he can get clonidine from the doctor for withdrawals. they are brutal and he will feel like he wants to die. anything to help him sleep - gravol won't hurt. he could take hot baths with Epsom salts. support him. it's not easy to detox. good for him

He will feel like "poop" and worse ... He may vomit, and maybe diarrhea .. he will have chills and sweats, probably aches... watch for dehydration... He may crave sweets

Immodium AD is crucial for all of the gastrointestinal symptoms. Apparently there are opiate receptors in the colon and without the drugs, they will cause bad symptoms. Immodium AD has a type of opiate in the ingredients that takes care of the symptoms, but does not cross the barrier into the brain, so he can't get high from it.

Clonidine is also a very good choice. Withdrawal can cause blood pressure to go way up and this is a blood pressure medicine. If you're contacting the doctor, an anti-nausea drug also helps. Ginger ale and Pepto-Bismol are the non-prescription alternatives.

Epson salts and hot baths and showers help with the leg cramps, which is one of the worst symptoms. Advil or something similar also helps to dull the pain.

He will probably start getting very sweaty as soon as the symptoms start. Another bad symptom is restless legs. (Hence the term "kick" the habit.) There's really not much you can do for that.

A non-addictive sleep aid is also good. Walgreens has one. Opiate withdrawal makes sleep very difficult.

Actually, you should try to make it as easy on him as possible. This isn't a punishment. A willingness to go through detox is something that should be encouraged because it's the first step toward getting clean.

By the way, if he's not showing these symptoms, he may be using and just pretending to detox. Be especially leery if he has a friend stop by while he's sick. If he really can't go through with it, then perhaps a detox facility would be better.

Also, he should have a plan for when he's done to get support. Staying off the drug is harder than detox.

Good luck!

do not let him out of your sight. tell him to leave bathroom door open when he's in there. my son snucjk drugs in there somehow even while I thought I was watching every second. good luck. how is it going

Before you do anything else, pray with him and for him!

I ran this scenario by my recovering-addict son {going on 1 year clean from drugs, 7 months clean from alcohol}. He detoxed himself last year around this time.

*** Based on his own self-detox experience, my son recommends the following: ***

He recommends that your son taper-off the number of pills he's taking rather than stopping abruptly. For example, if he takes 10 pills a day, have him take 8 or 9 for a couple of days, then 6 or 7 for a couple of days, and so forth. Tapering is always safer than stopping cold-turkey.

The use of methadone or suboxone for detoxing is NOT recommended. These are also opiates and are virtually the same as taking heroin or an equivalent. They are highly addictive and often lead to trading one addiction for another.

Your son should expect to have nausea & vomiting, diarrhea, and severe body aches. Ibuprofen and Imodium should help.

Drink LOTS of water to stay hydrated. Orange juice and/or potassium also help.

Have on hand plenty of ice cream. Most people detoxing typically experience severe hot flashes and sometimes hot-and-cold flashes. The ice cream helps with the hot flashes.

Your son will most likely have trouble sleeping for several weeks.

Watch your son carefully as it can be dangerous to detox on your own, especially if detoxing off heroin. It very difficult and very painful to detox, but once on the other side, it's worth everything, even your very life.

*** *** *** ***

Encourage him, love him, pray for him and with him. Have your family/friends/church family praying as well. You don't necessarily need to give anyone a lot of details...whatever you and your son are comfortable with.

Also find some support for yourself. Watching him detox will not be easy.