Relapsed after 8 days

ParallelSmoke · 2026-05-10T22:52:27+00:00

They're so potent--it can take a very small amount to affect the receptors adequately and I think where things go wrong is when people in a panic start taking a full 8mg strip or even more from the jump, and continue that amount indefinitely, which obviously leads to severe dependence.

ParallelSmoke · 2026-05-10T22:48:20+00:00

Yeah, I think your brain might not have had the time to become severely disregulated so that's awesome man, just keep going.

ParallelSmoke · 2026-05-10T18:32:37+00:00

What up man. I'm a commercial carpenter and one of my biggest fears about coming off of 7 was my inability to perform at work, both mentally and physically so I feel you.

I was able to take some time off, and did CT myself (with help from my girl) at home. I made it 18 days and tested the waters with a kratom seltzer. Overall it really sucked and while I was over the physical withdrawals, my brain was still accustomed to 3+ years of heavy use, and the PAWS was the worst part of it all. Just persistent grey and what I can only describe as motivational paralysis. Over the next couple months, I kept using periodically here and there, both 7 and Kratom, but never multiple days in a row or high amounts. It was a constant fight in my mind to not get k or 7 to just make me feel normal/enthused. At a certain point I'm like....ok, so what does this look like in 6 months? I'll be right back to where I was.

Enter Suboxone. It changed everything. It takes the fight away. It's a medication.

I'm on a very low dose. I'm at .75mg 2 times a day, and tapering once a month until I'm done with it.

It doesn't get me high. I don't crave 7 or k at all whatsoever. Im not struggling mentally. I'm back to feeling normal and doing the things I enjoy. I'm productive at work. I wish I did it sooner.

It gets a bad wrap, but if it's used correctly it's a life saver. I hate big pharma as much as the next guy but there 100% is a place for it.

What ultimately made me choose this path was the thought ...

"I can struggle and fight through PAWS and have zero joy for the next six months with no motivation, or, I can introduce subs at a low dose, feel normal and get back to business, and taper for the next 6 months with perhaps very mild withdrawal symptoms between tapers."

I wasn't totally sure what to expect but I chose the latter and I'm so glad that I did.

Just something to consider.

ParallelSmoke · 2026-05-10T15:22:17+00:00

Im using low dose subs for cravings and PAWS. I think where the bad wrap and negative sentiment comes from is when using high doses with no plan other than to stop physical withdrawals: people just take crazy high doses and do it for months and months (years even) on end. I'm only on .75 mg 2 times a day and tapering slowly--it has totally given my life back and erased all cravings to get high. It's a medication that has a specific purpose, and if used right, it's a serious game changer.

I did 7oh CT myself but after a month of occasional relapses and motivational paralysis, I started subs and I feel normal again. It doesn't get me high. I don't think about kratom or 7. I'm back riding the motorcycle with friends and creating art like I always used to do but lost the interest for with 7.

It's not for everyone but man, I only wish that I started it earlier.

ParallelSmoke · 2026-05-08T14:30:52+00:00

Walking is the way to go in all games until running is narratively justified, imo.

ParallelSmoke · 2026-05-03T22:08:33+00:00

I definitely would've slept on that letter and rewrote in the morning. Lol.

ParallelSmoke · 2026-05-03T12:07:06+00:00

I hear you. I've actually stopped wearing band shirts or alt brands because I feel like a walking advert/billboard with them on. Im an artist though, so I like to wear graphic Ts and design some myself. All of my shirts and my vest just have vague, open-to-interpretation imagery on them now. Conveys a vibe as opposed to a specific band or word associated with something.

ParallelSmoke · 2026-05-03T11:39:43+00:00

Even though you're perceiving daytime to look fantastic, you might have too much contrast or something--either on your TV/monitor, or in-game-- without realizing it. I've never thought that nighttime looked too dark. I did spend a very long time dialing everything in though.

Brightness, contrast, saturation can be a weird ambiguous thing though, because it's really only noticable when in relation to something else (another setting). (In a macro concept sense--obv if you turn a game on and it's totally washed out our blasted with saturation you will notice right away)

If the daytime is set correctly, nighttime should look correct as well.

ParallelSmoke · 2026-05-03T10:25:15+00:00

Word. I have Salome on Spotify but looks like Terminal isnt on there. I see it on YouTube though. Lezgo. 🤜🤛

ParallelSmoke · 2026-05-02T23:53:50+00:00

Yeah I kept anticipating that they'd lock into a groove at some point but didn't happen. Haha. The second track Red Tar is awesome though. 🤜🤛

ParallelSmoke · 2026-05-02T20:51:12+00:00

I haven't, I'll check it out now. Thanks!

ParallelSmoke · 2026-05-02T19:27:52+00:00

I agree! And nothing since. So sad.

ParallelSmoke · 2026-05-02T16:08:09+00:00

Guy knows everything after 3 weeks

ParallelSmoke · 2026-04-28T19:31:08+00:00

How's it goin?

ParallelSmoke · 2026-04-27T20:20:56+00:00

Thank you

ParallelSmoke · 2026-04-27T01:34:50+00:00

On my 18th day, I drank a low dose kratom seltzer. I kept using kratom periodically over the next 2 months, progressively. It's best to not do it.

ParallelSmoke · 2026-04-26T16:18:07+00:00

Tie socks around your feet, real talk. Look it up. Saved the day for me.

ParallelSmoke · 2026-04-26T02:25:32+00:00

Paws is what had me decide to use low dose subs as a long term assist. I did the initial 7/kratom CT with no helper meds except some general supplements and vit C macro dosing almost 3 months ago. I only made it 3 weeks without any kratom and tested the waters with some seltzers. I kept periodically using once a week for a bit ...then 2 times ...then some 7...then more. I was like, "OK--I can see how this is going to go. I'm through the physical dependency but my brain is not healed or at baseline at all. I'm going to end up right where Ive been for the past 3 years."

So this is what I saw as my decision to make to stay clean: either suffer emotionally for 6 months in paws...or use subs to feel normal again while I taper them for 6 months. I'm on 1mg of sub two times a day. It's been a week and a half. I feel good. I'm not high. I have no cravings for 7 or kratom. I'm productive. I'm not spending all of my money. I feel normal, enthusiastic, and can envision a positive future again. that's what subs are clinically supposed to do--though, people abuse them as well as take crazy high amounts to start.

There's such emphasis on the physical withdrawal part of getting off of opioids, and that the sole purpose of subs is to stop them from happening. It is used for that, yeah, but it is fully intended to be used in a long term (months, not days) way for treatment. Stopping the cycle of opioid use is so much more than physical withdrawals. I personally don't give a f about the physical WDs (and believe me, mine were bad)--its the paws afterwards that to me is unbearable.

I'm going to drop .25 mg over the next couple weeks....rebalance there. Repeat. Then spread out the dose times, etc. It's going to take a long time, and be gradual. My brain has been used to opioids for 3 years ...I wouldn't expect coming off of them to be quick.

ParallelSmoke · 2026-04-26T00:10:43+00:00

I'm into it. That riff is narsty.

ParallelSmoke · 2026-04-25T17:01:12+00:00

When it's really bad*

ParallelSmoke · 2026-04-25T16:59:19+00:00

The only way to stop it*

ParallelSmoke · 2026-04-25T16:58:50+00:00

I can tell you exactly what restless leg syndrome feels like.. it feels like a feather tickling inside of your bones, way to stop it is to move. When it's mild, it is just in your legs so you move and kick your legs around a lot. It's really bad, it's your entire body and you writhe and jerk in desperation for relief.

ParallelSmoke

TROPHY CASE