For Robert...about suboxone withdrawls

[sessy1979]

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My husband starting taking suboxone 10 months ago ... he started out at 4mg twice a day ... over the last 10 months he tapered down the dosage every couple months. Last month he finially tapered down to 1mg per day ... at his dr's appointment that month he had wanted to go to .5mg but his dr didn't suggest it. She wanted him to take the 1mg per day for 3 weeks then try the .5mg for a week ... if he felt fine then she said she'd lower his dosage at next months appointment. Well he tried the .5mg for a week and then just decided to go cold turkey! He's on his 6th day without the suboxone and he is feeling awful!! His legs and body are achy, and he's been having a terrible time sleeping! He's been taking tylenol and showers to help but it seems like everyday he feels worse? I keep telling him that if he's come this far that he should stick it out but the withdrawls are starting to frustrate him! I don't think expected them to be this bad. Any suggestions??

[Robert_325]

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My husband starting taking suboxone 10 months ago ... he started out at 4mg twice a day ... over the last 10 months he tapered down the dosage every couple months. Last month he finially tapered down to 1mg per day ... at his dr's appointment that month he had wanted to go to .5mg but his dr didn't suggest it. She wanted him to take the 1mg per day for 3 weeks then try the .5mg for a week ... if he felt fine then she said she'd lower his dosage at next months appointment. Well he tried the .5mg for a week and then just decided to go cold turkey! He's on his 6th day without the suboxone and he is feeling awful!! His legs and body are achy, and he's been having a terrible time sleeping! He's been taking tylenol and showers to help but it seems like everyday he feels worse? I keep telling him that if he's come this far that he should stick it out but the withdrawls are starting to frustrate him! I don't think expected them to be this bad. Any suggestions??

Stopping cold at 1mg is harder than it would seem but I wouldn't go back after almost a week. Take some ibuprofen or aleve for body aches, a sleep aid wouldn't hurt if he's having trouble sleeping, drink lots of fluids, eat healthy including vitamin, and get some kind of exercise even if it's just a walk. It will help him get better sooner. It's easy to find oneself just knocked out on the couch for a month otherwise. Keep us posted how he's doing. God bless.

[sessy1979]

Any idea about how long withdrawls last???

[Robert_325]

Stopping at 1mg if he gets some exercise and makes an honest effort to get back to normal he should start feeling better within another week. Could be a few days either way but he really needs to exercise, take vitamins, drink protein shakes, eat healthy. Otherwise it could take a month if he just lays around upset about feeling crummy. Hope that helps. God bless.

[amberwish]

Stopping cold at 1mg is harder than it would seem but I wouldn't go back after almost a week. Take some ibuprofen or aleve for body aches, a sleep aid wouldn't hurt if he's having trouble sleeping, drink lots of fluids, eat healthy including vitamin, and get some kind of exercise even if it's just a walk. It will help him get better sooner. It's easy to find oneself just knocked out on the couch for a month otherwise. Keep us posted how he's doing. God bless.

It looks like he jumped at .5mg. If im reading it correctly he took the .5mg for 4 or 5 days and then jumped. Should his symptoms still be this bad, Robert? Im just curious. This Suboxone is soo darn strong sometimes it scares me!
Amber

[Robert_325]

It looks like he jumped at .5mg. If im reading it correctly he took the .5mg for 4 or 5 days and then jumped. Should his symptoms still be this bad, Robert? Im just curious. This Suboxone is soo darn strong sometimes it scares me!
Amber

Amber ..... you are right! I read over it too quickly. A couple weeks should do it but exercise is still needed, even if it's just going for walks. Get endorphine production going on its own and that helps with overall well being. Thanks for catching that oversight for me! God bless.

[sessy1979]

I was totally off ... he just got home from work and we were talking and I reliezed he's coming off of 4mg strips!

When he started his program 10 months ago his dr started him off at 8mg strips twice daily. He stayed on that dosage for about 3 months then tapered off to a strip and a half daily ... took that for 3 months ... then went to a strip(8mg) daily... he's been on that for 4 months. When he started the one strip daily he asked the dr about tapering off that and she told us that when he was comfortable he could start taking 1/2 strip(4mg) daily but when he got to 1/2 a strip it was more of a mental thing. She never told him he'd have withdrawls from this medicine EVER!! She acted as if tapering off this medication was nothing! She even once told us at an appointment that once he got to 1/2 strip that he really didn't have to come back because again it was more mental than anything. So last month we went to his appointment and he asked her about going to 1/2 a strip daily ... she said she thought he should try it for a week then if he felt comfortable w/ that dosage she'd lower the dosage at next months appointment. So he took his one strip(8mg) for the first 3 weeks of this month then last week tried the 1/2 strip(4mg) and felt fine ... so he decided to miss his appointment this week and come off the 1/2 strip since once again the dr said it was more of a mental thing. The first two days he was fine ... he slept, no aches, no pains ... he thought he felt great!! Well these last two days his legs have started to ache and he's gotten restless! I mean he's hanging in there but it's tough!! He said what he's the most upset about is that his dr talked like coming off 1/2 strip was easy and painless ... on that!! He's been drinking lots of water and taking tylenol for his aches and pains ... and he's determined to get through this!

[Robert_325]

Jumping cold from 4mg is crazy! He should go back on 2mg for a couple days and then drop 25% every four days down to at least .5mg.

He's going to be one sick puppy jumping off 4mg unless he is the ONE exception to the rule. I've done this a long time. He will be feeling like he weighs a ton for close to a month. Probably blown away on the couch hardly able to move. Will feel like total hell doing that. I hope he listens to me.

I'll help him if he wants me to. We can do a re-induction, it's been long enough. I may be able to get him stable at less than 1mg if he will do what I say and he'll feel good at the same time. And we'll have him clean in a few weeks pretty painlessly. Let me know. God bless.

[sessy1979]

He says he doesn't want to go back to his dr and give her anymore money!! He said he's pissed that she made him think coming off 4mg strips was going to be easy! He said she should have warned him about having withdrawls. She literally told us coming off of 4mg strips was all in his head! He's determined to push on and understands that he's going to feel bad for the next several weeks. I really wish I would have found this site 10 months ago!

[Robert_325]

I'll still be here if I can help him as he goes through this. I understand how he feels. Most of the sub drs have no idea what they are doing. They should have to take subs for a while and jump off cold at 4mg themselves so they will see how difficult it is! Makes me furious. Let me know if he needs help. And I respect his persistence! God bless.

[sessy1979]

Thank you Robert. The thing that's getting to him the most is the restlessness at nighttime and the throbbing in his legs. He does evenually fall asleep though. He's been going to work also and drinking lots of water. His appetite isn't that great but he does eat. He told me last night he just feels really tired and weak from all the aches.He takes several showers at night to try to help him sleep. He said he believes all these symptons would have been far more worse if he were coming of the pain killers(percocet and morphine pills) he'd been taking for years. He just never expected to have withdrawls from the suboxone. He does get frustrated at night and says he doesn't know if he can do it but he presses on. Today is day 7.