No Withdrawals From Suboxone
Before I rant; keep in mind suboxone is a “good” thing…if used correctly. I used it to get off of oxy and vics and to cut off the lifestyle I was living completely. It worked for me. Been off the sub for a long while now and for me; I just don’t have any desire, let alone any cravings for any opiates.
NO WITHDRAWALS FROM SUBOXONE WHEN YOU TAPER….
People ask me about my taper and for additional suggestions. What I have or had written down in my Taper 101 post was my final taper, the literal last step. It was not my first attempt to taper down to like zero before I jumped off. Before I took this final decline, taper or what ever you want to f-ing call it; I went up, down, sideways, couple donkey kicks and so on when it came to my dosing…and the reason of course was…cause I didn’t want to go thru withdrawals.
My Doctor, who in a way was just great because she just went with what I wanted to do…was also being though a patronizing hypocrit, but in a nice way I guess. “Brian, you have been on the suboxone along time now, you have been at 1mg or 2mg a day for a while…” She goes on to say with her heavy educated middle eastern accent (that was kind of hot and so was she) “Brian….see, you are down to such a small dose of the suboxone that it is all mental, you won’t feel any withdrawal symptons especially at the dose you are at, it’s all in your head, but what ever you want to do, you tell me”. “What ever I want to do….”…*lol* “Well, lets see, I want to rent a UH-1 Huey and fly around Southern California and or Garden Grove with a loud speaker and firecrackers…” (I know a little out there and I am kidding…I think)
I thought it was funny that my Doctor asked my girlfriend to come in with me on d-day minus whatever it was (which my gf had gone with me before); I think though at this time it was more to give me that push that I needed cause really I wanted to stop and get off the suboxone but I did need a little knudge or a 5 pound steel candle holder to the forehead. I had some questions though, that I had asked a hundred times before but I was a little more direct and specific this time. So I asked the following (or we did).
- “Are you serious, because I have tapered so much I might not feel ANYTHING, like NO withdrawals, nothing”?…She answered “Yes Brian…at the dose you are at (which was like .25mg in the am and .25mg in the evening or even less) the suboxone shouldn’t even be working anymore or doing anything for you”.
- “How many of your patients have successfuly quit suboxone and have any of them complained about withdrawals”? Her answer to me was “Alot of my patients have started and stopped the suboxone and I haven’t had any major complaints yet”.
- My girlfriend jumped in and asked “Out of those people that have successfuly stopped suboxone, how many have relapsed on either opiates or the suboxone and or have stopped and you haven’t heard from again”… OH SHIT…DING, check mate on that questions. My Doctor was like a deer caught in the headlights of life ”Uh, times up, we talk again soon ok, call me if you need anything”…(Like what would I need? A tranquelizer gun for myself when I jump off the suboxone?) Fucking hillarious,… I thought. I literally laughed to myself and thought ”Oh boy…Im fucked”.
To be told to your face that there is ZERO withdrawals from suboxone is just wrong in the literal and sarcastic sense. It’s like aguing the color of the sky “The sky is blue”…. “No the sky is Black”…. “NO, the SKY IS BLUE!”…and so on… The sky of course is blue but, put into a dark room with sleep deprivation listening to Journey for a couple years and being told “The sky is black and drives a 87 Nissan Pathfinder and it will pay all your bills”…. you’ll eventually believe it. It’s the BS with a benefit kind of thinking; if I am getting the milk for free, who cares where the cow shits (*L*). My point in being is that you’re gonna want to believe what your doctor says even when everyone else says the opposite, even by sure experience. Bottom line, suboxone is a great tool to put it in neutral stress free and cruise….but cruise knowing you are going down a hill that either way your brakes are working at 10% and you’re fucked when you hit that wall at the bottom. It’ll suck either way, but it’s better than the unknown rollercoaster ride of opiates.
Unfortunately, you can minimize the damage of the suboxone withdrawal syndromes by tapering but it’s like equivicating it to a full nuclear strike versus a small tactical one, either ways it’s gonna be a f-ing mess. There is no way a doctor, good or bad can look you in the face and tell you that “If taken exactly as I am going to prescribe this and going by my comic book dosing guide and BMW Owners Manual, you will feel no withdrawals or maybe just a slight discomfort for a day or so”… If have a cool Doctor who will work with you and “LISTEN” to you, they’ll take what I suggest you say with a grain of salt, if they suck and have a stuffed dolphin on the wall and a squirrel on their head it might not go so well…either way…who cares… Tell them the following if in the event you are given this line of shit from the aforementioned ”You sir/mam are full of shit…..but…what can you give or precribe me beofore I jump off the suboxone to put down a large elephant for about 12-14 days”….
I hope everyone understands that 1/2 of this is true and 1/2 of this is satire or more elegantly put “a fucking joke” to a certain degree. I tried to have fun with this so you, like me wouldn’t stress from all the bullshit sites out there either telling you “you’re gonna be totally fine and running a marathon 2 days after you quite suboxone” or “You’re fucked and it’s all over, join AA and find the Easter Bunny… On a serious note in regards to the Doctors; if you are going to prescribe something, know what the fuck it is and what the side effects are or at the least tell people what to expect. Granted it is a GREAT new line of hope when it comes to prescription aids to help people with opiate dependency; the drug is on the up and up but the doctors are on the dumb and blind train it seems…alot.
No Withdrawals from Suboxone?
Yes, you will go thru some kind of withdrawals and either way they will suck… If you do taper, it can be a hell of alot better though and it feel just like the flu (bad flu for a while) versus Hell revisited.
This whole post, info or whatever is in response to alot of e-mails asking me if there was a way to get off of suboxone “withdrawal free”. From my experience and countless others that have contacted me, regarding this question…the answer is “No, you can’t walk Scott free…it’ll suck” but you can atleast contain the damage if you take your time and taper slow. Remember though why you took suboxone, understand that YOU made this choice (with help from family or on your own)… and if you got your life back on track… THAT IS THE WHOLE FUCKING point… So yes, it’ll be shitty, but hopefully it’ll be the last straw for you and you can walk away from this whole experience… I did and have. This was updated (9/4/09) and I have been good since 08 with out even the slightest thought of even looking down the opiate road again.
Hoped this helped even though it was depressing and not very positive…
“Better to be prepaired then un-aware”
Brian
Suboxone Taper
P.S.
There are alot of Doctors out there, like mine that just kicked ass and worked with me. I look back and realize my doctor told me what “I WANTED TO HEAR, cause I probably would have just went on”. I want to thank my doctor here in So-California and also Doctor Jeff Junig (www.suboxonetalkzone.com) who helped me ALOT. Just a great guy…and friend…and I mean this guy was a friend to me and still is.
Comments (436)
UPDATE: Its now been 4 days since my last .25mg of suboxone and I feel absolutely fine. Small increase in the number of times I have to visit the bathroom, but thats all. No restless legs, no abnormal pain or any other acute symptoms. Keep in mind, I was only doing oxys for 3 months (however doing 6-7 30mgs a day at end), and I only took 3.4 8mg subs over the course of a month. So, these results may be different to someone who has been on suboxone for years. However for me, the 1 month quick taper worked extremely well.
Paul, yes I know of the dangers of benzos + opiates. If you read in my post i was taking them together all the time (roxys + xanax every day all day lol). As for suboxone, I only used xanax on my skip days, and only like 1mg throughout the whole day. Plus i was on like .5-.25mg of subs at that point.
Oh, and to update everyone, yesterday I took my last .25 sub. Seeing that I only took about .75 throughout the whole week, today I started feeling it a little at work. We will see on Monday how I feel when the sub is completely out of my system, but so far this is nothing compared to when I stopped CT off roxys. Imodium is the only thing I’ve really needed, and the xanax has been helping but isnt really necessary. Just helps me get through the day.
Matt & Dexter…and whoever else is reading….Taking Xanax, Dextromethorophan and any valium type substances with Suboxone is HIGHLY dangerous. They increase sedation and have been known to be fatal.
I had valium and would have loved to take it during withdrawals. Luckily the doc pre-warned me about it, and i’m smart enough to use a interaction checker before using ANYTHING. Please, do the same. I hope you are both ok.
Medscape has a good interaction checker.
http://reference.medscape.com
I’m in hell on wheels. I started taking Suboxone over two years ago because I’m an ex-junkie who was going through a rough “divorce” and wanted to simultaneously get relief and a little insurance against other relapses. I had no idea it would mean some of the worst withdrawals I’ve ever felt.
I used heroin for 3 years from 18-22, and it has been 10+ years, two kids, and a college degree since then. Now I’m just in deep… I started dating a new lady (not telling her about the once-a-days), and the next thing I know it’s 2 years later and I’m unable to keep up the ruse. (I should say I’ve been getting my Subs from the street and not a doctor for awhile)
So now the secrets out, when she asked me straight up, I couldn’t lie… She’s livid, didn’t leave (yet) but I am definitely in the doghouse. So I’ve been taking 2mg in the am, and 2mg at night to sleep, and sometimes 1mg in-between depending on day/stress/level of sick feeling… I’ve tried to kick unsuccessfully once last fall… And I’m scared.
I DON’T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH 12 STEPPERS. I was in NA for 10 years, worked steps, gone to hundreds if not thousands of meetings and the only thing I learned was I didn’t want to associate with hypocritical god-worshippers.. I got tired of people telling me that I would trip and fall on a needle if I took a drink, meanwhile they chain smoke cigarettes, chug caffeine, and have sex with newcomers and underage girls… NEVER AGAIN.
I know what it takes to not get strung out: don’t frakking use… But the train has left the station. I’m trying to immediately step down to 2 mg once a day, and I took my dose at 8 am. It’s almost 5 and I’m crawling out of my skin, not wanting to go home and deal with anything other than try to sleep… But at the same time my lies and deceit have put me in a position where I simply can’t do that (plus I work fulltime, and today is Thursday).
So what’s my point?
I hate this medicine. It’s marketed as a wonder drug for opiate addicts, but in reality it’s just another frakking opiate. (if ANY doctor tells you there’s no WD from Subs they’re frakking insane and shouldn’t have their license revoked)
I went to my doctor hoping to get some relief, I was told to go to detox. I wanted to hit him. There is a drug that I need called Lofexidine. It’s been used in the UK for years to basically relieve the withdrawal symptoms, and speed up the kick, but it’s not available here even though it is now currently FDA approved. US WORLD MEDS is supposed to be producing it, but they don’t realize the urgency we have.
I’ve got a bottle of Immodium, a bottle of Melatonin, and a bottle of Dextromethorophan (tussin DM), and a quarter oz of freshly cut budz… But with what I’m feeling right now I’m deathly afraid of failure.
I can’t talk to anyone who understands, I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, I’m in the bathroom constantly, and I’m not even off the Subutex (switched from oranges about a year ago) yet!!!
Hell on wheels… I just want some Librium or Clonidine or SOMETHING.. But even with insurance… DOUBLE COVERAGE… I’m screwed.
-Eugene, OR. 6/16/2011 5pm
(help)
I’m in hell on wheels. I started taking Suboxone over two years ago because I’m an ex-junkie who was going through a rough “divorce” and wanted to simultaneously get relief and a little insurance against other relapses. I had no idea it would mean some of the worst withdrawals I’ve ever felt.
I used heroin for 3 years from 18-22, and it has been 10+ years, two kids, and a college degree since then. Now I’m just in deep… I started dating a new lady (not telling her about the once-a-days), and the next thing I know it’s 2 years later and I’m unable to keep up the ruse. (I should say I’ve been getting my Subs from the street and not a doctor for awhile)
So now the secrets out, when she asked me straight up, I couldn’t lie… She’s livid, didn’t leave (yet) but I am definitely in the doghouse. So I’ve been taking 2mg in the am, and 2mg at night to sleep, and sometimes 1mg in-between depending on day/stress/level of sick feeling… I’ve tried to kick unsuccessfully once last fall… And I’m scared.
I DON’T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH 12 STEPPERS. I was in NA for 10 years, worked steps, gone to hundreds if not thousands of meetings and the only thing I learned was I didn’t want to associate with hypocritical god-worshippers.. I got tired of people telling me that I would trip and fall on a needle if I took a drink, meanwhile they chain smoke cigarettes, chug caffeine, and have sex with newcomers and underage girls… NEVER AGAIN.
I know what it takes to not get strung out: don’t frakking use… But the train has left the station. I’m trying to immediately step down to 2 mg once a day, and I took my dose at 8 am. It’s almost 5 and I’m crawling out of my skin, not wanting to go home and deal with anything other than try to sleep… But at the same time my lies and deceit have put me in a position where I simply can’t do that (plus I work fulltime, and today is Thursday).
So what’s my point?
I hate this medicine. It’s marketed as a wonder drug for opiate addicts, but in reality it’s just another frakking opiate. (if ANY doctor tells you there’s no WD from Subs they’re frakking insane and shouldn’t have their license revoked)
I went to my doctor hoping to get some relief, I was told to go to detox. I wanted to hit him. There is a drug that I need called Lofexidine. It’s been used in the UK for years to basically relieve the withdrawal symptoms, and speed up the kick, but it’s not available here even though it is now currently FDA approved. US WORLD MEDS is supposed to be producing it, but they don’t realize the urgency we have.
I’ve got a bottle of Immodium, a bottle of Melatonin, and a bottle of Dextromethorophan (tussin DM), and a quarter oz of freshly cut budz based on what I’m feeling right now
Okay, my first experience with 30mg oxycodones (aka “blues”) started in November 2010 to Feb. 1st 2011 (Can’t forget that date lol). Stopped cold turkey on that day from 3-4 blues a day(90-120mg). My life was pure hell for 6-7 days, but by day 8 it started to get better. Yet it still took a while to feel completely normal again. However, somewhere in mid March I relapsed. Started only doing one every now n then, and then went fully back in. By April 1st, I was waking up every morning to instantly rail a line of 30mg oxy .5mg xanax mixed together. Throughout the day this would reoccur atleast 6-7 times lol. When my rent was due n I didn’t have any money I knew that I had to stop this shit, but def didn’t want to go through the hell of withdrawal again. Here’s the rest in a timeline.
Saturday May 21 : Railed 30mg oxy at 11:17PM (yes, I really know the time lol). Meant for it to be my last dose before starting Suboxone.
Sunday May 22 : The long waiting period till I can take Suboxone. I heard the stories about taking it too soon so wanted to play it safe and go 24 hours before my first dose. Ended up giving in at around 6:00pm n took 4mg. So thats 19 hours, n I had no percipitated withdrawals or whatever. Slept like a baby.
May 23 – 26 : 3mg/day in 3 seperate 1mg doses. Felt fine, actually way better than the ups n downs of oxys, just felt normal all day.
May 27- June 1 : 2mg/day in 2 seperate 1mg doses. Still felt fine, no different than how i felt on 3mg.
June 3 – June 4 : 1mg/day at 9:00AM (only 1 dose now). Still felt fine.
Sunday June 5 : My only day off from work. Decided to take a day off of subs too. Used .5mg xanax and some weed, slept fine at night.
June 6 – 11 : .5mg.day at 9:00AM. Honestly, I felt exactly the same as I did at 1mg.
Sunday June 12 : My day off again, so again the perfect time to skip a day. Made it fine again. Xanax helps (.5mg at a time is fine, don’t over do it with xanax lol).
June 13 (today) : took .25mg or so at 9:00am (hard to tell when cutting that small). its 11:20pm now, felt fine all day. I only have 2 .25mg pieces left, which btw I can barely even taste when they dissolve lol. I plan to skip tomorrow, take one Wednesday, then skip Thursday n take the last .25mg Friday. Hopefully with minimal withdrawals after the jump.
I will keep you all posted on how it goes, but I really feel like what im trying is def the best way to do it. Overall throughout this entire process I will have taken 35.5mg of Suboxone. Thats like 4.4 8mg sub-lingual films (I gave the rest of the 5th one to a friend). Some people on “maintenance” take that amount in 2-4 days, and im about to finish stretching it to 27 days lmao.
I still don’t know how the withdrawal will be when I jump on Friday, so I can’t yet comment on whether this was a complete success. However I can say for certain that anyone starting at more than 4mg/day is taking too much. Drop as quickly as you can because honestly the shit is so strong that you won’t notice a difference.
Good post. You’re lucky to have a good doc. There’s no such thing where i live. Nobody would ever believe the crap i’ve been though with doc’s, nurses and pharmacies over the past 7 years.
I’m going to find out in a few days how subox detox goes. A couple months ago i went through 3 weeks of methadone withdrawals. That was hell on earth, and i’ve been through a dozen or so withdrawals in my life.
Don’t ever take methadone. Ever…period.
What bothers me with suboxone is I feel like i did while on methadone. I’ve only been on for about a month. The doc is drooling to keep me on. But screw him, I’m done.
I’ll post more as i go…but I have the the double whammy. I absolutely love opiates, and I’m a chronic pain patient. Great huh?
I found my love for opiates about 20 years ago,(i’m 45) and developed a “almost incurable” chronic pain about 7 years ago. I say almost incurable because there is a surgery, but i’m not a candidate yet. I have to wait for it to progress. lol
I was in a pain management place who had me on methadone for a year until i complained about it no longer working. I was on a low dose.10mg 3x/day.
So they put me on oxycontin sr 40mg 2x/day and nucynta (garbage) 75mg 4x/day. Even with that…I still had vicious withdrawals from the methadone.
Anyway, a couple weeks later the pain management place said i tested positive for morphine. It was totally untrue. I couldn’t help but think “I wish”. To be honest,If i would have had morphine, or anything to help me get though that period I would have taken it. But i didn’t.
I wasted no time trying to tell them that, I was, and still am sick of doctors. So I went to a subox doc. I would have detoxed on my own…I’ve done it many times. But i would always have a low strength 5 or 7.5mg Vicodin to do it with. This time i didn’t have anything and a few people recommended suboxone.
As I said, the subox doc keeps offering to keep me on “maintenance” but I want to be clean for a while. It’s time.
He’s even going as far as telling me I can’t get anymore pain meds because of the dirty test at pain management. He’s saying it’s suboxone or nothing. He said I’m red-listed with narcotics. I asked my pharmacist and called my insurance, and both said they know nothing about it. So who knows.
Wouldn’t that be ironic? All the years of opiates for pleasure, and then get cut off when i actually need them. lol. Meh, I’ll deal with the pain somehow.
So….I was on 8mg 2x/day subox for about a week, then 1/2′s ..4mg 2x/day for a week….then 2mg 3x/ day for a week……2mg 2x/day for a dew days…..2mg once a day…and now 1mg /day for the next 3 days.
I know I’m gonna get sick…we’ll see how bad and for how long. I’ll post again.
The worst part for me is the restless leg. I can’t stand that. Luckily I have some meds for it this time.
And there’s always the 2nd night rule. The 2nd night…there’s no sleep. No matter what you do. You’re better off to not try. But who knows what the actual 2nd night is for subox? I’ll find out i guess.
Some notes on what others are saying….
Yeah,I’m depressed as hell, no anxiety though. Very tired, no interest in sex…all the same as methadone.
It doesn’t effect the craving for opiates for me, if anything it’s increased.
But one thing i’ve learned with all kinds of pain meds…and meds in general is that what works for one person, may not work for another. I think that’s why there are so many conflicting stories about suboxone.
I also think it’s a drug made more for profit then for help. And the doc may be getting a slice.
Sorry for being so long. I actually cut it short ;)
Good thinking Smith. That is the way to look at it! Hang in there. It is a short time in contrast to the long term.
I am a 23 year addict with the last ten years addicted to Oxy. Been clean 14 months and off sub for 7 days today.
I weaned down slowly (Crumbs) and it has been OK. The KEY is to wean down to the smallest amount possible and then pick a day and stop. Sleep is the worst issue for me. Hope this helps anyone reading this.
I am almost to day three! This isn’t fun but we all can to this. Let’s not focus on how bad it is but how good it’s going to be!!!!
I was put on sub for a heavy hydro habit only 7 weeks ago. I started at 16mg a day, realized he had me on way too much after one week and went to 8 mg a day for the other six weeks. I want to go down to 4 now, should I expect nasty w/d? I’ve been on for such a short time… Shouldn’t that make a sizeable difference? I took only 4 mg yesterday and only 12 hours later I felt anxious and was throwing up. I never threw up from an opiate withdrawal, even though all the othe shit was way worse. And I also have an anxiety disorder, so maybe I was just sick? Wouldn’t it take a lot longer than 12 hours to get sub sick? I’m confused if anyone can help.
tryin to be done completely now with sub lingual suboxone experiencing alot of anxiety, fears,withdrawls,
Oh and a side note my two cents….2mg daily or one mg twice a day….should be in my opinion…more then enough to maintain…I am a recovering heroin addict and 2 mg keeps my heroin withdrawals at bay….sour your on a higher dose then pesonallly I belwive you are over medicated this is my own personal opinion however
I have about the same problem asmost of you…been on subs/opiates. For years…down to 2mg a day…gets hard when I try to go less to go less then that… guess I’m trying to prepare myself as much as possible to jump…… I dunno. I’ve kinda halfassed jumped only to quickly climb. Back on …..one of these times I wanna jump for good
I can’t seem to look at this site from my droid!!!!
Wonderful post, Brian. Inserting some humor in this whole ordeal does indeed lessen the stress of what’s coming. You succeeded in doing this. I’ve gone from 20mgs a day to about .14mg. I’m cutting the strip into nine pieces and cutting those into thirds. The math comes out to about .07mg a piece. I’m still worried and still wanting to lessen my dose before I jump. I have about .6 mg left, and REFUSE to pad my doctors bank account any further. I don’t feel the money was wasted, because I’m convinced the Sub has removed my opiate craving. I relapsed 100% when trying to stop before the Sub. And before I met my wife. She has gone to every appt with me and been by my side through thick and thin. She was the one that actually got this ball rolling.
I’ve gone from 1mg to where I’m at right now over the course of a month. My doctor let me continue longer than I think he should have. If it were up to him, I would continue my taper for 6 months. I think the doctors prey on people who don’t really want to quit. They just provide us with an equally expensive, addictive substitute that is “ok” to take. Versus the “bad” opiates we were originally addicted to.
This taper was too quick and I am paying the price. I have dropped my dose about .10mg every three days. When I do, I spend the majority of the first two days feeling rather shitty. I can deal with the aches during the day, but the fatigue is depressing. 4 hours of sleep every night. No more. And that’s with Benzo help. I feel I am up to the task though. As long as the WDs don’t get 10 times worse when I jump. Hopefully, tapering down to the tiniest sliver of that orange strip will pay off. Like Brian’s post explains, hopefully I am paying the piper in installments instead of one lump sum.
I think Sub is good under competent direction. I do think my brain has been repaired. Every time I think about Lortab or Vicodin or Percocet, I remember the last two years, and all the sacrifices my beautiful wife has made for me. That in itself is enough to keep me clean. i will NOT have everything we have worked for wasted.
Thanks again Brian.
I have been taking sub for about 2 years before that oxy or whatever i could get my hands on for 8 years. i first went to a clinic that was charging me almost 500 dollars a month then found a private doctor and paid co pay and for the script any way i have tapered down to 2 mil a day and for the last 72 hours have had none. I feel weak tired but cant sleep restless legs and feel like i have the flu its not fun but is definately getting better. I dont know if its all how your body reacts to sub or how long u have been on it but for me there is def withdraw symptoms and i wish it was just in my head. im seriously thinking about taking tapering down to 1 mil a day then .5 a day because i have to go to work and i have a very demanding job. I called off today because i just couldnt imagine dealing with everything feeling like this. has anybody tapered to .5 mil and when stopped how was the withdraws or was there any.
Danny, read my “Suboxone Taper 101” post. This is extremely detailed.
I am now on hour 56 cold turkey from a dose of about .75-1mg daily. I cannot do this with help because it I have been taking it illegally. I loved the energy it gave me at the beginning but soon found that the orange beast is a wonderful servant but a terrible Master. Some info on the net scares me. Can someone give me an idea of what’s ahead for someone in my situation?
Hay brian your a good writer very creative and imaginary you ever think of getting into writing make a movie me and you should hook up but not in that way cuz im a dude that rides his own bike alone lol would like to read some short storys on your experience with subs it could add as insperation to someone like us when we first started that long road to recovery email me at beexrandon26@yahoo.com that is if you ever get this since it has bin three years since this post hope this meassage finds you well.
Wow, what an inspiring story Brian. I am really happy for you. Unfortunately, I feel like I am pounding suboxone like i used to pound alcohol. Man, was i a nasty drunk.
However I am feeling the suboxone has taken over my life. I cant function without it on top of all the other anti depressants and mood stabilizers I need to take. Sometimes, I wonder if i will ever be normal again.
Am getting older without a job or career and think I may of wasted my life :-(
I got your back girl
you wil be ok I amhere for you
Brian,
I agree with your doctor that once you get below 1mg/day it is purely mental relative to full bore opiate withdrawal symptoms. I metabolize opiates very quickly and have to take suboxone about three times a day. I started, at my doctor’s recommendation (which I was willing to take because I couldn’t get subxone anywhere else at the time,) I started taking 8 mg per day, once a day.
In my original transition I experienced withdrawal symptoms which I now realize were a good half (if not more,) of the battle in getting sober. Once I sorted things out at that dose I quickly realized that taking 4mg twice a day would keep my more on keel over all. After about 3 months I decided that I wanted to take a lower dose. Mostly because of the side effects I was experiencing, some like Mikfar had said in the post above but not as intense. Anyways, I now take 2 mg twice daily and the transition from 4 mg to 2 mg wasn’t tapered inbetween… and yet very few side effects (mostly) at the behest of my own brain and preconceived notions of full agonist opiate withdrawal (heroin, methadone or oxycodone.) Ultimately, it was not like going from a full dose of a normal opiate to half in one day, by far, hands down, period-at-the-end-of-this-sentence, let there be no questions.
I am thinking of dropping myself to 1mg twice daily before I drop all the way off. I figure at that point, I’ll leave myself a couple of .25mg prepared doses (with a razor blade and magnifying glass, hah,) partly so that if I experience any ungodly withdrawals I can take a fixer-upper, but mostly to prove to myself that the withdrawal is entirely mental at this dose. If you have a safety net when going off your final taper dose and can always depend on taking that and you metabolize opiates effectively you can get out scott free. This isn’t conjecture, I have done this personally twice before, in 2006 and 2008.
My best advice is this: taper your dose and mind your physical symptoms (runny nose, chills,) not you mind-fucking yourself into thinking you’re going to die in the next forty seconds and then set up that safety net. Have a plan, don’t just wing it and go from a 32mg ceiling dose cold turkey to nothing and sign up for boot camp the next day thinking everything’s going to be peachy… it’s not. Get your dose down, think it through, set up the safety net and have a back up plan– if you’re not ready to get off entirely, take another step down. If your drop from 8mg/day to 6mg/day wasn’t that bad then 2mg/day to 0mg/day shouldn’t be either… there’s no two ways about it. It’s a difficult, emotionally draining and physically involved process but the rewards you can reap from the effort you sow are far greater. Loose the shackles, life’s too short.
One Love from SF
sean,
they make a sublingual film of the suboxone now and it worked out great for me. im on day 6 without any sub and the only thing i am experiencing is mild sleeplessness. they come in 8mg and 2mg films and you can cut them down to whatever size dose to make you feel comfortable untill you dont need anymore.
Ironman,
I wrestled for 5 years (our HS was ranked #22 in the nation), played football for 7 years and road dirt bikes since I was 4 1/2… Same shit bro. I broke a rib here, fractured an elbow there, broke an arm a few times..etc… I’ll keep this short cause I think you are fucking pissed at the situation and realize that if fucking blows and that you’ve learned from your mistakes. What you said about “I’ll NEVER touch this shit again once I’m done. It’s a Goddamn nightmare, but I’ll make it”….
You got it bro. Don’t roll into any fucking programs….either… it’s like dangling a carrot in front of a rabbit…. Those programs make you “obsess over what you are trying to run from most… “HOLY FUCKING CASH COW ON THEIR PART….hu”?…. You got this shit down, you have realized the situation at hand all on your own. Get fucking pissed that you fell into this FUCKING SHIT, but atleast you did then realize and comprehended it. You got your shit together, go thru it…and yes its going to fucking suck, then get past it. That simple.
Brian
info@suboxonetaper.com
Day 7 almost over. 2% better than day 6. Trying to get to day 12. Game on! 2+ year sub man.
I have been on opiates for about 5 years now. It all started with knee reconstruction surgery. Then three years later, the other knee needed surgery. I also am a MMA athlete and get banged up a lot and have to go to work. These WERE my excuses if you will as to why I stayed on. I still train MMA but took the little bastards even when I didn’t need them. I used them as a stress reliever when times got rough (financially, a death of a close friend) and I used them when I was bored. I am getting married next year and I cannot afford these things anymore and I want to be normal again. I am very health conscious and feel like I’m poisioning myself. I tappered down the last of my opiates then quit cold turkey. Felt real crappy for a couple of days, then a friend gave me suboxone. I took a half of an 8mg, that lasted me 3-4 days, then I felt shitty again. I took a 1/4 of an 8mg last nite. I will MAKE that last at least 3-4 days. I will then go down, and down, and down. I hope it will not be that bad after I stop because I haven’t been on suboxone very long at all, I just needed some relief b/c I don’t have the option of taking off work. I am aware it will probably suck any way, shape, or form and I don’t care. I love my fiance tooo much to keep this shit going. It has ruined me financially and I wanna get back on track, back to NORMAL. I am mad more than anything and want this shit to be over. I don’t care if I get into a 10 car accident and I’m all banged up, I’ll NEVER touch this shit again once I’m done. Its a Goddamn nightmare, but I’ll make it.
i called the company that makes suboxone and asked why they dont make some sort of titration system the pills are too small to break up she tells me the 2mg pills are easy to get off!!!! she fed me all kinds of propanganda I was thinking maybe a compounding pharmacy to make micro doses because its almost impossible to make anything smaller then .5 or .25 barely and with little accuracy using a razor blade they are just as bad if not worse then the drug dealers theyre making millions and making the shit very hard to come off of who wants to be depressed/anxious and have no energy for a month or so. looks real good at work thanks suboxone they should be held liable
I have spent hours reading all kinds of sites looking for the cure to not go through the withdrawl process, however I have figured out there is not a cure. Your site has really made me feel a lot better, thank you. I can do this for the second time around and not cave in. It is a struggle especially when you still have your day to day things that have to be done, working 40 hrs a week and having to 2 young children at home depending on you, but it can be done. I’m on day 10 and I’m starting to see the light and feeling more and more like my old self that I used to love.
get up and go to my job with 2 hrs sleep past history ihave ran for three to 4weeks at a time working my way up to 12to 15 percs or vics when im feeling good and deppression and anxiety free .got 4 kids and a beautiful wife high school sweet hearts love each other more now than then.however i am slowley loosing my great god given life i constantally screw up.i have an incredable high tolerence .i have had them all 10 oc-15mg of percs 40 mg oc 80 mgoc plus drink acase of beer when i was on them would go to work on 2hrs sleep wich by the way i have an incredable job with the state as a maint. supervisor 31 full years only 49 yrs.old plus a thriving elelectrical buisness that i work night and weekends on to supplament our income now you say what is all this bullshit about this is supposed to be about subox withdrawal and use about ayear to the day my aunt former two bundle aday user new i was having a deppresion episode due to i had just come back from a family vacation about 12 of us aruba momand dads 50th but me and my brotherinlaw make contact with a caby and drops off a g of coke a night me i hate the shit im in down town stores asking if you can by percs over the counter no bummer the island is not hip to opiates there thing is coke now go figure 19 miles away veniswaler right good shit no f…ng way my brother in law is a expert having dealt it 30 of his 54 years alive me im a sit back floating offthe chair guy were everthing seems just perfect while on opes like the song everything is BEAUTIFULL so any how my aunt turns me on to an awsome girl and guy who get scripts monthly of 15 mg perc 90 count pure guy has cancer and she got 75 meth pills but he culd not take his script due to he was on methadose wich ilearned is the garbage in liquid form of the real culprit methadone wich is 10 times stronger than morphine its like hot dogs methadose so i learned its the by product of methadone anyhow i would lend them money because they were crack lovers and the vig would be pills in return now i never had to worry about my next score because these people were solid i swear if the girl id not have a troubled past she would have aced as a pharmasuitacologist she taught me more than any doctor could because of her on the job so called training [use] my tolerence got to high althogh i never let myself go over 20 mg a day once i hit that i new it was time i tapered off but was having problems she got me 3 subs i found my new wonder drug i started with 8 in am and 8 in pm wowa what a .high on the first pill after that there was no mre getting high wich my goal to begin with i had to get more found a doctor in my area who prescibed sub 150.00 got me 60 subs a month i went about 6 months on only 4 mg a day my i will servive but insomnia went away along with my anxiety and deppression this drug was a wonder drug little did i know satan has the rights to the suboxone makers im about to died loose my whole worth money and homes can be replaced but wifes and children cannot.my world now evolves around a king size bed with the door closed and satan laughing over me .my sex drive my wrk ethic my buisness everthing is a blank and i am falling into a sycotic state my legs are gummy me insomnia is off the chart life sucks me i hope i servive my wife and children i beg to god almighty he gives them an over abundents of joy and peace.my friend the so called pharmasuitacologist died a week ago she had a very tough life but satan won again.i am 48 hrs in should have been 96 hrs but had a family crisis and on 42 hrs of first try took 3 mgs long story .so much to right and information to give.please do not mix benzos with sbox DEATH.please help and pray to whom ever your god is that i can survive the wrath of satan nick named [suboxone] thank you and god bless.need positive feed back but truthfull.more to my beginings and ends just ask. BRIAN YOUR MY IDLE
I was suffering with anxiety and depression so was taking methedone 10mg to help. was told it would help because antideppressants weren’t working. Needed more & more to feel ok. Then told about suboxone. Got it illegallyfirst then went to see a Dr. Started at 2mg in the a.m. & 2mg.in the p.m. Tapering for last 4 weeks slowly. Went 42 hrs.Took 2 mg. Now 48 hrs without any. Dealing with depression & anxiety seems to be making this much harder. Extremely tired depressed. Looking for anyone who can help with suggestions to conquer this. I have plenty left however i do not want to go back on.Need to get my life back. Fulltime electrician.Terrible side effects while on it. Hot flashes sweats no interest in anyhting. Including sex. I am aking antidepressants. Paxil & wellbutrin.Looking for any help!!!Thanks and God bless
Yes, my girlfriend and I have been dating for over 3 years now. When I met her, she was a bundle every two weeks type of gal. She would work her job for her pay check every 2 weeks. Once she had the cash, we would sit in the car for 5 hours to go buy the “good stuff”… this went on for about 2 and a half years. Then last summer we were sick of being sick all the time, and decided she would go see a sub doctor. So she did. it’s been great! We’ve just been doing sub everyday, and I guess it should be known, that I never really had a fixation with opiates. Yeah it was a good high, but I preferred adderall, or coke, so I can be able to everything I want. The doctor has her on the film now instead of the tablets. Well this makes it hard for us, because we just do little bumps of sub everyday, because there is no real reason to be on more than like 2 milligrams of sub a day, it’s just a ploy to get you to consume more sub. Soo at any rate, we are in the process of breaking up (for unrelated reasons), and now I am going to be withdrawling 2morrow and the next couple weeks. I’ve been taking almost 4 milligrams a day between film and tablets… last dosage was 16 hours ago? What can I expect when it comes to withdrawal?
Dear Anonymous,
I am sorry about your friend. You are not alone there are many many people out there on this medication for many reasons. It isn’t an easy fix but you are headed in the right direction and you will get there, even though you will go through withdrawls when you are ready to stop suboxone. I was afraid that once off of the medication I would want something but I have found it to be the opposite. Even as sucky as it was in the first few days I was so ready to be done with it and still am that its enough to keep you going. Even with only ten hours of sleep in the past 20 days I feel better mentally than I have in 18 years. Take care and let the medication work to your advantage.
Thank u 4 the info. I just needed 2 know i am not alone in all this. I have been on suboxone 4 alittle over 3 months. I know that suboxone is not an easy fix 4 this hell i hae created 4 myself but as a heavy user of oxy and xanax i remember why i made the choice to start suboxone. And that.is
life over death. I went 2 the funeral of a very close friend with the same problem. 2 yes.i lost everything. So i will use the suboxone and when the time comes to stop i will have go through w/d because i choose suboxone over the box. W/d cant b as bad as o/d on that
poison pill
Larsy,
Do you still feel anxious and depressed? I feel like I have to push myself all day, I guess that is the way life is and has been, I just always relied on some form of a crutch to make it easier. It is only day 15 for me and I never knew how much time was in each day or how hard each day was just to get through. I hope things are getting easier for you and anyone else reading this.
Rachel
Brian,
I enjoyed your post, it’s always good to laugh and make light of sucky times. I am glad to read something that is actually current and realistic, you are very witty. I took suboxone at 16 mgs a day for 2 years and 2 months and my doctor did not lower my dosage or cut me back, I never should have been on such a high dosage anyways. That is neither here nor there now. I always went to my appointments and never relapsed or did anything other than what he said. At my last monthly appointment my doctor gave me colonodine and nausea meds and said I had to get off the suboxone now. Scared to death but at the same time the medication had consumed my whole life so I figured “how bad could this be?” It has sucked and does suck and I guess like you said “It’ll suck”. I detoxed at home, not sure how I have made it through but I have. So no matter how bad any of this may seem, all of us are just going to have to get educated and be really strong. Honestly, this medication is being over prescribed, or the license to prescribe is handed out too easily (that’s just my personal experience and reflection). At first it felt like a miracle drug, then after a long time I realized “uh-oh” this is just another addictive drug. True it is less pleasurable but nonetheless addictive. It’s an opiate-your body receives the opiate your brain not so much-no euphoric feeling. Your body will go through withdrawals as you would on other medication with a much longer half life, it’s not less than withdrawals from other opiates. It may be if you taper down. Plus it pisses you off when a doctor did it. I thought I was getting help and I feel like he left me hanging, he did though. He is an idiot; I do not mean to insult the doctor. I should have educated myself I wish that I would have known what I know now-2 years ago. I have been completely free from the medication for 14 days now and I have really bad anxiety and panic attacks and all other symptoms that you are suppose to have when going through this. I know it sucks but at least it is suppose to happen, not that it is much comfort. I have to push myself through every step of everyday. I am not saying this to discourage anyone if anything please know that if a little girl like me can kick this thing anyone can. I should not sound so proud 14 days into this but I just feel that there really isn’t another option.
Like Brian said “Remember though why you took suboxone, understand that YOU made this choice (with help from family or on your own)… and if you got your life back on track… THAT IS THE WHOLE FUCKING point… So yes, it’ll be shitty, but hopefully it’ll be the last straw for you and you can walk away from this whole experience” not to take your words but you said it very well.
Don’t blame anyone and know it’s not easy; it is not going to be no matter what. There are no more quick fixes, kinda sucks but it will be worth it.
Denise,
Your post was unfortunately too correct. Something I never answered was “would it have been worse jumping off the subs at 8mg or at .25 mg”? I tihink….and I am just saying “I think” cutting back helped but either way it sucked. One thing I did find out is how powerful even the smallest amount is. When I was down to nothing I was still ok….once I jumped…. Holy shit, it all came crashing down. I still have to say though that it is definitely not worse then coming off of straight opiates though.
Brian
Brian @ Suboxonetaper.com
i was hooked on heroine and oxy i couldnt quit by myself(obviously) i tried suboxone becouse i was scared of getting hooked on methadone, now im in the same situation as the heroine, addicted and hopeless. seems like the people that made subs made it to help themselves not us. surprise surprise
I have been on Suboxone for 4 years and have found I feel the same taking 1 mg a day or 16 mg , I cut back after taking 16 mg for a few mo. and felt the same , But I would like to stop taking that 1 mg a day and find that is very hard .. Lot of people seem to think if you are down to taking so little that its no big deal WRONG !
Dosage cut back
Hi Everyone. I just checked and both of my comments are posted so I’m sorry I had to do that. I have been on suboxone/subutex for 2 years now. 2 months ago I went to a detox center and after 4 days (still on the subutex) they moved me to their inpatient program where I needed to be up at 6 am and my bed was to be made and there was no laying down until bedtime. I checked myself out of there quickly. I then went to an addiction psychiatrist who had me admitted into the hospital immediately. I was at 2 mgs per day and they took me off cold turkey while giving me clonidine, klonopin, neurontin and something I put under my tongue for nausea. I swear, I didn’t get out of bed for 8 days (just to use the bathroom). I thought I was going to die. No one ever explained to me that I was not going to be better for a long time. I thought I would be released and free from this drug but instead I am left with such bad anxiety and depression that I almost don’t want to live anymore. I was released from the hospital on day 11 (still nauseous and anxious) but at least I could walk. I wanted to go home so bad. The doctor’s made sure I was going to go to an outpatient program for other people who also suffer from depression/anxiety. I really was not ready to go to that program (which by the way I just finished after 2 months). It was a great program but when all you can think about is how anxious you are and depressed (I was still detoxing unlike the other members) it was hard to get much out of the program. I was put on suboxone for anxiety and depression. Have you ever heard of such a thing? I have so much more to write but will see if I get any comments here. I really am glad to have found this site and hope someone can offer me some help and that maybe by me sharing my story I can help someone too. Thank you. Larsy
Why can’t I leave a comment? Larsy
Hi. I just want to start off by saying thank you Brian for your honesty and I’m so glad that I found this site. I am going to try to post this first to see if it works because everytime I write my story, somehow it will not post and I want to make sure it does before I go any further.
Larsy
ive been taking subs for about 2 years.. 2mg in the morn and 2mg at night.. hardest cycle to break for me! i did so about 2 months ago by just lowering my night dosage.. its worked great… if u can actually use tha word great on any of these posts!! just this mornin i decided to take just 1mg in tha morn now and 1 at night.. tha hardest for me is just taking it once a day… i have made it to a quarter a day over a year ago but i relapsed.. which i have 0 desire to do ever again.. i cant find happiness in them pills just like i cant on suboxone but maybe 2 hours a day.. with caffeine and cigs! unfortunately.. i feel like im diing almost everyday. i think alot is mental but i also think everything is mental or u wouldnt even know about it. tha depression hurts.. ecspecially when noones sitting beside u thru it.. driving in mhy truck listenin to music helps.. works very hard. tha worst thing is, everyone thinks im on drugs now because when i was taking painkillers i looked fully focused and extremely happy.. which i thought i was… fking stupid people!! also, my eyes are so dark and puffy i almost look like im detoxing from heoine!! i guess i am tho! good luck to all and hang in there everyone..
thanx brian it really helps hearing success stories! how long does it take after u quit apprx. until u can smile or even laugh?!?!
i’ve been on sub 3 years in the last month i went from 2mg to 1 mg i’m now down to a quarter i want to rip some one face off i was told 3 days at the most bull sh– thanks for your post doctors know s–t and i like my doctor
Jake,
Kick ass post!
Thanks,
Brian
Jay,
Thanks. Take your time and pace yourself. That you have come this far, and have taken the steps you have. Dude, your in control and it sounds like you clearly have the strength and mentality to do what you really want to do…and succeed. Step up, get pissed and tell yourself… FUCK THIS, I’m going to get this shit done and deal with it. Yes, it’s going to suck….Fuck, I consider myself a hard ass… I break an arm, I suck it up, I break a finger, I laugh it off…seriously…but when I came off the sub… Yep, I broke down, cried, was depressed…but it does end. The best part. If you’ve come this far, once it’s done…. IT’S DONE! You’ll be in the clear. Don’t give up and keep going.
Brian
SuboxoneTaper.com
Side note… Maybe it’s about time I start making some videos on youtube. Fucking hillarious that I have been a consultant for a couple doctors who have put videos up… and my speciality is business / web and large scale marketing (but in the off road industry). Go figure that my #1 site is this one. Maybe it would help everyone out more if I started shooting the shit via videos that are up to date.
i had tapered down to 1 mg a day for over a month, then .5 mg a day for a week and just stopped about 60 hrs ago with minimal withdrawl, some restless legs, a little upset stomach, and a touch of anxiety, im just waiting to hit this wall in the next couple days, i think thats were the anxiety is coming from, what do u think i should expect?
Brian,
I give you so much credit for your understanding that this all comes with a price, one way or another. We all need to taper and man (or woman) up to get done with this sh$t. I an humbled and feel pathetic at times as I have been 2 months at about .5 mgs per day and am SOO scared to break my pattern. You all give me hope and strength and I can’t thank you enough!