How does suboxone help withdrawal?

Question

My doctor has a sign up in his office that he is now permitted to prescribe Suboxone for opiate withdrawal.  Does anyone know how long this takes and how does it work?

worried878 · Answer

I have read lots of good info in these posts......and i see how some would need to possibly stay on it for life if they can not stay clean without it but like cattalina said...as a last resort when u have tried and tried to stay clean and u just can not...sub short term will help u avoid withdrawals almost completely....and that allows u to work and not feel awful ...then u have to go back into life and u still have the mental part of addiction to deal with which is 90% of the whole ball of wax...that is why aftercare is so important...some use a while/..use sub to skip wd/...then use again...then use sub again....kinda like a "goody powder" that helps them use without wds...dangerous game...fries receptors....if u cant do it mentally then that is when long term use comes comes in ...like mentioned it is better than jail or death or bankruptcy and loss of everything...not everyone is a user to this degree but the potential is there for any addict to find themselves in this situation.......it is just what u want to do with ur life....u would still be controlled by a narcotic legally but off the streets...studies say after years of use that sub can turn on u and make u deppressed ..long term studies are not abundant on this drug....i was at 80 mg of hydro, maintaining a job and had not lost everything to addiction but was beginning to see how it could happen when i decided to quit..tapered and quit....and yes i had to deal with 4 days of the flu and mental fatigue and depression for months off and on...ok now tho at 5 months...had i been on sub this whole time i would have another taper and withdrawal thing ahead of me and i am glad i did not...but i was a fairly low quantity user..did not snort or chew and took 15-20 mg at a time as a rule..someone who has relapsed over and over may need to go down this long term path....everyone is different and sub has its place when it is the right/educated choice

faith_hope_love · Answer

Hi Lona, I did a short term taper (20 days) and it worked out great, not even any withdrawals off the sub except maybe a tiny bit of leg cramping that didn't even last a day.  I was on lortabs for about 6 yrs. and wanted off and I do not regret using sub because it made the detox very easy.  

In saying that, personally, I would never use sub long term and especially just for lortabs because of withdrawal from sub is longer and harder because of the half life...that is why they say if you are using sub just to detox, stick to 21 days or under.  It's important to detox the first few days and then taper all the way down even on just 20 days...this is why I probably had no withdrawals.  I will list my taper below if you want to check it out. 

 Also, you can click on my username, look for a post entitled "starting suboxone" and click on that.  I posted my whole experience with sub in that thread.  Best of luck to you!  

Day 1 - 8mg 
Day 2 - 8mg 
Day 3 - 8mg 
Day 4 - 7mg 
Day 5 - 7mg 
Day 6 - 7mg 
Day 7 - 6mg 
Day 8 - 6mg 
Day 9 - 6mg 
Day10- 5mg 
Day11- 5mg 
Day12- 4mg 
Day13- 4mg 
Day14- 3mg 
Day15- 3mg 
Day16- 2mg 
Day17- 1mg 
Day18- 1mg 
Day19- .5mg 
Day20- .5mg

avisg · Answer

I agree with mr lucky sub can be a great short term tool towards addiction recovery .However its only a tool .When you get into long term use without weekly counseling it really is like changing one DOC for another and the withdrawl can be just as bad and sometimes worse .Do a lot of research before you make a choice you can never be to informed.

mr.lucky66 · Answer

I would say try the quick taper on sub. The longer you are on it the harder , longer and more expensive it gets and you are just transferring addictions and making docs richer.

landbray · Answer

When I spoke of my daughters friend who suboxine changed his life was on the program from the very start. In my town that was late 2003. He stopped about 15 months ago.He said that after a while he realized he had more in his bottle then usual .He found himself taking them almost as needed. He just finished the script out. Said he did feel anxious the first week or so but he continues to see the same counsler. It makes me feel so good when I see him b/c if he would have stayed on his same path, I would be reading his obit in the paper. 
Not everyone will have as much luck, and I realise that. 
But it can give some hope.
My dr never told me about quick detox taper. I don't think I would be a good condidate for that. I have to much anxiety & depression to try that. Plus work. Can't miss, I don't have the time, ( i can take off if I am that sick but won't get paid)   I have had a problem with my eyes being bloodshot. I just tell people it is dry eye, and put drops in my eyes.  gee, no one said anything when I was high before that,

cattalina · Answer

You can definitely do a quick detox taper with suboxone. Most people who do the quick taper method are on and off within 17-30 days. Definitely check the website, but there isn't alot of accurate information on there. If you do a general search for suboxone you should get more info. Everybody has a different experience with Sub. I've been on it for almost 15 months, and I wouldn't recommend long term except as a last resort. This medication is a great tool to start your recovery, but like worried said aftercare and support networks are the key to success. sub will definitely help with wds if you do a quick taper. If you'd like any more info, feel free to pm me at anytime. I'm not a medical professional, just an addict with suboxone experience. Plus I've stocked up on tons of info about suboxone and different taper plans. GL :)

landbray · Answer

Hi, My name is Bray. I started on Subs about 6-24-08. 
I was doing moprhine & vicodin plus another doctor ((shrink) gives me  my anti depression medication, plus klonopin. I had been on xanax for nearly 20 years.
I still take my anti depression meds but not the klonopin. The dr that gives me the suboxone gave me valium for anxiety but I never got the script filled b/c I don't feel
I need to and it's for 2mg!!!!! . Plus that is such a dangerous combo that I was actually surprised when he
said he'd rather me take valium then klonopin. I have to think to myself," is that guy telling me  right?" Not all drs our honest, as we'd like to believe,
For me the subs have been a huge difference in my life. First of all my health ins covers it. It's already been cheaper for me. I usually  always got the vic's from a dr but not the morphine That was expensive. It helps me get up in the morning to go to work.(the subs) I am the sole provider for my family. I am luckly to like my job also. I think the subs have helped with my anxtiety b/c i am relaxed. Espeically since I'm not playing the run around game, hunting my next high down. I don't think allot of people agree with suboxone. to much like methadone. MY husband is also an addict. He was on methadone for 4 years. It took everything, my 401k at work, savings, my husband,2 jobs, a withdrawl that he was in the hospital for 12 days straight before he could even get out of bed. It, he said for him was the worst thing he ever had withddrawl ever, even from ciggerates! But after 10 months with out methadone or anything. He started to use. 
I helped with that. But he had choice.
I took morphine for the last time 2 days before my appointment. At the first appointment he gave me 8 mg to take.  Then I went to a drug counselor, the program requires that you attend counseling. They do not have to be 12 steps. Suboxone is a federal program, to my underdstanding. The drs. only allowed a certain number of patients. So many of those patients should be medicaid. He gave me 16 mg a day. My husband is 24 mg a day, or 3 pills, 8mg, I also noticed some pharmacys DO say 8mg/2mg. I don't know why they do that. There is a two mg which is what you start to use when you come off of the 8's.
MY daughters old boyfriend, 27 yrs. He was close to death, or jail. Started the program, he went to school, got his degree, Totally changed his life around. I can tell you what I have experniced, so far. Of course that is NOT the norm. But for him it life alerting. 
I still believe that it is a crutch, but in a some other way, it helps . 
I hope to be off this in a year or less. Dr says that is asking to much.
Maybe, because as good as it can be, I know of another Dr that is giving it for the $$. He is inconsistent with refilling your meds, makes many mistakes, inturn allot of his pills, the suboxone,( he also gives patients allot of aderal, )  are on the street by the addicts who tricked him. So it's a win win no no sittuation to me, or for me. I just wanna be free.
Best of luck to you
Bray

worried878 · Answer

I think it is pretty expensive...but different depending on where u go and the doctor..my friend go ton in it for 10 days and the whole thing/pills and visit was about 500 dollars...but that is really not alot compared to how much some spend on pills....suboxone is a powerful narcotic   0.3 mg = 10 mg of morphine....so if u stay on it long term u would have to taper to get off of it...some say the wd is longer but not as intense...some say they tapered and had no withdrawals...my friend did not with 10 days of use....it is a tool to get clean along with determination and aftercare...it will not stop u from relapsing later on....it is a good choice for some and a bad choice for others it seems...dosage depends on ur prior dose of narcotics...4 mg twice a day is what the few i knew took then down to 2 mg etc...some take as much as 32 mg a day...it just depends

Lona11 · Answer

Hi there, thanks for the website info.  Before my doctor put that sign up, I would never have even told him I'm addicted to Percocet even though I have been on them for 10 years.  I try weaning with Ultram (I know, everyone on here hates Ultram (tramadol) but at least it does stop withdrawal symptoms) but when you stop Ultram, you still have the withdrawal.  Does Suboxone do the same thing when you get off it?   I noticed you said you are still on it after 5 months.  What kind of pills were you addicted to and does it always take months to take it?  I guess what I'm saying is I want to wean or ease the withdrawal with it to get off the Percocet and Ultram.  Is it very expensive and how many do you take a day?  thanks

LONESOME · Answer

Hi Lona what you should do is go into suboxone.com and you will get info on what this medication does, I mean I can tell you what it has done for me but you first need to learn about the med ok.
Good luck and let me know if I can be of any help I been on it for almost 5 months