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Getting off a low dosage of subutex

I am getting off 8 mg. subutex, and am struggling with it. I have been on it about 4 years. I also take Soma, about 5 per day (muscle relaxant). And I am depressed - the Soma is probably making it worse. I am down to 4 mg. every other day. In 2 weeks I will be off it.
I am down to about 4 Soma a day.

I would like to be off all this stuff, but am seriously depressed - I relocated back to a major city, but am not getting out enough. I also am not working. On top of that, my marriage is over. . . And I am worried about my health. Other than that, everything is perfect!!!!

I notice this site has no current posts. What's that about? Please help - share your experience, etc.
4 Responses
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569676 tn?1315641158
Glad to hear back from you!

Its late here in Germany, but I just wanted to check in. I will keep a watch out for you, but if there is a delay in my responses its just because I am out flying. I will be flying all day on Wednesday but I will be here until then.

The 3mgs, you got it... get that razor out! I was on the 2mg suboxone tabs and they werent too bad to cut in half.  It was hell though the first time I tapered getting them into quarters without them crumbling however... But Im sidetracking.

I would be willing to be you are just now starting to feel the effects of your dosage decrease.  Im sure you know all about the long half life of sub, so I wont go into that.  But I really didnt start feeling wd's that were bothersome until almost 5 days from my last dose! Just remember, a good part of these wd's are mental and subjective!  The more you work yourself up and fear them, the worse they will be.

Get yourself psyched up, get mad as hell!  You should have seen me yelling at my empty sub bottle to **** off that it wasnt going to win!  When I would lay there starting to feel the RLS kicking in, I would laugh (The best I could) and say out loud "Thats all you got? Bring it *****"  I must have looked like I was losing my mind!

Im glad to hear you are already on a good antidepressant, this will help with your Bupe withdrawal.  A lot of people have had good results with Wellbutrin, as it not only acts as a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) like most other antidepressants, but it also acts as a reuptake inhibitor on other feel good neurotransmittors such as Norepinepherine and Dopamine! Just a word of advice.... do not attempt the soma detox at this time.  Your doc is correct, one battle at a time.  Not to mention, Wellbutrin lowers a persons seizure threshold (Meaning it can make seizure activity more likely in otherwise healthy people) this combined with the possibility of seizure from soma withdrawal can turn nasty.  Dont fear, there are safe ways of getting that accomplished later!

Back on track though...One thing I did want to mention.  I know you are frustrated with the sub now, but it has kept you off the vikes! For most of us, it comes down to a bad or worse decision. This decision is totally subjective, but for me... had I not gone on sub I would be dead today, no doubt!  

The problem with tapering off our DOC is that we have no control!  But you know this, as you stated "It is like alcohol- once you have 1, your "Control" slips away" Unfortunatelly the same goes for a taper for the vast majority of us addicts!  We all have regrets, and a case of the "I should have..."  or "I wish I..."  Dont get into that fram of mind.  While coming off sub may be a struggle, you made a proactive decision to better your life by coming off the vikes and being medically managed with sub, and you should give yourself props for that!  I know some of this wont make sense or seem clear now, but once this is behind you I am sure you will know what Im talking about!

Keep posting as you go through this process.... even if you feel like hell, still post.  It will serve as a good record and reminder of what you are going through.  And a few weeks from now when you think you arent getting better and this will never end, you can compare and say  "Damn I was much worse off a few days ago, I still feel like crap, but I feel BETTER than I did then!"  Baby steps! :-)

You are doing great and will come out of this just fine!

Henry
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
THANK YOU! Just knowing others out there have been there/done that is a help.
I am one of these types that needs the entire village . . .I am 22 years off alcohol (AA is different for me now, but I will probably go back to some type of meeting), already on the anti-depressant wellbutrin, and do have a doctor (the one that prescribed subutex). I lived about 3 hours away from him, so when I got off Vicodin and onto Subutex, I wasn't worried about getting off it, just afraid to get hooked on the Vicodin again.
Meanwhile, the doctor recommends a slooowww withdrawal treatment, going down 2 mg. per week. I think the withdrawal symptoms are kicking in now, even though I went from about 10 mg. to 5-6 mg. in 3 weeks. I feel like I have the flu. I also have Fibromyalgia, so I always feel achy. Plus, I just relocated here, don't have a job, or regular friends, so my attention keeps going to how lousey I feel. I DON'T HAVE A LIFE (yet).

Mr. Sway, if you can get off the subutex this year, do so, it makes it easier in the long run.
In hindsight, if I could have, it would have been best to slowly withdraw from Vicodin. Unfortunately, it is like alcohol - once you have 1, your "control" slips away.
Plus I am on the Soma, which is emotionally addictive. The dr. said don't worry about that now.
1 problem at a time.
It's ironic - the cure can be worse than the problem.! xox thanks for listening!!!!!

ps how the hell do you take 3 mg? I guess I'll get out the razor and divide the pills. I am on a generic (it saves $100!!!) and it is difficult to cut into
Helpful - 0
736475 tn?1281259327
sorry you haven't gotten more responses. i guess it's holiday down time. i am new to sub. been on it since 5/25. am on 16mg per day. it has saved my life. i started working a program on 5/1 and i know that is helping me. i don't have any answers for you but i will kick this back up to the top for you so more folks will see it. perhaps then you will get some good answer. henry is a great one to talk with about this. and you can send private messages to people too. good luck. peace, sway
Helpful - 0
569676 tn?1315641158
The site is kind of in a slump right now due to the holiday weekend.  Things will start to pickup again Monday night or Tuesday.

Coming off the sub can be a struggle for sure.  I am pushing 50 days off suboxone, and I stopped at 3mgs daily.  

The depression comes and goes but from what I have read, I have had an easier time with this than others.  Have you considered going on an antidepressant for just the short term (Like 3 months) while you finish your taper and detox?  This might be something that you want to talk to your doc about...

Buprenorphine likes to screw with your mind... which is why a lot of people hit PAWS a little worse coming off the bupe than full on agonists.

Are you doing your taper with your doctor? The only reason I ask is... the first time I came off the bupe, I tapered all the way down to 1/2mg a day, and I was super uncomfortable the entire time. When I tried to stop I couldnt take it, and went back up in dose to try again later.

I did a lot of recovery work in that time, and I know that played a huge part. But I had also been reading up on theories that coming off a slightly higher dose of bupe was easier than tapering down, and that the wd's werent any different.  Coming off of 3mgs, I think they were very much different.... they were easier.  Possibly ask your doc about this?

Keep posting here, and good luck!
Henry
Helpful - 0
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