finally off suboxone

first off im 23 years old and have a wonderfull son who is almost 2. I started using tabs when i was 18 and had a full blown addiction at 19 ive tried so many times to get off tabs nothing worked!!! then heard about suboxone, wow i was so freakin happy, i got my life back i became a better mom and a better person, everything was finally coming together, about 6 months ago i moved to my first place with my son and his dad. i have been on suboxone for about a year i take about 8-10 mg a day. well i start school in 2 weeks everything is going how i want it EXCEPT for reading all of these horiable things sad about withdrawls!!! Im so scared and cant stop crying i dont know what to do!!! i want to die like im never going to be normal again, my real mom is a drugue and isnt in my life, i dont want my son to go threw what i went threw. how can i finish school, go to work, and be a mom if i wont be able to funcution with out suboxone. I want to be normal thats is my only wish!!! someone please give me some good feedback cuz i dont know what to do im hopeless so very hopeless

I have been off of suboxon for one week now. I didnt realize that I would suffer withdrawals after only a few days of taking this drug. Was I actually suffering withdrawals from the suboxon or the opiates. How long does it take after being off of suboxon before you can take an opiate and actually feel the effect.

I am surprised to see that people are being prescribed such high does -- anything over 16 mg. Recently my Dr. stopped taking the insurance I was using, which was a free Medicare insurance, and I found out that it is because he is not making enough money from seeing this patients through this insurance. During the same visit, he told me that he "thinks I should consider staying on this medication for the rest of [my] life."

And so money is involved here, even in the most religious of Dr.'s, because before this, I had considered him to be an extremely upright and holy person, doing the work of God. In countenance to this, many experienced individuals are making strong claims that suboxone should be used only for a very short period of time, specifically when one is in treatment. Going back to my opening statement, I cannot believe that people would be on such high doses of this medication; it does not make sense to me because 16 mg will work as effectively as 32 mg, and this higher dose would, in my opinion, only had to the addictiveness.

Nevertheless, I would like to recommend to people an herb called St. John's Wort, which is commonly prescribed in Europe for depression. There are other herbs that may help, such as Milk Thistle for detox, and so look into herbology.

Now, when I was coming off of Suboxone a few years ago, I was given by my girlfriend's mother a pilled called Tramadol. From Wiki:

"It has been suggested that tramadol could be effective for alleviating symptoms of depression, anxiety, and phobias because of its action on the noradrenergic and serotonergic systems. Its use is under investigation for opiate withdrawal management. "

I began taking a few of these little pills and they completely alleviated my symptoms! I used them for about 3 weeks and managed to get off the Suboxone! Tramadol is actually an opiate, but a mild one. My addiction was quite severe -- to heroin, oxycontin and fentanyl, although I would take at the same time lesser substances like lauratabs. I was able to effectively use Tramadol to get off Suboxone, and from my experience, I can highly vouch for it. Ask your Dr. to get a script of Tramadol and see if it works for you. I was so thankful. I hope you will experience the same thing.

Joseph

Joseph's suggestion to step down to Tramadol is a great option IMO; it's what worked me for getting off subs as well...I was previosly an oxy, hydro, morph addict for about three years start to finish. When I was ready to get clean, I started on 8-16 mgs./day of subx. and worked my way down to 1-2 mgs. every day/ or other day over about 6 mos. Over last 6 mos. I tried quitting subs. probably 3 different times and quickly realized after 2-4 days of abstinence; little less than full withdrawals slowly begin and get progressively worse, as the half life of suboxone is too damn long. My doctor didn't care though. He tried to sell me on the idea my brain was perhaps permanently changed as result of opiate use and I may be stuck on 1mg every other day for rest of my life...I now know his opinion was falsely founded and absolute BS., IMO.

Previous abusers of oxy, hydro, fent, h, or any other powerful opiate probably understand that tramadol creates virtually no high whatsover, especially when compared to strong opiates, like ones previously mentioned. Any possible high from tramadol feels most similar to the non-euphoria suboxone creates after you've been taking it for 2 or so days; there is no euphoria, it just keeps you from feeling sick. Tramdol has a much shorter half life though, similary to oxys, so your not pissing the Trams out for a week or more as you would when cold turkeying off subs..

Just start at the minimally comfortable dose of Trams (for me: started 150-200mgs/day down to 50mg/day then stopped) and taper down over a week or so; whatever works for you...Again there's no high from Tram so you probably won't miss em throughout the tapering down time anyway. After tapering off Trams, you'll be amazed when you go two or three days without em and realize that it's been ten days or more since your last sub dose and your not feeling dope sick in any way...It worked for me

The problem is that nobodys information is useful. We all have difference experiences. Someone who takes vicodin will explain the symptoms of withdrawl usually as being worse then a heroin addict will explain them. This is why you cannot rely on these forums. People who are not hardcore drug addicts write about how the withdrawls are so terrible only because it may be their first time experiencing them. Those who know about withdrawl all too well have come to accept that its part of getting high, unless you have no financial hardships no matter the tolerance. What I have found with suboxone is that it is not a great idea to stay on it forever, the brain wasn't created to work with it, it was created to work independent. Understanding some people need medication to assist one in functioning on a daily basis. HOWEVER, THE PROBLEM IS THAT IT TAKES A LONG TIME FOR YOUR BRAIN TO RE-CREATE "PLEASURE PATHWAYS". YOUR BRAIN NEEDS TO COMPLETELY REWIRE ITSELF. THIS TAKES A LONGER TIME AND AN INTENSITY THAT MOST PEOPLE ARE NOT WILLING TO ENDURE. IT CAN TAKE A YEAR OF STRENUOUS DAY TO DAY SOBER LIVING RESISTING URGES AND "TRIGGERS" TO FEEL BETTER BUT IT ONLY TAKES 1 SECOND TO THROW ALMOST ALL OF IT AWAY BECAUSE YOUR BRAIN WILL RE-WIRE AND YOU WILL RE-OPEN THOSE PLEASURE PATHWAYS JUST LIKE THAT. THE BRAIN WORKS BACKWARDSSSSS. DEPENDING ON WHICH OPIATE USED, FOR HOW LONG, AND HOW MUCH, IT CAN TAKE FROM 6 MONTHS TO 3 YEARS TO RE-WIRE ONES BRAIN AND "FEEL GOOD" AGAIN.

i went to a detox facility in Florida to get off Sub. I was supposed to do 3 weeks, but because my insurance would only cover 10 days i was there for 14 days. I payed for 4 days, but that was not enough time at all because i was severely sick when i left for the aftercare facility. I was acting out of my mind as well. When it was time to go i hid under the table and said that i would not leave and that i need more treatment.. The treatment by the way was a liquid detox that we would drink every 4 hours. The mixture was hydro morph and Valium and other stuff. I must say that it was a dream drink. I was never so high as i was when i first arrived and given the "cocktail". Evidently they taper you down gradually every 4 hours for the duration of your stay. After the 2 weeks i went to an aftercare facility for 1 month and i was severely sick the whole time. They did nothing because i was supposedly detoxed. People who were just off heroine felt great but i just never got better. When i got back home, i was given tramadol and that made me feel great especially after feeling so bad for so long. I took that for a month, and when i stopped, i got suicidal from withdraw and ended up in a hospital for a week. When i got out, i just went back on the Sub and am still on. I recently had a baby and tried to get off for the birth. I got down to 6 mg that's it. now im back to 16mg. i want to have another baby but don't want to go through that again without pain relief. By the way i got on sub to get off of vicodin that my doctor put me on for depression. I just want my life back.

I have been on the sub for about 5 months now. Started out 24mg daily and went down to 2 mg daily for over a month. I went cold turkey 7 days ago and I am in the worst shape I have ever been in in my life. Before I was taking about 100-150 mgs of OC,s and Lortabs a day and the withdrawals were not any where near this bad. It is absolute torture with the hot to cold to chills to having the shakes from there to anxiety attacks that make you feel like killing someone or running through the wall. You dont have enough energy to make yourself get up and eat if you even get hungry but at the same time you cant sleep from the anxiety. This is the worst thing that has ever happen to me. Tomorrow will be day 8 and I think I have eaten twice and threw it up once. In 7 days I have slept very little and yes you will experience major weight loss and dehydration. I have tried to force water or juice into my system but it makes me very sick at my stomach and then the diarrhea will hit within 15 minutes. These withdrawals will almost make you suicidal. These withdrawals are worse than the opiate withdrawals and last many times longer. I come off the opiates once before at overdose levels and it only lasts about 5 days but it also is 5 days of hell. If you come off the suboxone and make 5-7 days hang in there because hopefully it cant go much longer. If I ever went back to the suboxone I would be on it for life because I would never want to experience this again. The only thing I have found to help is take a bath as hot as you can possibly stand the water for about 30 minutes and it will give you about 45 minutes of relief but does not competely cure the withdrawals. I have tried the sleep aid, motrin tylenol, torodol, nuproxene and none help. Vitamin B extract and Ginseng seem to help very little, which any help is a major improvement. If you are off thank god and if you are coming off good luck and be strong minded. I will write again once the withdrawals are over if it ever happens.

I live in australia and our program seems to be a bit different over here. I have been on suboxone for about 5 months, i started on 8mg and continually stepped down piece by piece. Yesterday i took my last dose which was 0.4 mg and today i am going through the withdrawls but it is not that bad at all.

I think you should wean yourself down to .4mg, coming off at 2mg would be hell.

How long did it take you to come off tis drug????

I am now on .2mg of Suboxone.. I have been on Methadone in the past.. and that was really hard to get off.. I started on 80mg and reduced nearly every 2 weeks, until finally I was off.. It was a hard road.

10 years later, I had a small relapse, so to get on top of it before it completely ruined my life, my doctor put me onto Subutex..I started on 8mg.. which was great. I found that the reducing withdrawals weren't very pleasant, but tolerable when you consider what you've done to get yourself there in the first place! I had very vivid dreams, broken sleep, felt like I had internal bleeding, weak..I also lost alot of weight (15kgs) as I didn't want to eat anything as I felt very nauseated. But, its better than hanging out for Heroin, so its a great alternative! I also found that the first two days were okay, it was day 3 that was the worst, so prepare for that. I also found that dropping once every 2 weeks was a little too quick, and found that reducing my dose once every 3 weeks or once a month was easier.. I went from 8mg, to 7...all the way down to 1mg in about 7 months. Then I couldn't go any lower. So, instead of going to dose every second day, which to me was just not an option (i couldn't imagine hanging out until the next day! hell) I sat on 1mg of Subutex for 3 months until my doctor found me an answer...he changed me over to Suboxone..which come in .4mg tablets.

So I started Suboxone at .8mg and found that it was stronger than 1mg of Subutex.. so I quickly dropped to .6mg.. which was a great feeling..

Reducing on Suboxone is alot easier, I do have vivid dreams, broken sleep and feel quite aggitated, but I don't get the stomach pains and the inability to eat.. which makes recovery quicker.

I am able to reduce every 3-4 weeks. I can't reduce quicker as I do get negative symptoms of withdrawal. Now, I am on .2mg and am looking to coming off completely. This last reduce was really quite easy. I had some difficulty sleeping, and some vivid dreams, but certainly no stomach pains.

I have been on .2mg for 4 days, and I think I'll be ready to drop off completely by the end of the week...woooohoooo!!! can't wait to never have to pick up my sublingual tablets EVER AGAIN!

i am an addict. I am addicted to every known opiate out there. I HAVE NOT USED SINCE MAY 25, 2007. That is the day i kicked methadone. IT WAS PURE HELL FOR ABOUT 4 DAYS and then 60 days of uneasiness. I was given the MAX 32 mgs og Suboxone and it sent me into immediate w/d. At first i was afraid i would die, THEN i was afraid i would'nt. I have been slowly weaning off suboxone from 32 mg. to now 2 mg a day. I STILL GET W/D if i miss just ONE day. I know there will be a bad couple days at the end, thats why i have been prolonging ikicking it.
HOWEVER, since stopping methadone my health has become much better and the pain i was taking methadone for has subsided. I am still in pain, but the suboxone helps mitigate this even at 2mg a day.

LETS ALL REMEMBER ONE IMPORTANT THING: That while we were on oxycontin, percocet, methadone etc. we werent feeling ANYTHING!!! Now i can look at myself in the mirror again, and my kids and me are close. I have lost two spouses because of methadone and opiates , but am back in the drivers seat of my life.

I would like to stop taking suboxone as it is very expensive, but am feeling not able to deal with ULTRA-GNARLY withdrawals again.

MY questions are does the human body EVER go back to normal after stopping using suboxone??Do the meetings at NA really help at all?is there NO EASIER WAY OFF OF THE SUBOXONE? THANK YOU FOR YOUR REPLIES

i came on this site to read everyones experienes on sub. i to take sub. after a 4yr opiate addiction, taking anything from 5 to 10 pills a week. im at 4mg a day. ive been on them for about 1-1/2 yrs, and havn't touched a opiate in a 1-1/2yrs. i started at 24mg a day then down to 16, then 8 and at 4 now. there was 2 times were i came off of sub for a week because of surgery, and went back on them because i didn't want to take the pain killers they prescribed me. i new if i took the subs i couldn't take the pain killers, even thow they probably wouldn't work..lolol. im taking the month of june to get off these things. im sure im going to go threw w/d but im ready to handle it. the 2 times i came off of them i really didn't feel that crappy and i was off them for at least 5 to 7 days. does the crappy feeling come after the first week or so. does anyone have any inspiration for me. good luck to all of you in the same situation. it sucks when you have that addictive personality. sub is definately the wonder drug it takes away all your bad feelings and makes you feel good. but does anyone want to worry about taking this fo the rest of your life. and say you have major surgery and you need opiates. i mean subs actually do work for pain, i mean not like a opiate but subs do work. im sure i can deal with the sweats and aces, but not eating o boy thats not good. im big into weigtlifting and love to eat, so if w/d are going to take that away from me, then me and w/d are going to have to fight and im going to beat it. good luck every one. aka foodlover.

I too am in the same situation. I was on opiates for over 5 years and hit rock bottom. I did some research and decided to see a doc about Suboxone. He gave me 8mg pills 3 times a day which for a weeks worth cost me $150. I can not afford this but I want to save my life. I have been taking them for almost a month and in the beginning I had hope and clarity and for the first time in my life I thought everything was going to be ok. But now the cost is killing me. I have been taking only a half a pill a day and I'm scared to death to stop cold turkey or to go through withdrawals because that is when I alway's relapse. Please does someone have any advice for me I am desperate

Yes you need to taper down slowly from what you are taking now to the point you are just taing a crumb a day. Then jump off. YOu will definitely still have withdrawals but not nearly as bad if you jumped off 4 mg. People dont realize 4 mg Suboxone is equal to 120 mg Morphine. At the height of my morphine addiction i was taking about 120 mg a day -- so you got to get down real real low. You'll still have withdrawal, usually described as pretty bad but not as intense as from other opiates. The downside to suboxone withdrawal though is it takes about 1-2 weeks of feeling pretty sh**ting to get through it. If you can get some Xanax, Klonopin or Valium it will help you tremendously with the crippling, painful insomnia. Try to wait as long as you can stand before dipping into it, and take as little as possible. You NEED to go through some withdrawal so you will be less likely to get addicted in the future. Also immodium helps with the horrible diarriah most people feel.



Good luck to you

I'm a 28 yr old female. I just recently started to wean myself down off suboxone. I started with vicotin, then eventually started snorting oxy's and then used heroin about 15-20 times. My girlfriend was worse into it than I was so she is my saving grace for getting clean and then helping me come off of opiates with suboxone. I have been on suboxone for about 6 months, give or take a couple. I have only ever taken about a quarter of an 8mg suboxone a day.. so that's approximately 2mg of suboxone every 24 hrs. I recently have been feeling like the dose no longer works for me and that I have to take more due to my tolerance going up. I REFUSE to do this. I do NOT want to go backwards with addiction and that's what I feel suboxone is doing to me. I think it is very useful for heavy heroin users but I do not consider myself to be in that category. I am very scared because I know the drug is fairly new and that not even doctors can tell you a lot about it. I've just been reading up on a lot of people going through the same thing and have found some things that might possibly subside the withdrawals. It's only day two of me cutting to half of what I used to take (so about 1mg). I've also extended the time in between to 27 hrs instead of 24 hrs. I plan on doing this for a couple weeks until my body is used to the dose and then taper down again from there. I am taking NewPhase complete (menopausal medicine) to see if it helps. It's an all-natural drug free dietary supplement that's supposed to help with night sweats/hot flashes. It also has green tea which increases energy and curbs fatigue naturally. I just started taking this on my own on the assumption it would help me with the sweats so we'll see. I am also planning on getting more vitamin C. I will keep you posted.