subutex withdrawal symptoms

I am on day 7 of my subutex withdrawal. I was under the impression that withdrawal was to take three days max! ha! i cant believe i am still feeling this way. i have not slept for 5 days now and feel I'm going mad. the thought of another 3-4 weeks, or months even of this nightmare seems unbearable. this is what i have been reading according to other posts. remember, if u think u are going to feel bad for weeks then thats exactly what u will do to yourself .subutex is different depending on ur addiction. physical addiction can be easy for some in comparison to the struggles, tricks, mind games and cons that u put yourself through with a phycological dependance which is were the length of withdrawal comes in. u need to let go, accept and look forward to ur new life. in doing this and accepting that u are going to feel c**p for a while will make the whole process easier. it is a hard task maintaining a life whilst in the grips of emotional and physical withdrawal, but perseverance is what's needed. anything to keep u busy will pass time, and soon u will able to put the nightmare to bed literally! i get so frustrated at the small mindedness of people. u can never sympathize unless u have been through opiate withdrawal. I'm constantly told to get on with it and it will go away. Lack of understanding regarding the physical and , for me, extreme emotional changes that happen to our bodies during this period of withdrawal are enduring and demanding. i have been told that i'm bringing on physical symptoms as a way of holding on to my drug dependance and as we step out of our comfort zones, which some people may have been in for some time, this is hard to get ur head round. but stay busy and positive. remember how hard things are keeping up a drug habit. an amount of discomfort during withdrawal will soon be over but a life trapped on gear sounds worse to me. stick with it. Whilst i write i realize I'm going to terrify the next person attempting this very positive but potentially hard task, as i was when reading the last posts as i too was curious to the length of the withdrawal process. there seems to be no real answer as it depends on so many factors, we all react differently and some are stronger than others. As u read the posts the people going through withdrawal at the present moment always make it sound so terrible but it will be over soon. Just think what an achievement! and it sure makes you appreciate life. the power of the mind is a strong thing use that and channel it into determination and the start of a new life. what could be more inspiring than a fresh start. peace love and loads of respect to all those who are strong enough to see the nightmare through to an end. now i now i must be bored and sleep deprived. but i'm so excited to see the end of a eleven year period of my life which was probably the hardest way of living i have ever known. withdrawal is hard but remember why your doing it and stick on the road to recovery. diversions only will trip u up, slow u down or put u back on a path u are trying to leave. persistence, patients and motivation are the key words here. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

i am on 32mg of subutex, taking 10mg of xanax,30mg valium, 300mg clonidine, 10mg of mogadon and drinking about 15 standard drinks per day, i got all of these drugs except the xanax from the one doctor (can you believe that?) and the xanax comes from a silly old fool of a doctor i ***edited by moderator*** ** inappropriate posting** into believing i have severe panic attacks. Now, i was on 120mg of Methodone until 6 months ago, got down to 30mg and swapped to Subutex which i thought was going to be very hard, it was'nt, in fact it was a total non event, nothing happened, no withdrawls at all. So, 9 days ago i decided no more subutex so i just stopped taking it(yes from 32mg to 0mg overnight) and i feel fine, had a bit of a runny nose thats all, but so does everyone this time of year, i have'nt taken any xanax, valium, mogadon or ANYTHING except alcohol and tobacco for nearly 10 days now. So either im immune to withdrawl symptoms or its all psycological, mind you i made sure i ate well, exercised and had plenty of things to stimulate my mind and pass the time. Im talking about Subutex though, Methodone cold turkey is the most extremly painful 2 weeks you will ever experience(i jumped off 85mg years ago). So, if you want to get off methodone, reduce to 30mg, swap to subutex for about a week or two, then have a plan to keep occupied and eat well for when you stop the subutex.

I have been on subutex for only about a month, I want off already so I am weaning myself, so far it has been fine. My doctor said the general rule of thumb is to stay on subutex for the amount of time you took the drug of abuse. I worked in a detox as a nurse we gave suboxone for 5 days weaning a quarter tab each day and everyone came off of it fine. with no withdrawls so I am thouroghly confused....

I have been on subutex for 3 mos, after 3+ years on oxycodone due to PHN (post herpatic neuralgia). I have tapered the subutex over the course of 3+mos, finally at 2mg daily, I jumped off 8 days ago. It has been rough, I have a very demanding C level job, and have had to excuse my self at times because my symptoms could not be controlled. It is not over, and many of the posts here indicate that withdrawing difficulty is a function of the amount of time you spend on Subutex. So, my offering is; have your doctor accelerate your taper as quickly as you can. I was travelling round the world, and slowed my taper due to job requirements. Based on what the 1st seven days were like, I would have tapered faster.

Good luck to all of you getting of this stuff, and moving forward to a new, drug-free, joyful, and productive life.

that actually helps alot. I would never be so presumptuous as to tell someone to just deal with the withdrawl symptoms, I have been through it before I know it is just about if not unbearable. But when I was a nurse and we gave suboxone to the patients who came in after being on heroin for years or pills in the amount of like 40+ vicodin a day, they would take 2 8mg suboxones a day then 1 and 3/4 then 1 1/2 and so on until down to 1/4 tab and they would get off in like a 5 day time and they would be fine. But I have read posts about how people are going through excrutiating withdrawls related to the subutex or suboxones and I just get sooo confused. I would never in my life set out to offend anyone and I know everyone is different, so everyones reaction to sub's will be different but what is what? If your on heroin for 5 years and then come in to a detox and take suboxone for 5 days and then you should be cured? Every single person who came into our drug and alcohol program if they were opiod dependant did just that and had no withdrawls after the 5th day....but then I am reading the posts and some people are trying to wean and these poor people are going through hell, I am dumbfound! Are these people addicted to suboxone or subutex and been taking them for years? Are they just having individual difficulty because everyone is different? I just wish I knew so I could maybe offer some sort of solution. Does anyone know why people are going through such torturous withdrawls from the very drugs that are being prescribed (supposedly) to prevent withdrawls? Signed CONFUSED seriously

I was on about 30mg Oxycontin for a few years and weened myself down to 2 mgs a day,tried to cold turkey off that but ran out of time and money,so i started back juggling fairly small doses of Methadone,oxy's vicodan,what ever Opiate i could get at the time,and zanex every night to sleep...found a doctor through a friend that let me pay just $80 for one visit and prescribed me Suboxone,had to pay cash,no insurance,so after starting on 16mg to save money i cut down to 4mg after the first week,and didn't notice any change,so soon after i went to 2mg...all this time i still didn't know and i don't recall the doctor saying anything about it being addictive,i had it in mind that it wasn't...so what did i do? i took 2mg for 2 years..part of it was the fear of going back to Oxy's i think...
.I just stuck with it for some reason and then started hearing about people being dependent on it with some withdraws,so i stopped,and the second day i felt pretty bad and jumped back on because i read stories like the one i'm typing right now of how the withdraws can last 2 weeks and more...I got back on board because i thought that in a day or two i'd be normal,when i found out that this wasn't true,there was no reason for me not to keep feeling bad,i had jobs to do.......i had told my girlfriend that i had to wean off slowly,and instead started taking an extra 2mg's for a little boost in the evening once in a while for gig's and whatever,now i do it anyway,for 2 months now, my woman has told me to move out in 10 days because i won't ween down and get off,and she had a child die from drugs...so know i'm going to cold turkey in the morning,i have about 7 days before a gig,so i'm not sure exactly how i'm gonna work this.
Should i wait until the withdraw symptoms are real bad and then just take about 2mgs for relief and then don't take anymore until it gets bad again and then take 2mg? will this work? i wonder! is it a good way to ween down?
i'm putting another post on right after this with one important question.

I think the message about Suboxone being easier to get off of is very misleading. Let me say that I have experience in WDing from hydro, oxy, morphine sulfate, and methadone. Subutex/Suboxone, like methadone, lasts ridiculously long in your system. You can skip a Suboxone dose one day and not even notice. Why is this? It's because of the long half-life. It may take three days before you feel WD symptoms with Suboxone. Yes, the WD symptoms are milder...but the flip side is they'll last weeks instead of days. Oxycodone is a violent WD but by day five you feel almost normal... short and sweet!! A substance like Suboxone isn't going to hit you right away, but you'll feel mildly achy and anxious for quite some time...perhaps a couple weeks. As for myself, I'd rather be violently ill for 5 days and be done with it! I quit both Suboxone and Methadone and found that I just don't have the patience to go day after day for almost a month feeling mildly ill and lacking in energy, appetite, or ablilty to sleep. So...to the question "how long is Suboxone withdrawal?"...I say it's a case of pick your poison - you can choose a long, mild WD from Suboxone (or) you might try taking oxycodone for a couple of weeks just to get the Suboxone out of your system before quitting everything! A short-acting drug like Oxy will be an intense, but much briefer WD than Suboxone.

Subutex comes in generic 2 mg tablets that are difficult to split but possible. I suggest reducing to 1 mg for at least of couple of weeks before jumping completely off. Depending on how long you've been using will determine how long the withdrawal symtoms. Seven days are a bit unrealistic. Minimum of ten days which could easily turn in to fourteen is more likely. Long termers should expect a longer experience. Be patient, withdrawal is a life long process that will gradually get better in time. It is well worth the effort for you and for your family, etc.!

Clonidine in the during day will lower the blood pressure and lesser the pain. Sleeping is extremely important and Trazodone is an excellent choice to assist you in that area. Traz won't knock you out and put you in a coma. And it will not keep you out in the morning. You will feel ready to get up and face the new day.

Keep busy, go to the gym, see a movie, work in the yard and wax your car! Withdrawal demands that we keep occupied and not sulking around the house feeling sorry for ourselves. The worse withdrawal is isolating ourselves and ignoring the world we so desparately want to re-enter.

Ultimately, find a person you can talk to and share your journey. It is possible to go it alone but it is quicker and more fulfilling to connect with someone who cares for you and will be an encrourager through the ongoing process. Have a positive attitude as much as possible and believe strongly in the power within your grasp. You can do this, it is possible! The best of luck.

I just made an attempt at getting off subtext..I have been taking about 2mgs a day for two years I have been on sub for 6yrs..I went back on after five days of hell. I am so sorry you have nobody you can talk to.I am in a similar situation. My hubby knows but wants me to just SHAKE it off. He wanted to go swimming and go out for dinner. the last thing I want to do is jump in cold water. Like acid on my skin.lol and dinner? I could not keep any food in me. So there I was lying on the couch on labor day. He was so angry .so I gave up. I am still trying to taper down. Also the depression is very hard. I had many surgeries and got dependent on vicoden. No matter what this is going to be hard. Please tell somome. You need all the support you can get. My next attempt will be after my vacation in November . My doc has a plan to make it some what better. I could take months for you body and neurons to come back. best of luck. Take your time. Maybe you could drop to every other day then every two days etc. My prayers and hugs.Luv2rocku

This is my second time to use subutex. Both times were because of treatment for a back injury (hydrocodone, oxycodone). The first time, I couldn't go through the withdrawal from the opiate analgesics so I stayed on them 6 years. I heard about subutex, found a doctor and finaly got off them. Subutex is truly a wonder drug but it can be addicting too so getting off of it as quickly as possible is a good idea. The first time it was 2mg 3XDay for 3 weeks, then half that and so on. No serious withdrawals from it but there would have been if I had discontinued it quicker.

That was three years ago. This time I've only had to take hydocodone for 6 months so I'm doing 2mg 3Xday for a week then half that so the whole process will be 3 weeks. Going off too quickly defeats the point of using it to overcome WD. But taking it too long just gets you out of the frying pan into the fire. Final withdrawal when you're at about 1mg a day is delayed but mild. That's been my experience. I cannot describe how grateful I am to have a solution to opiate withdrawal.

Hi, i began coming off 30 mil of methadone and went onto 16mg of subutex,then wen i got down to 2mg of subbutex and dr cut in in to 5 0.4 mcg Now its been 3 days sin.ce my last 0.4 micro.gram tablet.I have been given 7.5 mg zopiclone to help me sleep cos i have been having leg cramps at night. Just ween ur self of 0.4 mcgs and get ur doc to precribe them for you. its much easier to cut down from 0.4 mcgs. which are then renamed to temgesics.

hi, please could someone help me!!!! iv been with my partner for 3 yrs, i have 2 kidz (not his) he's been an addict for the past 15ys, when we first got together he was meant to have been clean for 5yrs but still on subs, in the past year he's had a dabble a few times and every time he does i have to thro him out, this time i feel strong enough not to take him back until i no he wont do it again, the problem is, hes had to go and live with his brother thats a user!! yeah its like coming out the fat then going into the fire, but is this my problem, if i keep taking him back getting him straight, i feel im making it to easy for him, i really do no he loves me and he does'nt want that life again,but somethings telling me though love is the only way this time, i understand an heroin addict tells you what you want to here, but i do belive he doesnt want the drugs anymore, he goes to work (12hrs daily) and have told him he has 4 wks to sort himself out with no contact, iv had him begging me to let him home because of his brothers place,i just think the harder i make it for him the less likely he's to do it again, please can someone put me straight thankyou

I was on suboxone for right at one year when my dr wanted to reduce me, It pissed me off, I quit that dr, and it took me one month and a half to get into another clinic, but I bought them off the street every day. Mostly subutex, I found the suboxone didn't make me feel as good as subutex but hey if all i found was suboxone Id take them...I done mine by snorting them, for the whole yr and onced I got into the new dr, he gave me suboxone twice and then put me on subutex, which I often snorted alone with suboxone, I don't know how much I done, there were days I'd break off halfs and snort them every hour...there were days Id only have a half to do..anyway..I quit my dr again about 2 to 3 weeks ago, buying subutex off the street and if I couldnt find them I settled for suboxone...My job ended....I went broke, I snorted only halfs of subutex or suboxone...Up until last saturday..and I might have settled for the halfs for 2 weeks..My first 2 days I barely functioned but did, third day., I couldnt take it anymore, I thought I was going to die, my legs ached , It was hard to even shower, So, On the third day..I used methampetamine, for 2 more days, wel it helped because I knew I couldnt sleep anyway..,was tired of taking 8 tylenol pm and get an hour or two of sleep and pop 4 more, so I was high, leg cramps that nearly killed me, so 4th day, I haven't slept at all in 2 days, I am dying , I begin direaha and no appetite at all, soo weak I can barely lay around and hold a cigartette, too weak to drink more water which led to dehydration which ppl say make me cramp worse..5th day,I thought I was dieng...The diareahe every time i took a sip of anything..still cant eat and with no sleep..I was an emotional wreck..crying..then from the methampetaime..I was comming down..finally my aunt came and had 800 milligram of nuerotin...My legs hurt so bad..I thought Id die..my arm felt like electric shock was going thru it...my back..omg..hurt like worse than ever, I was cold so cold, freezing, then id burn up, unable to shower, finally uon taking the neurotin I slept last night..I woke up this morning on my 6th day of cold turkey quitting the subutex, and I was cramping, aching, still..not as bad as previous days but bad, I ate, then here came the diareahea...Still on the 6th day..I am finally trying to eat appple sauce, taken 4 800 ml og neutorn, but cant seem to rid the leg cramps, I was hoping that because I am feeling some better today, that this would be over,within a day or two..but after reading 2 to 3 weeks..It scared me.6th day for me..I am feeling ok...not near as rough..just make it thru til 6 days and take it from there..I was addicted bad to both subpxone and subutex,...I began them in Nov from the streets, of 08 and in March 2009 I started the clinic, so I really have been using these for almost 2 yrs..cold turkey...6th day..and I am hoping I dont go buy any...thanks

i was taking subutex for seven days in detox. Then got released.. The next day I felt like death.. I have never w/d from something so hard.. This was worse than anything I have evwer came down off of.. I believe subutex is a demon.. What helps?? plz help!

I was addicted to Rx meds for about 15 years, after a car accident I was prescribed every kind of pain meds out there. I needed HELP. I heard about the subs and found out how to get into the clinic where they are offered. I got sick of waiting for the only few sub clinics to call me with an appointment. I put in my app at the clinic about 7 months ago and no call yet!! I live on an Indian reservation and we have no doc here qualified to prescribe subs for patients. I had to go about 2 hours away to turn in my app, so that means that I will have to drive to this clinic every week once I do get a call. They have a waiting list and I have had it with waiting!! I am now purchasing them from our local drug dealer!! I had to, my Rx drug use was compromising my job and I have to support my family!! Rx drugs ruined my life and to tell you the truth since I have been taking the subs my quality of life is GREAT. However, I cant afford to keep buying them, I need a call back from this darn clinic. I want to be able to stop everything but I cant function through withdrawls. I tried cold turkey but my use was severe, I took enough meds to put an elephant down, so I was extremely sick!! I thank the creator for the subs but I need HELP finding another way to get them, I was hoping for something available online?? If anybody out there has advice for me I would appreciate it. I feel normal when I take the subs, not high or like my head is in a cloud so this is a good thing. I think that if it effected me like a drug then I would say that it is just a trade off. This is a great program and it could help many people have a normal life. Most other drug addictions are nothing like heroin or pain meds, you dont get as sick coming off of them, so I think that subs are very necessary for people who need to function but want to get clean. HELP, any info would be great!! %-) %-)