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Heroin Minimum days between uses to not get physically dependent?

menidiatis said:
Is it possible to use 5 days on 2 days off without getting physically dependent in the long term?
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5 is too long. My rule has always been never two days in a row. On the occasions I broke that, no more than a 3 day binge. On maybe two rare occasions I pushed that to 7 days and that sucked, wouldn't call it WD but bad rebound.

Anyway other than those two times, this has kept me free from any discontinuation side effects in 10+ years of using opioids.

Alisha Jean Miller said:
Depends on what drug your using
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And this is true, taking something with a long halflife like say methadone even once every 3 days can get you dependent.



Alisha Jean Miller said:
Sorry i didntbsee its early lol but heroin isnt a drug that someone decides when there body needs it. So to anwer your question..no
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Not necessarily true for everyone, though the night is still young. Being exposed to HR information many years before even considering trying something.like heroin, or seeing people suffer in your personal life plus hearing 1000 other similar stories can have the effect of keeping in your memory that you are playing with fire. I always try to put some months (make sure you give at least a week between binges, if not 2!) of not using it at all in between binges.

And do note binge use has its own problems and you aren't going to not suffer at all doing this especially in the long term I've experience some sort of massive progressive downregulation of like all sorts of neurotransmitters from being a poly drug addict binge user and it sucks. I have more of a tolerance than regular users ffs, to EVERYTHING, and my sober state is pretty unpleasant. This took many years to manifest but yeah.
 
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menidiatis said:
Is it possible to use 5 days on 2 days off without getting physically dependent in the long term?
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For the short term, yes. Though you want a more conservative ratio. I've done 2 days on 3 days off for a few weeks before with no issue ; but keep in mind any opiate WILL cause physical dependence at some point if taken with any amount of regularity.

What makes it trickier is that the individual threshold varies. For some it develops quicker and at different intervals than others. For instance, it took close to 2 months of a regular 'needle habit' for me to develop a dependency. Once I HAD however, even after coming off and now only using on average a couple times a week, while I've re-set my tolerance levels as to the effects a fair amount, my body is now EXTREMELY quick to integrate the drug into its general functioning again, ie to re-establish a chemical dependence. If I were to use daily for like 7 days in a row I'd already be in trouble. Every now & again I'll indulge myself and do it like 5 days straight, but that's my absolute limit.

Best rule is to NEVER use more than 3 consecutive days and follow that by at least double the number of non-using days (from observing long - term chipper acquaintances). And even then STILL keep in mind you individually may develop a dependence on a lesser frequency.
As soon as you notice signs of physical OR mental dependence (the latter being more serious as being the deciding factor for developing an addiction), STOP for a good while then reconsider.
 
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.. Basically remember as the golden rule that your 'off' days should ideally SIGNIFICANTLY outnumber your 'on' days if you want to avoid dependence.

I'd switch your estimate RIGHT ROUND to 2 days on 5 days off.
Which is as a matter of fact the precise thing I've been doing now successfully for the past 6 years.
And even so I still put in the odd fortnight where I just won't touch the stuff at all.
 
The UltimateFixx said:
.. Basically remember as the golden rule that your 'off' days should ideally SIGNIFICANTLY outnumber your 'on' days if you want to avoid dependence.

I'd switch your estimate RIGHT ROUND to 2 days on 5 days off.
Which is as a matter of fact the precise thing I've been doing now successfully for the past 6 years.
And even so I still put in the odd fortnight where I just won't touch the stuff at all.
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I see the logic but I work 5 days a week and it is intolerable to get through work without getting high. Since I am driving it is not really a good idea to take benzos or drink alcohol, so heroin is the only thing that cuts it.
 
menidiatis said:
I see the logic but I work 5 days a week and it is intolerable to get through work without getting high. Since I am driving it is not really a good idea to take benzos or drink alcohol, so heroin is the only thing that cuts it.
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Have you considered cannabis at doses which don't impair your ability to function if you feel you can't get through the day entirely sober -? You do not get physically dependent on that stuff yet it does take the edge off. I have a couple mates (heroin users but full - time employed, for clarification) that do quite well that way; maybe give it a try. 👍
 
The UltimateFixx said:
Have you considered cannabis at doses which don't impair your ability to function if you feel you can't get through the day entirely sober -? You do not get physically dependent on that stuff yet it does take the edge off. I have a couple mates (heroin users but full - time employed, for clarification) that do quite well that way; maybe give it a try. 👍
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I've been smoking weed almost a decade, it doesn't cut it anymore unfortunatelt
 
I've used heroin for a couple of days on 3 of for a few weeks and been ok but if I used pods for 3 days or raw opium for the same amount and had a minor wd legs hurt eyes water
 
I'd say you get dependent always until you use really sparingly. Not just two days, two days off etc. Unfortunately tolerance is a bitch, the brain remembers every use and regulates the receptors. For example naltrexone, the opioid antagonist, becomes an inverse agonist when you're tolerant. Means even when you don't yet feel withdrawal, there is something going on.

For withdrawal there's a lot of tools to get over it - memantine, pregabalin are the first which come to my mind.
 
yubacity said:
I've used heroin for a couple of days on 3 of for a few weeks and been ok but if I used pods for 3 days or raw opium for the same amount and had a minor wd legs hurt eyes water
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I use both ; opium has worse withdrawals and binds you faster due to its complex chemical nature ; despite having less of a felt impact. I'm doubly cautious with it for that reason.
 
menidiatis said:
I've been smoking weed almost a decade, it doesn't cut it anymore unfortunatelt
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In which case you will have NO way of avoiding developing a physical dependence. Which then also means eventually developing a total preoccupation with securing your heroin supply in order to keep out of withdrawal.
(I've been there.) At which point you will pretty much become unemployable ; so your problem with tolerating the work is gonna take care of itself in the worst way.

... You tell me if that's where you wanna go.
Using heroin recreationally without doing damage to yourself or your life is absolutely possible; I'm a walking case in point.
Using heroin at the rate you're stipulating without any significant issues, either health - wise or socially or legally or work-related, is absolutely NOT possible.
 
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negrogesic said:
It varies widely depending on your history with opioids.

As a former heavy duty opioid addict, I can only use opioids once every 3 weeks or so. Say i do it one week apart, ill feel some mild withdrawal symptom.
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sounds brutal, hopefully I don't reach heavy duty opioid addict ever and stop using this thing completely within the next 2 years
 
menidiatis said:
Is it possible to use 5 days on 2 days off without getting physically dependent in the long term?
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You will find it impossible to stick to any schedule. Everyone thinks they can do this but you always end up cheating "just one time". Then soon it's an everyday thing and you aren't really getting high anymore. You're just starving off the withdrawals.

No matter how often this advice gets repeated no one follows it. I didn't and you probably won't. The good news is opioids aren't really that bad for your health long term if you have a steady supply of them from a good source (excluding some of the strange ones and these new RCs). The bad news is this is starting to become very hard to have. The supply of cheap opioids from known sources dried up years ago. The days of pharmaceuticals being plentiful is long gone.

I urge you to consider stopping use of opioids before it becomes a lot harder. You will eventually reach a point with them where there is no going back to life before them.
 
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