[JenX]

This is my account of all the fun stuff that happens during tapering, withdrawal and recovery. I know that this is going to be a long journey, but I believe this will help me to remember what I went through and hopefully it will help someone else.

Hi I am new here. I am 132 days sober and started tapering a month ago from 32mg of suboxone. My doctor should not have started me at such a hight dose, I know. I have the summer off, and I need to get off suboxone so that I can go back to having a "normal" life in the fall and get a new job.

I am currently on 8mg of Suboxone and am tapering off. This is my 5th day on 8mg and I plan to taper tomorrow if I feel better. I woke up with some pain in my joints today and am just overall pretty achy, and of course the ridiculous amount of sweating is no fun either. It's not enough to keep me down though. I am off to a friends fire escape for a cook out city style. Hope everyone is having a good day!

JenX

[JenX]

That I am looking for advice and suggestions on supplements, vitamins, activities, anything that will make this process easier.

I appreciate any and all help that you may have for me!

Thanks!

JenX

[Robert_325]

Jen ... the main thing at this point is to taper by 25% of your daily dose every four days. Post how you're doing as you proceed forward and you'll receive suggestions that will help. You shouldn't be having too much trouble reducing at high doses. Stay in touch. God bless.

[JenX]

Hey Robert,

I was just looking around the forum and am so impressed with you. You are really doing a great service : )!

I definitely need help with this and will check in daily. I know your busy with others, but can you help me too?

I have been on the 8mg for 5 days now but will follow your suggestion and drop to 6 mg tomorrow.

Should I be taking this in two doses instead of one?

[Robert_325]

Jen ... I will be happy to help you. It will be easier on you later to go ahead and do a split dose now. Trust me on that one. Use a single-edged razor to cut the pills, get the split dose as close as you can. That will be close enough for what you're doing here. Stay in touch. God bless.

[JenX]

I woke up feeling okay today, so I am going to cut down to 6mg, and divide it into two doses. Let the fun begin!

Also, I started taking a multi-vitamin and also bought b-complex. Hopefully this will help a bit.

Hope everyone out there in addiciton land are doing well!

JenX

[Robert_325]

At this point just follow the formula of 25% every four days. After 6mg you'll drop to 4.5mg, then to 3.8mg and so on. Just stay in touch in case any of that needs to be adjusted according to your experience. I'm here every day. God bless.

[JenX]

I just wanted to add that for the past week I have had anxiety. I was on xanax for 10 years and got off once using valium and the Ashton Method last year. Before I found the Ashton Method I cold turkeyed off 3mg of xanax and thought I was going to die after about 6 days!! It was hell!

I unfortunately went back on it last October (bad move!) and was on 6mg while I was on my last oxy binge for about 3months. When I went to rehab in Janurary they switched me to Klonopin 6mg and I weaned myslef off and have been off of it for 1 month now. My dr actually had me ono 6mg klonopin and 32mg suboxone at the same time. Crazy! I am only 5ft 2 and weigh 110 lbs. I know this anxiety is because of tapering down from 32mg of suboxone in a month and probably some PAWS from the klonopin and maybe rebound anxiety.

I have been trying to exercise to deal with the anxiety and it seems to help if I lift little 10lb weights in sets of 25 right now.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for anxiety?

Thanks for your help!

[Robert_325]

Try valerian root for anxiety. It's cheap (100 caps @$4) and I still use it myself after abusing benzos for over 25 years and opiates over 35 years. I have permanent CNS damage. Obviously it's not as strong as a benzo, but you can take 3-4 caps at a time as needed (within reason). If they help me, they should help others.

The Ashton Method is great for benzo detox. I recommend it all the time, used it myself once after a cold turkey off benzos/opiates left me having seizures and ultimately a stroke. The valerian root should help some. You can find it at about any major pharmacy in the vitamin/supplement area. Hope it helps. Of course exercise is always the best medicine for detox. God bless.

[JenX]

I woke up feeling okay, but my temperature has been completely unregulated today. I've been sweating and have the chills...not fun. Also I am just starting to get my husbands cold (woohoo). I picked up the valerian root yesterday and found it helpful.

That's it for now.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Jen

[JenX]

Woof! Couldn't get out of bed this morning. I finally got up at 11AM, and forced myslef to go straight to the shower or else I know I would end up on the couch all day. My hands hurt and feel swollen at the joints and my knees hurt. I also have that stupid suboxone headache. Plus I caught a cold.

Okay, I am done whining now. I just want to have an accurate recollection of this process.

I am going to try and make myslef do things today. Yesterday I walke 3.8 miles.

That's all for now.

[nelly005]

Hi JenX

I'm copying, pasting and editing a note I wrote to someone on another thread, I hope it will help the request you had for nutririon and supplement info. I am now 6+ weeks off Methadone and 7weeks off Norco(vicodin). I have/had? a condition for 2+ years with pain in neck, shoulders, arms, hips etc... I did not find this website until a week after tapering and stopping all meds. But boy have I learned a lot since, wish I had found it months ago!
In the last two weeks I've had very little pain and rarely take tylenol...never thought I'd be able to say that!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've been eating foods good for the immune system which helps inflamation and makes you feel stronger and healthier.
Pom Wonderful (100% pomegranate juice) Mix with OJ if you don't like it
Carrots, melons, mangoes, oranges, leafy greens (beta-carotene)
Mushrooms (enhances our good killer cells)
Green Tea
Yogurt (make sure it has live bacteria)
Emergen-C (vit.B and C in packet bought buy the box in large grocery store or health food store) Like a 5 hour energy drink you add to water.

Try to cut out as much red meat as possible as it makes inflamation worse.
Also cut out as much flour and sugar as you can these make it hard for your body to process the good stuff.
Stay away from coffee/caffine on your bad days

Every morning I have a bowl of Kashi Vive (it has prohibotics and doesn't taste like cardboard) mixed with yogurt with fresh blueberries and raspberries on top.


I'm 99% positive if I had started this during my taper I would have felt sooo much better. My worst w/d symptom was the malaise (lazyness), after I started with the above I felt a huge change in 2 days.

Have you found the Thomas Recipe for extra vitamins and minerals. That I started a week into w/d's and was also a help, I even gave a copy to my Dr. so she can be better informed.
If you don't have it just google it.

Do as much shopping and preparing as you can while you feel good...before taper.
Activities, walking/slow jog, If you get depressed watch a funny movie or read good book, nothing "heavy"
And remember there is no failure unless you fail to try! You've got the right attitude you can do this!

[Freedom4me]

Nelly,
What a great post. So positive and informative. Good for you and thanks for helping people. We need more people like you!!!!!

[JenX]

Hey Nelly congrats on getting off norco and methadone!:

Thank you VERY much for you super helpful post.

I will definitely go shopping before hand and stock up on the items you mentioned.

I think I will also go to the video store or download funny/intersting things to watch on tv while I'm going through that fun period of time. I haven't watched LOST at all this season purposely so I can have a lost marathon that week.

Thanks again I need all of the support I can get!

JenX

[JenX]

Today is my 4th day on 6mg of suboxone. I woke up feeling good today. I still have a bit of a cold, and I have been sweating so much lately. GROSS! I split my dose into 3mg twice a day and have found that I feel much better after my second dose in the evening. Do you think that it's pychosomatic or would I actually be able to feel the difference. I mean it seems to be mental I start feeling a little restless or bored and then about 30 minutes after I take it I feel happy and more energized? Weird.

Okay tomorrow is the day I am going to cut down to 4mg.

Woohoo it's Friday!

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by JenX

Today is my 4th day on 6mg of suboxone. I woke up feeling good today. I still have a bit of a cold, and I have been sweating so much lately. GROSS! I split my dose into 3mg twice a day and have found that I feel much better after my second dose in the evening. Do you think that it's pychosomatic or would I actually be able to feel the difference. I mean it seems to be mental I start feeling a little restless or bored and then about 30 minutes after I take it I feel happy and more energized? Weird.

Okay tomorrow is the day I am going to cut down to 4mg.

Woohoo it's Friday!

Jen ... as you taper down the 25% reduction becomes a smaller number. Dropping from 8mg to 6mg it was .2mg. Dropping from 6mg it would 1.5mg totally 4.5mg. I'm not saying you won't make it at 4mg but I promise if you consistently reduce by more than 25% you'll start experiencing symptoms. That's according to the numbers I promise.

You should reduce to 4.5mg, just cut the pills with a single-edged razor and you can get it close enough by eye. Get the two doses for the day as close as you can.

You are correct about the split dose helping. I promise that second dose helps doing this all the way down the taper. We're truly keeping you at the lowest dose you can be on without having symptoms so the two doses do help even with the long half life of buprenorphine. I figured out the second dose helps when I did it myself. It gives you two places in the day to reduce from as well instead of all of it at one time. The two doses do help make this easier. Stay in touch. God bless.

[JenX]

Thanks Robert! I will try to get the dose to 4.5. Sorry, I wasn't doing my math correctly.

I can't thank you enough for helping me! It is really great to have a positive place on-line to go for support. It does make a huge difference for me

Talk to you later!

[JenX]

Hi Robert, everyone,

I woke up feeling fine with the opiate withdrawal (except for hands feeling a bit swollen). However, the cold I caught is kicking my ass! Should I still cut down to 4.5mg today? I want to keep on our schedule, but don't know what I should do. Please help. Thanks as always!

[Robert_325]

Yes go to 4.5mg today. You shouldn't have any trouble even with a cold at this dose. It's a high enough dose still that you will probably do just fine. You'll have four days to get acclimated while you work on that cold at the same time.

It's hard to go much farther with a bad cold, it's too easy to get symptoms confused. So take care of Jen for a couple days, get yourself squared away with that cold. Keep me posted. God bless.

[JenX]

Thanks Robert,

You're the man! I am just getting back from my doctors and I have a sinus infection. So she gave me nasal spray and an antibiotic. Okay going down to the 4.5. Thank you so much! I would love to give you a token of my appreciation when this us over and done. We need to set up a pay pal acct for you .

Hope you're having a great weekend!

JenX

[melinda7.5]

Originally Posted by JenX

Thanks Robert,

You're the man! I am just getting back from my doctors and I have a sinus infection. So she gave me nasal spray and an antibiotic. Okay going down to the 4.5. Thank you so much! I would love to give you a token of my appreciation when this us over and done. We need to set up a pay pal acct for you .

Hope you're having a great weekend!

JenX

Hi jen
it always seems when we try to do the right thing and get clean something tryes to get in the way....but just push thru it and it will all work out
well be praying for ya, Melinda

[JenX]

Hey Everybody!

Today is day 2 on 4.5. I feel okay again with the subx, but am still fighting this sinus infection. I got out and took a walk today with my husband. I came home and fell asleep for an hour after that. I was wiped out. I feel better now when I woke up

Thanks for the prayers I think they worked

Talk to you later.

Hope everyone is doing well out there!

[JenX]

Today is day 4 on 4.5 and I woke up feeling very sore. My hands are swollen and my knees are killing me. I also have a nasty headache. My sinus infection is much better, but I am now feeling this. Maybe it is because I was sick and perhaps since I was breaking an 8mg pill I did not get accurate doses of 4.5... Not sure what the deal is.

The only problem with this is that today I am going to see PHISH in Jones Beach...not sure I can make it through the day without having an extra chip of sub. I can't even walk well so I know I can't dance (poorly) like I usualy do .

What do you think I should do Robert? I am also going to see PHISH on Thurs in Jones Beach.

Thanks as alway for your help

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by JenX

Today is day 4 on 4.5 and I woke up feeling very sore. My hands are swollen and my knees are killing me. I also have a nasty headache. My sinus infection is much better, but I am now feeling this. Maybe it is because I was sick and perhaps since I was breaking an 8mg pill I did not get accurate doses of 4.5... Not sure what the deal is.

The only problem with this is that today I am going to see PHISH in Jones Beach...not sure I can make it through the day without having an extra chip of sub. I can't even walk well so I know I can't dance (poorly) like I usualy do .

What do you think I should do Robert? I am also going to see PHISH on Thurs in Jones Beach.

Thanks as alway for your help.

Jen ... first thing is that it's nearly impossible to break those pills accurately. Even a pill cutter is not good for our purposes, they will crush the pills at small doses. Get a single-edged razor to cut them. No way I could break one either and get it even close to what it's supposed to be.

You really shouldn't be needing an extra sliver at this high of a dose. I think using slivers is fine, but it shouldn't be required until you are at small doses like under 2mg. At least that is my experience. I always try to talk people out of taking slivers at 4mg or more.

Are you sure that you aren't still feeling the remnants of your sinus infection? Of course I have to wonder some if previously being on 32mg isn't affecting how you feel now at 4.5mg after just dropping from 6mg. But I really don't think that should be affecting you like this the way we have you reducing your dose. It does sometimes take a little longer than four days at each new dose of the taper after using a very high dose for some time but you should not be feeling badly at this dose.

Try to cut your dose as accurately as you possibly can with the razor like I mentioned. I know that it doesn't seem like it would matter all THAT much, but especially after using as much suboxone as you were using, if you're breaking off that pill too small of a piece it could definitely cause you to feel the side effects. Let's make sure you're taking the correct amount before changing the dose.

You mentioned that you're going to see Phish on Thursday. Did you say you're going today too? If you're going to a concert today and you're really unable to walk without debilitating knee pain then I suppose you could take an extra .5mg sliver. I don't want you to be in BAD pain. But you'll have to determine the severity of your pain, only you really know how bad it is. Then you'll also need to start the four days at the 4.5mg dose over again. When you take a sliver you always start over accumulating the four days again. Otherwise you'll suffer with problems at each dose tapering down. You have to be stable at each dose tapering down or it will affect you adversely continuously. Let me know how you're doing later in the day and what you decide to do. God bless.

[JenX]

Hey Robert,

I went to the concert yesterday and needed to take a sliver... I am not a wuss, but my knees were killing me. I think it may be because I started on such a high dose. Not sure.

Okay I will start over at 4.5 today. I am going to see Phish again on thursday, but everything should be fine so no more slivers for me. Hopefully

Just wanted to congratulate myslef for now making it through 2 Phish shows completely sober

Hope you have nice weather today!

Jen

[Robert_325]

I agree that your past dosing history could be affecting you at this point. Drs don't realize how badly they are messing up people's lives slamming all that suboxone down our throats. Makes me mad.

At least you got to have fun at the concert. I'm sure you had a great time. I know what you mean about making concerts sober. I don't even remember most of the hundreds of concerts I saw in the 60s and 70s. I saw every group there was in those days and it's all like a dream. Hang in there. God bless.

[tired2]

Hi Jen....I hope you are feeling better . To get a more acurate dose's as you get lower get a mirror or glass from a pic frame and you can smash the sub into powder form and divide into lines as neccesary then just put the powder under your tongue . I actually learned that on the forum it works great...
Pam

[JenX]

Thanks Pam,

I took your advice and broke up the subs into dust. It worked much better.

Hey Robert I think you are totally right about dr's giving us way too much subs!! What a disservice! Anyway I have my Phish concert
again today and thankfully I am feeling better. Today I am going to see Phish again, and it is my second day on 4.5mg. I know what you mean by not remembering all those concerts in the 60's and 70's. I always got loaded at concerts. I have only been to 2 concerts and today will make 3 that I've attended sober. It is a whole different world.

I hope everyone out there has a great day!

Jen

[JenX]

I've been in the Adirondacks all weekend and wasn't able to post. I went down to 3mg today and really want to be off of these things. I was able to pick up some klonopin for when I finally jump off of the subs. I know benzos are awful but I think they will help during the withdrawal. Has anyone else used them to minimize withdrawal? How low do you think I need to go on the subs to get off? Can I jump at 2mg?

Okay, thanks for your help.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

[Robert_325]

I would expect that if you jump off at 2mg you will have all kinds of problems. You need to continue the process down to where you skip days at the end before stopping completely. It's your call but you'll regret it if you don't follow instructions. God bless.