[Robert_325]

There are several threads on this forum about individuals going through opiate detox while using suboxone/subutex. Some of us have had great experiences, some of us have had less than great experiences with both the detox from opiates while using suboxone/subutex as well as when we stop the suboxone/subutex itself. Please share about your overall experience with suboxone/subutex. Did you have any good/bad side effects from the sub? Was it a process you would recommend to others who are considering an opiate detox? How long were you on sub? Did you suffer any w/d symptoms when you stopped the sub? Did you do a rapid taper or a slow taper from sub? What was the experience like?

[Robert_325]

There have been several posts lately from members wanting to hear about positive suboxone experiences as so much of what has been written about w/d is so negative. Guess I will go first.

I had a long and hard history of drug use beginning at age 14 and lasting for over 35 years. I consumed opiates on and off the entire time. The last ten years was spent continuously taking opiates following numerous serious sports injuries/surgeries and illness. I was taking 30 30mg roxies a day before backing off to 40 lorcets a day. I only share this to make it obvious why the drs suggested what they did to me. I had been clean for several years when I relapsed last year briefly following dental work and more lorcets ... big mistake for me. But luckily it didn't last long as I was introduced to subutex.

It was suggested to me in the beginning of subutex therapy that I should go on subutex, then switch to suboxone and stay on it for at least a year. This was because of my long history with opiates and past relapses. My experience with subutex was really quite uneventful I'm happy to say. I spent about three weeks on subutex, never made it to suboxone as I began a taper off the subutex at three weeks. The taper lasted another three weeks as I tapered very slowly over that time. I was only taking 8mg a day so I dropped to 4mg quickly then tapered by .5mg - 1mg at a time.

I won't go into all the specifics of each day on sub, most of you have read my posts about the taper I did, but I just want to share here that after repeated failures at opiate detox, after decades of abuse and dependency and relapse, subutex helped me accomplish what I had not been able to previously do on my own. And when I stopped taking it I had ZERO w/ds. I tapered properly and have had no problems whatsoever. In previous attempts I ended up having PAWS and other problems. I have had none of these experiences this latest time on subutex. I have had mixed emotions about sub. I still believe that it's best to do a cold turkey and get the detox over with in a matter of days. Sub therapy should be more of a last resort type deal. But if you're like me, have relapsed, have used a long time in massive quantities, have experienced failures at my attempts to succeed at opiate detox on my own, then subutex/suboxone could very possibly be the answer for you as it was me. Everyone doesn't have a hard time with this. It helped to save me and I am very happy about that.

[SheLovesKoalas]

While not every moment on Suboxone was a wonderful experience, it far outweighed the numerous attempts at detoxing myself from the oxycontin I had been on for over 4 years.

Suboxone was truly a life saver for me. I stayed on Sub's for a little over 4 years, with not one w/d symptom I could remember. From day one I felt as though I was given a new lease on life. I became a productive human being without begging, stealing, crying, cursing, or manipulating where my next oxy would come from.

The one mistake I did make was jumping off after weaning down to half mg every other day. As you may have read, Sub's stay in your system for quite a few days. Therefore, my first attempt at stopping the Sub treatment was a nightmare.

It was only after researching and learning about the tapering I needed to do that I was successful in stopping the Suboxone completely.

Sub and opiate free since September of 2007!

[SpiritOfVersaille]

Hey all. Well, if you are hoping for a positive experience, well, i cannot provide one. First of all, I would like to say, that suboxone maintainence should be carefully planned IMO. It seems like the longer you stay on it, the longer you prolong your agony. I was a heroin addict from age 16, more consistently from age 17-20. Before that, meth, before that weed. I was drug prone. I literally have taken every drug known to man and abused it. Heroin became my DOC, as is the case w/ anybody whose taken it. Please, I urge you, if you are a relapsing opiate addct, do not ever take heroin, please. Regardless. Im on my 7th day of opiate w/d from suboxone. I was previously on methadone for a few years, and now sub. for over a year. I just want to say that soo far its been terrible. Not as intense as anticipated in terms of physical pains, Very present and real and incapacitating, but im not screaming anymore. I would like to encourage everyone to study up on the brains healing ability specifically related to heroin or opiates. It is the only thing keeping me together. I'm utterly dysfunctional, and its feels as though I will be this way for a long time. But from what I've gathered, my brain should heal @ its own pace. This is it for me, I'm doing it this time, so I would just suggest that you should only use suboxone long enough to become adjusted. Long enough to where you aren't thinking about or craving your drug of choice, and get yourself stable. Than, get off the stuff. It is a miracle drug, but its too subtle for people to realize that it is in and of itself very addictive. The more years you spend on it, the more years your brain chemistry is altered or subdued by it. And the more you'll have to overcome. ROBERT325, i left a post on previous thread, you replied, I don't think I'll start w/ the tapering system as my doc. wants me to be reinstated. I will brave this, if you could message me each day with friendly advice or responses I will appreciate it. As I said before, all the things that used to make me happy seem soo irrelevant now. Guitar, surfing, videogames, tv, with the exception of sex ( i actually seem to enjoy it better, but its only a brief relief from it all) give me absolutely no comfort. Is this paws? I still have aching and def. diarrhea, i go to the bathroom still several, several times a day. please contact me ROB. thx.

[icandothis]

i personally dont believe in suboxone........i think it is just trading one drug for another and it is farrrrr more expensive.........i never had withdrawals while i was on it but when you dont have them the w/d are worse from my experience.......just saying it may work for some but it wasnt for me......i just recently quit using about 5 or 6 (30 mg) roxies a day by going cold turkey.....i am on day 8 and i feel fine besides the laziness......

[HenryNCBA]

Good afternoon all,
My own experience on opiates although not nearly as heavy in use as many is still never the less something I don't care to repeat. I started with Suboxone and quickly it was found out that I needed to use Subutex. I was stabilized within 3 hours and feeling great after suffering W/D for days. Symptoms I experienced were hot flashes with profuse sweating, hip and leg pain in the muscles and bone, lower leg edema complete with deep pitting (yes I did go to a cardiologist and they checked me out fully), very stiff neck to the point I had a hard time turning my head to even look sideways, trouble falling asleep then staying asleep as I would wake about every half hour to every hour all night long, depression with bouts of anxiety, etc... I started my induction in early September of this year. I finished my last day of skipping just two days ago. I am now clean off the subs and opiates but that is not to say I do not feel symptoms. The symptoms I am feeling are the upper leg and hip pains in the muscles and bones, depression with some anxiety and trouble with sleep. I am expecting trouble for some time to come still as I understand that it is my body telling me it is not happy with not having the opiates that it wants. Until it figures out that it is not getting anymore I will continue to have symptoms of W/D. The current symptoms though are way less than even just a month ago. My recommendation if to do a withdrawal taylored to individual needs as everyone is different. Some may do well with a rapid taper while others may not. Given the choice I would rather go with a faster taper than a slow and drawn out process as I am impatient and I agree that the longer you stay on any drug the harder it is to kick off of it. There may be those that disagree but again this is just my opinion of what I have experienced and everyone is different. The important thing is though to get off the drugs period. Some will want to go C/T and others a fast or slow taper. The goal is to get off of them as quickly and safely as you possibly can without making yourself suffer excessively. Either way you will suffer some and some more than others but just stay focused on the goal. Follow instructions to the letter and if you chose to follow a program then follow it to the letter. Questions are welcome but if you are going to argue then don't bother asking for help as it is just a waste of everyones time. As for my suggestion of whether or not to either go C/T or a good taper that is an individual choice. I was actually on day 5 of C/T and feeling terrible. I was on Suboxone when I chose to go C/T. About that time I found this forum and through the suggestions of one particular individual and the support of others I was pointed in the right direction for myself and I do not regret using the subs to get off the opiates. Sub therapy done correctly and I repeat done correctly can be the easiest way to go in my opinion. It is first done with a correct induction to get you stabilized and feeling good with the absolute minimum amount of sub. Believe me when I say this works! Subs are a strange drug in that most people when they don't feel very well figure they need more sub and doctors even think that way but THIS IS WRONG!!!!! As I quickly found out. My doctor wanted me to take way too much and which I was properly inducted all it took was 1.25 mg only. You read that right! 1.25 mg only to stabilize me and have me feeling great! This is a huge difference from what my doctor wanted of over 24 mg of Suboxone a day!!!
Hang in there folks and keep posting. I have found all the helf I ever needed on this site and do not regret one second of being on here. Everyone is great and very knowledgeable.
My thanks to all!

Henry