Why have you come here then? you obviously is suffering in PAWS or depression. Am another one who is suffering mad depression after 5 months off suboxone. Believe me you cannot do anything while in these shitty PAWS.. I lose my job, my girlfriend, my flat, my TV and now my sanity. There is no way on this earth you can keep hold of these things when your coming off suboxone. I am really starting to believe there is some major truth to permanent damage to our brains in regards to suboxone. I am 24 years old and was on suboxone for 2 years at 2mg, I got myself down to 0.5 for 1 month, then 0.25 for 2 months, then 0.125, and jumped. First 3 weeks were not bad, after that it started to get REAL BAD. I have not left my prents house yet. Am too full of anxiety and depressed. I honestly have thought a number of times of ending it all. I cannot take it aymore so I took some oxys in high doses and I still feel some mental pain from the suboxone PAWS.. I do not know how anybody can hold out for 1 month in these PAWS . I was holding out because I had no choice, I lost everything and have nothing to life for in these suboxone PAWS. I really feel for the ones who are older then I am and who were on higher doses then 1mg for 1 year +./
I Posted a little over a week ago. My Handle is Fl. Boy. Anyway, I was on day 16 of getting off subs at the time. At day 16 most all physical symptoms were gone aside from an ocassional sneeze and from time to time issues with my stomach. I am now on day 28 and feel almost normal. No physical side effects at all. My vision is almost back to normal as I had a few issues at work focusing for a while. The Anxiety/depression is almost completly gone. I still feel a bit of it in the mornings when i first wake up but it is not too bad. My motivation is slowly getting better each day and i would say that part i am at about 85%. The biggest issue i am having still is sleeping. I wake up roughly 4 to 5 times a night. I am not jumping out of my skin but it still kind of sucks. That too is getting better little by little. during the first 2 weeks i was taking colonidine for physical symptoms and Trazodone for sleep. I have I have been off any and all meds for about 2 weeks. I had to suffere through the worst of the Anxiety/Depression with nothing as i felt it was the best way. In the past when i had been using on and off i would use benzos and alcohol which i found ended up making the depression and anxiety worse. By the way i am now 36 years old, I know age has been brought into questions in reagards to how bad withdrawals are.
Watson:
Hang in there man! I do feel for you if you are months into this and still going through this garbage. You mentioned you used Oxy's recently? Are you drinking alcohol or using Benzos in any capacity? If you use opiates on and off though out this and you are probably setting your self back each time you do and making the anxiety/depression worse. In a sensce you reset the clock a bit each time. If you are using alcohol or benzos it will make it worse as well. My suggestion is to stop any and all substances for a few weeks regardless of how hard it is. Try and exercise as that was the only thing that got my mind right in the past. Through my using on and off I had a few bouts of anxiety/depression that lasted 6 months or more. Each time when i finally stopped drinking and taking benzos and exercised it got me back to normal. It did not happen over night and it took weeks if not months before the anxiety/depression went away but it did! I never used benzos while coming off opiates to get high. If i had a bar it would last me days as i would just take a half of a square once daily. Anyway just try and stay off of any and all substances for a month and exercise and I bet you will start to feel better. I am not a doctor but it worked several times for me. Hang in there!!!!
I just wanted to commemt that out of all the posts, I put my faith in this one and it proved to be 100% correct. After dropping off .5 MG, I was in the clear come day 5-6.
Thanks K! I read this 20 times while WD ing!
T
I want only to add a couple things to the valid things posted here. As far as natural remedies for your withdrawal, a multivitamin, L-tyrosine and Advil. Clonidine, ambien (or similar) and Xanax are far more effective, although I recommend all of them. The first three are things you should take throughout, despite the fact they do not have an immediate effect like chewing up some percs or something. Clonidine will help with the sweats and the sensitivity to heat/cold, which will dissipate over the first week. The Ambien and Xanax will help in general, particularly with sleeping. If you can't get them from your prescriber of the Suboxone, confess to your family doctor and see if he will take mercy on you with a 1-2 month script.
Each week is a new chapter in the history of your symptoms, and will be preceded by what seems a worsening of the symptoms. Just when you think it's tolerable, you get hit with a day or two of the return of some symptom, like painful knee swelling, or mid-sternal back discomfort that seems to be, to one degree or another, your most constant companion. However, this will be followed by an overall lessening of the symptoms.
The longer you have been on Suboxone, and drugs in general, the longer it will take to get it out. I'm on like day 34 and while I can deal with it now, it's not gone and I do not feel "normal" and energetic. In fact, the lack of unsupplemented energy and more importantly the lack of any kind of drive, ambition and motivation, despite exercising regularly throughout, is in and of itself depressing.
I decided to simply state the facts without cheering you on; I do however want you to consider the alternative. Do you want to be a slave forever, or will you at some point say NO MORE. You will never get to day 34, 40, 24 or 7 if you take the whole thing at once. One day at a time is the only way to go. 95% of people fail. For anyone who tells you what it's like without first hand experience, feel free to slap them across the face. It sucks. It order to be the 5% that makes it, you have to realize that there is no acceptable alternative but to make it to tomorrow and that it will get better each week and eventually pass. There is plenty of sympathy and empathy in other posts. What you need is strength and determination that is sustainable, even though it may bend to near breaking.
Nothing worth having comes without a fight.
OK, just a quick fyi ~ I had been on MS contin 300mg per day until 3 yrs ago when I went on Suboxone. I've had 3 surgeries in the past 3 yrs that I needed to switch to a narcotic and then back on suboxone.
If you truly don't want to be on Suboxone (exchanging one drug for another), you NEED to get off the Suboxone within 14 days. The first week is to block narcotic withdrawal and the second week is for weaning. You'll spend day 2 in bed but start feeling better on day 3. The 3 days aren't horrible but your still withdrawing from narcotics also. Your receptors have been continually stimulated so your going to feel something unpleasant but not horrid.
Good Luck but stay focused and Clonidine does help.
I apologize. I have sort of been a lurker here going through Sub withdrawals on these forums, all by myself, and I am celebrating 30 DAYS TOTALLY CLEAN tomorrow. Am I proud of myself...of course. Do I feel like sh*t still..YES. If someone even offered me a suboxene I think I think I would beat them like a seal. It is the most, most insidious drug ever made. I am 49 yrs old, no angel and I have been through 3 rehabs. When I look back, as bad as withdrawal is from Vicodin at first, then Roxies second and now Sub... SUBUXENE is the f'in SuperBowl of withdrawal. There is a lot of good info up here but the reality is we are all different so here are my rules after 10 years of wrecking my life and losing everything that meant anything to me. This will definitely resonate with those of you who are serious. If it is too harsh, I would bet any amount of money you are not ready to get clean.
1) THIS IS FOR YOU AND NO ONE ELSE. Once you have made your mind up to stop (whatever the F'K you are taking), stay off the internet. Our bodies are all different and unfortunately / obviously junkies are ALL liars so half the stories you read are peppered with "i took 4 valiums, 10 perks" and still feeling ok. I can tell you this, I have had it all and until you really want to stop you are wasting your time. You have to do it for YOU. Not your girlfriend. Not your parents. Not your kids. Not to save your job. You have to want to want to wake up and not be a slave to a F'ING pill. Once you come to that realization, you are 50% there.
2) GIVE YOURSELF TIME. This is not something you do on a long weekend when you have been abusing yourself for years. I wish I could spend crazily for a decade and then make it on a weekend promising everyone around me "This time is different". Be prepared for mental and physical pain. Being on opiates is like living on a credit card. It's easy. Guess what. Time to pay. The more you try to avoid the fact that you need to pay back, I guarantee you will be right back kidding yourself in a week. I used to make a lot of money. There is no job, or amount of money that is worth being slave to some pill. BE PREPARED TO LOSE SOME IMPORTANT THINGS IN YOUR LIFE. Sucks...YES! But when come through the other end, i would not take $1MM to go back to day 1.
3) GET SUPPORT. I am not religious. I lost friends and the girl of my dreams but I kept on going by myself. I think I would rather be in jail in Columbia. I did not sleep for a month. No one called me. Somehow I managed to gather enough strength to deal with 40% of my work issues each day. I got put into foreclosure. I had bill collectors calling me but I just turned it off. This is the time for YOU TO GET HEALTHY. Of course it so easy to say just one day on Suboxene so I can do X, Y and Z. IF YOU DO THAT...jump back in...you are not getting clean. I dont ant to be a pessimist but the reality is junkies are liars and I have spewed the same sh*t I hear over and over on the web. Not to be a downer, but the odds are against you. The more you profess to want to get clean the more I guarantee you will be scoring pills in a few days. This strength comes from within and I do not care who you think is God , or even if there is one, but the simplest cliche is actually the best. At some point--- if you don't die -- you will simply get sick and tired of being sick and tired. Tell your friends and ask for help. I did not and I can tell you I slept with a loaded 45. Sometimes just holding someones hand is better than any high you can imagine.
4) FACE YOUR FEARS. Put a a list together of all the things you have avoided, disregarded etc and start to deal with them one by one. Dentist, electric bill, 100 calls from your sister ..whatever the F they are. Your emotions are going to be a rollercoaster but I promise you...GET BY THAT FIRST ONE andyou will see you can do it.
I have been through this sh*t for 5 years after 10 years of abuse. Anyone that tells you "take this"..is F'ED. Just pay the piper and get the support of those around you who love you. I did it alone and it was the worst 30 days of my life. Friends and family and just simply "love" is so much more powerful than any drug people tell you to take to relieve symptoms. And remember, living on opiates is like taking a loan on your mental and physical health. You had fun with the free money but now it's time to pay back. If you are not prepared for:
1) 1 week of pure hell
2) 2 weeks of lingering BS where it hard to simply take a shower
3) Another 2 weeks of going in waves of feeling good / bad
Then just call you dealer or doctor and keep taking the Subs.
Just remember the bank / loan analogy. You may feel OK today but the interest is building. Anyone that tells you WD from SUB is manageable in the short term if F'ING LYING to you.
Good luck guys and I say a prayer every night hoping there is just one person that will read this and it will get them over the hump.
Ok we'll here's my story and opinion (condensed). I was on suboxone for almost 2 years and tapered myself down from 8mgs to 2mgs. I wasn't in any hurry to get if them til now. Other long term effects of suboxone use are bad..I went to my physician and told him I was going to home detox and he gave me 30 50mg Ultram and requip for leg spasms. Although I suffered for 4 days before receiving the Ultram. Suffered incredibly bad.. Sone say the Ultram will only postpone your withdraw but that was not the case. It actually just helps u get thru the worst parts. It helped enormously. It's been 17 days without suboxone and yes I still don't feel great. some fatigue, and trouble sleeping but the worst is gone. The withdraws depend on dosage and length of use. I feel so much better than the 1st week and next week (25) days will be even better than this week. So hang in there, at least ur not on methadone!! Where withdraws can last 6months.
Ok we'll here's my story and opinion (condensed). I was on suboxone for almost 2 years and tapered myself down from 8mgs to 2mgs. I wasn't in any hurry to get if them til now. Other long term effects of suboxone use are bad..I went to my physician and told him I was going to home detox and he gave me 30 50mg Ultram and requip for leg spasms. Although I suffered for 4 days before receiving the Ultram. Suffered incredibly bad.. Sone say the Ultram will only postpone your withdraw but that was not the case. It actually just helps u get thru the worst parts. It helped enormously. It's been 17 days without suboxone and yes I still don't feel great. some fatigue, and trouble sleeping but the worst is gone. The withdraws depend on dosage and length of use. I feel so much better than the 1st week and next week (25) days will be even better than this week. So hang in there, at least ur not on methadone!! Where withdraws can last 6months. Oh yea a healthy diet and exercise are CRUCIAL. No matter the pain, try to at least walk some everyday. It helped me soo much. Also a B complex vitamin and a blood oxidizer help with it all. Advil every 4 hrs. this all will help but don't expect a cure. Don't do the "ghetto clean", alcohol and benzo's cause ur only prolonging ur misery.
Hi All! I started this bulletin a year ago & have had so much great feedback & loved reading all of your stories, they made me feel less alone. For those of you who do not remember or are just entering this bulletin, I've been on suboxone for one year and about 4 months. I went from 8 mg strips down to half of that (4mg), down to a quarter (2mg), then my doctor switched me to the 2.5 mg strips around February 2013 and I took 3/4's of that each day. I slowly tapered myself down to a half of a quarter of the 2.5 mgs (about .5 or .67mgs) and had been afraid to take the leap off of them because of the terrible experience I had endured last summer (2012) when I was still taking part the 8 mg's. I jumped off a little too soon I think and I spiraled myself into a terrible withdrawal (much like the w/d from percocet 30's), sweating profusely, body aches, nausea and appetite loss. I have gotten to a really lovely point in my life and currently am in a a new relationship and am very much in love. Although my boyfriend has his own addiction struggles, he regardless understands what it's like to have opiate withdrawals, although I had to explain to him what it was like to have withdrawals from the subs. I decided 3 days ago that I wanted to get off these things for good! So i took my last half of a quarter Tuesday morning at work around 10AM, the first day went by with no signs of withdrawals, the second day was fine as well except yesterday morning my boyfriend said i was tossing and turning a lot (like i was having nightmares) and I woke up a little sweaty but nothing unbearable. All day at work yesterday was fine as well. When I woke up this morning I was a little sweaty again but still nothing I couldn't handle. This has been a breeze, I keep waiting for the withdrawals to get bad but they haven't. :)I have a good feeling that I am out of the woods & would have had withdrawals already if I was going to have them. I'm very excited to start this new chapter in my life. I suggest everyone take the time to taper slowly so your body can get used to different mg's of suboxone & take less and less every couple months until you cant cut the strips any smaller. Good luck everyone and thank you for pouring your hearts out on this board & letting me read about your struggles and your accomplishments!
No energy legs hurt bad....I have gained 10 pounds in 30 days...That's awesome considering I was down to 130...
I am also eating now like I am going to the electric chair.....
I had no idea it was this bad in the beginning....
I have been told that the PAWS can last as long as 90 days...But for me the worst is over....
I am so grateful to the 12 step meetings and the support group I have.....
It does get better even tho it seems like you will never be the same....
It does take time...It will ease up a day at a time..BUT not all at once....
I sat in a sauna for 25 minutes every other day and worked out.....Remember your endorphins are all screwed up...And they aren't only in your brain...They go all over your body including your GI tract....
Sweat and pee is the best way to detox...That's what worked for me...Lots of water and VITAMINS.....
But no matter what you do it will take time......
Good luck but there is a light at the end of the tunnel!!!
On day 10! Still have barely had any withdrawals.. Feeling great, able to go to work, i get really small waves of feeling achy for a moment but it goes away! I have faith in all of you!
What mg did you jump off at? I started this bulletin over a year ago when I jumped off at 8 mg's & couldnt handle the withdrawals so I continued the suboxone for another year. I got down to a half of a quarter of the 2.5 mg strips and jumped off 10 days ago. I've felt barely any withdrawals and I am feeling just fine! (Compared to last time, this is a miracle!) I'm wondering if maybe you need to slowly wean yourself off like I did. It took me almost a year and a half to slowly taper myself, but I am doing wonderful now and I think if I was going to have withdrawals they would have hit me by now. The first 3 days I had a few night sweats and a little achy but it was a piece of cake! I wish you the best! Hope everything will go smoothly from here on out!
Being an ex-opiate soldier I researched everywhere I could in order to figure out how to lessen the affects of opiate withdrawal and I found it. I went from 16mg of Suboxone down to 8mg in a period of a year, and then from 4mg down to 2mg in 6 months with no withdrawal, and then from 2mg down to 1mg with about 4 days of light withdrawals, very minor, and then stayed on 1mg for one month and went down to .5mg for another month and then I ran out and knew I had to face the music. Therefore on day two of being off completely I bought anti-diarrhea over the counter medication (loperamide) and took 16 pills twice that day and only one tagament 30 minutes prior to the loperamide and the reason for this is that the tagament has a chemical property in it where is strengthens the effects of the loperamide. Loperamide is an opiate derivative which lodges itself in the opiate receptors of the gut and intestinal track but it cannot get one high. It prevented over 80% of any suboxone if not more. One can do this twice per day. However day two I tappered from 16 pills twice per day down to 10 pills twice per day of the loperamide with one tagament. Day three through seven I took 4 loperamide twice per day and one tagament. I then went down to 2 loperamide twice per day and one tagament and I did this for one more week. I then took one loperamide a day twice per day and no tagament. I then this this every other day for 4 more days. All withdrawal was minimal and completely gone by week two and I stopped the loperamide completely. Getting good sleep is the most important thing to a faster recovery through withdrawals because sleep is when the brain releases dopamine into our bodies and it jump starts the other parts of the brain which the opiates shut down.
I have been addicted to oxycotin 80mg pills for about 10 years now. Used to snort them until they made them crush proof. The last year or so i've been taking suboxone here and there. At first 4mg is what i used to take and managed to get down to about 1mg a day. The last couple weeks i dosed down to about .5mg a day. This last sunday i finally decided to quit. It took the girl of my dreams 12 years to finally decided enough is enough. So she left me and i'm in the process of detoxing and moving out. It came to a point where i put a gun to my head because i had nothing to live for. But i got over it somehow by putting my family first and her. I'm on day two with no suboxone and its awful. Going through chills, cold sweats, no sleep, barely eating. The worst for me is the no sleeping and cramped legs when laying down. I'm done with this sh*t. But it seems like the horrible depression that i'm in is kind of helping the physical withdrawls. I guess anything is barable if your at rock bottom. I just hope i can regain the trust of the love of my life again.
PS Drugs ruin lives so don't do them!!!