Drug Withdrawal: Methadone & Heroin Facts

Question: When you have drug withdrawals, could taking another drug similar to the one ur going off of help w/it all?

(Posted by: the who on 2009-11-15 15:56:23)

If you're taking let's say either xanax, valium, ativan, klonopin, and you start to withdraw from them, considering ur dependent on them....and lets say you take ANOTHER different drug, but in the same class, ...will that DO anything, or is your body strictly specifically addicted to that one particular chemical and the others really won't help at all? If you run out of valium and are addicted to it....will taking xanax or klonopin or ativan help at all? And vice versa? exactly how "strict " is drug withdrawal? I've heard some stories of how if you are a heroin addictict or an alcholic, how certain drugs can help with the withdrawals like valium, etc.

Posted by: Chris B on 2009-11-15, 16:21:48

Whether taking one drug can mitigate withdrawal symptoms from another drug generally depends on how related to the two drugs are. Drugs in the same class tend to act in similar ways. Regardless of the exact chemical formulation of Xanex, for example, it will function on neuroreceptors and/ or neurotransmitters in generally the same way as other anti-anxiety drugs, say, Valium. Even though the exact chemical compositions of the two drugs may be different, if the two drugs are blocking or otherwise affecting the same neuroreceptors or neurotransmitters, taking the second drug is just a proxy for taking the first drug. In other words, taking Valium would probably relieve symptoms of withdrawal from Xanex, but not because it's a different drug. It's just doing the same thing as the Xanex was, either in the same way or a different way. Taking a different, but related, drug won't usually help someone fight an addiction- it will perpetuate the addiction. There may be a drug with a different method of action that could help, but it will almost certainly not be in the same class... and you wouldn't know what it was without talking to a doctor. It's like being an alcoholic who usually drinks beer. Vodka will make the craving go away, but at the end of the day, you'd still be drunk and still be an alcoholic. The symptoms of drug withdrawal vary widely from person to person, and depend in part on how used to a substance your body is. Some drugs are much worse to wean yourself off of than others. If you're worried about it, whether for yourself or on behalf of someone else, the best course of action is to consult a doctor. Trying to deal with withdrawal on your own is extremely tough- in addition, you won't know what to expect from the symptoms. Depending on what drug is being abused, the safest course of action could either be to quit cold-turkey or taper off of the drug. You can't know which is safest without talking to a doctor.

Posted by: Ben on 2009-11-15, 16:10:16

Yeah anything that will give you a buzz is going to help, so if your on some heavy shit slowly work your way down to less powerful narcotics untill you reach weed, which isnt addictive.