suboxone withdrawal: how long is this going to last...I'm mi

Yeah - that's exactly why it's difficult to taper off of one drug using another. Glad to hear it's working for Jeremy. I could never detox off of subs using benzos or other meds. To each his/her own.

The taper plan may work for someone who hasnt been on Sub for that long. It didnt work for me. I'm not a doctor however I do think the longer you are on Suboxone, the harder/longer the WD's will be. I was on Suboxone for 3 years and tapered over a period of time (until 21 days ago), took a little tiny piece off of a 2 mg strip and was doing that daily for a couple of weeks. It didnt matter. I went thru WD hell, so I think it's because I was on it for so long. Whatever works for any of you to get off Suboxone, that's great. Keep it up & dont give up & dont give in!! You'll get past it. I wish you the strength to do this!!

Dina, happy 21st! How is your day going? it seems like the sub withdrawal has a lot of dramatic ups and downs. Other opiate withdrawal seemed to be over when its over, but sub is a little different. Anyway, I am having a good day today. I think it is over for the most part.

I was on subs for over 4 years at an average of 8 mg a day.  I was up to 12 at one point.  But anyways I have a vacation planned in 2 weeks.  I feel i can make the jump off subs now but don't want to risk being too sick to work.  I have a very physical demanding job, actually im over around 20 people on my crew and I can't afford for them to see me in WD conditions.  But if it wasn't for that I would go ahead and jump now.  The sooner we jump, the sooner we will be back to normal.  Basically after reading all kinds of info, ( i  study this every day), a taper plan will just reduce the withdrawal symptoms, it will not take them away.  Right now my main symptoms is isomnia and achly legs.  But the calcium d - magnesium pills i think helped with the legs.  But i have read about people jumping from 2 mgs and it just be horrible.  They say they can't sleep, eat , and you know the rest.  But a taper plan isn't for everyone, like someone said it does drag out feeling bad for a little bit longer than say jumping straight off.  But far less intense.  Just remember if u taper, skip days.   If you take a small peice every day u are just adding to your blood plasma level, 37 hours or longer in between to reduce it.  But no matter what we do, we will suffer.  If its 20 miles in the forest, its 20 miles out.  You know what I mean.  But we can all do this.  After all the info we pass back and forth it should def. help make it easier

Jeremy

So you'd have 4 weeks before going back to work if you jumped now? What is your current dosage? Tapering as long as you can get prior to jumping off is definitely a good idea. I was on subs for 4 years - started at 24mg per day and then eventually reduced it to 8-12. I jumped off at about 6mg. I took two weeks off of work and went back in pretty significant withdrawal. I spent many lunches in my car and in the bathroom just trying to hold it together. Fortunately, I'm still here 8 months later.

You're right in that you'll have withdrawal no matter what. The hardest physical symptoms should pass in a couple of weeks. I honestly can't say what the difference is between jumping off at 2 or trying to get lower. I think it's probably negligible. It's your call. It'll make this vacation tough but all future vacations that much better.

Good luck, Jeremy

Im just going to have a 11 day window whenever i jump so thats why im not jumping yet. I have to wait until i can take a vacation

jeremy

Thx and happy 23rd to you! I totally agree w the ups and downs. The insomnia & hot/cold flashes went away last week & now just dealing w back pain & leg fatigue. Nothing like the torture before. I don't think I couldve gone thru more of that so for those of you out there dealing w WD's that are unbearable, they pass & get much better. Keep coming here & writing what you're going thru & hopefully we can all support each other because no one understands what we're going thru but us. When I kicked vic's years ago, it was like 1-3 days and back to normal. Suboxone is no joke. That sh*t stays within in & we gotta fight to get it out. How you holding up?

Jeremy, I have some advice for you. You have an 11 day window, however, on day 11 I was in severe, acute withdrawal. But, I know you have been tapering and I stopped from 2mg/day. I dont know what amount you take currently, but as a friend I am asking you to not underestimate the power/length of this withdrawal process. If you don't come up with a plan B you will go could easily go back to suboxone and give up. Now, you may have more options than you realize. The first seems obvious to me since I have already been there. The first week is nothing compared to the second week. The first 4-6 days were very minor withdrawals for me and I remember thinking "I don't know what everyone is whining about". But...I soon realized it gets so much worse. My point is, start the process several days before your 11 day break, so this way you will have the worst part away from work instead of the other way around. If you wait until your break, you will return to work in full withdrawal mode. I know some of this will depend on how far you have tapered down to. If I was in your situation, this is what I would do. Or, find a way to get more time off brother. Your talking about your health/well-being and the rest of your life here. Jobs come and go. This is far more important than you realize yet. If you need to put it off until you can have more time off, than that is another option. 11 days would not have been nearly enough in my case...more like twice that and I still have bad days. I actually feel great during the evening hours, but mornings still kick my butt and it is day 23 for me. Either way, good luck. I hope you consider a longer amount of time, you may need it friend.

Problem is there isnt anybody who made it off suboxonme..The withdrawals and PAWS are to brutal and can last 4-5 years, this is why nobody ever gets past few months post suboxone, the depression is too brutal.. Do you know how many people tried to take their life while coming off suboxone? theres 3 people I know who attempted suicide around 7-8 months because the PAWS/depression from suboxone was sooo bad, these people NEVER hads depression before...Its what so many folks keep saying-a death sentence on sub and off it..I dont think there is any way out for us..

Guest, I am going to agree to disagree. I know 2 people who visited the same sub doctor as I used to. And the results are mixed, so I do see your point of view. One is a mother, who insists she is much happier and optimistic after stopping suboxone and will never go back(been about 2.5 years). But the other is longer, about 4 years off sub. and says he does take antidepressant medications, but also claims he would never start suboxone again. Look, we all hate our own bodies for many reasons. However if there is one thing our body can do, and do well, that is to heal. Suboxone depresses the brain and central nervous system. When you stop taking it, the HEALING process begins with the hyperactivity of the brain and central nervous system(because it was suppressed for so long, it is now in full gear). It will take time for that to return to a more regulated state, but it does. The guy on anti-depressants had a whole lot more going on than suboxone, and it isn't really fair to say that is the sole reason he is taking them. If you can just understand that this is your bodies way of healing, it may be easier to deal with the mood swings and emotional feelings. And, its not all bad! I am on day 23 and usually feel optimistic, sometimes sad, sometimes nothing. It isn't all gloom and doom. The body and mind will heal, and for f**ks sake, yes there is a way out for everyone!

I myself stopped suboxone recently. I was terrified. Its started 10 yrs ago when my now ex husband assaulted me so bad I ended up in the ICU @ the hospital years went by, many surgeries to repair some of the damage. Needless to say the 1 or 2 vics or percs a day blew up to a whole lot more. I was tired n stressed with constant worry wondering where I would get when my script ran out. Enough was enough. I started calling to get an appt for subs. I live in PA. I called every dr in the state. They were all booked. I finally found someone 2 take me on. About 6 months into the treatment I had to stop. Financial problems arose n I was screwed. I was lucky enough to have already started tapering down so I had enough medication to last a couple of months. When that ran out I had 2 get them from a friend. About a month ago I put myself down to a 2mg dose with the knowledge that I would be off of it come hell or high water this month. I already was skipping days. Still, the fear of knowing what your in for. The pain, rls, stomach probs, the cold sweats. The fear was made worse knowing that you don't know how long it would last. It could knock you on your ass for a week or months. My nerves were shot. It was already an issue with me being on it for year at this point. The longer your on it the more detached you become. Anxiety attacks, weight gain ect... I sunk into a funky sort of depression. Last week Sunday was my last dose. I left myself half a strip 4 when it got unbearable. I went through Monday n Tuesday waiting 4 the shoe to drop. Nothing came. Wednesday into Thursday, still nothing. Ok. Not that im not thrilled but how is this happening? For the better part of 6 yrs I had pill habit. If anyone has watched the show "house" that was me. Then a yr being on subs? I know my body. I should have started getting sick by Tuesday. Nothing came. The worst was an upset stomach n the pita RLS. Even that isn't bad. No depression, mood swings or anything else. In fact I haven't felt this good in years. Im actually happy not having that ball n chain anymore. Im not an overly religious person but on this I know the big guy upstairs gave me a 1 time pass. For that I am beyond thankful. Its not easy but it's doable.

LL

I had tapered down to .5 milligrams every 3 days meaning I would take .5 milligrams on a Monday and not take anymore until Thursday. I have been at .5 milligrams for over two months .  In march I started skipping days and April I'd skip 2 days like I explained. I was suppose to dose yesterday but I didn't and decided it's time to make this jump.  Im on day 4 today and so far I'm doing good. I last dosed on the 9th andbefore that the 6th.  So in the last week I just had .5 milligrams so it's almost like me being on day 7.  I have to work next week which will put me working on days 6 through 10 but then I have that 11 day window so I will be on day 21 before I go back to work.  I used the withdrawal ease taper plan and it really helped.  But I'll keep everyone posted on what kind of withdrawals I have after tapering so low.  Also LL I almost forgot, their is no plan B. I'm getting off this c**p. I've been forcing myself to workout and eat right everyday and it has helped. I also have a bunch of natural supplements I take that have helped.  But anyways good luck and God bless everyone

I'm so very grateful to all that have been sharing there experiences. I have been referring back here everyday for guidance. My husband is on day 10 off suboxone. He has been on it for 6-7years. Dose ranging from 3 x 8mg a day down to 2 x 8mg a day. Before the suboxone he was a raging alcoholic also dabbling with cocaine, pills ect.. He is severely Bipolar with debilitating anxiety and depression and the alcohol was his was of coping for many years. Until now he was never strong enough mentally to stop the suboxone. With the help of his amazing new doctors, he's stable and happy on the right remedy of medication which I believe is the helping factor for him being strong enough to say no more suboxone, cold turkey, no tapering. Tapering wasn't working for him. We were expecting the worst. But when day two hit and he wasn't feeling as awful as we thought, we thought he was in the clear, lucky, exceptional lucky. That wasn't the case. I don't know why I didn't think, although he had stopped taking the suboxone it's still in your system. So when day 3 & 4 hit he was in the most awful pain, twitching & spasms. He also takes clonidine on a regular basis along with several other medications and the dr's said it would help. He knows he has be strong, this too will pass. I'm so proud of him.

Guest, so your husband did not taper at all, and stopped cold turkey from 16mg daily( 8mgx2)? Is that correct? And he also has been taking this high dosage for several years now? You should be prepared for this to get really ugly in the coming weeks. After the acute symptoms have passed, and since he was on it long term without any tapering at all, the post acute(PAWS) may be extreme. From what I know, the best way to avoid severe symptoms are to taper to the lowest dose possible, with long periods in between. The farthest I could do was 2mg per day. Why couldn't he taper from such a high dose? Even cutting that dose in half for a week or 2 shouldn't produce many symptoms. Anything would be better than that high of a dose. I understand many doctors claim suboxone withdrawal is 'minimal to none'. That is because there haven't been many clinical studies on this drug, and the doctors knowledge is extremely limited. That is why we have forums like this, so you can get more information from 'veterans'. My personal advice in your situation is to give your husband 2mg of suboxone every other day for a week maybe 2, if this gets to be too severe. I know that sounds like a horrific suggestion, but hear me out. The PAWS I mentioned before induce depression/anxiety and basically an emotional rollercoaster that a normal person will struggle with. He is already diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which will be much worse in the withdrawal phases. This can be dramatically lessened with a better tapering schedule. You said 16mg a day, that is a very high dose. Tapering is the best way to minimize the worst of the symptoms. Well anyway, I wish you well and please come back and let us know how he is doing. I have to say, that is the first time I have heard of the cold turkey method for a long-term, high dose user.

Thank you for replying and the concern of cold Turkey, today is day 10, symptoms are subsiding. We know its going to be a lot longer before any sort of normal feeling is back. Suboxone became a burden, when he tried to tapper he would feel terrible and to function he'd have to take more. The  sublingual tabs were a horrible transition as well. With the tabs he was able to tapper. We had some incidence where the suboxone wasn't working. With his alcohol problem, one day he stopped, it was also a difficult road. He very stable mentally. He's able to process life easier. I don't suggest this detox for anyone else.