Can I use 2-3mg of suboxone/day for 3-4days to help with opiate withdrawl?
Question posted by tiffany95667 on 13 Dec 2011
Last updated on 18 February 2014 by subtronic
I've been thru rehab, outpatient, believe in god and am familiar with 12step programs. I have read so many different things online lately & thank god for that or I would probably be telling you right now how I'm on 1000mg of suboxone(exaggeration) because I wanted a 'pain free, no withdrawl miracle drug'. Please realize that I am not discrediting suboxone-I know how helpful it has been to so many people. I do admit to being somewhat of a cynic though due to my own experiences which include kicking hydrocodone, oxy, morphine, heroin and worst of all methadone(cold turkey after being on it for 2yrs straight- did wean down to 20mg before jumping off).
I know I am NOT a dr by any means. I have worked in the medical field off & on for the last 14yrs(my whole adult life~I'm a 32yr old female).
I just need a little something besides clonidine and seroquel(for sleep/agitation-both previously prescribed to me) to help ease the worst of the withdrawls & was curious to know if anyone had used or heard of someone using suboxone just as a buffer(per say) in just the first few days of kicking? I have quite a few norco too but I DON'T want to touch them anymore. I have to take 20+/day just to not want to jump off a bridge- no joke! They don't even make me 'feel good'~ Not to mention how much acetaminophen that all adds up to.
So if anyone has any experience OR opinion with what I'm asking/referring to~ please feel free to answer/comment/whatever. Thanks!
no it will take you longer in the bad place of with its im you shore know try and get pregablin or gabapntin the fist is amazin for wds
Votes: +1
KI
kittycatgirl2
3 Jan 2012
It helped me just dont do it for any longer than 4 days and taper.Good luck and God Bless you
Votes: +1
SH
Shatay
2 July 2013
Kittycatgirl2 are u still there?
RO
Robert_325
14 Dec 2011
You can use subs for a few days but the odds are very high of relapse doing it that way. If it's just for a few days I wouldn't bother. You have clonidine and seroquel, the most you could possibly need other than that would be a low dose of klonopin or something equivelant for a week maybe and some imodium AD for diarrhea. You could add some good protein shakes and of course get some exercise of some kind. That helps more than anything. Then you should be past the norco problem within a total of a week or so where every day will get better and better. I use to take about forty 10/650 lorcets daily. You can do the math and see the acetaminophen with that, plus I was taking so much other stuff it was over 100 pills a day. I did it, I know you can do this!
Votes: +1
TI
tiffany95667
14 Dec 2011
I guess the reason I'm SO terrified is because I had been taking methadone 20mg regularly (as in daily) since June 2011 till late October 2011. Since then have been using whatever I could get like heroin, dilaudids, kadians/morphine, occasionally methadone but not much and norcos (which are actually prescribed to me). I'm just scared that my detox will be HORRIBLE due to the methadone. When I kicked methadone in October 2006 I was literally dope-sick for a month and a half- not to mention the fact that I suffered from PAWS until mid January 2007. The only reason it ended then was because I picked up an oxy habit again. I went to rehab in January 2009 to March 2009 and was doing well until I thought I could just use one time on beautiful day in June 2009 which ended in an accidental overdose which earned me another 21day stint in rehab.
After that I finally gave in to taking an anti-depressant(zoloft) that I really benefited from and stayed successfully sober until accidentally relapsing in March 2010 on Tramadol of all things- a NON-Narcotic pain reliever that I became hooked on which followed the oh so familiar path of leading to stronger substances. So as you can see my hesitance to just 'go thru it' is completely fear based. And to add more pressure-in about 9 days-me, my two daughters and my parents(whom I live with) will be leaving home to spend Christmas at Disneyland. I am SO worried I won't be feeling up to it~ but I cannot keep living this reality-altered life of opiate dependancy. I am also TERRIFIED to tell my folks about my once again escalating problem. They know I have been on norco literally all of 2011 due to a very invasive and painful surgery(hemorrhoidectomy) on December 31st, 2010 and a recent, but long time coming, fibromyalgia diagnosis. What they DON'T know is I have, once again, moved on to bigger and more life destroying things. I'm SO tired of relapse & disappointment being a reoccurring part of MY story. I understand that suboxone can assist in sheltering me from another relapse and there is a Dr at the office I go to that is licensed to prescribe it BUT I don't want to have to kick another long lasting opiate ever again(although I am completely aware I did this to myself... once again). I'm not sure that I could mentally, physically and emotionally handle it. It really, really scares me!
TI
tiffany95667
15 Dec 2011
Robert-I would greatly appreciate your assistance in guiding me thru using suboxone as a TOOL to get clean. I am so glad to read that you don't agree with it being a maintenance plan.
Ok~ so here's the only problems: 1) I already started taking it on Monday the 12th. *I started with 2mg in the morning followed by another 2mg in the evening. *Tuesday 13th I took 2mg in the morning followed by 1mg in evening. *Wednesday 14th(today) I took what I did yesterday ~I'm not totally sure that I needed the whole 2mg this morning but unfortunately I took it anyway =( 2) I don't have a "supply" of suboxone and am not totally sure if the Dr would even start me since I've already started myself- but I can try 3) I just filled a prescription of 240 norco on Friday and only have like 53 due to abusing them to try to stay well before deciding to start the
suboxone & have been helping a friend too whom just started on suboxone last night due to my suggestion(although you & I both know my best thinking got me here). So I'm not sure if my script will effect anything~ though I am completely ready to say goodbye it.
So ~now knowing all of this added info~ do you still feel you can work with me? Will I still have to re-induce? Or am I at a low enough dose that we can just move forward? And do you really feel that I should use suboxone more than just a few more days? I really just want to be able to participate in our Christmas Disneyland trip. I have never been a naturally energetic person but I'm willing to take the right steps to address that issue as well.
I am on a couple other meds and feel like I should be totally upfront. My Dr has recently taken me off zoloft and put me on cymbalta 60mg. I'm prescribed 200mg of seroquel for sleep and was down to 100mg until I decided to kick my habit and have been taking 300mg the last 3nights. Since June 2010 I have been prescribed clonidine 0.1mg 1-2daily. I was taking 2 each night but was down to 1 and some nights even just 1/2. Originally it was for withdrawl (from tramadol and occasional hydrocodone) but my Dr kept me on it to aid with mild anxiety attacks, to help my sleep meds work better and because it's not a benzodiazepine and is not addictive... But because I'm an addict ANYTHING can be addictive to me.
RO
Robert_325
17 Dec 2011
If you just get some subs from the dr with the dose you've been taking we can pick up where you left off. The other meds you are taking are okay with the subs. keep me posted.
HR
Hrmnee
3 Jan 2012
Kittycat, you really are close. I know this is hard. If you do get sub from dr. Be careful, most accidentally or purposely (the jury's still out on that one), over prescribe. I've been right where you are at and it only took 2 mgs, and I even wonder if I could have gotten away with one, but know that like any other narcotic, the longer you take it, the longer it takes to wean off it. But, I agree with Robert, if you can, finish this! I KNOW IT'S HARD, but you really are so close. You should be through the worst of it, or really close. I can tell you are right on the edge, you might even start feeling better tomorrow. What's it been, only one vicodon in a week? harmony
