finally off suboxone

I wanta say to everyone on here..I also have been through this and its not gonna be easy..but u can do it everyone has dif. w/ds some stronger than others i was on it for 3yrs. 24mgs a day within a mo. i had no choice but to slow it i went to 1 a day for about 5 or 6 days and the halfed about the same then 3 days 2mg. towards the last 5 days it was the worse ever!!!! I cryed and prayed and asked god to please take this pain away and prayed and prayed yesterday was ok not completely better.. I woke up today almost no pain at all I got dressed and I feel like im starting to get better now idk if tomorrow is gonna bring hell but for today I feel like god has transformed me and i just wanta tell everyone on here dont give up and turn to God not the docs..pray! God is there and hears ur crys have faith! Also for restless legs get bananas/potassium..for the runs imodium..take vitimans lots of water and juice and i mean allllot...and look up the rest of the stuff on here bc that helped me..and u may need a anti depressant! but mainly keep faith in god!..get to groups and pray! God bless u all and ill keep yas updated

I just want to tell everyone I was addicted to oc vics and suboxone heavily and I'm clean over 2 months now. Never would I have thought I could do it. 7 yrs on drugs total. I swear to you don't let anyone scared you into not getting clean. You can't be on benzos if you want a quicker recovery. I cut my subox down to 2mg for about a month and then went cold turkey. On about the 3rd day my legs started going crazy, couldn't stop moving...all that stuff. So I went for a walk....even though it took everything in me to do it....guess what??? It helped a ton. One other thing drink tons and tons of gadorade and take aleve everyday. Vitamins too!!! Whatever you do...DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL. It helps for a second and then you feel way way worse. I did take a valium on day 5 and 6 but then I stopped cause I never did the benzo thing and didn't want to start...honestly it didn't help much. Try some sleep aids. Eventually, and I'm talking about 3 weeks after your sleep pattern returns. I felt way better after about 10 days though. It was summer and super hot out and I think that helped me detox. I just sat outside with some happy music and my gadorade. Good luck to you all. By the way, being off pills and subox is way better!! I'm seriously happy all of the time. I forgot what it was like to not have to be pissed off all of the time.

I've been watching this thread for a while now, and can't get over how uninformed some suboxone addicts are. Coming off suboxone for ANYone, does not have to be "hard". Is it comfortable? No. But YOU are the person who chooses to make the experience a nightmare.

I learned this by continued failed attempts to stop suboxone myself. Then I made it up in my mind, I was going to be SMART about it, and amazingly, it was not all that hard. Or maybe I've came off too many drugs and have a wider frame of reference. You people need to SET RULES that you NEVER BREAK.

Suboxone is KNOWN to be a VERY powerful drug. When I see people stopping at 1-2mg doses, and complaining about wds, I honestly just think "no sh*t". What did you expect would happen? Do you not understand biology? Or suboxone? How powerful it is? 

Here are your 2 rules.

1) Taper slowly down to .25mg. You can actually taper lower and its not hard as long as you PACE YOURSELF. I personally tapered down to .12mg. But whether or not you have wds, is all DEPENDENT upon the SLOPE of which you tapered. You can't just get low then stop and think you'll be fine.

Suboxone takes forever to work its way out of your blood. So GET LOW AND STAY LOW FOR A WHILE. That is the proverbial *key* to getting off suboxone. Its like noone realizes it either. Although it did take me a few years to realize myself which was unfortunate.

2) I already said it, STAY LOW for an EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME. 3 months minimum! I think I was on .25mg for 6 friggn months before I dropped any lower. Mainly because I was hesitant about coming off. So instead I wound up dropping to .125mg. Then I stayed there for another 3 months.

Do you SEE how long I was on a low dose for?

When I came off sub, sure I got a bit of wds, but it was mainly 2 weeks of insomnia/fatigue. Opiates do NOT always have to be impossible to get off of. You people do that to yourself. You want my honest opinion? When I came off a 35mg dose of paxil years ago, that sh*t was 10 times worse than coming off suboxone. Vomiting, shaking, vomiting, shaking, insomnia, vomiting and more vomiting for 2 weeks straight.

So STOP THINKING its got to be hard.

I hate to sound like an as****e, but YOU MAKE IT THAT WAY. Not the drugs. Your body is just a chemical medium, never forget that. The 2 weeks won't be fun no, but its nothing that will ruin your life. If you really need, because of the sleep, take a vacation from life. But by week 3 I was already starting to feel better.

I've been off ALL opiates for around 20 months now. Maybe my background in chemistry is what helped me the most. And standardizing my sub in liquid solution. And KNOWING that as long as I was on a low dose long enough, there would be NO WAY I could fail at stopping. Its chemically impossible people! This is all science.

No you're not going to just stop and feel good. But its NOT as bad as you think if you just *DO IT THE RIGHT WAY*.

I came on here to write this because one of my friends is trying to come off suboxone. I have no idea how he got it in his head that it would be a smart idea to stop at 1mg. That may not seem like a bad idea to you people, but TRUST ME, you WILL be back on sub in a matter of weeks if you try.

The reason most people relapse, is they have no idea how strong suboxone really is. Thats why you MUST taper super low, and just stay there. Is that really that hard to do? If you're dropping doses, and its too hard... well that just means you should LISTEN to your body. Do NOT rush the process. DO NOT set dates for when you plan on stopping.

NEVER EVER!

I use to waste countless hours everyday reading about peoples experiences coming off sub online, and I always saw the same pattern. Almost noone had any idea wtf they were doing. I'm sorry to sound so brash. But please trust me on this. Taper low, STAY LOW, get your life on track. Eat healthy 4-5 times a day. Don't eat SUGAR. That c**p will fire off cortisol/adrenaline which is the LAST THING you want when tapering opiates. If you smoke, so be it. I smoked cigs all the way through. But I don't recommend smoking pot for when you stop the sub. I tried that before and it never worked.

Most of all. Seriously, if you stay on a low dose for several months, then stop, and can't deal with it, then use your brain. Just taper lower. Eventually the addiction WILL break. Dose at nighttime so you can sleep.  Eventually you'll get so low, the "swings" become less and less, and you just stop. There will be insomnia that drives you a bit nuts from day 4 to day 10, but by week 2 you'll start coming around. Its NOT intense.

So PLEASE addicts, stick to these rules. It took me years to figure out there was a right way to do this. Just stick to the plan, don't get stressed out, and you WILL be fine.

 

 

The Suboxone Subject.

Needing Help To Get Off Suboxone-According to your dosage.Taking 3 a day,you have to get down to 2 a day.Taking 2 a day,you have to get down to 1 a day.Take 1 a day for 2 to 3 weeks.Then take one half a day for 2 weeks.Then take a fourth a day for a week and see how you feel. Extra sleep is a main factor for getting off any drug. It usally takes a Benzodiazepine drug to really work. Xanax is not the drug of choice.It also has severe withdrawl symptoms.My personal experience is 1 mg Klonipin twice a day works well. Getting an extra hour of sleep at night and 1 in the morning is really helpful. Suboxone is a drug that is made from the same opium alkoloid as oxycodone,Thebaine.It is a Bentley compound,meaning it has a stronger binding affinity than i.e. morphine does.It builds up in fat cells.So the less bodyfat the easier it will be to detox.Now if you do have pain,you might need it for that.But it will not abolish all pain,but will make it more bearable.But if you don't have no pain,then you can get down to 1 mg a day and still function alright.When you get down to 1 mg a day,then I took 2 ultrams every other day,plus 1 Klonipin am and pm. Drink more water to help flush it out quicker.Be your own judge about how you feel.After a week or so,you can take 1 ultram twice a day for awhile to you start filling better.Then you can take one half Klonipin,am and pm. Take a good GNC multi-vitamine a day.Eat more fruits and vegetables. Now the mental addiction is going to be quite harder. You will start filling better pretty soon on this regimine in about 2 weeks.I have went thru every opaite drug addiction there is. Detoxing is the main thing to remember. Getting the level of the drug down in your body. Ultram posesses a little prozac like activity in it.It does work,no doubt in my mind whatsoever. Remember extra sleep is very critical to drug detoxing.Give this a try and I think it will help anybody.But if you need it for pain,you might have to take it longer.But Ultram is also for pain and it will start helping.Never take Ultram and Suboxone together.Wait at least 24 hours between doses.You are going to have to stay away from people that are taking the drug.Give it a try and I think you can make it through these hard times.May the Lord give you the strength you need.

Im a forty year old female who has been on suboxen for almost 6 months, I want off of it as well and am scared to death.... I DONT have any words of incouragement but just want you to know I feel your fear and wish you the very best....

My fiance started to lose all his teeth. He now is getting dentures. He has been on suboxones for a year now. This is his second time on them. The first time, He only used them for 6 months, weened himself off of them. Started using vicodine's again 2 years later and now back on suboxones for the past year. This time around I am noticing things he never did on his first bout with the drug. He is constantly falling asleep sitting up (like when he was on methadone, back in the day), he is losing weight drastically, and now his teeth are rottted. Oh and not to mention he is very agitated and more prone to be violent.

your a shmuck. subs are a miracle drug if taken right. first im addicted to smoking heroin started w oc 80s ok. so look if your taking suboxone your wanting to get off of any opiates with as little or no withdrawal what so ever. as my doctor told me their is no soft landing with heroin. point is either way your going to withdrawal, now that doesnt mean that it isnt tolerable. the whole point of taking suboxone is to get off opiates cuz doing it cold turkey is just unbareable. most opiate addicts really are weak mentally because of the opiates. we get clean we go back get clean relapse. get clean . lapse then relapse. point is not only is it biological, but more so mental or neurological. for me the best part is the worst the biological part. because anyone can get clean its staying clean that is the hardest part you addicts should know this. doctors dont have experience like junkies so say what you will but this is my advice. yes the half life on subs are a lot longer than heroin so if you stay on em long enough youll have a long withdrawal, i know this cuz i got addicted to suboxone i had a script they gave em to me in rehab, and they let it overlap.what i mean is every day they kept giving me the same amount of subs. i had suboxone withdrawal for at least 5 weeks. to prevent this do a safe rapid detox. you want to start out at about 12 mg or enough to stabilize yourself( of course after 24 hours of cold turkey withdrawal from your last use of using) the next day when it wears off go to ten, then when that wears off go to 8 then next day when that wears off go to 6 mg. the next day when that wears off go to 4 mg the next day when that wears off go to 3 mg, then next day when that wears off go to 2mg the next day when that wears off go to 1 mg the next day when that wears off go to .5mg of suboxone the next day nothing.this is the best way ive taperd off of suboxone to get off heroin, and yes you will experience mild withdrawal symptoms but thats the point, to get withdrawal to the point where you can tolerate it and get off heroin. ive done it properly to the point where really i felt nothing as far as that cold feel you feel going thru your blood, minor goosebumps yes, aching bones for a while yes. but the goal is to get that cold chill feel that gives you goosebumps that makes you want to use, go away that way you can somewhat pleasantly get off of heroin and suboxen. ive done it before with just 4mg. after the last time u smoke snort or shoot heroin. wait 24 hours then take 2 mg of sub under tongue. then 1 mg then 1mg after you withdrawal from each dose of course. and youll get off of it i mean really it beats cold turkey, i dont recomend work.. but if you have a week to stay at home and smoke weed and let it get out of your system after the last 1 mg you should be fine and for me is the best way to do it. for me sauna after i run out of subs helps it helps your blood circulate the way it should helps speed up detox. helps get all those toxins that are their get out quicker by using sauna you just need to know your body and know what are the smartest ways to get off opiates. ive been addicted to heroin and oc 80s for 4 years now.ive struggled sooo much, im also a cancer survivor, imust say i beat cancer in 7 months done im cured. but ive been off any and every opiate now for 3 months, and boom no cure, i can just say i am a recovering heroin addict. heroin addiction is serious and apparently more difficult to beat for me at least than cancer. cancer i can say i beat in remission. herion i can just say recovering, and as long as i never buy a bag in a sense i am cured. how just dont buy a bag again. my point is it is extremely difficult to beat opiate addiction chemical dependancy, but its not impossible nothing is impossible. id rather deal with withdrawal than have cancer again for sure. their are people who are paralyzed cant do anything about it. at least with our addiction their is a solution their is hope. i never gave up after how many relapses everyone said id never get off heroin. and i thought that to, i still have those days. but thats what it takes and took me, i had to hit rock bottom to get off heroin. for most people it normally gets to the point where the people around you and yourself lose hope and say or feel like youll never get off heroin or opiates and thats normally where you wake up from hitting rock bottom and get strength and realize you can quit. your just afraid of withdrawal like anyone else, not everyone can find subs on the street or get em prescribed, and thats what we all deal with that s why its sooo hard to get off opiates. but their is hope, at your local gym sauna helps. or in most ppls towns look for a methadone clinic, i dont recomend methadone didnt work for me. but they do do a suboxone treatment their as well. if you try hard enough if you want it bad enough you will get and stay clean. remember we did anything and everything to get heroin or to avoid withdrawal. i did anything to get high, so do anything and everything you can to get clean you can do it their is hope.

Please,While I am empathetic to what you posted, and can relate to what you are saying, the worse thing to do, on these kinds of forums, where people are struggling, on individual bases as each person differs in how they cope with taking suboxone whether short or long term, and the impact it could have once off.I was taking suboxone for five years, without the doctor who prescribed it, remotely understanding what exactly suboxone is. Even today, most doctors outside the realm of addition psychiatry have no inkling as to what long term consequences of long term suboxone treatment could be. While suboxone(buprenorphine, the agonistic property in it) was used in many countries for pain, it was never an alternative means to be used as a long term, daily treatment for addiction. I do believe that some should maintain suboxone treatment as it has therapeutic and in actuality life saving properties in that it could prevent one from relapse. However, there in my opinion, could still be much more relevant means in treating addiction/dependancy. For one thing, I am in no way against the use of suboxone or any medicatino that deems to have postiive results. However, when those positive results have not been fully understood as to whether they cause long term consequences, this is what is bothersome. I got off suboxone because I knew when the timing was right. Yes, I relapsed over 10 times, thinking all those times I would be able to conquer my goal. For you to belittle others in my opinion is the very essense of why suboxone is not a miracle drug, and how it is in actuality a money hungry investment that doctors(no longer just psychiatrists) prescribe. Another fact-Anyone from internal medicine to even neurologists could prescribe suboxone by getting  a certificate. This disgusts me. Taking a few hour s course to prescribe an anti-craving medication that is not within the areas of their speciality is why I feel many doctors are about GREED vs. humaneness. Either that, or many compassionate doctors because the "marketing within the field of medicine" as to how incredibly safe suboxone is deemed has manipulated a majority of very decent, kind-heated doctors. Some who prescribe may feel that when addicts come to them, they want to take what they considered the safest protocol in throwing them(and in many cases charging tremendous amount of montly visits) to patients who they feel will not be a bothersome to them in many ways. For one thing, these days the DEA is on the medical community's A_S.. By being certified to prescribe this medication, for the most part, it keeps doctors safe from malpractice lawsuits. With the increasing fear the DEA has imposed on not just prescribing narcotics to addicts who have a dependency, which by itself is a disease not a crime!!!, they are now more hesitant to prescribe long term pain killer treatment to those suffering from debilitating physiological diseases. I won't get into an argument, or the science behind why I have my opinions on how the pharmaceutical industries have gotten away with an incredible amount of deceitfullness. What I will say in regards to the above post is that one thing all of us have in common is that we dealt or are dealing still with addiction. Criticizing others doesn't make you look like a better  person. IN reality, it shows that while you may be a strong minded person(a good thing), you are unempathetic to others that you feel disagree with "true medical facts", when that could be further from the truth. You seem like a bright person, and I do empathize with what you have gone through. While  I was not on suboxone Heroin, I know based on hearing stories like yours how extremely difficult it is to try getting sober. Once you are, I do agree, the hardest thing with addiction and us addicts is trying to remain sober. This is where the sweet science of whether drugs alter certain neurotransmitters, neurons, cells, receptors. In my case, after being off months, I still suffer feelins of slligh withdrawals-every day. While no where near horrific, when having to wake up with symptoms such as back pain, can't move your neck do to muscle fiber tension, burning eyes, slight chillls and constant nausea, it becomes a hazard, effecting my life in many areas, from social to the workplace. I feel extreme demotivation, can't multi-task or process my words into expressive thoughts at times. Ofcourse, the one thing that I'm proud of which you and every person whether they are still trying to get off a drug of choice or have been and going suffering the consequences, addiction is a brain disease. Many times, it can be triggered by social cues, others genetics or a combination. Interesting thing is that I come from a family where as far as I can count back, have not had addiction issues. This doesn't mean that I can say without any doubt they don't have addictive tendencies. I for one, crave uppers and downers, not a big drinker and never smoke. Could it be that many smokers are drinkers and vice versa which may be moreso driven towards biological factors, whereas those addicted to stimulants such as amphetamine salts, and pain killers are those with a predispostiion for depression or anxiety, leading them to take these type  of drugs under stressful situations?  For me, after getting the suboxone all out of my system, even though my serotonin and DOPAMINERGIC(it hits certain pathways where dopamine lies, being that dopamine is the epicenter stemming from addiction from all or most drugs, I am proud about what I achieved, but suffering for the long term use. It is why, to the person who wrote the above post, you should never be judgemental about what others are going through based on how you dealt with your journey. I can relate to you, I feel you are an intelligent, articulate person who has been through the realms of hell. But, that doesn't give you the right, to generalize what others should or will feel when on suboxone or getting off. IN fact, forums like these provide some great insight into many individuals who have been struggling and continue to. That being said, it could also hurt others who read posts that contain information which is factually inaccurate. Your facts are opinions, and many people who are in very sensitive situations may take what you say as factual. Whether smoking weed helped you, doesn't mean it is the wisest decision for those who may have either predisposed psychiatric disorders or may react differntly than you did in using therapetic herbal or any other medications that you feel helped. This isn't to say your opinions do not matter. In fact, quite the contrare! It may seem hypocritical I say this, but it's I guess how you said it that I took offense to. Use your knowledge as a postive way. Yuo actually as I continued to read your post realized you were not trying to be malicious. After calling someone a shmuck, I guess I was immediately pissed off by that initial introduction. I hope you take this as I would take, whether good, bad, or indifferent from anyone who wants to take the time to read what I wrote. I want to get better, and it makes me sad how many of us are still struggling post treatment or addiction of drug of choice. Suboxone is not for everyone, and it definitely is not in my opinion a miracle cure. It is beneficial to many, especially if used for short term-but what is of extreme concern is when those are on it for longer means than they should(again each individual is different and I can't generlize the exact duration as everyone's genetic, and environment factors(triggers) we have to take into account. I rarely write on forums, but that doesn't mean I do not like reading even after being off suboxone others stories. To ogtrayloc-I hope you take this as nothing more than constructive. Once again, you provide very valuable insight and could really help many people. I think for me, some things mentioned which struck a cord were that you were adamant in that what helped you is going to help others.

there was no way im gonna read that whole thing u wrote . as far as empathy i have tons of it thats why i posted originally. first off in a nut shell simple as this. my point was suboxone in short term rapid detox just having to 8mg pills and just starting to withdrawal from heroin helps greatly. my point is some people dont use it properly stay on it to long and have bad withdrawals. also the hopelessness you get from heroin addiction and withdrawal i experienced is horrible. simple as this tuff guy if u have something against suboxen do heroin and quit cold turkey i ve done it. thats why i appreciate suboxen i start at 10 mg i taper then i do sauna for 5 days after my last dose of 1 mg. so in a nutshell im gratefull for suboxen cuz it got me sober with vary minimal withdrawal and anyone else out there trying to quit in a safe comfortable way can do the same. so in conclusion dushbag. use suboxen it helps of if your a as****e like this guy do cold turkey either way the goal and point is to have a safe and available option to getting clean from heroin, cuz its very hard and makes people hopeless. so i care believe it or not. ohh oh and those who dont know i beat cancer a real disease that i didnt chose to deal with. i chose to do herion maybe further along the line it was impulse driving me to use due to addiction and its chemical dependancy i continued to do heroin even though in my head i wanted to quit my body demanded it. cancer popped up in m y lymph nodes i had no choice. people real people you can chose to do heroin and you can chose to get off. i made a decison for me to quit and i m still sticking with it and may i add how wonderfull it is to sleep without needing to use and how lovely it is to wake up not hurting and not needing to grab foil a straw and heroin to get well to be able to function through out my day. for anyone else out there still stuggling im here with you and for you i totally understand, anyone can take this out of context or missinterpret it. but its clear and simple what im stating. i just hate it when people act like suboxen doesnt help. for some people it doesnt so express yourself. but with that, keep in mind you might be taking it too long or maybe another way suits you that s fine. but if your a real severe addict like me and have gone through crazy heroin withdrawls, u know staying on suboxen or subutex at a low dose with a proper taper for no longer than a week really is great almost like a miracle drug ... ya. if u have been through crzy withdrawal u appreciate suboxen point is. my point which my rub u or other s the wrong way. maybe u didnt do heroin or oc80s but if u have u know withdrawal from suboxen is nothing in comparson. and i speak from experience. i took suboxen at a high dose for months taperd and i withdrawaled for 7 weeks same feeling everyday now the symptoms were mild, still goosebumps throwing up etc not bad as cold turkey but its longer so some feel like its worse than cold turkey in some ways i agree. i speak from experience. if done right like i said it does wonders. if done wrong its like its the perfect drug for withdrawal it having such a long half life is what withdrawal longer for me. i am not a doctor but i have experience which a dr doesnt. with that said do a safe rapid detox and u will appreciate this new life it was able to open for me. thank you GOD BLESS

i agree with you i was on 24 mg a day for 3 years and 3 mg of klonopin for 25 years and also sleep meds anyway i got locked up and talking about pure hell i wanted to slit my throat. i did not sleep for 40 days and nights. i thought herion was bad but suboxen is much worse. anyway i finally started to sleep a bit like 2-3 hours a night to 4-5 hours a night. by the time i got out i was sleeping fine but i tell you it was the worst hell i ever been through and i been through alot. and like an id**t when i got out i went back on evrerything again. so i'm trying to get off again i think ill be ok if i can do it cold turkey i sure can do it by weening off.

i have been on ever opiate out there. oc's perks herion and have been locked up and had to detox cold turkey. it is pure hell for 3 days but when i got locked up with suboxen taking 24 mg a day i thought i was really in hell. i wanted to die. it was the worst thing i ever went through oh yea i also take 3 mg of klonopin a day so i'm sure that did not help either. anyway if i can do it cold turkey in jail well anyone can do it by weening off and having all the comforts of home. so dont think it is impossible ok its bad but after about a month it eases up big time. if i had known this before i would of never went on this stuff to begin with.

How please help

I jumped off 4mg, after 2years at 10mgs (1 1/2 strips). No big deal.
Opiate addicts are some serious BABIES!

I know this post I am replying to from "ByTheBook" was 5 months ago but it really irritated me so I had to reply.

SOME OF US do not have the luxury of having enough money to continue getting the suboxone to taper that low. I am at 2mg right now and only have four 2mg strips left and I will cut them into crumbs for the next week or so I guess. I have NO CHOICE. So remember there are those of us who would love to be able to do it the right way but our circumstances will not let us. And it's not very nice to tell someone who is determined to quit even when they know they are going to go through hell that there is NO WAY they will succeed. We can ALL succeed if we stay positive and are determined enough to be well again!