Getting off suboxone

[dickbillz3]

I've been on suboxone for 4 months. Started out at 16mgs/day and I'm down to .5mgs/day. Should I just stop taking them at this point?? The anxiety over whether or not this is the point to stop is driving me crazy. I've been through withdrawl trying to stop an 80mg/day oxy habit and don't want to go through that again!!!

Thanks for any help or advice.

[Dave87666]

If I were you I'd split it down to .25/day(morning) for about 4-5 days and then cut them out...If you tapered that low you should feel little to no w/d...Good luck and tell us how you're feeling..

[dickbillz3]

If I were you I'd split it down to .25/day(morning) for about 4-5 days and then cut them out...If you tapered that low you should feel little to no w/d...Good luck and tell us how you're feeling..

I'll give that a go. Thanks!!! I'll be back with an update next week.

[Dave87666]

No problem,glad to help!

[dickbillz3]

Just wanted to let everyone know what happened. Coming off the suboxone was like a walk in the park, compared to opiate withdrawal!!!

I went all the way down to .25mg for a couple weeks (longer than I wanted), mostly because I was afraid of the withdrawal I might get. When I finally decided to stop I realized the withdrawal was minimal. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it a 1(maybe lower). The withdrawal is more of an annoyance than anything else. Although almost 1 month later and still feeling mild symptoms of it and wondering when it will stop, gets kind of aggravating.

I've been able to function, go to work, eat, sleep, its been great!!! Thank god for suboxone.

[ymccormack]

I can't seem to get a straight answer on what it's like to taper the suboxone...then every once in a while I'll hear some horror story about it.

Glad to hear a success story!

YO

[SheLovesKoalas]

Hi there!
Thanks for the update. I have been on sub's longer than anyone I have met here so far! The first attempt at stopping was a disaster!!!
I have since tapered down to .25mg every 4-5 days for the past months just because of my fear of that w/d again! My doc even says that the w/d I might feel would only be "in my head" at this point. I believe that my fears outweigh my simple reasoning!

Your post has made me want to try again! Thanks!

Janice

[dickbillz3]

Hi there!
Thanks for the update. I have been on sub's longer than anyone I have met here so far! The first attempt at stopping was a disaster!!!
I have since tapered down to .25mg every 4-5 days for the past months just because of my fear of that w/d again! My doc even says that the w/d I might feel would only be "in my head" at this point. I believe that my fears outweigh my simple reasoning!

Your post has made me want to try again! Thanks!

Janice

It really is all in your head. I had the same fears of withdrawal. I would start to get that feeling, you know the one, so I would take another subox. Well guess what when I finally decided to stop, that feeling I was getting, never got any worse!!!! I could actually deal with it. Almost 1 month later I still get the feeling but it goes away. I believe my body is still healing and just needs time.

If your taking .25 every 4-5 days there is no reason not to stop. The feeling that you get won't get worse. If you've gone through opiate withdrawal you can handle this, trust me!!!

I read all the horror stories and I believe they played into me not wanting to stop but I also think alot of those people tried to jump off at 1mg. As small as it sounds I think there is a big difference between 1mg and .25mg.

Let us know how it works out!!!!

[submom]

Thanks for the update!! I too am on sub...currently tapering down and my goal is to keep tapering till i am on a crumb!! i believe there is a BIG difference between 1 and .25....i recently realized that i am not tapering as i should so today when i get my fill i will also pick up a pill holder..you know the ones..with the mon, tues, wed....and cut up my doses...to insure i continue to wean..then i will take only what is in the box....i know some people actually smash and divide the powder...i dont think i will go that route...
Thanks so much for posting...i have read many horror stories of withdrawl and it is exciting to see someone put it on a 1-10 scale....did i miss how long you were on the subs?? can you let me know...some say that if you are on it for longer than 21 days your screwed...so please let me know...because i passed 21 days well about 50 DAYS AGO lol

[dickbillz3]

I ended up being on suboxone for 5 months (March-August), so you can throw that 21 days right out the window. It seems as if properly tapering off as well as actually wanting to stop is the trick, or at least in my case it worked.

I could only get 8mg pills so I crushed them up to get the proper dosage, just couldn't seem to get the pill cutter to divide an 8mg pill 32 ways. :-)

After going through opiate withdrawal several times I know how scary it is when you think about stopping the subox. It definitely is a mental game you'll end up playing with yourself. I'm sure once I got down to .25mg I could have stopped after 1 week but I dragged it out because of fear.

Good luck to everyone!!! Hopefully my success will lead to others as well!!!

[mpvt]

The 21 day detox is useful for people with sort term addiction.
When you've been addicted for years and years your brain actually goes thru physical and chemical changes and it takes time getting it back to normal.
From what I have seen and read, a good year or even longer on buprenorphene is needed for your average addict.
You need to have your life running as smooth as possible before you even attempt a detox.
When you and your doctor decide it's time then you need to wean down very slowly.I have read quite a few post's were the suboxone patient weans down very slowly and has a pretty much painless detox.Then again I have read some real horror stories were people with good intentions jump off to quickly and end up in PAWS or they relapse.
Anyway, that's my take on buprenorphene.A very useful drug for addiction recovery and\or opiate replacement therapy ORT........Dave

[submom]

Yep, it took me four years to get this horid addictions...i am willing to take at least 4 months to get over it.
Thanks for sharing....i think (isnt it weird that i dont know!!) that i have been on sub for about 2 and a half months? maybe just eight weeks....but i still have to get from 5 mgs to .25 so i gotta a ways to go. and I have just decided to look at a calender. LOL

[butchy yost]

Finally...a success story!!!! there is HOPE.

But like Dave MPVT said, I really think it does matter how long and how much you were taking before stopping, I am in my 6th month of sub, after three years of addiction(up to 500mgOxy/day or 20 bags heroin/day when I stopped).

I quickly went from 16mg down to 4mg(first 2 weeks), but am having trouble getting below 2mg/day at this point. I guess I will just take it slow and try to wean GRADUALLY...

Its crazy how much difference .25 makes! I guess its just a testament to how potent the sub really is.

good luck to everybody trying to get free.

[exenabler]

Don't give in now!!!!!!! Ask your doctor if you should try to quit taking any, if the stress is killing you, what's the harm in taking the small dose a few more days. If it really scares you, do it in a detox just to be safe. Or go to an NA meetong a find a fellow sufferer who did it. Whatever you do, make sure you are super busy the first day off, and the next. You will be less likely to stir your own withdrawels in your mind Check out a meeting, Even if you don't want to go to a group, it'll distract you for a while.

[buptaper]

If I were you I'd split it down to .25/day(morning) for about 4-5 days and then cut them out...If you tapered that low you should feel little to no w/d...Good luck and tell us how you're feeling..

It was great to read this from Dave and Dickbillz.

History: For the past 9 months i've been on suboxone coming from about a 3 month nasty habit with dilaudid. I have gotten my life together while on sub and am going to counseling and totally committed to my sobriety. I am living with family and involved in all the right things.

I'm at peace with the length of time i have been on the sub because I have turned 180 in my life.

I told my doctor I was ready to come off the sub and he took me from 12mg to 4mg, which was not too terribly difficult. then he said the 'protocol' was to stay on the 4mg for 2 weeks, stop COMPLETELY for 5 days, and then start Revia. This also took place over a holiday so i was super sick after the 4th day. All the common withdrawal symptoms. That Revia did nothing. He said i just wasn't ready. I asked him if he had ever had a patient detox and he said no. He is new to it. I forgive him. He gave me a prescription for 45mg on 9/5/07 and i've tapered to 1mg per day over the past 4 days. I only got 10 8mg tabs of the 45 filled and have enough to completely get off if i continue to taper. I'm not sleeping much at this point but i am sleeping some. I know the consequences. I can handle that and I'm exercising and trying to eat right. I've been doing B-12 and taking Potassium and with the exercise I actually have a bit of energy.

Question: how to proceed? i read yall's posts and agree crushing them is the only way to get semi-equal portions. do i go at 5 day increments? i took 2mg for 2 weeks and have been on 1mg for 4 days. do i go sometime next week to .5mg and then 1-2 weeks later to .25? and then how long til i quit?

Thanks for your positive words.

[buptaper]

just wanted to let everyone know I'm day 7 off the sub. tapering by 1/2mg each week worked for me. i had little to no withdrawal symptoms more than i experienced while tapering under 2mg. i haven't been sleeping very well, some nights not at all and others i just wake up several times but that's better than no sleep. my stomach isn't quite back to normal but not bad diarrhea or anything like that. i feel like i have really accomplished something even though i have very little energy and am still depressed. but i have had depression before and it's actually my fault focusing too much on me. i have gotten it before when i stopped opiates before. it's getting better. funny how people like me this way much more than hyper pill head when i felt like the i was on top of the world. that's the past. i haven't craved once. i really hate addiction and i can live without it. i just want to experience life as me, and not a pill head.

[submom]

way to go!! Thanks so much for posting...me being on 2 mgs of sub really love to hear and read about others whom have recently jumped...care to share more with me on how you went about making your final jump and what dose you jumped from?

and again...you rock....it must feel amazing to know that you are now clean...drug free....its all you babe...good job

[buptaper]

sure submom,
i hope you read my first nightmare story. it's the first of my 2 posts. read that. my doc had no clue. he's so new to sub he didn't know how to detox. he had me jump off at 4mg. day 4 i was so anxious and physically sick it was terrible. i got on the web and saw dave87666 and dickbillz3 posts about tapering. i got back on at 4mg on day 5 after calling my doc frantic because i had to function. i have a job with a lot of responsibility and it's a family business and they had no idea. they still don't but i'm coming around now. tapering is key. i tapered each 5 days so i got on at 4mg for 2 days just so i could function and pretty quickly jumped down to 2mg, where you are. 5 days later, 1mg, 5 days later .5, 5 days later .25, 5 days later nothing. i experienced little to no withdrawals like i read on the post that said on a scale of 1 to 10 it was a 1. now, i've had insomnia before due to opiate detox and that seems to be a symptom. anyway, i crushed the 8mg tabs which crush very easily, and just kept dividing evenly 32 ways and it looked like i was doing a bunch of orange coke. i tapered on methadone but never went over 30mg on that stuff which was the minimum intake allowed at my clinic years ago. i did a 30 day detox after 6 months on the stuff and it was worse than this but really not that bad. i love the sub because i didn't feel it and it made it much easier to come off. i really resent the doc's misinfo, though i forgive him, about prescribing me such a high dose. i would have been fine on 4mg i believe.

it's great you are on 2mg. i like the idea of halfing the dose on tapering. just worked. it seems like the 1/2 life of sub is 2-3 days. day 4 off 4mg was full on withdrawals. my dr. said that was the 'protocol'. my ????.

anyway, i think that staying busy thru it all is the key. you can't sit around and worry. exercise was hard for me to motivate to do but it made me feel better. i'm saying do exercise and eat a lot of protein now and get in a habit. get yourself strong and just taper and you'll be done with it. are you contemplating coming off? it's just mental. those horror stories stressed me out. i'm convinced you can taper on any drug and come off. but the oxys and stuff are so hard to come off because of the euphria. we don't have that with sub. think about it like that. there will be a little discomfort but it's a growing process too. i feel much better about myself now and don't have any guilt. the good thing about those horror stories i read about coming off sub was that it made me get off of it. i'll talk anytime you like

[buptaper]

so you're down from 5mg to 2mg from 9/20 if i read your post correctly. that's great. that's like 3 weeks or a little more right? so you are tapering? great. i'll log on and support you. anything good that can come out of all this is wonderful. i think God may want me to counsel people with drug histories. by the way, i don't consider it a disease. anything taken in extremes is going to be bad and have consequences. i don't care what 'modern' medicine says. they're still pushing medieval drugs aren't they?

[alonenomore]

Hi guys, thanks for the positive posts regarding suboxone detox. I feel much better. Missing my submom, having heard from her in a while. I see the doc tomorrow after one week of sub treatment. I have battled this monkey off and on for 20 years and feel very, very positive now!!! THANKS SUBOXONE FRIENDS.....

[buptaper]

Hi guys, thanks for the positive posts regarding suboxone detox. I feel much better. Missing my submom, having heard from her in a while. I see the doc tomorrow after one week of sub treatment. I have battled this monkey off and on for 20 years and feel very, very positive now!!! THANKS SUBOXONE FRIENDS.....

i've been off 3 weeks and 2 days and feeling better every day. suboxone is great but a lot of docs don't know how to prescribe it. they prescribe more than is needed sometimes. your doc maybe not. just try, if you can, to take as little as possible. if 4mg holds you do that. i was on 16mg and had no business on that much. it's expensive too but not near as expensive as a dope habit. you can function normally and everyone will see the difference. get in some good habits. ditch the dope friends.

i haven't heard from submom either. hopefully she is ok. good luck and i'll check back in from time to time.

[Junkie781]

Nice to hear another success story. Congratulations!

[Ladylee]

Hey buptaper! Thank you for posting your success story. Im trying to come off sub too. I was supposed to jump today but got so scared when i started running out, I think i made myself feel w/d. Im really a basket case with this and so full of fear of the prolonged w/d's and that I will never feel happy or good again. So you went from 4mgs to 2mgs to 1mg to .5mg to. 25mg--Is that correct? Did you do 3mgs or skip that? I have a few sub left and i may be able to do that taper you just posted. Ive been on it over a year though-- I wonder if it will be a lot worse for me? Probably-- I really need to quit chickening out though-- How many days off are you now? Great job--Youre so lucky!! Take good care, ladylee

[buptaper]

hey ladylee. sorry it's been a while. i'm doing much better now. i went from 4mg to 2mg tapering every 5-7 days. i didn't do 3mgs. i halved the doses on every weekly taper as dave and dickbillz recommended. 4 to 2 to 1 to 1/2 to .5 to .25. it wasn't easy but i wasn't sick. it's the mental part. i was determined though. i wanted myself back. i have used opiates off and on for years. i am facing my problems now. i am exercising regularly and starting to sleep a little better. i think it must be something with the long term opiate use (which i've read) but i wake up several times at night. but i sleep some and it seems to be almost enough. some nights better than others. if i can do it anyone can. i was so quick to work up a daily habit of opiates. but i seriously got tired of the lifestyle AND myself. i took sub for 9 months. 1 year shouldn't be much different. how much are you on now? the taper works but do whatever you can to move and be productive. exercise and eating right is key, and you may not feel like it; but i'm at work right now and don't feel like it. :-) good luck and i'll check back in. i think you've got it now. the taper works. good luck and you can do it ladylee.

[Zacfree]

Just wanted to hop on here. The last post I saw was back in November of 07. I was on 16 mg. of Sub for 10 months. I cut from 16 to 12 2 months ago and didn't notice anything. I cut from 12 to 10 5 days ago and all I felt was a little tired and just a bit of anxiety here and there. I saw the posts and see that the cuts are in half. Can I cut from 10 to 5? I understand there is a big difference between 1 mg and .25 but is there not much of a difference at the higher doses? I too was put on a much higher dose than needed, but I have realized that my Doc just wants to keep all his patients on Sub forever. He said I have a dopemine diffiency and I might have to take it the rest of my life!! Wow!! I am not knew to detox. I was a heroine addict for 17 years and got sober in 89 and stayed sober for 10 years and then got hurt and the norco cycle started for 8 years until I got on sub. Detoxed a hundred times off of opiates. I have done everything from the Rapid Detox to tapering to cold turkey off everything. This is first time on Sub. I am going to meetings everyday and working the steps, exercising, meditating, prayer, eating better, colonics, bodywork and tapering the sub. I also just finished a 9 week taper off of Xanax from 1.5 mg to zero. Been off that insane drug for 3 weeks. Trust me, there is not detox like that!!!! Now I'm finishing out the sub. Hope to hear from fellow addicts coming off too.

[Robert_325]

Just wanted to hop on here. The last post I saw was back in November of 07. I was on 16 mg. of Sub for 10 months. I cut from 16 to 12 2 months ago and didn't notice anything. I cut from 12 to 10 5 days ago and all I felt was a little tired and just a bit of anxiety here and there. I saw the posts and see that the cuts are in half. Can I cut from 10 to 5? I understand there is a big difference between 1 mg and .25 but is there not much of a difference at the higher doses? I too was put on a much higher dose than needed, but I have realized that my Doc just wants to keep all his patients on Sub forever. He said I have a dopemine diffiency and I might have to take it the rest of my life!! Wow!! I am not knew to detox. I was a heroine addict for 17 years and got sober in 89 and stayed sober for 10 years and then got hurt and the norco cycle started for 8 years until I got on sub. Detoxed a hundred times off of opiates. I have done everything from the Rapid Detox to tapering to cold turkey off everything. This is first time on Sub. I am going to meetings everyday and working the steps, exercising, meditating, prayer, eating better, colonics, bodywork and tapering the sub. I also just finished a 9 week taper off of Xanax from 1.5 mg to zero. Been off that insane drug for 3 weeks. Trust me, there is not detox like that!!!! Now I'm finishing out the sub. Hope to hear from fellow addicts coming off too.

Makes me mad when drs want to make everyone do this forever. Some of us do need it longer, but forever is a long time. How does the sub dr know you have a dopamine deficiency? Sounds a little like a crock to me.

Going from 10mg to 5mg is kind of fast considering how long you have been on the suboxone. Try dropping from 10mg to 8mg for about 4 days, then go to 6mg about four days, and so on until you get to 2mg. Then you have to start breaking it down by .5mg at a time.

2mg ... four days
1.5mg .. three days
1mg ... three days
.5mg ... three days
skip one day
.5mg
skip two days
.5mg
skip three days NOW QUIT

This has worked for lots of others and should work for you too. Skipping days helps to allow for the long half life of suboxone. Remember when at very low doses you can always take a little sliver (.5mg) any time w/d symptoms are bad. Then you just pick up where you left off. Take your time with this. There is no hurry.

Getting off any benzo is a drag. Been there too. I detoxed off 8mg of klonopin a day and about 10-14mg a day of xanax. It sucked! All the electric shocks and awful dreams. Like to drove me nuts. Good luck with the suboxone detox. You can do this.

[misty41]

I have been on suboxone for 3 1/2 years. I'm trying to wean myself off of them because I feel I am ready. The hardest part for me is mentally preparing myself to be without a substance. Suboxone has been my crutch for so long and I am terrified that I will fail. Does anyone out there have the same feelings? Help....

[Zacfree]

I have been on suboxone for 3 1/2 years. I'm trying to wean myself off of them because I feel I am ready. The hardest part for me is mentally preparing myself to be without a substance. Suboxone has been my crutch for so long and I am terrified that I will fail. Does anyone out there have the same feelings? Help....

Misty,

I have not been on Sub that long, but I certainly am not new to addiction!! I think we all have those feelings when our lives are centered around a substance no matter what it is. Almost like we are not normal. Fear and terror are a very normal feeling. Who wouldn't be. I don't know how many mg's your on but what ever it is since you have been on it for 3 1/2 years my suggestion would be very very very slow!! Make yourself a schedule and start cutting either 1 mg or 2 mg every 4 to 5 days or even a week. Thats just a guide line, check in with your body and see what it can take. After that long, who cares if it takes 3 to 6 months. the slower you do it, the less you will notice that your even tapering. Also it gives you a lot of self confidence as you learn to cope with life with a slow taper. Its also a good idea to replace it with something. Exercising, eating right, spiritual courses and a strong support team. Keep coming on here. Possibly even some 12 step program maybe if your into that. You can do it and I'm right there with ya. As I said in my earlier post, I am cutting too. I cut from 16 mg to 12, then from 12 to 10, July 7th, and then from 10 to 8 three days ago and feel ok. Just a little tired and if I didn't know any better, maybe a fleeting anxiety once or twice. Hardly anything to speak of. Look at Roberts taper schedule which is good and what I'm doing but again, check in with your body because every one is different. You may be able to breeze thru it or might have to go a bit slower. I use my calender on my putor to put my cuts and my feelings and emotions on the days to chart my progress. I was reading back in April and May when I was tapering the Xanax.....Wow!! Anyway, hang in there, I'm sure you will do fine..

[Zacfree]

Robert,

Thanks bro, I will follow that schedule and adjust as needed. Wow, that was a lot of benzo's!!! That must have been fun How long did it take you? Anyway, three days now at 8 mg. and cutting to 6 tomorrow or the next day depending on how I feel. It's a little hard because that part in you that just wants to be done, but knowing better that you don't want to be sick either. Pushing the line, but unlike opiates, it's a little delayed reaction. I get the idea of skipping days. Hadn't thought of that so thanks. By the way, do you know of a live support where you can talk live about tapering sub or is it just this posting here and then waiting for someone to reply? I'll check back in a few.......

[ianis5155]

I have been on suboxone for 3 1/2 years. I'm trying to wean myself off of them because I feel I am ready. The hardest part for me is mentally preparing myself to be without a substance. Suboxone has been my crutch for so long and I am terrified that I will fail. Does anyone out there have the same feelings? Help....

I am now realizing my necessity for reality and life and love and that of my fellow man and woman. Not any script or street fuel.

We all love to rely on things and I have been relying on my dad for everything for so long. I have no car, no job, no relationship, no prospects other than suboxone from methadone from oxys.

Originally I detoxed from methadone 2 years ago, seems like yesterday.
Have been recieving 8/2 mg scripts for 2 years and ITS THE TIME OF THE SEASON according to the zombies. Anyway. tried quitting cold turkey from about a half a pill four days ago--insomnia and restlessness and crawling skin and sweaty paper skin fledged me. Tried benadryl and cough syrup in insane high doseages with oppositional effect (i think it made withdrawl worse) ....I gave in last night to a quarter of a pill while sweating in the shower which was on high heat.

I am going to continue down this tapering road piece by piece, or snort by snort if i have to. The constant reliance for a feeling can no longer satiate my need for love and for money and prospects of my own. I am 21 at the university of Minnesota. stay tuned as i enjoy reading, and now posting to this drugs.com forum of my peers and fellow simple minds, or challenging ones..

I know all of us can do this and especially I want to succeed and hear about everyone who has in addition.