Simple, accurate health tests for the home and the workplace.
Pregnancy If you are physically dependent on opiates and think you might be pregnant it is not safe to suddenly stop on your own. Sudden withdrawal increases the risk of miscarriage. Opiates alone don’t affect the development of the unborn baby, but whether or not you want to have the baby, it is important for […]
Overdose Within a few days of being off, your tolerance to opiates will be back at zero. Quantities of opiates that would have ‘done nothing’ just a short while ago could now kill you! A methadone dose of 40 mg can be fatal once you have lost your tolerance to opiates – less if you’ve […]
Other drugs Using other drugs can cause problems: be very careful about what you take during and after a detox. It is easy to stay in a ‘I’ve got to have something to sort me out’ frame of mind, which is the sort of thinking you’ll have to change if you want to get off […]
Once you are off If, having detoxed, you plan to stay opiate-free you will probably find that the saying ‘staying off is harder than getting off’ is true. This section has some pointers to help you avoid the pitfalls and mistakes that can lead to lapse and relapse.
Naltrexone There is a drug, available on prescription, called naltrexone (sometimes prescribed under the trade name Nalorex) that can help prevent relapse. Naltrexone doesn’t affect mood at all, but it does block all your opiate receptors. This means that if you take heroin, or any other opiate, the naltrexone will stop it having any effect […]
Lapse If you do use again and then decide you want to stop, provided you stop within a couple of weeks you shouldn’t suffer physical withdrawal symptoms caused by the opiates. You may suffer anxiety, worry or physical symptoms caused by the stress of remembering what withdrawals are like. Don’t be afraid to ask for […]
Just every now and then? Opiates are powerful things and the temptation to want to take them again is very strong. Often people say ‘I’ll just do it every now and then, as a treat.’ In theory this should be possible. But in practice the drug experience is very powerful and if you’ve been opiate […]
Introduction This is an online version of the 5th edition of the UK version of The Detox Handbook, which is available free from many drug services in the UK. The detox handbook is written for people in the UK and contains useful information for anyone interested in methadone treatment – whether you are already in […]
Getting ready to detox If you talk through your feelings and plans, you are going to be more likely to get off and, if you want to, stay off. If you have detoxed before it can be useful to look back on past detoxes to see what worked – and what didn’t work – to […]
Filling time For many people using opiates is a ‘full-time job,’ and once they stop the endless rush of getting money together, scoring and using there are many unfilled hours in the day. It is important to find something to fill this time. Things such as: college courses; meeting new people; recontacting old friends; repairing […]
Fertility Women using opiates may stop having periods – but they can still get pregnant. If you start to cut down the amount of opiates you are taking, your level of fertility will probably increase and you may find that you have an increased desire to have sex. This means that you are more likely […]
Deciding how fast to detox Most detoxes are done over 10 to 21 days. Taking longer doesn’t improve your chances of success. If you aren’t ready to come off that quickly then it might be worth talking to your drug service/doctor about a steady dose prescription to stabilise things until you’re ready to detox.
