The~Quinty~One
07-18-2007, 10:56 AM
Hi Everyone,
I've taken quite a few opiates in my time but at present I'm using the small amounts of codeine available in OTC products from the pharmacy. I combine a paracetamol-based preparation called Paramol with an ibuprofen-based one called Nurofen Plus, and together they contain the equivalent of ~50mg codeine. I started using these after quitting high dose clonazepam last year 'cause they helped a little with the depression and rebound anxiety.
I've taken them for nearly a year now and of course tolerance has developed. Now I hardly feel any effect at all. Also, I seem to have developed an NSAID-induced ulcer of some sort from the ibuprofen and my doctor has given me a month's supply of the proton pump inhibitor lansoprazole to allow it to heal. So I've been trying to come off them.
Last week I woke up feeling really low and grotty after quitting cold turkey for a few days. I had no codeine in the house but looking through my drug cupboard I found an old packet of Mirapex (pramipexole). I remembered that pramipexole seemed to ease my withdrawal symptoms back in March when I ran out of codeine, but at the time, although the idea that dopamine agonists might help opiate withdrawal symptoms made logical and intuitive sense to me, I thought this might just have been be a fluke. So opened the box and split off a 0.125mg dose and made my breakfast.
It didn't take long to feel the effect, within twenty minutes I felt warm and fuzzy with a tremendous sense of wellbeing. I went and put on some music and danced freely to it - that's not like me at all and a complete change from the hunched-over ball of suffering I'd been just minutes before. Obviously I considered if this was a placebo effect, but I've taken many psych meds and never felt a response like this even when I was expecting great things - well to honest the only drugs that met or exceeded my expectations have been opiates and benzos.
So I went on the net and searched for info and dopamine agonists and opiate withdrawal. This seems to be an intelligent and well-read forum so I guess many of you will be familiar with the story of William S. Burroughs' apomorphine 'cure' under the care of Doctor John Yerbury Dent? Well I was not until that point, but of course many things now fall into place. As I said, it seemed logical and intuitive to me that dopamine agonists might attenuate withdrawal symptoms from opiates and other drugs of abuse, so I'm sure other people familiar with these drugs will have had the same idea.
For that reason I'm puzzled as to why dopamine agonists have not become part of mainstream drug withdrawal treatment. One site I found in my search was this interesting account of Dr. Dent's apomorphine cure, and correspondence with William Burroughs himself: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Crete/9445/apo.html. I'm in the process of writing up my account for the lady who runs the webpage and I'm wondering if anyone else here has had similar experiences, or any ideas as to why dopamine agonists are not in widespread use?
The initial euphoria from pramipexole faded within a few days, so I'm inclined to think that this was more a feeling of relief than drug-induced euphoria per se. Still it makes me feel good, but more in the way your Prozac (or maybe Lamictal - pramipexole has shown robust effects as a mood stabilizer in bipolar disorder) makes you feel 'good' when it works - the pain has gone away and life is more bearable, you're not high - but you're stable and content and able to cope. This is what pramipexole has done for me.
I've taken quite a few opiates in my time but at present I'm using the small amounts of codeine available in OTC products from the pharmacy. I combine a paracetamol-based preparation called Paramol with an ibuprofen-based one called Nurofen Plus, and together they contain the equivalent of ~50mg codeine. I started using these after quitting high dose clonazepam last year 'cause they helped a little with the depression and rebound anxiety.
I've taken them for nearly a year now and of course tolerance has developed. Now I hardly feel any effect at all. Also, I seem to have developed an NSAID-induced ulcer of some sort from the ibuprofen and my doctor has given me a month's supply of the proton pump inhibitor lansoprazole to allow it to heal. So I've been trying to come off them.
Last week I woke up feeling really low and grotty after quitting cold turkey for a few days. I had no codeine in the house but looking through my drug cupboard I found an old packet of Mirapex (pramipexole). I remembered that pramipexole seemed to ease my withdrawal symptoms back in March when I ran out of codeine, but at the time, although the idea that dopamine agonists might help opiate withdrawal symptoms made logical and intuitive sense to me, I thought this might just have been be a fluke. So opened the box and split off a 0.125mg dose and made my breakfast.
It didn't take long to feel the effect, within twenty minutes I felt warm and fuzzy with a tremendous sense of wellbeing. I went and put on some music and danced freely to it - that's not like me at all and a complete change from the hunched-over ball of suffering I'd been just minutes before. Obviously I considered if this was a placebo effect, but I've taken many psych meds and never felt a response like this even when I was expecting great things - well to honest the only drugs that met or exceeded my expectations have been opiates and benzos.
So I went on the net and searched for info and dopamine agonists and opiate withdrawal. This seems to be an intelligent and well-read forum so I guess many of you will be familiar with the story of William S. Burroughs' apomorphine 'cure' under the care of Doctor John Yerbury Dent? Well I was not until that point, but of course many things now fall into place. As I said, it seemed logical and intuitive to me that dopamine agonists might attenuate withdrawal symptoms from opiates and other drugs of abuse, so I'm sure other people familiar with these drugs will have had the same idea.
For that reason I'm puzzled as to why dopamine agonists have not become part of mainstream drug withdrawal treatment. One site I found in my search was this interesting account of Dr. Dent's apomorphine cure, and correspondence with William Burroughs himself: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Crete/9445/apo.html. I'm in the process of writing up my account for the lady who runs the webpage and I'm wondering if anyone else here has had similar experiences, or any ideas as to why dopamine agonists are not in widespread use?
The initial euphoria from pramipexole faded within a few days, so I'm inclined to think that this was more a feeling of relief than drug-induced euphoria per se. Still it makes me feel good, but more in the way your Prozac (or maybe Lamictal - pramipexole has shown robust effects as a mood stabilizer in bipolar disorder) makes you feel 'good' when it works - the pain has gone away and life is more bearable, you're not high - but you're stable and content and able to cope. This is what pramipexole has done for me.