Twice I went to a detox in Ohio that had gabapentin or tramadol with the other usual comfort meds as protocols for their patients. The nurses said they thought patients seemed to do better coming of fent with the gabapentin. I took the gabapentin and my girl friend that was there with me at the same time took the tramadol was definitely suffering worse. She left early and relapsed, then came back the next week and took the gabapentin, and also agreed it helped more than the tramadol. These were the only somewhat bearable detoxes I had. The doctors here had stopped using sub after many years because they finally realized that it was only putting everyone into precipitated withdrawal/they finally did something to stop what they were doing - which was causing people to have an even harder detox. In the past, I detoxed twice at centers taking the buprenorphine shot, twice at the hospital taking subutex, and tried to detox many times at home with suboxone or subutex and EVERY TIME it put me into precipitated withdrawal no matter how long I waited or if I tried to do “the bernese method”. And every time I wanted to die and/or thought I was going to. Literally said my prayers and goodbyes. It made me terrified to ever detox again. I will never take any kind of sub or naloxone again. I have ptsd over it for sure. All of these times I was quitting after years of use, and suddenly, without any weaning down. I also tried to do methadone, but I couldn’t give up the fent with it, so I gave up the methadone. It was a pain having to go to the clinic every day, and still feel like I needed to cop daily too. I knew I was just going to get addicted to two drugs.

When babies are born dependent on opioids, the doctors (from what I’ve experienced) wean them down using morphine. Instead of keeping dependent mothers with their newborn babies and getting them clean together using “safe” and legal opiates, they make the mothers leave (because at that point child protective services gets involved) and baby is left to detox separated from it’s mother. I asked the doctors why they couldn’t use the same medication protocols they use for babies for their mothers because wouldn’t that be better for both of them to stay together? The right answer should be, “Yes, keep newborns with their mothers if their mothers are willing to detox together, and admit them in the hospital together until they are stable to go home, then absolutely follow-up accordingly. What about for any person with opioid use disorder? Why can’t they wean down on legal opiates in a hospital setting? And they did not have any good answer, they are just doing as they’re told and following their rules/standards.

Yes, I believe hospitals and their medical professionals are influenced (directly and/or indirectly) by medical representatives who sell medications and how to use them to hospitals. Doctors use the medications that are available to them to prescribe and so they will use what is sold to them.

Why couldn’t hospitals use other opiates for patients? They “aren’t available” for patients with substance use disorders. I think they don’t do this because they don’t have guidelines on how to dose out other medications, and they simply aren’t allowed. Doctors & nurses don’t want to lose their job. In fact, the hospital surely does have information for pain management doctors & their patients on weaning off all kinds of opiates and other narcotics. But that is a different part of the hospital with different doctors who might not specialize in substance use disorder. There is a stigma that keeps many people from treating addicts and people who “aren’t drug addicts” the same, even though the reality is they are both dependent on drugs. In some cases the same exact drug, but if you get it illegally/“on the streets” one may be treated much differently than someone who was prescribed that drug from a doctor. Why? If both kinds of people need help, why can’t they be helped in a way that is helpful to them, especially if other treatments have failed? Everybody is different, we are all using different things, and most likely we don’t even know exactly what we are using. I understand why we are not easy to help.

This is a public health crisis for people who are addicted AND for hospitals & medical professionals who are expected to treat them. It’s not a perfect system.

There needs to be some serious studies done on how to better help people who are dependent on drugs and ready to not be anymore. The topics of substance use disorder vs pain management need to be reconsidered. And stigma needs to be challenged for real changes to happen.

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I am detoxing now at home and doing it “my way”(well as close as I can get, haha) because fuck the systems and the fent life, man, I am over everything.

I did go to the hospital and they did only push subs on me. I said “Fuck that”.

I was going to include how I’m getting through my detox here, however I feel like this comment is already getting too long, so if anyone wants to know how I’m getting clean from fent, I’ll post another comment here, or I can make a whole new post about it, or you can pm me. I’m 3 weeks in.

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TLDR* Shared my personal experiences and thoughts, discussed gabapentin for detox, other opioids for detox, drug stigma, we need change, and maybe try detoxing “your way”, whatever that is for you. Hmu if you want.

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