Day 8 clean from oxy's - need help

My S.O. is on day 8 clean from a 3 year oxy addiction.  He tried a year ago w/suboxone and relapsed at 2 weeks.  This time he did his last pill last Saturday am....that night about 1 a.m. he took a suboxone (had 6 left from last year).  Sunday he took 2 suboxone, Monday - Wed 1 each day, none since.  His w/d were bad day 1 & 2 - chills, sweating, no sleep, panic attacks, dizzy, some diareha.  Day 3 - 6 was getting alot better each day, not great, but he said ALOT better.  Had some energy, felt pretty good except for some "episodes" of sweating, dizzy, weird feeling, but they weren't lasting too long and was getting fewer each day.  He's been on the amino acids, vitamins, B12 OFTEN, etc.
Day 6 he was doing really good, like the old him, laughing, etc w/family for a visit.  Day 7 he feels like AWFUL, never got out of bed, emotional, sweating, chills,etc.  Day 8 (today) same thing.  He had trouble sleeping last night tossing and turning.  He's been sleeping now for about 4 hours - not out of bed since Friday night!  Why would he feel this bad at day 8 when day 4 - 6 he was getting so much better?  I'm getting really worried about him.

[Oxy480Jim]

Sounds like wd's from the subs.

[Oxy480Jim]

Wait, on second thought,  He wasn't on the subs long enough to develop much of an addiction. The subs simply wore off and he's just going through delayed oxy wd's, or a combination of both. Subs have a much longer half life than oxy, so even if you are off them for a day or two, it can still be in your system, and blocking the oxy wd's.  Hope he can get through it, since he's gone this far. Try get him up for a walk in the evening, drink some fluids, and eat something. Perhaps some immodium would help if he's still having stomach issues.
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[dominosarah]

He may be experiencing the subs now....make sure he is drinking plenty of fluids and hot showers or baths will help the aches.

[cleangimnow]

Yeah, he felt good because subs are opiate replacement. The sub w/d won't be as bad because he didn't take it long. However, he's not really on day 8 of opiate w/d.

[Oxy480Jim]

I don't know about that. Taking subs for such a short term only delayed the oxy wd's I would think. Once the subs wore off,  those opiate receptors are still starving for  the opiates they were most used to. Since the person didn't do much of a taper of any kind, didn't really take subs long enough to replace the addiction, I would think he's just going through delayed oxy wd.  Unless subs are really THAT quickly addicting!  At any rate, he's gone this far, he may as well go the rest of the way.

[sharon8522]

Now, 3 days later from my original post - he's WORSE.  He has only been out of bed once and that was yesterday to go to the county health dept because I found out they have a suboxone program.  He forces himself up and in the shower, we get there and the minute we walked in the program directors office to talk...he started crying.  He's been really emotional for the past 11 days, but it's hard to see your 49 year old spouse break down like that in public.  Anyway....we answered 100 questions, and then she told us it's a 2-3 week waiting list to get on the program.  Then he really fell apart!  She gave us the name of another clinic/program and he has appt today - and they start you on it that day.   I hope the program works.  A year and a half ago when he tried to quit, he only took them for about 2 weeks and figured since he felt perfectly fine he was going to stop taking them, and he did, and he relapsed!!  The one "hopeful spot" out of all of this suffering he's in, is that he says a 1000 times a day that he hates oxys and that no ONE pill should be able to have this much control over anyone's body, brain, AND checkbook!!  And that there's no way he's going back to the oxys and have to deal with this agony again.  Fingers crossed!!  I'm hoping he just stays on the subs for several years, he has always been addicted to some drug and alcohol since he was about 16.  So he definately needs medical AND mental help with it.  Although he's TOTALLY against therapy/counseling he realizes he HAS to once a week to be in the sub program.  I hope they can make a break thru with him so he gets over his "stubborn" (nicer word for me to use) attitude about counseling.   Has anyone been on the suboxone for a year or longer???

[petroglyph54]

This is just what it's like detoxing from oxy, at least it was for me. If he starts the sub program, he may never stop or maybe it will be easier to quit? Some people seem to be able to get off the sub easier than other narcotics. You do know that the sub is probably 20 times stronger per mg, than oxy? Not my business of course but he's so close to turning the corner on just being clean and has already suffered a great deal, I hate to see him go to the sub now. He has the proper contempt for the oxy which helps many to stop alltogether, it did me. Whatever it takes, living on oxy isn't really living. More like being a slave to evil. It's difficult to understand why some suffer so much more than other's when stopping opiates, the question has been asked many times. It seems that dosage amount, [ how much did he take per day?], coupled with age, and length of time used [or abused] are at least partially determining factors. I think also if a person is a smoker has something to do with it. Maybe also general health, whether or not they exercise and consume vitamins or good nutrition the amount of liquids used regularly? Maybe even blood type? I wish you both well, however it goes. I have never taken a sub, and am just under 6 month's free from oxy after about 6 years and am glad, very glad. I hope you post to let us know, which way it went?

[gnarly_1]

HI Taking the subs has screwed up his whole detox every time you take some sub its 3 days for it to leave your system mabe a bit less if it was just crumbs but as long as you put a narcotic in your body it like starting from day one again your bain only knows that it has drugs going in it and sub is a powerful drug even in small doses they use .5 for pain relief in hospitals to give you an idea how strong it is you need to stop the sub and let him go threw the withdrawals I dont believe he has been on the sub long enough to go threw sub withdrawals he is going threw the withdrawals of his DOC he is going to be sick for around 5 days this is normal try to get him up and moving arund it will help my wife got me out for a walk arond the block every day weather I liked it or not....today i am greatful for her efforts
you need to be forcing fluids down him even if its just a shot glass of water or gatoaid
every 15 min this is a minimum do your best to get him moving good lukc and God bless.....Gnarly