Oxy to Suboxone

Hi all!
I have finally made the decision to get  off the oxy after using\abusing for about a year and a half. I have an appointment with my pain doc on 9/30. Im currently using 200-300mgs. a day. (only 180 of it is actually perscribed).  I plan on coming clean with her and telling her i have to get off this s***t. I know she has patients on Sub.  She is super-cool and very understanding. I would really like to try to taper first. I've tried and failed in the past but Im hoping it will be easier w\ the help of my doc. My ? is , if I end up on Sub. (Preferably a fast- taper method.)  What would be the average starting dose, taper regimen, etc. considering my current oxy doseage and duration of use? I am just curious  and hope to hear from someone with oxy\Sub experience. Im not looking for any kind of free ride off these drugs. I know I have some serious hell to go through. Its just that I am sooo done with these pills, and by reading many of your stories I know it can be done. Although I may be singing a different. tune in the weeks to come I am very determined to get clean. Im sure I will find support here as well. So if anyone has any advice or experiences  to share I would be extremely gratefull.
Thanks for reading!         Howie

[liscamdave]

Well, it all depeneds on what you want to know. I did a successful Sub taper. So let me know if I can help in any way. My DOC of choice was also Oxy's. About 10-12 80's a day I was eating/chewing. If I can help, let me know.

Lisa

[Florida941]

I made that same decision not to long ago and i msut say , IT WAS A GOOD ONE !

I chose to go with Suboxone > methadone

I myself was using up to 4  80mg oxys a day  or = 1 1/2 grams of heroin  for about a year.

My Dr put me on 16-24mg a day of subutext for a week  untill my body was clear of the (illegal) drugs. then she was going to asest a desired amount of suboxon for the fallowing 3-6 weeks.   Everyone is different when it comes to recovery some people can do it in 2 weeks some take months  some take years. dont let the time discourage you jsut know taht your gettign help and getting better every day.

I myself self taperd my dose every day and delt with the mild withdrawls i still aquired  due to under dosage.   i was able to still function but just not to my full comfort. It was alot better than cold turkey quiting and fealing like death for a month.

I chose to not continue with my theropy due to Cost $. I  self weened off of subutex over the period of 2 weeks. lowering my dosage  every day.

Im on day 3 of no meds after weening myself down to 4MG-2MG a day.  My only problem now is i cant sleep but thats better than puking and having aches n pains all day long.

Suboxon is a Gr8 helpaid in recovery.  My advice is know that u have to recover from that also .  It will be hell and take alot of determination but if your want it bad enough u can do it !

Best of luck with your recovery and you are defanitly on the right path !  
-FL941

[howie77]

Same here!!! chewing between 5 and 8 40's per day! (sometimes more)What dose of sub did you start out on and what was your taper regimen? How long did they make you wait between oxy and sub? What kind of aftercare? Iguess im interested in your whole story.. Thanks for the fast response!! If  it would be better; PM me anytime
Thank you soooo much!!!
H

[refusingbondage]

Hi.  You wait until you start feeling withdrawal.  Usually about 24 hours.  I took my last painkillers (15 vicoprofen) at 6pm and saw the sub doctor the next day at 6pm and we started.  Ironically I wasn't feeling horrible like I would have any other day, but bad enough (I think it was nervousness/adrenaline about the new meds).  We started 4mg, waited 10 minutes to see the effect and then added 2mg every 10 minutes from there.  I initially started at 16mg.  We didnt do a fast taper method so I cant help you there but many people on here did who can help you with that info.  Best of luck and congratulations on making the decision to get clean!  

[TysonRed]

I was taking about 3-4 80mg Oxycontin and alot of the time different amounts of methadone along with it. I basicly stopped most my oxy use and started more on methadone up to 120-140mgs per day and occassionally oxy's and other opiates. Make a long story short, I tapered my methadone with the aid of an addiction specialist down to 30mgs and switched to suboxone(8mg)/day. My opinion with suboxone is to start on the lowest dose possible that makes you comfortable, plain and simple. Preferably a shorter 21 day regimen of suboxone is ideal for alot of people, I myself was not aware of this when I started over 2 1/2 months ago. Im taking 2-3mgs a day and hopefully planning of being off within next 40days or so. Suboxone is no joke once you've been taking it for a bit, I can feel my body still very dependent upon it. I dont think Im going to have too much of a problem coming off, but Im prepared for it. If you ever need any more info just keep posting, you can send me a note, just get as many opinions and do your own research into what you think you should do. I would try to taper your oxy dose as low as you can before starting on sub, especially if you want to do a quick sub detox. Good luck with everything, stick around here for all kinds of knowledge, Take care.

[ochooked]

TysonRed and Refusingbondage are telling you like it is ------  Sub is a great tool to help you break the grip of addiction to Oxy.  I was at 140mg/day of Oxy --- tapered to 70mg/day using Percocet and Hydrocodone -- then switched to Sub--- started at 2 mg twice a day and used the 21 day taper b/c I had heard it was so addictive.  Getting off the Sub was not pleasant and it has now been 29 days since my last 'crumb' of sub.  The roughest part lasted about 10 or 12 days then got progressively better ----- I am so glad to hear that you are not expecting a free ride to get clean ----- it is work and you may need help from family to stay strong -----  but it is sooooo worth it.  Please keep posting --- you sound like you will be one who will actually make it and end up helping so many others on this site who need encouragement.  All the best to you.

[lifesaride]

Howie, first, ya gotta try no chewing them,  ...  It will help break the habit a lil by not getting that rush, second; try to cut back a lil on your doses either a lil less mg or a lil more time between doses, if you do that over the next few days it will help. Dude I was doing 8)80's a day when I went on sub, so your gonna be fine. Third; when you go in for your appt. be in mild/moderate w/ds, at least 12 hrs after last oc. beads of sweat, lil stomach upset, leg pain, anxiety,etc judt mild is enough, lastly; dose as low as possible to be comfortable. it takes a lil time to get the dose right, nmaybe even a few days, but you wont be hurting or freaking out, the trick is as low as you can go, and you wont believe how little you need to feel better. But it definately has to start with breaking habits,( chewing for one) And try to get around a few n/a or a/a meeting to to be around people in the same boat. And stay with the forum theres alot of good people here. and remember .... life is just a ride!

[howie77]

Thank you all so much! Just one more question..  I may be mistaken but I thought i read somwhere that in Europe and possibly other places it is common to use Suboxone and/or Subutex for pain management. Does anyone know of this practice or did I dream it?
~Howie

[howie77]

anyone familiar w/  these meds for pain mngmnt ?  (see above)

[OnOxyfor10yrs]

Subutex was first used back in the 1970's as a pain medication. I went off a 10 year run with oxys doe to chronic pain and am taking sub. My addiction doc just told me tonight that it has 40% of the pain control as the oxys do. I am still in a lot of pain. However, ever since my accident I have been on pain meds. Never been off long enough to see exactly what my pain feels like since I went right on the subs. My doc wants me on the subs forever b/c he insists it helps for pain. I am thinking that it may be as strong as maybe Darvocet. With the level of your addiction, what other choice do you have? I keep thinking, where will I be in 10 years? What will help with severe pain if I kept up with the oxys. If you have a pain managment doc, then he or she can mix the sub with other non addicting drugs. I am going to try the TENS unit next, then accupunture. Eventually am gonna wean myself off the subs when I feel strong enough. 5 days before I went on subs I went from 160mgs to 80mgs. DONT CHEW THEM! Take as directed and the mild w/d from tapering quickly wont be so bad. I relly suggest the quick 5 day taper before the subs though. I wasn't too bad. Really weak legs, stomach upset, no appetitte etc but not as bad as cold turkey. Please, please do the 21 day taper off the sub.I didn't know about this until it was too late. Read many posts about subs on here and best of luck. Those damn oxys to help pain will grab ya quickly huh?

[worried878]

with sub remember ...less is better....less time...less mgs...it also depends on ur goals...do u want to use sub long term then taper off...or do u want to use sub to aid with ur wds?    to get off in 21 days at ur dose of oxy using sub,it may be tricky to stay comfy and readh the 21 day mark...as u will most probably be reccomened to start at 16 mg or so...that would seem about right.....some that want to not have a sub addiction..do experience a bit of discomfort when wding from a high dose like 300 mgs of oxy..but way more comfy than without the sub

[lifesaride]

yes, in europe they use sub for pain management, and also few here are trying that now

[howie77]

suboxone or subutex?

[botchedup]

ok, I'll try to summarize.  I was prescribed Subutex/Suboxone for pain mgmt "off label".  Off label because the doctor knew the stigma Sub has in the medical profession.  He knew that odds were he would not be my doctor for the rest of my life, and understood that other doctors might not believe I had chronic pain if Subs were on my chart.  Tex and One are the same but tex does not contain naloxone.  Naloxone is a blocker that is added to Sub to deter "users" from crushing, chewing, snorting, or shooting.  Subutex is being phased out simply for safety reasons.  One time they told me that the FDA passed a guideline blah blah, but really it was the "stigma" once again and DEA doesn't want subs gaining popularity on the street.  (too late).  So it's my experience that even if you are prescribed Sub for pain mgmt, they'll give you "one" not "tex".  It certainly does not provide the pain relief that full agonists narcs do but they do provide "almost" adequate analgesia.  My problem was, to get pain relief, the dose was too high, and I was nodding off and sleepy all the time.  Lesser dose--clear head and decent energy but less pain relief.  Chronic pain is a tough one.  I feel for ya.  

[singlma]

I know you've gotten a lot of info but I'm gonna give you my 2 cents. I am also on 16 mg's of suboxone for oxy use for 2 years. After reading everyones anti suboxone posting on this site I talked to my Dr about the w/d symptoms everyone tlks about. He said he won't even think about taking me off without fixing my life. Secondly he said not everyone prescribes it right. Its not meant for 21 days, just to get over the hump. Its a crutch while you fix things that were destroyed while using or caused the use. He said it is meant to be tapered very slowly and you may experience one w/d symptom like sweating, nothing unbearable. I'd rather stay on suboxone longer than oxy forever.

[mikec7734]

I have been on suboxone for over a year and i have weened my self off i took the prescribed amount for 6 months and dropped down to a half of a pill a day well within the last five days i haven't took a pill and i am going through withdrawals but not as intense as trying to get off of the Vicodin i was on i am having a big problem with sleeping and comfort but this will pass hopefully in a few days