[SuboxAgain]

I have recently started using Suboxone to try and get off of heroin. I started taking Suboxone one week ago at 4 mg twice a day. I have tried to follow the plan robert laid out and it seemds to be successful for many on this board. I will be dropping to 2 mg twice a day tomorrow and hope to continuing to taper off.
Since being on Suboxone my body aches (back, knees, legs) have not completly gone away and sometimes i still get the sweats. I was wondering if this was normal or should i stay at a higher dose until i can comfortably taper down?
If any one has any suggestion as to tapering off or what to expect during and after i would much appreciate the input. I don't want to be trapped in another opiate addictions.

[BlackKats]

Robert's the dude that lays out the taper plans on this forum. There are a few others that can give you words of encouragement, like me.
I started sub 52 days ago, and I jumped off four days ago. Some mild w/d's have sprung up, but after four days they are starting to subside. Nothing compared to the "screaming skin" from trying to quit cold turkey off hydro. I also could not taper off of it either. Sub is powerful stuff, but is was a lot easier for me to quit this than the Vic's.
My advise is to keep on rollin'. One day at a time, and all that.
One thing that I noticed in your post was that you were going to drop from 8mg to 4mg. I think Robert advises jumping 25% each time for four days. If you feel good after four days, then jump another 25%. That would mean that you should drop to 6mg instead of 4mg.
Your best off hooking up with Robert. He does have a lot of experience with suboxone, and how to taper off of it.
Hang in there,

Gary

[gripster]

hey just want to say i just got on too and went through some dts at night and lots of leg shaking and getting out of bed when trying to sleep..i had just relapsed and its a shame to get stuck on this stuff..im gonna try to keep this dose low as i can..keep it up and dont use no matter what!

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by SuboxAgain

I have recently started using Suboxone to try and get off of heroin. I started taking Suboxone one week ago at 4 mg twice a day. I have tried to follow the plan robert laid out and it seemds to be successful for many on this board. I will be dropping to 2 mg twice a day tomorrow and hope to continuing to taper off.
Since being on Suboxone my body aches (back, knees, legs) have not completly gone away and sometimes i still get the sweats. I was wondering if this was normal or should i stay at a higher dose until i can comfortably taper down?
If any one has any suggestion as to tapering off or what to expect during and after i would much appreciate the input. I don't want to be trapped in another opiate addictions.

Sounds like you started tapering immediately. You should have stayed at the dose you induct at for about a week before you ever start tapering. How have you taken it exactly each day?

[bev49]

It sounds to me like suboxonagain was on 4 mgs. for 1 week and then started to taper. Maybe 4 mgs. wasnt a high enough dose to begin with. No one should go too high but I think most people start at 6 or even 8 mgs. a day and do fine and then start tapering after a week on their initial dose.

[SuboxAgain]

Thanks for the support. I am following robert's taper method of dropping 25% every three to four days. I originally started at 8 mg a day split in to 4 mg doses. I dropped to two 3 mg doses (6mg total) after day 4 and today (day 8) dropped again to two 2 mg doses. But it seems that there will be some withdrawal symptoms during this period, is this correct? Because like i sad i am feeling mild wd symptoms.
I have been reading horror stories of w/d from suboxone and just want to get off of this pill as soon as possible. I am writing here to try and stick to this taper plan and get as much advice to get through this.

[RubyDean]

ya man, you might feel some slight w/d symptoms when dropping at various times, i stronly suggest sticking to the 25% reduction. i feel it a lot more when i try to do 50% reductions...so for instance when you drop from 6mg, a 25% reduction would be 4.5mg, the crazy fractions of dosages can be confusing and even numbers are easier to split, so just do the best you can. Robert says to just take a .25, or .5mg sliver if you absolutely need to, but then you have to start accumulating 4 days again, so it sets you back, but it also works. I really think if you stick to the plan and get off subs in the next 2 months you will be fine and very minimal symptoms after. keep it up!

[BlackKats]

The sweats happened to me also. That was one of the three side effects that I had with sub. The other two were lethargy, and drop in libido. It goes without saying that I had to get off the subs. All things considered, those are three big side effects that I just could not deal with long term.
If you stick to the plan, you will come out the other side relatively unscathed.
You will have a few bumps at the end, but nothing to be overly concerned about. It seems everyone feels a little groggy for a few days after the last dose. We all gotta pay to play.

Gary

[SuboxAgain]

I was hoping suboxone would a miracle pill that would make me feel no w/d symptoms and also get me past my addiction. How naive i was, acting like an addict looking for the easy way out. I am currently down to 4 mgs a day and will drop again in a day or so. I am just looking forward to being free from opiates.

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by SuboxAgain

I was hoping suboxone would a miracle pill that would make me feel no w/d symptoms and also get me past my addiction. How naive i was, acting like an addict looking for the easy way out. I am currently down to 4 mgs a day and will drop again in a day or so. I am just looking forward to being free from opiates.

Think about what you're saying here and do it realistically. I'm not judging or trying to be a wise guy but we abuse ourselves for years and then expect a pill to "fix" us in a few days. We have to be realistic guys. We all want it to be over with ASAP. But we have to be realistic. We did this to ourselves. It only gets better as you stick to the proven plan.

The only miracles are of a religious nature for me. Suboxone is just a medication, it's not a miracle. But it makes tapering off opiates relatively incident-free if it's done properly.

I'm here daily, been gone the last week with some bad knee problems but I'm back again. Follow the proven plan for tapering and if it takes a few extra days to keep the symptoms to a minimum then take your time. This is the easiest way available to get off the opiates. Be grateful for the chance you've got to do this relatively symptom free IF IT'S DONE PROPERLY.

Let me know what I can do to help you. God bless.

[bev49]

What suboxagain said kinda made me laugh because isn't that exactly the way we all think? It's the drug addict mentality to want everything to be pain free and easy. Why else spend years and tons of money on chemicals to stop from feeling any pain or discomfort?. One thing we all need to get used to is that life has pain, discomfort and difficulty and we all have to learn how to live with that. It also has beauty and happiness and love...

[SuboxAgain]

Thanks for the replies. Robert I am trying to follower you method as closely as possible. I am currently down to 3 mgs a day and surprisingly feel okay today. I am still splitting the dose, taking half in the morning and the other in the late afternoon. I was wondering when should i try to take a dose and try to ride it out the whole day? I am nervous about that because in the afternoon i start to get headaches and the sweats before i take the last half.
Bev I really need to find that postive mindset, i am so used to running to drugs whenever i am uncomfortable or in pain physically or mentally. But i know that there is so much good i am missing from using. dulling my feelings even the pleasurable ones.

[bev49]

Subox, I'm glad I could say something that clicked. I'm not different. I'm 60 years old and I've spent my entire life chasing something to erase negative feelings. I was 16 the first time I used heroin. I can still remember, all these years later, when I first got the feeling, and it felt like a shield went up keeping out every bad feeling. It was dead of winter in NY and I didn't feel cold. You could say I was hooked on opiates that second. I've come to realize it ain't real. Life is pain as well as pleasure, sadness as well as happiness... How can you ever feel good if you never feel bad? Nothing to compare it too... Anyway, dont get me wrong. I'm still struggling. But I definitely learned with age, no way can you escape life.

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by SuboxAgain

Thanks for the replies. Robert I am trying to follower you method as closely as possible. I am currently down to 3 mgs a day and surprisingly feel okay today. I am still splitting the dose, taking half in the morning and the other in the late afternoon. I was wondering when should i try to take a dose and try to ride it out the whole day? I am nervous about that because in the afternoon i start to get headaches and the sweats before i take the last half.
Bev I really need to find that postive mindset, i am so used to running to drugs whenever i am uncomfortable or in pain physically or mentally. But i know that there is so much good i am missing from using. dulling my feelings even the pleasurable ones.

Move the afternoon dose up an hour and keep taking it there if that stops headache. That works sometime. That's why we post here so we can catch this stuff.

You are really just about now start getting some benefit from the split dose. When you taper you've spread the taper out over two doses rather than one. The second dose helps some people too that are just trying to get out of the habit of continually popping something in their mouth. If you only want to do it one dose that's your call but I suggest you leave it alone down close to the end.

Stay in touch. God bless.

[SuboxAgain]

I am now down to 1 mg a day ( again i am still splitting the dose into two .5 in the morning and .5 in the afternoon). I am trying to get off of this stuff and would like any input for the final days of taper. I will be so glad when this is finally over.

[bev49]

Sub, I can't really give you tips on how to get over tthe FINAL jump to zero as I've not gotten there yet. I can tell you to read Intels Own Thread to get some awesome tips on getting through the final stages more easily. Also, I can certainly tell you to stay strong, determined and focused. Remember to take each minute at a time and that yucky feelings won't last forever. Think about how good you'll feel when you reach the other side. You can do it for sure.