Opiate withdrawal is not at all a pleasant experience, but some simple home remedies can help you ease the withdrawal symptoms that you are likely to experience when you decide to do away with your dependence on these drugs.
You need not abuse drugs like heroin or morphine to get addicted to opiates, even dependence on prescribed medications with opiate derivatives, like oxycodone and hydrocodone, can result in severe addiction to them. With time, this addiction tends to become severe, and getting rid of it becomes all the more difficult. It is this severity of the symptoms that makes many people give up on their resolve to quit opiates. In such circumstances, easing the severity of symptoms can be of great help, and that can be done by resorting to some simple home remedies which work on these symptoms.
Effective Home Remedies for Opiate Withdrawal
Going cold turkey is something which many people recommend, but that’s not at all a sane option if you take into consideration the severity of withdrawal symptoms associated with it. In such circumstances, a wise option is to slowly taper down on the dose over a few days, before you completely give up. The lower the dose, less severe will be the symptoms and less difficult will be the withdrawal process. That being said, you will have to completely withdraw from opiates at some point of time, and that’s the time when the withdrawal symptoms will begin surfacing – though they won’t be as severe as they would have been had you opted for the cold turkey method
It may come as a surprise for many, but you can resort to some ingredients that are readily available at home to tackle the symptoms of opiate withdrawal. When it comes to detoxification of opiates, or some other toxic substance for that matter, from your body, water is undoubtedly the best bet. You will have to drink a lot of water from the very day that you stop taking these drugs. It won’t just help you in detoxification (flush out opiates), but will also make sure that you don’t get dehydrated – the chances of which are quite high in this scenario considering that you are continuously vomiting. If you can’t drink plain water, you can resort to electrolyte solution instead. At the same time, a diet consisting of green/red vegetables and fruits rich in vitamin C is also useful when it comes to detoxification.
A simple measure which can help you do away with nausea and vomiting associated with opiate withdrawal is ginger root extract. At the same time, you will also suffer from sleep disorders (such as insomnia) during the withdrawal period. In this case, you can resort to Valerian root extract with its sleep inducing property. At the same time, even fenugreek and chamomile tea can help in easing sleep disorders that you are likely to experience in course of withdrawal. Similarly, tea made from dried leaves of passion flower is also known to be helpful when it comes to relief from such withdrawal symptoms. On the other hand, lemon balm can also come handy as it is known to reduce heart palpitations associated with withdrawal.
Alongside these remedies, you can also resort to some medications to ensure that the withdrawal process is a smooth sail. Clonidine, buprenorphine and trimethobenzamide are some withdrawal medications that can be used to reduce the severity of symptoms. You need to make sure that you don’t give in to cravings while opiates are being flushed out of your system. (Please note that the medications enlisted here are only for the reference purpose, and shouldn’t be used without consulting a doctor.)
Other than these natural remedies and medication, even your will-power will have a crucial role to play in helping you get rid of this addiction. You are bound to feel restless when you are going through this withdrawal phase, and therefore opting for some activity which will help you be relaxed would be a good idea. Though the cases are rare, opiate withdrawal can also result in life-threatening condition at times, and therefore it’s wise to consult a doctor before you opt for the same.
