Is Suboxone good for detoxing off of methadone?

[jessica555]

I have been on methadone for 3 years. I had to get on it to transition off of oxy's, fentanyl, & hydros that I had been addicted to for 5 years.  (If I had known what I know now about methadone, I would have never started taking it).  I have titrated myself down from 100mg to 15mg. I have a Dr. who will prescribe suboxone for me to help the transition off of the methadone, but will only do it with the naltroxone in it and after I have detoxed myself off of methadone for 48hrs.  I can NOT imagine going 1 day without my methadone.  How in the heck am I suppose to do this?  Will it really make me that sick if I was not to do the withdraw thing for 2 days before dosing on the suboxone?  And does anyone know how long you really stay dope sick for after getting on the suboxone?  Thanks so much for your time!

Jessica

[marnuves]

By the way i had been a heroin addict for over 30 years.

[marnuves]

There is no reason except to reduce the intensity of your withdrawal symptoms.

[marnuves]

it's all in your mind if you think you got sick after going one day without methadone. methadone is much longer acting than that i can go three days without methadone before i start feeling sick, and most others are the same way and if they were truthfull i believe it would be almost 100% that way!

[Ycosmo]

Hi. I really need help.I have been on methadone 110 mg. for a month. I desided that I had enought. I have no money to go to the methadone clinics anymore but I do have some suboxone. I will appreciate any advice you can give me. Today was my last dose of methadone. When can I start taking suboxone for the first time? I'm afraid to go through withdrawal so much I don't want to be in pain. Sorry about my English I'm trying my best. Please, please give me some advice. Thank you so much.

[Ycosmo]

Hi. I really need help.I have been on methadone 110 mg. for a month. I desided that I had enought. I have no money to go to the methadone clinics anymore but I do have some suboxone. I will appreciate any advice you can give me. Today was my last dose of methadone. When can I start taking suboxone for the first time? I'm afraid to go through withdrawal so much I don't want to be in pain. Sorry about my English I'm trying my best. Please, please give me some advice. Thank you so much.

[valleyloops]

I've been on methadone for chronic pain for 8 years. I have had to go off of it because of complications. I have weaned to 8 mls and I do not understand why the switch from methadone to suboxone. Any insite? I'm very skeptical of the reason for going off one opioid for another?

[danyboy608]

looking forward to it i am a frenchcanadian and i am on methadone for the last 23 years on 45 mg daily and i wish i could quite metha with subs please plaese give me some advices thanks in advance...daniel

[DEVONSTAR]

I was on methadone for 8 yrs n slowly came down   this past dec.I just stopped takib it at 4 mgs.  Yes it wasn't fun I couldn't sleep n restless arms n legs was so annoying. But it only lasted a wk at most.  And now I've been totally clean for 8 months.I just slowly decreased my dose 1mg every other wk. Took over a yr to do but it was the rite way to go.  I would nt even bother w the subs. Just get off slowly. ..I was on 75mgs at my highest.. and was so scared of getting sick when I stopped. It really wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be..stoppin heroin cold turkey was horrible but weaning off the meth made it easieer..I kept a journal so I could vent n write how I felt...and postin on here helps a lot hearin all the ppk who have went threw it n succeeded

[Kalina41]

Hey how are you feeling? I just read your comments. You are truly an amazing person. To share all that info with all of us. To give you email so we an talk privately is awesome. I have been on methadone for about 6 years. Never got higher than 50 mg I am now on 18 mg.  I am gonna taper  down 2 mg starting this Friday. I didn't know methadone stays in your system that long.  I am really really bummed right now. So what's the pint if getting food it? If it stays sp long even after you detox for it?  I'm really upset right now how come they don't tell you this tuff when you join the clinics???? Mother fuxxxx's!!!!!!! Sorry! I just want off this ****!!! If I know anyone who thinks that they should go on methadone I will tell them to sty the f away from it!!!!!!!!  

[AshleyV623]

So I been on methadone liquid form at a clinic since march 2008 and was up to 180mg for about the first 3 yrs and then 2 yrs ago I decided that I was mentally ok about doing heroin or OxyContin anymore. And I really was very done with those drugs and to this day I haven't used heroin or any other unprescribed opiates since October 5, 2008!!!!  Yay!  But anyways so my problem is that I started to go down on my dose and in just one month went from 180mg-120mg. And I didn't feel sick or anything so that was 2 yrs ago I did that n I stayed at that dose then about 6-7 months ago I said ok it's freekin time to get off this n away from these "counselors" who "care" so much. So I started to go down 5-10mg a week and it was ok for me. I finally was down to 67mg and then I accidentally missed a Thursday and Friday(well I'm not sure how it works in other clinics but here if you miss 2 days in a row then you have to see the doctor and they usually put your dose down 10mg then you can get your meth) but like I had said it was a Thursday n Friday so when I went in there on Saturday....guess what? No doctor on the weekend so they told me that they couldn't dose me or give me my bottles to take home (bcuz they r closed on Sunday so Saturday they just give us our dose to bring home). And to make matters worse, it was the damn Memorial Day weekend so the clinic was closed on Monday too so they were giving everyone their doses for Sunday n Monday. Which meant for me, that I couldn't see a doctor till Tuesday!!! OH MY GOD. I was buggin out, I had already missed that Thursday n Friday and now I can't dose Sat. Sun. Monday, so 5 days.  I ended up having to buy it off the street. When Tuesday came I went to the Meth clinic n had to see the doctor and the stupid guy put my dose from where I was (67mg) and put me all the way down to 30mg!!!!!!   I can't even believe they can do that. So I took it for like 4 days and didn't go back up on the mg's cuz I'm gettin off anyways so the thing is, I would drink it around 9am then by like 4pm I was feeling like I had nothing at all n I couldn't sleep n I even answer me prescribed klonopin bug no help. So I said **** it and just stopped going to methadone about a week and 3 days ago. So I stayed sick for 2 days and then took a small piece of my mans suboxone strip (he also got off methadone in February but it was cuz he got arrested) so I took it and yay. I felt better. So now I'm here today and ***** fine but I just got one question cuz I'm not getting these strips from a doc but from a friend and if I had started by taking the whole strip n cuttin it in 3 pieces n take 1/3 a day then now I'm down to taking 1/4 a day. How do I wein myself off without getting sick?  Also when I do get weined off the suboxone then I'm wondering if bcuz I was on the Meth for so long n it's like in my bones, will I still feel sumthing from that even though I weined off the suboxone??? Please help I just need sum answers and I can't find them on the Internet!!  ;)

[mrables]

You need your family to understand the importance of this. I believe an intermittent is necessary for methadone to Sub, but if he is on only 20mg a day he will just have to suffer a day to get on the medication.  The transfer should be fine.  I wish you the best luck and will check back.

Good luck and stick together out there.

[lucyinthesky8]

now that i think about it i'm pretty sure my boyfriend is taking 10 mg 2x a day, not once a day as i had said before.

[lucyinthesky8]

question... i've been taking methadone for 2 years now. i was between 140-100 mgs up until last november when i decided i just couldn't do it anymore. methadone has turned my life into a complete hell, even worse than my career as a dope fiend. i've gotten myself down to 17 mgs as of today and i've recently run into a problem. transportation. my clinic is 45-60 minutes away and i lost my license a few months ago and somehow i've managed to make it there and back home every day for those passed few months but i've now run out of options as far as that goes. i'm pretty much facing full blown, full length methadone withdrawal which is something that absolutely terrifies me because i've gone through that a couple times before. the longest i lasted was 5 days and i was back in the clinic. i've heard a lot of people say that in a case like this where time is an issue it is much easier to go back to using for a week and then detox off of the drugs instead of trying to cold turkey off of methadone. this is something i might consider if i didn't know that i would lose everything that i have right now [family who is willing to help me, my boyfriend, my home, etc] so this is in no way an option for me. i feel confident enough to where if i had nothing to lose, then i would try it, but that is not an option for me. on the other hand, my boyfriend is prescribed to suboxone. i believe he is sitting at 10 mgs a day? i could be wrong but i'm 90% sure that is where he is at.. anyway, he told me that he would have enough suboxone daily that he could give to me so that he and i both would be fine. if i had the money i would just go to a suboxone clinic on my own, but i don't. i will be able to buy myself enough to time maybe drop down to 10 mgs of methadone before i have to leave the clinic. can you give me any information as to approximately how long i have to wait to start taking the suboxone considering my current methadone dosage and how long i've been taking it? what mg of sub should i start out with [if that's even an choice considering how much sub is available to me, i highly doubt he will cut his dose in half]? how sick will i be at first after taking the subs and how long will it last? it is also really important for me to be able to hold a waitressing job while i'm doing this transition [i start about 2 weeks from now so i don't currently have any income] but will that be possible with any withdrawals i might experience? i know for a fact that i will be completely out of commission for at least 30 days if i try and cold turkey the methadone.. what i really want is for this to all just be over with as soon as possible with the least amount of discomfort possible. i don't see that really happening though, it seems like it's gonna be one or the other.. least amount of discomfort or least amount of time... i suppose even if i couldn't hold a job during the transition, as long as the sickness wouldn't last for more than say maybe a week or two, i would still be interested in trying to switch to suboxone. you know, as long as it is less painful and takes less time than cold turkey methadone withdrawal.. i don't know, i'm realllly confused about this whole thing.. would this even be worth is considering the amount of suboxone we have to work with? any information would be GREATLY APPRECIATED! thank you so much!!

[weaver71]

Google the COWS scale, that is what the doctors are taught in their 8 hr class to prescribe subs. That will explain when to induce subs. I was on 100-200mg methadone a day for 3-4 years and switched to subs. It took me a little more than 48 hours to be convinced I would not enter precipitated withdrawal. I did a fast sub taper over 21 days. I am now going on 3 days without subs. I feel physically ill, but the obsession that methadone caused is not there. Sub gave me a chance to break the chain of addiction long enough to form a plan and do it. I would do a slower taper if I where to do it again, but I've come this far and am sticking to my plan no matter what. At 15mg methadone you should have an easier time of it and only need 4-8mg at induction of subs. It is like coming out of a bad dream. One minute I was sick and craving and 30 minutes later I was more clear than I had been in years. I needed that break from my obsessive mind. Make a plan and resolve yourself to it. The anxiety of what's next drives people crazy. I hope that helps, Keep us posted.

[wcolemitchell]

Hey Jessica, I think that taking anything while taking suboxone will make you quite sick. I'm not speaking from personal experience, just from what I've read.
I myself am on 110ml of methadone but am going down ten ml's every two Weeks. My goal is to switch to Suboxone to get rid of my side affects. i.e.: I've gained forty pounds, extreme sweating, so much so that I got fired from my landscaping job because my employer deemed out unsafe for me to be out there due to the amount of  perspiration. Methadone has complete control over my body and life. I heard Suboxone was way better but I'm kind of torn,I wonder of I should just check myself into a detox center and be done with it. Methadone has made me lose myself.I'm depressed and suicidal and I used to be outgoing and happy. I don't know who I am anymore.. any tips would be appreciated.

[1midnightchild]

Congradultions I really do wish the best, stay strong, it goes a long ways...
Mark Zamora, Peace and good luck...

[Sppac]

i was on methadone for about a year and i weened myself off to 5ml of methadone i then stopped dosing for 3 days and i did start to withdrawal the worst of it was the urgency of urinating like a UTI or something i didn't sleep well at all for 2 nights because of it... on the 3rd night (which was last night) i took 1 - 25mg tablet of benadryl and 2 Tylenol PM's it didn't seem to be working after about 2 hours of still having the urgency thing so i took about 1/4 of a suboxone that i had left over from my drug using days and EVERYTHING seemed to disappear and i slept like a champion i did wake up with the shakes and a little groggy because of the PM's but its gone... even though i have very little shacks i took another little chunk (less then a quarter of a suboxone) and i feel 100x better than every before.. i will continue the update on my progress, but i really really think its over... now keep in mind your probably going to have very very little amounts of withdrawal symptoms (this always happens when you get off of methadone) but its nothing compared to before and is totally tolerable for a week or so then you should be clean and clear... so really you only need half a suboxone at most..

[bashe67]

Debbie317 is oh, so right! I'm going through it now and it feels like i'm going out of my mind. Legs and arms kicking, Can't sleep, don't want to eat, lost 3 days work so far. was on 45 mg of methadone dry for 3 days then 10 mg of suboxone. this is my 4th day with the suboxone and i feel the same. got two hours sleep in 4 days. my doc was off and wont be back till the 5th day. i'm so pissed off!! I was led to believe it would be an easy transition. Bull!

[gnarly_1]

HI Ashley its been a wile since I have seen or heard from you last time we spoke it was about getting started on tapering off methadone and I hadn't herd back from you
is everything all right???anyway its good to see you posting and it sounds like your ready to begin just message me if I can be of any help..good luck and God bless....Gnarly

[AshleyLaing]

Hey I know this is an old post.  I hope you made the switch and are doing well. I know the feeling about thinking about going with out your methadone for one day let alone 2. But cold turkey methadone wd can last days even months. So what's 2 days? I haven't made the switch yet not even close but I plan on doing so starting my tapper this Thursday I'm terrified but when it comes time that's all I'm going to tell myself. Ill get by a second at a time if I have to but being drug free is so going to be worth it in the end ill be glad I did it and I hope you did too

[broknbck]

well did the methadone work?

[markyt]

You could just taper down off your methadone more untill your ready to do a detox completely , if the detox is more uncomftortable than you can cope with , then go onto the subs , at least you would have done some of the hard part , and you never know , you might just not need the subs and get off with just a week of the rough withdrwals but not as bad as your fear will tell you it is .

Im gutted as I did it and then was down to 2mg of subs and my usuall 25mg of valium (7yr addicted to them) ...I was 3 days clean and thought my valium wasnt working and needed to go back on subs , then somehow turned it into a reason to laspse ...I'm now after 1 mnth on 75 mls of methadone and a debt problem ......Im gutted but i know I can , in time beat it , Ive learned a lesson and have a great new attitude towards drugs , but Ive got a battle ahead , but this time it will be for keeps ......somehow it had to get worse for me to get better in the bigger picture

Anyway - it wont be as bad as you think , and theres no pressure really - the methadone wont run out , its on your terms at least  , just dont get put in jail and have your meds controlled by those who dont care if your sick or not ......it always could be worse  - I reckon you'll be alright if you do a little cold turkey for the greater good , or just taper down and ride it out till the last few mills , then get it done - or you stay on 15mls for a while longer while you think whats best ...just dont let fear rule your head

[Tman9191]

Don't take the suboxone for at least after detoxing from methadone unless u want to get the worse withdrawals ever. I had to do the same  thing and u have to do opiates or something for those 3-7 days that's what I did

[Ell243]

I completely agree with you. The best thing to do when switching from methadone to suboxone is to stop using the methadone, and switch to oxys or heroine depending on what you were using prior to taking methadone. I used heroine and then sought help and a dr gave me suboxone. I went maybe 10-12 hours without using, and was in very mild withdrawal, took the suboxone and and hour later felt no withdrawal at all. Problem with methadone is that it stores in your body, in your fat cells, and in your bones, so when you go to switch to suboxone you don't really no for sure if all the methadone is out of your system, witch will then result in extreme withdrawal. But when I was on heroine and switched to suboxone i felt the suboxone was helping with the withdrawals but not making it so i felt good. or normal at all. So i did use heroine 2-3 hours after taking the suboxone, and it did not put me into withdrawal, i didn't get high either, just felt better, and more normal, good enough to sleep, and eat finally. So using did help a little bit with the mild withdrawal i was still in. Now I'm on methadone, and already tapered down to 5mgs, I think the best thing to do would be go 1mg a week until I'm at 0 and then have a doc prescribe something to help me sleep and something for the cold hot sweats. Hopefully going all the way to 1 then 0 will be enough of a taper that i wont be in sever withdrawal, and the sleep aid and whatever else will be enough to keep me somewhat comfortable.