To Everybody.....
Thank you sooo much, for all of the advice & support so far! Each one of your stories or suggestions had something I could use, almost unbelievable, but do I ever appreciate it.
I'll be back later with an update, and some comments/questions that are a little more clarifying. Again, thanks for taking the time.
Sincerely, Christopher (forman)
Lynn -- Way to go Lynn. I am so happy to hear how low you've gotten and how you are taking control of your usage. Using a tiny bit only when needed ! That is great news.
Christopher -- you have to taper man. Jumping from 8-12MG after 4 years is not going to be pretty.. Discuss taper with your doctor.
I don't know if dropping from 8mgs is the same, but for me, when I was on 4mgs, dropping to 2mgs felt NO different. I stayed on 2mgs for about a year, and then I dropped to 1mg. Still no difference at all. I am currently at the point where I literally break a piece off and it works all day. Yesterday was the first day that I felt good all day without taking anything. Sleeping was a b*tch, but I used a .5mg of Ativan that I had. I woke up today REALLY anxious, so I took another sliver of Sub. My plan is to only take a tiny piece when I feel I need it. I am going to talk to my doctor about getting supplemental medications to help while I am tapering, such as Clonodine and some kind of SSRI to get my receptors making their own chemicals again. I don't have all the answers yet, but I'm working on it.
Dropping down from 8 mgs to 4 mgs is easier than going from 4 mgs to 0 mgs. So you can drop fairly quick til you get to 4 mgs. Talk to your doc about a taper plan. Best to drop about 1/2 mg every 1-2 weeks. Wait til your body adjusts to the lower dose before dropping again. When you get down to 1/2 mg daily, then you drop to a crumb, then a crumb every other day. Take your time with the taper. Slow and low is best. Good luck.
christopher,
First off 4 years off heroin is amazing . There have been many here that have tapered off of sub. You can do it .I would ask your sub doctor to work out a taper plan with you .I hear its best to go all of the way down to a crumb of sub then go off it.How long are you going to have to come off of if?