Overview of symptomatic management of planned opioid withdrawal

If buprenorphine cannot be used for management of planned opioid withdrawal, the second-line alternative is to use a range of medications to manage withdrawal symptoms; see Medications to manage symptoms of opioid withdrawal.

Table 1. Medications to manage symptoms of opioid withdrawal
Symptom	Medication
anxiety and agitation	diazepam for a maximum of 7 days (10 days for inpatients)
nausea and vomiting	antiemetics (eg metoclopramide, prochlorperazine, olanzapine, ondansetron) for a maximum of 7 days
diarrhoea	loperamide (see Functional diarrhoea for dosage) for a maximum of 7 days
abdominal cramps	hyoscine (see Gastrointestinal smooth muscle spasm for dosage) for a maximum of 7 days
physical pain and headaches	paracetamol, NSAIDs (see Oral drugs for mild, nociceptive pain in adults for dosages) for a maximum of 7 days
insomnia	temazepam for a maximum of 5 days
sweating, tachycardia, hypertension, agitation and restless legs	clonidine
Note: NSAIDs = nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs