The drugs derived from opium are called opiates, opioids, or narcotics. These drugs are highly effective when it comes to treating patients who are suffering from chronic leg or back pain. They are very addictive in nature and thus prescribed for only 1 to 2 weeks. However, many people use these painkillers in the wrong ways and abuse their use. Hence, they become dependent on these painkillers. Some of them even move ahead and start abusing illegal narcotics, such as heroin.
Once you stop using narcotics, you will face difficult and uncomfortable symptoms. Hence, many people keep abusing narcotics to avoid these types of extreme symptoms that come with detoxification. These symptoms are known as Opiate withdrawal. It is a frustrating process but not life-threatening, and hard to manage. There are some medications your doctor can prescribe you to deal with this condition.
These medications consist of:
- Methadone, to make the detoxification period easier
- Buprenorphine, to shorten the time of the detox period and lessen withdrawal symptoms
- Clonidine, to deal with anxiety, agitation, and muscle aches
Getting rid of the opiate is no easy task and if you are looking to do it the cold turkey way then you will suffer from these kinds of symptoms. You can combine natural remedies with your doctor’s prescribed medications to combat this difficult condition.
Here, let’s see some of the most common home remedies for opiate withdrawal to help you combat this condition.
Helpful Home Remedies for Opiate Withdrawal
Although the symptoms are not life-endangering, you may find it tricky to go through and survive them. So, what follows are some of the home remedies for opiate withdrawal for you:
1. Keep Yourself Hydrated
Vomiting and diarrhea are two of the most common symptoms you can find in opiate withdrawal. This will lead to dehydration and send many people to the hospital. Drinking liters and liters of fluids is the first step you will take toward healing.
Additionally, water will free up the tension in muscles and joints. The stressed muscles will constrict the capillaries running through them and this will lead to obstruction in the flow of oxygenated blood. Tense muscles will also store toxins, which will eventually make the pain worse. Drinking plenty of fluids will remove these toxins from the body and lubricate tendons, joints, and muscles.
You can take the help of a homemade electrolyte solution to rehydrate yourself that was lost due to diarrhea and excessive vomiting. So, you can try this one of the most reliable home remedies for opiate withdrawal and keep it hydrated. Also, you can try these Home Remedies For Dehydration That Always Works Effectively
2. Exercise
Drug abuse will temper and worsen our body’s normal functioning and it is the same with opiates too. This drug mimics our brain’s neurotransmitters. Normally, opiates will affect our endorphins – which are known to control our pain and stress-fighting neurotransmitters. When used for a long time, our brains get used to these artificial endorphins and stop making their own Hence, when you stop using these drugs, your brain will find it hard to make its own endorphins once again. This will lead to endorphin deficiency and cause serious emotional and physical pain, mood swings, anxiety attacks, and excruciating muscle pain.
This is where physical activities will play their part. Exercises like running, jogging, swimming, dancing, aerobics, and weight lifting can help your brain to create endorphins in plentitude. This is why exercising is known as one of the best home remedies for opiate withdrawal as it can deal with both physical and emotional withdrawal symptoms.
However, it will depend on the severity of your symptoms. You should go for light exercise in the beginning as the body is already going through various symptoms and stress. Yoga or walking can also help you deal with its symptoms. Anything more than that can lead to an increase in withdrawal symptoms and make the process harder and more strenuous.
3. Passion Flower
It is known as the best herb to deal with drug abuse and can be used as a home remedy for opiate withdrawal. Passionflower will not help you with stress as it can also help you deal with anxiety attacks and irritability that people often face after quitting narcotics. According to various medical studies, passionflower boasts a certain chemical called gamma-aminobutyric acid. This chemical decreases stress and instills a sense of relaxation.
Additionally, this herb will also help you sleep better at night and deal with insomnia. It can also calm our nervous system and reduce soreness in joints, muscle pain, and even spasms. You can use it:
- Pour hot water into a cup.
- Now, add 2 teaspoons of dried passion flower in it and drink it daily.
- You can also purchase supplements of this herb, only after consulting your doctor.
Passionflower can cause dizziness, palpitations, drowsiness, and nausea. This herb or flower, or remedy is not great for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
4. Use St. John’s Wort
This yellowish flower herb can help you deal with the shaking and due to its amazing qualities, St. John’s Wort has been used as one of the best home remedies for opiate withdrawal shaking. In an animal study, it was revealed that taking St. John’s Wort reduced opiate withdrawal-related shaking in rats.
The study also concluded that taking this herb can also help you deal with diarrhea. You can treat and cure various neurological conditions such as depression, anxiety attacks, and insomnia with the help of this yellow herb. You can purchase a range of St. John’s Wort supplements online. However, you should take these supplements with caution as it is known to interact with many medications, including other antidepressants, birth control pills, digoxin, the blood thinner warfarin, and some HIV medications, such as indinavir.
5. OTC Medications
Medications can help your cause if you are an individual who is suffering from this kind of withdrawal problem. If you are suffering from diarrhea then you can take loperamide. Similarly for nausea, you can take meclizine. Benadryl is another antihistamine that you can try.
However, never use any medication for longer than its recommended usage or in larger doses than recommended. Excessive usage can increase the risk of complications or promote the development of additional dependencies.
These are some of the non-prescription medications that can be taken to deal with opiate withdrawal:
- NSAIDs like ibuprofen, naproxen, and aspirin
- Pepto Bismol as an anti-nausea formulation
- Tiger balm or Ben Gay
- Melatonin or Valerian root for sleep
6. Get some Sunshine
Serotonin is very important for our body as it is known as the happiness-inducing neurotransmitter. During this type of withdrawal, usually, people suffer from depression and that can cause the feeling of sadness. So, your body will need a boost of this happiness-inducing component. Naturally, sun rays are known to be the biggest source of vitamin D. According to a study, basking in the early morning sun is very helpful for our body to produce vitamin D and boost the production of serotonin. After standing in the early morning sun, your body will once again start producing serotonin and will enhance the mood and release stress.It can also boost the production of endorphins – which can help us deal with muscle pain.
7. Acupuncture
In acupuncture, thin needles are inserted into specific points in our body to deal with many conditions and diseases. No wonder why it is said to be one of the most effective home remedies for opiate withdrawal for dealing with stress and pain related to it. It will work amazingly during opiate withdrawal, as this method has the ability to directly address the aching areas as well as those that connect to the brain and regulate our mood.
According to WHO, more than 60 medical conditions can be treated with the help of acupuncture, including drug abuse. Additionally, it can also deal with muscle pain, soreness in joints, and spasms. The acupuncture process releases dopamine in our brain and this can lead to countering some drug withdrawal effects and diminish the urge to use narcotics again.
8. Try Almond Milk
Our central nervous system is known to control our sleep patterns. In an addicted person, it depends on the function of opiates. Now, stopping the supply of opiates will lead to malfunction in the nervous system and that can interfere with the normal sleeping pattern, even causing insomnia.
Getting key nutrients can help you with better sleep. Among them, magnesium and calcium are the most beneficial in promoting restful sleep. Now, we all know that almonds are rich in magnesium and milk is full of calcium.
Thus, a glass of warm almond milk can be one of the most effective home remedies for opiate withdrawal-related difficulties. Here is how you can make this sleep-inducing drink:
- Add 1 cup of overnight soaked almonds and 2 cups of water in a blender jar.
- Now, pulse it for around 3 minutes, till you get a thick paste.
- Then, boil 1 cup of milk in a pan and add the prepared almond paste to it. Give it a stir and mix it well.
- Drink this almond milk every night and enjoy deep sleep.
9. Ginger
This wonder herb is not only considered one of the best home remedies for opiate withdrawal but is also very helpful in treating various health conditions including nausea and diarrhea.
This herb contains gingerols, which are very high in anti-inflammatory properties. Thus, consuming ginger can help you deal with muscle pain and joint soreness.
Use ginger in the following way to deal with opiates:
- Boil water in a pan and add sliced ginger to the boiling water. Boil it for around 10 minutes.
- Strain the tea and drizzle a little lime juice and honey for taste.
Final Words
With the help of these home remedies, you will be able to deal with the severity of its symptoms. However, these remedies are not as effective as those prescribed by a doctor. No more need to search through the internet for immediate relief from the pain and symptoms as these home remedies for opiate withdrawal.
