MovieChat Forums > Sober House (2009) Discussion > How long does 'dope sick' last?

How long does 'dope sick' last?

posted 14 years ago by BlackDog123
17 replies | jump to latest

I don't know all that much about heroin - not really my choice of poison, lol. How long do withdrawals last? I thought it was 48 to 72 hours for the physical effects. How could Mike still be withdrawing after all this time? Especially if he's taking an opiate derivative to help him with his symptoms?

Or was he on something else? I heard Oxycontin withdrawals last for about 5 days. But still, it's been at least 2 weeks since he used!

"We die as we dream ... alone." - Joseph Conrad

[–] Dragon000 14 years ago

I already commented on the phrase "dope sick" in another thread. You are right about the physical effects of withdrawal and their duration. After 2 weeks, Mike's withdrawal is strictly psychological.

~~~~~~~~~~Say "what" again. Say "what" again! I dare you! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[–] BlackDog123 14 years ago

I thought maybe because he was taking (not Methadone - starts with a "sub?") something to help with the withdrawal, maybe it extended some of those symptoms? Actually, if you have a sec, can you explain why someone would switch from Heroin to extended use of Methadone? Is it to take care of urges to use Heroin? Does it affect the ability to get high? It seems like being on Methadone (or whatever Mike takes) for years and years is still keeping one's focus on the addiction. Maybe a supervised 4 - 6 month weaning process would be better.

But that's not my area of expertise by any means, so what do I know.

"We die as we dream ... alone." - Joseph Conrad

[–] Dragon000 14 years ago

To my understanding, he went from heroin to methadone to suboxone.
Methadone was developed to "get people off heroin" and is still used in that respect. Unfortunately, methadone is as addicting as heroin. Sadly, it is the cheapest available "treatment" for heroin addiction, unlike the more affective and less harmful suboxone.
Methadone does not get someone "high" per se, but will kill the heroin withdrawal symptoms. Ideally, the idea of putting someone on methadone is to eventually taper down until one is no longer using it. This sadly does not always happen and we wind up with lifetime "methadone maintenance" cases, people who basically go from being addicted to heroin to being addicted to methadone.

~~~~~~~~~~Say "what" again. Say "what" again! I dare you! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[–] BlackDog123 14 years ago

That's really sad. I bet the bigget indicator of being a lifetime methadone addict is your socioeconomic status.

Is a craving for heroin like a craving for booze or meth? Meth was my drug of choice. I can't imagine anything but time taking away those cravings.

"We die as we dream ... alone." - Joseph Conrad

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 14 years ago

Methadone withdrawal lasts for months (and no, it's not purely psychological -- it has psychiatric effects, as it acts on opioid receptors and neurotransmitters, synaptic clefts, etc. in the brain, but it isn't just "all in your head"). Suboxone has both antagonistic and agonist effects on several of the opioid receptors, due to the fact that it contains Narcan (in addition to the bupreno). I strongly prefer either a clean withdrawal from heroin or Suboxone as a last resort, but I dislike methadone and think that it is more detrimental than beneficial.

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[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 14 years ago

Very true -- alcohol withdrawals (with the delirium tremens) are FAR more dangerous than heroin detox. It is miserable because the patients' opioid receptors have been stimulated for so long and to such an extensive degree by the heroin that it actually exhibits a negative-feedback effect and their body's own natural supply of opioids are all but annihilated, in addition to the desensitization to opioid agonists. Then, the sudden drop in opioid levels, and an utter lack of effect of any low to normal levels of opioid, result in excruciating pain, anxiety, sweating, etc. (the opposite effects of opioids).

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[–] dancetildawn 14 years ago

Then, the sudden drop in opioid levels, and an utter lack of effect of any low to normal levels of opioid, result in excruciating pain, anxiety, sweating, etc. (the opposite effects of opioids).

So after so many years of opiate abuse do their opioid levels ever become normal again? I know there's a psychological term "anhedonia", where the brain's reward system is all messed up. Do they ever come out of that? Are they ever able to feel pleasure naturally to the degree that they did before?

[–] MzAnnThrope 14 years ago

I think I've read that the brains of addicts (alcohol, heroin, etc) are different than those of non-addicts in that they don't release or receive dopamine the same.

Walk to slide on the outside, walk the mile on the in.

[–] Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 14 years ago

MisAnnThrope is relatively correct. There's no real way to "see" dopamine release in the brain, but fMRIs do show that different areas of the brain are stimulated, ones that should stimulated are no longer active, there is a decrease or increase in activity (seen by marker-flagged-glucose uptake), etc.

Their body's own production of neurotransmitters may (or may not) rebound, but even so, in the vast majority of cases they will NOT be "able to feel pleasure naturally to the degree that they did before [they did drugs]." The truly exceptional degree of euphoria that an addict feels upon doing drugs simply cannot be matched by the body's own neurotransmitters, even in high levels, e.g. after an "endorphin rush" as people call it, such as following dangerous activity, arousing activity, etc. Ongoing/persistent dysphoria, in varying degrees of severity, is extremely common in recovering addicts. Hope that answers your question!

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[–] blackmdw-1 14 years ago

It takes around 1 YEAR for the brain to function normally again with producing the correct amount of dopamine etc...

Having been a heroin addict, that is what my addictionologist and doctors told me. My physical withdrawals lasted around 10 days. Personally for me i'd say it took around 9 months to start feeling "normal" again.

[–] ivony 14 years ago

Hi sargasm,

You ask some fantastic questions. Usually Methadone (when used to treat Heroin addiction) is used in a taper off effect so that the user can wean off of the heroin. Most Doctors prefer not to use this method as many users end up swapping one drug for the other, or try to take both. However, on the opposite end, more and more pain clinic doctors are using Methadone as a longterm means to treat pain, thus getting many patients "hooked" without them knowing or fully understanding what they're potentially in for.

Doctors do use the wean down process, but even in so doing, this will never entirely eliminate withdrawal symptoms. Regardless of how long you try to extend the weaning or tapering off, there is still going to be a level of discomfort. Thankfully, however, tapering off methadone is much easier than going cold turkey by any means which is why some doctors still prefer using methadone.

Sleep, those little slices of death...Oh, how I loathe them! -Poe

[–] ivony 14 years ago

Actually, dragonswak, that's incorrect. Methadone withdrawal can last up to 6 months. The initial withdrawal is intense, horrific and incredibly painful...made worse by the high levels he was taking to begin with. Granted, the initial withdrawal symptoms tend to last about 2 weeks, however, flu-like aches and pains, stomachaches, loss of appetite and insomnia can last a good 6 months. Suboxone helps with the withdrawal but the symptoms of methadone withdrawal can still persist months after you've become "sober" and while taking Suboxone...the positive side to Suboxone is it seriously lessens the intensity of the symptoms, but does not completely eliminate them.

Sleep, those little slices of death...Oh, how I loathe them! -Poe

[–] ShawnaC123 14 years ago

dope sick, dope schmick

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[–] blackmdw-1 14 years ago

Have you ever been dope sick?

[–] ShawnaC123 14 years ago

No, I haven't. My response was a quote from the show.

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