son. I have a daughter, and couldn’t imagine how hard it would be to have a child die before me.
As for myself:
I almost died from an overdose of opiates. No matter what I did, I couldn’t quit…the opiates were too addicting and the fear of withdrawal kept my addiction going long after I wanted to stop. Luckily, I was able to use 40 mg of methadone for 7 days, then Valium for 3 weeks after that. Many people have also overdosed and died from Valium and other benzodiazepine drugs, not to mention methadone as well…however, these two powerful drugs saved my life.
As for the loperamide I mention in this article, along with all of the other medications I write about, of course there are always risks associated with using drugs to come off drugs. When used responsibly, they can save lives, but when taken in a wrong way, they have the ability to take lives.
Addiction is such a powerful and devastating thing. Again, I’m so very sorry to hear about your loss. Take care.
Don’t you feel bad, you are saving lives with sites like this mat. I’ve struggled with opiate addiction since returning home from Iraq. That was 10 yrs ago. I finally think I see a light at the end of the tunnel. And that’s thanks to the knowledge I’ve received from sites like yours. God bless you!!!
Johnathon I thank you sincerely for your kind words. I’m so glad to hear you have hope, and if you ever need any questions answered or emotional support, I’m here to help you along your journey. Take care.
He says in pretty much every post he’s NOT a doctor. If u want a scapegoat go bore someone else. this dude knows his ish. i commend him. I guarantee yr son wasn’t taking his advise as he always mentions caution/that physiologically we’re all different AND he doesn’t advocate DXM.
Ignore her – she’s hurting – i’m sure u help more ppl than hinder them
Kim you really shouldn’t put emotional baggage like that onto someone who helps more ppl than doctors do.
Doctors are the ones who get ppl addicted to the pain pills in the first place, that’d how much trust you should put in them.
Your son died because he was an addict. Not because of loperamide. If he was an iv user he could have died any time and if not then death was still a possibility. He had pneumonia which can kill during opiate withdrawals too.
I’m not saying your son didn’t die because of lope but trust me an infinitesimal amount more people die of real opiates like heroin or metha done or fentanyl.
If rather trust matt here than adoctor who incidentally you should be looking to to explain your sons death – drug addiction is more prevalent than ever and still people get addicted to prescription drugs and the same doctor has no idea how to help them get off other than prescribing even more addictive drugs like subut ex. What kind of society gets people addicted to drugs then throws them to the lions and they can’t even get help and resort to finding their own solutions on the Internet.
I am currently on day 4 withdrawaling from norco. My RX sig WAS 2 tabs 4-6 hours prn pain. That had me at 10-12 tabs per day for the last 2 1/2 years. Ugggggg. How did I get here? Really?….Everyone THINKS I have it all together. I’m a “powerhouse”. That’s funny….if they only new. The last few days have been truly agonizing to say the least. I made the decision to stop “CT” to be a better MOM and a better ME. This is not my first rodeo with Rx dependency and addiction. It was fioracet about 12 years ago. Stopped taking those “CT” and I had the best life ever. Now I’m back detoxing and my girl is leaving for UCLA. Where did the time go? I feel like I’ve let her down. So much guilt. And…At times I think I was a better mom while on my meds. Yup, could get everything done, manage my chronic pain and raise an amazingly beautiful daughter on my own. Well..I guess it really wasn’t on my own. I had a little help from the opiates. Ranting……do you think at day 4, I should use the loperamide as you have shown? As of now I’ve been taking as directed. What are your thoughts?
Thank you!!
On day 4 coming off Norco, this is typically the worst you’ll see…then the next few weeks just take forever to make real progress. At this point, it’s probably best to just take loperamide as directed.
You’re almost past the acute withdrawal phase…WELL DONE! You can do it! And the following two articles can benefit you while transitioning into the post-acute phase:
How To Stop Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome From Opiates
How To Get Your Energy Back After Quitting Opiates
I just had to reply to your post as it brought tears to my eyes. I am a 32 year old now ex nurse with my licensure that i worked soo hard for suspended indefinitely thanks to my 14 years of heavy substance addiction. None took over my life like the opiate. The tolerance grew insanely high after the death of my mom. She died the same as most of my family thanks to alcohol which was my first oil slick. I actually reached a point i was glad to be on the opiates instead as the alcohol tore my entire family yo shreds. I had to witness the ppl i loved most in the throws of delirium tremens to finally see them sober and see the light in their eyes for the first time in my life. Only to lose them all to irreversible cirrhosis in less than a month after. I wasnt a healthcare professional yet and didnt truly understand. And through two bachelors degrees death of mom dad pap gram and sooo much more those opiates made me a power house too. I have just got out of rehab to a friends bc i lost my place job and car as well only to find he is using again as well as others living with me. I now see strong on outside but dead on inside. My sobriety has been broken and im trying to reclaim it. Immodium really does help me but it outside of my scope of practice to TELL anyone to do it. I have no one but myself to live for and it makes it so much harder to stop! It seems so apparent tho how much u loveyour daughter and im sure she feels the same. Im sry so long winded but just wanted to be clear why this is the first forum i EVER replied to and just wanted to say MOMS are the BEST. I miss NO ONE more. andpray the best for you and ur family. U got this lady!!!!!
I was HIGHLY skeptical re: using loperamide to stave off “the sickness”. But much to my surprise it works…well, in fact. Yesterday I ran out of pain meds after a brief “taper”. Took four 2mg tablets early in the day, another three about eight hours later. At first I thought it was a waste of time as I felt the symptoms creeping up on me. I took two more immediately before bed and amazingly I had no insomnia. Even better, when I woke up I didn’t immediately go into full-on anxiety like I usually do, in fact I felt almost downright “normal”. Usually when I dry out I’m always concocting various stupid schemes and whatnot but so far I don’t even have the urge.
Don’t be afraid to give it a try, you have nothing to lose. It beats the hell out of fidgeting, sweating, spending every ten minutes on the bowl and etc. While I don’t feel 100% I’m WAY closer to “well” than I EVER expected.
Wow that’s amazing Salvatore!!! Glad to hear it worked so well for you…and thank you so much for commenting about your experience, as it will benefit the other readers. Take care.
This is probably my 30th time of detoxing off oxycodone. I keep trying, and failing but I won’t give up because I want to live, and you only get one liver. I usually can only find relief in hot baths and will take up to 10-15 a day for a few minutes of less discomfort. I researched this time to see if there was anything new out there to help with the discomfort, and I came across the cute rambling Rabin guy who suggested Loperamide and DXM in the tussin cough syrup. He said to take 100 but I decided that for me to take 100 was supporting my addict behavior because with me, more is always better, so I took 15 Loperamide, 10 glasses of water daily, 3 TBL of the DMX, just once, about 4 hours after the Lope, and I repeated the 15 Lope after 8 hours. Praise God!! And I mean that, because along with prayer, I am completely shocked that I only have a slight headache and am feeling a little lethargic. No crawlies, no anxiety, no thrashing, NONE, WHATSOEVER!!
I had tapered down to 60 mgs a day in a week, from 100. I am also drinking an herbal detox tea, which is cleansing my colon of all the toxins and it helps me to have a BM. I am amazed. I’m really not lying everyone, I hope this helps someone who is thinking about quitting opiates and getting their life back. Honestly, I am just in awe, that I am 48 hours into my detox, and I am outside watering my plants and I am feeling amazingly well, for it being 48 hrs. The most important thing along with those 2 medicines is 8-10 (16oz) bottles or glasses of “PURIFIED” water only. Go get well and start your journey to living your life again and go to
Costco to get the twin pack of anti diarrheal. It is addictive and from what I have read, the withdrawals from Lope are long, and really uncomfortable with no chance if sleeping. Mine, is a 6 day plan. I’m going to only take it for 6 days, then ride out the rest of my withdrawl, knowing that it won’t last forever, I can do this!! Loperamide really is a miracle if you are suffering opiate withdrawls. My prayers to all who are struggling.
I am currently on my 18th day off Subutex, 11th day off Norcos (used to taper from 4mgs of Subutex)I have used this forum as well as many others… but this site and the modertor, Matt Finch has provided the most acurate and responsible info on reemedies to ease the pain of opiate withdrawl.
I used Kratom for 7 days, loperamide for 2 days, day 8 and 9 only clonidine, klonopin CalmSupport (no real help) and DLPA to help reset/rebuild recepters.
The opiate maintenence programs, both methadone and suboxone for anything except stablizing a patient is what is really irresponsible and clinics, doctors and of course Pharmacutical companies are the only ones truely benefiting. I have been on MM programs half my life, im 5, and most recently subutex for 3 years.
Another item I need to cover is Big Book thumping 12 steppers. Hey if it works for you GREAT, but its philosophy if you don’t work the program justs sets the addict up for defeat. Its a simple program if your a simple person. I have been in and worked in many treatment programs that only advocate 12 step… $15,000 to go to groups and outside 12 step meetings.
Different people require multiple philosophys and this site offers insites from numerous new research as well as personal support. I hope anyone reading this does so with an open mind and does not buy into 12 step is the only way. Every time I have had periods of sobriet with 12 step, I only see the few regulars year after year talking about when they stopped coming they relapsed…a self profilling profecy. I do believe support is imperitive, but it can come from numerous places.
Hey DK,
I wholeheartedly agree with you…different people require varying treatment modalities that fit into their individual models of reality. I’m interested in what works for people. There are endless ways to get clean. Thanks for your comment, and I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to express your knowledge.
And congrats for your progress off opiates and transitioning to a life of health and wellness!
As a recovery expert, I should think your approach to such recommendations would be better researched and more responsibly presented. Loperamide IS addictive, and recommending its usage to current opiate addicts and actually teaching them a mega dosing technique borders on malpractice. People are dying from mega dosing in increasing numbers; at the very least, they end up in the ER with a life threatening arrhythmia and if they’re lucky, they get to live through it. I beg you to reconsider the above recommendations and concentrate your efforts instead on helping addicts learn to live and lead sober lives. Look at my website, in particular, at the loperamide articles and medical research.
Hello,
I appreciate your comment. Thank you for sharing your concern. You see, loperamide has helped a great deal more people than have become addicted to it. Also, I state in my article to only take loperamide for a few days during acute opiate withdrawal, thus, I’m obviously not a proponent of trading one addiction for another.
Oh, and I also state that if you take it longer than this short term loperamide can cause a physiological dependence. Thus, I am telling readers a method that has worked for many people, and how to take it responsibly.
As for the links you provided on your site about dangers of lopermide mega-dosing issues with patients:
1) One gentlemen had Chrohn’s disease, polysubstance abuse, depression and suicidal attempt, and had also been using 150 mg of Amitryptaline per day along with mega-doses of loperamide. His ventricular tachycardia was stabilized and he left the hospital with no permanent damage.
2) Another patient went to the hospital for taking 144 mg of loperamide daily for two years straight. Their cardiac arrhythmia was able to be taken care of, with no long-term consequence.
3) A patient was taking 150-250 mg of loperamide with 400 mg cimetidine for several months, they went to the hospital with heart problems and were also able to be treated with no long-term affects.
4) On every article I read, as soon as the patient stopped taking loperamide, they returned to normal.
5) A few of your links lead to pages that have no info, you should double check and take them out as necessary.
I could site a trillion articles where people have died from methadone, Xanax, alcohol and many other drugs. Addiction is serious. There is no “one-size fits all” method of getting off drugs. Though people in 12-step meetings usually think that total abstinence is the only way, and if you can’t go to meetings you are doomed. I don’t resonate with this form of simplistic thinking.
I also read your “about” section and it appears you were addicted to loperamide. I’m sorry that happened. And I’m so happy you were able to break free, go to 12-step meetings and become a part-time cashier at a store. But just because you were addicted to it, this does not mean everyone in the world should not use it for a few days to come off opiates. Many people have used it very responsibly, me being one of them.
As for your statement regarding the loperamide mega-dosing for a few days during acute opiate withdrawal bordering on malpractice:
I am not a doctor, nor do I claim to be anywhere on this website. Furthermore, there is a giant disclaimer at the bottom of every single page of my website that perhaps you missed? I’ll reprint it here in case you didn’t see it:
Disclaimer: Matt is not a doctor. The statements, recommendations and products referred to throughout this site have not been evaluated by the FDA. They are for informational purposes only, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you have a health condition or concern, consult a physician or your alternative health care provider. Always consult a medical doctor before modifying your diet, using any new product, drug, supplement, or doing new exercises.
I also write articles recommending the usages of other powerful drugs such as clonidine, Xanax, Valium, Klonopin, Ativan, and even strong natural drugs like kratom and Ibogaine. All of these could be very dangerous and risk of overdose if used improperly, and one can develop an addiction to these as well.
That’s why I write about only using them for a few days to get past the acute withdrawal phase to ease symptoms.
You see Marguerite, I’m not your average recovery expert. Most of the individuals would say that using addictive substances to get off drugs is wrong. You say I should concentrate my efforts on helping addicts learn to live and lead sober lives.
1) I do that on many of my articles in the “Recovery”, “Relationships”, and “Health and Wellness” sections.
2) The “addicts” you speak of will never get clean if someone doesn’t help them get through the acute opiate withdrawal horror phase. That’s why I spend so much time writing articles on every single thing that works. Some people will choose this method on the article we are talking about, others will use kratom, others will use the Thomas Recipe.
Conclusion:
I sincerely appreciate your concern regarding people being safe. I encourage you to continue writing about your style of recovery on your website, and I will do the same on mine. I literally get dozens of comments and emails per week from my readers thanking me because one of these article protocols allowed them to finally quit opiates with minimal symptoms.
Thus, my website is helping many people.
Furthermore, I don’t have much faith in “traditional” treatment methods. Drug addiction is only growing, not getting better. 12-step meetings, detox and inpatient rehabs, counseling and other popular approaches have very dismal percentages of people actually getting off and staying off drugs.
I’ve dedicated my life to creating new alternatives, focusing mostly on natural remedies, nutrition, exercise and personal growth, among many other things. My full-time job is writing about and coaching people on opiate addiction recovery.
Again, I thank you for your comment and your general concern for the health of the public. It seems in that regard we share the value, albeit we go about demonstrating it and writing about it in our own unique ways.
Take care
I appreciate your thoughtful reply, though I maintain my position that it’s irresponsible to advise people to use loperamide in the manner you recommend. I enjoyed the subtle dig at my job — actually I did laugh — but I assure you that I have much more education and had much better careers than that might lead you to believe. I’m sorry that you dismiss the medical evidence. You do not see what I see apparently, nor do you receive the mail that I do. Or seen patients down on the ground suffering from this. Granted, mine is a subset of the addiction field, but it is important just the same. Addicts are addicts. They will abuse whatever substance will get them high. I hope that you are never in the position to receive an email from a mother who has lost a son to loperamide abuse. I truly do. I understand your “harm reduction” approach, but I maintain my impression that it is deeply misguided. Thank you for publishing my comment despite your disagreement. Regards, MM
Hi again Marguerite,
It’s true, my harm-reduction approach is opposed by many, especially the 12-step community. What you said about addicts abusing whatever will get them high is total truth, and it’s also very sad.
Harm-reduction I view as “damage control.” Since people are going to continue abusing drugs, I would rather see them use more responsible ways then injecting heroin into their veins, even if that calls for the recommendation of using prescribed medications, over-the-counter medications, and natural drugs that can all get you high and become addictive if used improperly.
I worked at an Outpatient Treatment Program (OTP) where patients were prescribed Methadone, Suboxone and Subutex, thus treating addiction with other drugs. 12-steppers look at this negatively, and I also believe it does a lot of harm…though this modality of treatment works very well for some, and still has it’s place in the field of addiction treatment.
I am 100% able to agree to disagree about our theories of treatment. I also honor you for your dedication to informing people about the dangers of loperamide and other addictions on your blog.
Out of the 500 comments I’ve received on this blog over the past year since it’s birth, you and one other person have commented against using these methods (the other gentlemen had an issue with me recommending Valium for 3 days during the acute withdrawal).
I published his comment and provided a thoughtful reply as well. I don’t claim to be the “one who knows all” or the master of addiction treatment. But based on what I’ve seen in my own addiction, and based on my research and my work with opiate abusers (both as a Certified Addiction Counselor at an OTP, as well as with private clients as a Certified Strategic Intervention Coach), it appears to me that different approaches work for different people.
Every individual is unique. That’s why, even though 12-step and total abstinence theory work well for some, the vast majority of people don’t resonate with this method.
It’s 2015, and there needs to be more bloggers like you that dedicate their time and research to spreading the info about the dangers of addiction, as well as ways to overcome this.
I fully respect where you are coming from in your ways of treating addiction, and I sincerely thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge. I’m sure these comments of us corresponding will give readers another viewpoint to think about, and for that I am grateful.
All the best to you,
Matt
O.k. how?
Wow I am bowe’d over by this response.
Have you ever seen anyone in the grips of IV heroin addiction? Blood every where, veins thrombosed, absolute mental emotional and physical suffering g that makes you want to not wake up in the morning ? Withdrawal so bad that it’s impossible to complete it without meds? I don’t think that any addiction is good. But having experienced IV heroin addiction, I would still trade it for an addiction where could legally buy my drug in a pharmacy for a few dollars a day. Because let’s face it, that’s a much better option than mutilating yourself with needles multiple times a day and crying your heart out because you can’t get a vein to inject into.
I guess the mothers of loperamide addicted people who email you think that’s how bad addiction can get. It’s not. Being able to fund your addiction legally with a drug you can buy openly has obvious pluses over illegal iv drug addiction. People end up in jail and, I think I’m right in saying, far more people die from heroin or dilaudid or methadone etc addiction than die from loperamide addiction.
One thing I noticed about the long term members of the 12 step community. They were all miserable. Probably because they’ve been brainwashed into believing that if they don’t keep attending those meetings for the rest of their lives they will die in the gutter.
To me 12 step is unsuccessful st best and dangerous at worst.
Which is better for an addict – giving them every possible option for getting past the impossible withdrawal stage and having a hope at long term recovery – and telling them to be careful and be aware enough not to cross addict – or telling an addict that they are powerless, and the unless they have a spiritual experience the will die an addict, and that any attempt to get well using medication is just more drug seeking addict behaviour and should be 12 stepped out of them immediately?
Well I’ve spent upward of 40k on 22 step rehab and I’m still as addicted as ever. Funny that my longest clean time was 7nmonths or so and followed me using another illegal substance to best the wd. Not following any of the 3 12 step rehabs I tried. I relapsed after every one and every meeting I went to made me want to use. Putting an addict in a room of other addicts who talk about drugs and addiction for 2 hours and then telling the addict not to think about using drugs is hilarious. 12 stepism promotes addictive behaviour and thought pattern’s. It works for a tiny percentage of one percent. And they are just what aa calls dry drunks.
When I get clean I want to do get about drugs and addiction and get on with my life. I have some boxes of loperamide and I am going to be trying again tomorrow to get clean.
I hope that you can rethink your attitude towards addiction and try to see that loperamide addiction is not as bad as it gets. Really. And that any hope for an opiate addict should be encouraged not demonised.
But I don’t think you will revise your thinking because I think that the 12 step programme has successfully ensnared another “holier than thou” addict who says “”it’s my way or the high way”. I for one am truly grateful that the aa way isn’t the only way because if it was there would be a lot more dead addicts.
Absolutely beautifully stated! Thank you Matt for all you do!!
THAT was worded with such AWESOMENESS!!!
Thanks Tara. 🙂
Thanks for your help -2 years later.
Plus you had a Major point: you weren’t claiming Medical Professional advice. Further, it’s a blog. [Not to mention so many Dr.’s give zero advice on what to do-not even Imodium, which is over-the counter Anyway!]
Please, please, please let me tell you Marguerite that everything that this website creator says is actually saving more people’s lives than harming them. I’m sure the people you are speaking of mostly were junkies. Well I’m a stage 3 Throid cancer patient who’s cancer spread into 157 lymph nodes and I had a very unfortunate accident that happened during my Tyroidectomy. It’s such a long story but to make it short the surgeon cut my thoracic duct while operating and therefore left me with an enormous chyle leak and although he tried repairing it the next morning to no avail he then never showed his face again and as I lay in the hospital I had 2 drain jugs hooked up to my chest so the chyle was leaking into those jugs. I was losing over a gallon a day of chyle which BTW is deadly. The nurses didn’t know what to do and there is no surgeon to answer any questions.Couldn’t have a drop of water, couldn’t have an ice cube and NO FOOD. No iv with solution NOTHING!!!
I was supposed to be home the next day from my first original surgery and instead I’m left with no one knowing what to do and my family completely terrified although they did their best to hide it. After eight days I began to slip into a coma and I was transported to another hospital. And just so you know I was at a very reputable hospital when this mistake was made. So when I was being transported to another hospital ( thanks to the hospital chaplain) It was then the unbelievable was recognized!!!! The nurses hadn’t realized this entire time that all that chyle along with the clots were being pumped back into my chest cavity (lungs) and by this time the damage was so massive that I will never be the same again. I live in constant chronic pain 24 hours a day. Please let me say that I have NEVER DONE ANY DRUGS!! ILLECET DRUGS, PRESCRIPTION DRUGS NOR DO I DRINK. I had always worked in the health and fitness field for women and absolutely LOVED every minute of my life. I’m also very, very prideful of both parents as they never did any of the things I listed above about myself. I just need you to be very, very aware of the lifestyle I always led. Unfortunately my life was ruined and by all means my life ended after the accident during my surgery at only 42 years old. After numerous pain medications I tried, I then began the spiral of depression from knowing I would have to do this for the rest of my life and couldn’t imagine how this would affect my life. I’m so grateful for having something to help me deal with my pain and had to suck up the ugly truth that this would be my new normal. I will now make a point about the post you made to the gentleman Matt
I’m so grateful he started this post. So here is why I had to find a remedy for my opiate withdrawal. A few years ago (2011) I had my medication stolen from my hotel room while on vacation with my husband and of course I filed a police report and it was found out that the employee that took my rx for whatever reason did admitt to it and was arrested the next day. However this left me a few extra days without them because Im out of town and its the weekend. My husband has to take me to an ER because I began to vomit violently on the way home and this was causing my excruciating pain to go through the roof. The ER DR. begins the search for my Oncology office for who was on call so he could see what i took, get an approval and get my medicine to me especially since we were not close to our home.
Second time without them in 2013 ended up in costly ER again!!!! Just absolutely the worse vomiting imagiable. This time it was my fault for leaving them behind in a beach bag while my mom and sister took a walk down the beach just to walk!!!!! Unfortunately the beach bag was completely soaked by the incoming waves. when we got back from our walk. At least I was in My hometown and didn’t worry too much about it until I was informed my regular Dr wasnt there this day and the dr on call would take care of it. He wasn’t in any rush because he didn’t know me and was strange in his behavior and had a very strong odor of alcohol.My mom even drove me there hoping to speed up the process so I wouldnt have to endure such pain and of course any withdrawls.
Needless to say it was on a Friday and I didnt get my medication until the following Tuesday. Back in the hospital with unbearable pain and of course withdrawal. Unbearable withdraws.The ER DR.. stated that my body could easily shut down I was in such bad shape. I’m a hundred pounds but my blood pressure was unbelievably high. He admitted me so I could be monitored and they also got my pain under control with iv pain medicine and the extreme nausea.
3rd and last time
My husband was just transferred to NC from SC with a job promotion. My Oncologist had also moved back to her original country but gave me 3 months supply of all my meds. So I get to NC thinking I’ll have a Dr. lined up in no time and basically it didn’t happen. There were a lot of issues with our new insurance and I couldn’t get anyone to take me and when I couldn’t get the medical attention I so desperately needed and when I went to just a primary Dr. she stated she couldn’t give me the pain meds on a regular base because of new CDC laws but she got my records and quickly wrote the rx. Enough to buy time for her to get me a referal goung with an Oncologist Unfortunately, this Dr turned out to be very slow and after 3 and a half months I I’ve gotten no referrals andanother ER visit. Very tiring!!!! Very costly!!! However I know for a fact that if I had not read this article I wouldn’t be here today. I had already explained to my husband and sisters that my body was tired and I couldn’t take the pain anymore and the vicious cycle the CDC puts on people in CHRONIC PAIN in the new state we moved to was baffeling and never ending. So with that being said…finding this website gave me something to hold on to. Had I only known sooner I could have avoided the hospitals and the waiting in misery. I have just a few days now and I’m getting to see my new team of Oncologist but I know for a FACT I couldn’t have done the ER visit again. I’m terrified of Hospitals, escpecaillly the ER. I did exactly what this website stated but only took the Imodium and although it doesn’t do too much for my destroyed chest cavity and lungs it certainly took everything else away!!!! I can say that with 100percent accuracy because I’ve been through it and know how horrible it is when you’re suffering in pain and to have withdraws on top in my opinion feels deadly, Not taking Imodium. I only wish for anyone for whatever reason that you may be low on your rx or out….either way imodium for withdrawal is a life saver!!! People that want to take it for other reasons are going to get high anyway they can…with or without this man’s helpful post. You stated that you have seen the concequnses of this and I believe you have but it’s usually (more than not) most people die from doing excessive amounts and may just be trying to get a high.More people need to know that they don’t have to suffer through horrific withdrawal and I can see clearly that this forum is just that. Help for someone like me that doesn’t want to be vomiting, dehydrated from that and no one that’s in real pain and very aware of the danger of taking too much will abuse this. Like I stated earlier. Junkies are everywhere and alcohol and heroin would do much worse than imodium. Sorry for the long post. Just so very grateful that the Imodium alone worked for me. I’m forever grateful that this man helped me with his open discussion and gave me hope until my new Oncology appt this week. Now one more thing, in all honesty I will most likely keep the Imodium thing to myself other than sharing to my new Dr. I used some to get through the horrific stomach aches and restless leg syndrome!!! What a miracle. BTW I also have an actual Dr.. that told his story of how Imodium got him off morphine after years on it for a horrible car accident and he told me nonchalantly this ” Oh yes..people have been using imodium for withdrawals for decades ” It’s wonderful if you do it the right and safe way so in my opinion this great forum is done with compassion and help for fellow mankind. So,so very greatful. Can’t say it enough!!! Thank you Matt!!!! Just in case anyone cares or needs to know for any reason….I take 20 mg of the oxycodone Immediate release every 3 hours around the clock. (without the tylenol) although some of the stronger drugs worked better and took the pain away (almost a 1 on a scale of 10 beieng the highest pain imaginable) I chose this one because three different Dr.s explained it was the safest pain medication for me. Being that I would be on it forever. Thank you for listening and good luck to anyone that’s having a rough time. Matt truly knows what he’s talking about. I’m still in absolute amazement. His post is in no way trying to get anyone addicted. He stated clearly what it’s for and sometimes people look at things with a closed mind. Just like some people are going to use anything to get high. Those are the people who are causing all this mess with the CDC. Leaving even the most chronic pain patients having to cut back on their meds.In my opinion it’s no different than telling someone “You can’t have any alcohol because too many people are dying from cerosis of the liver. You can’t have that gun, too many people are abusing them and people are dying everyday from gun shots. You can’t buy that car. It goes too fast and people are crashing everyday and sometimes too often killing someone innocent. You can’t smoke that cigarette because people are dying from them everyday.
Pain and chronic pain should be between a Dr.. And patient. The good Dr.s know who is in pain and they went to medical school for pain management just to have the CDC tell them what they can or can not prescribe when they aren’t even physicians!!! I’m okay because I’m in a normal range and haven’t gone up but I think and truly believe the Imodium can give hope to those that don’t have hope and it works wonders!!!!! Just know what works for you for I’m certainly no Dr..just speaking from personal experience. Listen to Matt, listen to your body and most of all start slow before withdraws begin and you’ll be amazed. Thanks for your time and hoping I help someone get through a rough time with my testimonial.
Live life to the fullest and tell your family how much you love them. No matter what…. now you have hope!!!! Two of the most powerful things….LOVE AND HOPE!!!! Hope for you out there that do it for the wrong reasons trust me it’s worth a try and although everyone is different with body chemistry I still say you’ll see a big difference. The post speak for themselves.
Michelle
I read every comment here and left yours tilll last because it is so long and I saw it had deep personal experience inside it. Whilst I am a little insulted at your opinion of junkies/addicts of which I am one, I feel that I just want to tell you how inspired by your post I am as one of those junkies to get odd my drug heroin. AltHough I will state that like most street drug users i started using for the same reason you did… for pain relief. Although my pain was mental and emotional pain that is the reason for my starting to use an opiate.
Now, your story has inspired me greatly to take the bull by the horns and get this thing done again bit for good this time. Withdrawals are horrific for me but if you can go through what you have and still be standing then I can damn well do this thing and suffer for a couple of weeks in order to reclaim my life.
Truth be told the physical withdrawal for me is hell but it’s the deep dark horrific depression and anxiety that truly stop me from completely withdrawing.
But with the help of matts pages which I’ve read a million times I am now galvanised by your post to do this thing.
I truly hope you are doing as well as is possible and that you can find a good doctor.
Take care and thank you.
Having been addicted to iv heroin for five years and literally reached the rockest of rock bottom’s I can say that I am ready to try anything to get through the wd symptoms that are impossible cold turkey. The tiny chance that I might get addicted to lope amide in the process is something I will take a chance on.
No offence but the whole “it’s illogical to use drugs to get off drugs” is what is taught in NA meetings and I personally know people who have committed suicide after having this drummed into them, that they are not clean if they use something to help with wd. I personally attended a 12 step rehab to come off 2g heroin and 75mg of methadone and the only meds I got were 10mg valium for 3 nights and some anti nausea meds that didn’t work. They had confiscated my loperamide and valerian root upon my arrival. I was suicidal because of the wd and needless to say on my last day in rehab I told the Manger that I knew I was going to relapse as soon as I got home. He told me there was nothing more they could do for me. He assumed that I was a hopeless addict and if the treatment I had thus far received couldn’t help (ie group therapy and 12 step meetings) then I couldn’t be helped. The truth is I just wanted to feel better. I did relapse the next day.
When a person reaches the lowest point in addiction I think that any steps taken to try to get through the nearimpossible withdrawals should be encouraged and it doesn’t help to hear that they are just contiusing their drug seeking behaviour. Most people I’m betting who use anything that’s potentially addictive to get off opiates don’t form a second addiction. Of course some do and they are usually the ones you read about on the Internet because people only ever report on negative experiences.
I am wondering what would have happened 3 years ago if the rehab had given me.more help with the withdrawals. Maybe I wouldn’t have relapsed the very next day? I don’t think I would because I wasn’t looking to get high just to feel well. Withholding comfort meds from opiate addicts in fear of developing an addiction is counterproductive in the extreme. Everyone is different and your experience won’t apply to everyone and I thank God for people like matt who run websites like this that will communicate to desperate people that it is possible to get clean and with otc meds no less.
Sorry for the rant. Feel strongly about this.
I have to agree so so so much with this article. I took Tramadol for 5 years. It completely took over my body, spirit, and mind. I took about 10-15 50mg pills daily towards the very end of my addicition. I did not want any medication to replace my tramadol use, so I wanted to go the OTC route. Loperamide saved me. Taking it in larger doses than what the box instructions called for helped so much. I tapered down slowly from Loperamide and now, after 5 years, I am meds free. I am so thankful I came across this article. It saved me. I may not feel 100 percent normal (like before Tramadol use) after a month, but I am here and slowly but surely making progress. After going through so many difficult withdrawl episodes, I wonder why I had not found this sooner!
Hi Nicole,
I’m so glad to hear about your success story using Loperamide. Thanks for commenting! I’m sure it will help other readers know that it’s possible to mega-dose and have minimal symptoms. Congrats on being meds free. I’m so glad you came across this article too! Take care.
Hi Nicole,
Can you tell me the routine you use for the loperamide? Quantity, how often and how long? I would greatly appreciate it!
this is what I did: take 2 Tagamet (cimetidine) capsules 30-60 before taking 22-24 (2mg each) loperamide. drink it with tonic soda mixed with grapefruit juice every 6-8 hours for 4 weeks.
What happens when you be stop taking lopermide? Ive read all the stories how it helps until the person is able to get a hold of their d.o.c, but what if you want to permanently stop, wont lopermide just delay the w/d? Or do you just taper off the lopermide and have no w/d?
Hi Kim,
Loperamide doesn’t just delay the withdrawal. It is a gentler way of stepping off the opiates with something much weaker. Everyone is biochemically unique. What works for some people may not work for others. I never mega-dosed loperamide, just took enough to stop stomach issues.
Apparently many have used it to stop most of their symptoms with the large doses. They have tapered off and had a smooth, relatively painless transition. I don’t know if this method will work for you. Based on my research it sure seems like it’s worth a shot.
I have taken 20mg of Imodium to try and get off a half gram of smoking black tatr heroin a day. It would work great , taki g it after a night of using so i dont wake up sick. It would last about 2 days with almost no w/d symptoms what so ever. But after the 2 days id use a half gram again. Then repeat that cycle. Ive done this 3 times. Never taking more then 10 pills in a 48 hour period. But i am really scared of getting addicted to Imodium to. I plan very soon when I leave town to do it right and take it then taper down. I just need some advice. and from reading other stories it seems like I’m lucky cause I don’t need any more then 20 mgs and it lasts almost 48 hours. So someone please tell me the right way to do it so I do t get addicted. Thank you
Hi Jordan,
Many people have benefited from using Imodium for 4-7 days or less. Starting to cut the dosage every day starting on day 4 and beyond has worked well for many individuals.
Thank you!
You’re welcome!
Very helpful!! Thank you.
You’re welcome Marie!
What is GFJ for?
GrapeFruit Juice (GFJ) has been used by some to try and push the loperamide through the blood brain barrier.
Wow. Why doesn’t a doctor tell you this.
I’m guessing that many doctors don’t even know about this.
Im no expert and i have not used drugs like heroin… but comparing opiates and loperamide, im guessing opiates are far more addicting than loperamide.
I had a lady at cvs trying to make me not buy tagement sp? and immodium so some people def know whats going on. Im not sure it works 100% for me but it does help… im doing 400mg tag, 30mg lope, 1 glass gfj how long does it usually take for people to feel releif after taking this cocktail? hours?? 30 mins??
30 mins, started yesterday
Hi Matt, I hope I’m not too late to the game here… Have you ever considered using lope one day then kratom the next, and keep alternating? My thoughts are that lope and kratom work in slightly different ways so it would help decrease the chance of switching one addiction for another. My reasoning is that if I took opiates every other day i think it would take A LOT longer to become dependent on said opiate.. Now I haven’t done any research on the half life’s of lope or kratom, but if they’re anything like oxy then it should be metabolized relatively quickly. Thanks in advance!
Never thought of that Brian but the plan sounds cool!
Hello Matt, I’m new to the lope scene. I am coming off of roughly 8 mg of suboxone daily. Today is day 1, just took 24mg of lope. You think it might help?
GFJ is also used WITH opiates- on methadone presciptions particularly, it says “do not take with GFJ”, so of course A LOT of ppl take it WITH Gfj- with claims that the gfj makes the methadone (maybe other opiates?) feel stronger than the usual dose would.
ive been on opiates since 1998 im constantly running out of my norcos I go threw 90 a week I wont lie looking for a buzz that’s not there any more im takeing lope helps a little but not completely don’t kno what to do?
This is to John I personally have to take about 90 loperamide a day but I was on 180 mg methadone a day. Wow I remember having to eat 30 or 40 lorocet 10 just to get out of bed in the morning. Ended up being around 90 a day. It only gets worse from one to another I would take the Imodium and kick the hydro codons.sorry about misspell I wish you well
This is to John I personally have to take about 90 loperamide a day but I was on 180 mg methadone a day. Wow I remember having to eat 30 or 40 lorocet 10 just to get out of bed in the morning. Ended up being around 90 a day. It only gets worse from one to another I would take the Imodium and kick the hydro codons.sorry about misspell I wish you well
Hi Matt
I have been taking anywhere from 40 to 60 mg of oxycodone hcl a day since march 2016, whenI was in an auto accident, i want my life back. Today I bough imoduim ad, tagamat b12 and grapefruit juice. I also have klonopin and muscle relaxers. im 105 lbs exactly what should I take
Hey Elizabeth, I’m glad you decided to get your life back. I am not a doctor but have been through quitting opiates many times (unfortunately) in the last 13 years so maybe I can help. I don’t know if you are still taking oxy or if you have already stopped but if you are still taking at this time I would suggest you plan to only take one dose on your last day but wait as long as you can in the day. Once you start feeling the withdrawals try to hold off taking the Imodium as long as you can. Once you get to the point where you can’t wait any longer start the Imodium. If it were me I would start with 12 mg (6 tabs) and only increase if this dose doesn’t help at all. The point of Imodium isn’t to take all symptoms away but to ease them a little to make it bearable. I would try to wait as long as possible on the klonopin as well as they will help more imo the longer you wait to start them. On Imodium I would only dose two times a day, morning and night, and reduce your dose by one tab each day. Example: day 1 – 6 tabs in evening, day 2 – 5 tabs in morning and 5 tabs in evening, day 3 – 4 tabs in morning and 4 tabs in evening, day 4 – 3 tabs in morning and 3 tabs in evening, day 5 – 2 tabs in morning and 2 tabs in evening. Day 6 you can either continue the taper or just jump from here. I would suggest getting some melatonin to help with sleep as well. You can find this in the vitamin section at basically any drugstore or grocery store. If you want you can also get some dlpa to take during the day only. This will also help make you feel a little more normal. You will likely have to order dlpa online as I have never seen it locally where I live. This is an amino acid found in protein so you will need to take first thing upon waking up before you eat any protein (then wait at least 30 min) for it to help. I hope this helps.
I forgot you mentioned muscle relaxers as well. Depending on which ones you have you can use those to help with sleep. I know Soma works and baclofen can help, flexoril gets mixed reviews, some say it helps and some say it makes rls worse so that one is up to you. Hope this helps.
Hi Matt,
Thank you for helping me get off all my pain meds. I was on oxys for approximately 10 years and now I am off all pills thanks to loperimide, I am clean now for around 35 days.
To think of all the suffering I went through over the years for nothing.
I need one more favor; being off all the pain meds has left me with restless legs at night and a lack of energy.
What can you recommend ?
And thank you to all the posters on this site for helping me achieve a miracle.
Hi Frank, I’m sorry you’re experiencing those lingering symptoms but I absolutely applaud you for your 35 days off pain meds! Great job! I’m going to post two articles that will answer your exact questions. Take care my friend:
How To Get Your Energy Back After Quitting Opiates>>
How To Stop Restless Legs From Opiate Withdrawal>>
I’m WD from being prescribed 8mg of suboxone for 2 years has anyone had any success? I can’t seem to find anything about it except taking pain pills or H to get off subs,and I’m not going that route did it before and just went back to H and here I am in this viscous cycle. Im dumb and bought about a gram of speed thinking I can still go to work and hopefully just speed through these 14 + days of withdrawal… I know this is years later but hopefully someone will reply with some help
Brianna, I know what you are going through and it is a tough road ahead. Unfortunately it is difficult coming off suboxone after long term use. Have you considered trying kratom or this loperamide taper to help through the first few weeks? I don’t think speed is your best bet to get through however, if I’m honest did use coke to come off one time and it did help get through the first bit but coming off that was still a pain. There is a book called End Your Addiction Now by dr Gant that is worth reading imo. You can get a used copy on eBay for just a few dollars. Also, have you asked your suboxone doc about prescribing Clonidine for you and maybe something to help you sleep like a benzo or muscle relaxer? There is also gabapentin they can prescribe that should help ease withdrawal for a bit but it can be hard to sleep for a little while coming off it so it’s a trade off. I hope something here helps you. Check out Matt’s other articles here as well and keep us posted on your progress if you can.
Loprimide saved my life. I am clean now about three months after being on about 100 mgs of oxy for over ten years. But I had to take 60 mgs of Lope to kill 90 percent of the ads.
Getting my energy back took a while but supplements helped.
And still even today I sometimes get heat flashes and sweating but I can take 20 mgs of loprimide and I am fine. So don’t be afraid, just stay hydrated and also Gatorade type drinks help. I still can’t believe that I did it. And yes the triggers still pop up.
Frank, I’m glad lope helped you to get freedom from opiates. Keep strong my friend. I did want to put a warning out to others reading this though. You should start on a low dose of loperamide and work up until you find what works for you. Everyone has a different tolerance level so what works for one may make another od so be careful. Work up slowly to find what works for you then start your taper off. Just wanted to mention that disclaimer. Frank, I hope you continue to do well and have a wonderful life free of opiates.
I did a quick taper from suboxone 16 mg after long term use. I wouldn’t say it was fun but it really didn’t seem that bad because of the half-life. I really didn’t use much except Benadryl at night. The mental stuff is the hard part for me. Having said that I I recently ruptured my Achilles and after using ultram and Percocet for pain I’m trying this method and it’s fantastic.
Thanks for the feedback Gen. you are right, the mental part can make it worse than it base to be. If you go online and read all the struggles others have had it can make it far worse than it has to be. I like to read all of the success stories before tapering off, makes for a much easier ride, but still not fun. I hope everything goes well for you during your taper Gen. Post back here if you would like with your progress
Hi Matt,
I’m not sure why no one has posted in years but I am on day two of being opiate free. I’m very excited about it. I did 50 mg of loprimide every 12 hours and I have no withdrawal symptoms. Just very tired.
I’m not sure how to taper down but I will try to go down ten mg per day.
Thank you Matt and to all the posters on this site. Today is Sunday and by next Sunday I hope to be off all pills. I can’t imagine that yet. Thanks again.
Hey, Frank. I think that’s great you are coming off opiates. Loperamid is a great tool to do so if used properly. As far as tapering, there is no wrong way to do it except that you must commit to it. The fast taper you mentioned will work and some choose a slower taper. Neither is wrong but you must decide what you will commit to do. The short taper will be over quicker getting you to your goal quicker. Be tough during this process and keep reminding yourself that your are almost finished. Just push this this week to opiate freedom. Please keep us posted here if you can.
Hi Jeff,
Tomorrow is day four without opiates and I have never done this before. I’m very tired all day.
What do you think will happen if I stayed on Lupe for around 8 days and just stopped? Will the opiate withdrawals come on? I think it is safer to taper down on the Lupe and then quit. Agreed?
I do agree that tapering is a smoother transition. I would suggest getting some Melatonin (available otc in vitamin section) to help with sleep during the taper. If you have access to prescription meds I would try to get clonidine to take as well or maybe a benzo or strong muscle relaxer to help sleep (be careful not to trade one addiction for another though). If you can’t get prescription meds there are some otc herbs that can help with sleep too. I am happy to share if you would like. Being your first time getting off opiates it may not be as bad as what you read online (of course it depends on which opiate you were taking, what dose, and length of time). Pleas ask if you have any more questions. Unfortunately (for me) I have been through this many times so I may can offer some knowledge. I do envy you, this being your first time stopping, if I could go back to my first time I would never touch opiates again. It’s just not worth it. Hope this helps.
I also wanted to mention getting DLPA for when you jump off lope. It is an amino acid found in protein but if you take it as a supplement it can help greatly. Matt has several articles here that mention it as well. It can be purchased online or locally if you can find it. I didn’t see it at most local stores so ordered online. I have tried a few brands and all seem to work. The least expensive I have tried is swansons 500mg caps and you can take up to 2000 mg three times a day if needed while coming off opiates according to Dr Gant in his book ‘End your addiction now’. Start with 500mg and work your way up. Take for a few weeks or however long you need to, up to a few months. DLPA is not an opiate, it simply supplies your brain with this necessary amino acid to help speed up the repair process (see Matt’s article here or the book mentioned above for an in depth description). Hope this helps.
I like how Matt’s profile says “former” ADDICT. Awesome !!!!!—
Glad you like that! That’s how I feel about it. I got addicted to drugs, they screwed up my life and I almost died from an overdose, then I turned my life around and got really healthy and changed my identity. 🙂
Hey Matt–
I’ve been on opioids for a good 10 years and decided I too also decided to get my life back. Someone recommended Methodone, which was obvious not a good choice for me. After a year of being on Methodone, I tapered off (withdrawal was 2 days of hell) when I switched to suboxone. Unfortunately, my Dr has kept me on it for about 3 years. Ive since switched Drs (due to insurance) and the new Dr is fast tracking me to get off completely. Even though I know this is a good thing and it’s definitely time, I’m just freaking out a little. It is a lot of mental anxiety, but Ive taken a weeks vacation starting yesterday to come off completely and it’s really tough. I took 1mg yesterday as my last dose. Ive been reading these posts about B12 supplements and Tagamet with Loperamide and purchased some today. Do you have any recommendations for me for the next few days? I don’t want to trade one addiction for the other but at the same time WD hurts and I’m only 1 day in it.
I truly want to be dependent free and live a normal life. I’m also taking the clonidine morning and night to help.
I just did research on myself, after years of not trying it. I took 4 mg of tagamet with 8 ounces of white grapefruit juice and 40 mg of loperamide HCL. I got a pretty strong opioid euphoria and pain relief. What’s more…it lasted for a very long time, all day in fact.
I can see how some people could become addicted to this, as it was very strong and totally passed the blood brain barrier. I’ve heard from so many people that love this method to come off opiates. Be very careful if you use this method, and talk to your doctor first as I can’t give medical advice. You might also want to try using just loperamide without the extra stuff. It’s much safer that way. I couldn’t quite believe how euphoric I became from the tagamet grapefruit juice method. It was kind of nasty and I prefer the natural kratom plant to this chemical, but everyone is different. Best of luck to you.
Hey. Your story sounds all to familiar. I’m glad to hear you are getting off opiates after so many years. Please post your progress if you have the energy. The clonidine will definetly help so take it a couple times a day and get plenty of rest. If you can excersize is great during this time as well since it releases endorphins that will help withdrawal symptoms. Also check out Matt’s article here about coming off suboxone, it has great info in it in great detail. Pick up some melatoninto help with sleep (found in any grocery or drug store in the vitamin section). If I were you I would also order some DLPA from online and take it in the mornings to help with energy and reduce symptoms some as well. I have never found DLPA locally myself, that’s why I suggested ordering online. I got swansons brand but there are many that are just as good as long as it’s a reputable company. I hope the best for you during this time my friend. Please post any questions or concerns, we will be glad to help if we can.
Thanks Jeff–
Here’s my progress…I’m now on my third day off Suboxone and what a ride the past two days were. I did go with everyone’s suggestions and took 10 Loperamides, 2 Tagamets and grapefruit juice in the Morning and at night for both days and it was almost an immediate help with alot of my symptoms. The uncomfortableness, irritableness, jumping out of my skin feeling didn’t go away so I dealt with it for two days. My third day has been so much better…. If had to say anything to anyone coming off opiates…it’s brutal– not going to lie, but Ive been trying to eat healthy and force myself to get up and go outside and move around as much as I can. I cried myself to sleep with melatonin and Benadryl, but I made it thru. For me, my third day wasn’t as intense and now I’m focusing on trying to get my energy back. It’s tough. My body hurts. And I’m very weak and tired. I know in the end I will feel so much better being dependent free but it’s going to take time to get there. Fifteen years of my life I’ve struggled with this addiction which started so innocently from a medical condition. I’m ready to be over this. I want to thank everyone on here for your touching stories. I honestly don’t think I could’ve made it thru without hearing these testimonies and reading these articles. I still have a long road ahead but I pray every day that God will walk me thru this.
Thanks for letting me share.
Thanks Matt–
One more question—
It’s been so long since I’ve been free of medication. Can you recommend any articles that would help me know what to expect after the initial detox? It’s a scary thing not knowing how my body will react in the days ahead. I have purchased some Kratom that will arrive soon hoping this will help.
My pleasure Stephanie. And I recommend reading my article on PAWS that will show you what to expect after the initial detox.
How To Stop Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome From Opiates>>
Matt (and Jeff)—I think what you are doing here is really awesome!! I have been so terrified these past few days with really nowhere to turn. My family and close friends don’t really understand this struggle I’m in so it’s very hard to talk about what I’m feeling and how I’m feeling. Although they have been great, you guys and this site–reading everyone’s struggle and success stories– is really helping me get thru this. I appreciate you guys so so much. I know I have a long road ahead still and I just want to say thank you!!!
#fightingthefighttorecovery
How can I contribute to the cause for helping others?? Donations??
Hi Stephanie,
Thank you! I’m glad this site and the comments by Jeff are helping, as well as reading everyone’s struggle and success stories. This is a nice place to come and get information and support. Glad you found this site, and I appreciate your warmth and for taking the time to leave such a loving comment. Stay in touch! And how can you contribute? By commenting you have contributed! You have added tremendous value to this forum with your words of warmth! 🙂
Thank you for the kind words Stephanie. Matt has built a great site here that helps many have the knowledge and courage to beat opiates. I hope you have a good day and continue doing well.
Thank you for sharing, it will help others down the road. I’m glad day 3 wasn’t as bad as the first 2 days for you and I hope it gets better soon. Try to think of how great it will be once you are past all of this and use that to stay strong during the tough days (that helps me anyways). Hope to hear from you as you progress. 🙂
Ok. I’ve been off subs since May 7th. I suffered for the first 2 days although tagament loperamide and gfj helped tremendously. The third day I felt that I could cope a little so that Friday I went camping still extremely fatigued and a weird lightheaded feeling. After the weekend I went back to work for 2 days. I was really trying to push myself to get thru the day and then it happened. I woke up the next day with my heart racing, trembling, fever spiked and threw up twice so I called my dr. They immediately told me to go to the er so they could monitor my heart for 2 days. Nothing was wrong I just had severe anxiety so they put me buspirone which then made my focus go haywire with extreme dizzy spells and a terrible headache. I’ve been out of work for 3 weeks.
I’m sharing this not to scare anybody, but to give you the reality of what’s happening. It’s different for everyone and This is not a joke. It’s a horrible experience. Everyday I am forcing my self to get up and move around, but I just cannot stay focused. I cry myself to sleep // if I sleep// Wondering if there will be light at the end of this. I’ve read, I’ve researched and now I’m just trying to wait it out. I want so bad to feel normal again and nobody understands What I’m going thru right now. I’m walking in a freaking cloud.
So please…..I need reassurance that this will get better or is this all for nothing. I’m afraid I’m going to lose my job. My very good job that I’ve worked so hard to get and I love. I have no desire to do anything anymore.
I have been praying everyday. I am starting to go to celebrate recovery with my church twice a week. Hopefully starting with a sponsor that I so desperately need.
I don’t consider myself a drug addict, although drs make me feel that way. I am a good person dealt a bad hand in life and now I’m just trying to survive.
I admit I am very depressed right now….But I have no desire to use or take my life. I have to believe this gets better. And I hope soon because I can’t stand this anymore.
I’m taking 80mg of prozac, 15mg of buspirone, .1 clonidine twice a day, and trazadone at night with melatonin. What is your thoughts on these. Not sure I trust my doctors right now.
And kratom which is a huge help–scared to think it could ever be worse than this.
Thanks for letting me share this with everyone… If I could say anything to anyone going thru this….I will pray for u!! Please Stay positive but know it’s going to be a tough road ahead. When the magic happens for me I will repost hopefully with great and positive news. Just Know what to expect, prepare for it, take advice from the ones who have been thru it and know that it’s ok to get help from someone. You are not alone. And try to stay positive as much as u can!!!
Hello All
Today was a good day. Since my last note, Ive changed Drs again and he changed my prescription to Effexor instead of Prozac for depression and Remeron to sleep at night and has kept me on Buspar for anxiety. It was still tough to get used to for about a week or so, but today is a good day and I feel ok. I know from here I will have my ups and downs. I just feel different without taking subs or pain meds and It’s very hard to except and cope with it mentally and psychologically but I am starting to feel better every day. It’s like I’m having to retrain myself, retrain my brain, to feel better about my life and that is hard. I let these drugs take control over me completely. And not one person in my life who hasn’t experienced true addiction can really understand what thats like.
Everybody experiences recovery differently and what works for some may not work for others. One thing I can say is that I will be a better person for the decisions I’ve made and although I do experience a ton of regrets in my life I know that I will be ok. And there is still a purpose for me.
This website has been very helpful in many ways with a ton of information that really helps you understand what your body and mind are going thru. It’s helped me to express my experience in hopes to encourage others to do the same.
It’s been exactly 30 days today. What an emotional, painful, draining experience it has been for me but I feel good today. Not 100%, but it it’s a start.
And it’s absolutely better than the stress of Having to take pain meds that destroy your life every single day.
Steph, so glad to hear you have made it 30 days opiate free. That is a huge accomplishment in itself. Glad to hear you had a good day yesterday as well, I hope today is even better for you. And you are certainly correct in that we have to retrain our brain during recovery. We are all different and all look at opiates differently but to me they always gave me motivation and cured my anxiety to get through the day but they also bring a misery to life because of the addiction. we must all retrain our thinking process during recovery and never forget the misery that opiates bring. It’s to easy to think back only remembering the good parts and consider relapse but we cannot forget the misery far outweighs the positive with opiates. Steph, I hope you continue doing well. Stay strong and keep us posted on your progress.
I think it’s very empowering to say former addict. I don’t like the whole na/aa mantra saying once an addict always an addict and that we are powerless. If this were true addiction would have such a hold on us that it wouldn’t even be possible to release out for help or even try to detox.
I think it’s entirely possible to recover from addiction and I believe that once on is in recovery it is possible to have a life that is better than before addiction because IME preaddicon I suffered from awful depression and anxiety but what I have experienced depression and anxiety wise since opiate addiction makes the previous depression look like a walk in the park. Once escaped from addiction I think one would really appreciate small things like waking up in the morning feeling well and wanting to eat breakfast or just rolling over and feeling the cosiness of the bed which are impossible during opiate addiction. At least that’s how I felt during my few months clean. It was great. Why on earth did I go back? If I get clean again I definitely won’t be going back again that’s for sure.
Hi Kerry,
Thank you. I think it’s empowering as well. I took physical substances (drugs), which affected a physical organ (brain), that resulted in serious chemical imbalances. I stopped taking drugs, used exercise, nutrition, supplements, and personal growth, and now I’m a totally different person. I don’t crave drugs, I love my life, and I’m simply a person that used to be addicted to drugs…who got really healthy in body, mind, and spirit, and now I feel better and live an awesome life.
I’m an infinite soul housed in a miracle body powered by a super-computer brain…and how am I supposed to believe that a pill or chunk of heroin is MORE powerful than that? I don’t think so…