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

sunday 3/14/10. im starting my 8th day and before i say what it has been like ill give a little history because it seems that maybe there is a connection between addiction time, severity of addiction, how much sub youve taken and for how long. my addiction was oxycodone 180-30 mg a month and 60-10mg of methadone a month. i was on pain killers for about 5 years and the last 2 years didnt eat any they were all crushed and snorted. i started suboxone the first week of november of 2010 at 16mg/day and weened down to 1mg by feb 20. in january my doctor started me on effexor. i jumped march 6. it seemed at 1 mg i was always on the verge of withdrawl and decided if i wasnt going to get comfortable at 1mg might as well jump. the second and third nights my legs were jumping and twitching so bad it almost drove me crazy. there was the hot and cold all the time which was easier to put up with. i had clonadine, soma, milk thistle, really good vitamins and nothing would cut it. all i could do was walk, for hours, i would sit or try and lay and sometimes would doze for 10-15 minutes. usually by 5 or 6 am it would finally just stop and i would be able to sleep for a couple hours. during the day my head was foggy and thought process was slow, couldnt think straight. was able to eat a little but not real hungry. spent a lot of time staring at the wall. it did help to push yourself and do things, go walk through the mall, walk to the store and buy a soda, shower, cook, whatever you can think of to get up and do to get a distraction. the next 2 nights the jumping and twitching moved up into my upper body. i tried soma, melatonin, milk thistle, vitamins but it was pretty much the same routine, walk endlessly and lay down occasionally to try and fall asleep even if for just 10-15 minutes. the next two days were a little less foggy and passed pretty quickly the busier i stayed. but started to dread bedtime. it is the strangest thing, every time i lay down and try and sleep the jumping and twitching would start again. the next couple of nights it moved to my left shoulder, compulsive jumping tried push ups, walking etc the time till sleep was getting earlier 4-5 am. im hoping that one of these nights for normal sleep. for some reason i didnt think this thng was going to last this long, i was hoping that it would 3-4 days and have thing fairly normal by then. it is getting better and is way worth it. i have no regrets starting this and really really look foreward to it being over and done. i look at it as paying price. if you are thinking about jumping read the posts, seems as though everyone is different and have different experiences. dont be afraid, just think of it as the longer you wait the harder it may be and the more time you wasted. be prepared mentally, know that you can do this. taper down before you jump. talk to your doctor, family. get clean. the will of God will not lead you were the grace of God cannot keep you. He wants to help You, ask Him to. He will give you the strenght to make it through. if you have questions post on here, people that have been through this come back and read and will answer questions if they can.

10/20/10. so it has almost 2 weeks and have stayed clean. jumped on the 6th. starting to feel pretty normal with one exception. still having trouble sleeping. it is getting better and is not nearly as bad as during full on withdrawal. everytime i lay down to sleep i starting getting a jumping and twitching that irritates to no end. now it just lasts a couple hours whereas before it was most of the night. searched the internet and found interesting info on why this happens so i decided to paste it here in case any one else is sharing the frustration.

Withdrawal occurs because your brain works like a spring when it comes to addiction. Drugs and alcohol are brain depressants that push down the spring. They suppress your brain's production of neurotransmitters like noradrenaline. When you stop using drugs or alcohol it's like taking the weight off the spring, and your brain rebounds by producing a surge of adrenaline that causes withdrawal symptoms.

pretty sure it must take time for your body to realize that it doesnt need to keep producing adrenaline and as it tapers back some of the lingering side effects will quit. feels great to be free of this. anyone out there thinking about getting clean, it is sooooo worth it. is amazing what you can do with a little help for God.

I was on 4 mg sub a day for about a month then 2 mg a day for a little under two months, then i relapsed for a week and did about 1 to 2 90 mg oc's a day. After that i went back to 2 mg sub a day for a week and a half. This is my 4th day off of subs and i feel bad, but not horrible. I feel like i am getting somewhat better but i still have aches in my legs and hands, my back is not that bad but my stomach is somewhat irritable and i dont have much of an appetite, though i feel it coming back.

Anybody have a similar experience or know how much longer the physical effects of my withdrawl are going to last? I have been out and about on almost everday since i stopped as i am a full time college student, so it is not THAT bad, but it definately sucks.

Just so everyone knows, I have been off subs for about a month. I read just about everything online as far as what would make the w/ds better. I found for the restlessness and cramps at bedtime, Tylenol PM was very helpful, take 2 about 1 hour before you want to go to bed. Take a lot of immodium, and vitamin B complex and fish oil. If you can get a script for benzos I reccomend clonazapam over xanax any day because it last longer and the withdrawls from xanax are far worse that the suboxone itself. So, after a month...I still feel tired and chilly but I started exercising again and "faking" my way through daily activities. As much as I want to just lay around and be under warm blankets, I did notice that when I get out and get going I feel better than lying in bed thinking about how terrible I feel and felt. It helped me a lot to be open and honest with people I spend the most time with so they understood and I could talk about how I felt and not have to keep it all to myself. Just so everyone knows, I did not have to go off these meds, but I decided that I also did not want to be tied to a date that I could get refilled or to a pill bottle. Remember, no matter how bad you feel, its going to get better and once you are done, you are really done and just keep it up!
By the way I was on 2mgs of suboxone everyday. Not a lot, right. I felt really pissed that I could feel so sick from something that did not get me high. Never once did any of my docs tell me that I would withdrawl like that from these meds. Make sure you ask you md if what they are prescribing you to get off of the subs is going to have any withdrawl symtoms. If so, ask for alternatives. Best of luck to all of you....keep your head high, because you are taking the first steps to having your life back. Its very liberating.

Hey everyone. Ive posted a couple times after getting off the suboxones at day 5 and 13 i believe. I jumped off on Feb. 13. Its now March 26 so im about 6 weeks off. I was on subs for about 2 years and here was my timeline for detoxing. 1 solid week of withdrawaling with 2-6 being the worst. After the first week i had 1 more week of feeling dead tired and weak. 3rd week i was still pretty tired and definately pretty depressed feeling. The whole time i was hoping to wake up one day and feel great and have a "born again" type feeling, which never came. but by week four i was feeling back to normal finally. I was in normal sleeping habits, had energy and motivation. One thing thats good is getting back into your hobbies and interests you had before your addictions. When i first got into OC's i strayed away from my music and snowboarding. Snowboarding for me was my "natural high" there was no better feeling for me then blasting through the back woods on a powder day. When i was on drugs i didnt even really enjoy being on the mountain that much. Well last week i went up with a couple old buddies and had the time of my life. It was just like old times. Too bad the season is about over. Its great to be free of addiction and get a life back.

One question i do still have though, is: does detoxing mess up your immune system? It sucks because i had a week and a half of feeling great then caught a cold about a week ago and now im back to house arrest and feeling like c**p. Reason i ask is i havent gotten sick like this in probably 4 years.

today is my 7th day no subs im wondering if i take i 1/4 to help with w/d will it reset the clock and ill have another week of wd or what? please straight up answers onlly thanks everyone

Well I am now on the start of day 3 of no suboxone.. my doc wants me off.. but she gave me no choice in the matter.. said your getting off now.. her decision not mine.. and then she said its your decision whether or not you decide to use... she put me on a taper over three weeks from 24mg to 12mg.. not so bad i guess if it stays at 12mg i would feel better but the thought of getting off all together is scary.. i am not sure how i will handle this.. .

so even though i have a script to taper off.. why is it exactly i am going cold turkey off of 24mg a day.to no suboxone at all... i almost feel like i am doing it so that suboxone isnt in my system so i can use.. only problem is i have no real way of finding any heroin.. which is a good thing actually.. not sure i would use if i really did have a connection anyway.. or maybe its that i want to see if i can really do it like my doc thinks i can..

i have been clean for 4 years.. and the thought of no suboxone at all is scarying the sh$t out of me.. i suffer from manic depression and the entire having no suboxone thing is not and will not help.. to a certain degree i think my doc is right about taking me off of suboxone i just don't like how she handled the situation basically treating me like some sort of addict s**m.. tough love has never worked on me.. i usually just go the self destructive route because its what i am good at.. but trying hard not to fall into the pit i was in 4 years ago.. i had my girlfriend hide the rest of my pills that were left over before this whole tapering plan. I was going to take 16mg yesterday but i didnt... Those two pills are currently staring right at me.. seems pointless to take it at 3 in the morning. my doc was trying to convince me that suboxone is completely placebo.. NOT TRUE... id love to slip some in the docs mouth and see what she says then about it being placebo.. suboxone does get me high.. just barely though.. enough to keep me away from heroin.. why screw with that? my doc even said i would be on it the rest of my life and now all of a sudden she is taking me off it. why break whats fixed?// or put me at a risk of relapsing.. acting like she didnt give two craps.. my addiction has changed from heroin to suboxone yes thats true.. but i am not using and i function better with the suboxone than i do without it..

I am trying to figure out if i keep on this route of not taking any suboxone at all and just get it over and done with how long it is going to take for withdrawals to kick in.. last time i stopped suboxone i relapsed and did heroin because of my withdrawals.... i dont want to use i really dont.. but i dont think i am ready either really.. maybe i am i guess thats what my doc is trying to see.. either that or she is just a jerk.. she turned a friend of mine away that went to her for treatment for suboxone and was rude to him.. and i am seeing now a bit more why he thought she was a jerk after my last appointment.. but i figure she is wanting what is best for me.. i just dont like how she is going about it.. i think i might give this a whirl and if all else fails find another doctor.. its not easy though.. i cant stop thinking about injecting the suboxone or trying to find a connection for heroin.. blah blah blah.. i figure i will crack and take the suboxone once my withdrawals start kicking in..

youve gone a week. your worst W/D should be through. It should get a little better each day. Why even risk it?

I wouldnt risk it. Your a week into it, the worst of the w/d should be over. it will get better.

I'm at the end of day 7, and I've been miserable since day 1. However, I did not throw up or have any bathroom issues.At least not yet. I had restless limbs, body aches, general feeling of achy tired very similar to the flu, yawning, chills, etc. I have zero energy and I have to clean a house tomorrow. This is going to b interesting considering I can't even handle a flight of stairs. But life goes on and obligations go on and I don't wanna lose the job. I honestly figured I'd be better by today, at least over the w/d's, I realize it takes awhile to get back your energy. The worst for me was the restless limbs, oh man, that was like torture. In fact I am dreading them tonight. I take clonopin but it doesn't help. I found distracting myself was useful, as well as eating, and making sure to stay well hydrated. And strangely enough it seems the symptoms tend to come and go, and i've heard of this happening. Was it a good idea to use sub in the first place? Personally I think so because it got me out of a lifestyle that would've eventually lead to me losing everything. Now the thing I worry about is cravings after this w/d deal is over. And being able to function without the energy suboxone gave me. It was almost like an anti depressant for me. At least at first it was. Like everything over time tolerance built up and I ended up taking it just to not get sick. The most I was on was 16mg and I tapered at 2mg for one month and 1 mg for one week before I jumped. It was rather a spontaneous decision, although, I had been contemplating it, as it turns out I missed my appointment, I thought it was tuesday and it was monday. so they said i could come in on wednesday. I decided to take that as a sign to go ahead and jump. You also need a good support system. You need someone there telling you, good job, you're doing great, you can do this. And to help you get through the not being able to do ANYTHING part. Just a shower will wipe you out. Be prepared for that. And no one can tell you how long it will last for you personally but it seems to me the average is about 2 weeks. Some less and some more. One drug that is excellent that doctors don't mind prescribing is seroquel. It will get you thru the worst of it, trust me, maybe even without feeling anything. Well hope this helps someone. I know I enjoyed reading everyone else's posts as it feels good that I am not alone in this. And that there is a light at the end of this tunnel. I just hope I can recall this experience as my reason to never get into this position again.

i think the key to coming off of suboxone is the longer you are on it, the slower you should taper.. that is what my doctor said and i read that alot. I started on 8 mgs and was on that for roughly 4 months. and then i went to 6 then to 4 then to 2 then to 1 and that was over the course of 3 1/2 years.. so i finally decided to stop taking it and live drug free. I started taking .5 of a mg last week and then cut down to .25 which is like a crumb but its getting me through the day even though i definitely would feel better on more. so i am going to wait about 4 days til i go down to. 25 every other day and ill do that for 5 or 6 days and then cut cold turkey. My doctor says i should be okay if i do that. I am definitely going to try the showers and baths and i have like 5 different prescriptions that are supposed to help with leg and arm cramps. My doctor said that tonic water does wonders for restless legs and arms. God bless you all and its nice to share my story with people that understand. if you have any tips for me please share with me. Im really worried about going cold turkey because i have a 2 year old that relies on me for everything and is attached to my hip, sleeps in my bed and everything. Cold sweats are starting to kick in now too so i know its only gonna get worse but i am really excited to live drug free and have more babies for my little man to play with. :-) Thanks for listening

definitely make sure you don't have any access to suboxone when you quit or else you will quit quitting. Thats the advice I got and it was sooo true. Hell, It still is. I'm on day 8 now and still feeling withdrawals, I'm going to keep posting for those who wanna know what its like to go thru and how long it lasts. Varies from person to person as you have prob figured out if you've read this thread. Today I had to work. I work PT, it was soooooooooo hard! all i wanted to do was fall over. but i ate a banana and drank an energy drink and pushed myself thru it. I think its a good idea to do something each day even tho your body feels like you were in a pool and just got out. So heavy. But a walk or some sit ups or a shower, whatever you can get yourself to do. So our bodies will produce endorphins that our opiate depraved brains are severely lacking right now. I for one thought it would be over by today. NOW i'm thinking another week. I do feel better everyday. Just stick with it. Don't give in to the urge to turn back to the suboxone. You will be free of it and just think of all the reasons you will be so proud of yourself for when your done. Its a process, thats for sure. I guess a few lucky ones got off with no w/ds but be prepared that you'll have them. they'll be mild compared to other opiate agonists but last a bit longer. its worth it. so worth it. like i said i'll keep you guys posted as to my own personal progress. oh and you might wanna have some help with your son. esp if he is two. best of luck!

SUCCESS STORY!

I'm on day 6 of withdrawals, jumped off from 8MG every couple of days and 16MG/day for about half a year before. (Long opiate history prior) Anyone with Sub or Bupe experience will vouche, at 6 days you're barely in the middle of it still.

I have a full time job and yesterday (day 5) things got so bad at the office that I just could NOT bare it (and I've clenched fist through some s&!t before). I went to see my doc that prescribed my subs and told them about my situation.

I started taking Clonidine and also eating lots of Immodium (Loperamide) simultanously. Within 4 hours of taking them, I went from hell on earth to almost falling asleep in my car in the driveway when I got home.

I was hungry enough to eat dinner, and calm enough to fall asleep (with minor tossing and turning). This is unheard of in my personal experience and from what I've read online.

I think the key is actually in the Immodium, since as I've read, is actually also an Opiate that just doesn't affect the pleasure center of the brain because it can't break the blood barrier (something like that). Do NOT take it for more than 7 days, or you will be withdrawing from it right afterwards.

I've continued to take the two all day today and have felt almost perfectly fine! If any of you are suffering through a Sub or Bupe withdrawal with nothing to aid you, get you some generic, store brand Immodium AD (Loperamide Hydrochloride) and take 4-8 times the recommended dose. It WILL help you with the restlessness and digestive issues. It will also take about 4 hours to work, so be patient (I know that's difficult, as time seems to STOP when your withdrawing).

Thanks so much to everybody on this board, I've read all your posts over and over for the past 5-6 days and was just to messed up from the withdrawals to even think straight enough to post. Plus, it seemed like you guys had said it all!

Kudos and safe WDing! :-S

Thats great you found relief! I'm really happy for you. If you find something that works by all means do it. (Anything but going back to D.O.C. or suboxone) I for one don't want to bind up my bowels as they have been bound up for wayyy too long, and i've heard that the medicine in immodium is also an opiate but won't get you high, but I feel that since I haven't had any real issues with those kinds of problems, not to be gross, that is important for my body to be able to rid itself of the toxins in it. I'm on day 10 now and feeling better than any day since the last day i took sub. Alot of the w/ds have subsided, although not all of them have. But its no where near what it was say 5 days ago. I'm really looking forward to that two week mark because thats when I believe I will be done with w/d's, according to most of the stories on here. Its hopeful to know that. It really is. It keeps me getting thru each day knowing they keep getting better. Energy still sucks but i've heard that its 2-3 months before your energy comes back. I'm willing to wait because I know I've abused my body for so long it deserves some come-back time. I am wishing now that I might have had some clonodine, and wonder why my sub doc didn't suggest it. But like I've said in a previous post I used seroquel and that also helps a hell of a lot. Last year I got off subs without one withdrawal symptom using seroquel, but I went back (so dumb!!!!!) because I just wanted to have some sub around for energy when I needed it. Ha ha what a joke. An addict keeping a stash for later??? Doesn't work. I wanted energy everyday. One last thing I wanted to say was praying and relying on God has been a huge part of my recovery. Find your higher power and PRAY. I promise you it will help. Remember you are an addict and always will be, powerless to the drug that got you here in the first place. You need a Higher Power for that! Love and blessings to all! Keep it going you will get there and you will be so glad. ;-)

my last posts were the first two on the top of page 10. had been on sub for 5 months, 16mg to 1mg when i jumped. i jumped on 3/6/10. i made it exactly19 days being clean. i recently moved and still had some oxy and methadone stashed for when i beat this thing i could go back to being a casual user like when i first started. i went through all the great withdrawls from suboxone and all the wd symptoms were gone with the exception of sleeping at night. i was getting by on 5 hours a night and was all good with that. just so you all know you cant go back, there is no casual use. its all abuse and as soon as start again you are right back in with both feet and up to your neck. i dont care what kind of lies you try and tell yourself it wont matter. luckily i had enough to last only 6 days with no connections to get more being that i just moved. i had no intention of taking all the pills i had stashed in 6 days and i had no idea that there would be wd consequences. granted they werent as bad as sub withdrawl but it ws similar. i just finished four days of withdrawl and am left with sleepless, restless, twitchting, jumping arms and legs. i figured when these ran out i would just be done and wouldnt have been enough to have to go through all that again. wrong! it is a valuable lesson and wanted to let anyone know that was going through all this and maybe thinking the same things that it doesnt work that way. you are either a using addict or a clean addict. simple, black and white. as if you didnt go through enough getting off suboxone now you want to go through more? dont do it! i have a 1/4 of 30 mg hidden i could take but i have come to the conclusion that it would prolong the wd so it would be pointless to take it. i just hope that my stupidity can save somebody the agony of jumping back into the fire. if you get clean, stay clean. get some support, surround yourself with clean positive people that want to help. hard pressed on every side but never broken(2 corinth). happy easter!