Drink a lot of water<o:p></o:p>

Eat small amts of food <o:p></o:p>

Drink Gatorade / some people drink one “Boost” drink (Red Bull) per day<o:p></o:p>

Take lots of LOTS of baths / relaxing and also help with cramps<o:p></o:p>

Use a “heating” pad on your legs / even when you sleep <o:p></o:p>

DON’T<o:p></o:p>

Drink caffeine<o:p></o:p>

Eat spicy foods<o:p></o:p>

Use <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">St. Johns</st1:place></st1:City> Wart<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>Misc.<o:p></o:p>

***Many people have gone to a masseuse or chiropractor, and have had very good experiences with them. I would definitely recommend either one.<o:p></o:p>

***After taking your last dose, you will continue to have withdrawal symptoms. Within 30-45 days, a person should be pretty close to feeling back to “normal”, but understand that certain withdrawal symptom may stay with you for as long as a year (this is very rare, although sleep patterns have been known to be problematic, so I felt the need to let you know) <o:p></o:p>

***Using Opiates make it harder for the body to produce a chemical called noradrenaline. So your system learns to work extra hard at producing noradrenaline. When you reduce or stop using opiates, the body carries on working extra hard and produces too much noradrenaline. It is thought that most physical withdrawal symptoms are caused by excess noradrenaline overstimulating the brain and central nervous system.<o:p></o:p>

***Withdrawal symptoms are usually at their worst around the second and third day after stopping or reducing the dose.<o:p></o:p>

***Another possible physical cause for some of the longer lasting problems following tapering, including feeling low and sleeping badly, is from a lack of natural endorphins.   Endorphins are a natural part of the body’s painkilling and “feeling good” symptoms. It is thought that when you take opiates, your body gives up production of production of endorphins-and that, once stopped, it can take up to six months for them to return to certain levels.<o:p></o:p>

*** Opiates don’t only kill physical pain: they also kill psychological pain and level out of feelings- good and bad.  So what happens when you stop taking opiates is that you step into a world where your feelings aren’t controlled by drugs anymore.