Suboxone Withdrawals!!!???

Gee whiz!!  Just when I was all excited about coming of the hydro's-I read all this stuff about coming off the Suboxone??  Now I am scared again?  How come I never saw this before going in rehab-I asked so many questions on this-read as far back as I could-and not one post existed about the Suboxone Withdrawal problem?  Is this a real issue?  Such as Methodone w/d??  My goodness-I strayed away from that for this purpose-now must I worry about "coming off" Suboxone too?  This is a scary and disappointing problem-anyone and everyone, please respond that knows about Suboxone WITHDRAWAL-Please.  I am on 6mg day (pill and half by breaking in half according to Dr).  My Rehab Doc prex=scribed these-why would he do this if its just another addiction?  Signed, Terrified again in Fla.

[SublimeSublime]

Calm down. I just detoxed off of suboxone and am 8 days clean. I haven't had any of the bad WDs since day 3. I don't thinkalot of the info out there on suboxone is based in fact. I've read many conflicting thoughts on the effect of naloxone, and found that contrary to popular belief, any oral opiate can be taken with suboxone. The naloxone causes WDs only when injected. Suboxone just blocks the opiate receptors, not allowing other opiates to enter or bind. It also bonds longer, which is where the belief that suboxone WDs last longer probably came from. I have done it, and am pretty much ok aside from little sleep. My WDs seem in line if not milder than many others whose posts I've read.  

[Fic67]

Hi there,

I am supposed to start Suboxone on Thursday, where did you read about terrible withdrawals?  I am wondering if Sublime can tell us a bit more about his withdrawal?  Please.  What exactly have they been like?  Comparable or worse than pain med withdrawal?  How did you stop them?  My doctor is trying to reassure that this is a much better way to get off the pain meds.  How much pain medicine were you taking loveisamom?  How did the initial dosing of suboxone work for you?  Did you feel sick?  I have a six month old and I am a single mom so I am wondering if I will be ok to function in the beginning of this treatment.  Sleep has been difficult?  Please let me know what you can and I will see if I can find any more infomation for us.  Don't be scared, we will find a way and we will get thru this.

[Fic67]

By the way, methadone is supposed to MUCH more difficult in every way to withdrawal from versus suboxone and pain meds.

[beetlybug]

my dr. told me methadone is like coming of meth, or not coming off...

[ylitalo916]

Wow... I am sooooo confuzzled.  I am now on day 9 of Suboxone and that, thank GOD, makes me 9 days clean of opiates (or so I thought)  So is Suboxone an opiate or not?  I was reading some info on Suboxone and I'm not sure which website to go to in order to get fact based info on the medication.  I understand that there are a lot of sites out there strictly in the business of detox and that seems to be what I'm running into over and over again.  I am now scared to death to detox off of Suboxone.  My detox, with the help of Suboxone, was for the most part bump free.  I felt great within four days.  I wasn't, however, looking to do it again.  I am dr. prescribed two 8 mill. per day but generally only take 1 to 1 and 1/2.  I am petrified to take more than this as I do not want the detox to be unpleasant (if there ever was a pleasant one, right?)  My parents and siblings argue with me and try to convince me to take the 16 mill. per day as if without the high dose I am a sure fail.  I feel the fact that I am without a doubt a grown woman should give me a degree of say in this matter, it does not.  I personally do not mentally, physically or otherwise feel the need for such a large dose of the medication.  Please give me some insight on the withdrawals of this medication that are FACT BASED so I have an arguement in this matter.  A few good websites would be helpful as well.  

Thank you so much,
Heather

[ERIC331]

I CAME OFF SUBOXONE  ABOUT A MOUNTH AGO.  IT TOOK THREE OR FOUR DAYS TO KIND OF GET BACK TO NORMAL.   IT STILL ***** THOUGH.  I PROMISE. KIND OF LIKE COMING OFF HYDROS. BUT YOUR ABLE TO EAT AND SLEEP.   DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE I CAN GET ASSISTANCE ON SUBOXONE MEDS?  I JUST LOST MY INSURANCE.  THANKS ANY HELP WOULD BE APP.

[indymommy]

I have been on sub twice, I never had withdrawls from it. Your dr. should slowly wean you down so that when you stop you don't get sick. I relapsed only out of my own stupidity, I felt fine, just didn't feel "energetic" when I quit sub. I am actually wishing I could get back on it because I am now addicted to methadone. Methadone wd is terrible!!!! Don't worry about the wd from sub, as long as your doc knows what to do, you should be fine!! Good luck!

[TysonRed]

Suboxone is a synthetic opiate, kind of like methadone, only sub is a partial agonist compared to other full agonist meds (hydro, oxy, meth). The severity of withdrawals differs from person to person, depending on the duration of usage and tapering schedules. My own personal ongoing experience with sub withdrawals(currently day 15), is by day 12 I was starting to feel ok. I had and still do have the hardest times in the morning getting out of bed, and hard as it is excercise helps with the w/d's. I started at 8mgs, I was down to 1mg by week 13 and tapered down to a crumb off a 2mg tab about .25mgs the last 4days, then same two days later and off. Im not gonna lie for me the first 11days were exhaustingly annoying. I was on suboxone for 17weeks, had I found this forum a bit earlier I would have tried a quicker schedule for tapering. I look back and realize that for the first 8wks I could have been taken 2-4mgs less than I was prescribed. Most people Ive talked to have all experienced some moderate withdrawals, some milder and some more severe. I think generally shorter plans are in your best interest, get stabilized on lowest effective dose, taper down according to your plan, try to jump off at a very low dose .25-1mg. Hopefully in the future we can gain more information about how best to use suboxone, I do think it works, its just for some it can become a hurdle in itself. My best regards to all of you, one thing we can all count on is there is tons of valuable support and guidance that can be shared here at Medhelp. Take Care.

[gena265fam]

anytime u have an addiction u will be the only person who really knows if u can handle it.  me and my husband have been on suboxone for 2 just about three years now, i did all the research to get us away from pain meds we were taking so many different types from percs to morphine to tramadols and darvocets whatever we could get our hands on.  we have 3 children 1,2, and 7 and have for the past 6 years fought off dts when we didnt know about suboxone, i would sleep, cramp, throw up, nausea, where as my husband would be wide awake (insomnia), angry, tense, spasms, he even went into convulsions and we ended up at the hospital.  than there was turntohelp.com, we have been taking suboxone 8/2 myself 1 sometimes 2 a day my husband 2 sometimes 3 a day and we have been doing awsome living the all well family life.  NE Way to save on money we continued to get rx for qty of 90 8/2 3X's a day, i would go one month he would go the second month, so u thought all was well until last week and the week before, my son who is 2 got rsv and ended up in the hospital 2 weeks ago than we took back last week found out he had pneumonia, severe asthma, and a bowel obstruction, it was my husbands turn to go to dr. well he missed it, he knew and i knew but we had enough to get us just barely through the weekend to get in to see doc.  well nope, he's on vacation for a week and the girls that are at the office said he would have to wait until doc gets back, cuz u have to have a special license to even be able to write for the medication, or else u have to one-pay full which is outrageouse or two-most dr. who do not have the license wont risk writing it, WHY?  because just like everything else it is definatly an addiction, my husband and i our on our 3rd day and he is doing awful same almost as if coming off pain meds (not as bad, but it's still there), myself (a little not as bad either) but the dt's are there.  Im 27 hes 32, im in the healthcare field and he is in construction, hes 6 ft 145pds, im 5'3 175pds, get my drift.  no matter who u r all drugs have there down fall, and i have always been taught that we are guinnea pigs, they test drugs and depending on the percentage or the outcome depends if it is marketable, wether u r taking it like u should or not, does not matter, everybody's body and mind frame all do different things that is the gift that god gave us when we were born unfortunatly, not all people look the same u know, well thats the same with the way our body's handle different things, one person can fight a flu were as another will die from it (immune system), one person with bipolar will do great on the meds were as another will go into a phsyciatric meltdown with the same dx, height, age, body weight, somewhat a similar background.  NOBODY is the same, u need to determine what is important and it will be hard u do the research, u don't listen to anybody (sometimes not even a doctor, thats how they make there money).  Sorry to be so long and I'm not saying it will be hard and im not saying it will be easy, nor am i putting the drug or the doctor's down, but not every one person can be treated the same and that is not explained, nor is evals down, to determine what the different benefits would be to one than the other.  Don't ignore what u feel, it is a hard life, especially when u have to live it day in day out and try to continue to go when u just wanna give up.  DONT, because the outcome is more dangerous to your health than a week of missed work and trust u me im in a mess more than u can imagine i work for my mother in law in a business we opened 12 years ago, so she knows everything and she never lets me take time off or shes knocking at my door demanding or having my husbands family calling me 24/7 saying nasty mean awful things, plus my husband works with his brother whom he hired on and he lives with my mother in law and father in law and they are nosy he has to act like everything is ok when it is definatly not.  Also, my husband was a recovering drug addict and alcoholic prior to our marriage and i helped him get clean, me in other words i was bulemic and a fitness freak at 115 he helped me get out and helped me recover, but i have never done drugs or drank alcohol or smoked a cig, but now i feel like im the worst person in the world to go through my whole highschool life stearing from the peer pressure to get to this, NOPE, gotta move on, and it is hard no matter who u r, what ur bank account looks like, what ur age, weight, height, sex is, wether ur gay or straight, u have an addiction and to recover from it is through your own therapy and research and what u know ur body can handle and cant.  REMEMBER we are all guinneau pigs in the medical field and no one person can do what another person could have done wether u do it right or wrong.  SORRY for such a long story but i figured with everything ive gone though, have seen family go through in rehabs and half way homes to get off meth, and like me bulemia, pain pills, da da da, u know its u and only u that can make that call if u can, if u cant, or if u want to.......

[Drumfreak]

I'm on day 5 of suboxone withdrawal. I was taking 4 mg a day divided into two doses. I felt that after 4 months I wanted to be free of it because its becoming a crutch. I jumped right off. Today has been the worst so far, but after an lunesta induced nap...i feel exponentially better already. I'm experiencing the typical opiate w/d symptoms of course but on a way less intense level.

As far as my own experience goes, and all are different, this is indeed doable. Do I feel like crap?...YES...am I also absolutely jumping up and down inside after having no pills for 5 days...YOU BET YOUR ***!  Nothing tops this feeling...sick as I am....nothing.

I used suboxone to come clean from a 5 -7 30mg roxy per day habit. I'd detoxed cold turkey once...but didn't make it past the depression that hit after the "sickness" went away, it was way too severe. Suboxone helped me get my sanity back, and gave me enough space away from the "blues" to allow me to disassociate my cravings for them, over to the suboxone and to take the last part of my recovery into my own hands. I do understand that it's a personal choice, and everyone is different. I've been scared out of my wits as to some of the accounts I've read about sub detox... but so far my experience has been nothing like them...not fun...but not unbearable..so let me dispel at least a little of the fear here...its not so bad for everyone....and hasn't been for me.

So hang in there, it's going to be alright...i really don't know what else to say, its not easy, but you CAN do it...believe in yourself and find a quiet place for a week, get some lunesta/ambien/ whatever...Imodium (immodium) AD, which contains a mild opiate that doesn't cross the blood/brain barrier, will calm the squirly belly down and keep you from pooping your pants en route to the toilet, and just rest...listen to music, watch movies. If you take cannabis medically..have it on hand also...it helps keep you eating and drinking, which keeps your nutrient and fluid levels up , thus allowing for quicker detox results and is great for nausea and anxiety if you use it correctly. Have friends ready to talk to when the mood shifts come...it helps to really vent and even cry a little. If your doc will give you xanax or something else to mellow you out...those help as well..assuming one isn't abusing those too...as opiates and xanax seem to always end up together anyway...lol.


I'm noone...just someone who fighting for my life like all of you...and was scared by what i read...don't be.....if you want off subs, it CAN be done...and for most of us its the final temporary step, while some will need it for a long time.

but...the detox is not nightmarish for everyone...lots of folks have had it work just like the doc said...but its never gonna be fun for anyone...and I'm not saying its easy...just doable...so don't be afraid.....get informed...read some good accounts too...there are just as many as the bad ones,,,why...mine is good i think.

Suboxone is a miracle in my eyes...what makes it dangerous...is how little is known about it. I'll check back in and let you all know how i am in a day or two...hmmm...what if i say I feel even BETTER?...lol..because that's what I'm expecting.

Take care everyone and hang in there...we can all get through this...just don't give up...keep asking...keep talking...keep moving forward...freedom is what we want and need...and **** these drugs that take it from us...I'm glad to see us all taking it back!

[Richjess2226]

Hi.
I feel I should add to this post as I was taking sub for 9 years.
Subs can be very different for different people. It all depends on how much you are taking, what you previous addiction was (if their was one) amd how long you have been taking them for.
The wd's themselves can be milder than more potent opiates if you jump off at a lower dose. This is because subs (buprenorphine) has a very long half life (average of 37 hours) which means it can stay in your system for weeks. Unlike more potent drugs like heroin with a half-life of about 10 mins which soon gets out of the system.

I have had friends use sub as a short detox and have had very little problems. I though decided to use subs while I got my life sorted out. I tapered down very slowly cutting down only a fraction every month or two for years and finally stopped on a low dose 10 days ago. I still have wd's today although they are starting to level out over the past couple of days.

Therefore my advise would be to really think carefully if considering subs. Try Borneo take them for too long unless you really need to (my life was in a mess from heroin abuse) and try and keep the dose to as low as makes you feel ok.

[Drumfreak]

Ah...here we are! I'm just learning this forum and posted in a thread that's been inactive for a while, figured out if you click on your name it brings up past posts. well the other post is somewhere, but i had first been here..but I'm on day6 now...and really don't feel any worse than yesterday. Same symptoms as yesterday but not sneezing as much today...still pretty bad diarrhea...but i also have crohn's..so it gets confusing at times as to what's causing symptoms that i have in the belly area...I'm working the RLS by practicing double-kick drum exercises, and combating the muscle tightness by beating the rest of my drumkit senseless...good thing noone's around.

My brain feels more focused...things are clearer than even before, i hope to start feeling better physically soon...but somethings different already mentally ( I hope it lasts). suboxone saved me, but of course its time to say goodbye to it...this w/d is worth every bit of pain it brings to know i came this far..it still *****...but I'll say again it's not as bad as I'd expected...nowhere near as bad to be truthful....but I'll also repeat that its definitely not a walk in the park.

good luck to everyone, catch you all later.

[HenryS354]

Congrats on day 6!

Sub wd's I have found are what you make of them!  If you fear the wd's I believe you will have a much harder time.  The way I looked at things when I kicked sub at 3mgs, was "It is what it is"  "Bring it"

Your positive attitude will take you farther than I can put into words.  Its a long drawn out process, but keep up that positive energy and you will do just fine!

194 days off subs here, and lived to tell about it. :-)

Henry

[Drumfreak]

Thanks Henry! I'm at day 8 now and feeling much better! still weird, but tolerable, I played a four hour gig with my band last night and didn't run off stage once ( the diarrhea is easing up now)......I can eat a full meal again already, I'm using sleep aids and making sure that I sleep and I'm thinking that's a big help, and possibly the main culprit in sub w/d horror stories that I've read...i mean if you can't sleep...you can't heal...it's SOOOOOOO important to us detoxers to sleep...so we have to try and make it a priority with our docs, or by any safe means to really sleep as much as possible. I've got alot of love and support around me. So a huge thanks for the kind words brother. I totally agree with you that there was more fear involved in the beginning than i let on...BUT...it was unfounded...and I'm keeping the up attitude. I'm just happy to be 8 days with NO OPIOIDS!!!!...I'll post back as things progress...but...to all you sub users who are really frightened...please don't be...it's a little tough, but the subs are what gave us all enough space between being a chronic user, and a recovering addict that's strong enough not to relapse right away. I'm seeing that my brain has detached from my original choice of substances enough to where I think of them very little, even on the worst day of this...i was thinking of how miserable i felt...but amazingly...not about scoring pills.....interesting.

funny thing now is...I feel all manic...like I'm on speed...gotta be doing something...it's not a bad thing...just kind of strange....so how long you think before I'm "normal" again?...probably a month or two huh? well, at this point...I'm overjoyed...and you're right Henry, it wasn't good, it wasn't bad...it just is what it is and it CAN BE DONE.

catch y'all in a day or so and thanks so much!

shawn

[HenryS354]

Thanks for keeping us posted Shawn,

There are so many out there that need to hear this kind of stuff.... Its really what got me through the worst of it.  And of course I use that term lightly.

Your first week is the "hardest" and you have already got that down.  Another few days and it will all be downhill from there.

Keep it up, as the rewards just keep coming... Im still finding them today!

-H

[Richjess2226]

Hey I'm on day 14 now off subs. It's starting to get better.

I'm also in a band and can't believe you did a 4 hour gig! Wow. I did my last gig when I was ramping right down 2 1/2 weeks ago and that was bad enough for me! haha

I know what you mean about the sleep, I took tamazapam for the first 12 days to help. Don't think I could have done it without a couple of hours down time a day. I managed to stop those on Sunday tho. The first night was bad without them, cold sweats, really anxious and wired,  but last night I slept 6 hours nearly without anything. Then managed to drop off again for an hour. Im still not great, lack of energy, rls, wake up feeling rough and sick but being totally free from pills feels great.
The worst times for me are nights and mornings but the days are getting better now. It seems to be around the times my body is used to having the subs that it's worse for me.
Anyway keep it up drumfreak. Your doin a great job!

[rligh09]

It seems to me from everything I have read and what I know of people on subs that doctors start people on a way higher dose than they need to be? Why is this I wonder? And why do people take them for so long? I dont understand that either.

[Drumfreak]

DAY 11...Thanks so much for the helpful posts my friends, I really do hope my bit of input helps some others who are afraid, like your posts have helped me...and good to see another musician here! Actually, the gig was like therapy, but it wasn't all giggles to be honest... and I figured if I'd had to bolt for the restroom...so be it...i have crohn's...it's happened before...noone would think anything of it

.Alright..so an update...this is getting increasingly physically easier now. I'm still having to use some sleep meds, but eating fine now, diarrhea completely gone..no more sweats, still some sneezing and that darned creepy-crawly feeling in my spine that was originally crazy muscle tightness and pain at the start. I'm noticing a shift in my mind's processes, at an alrming rate..started at day9 and is snowballing. My brain is turning back on and I can FEEL IT!!!

I'm focused..proud of myself...glad I'm making it...not thinking about using......But...lol...I'm like WAY pissed off...angry at myself..at the world...at people who used me when I was down and left me when i needed them. I'm not keeping my mouth shut to anyone anymore. I've always been a doormat when I'm high...and even on the subs it looks like because I feel so different within this last couple days...so awake...aware...ALIVE...and what a mess I've made. WOW!!!

See, I kept my problem well hidden, always just seemed happy-go-lucky to people outside my close circle, who knew I was heading straight down, but during my "flight time" we'll call it, i made some real bad choices...lol ( noone does that...right?...lol) Got taken by some folks, got used...really hurt emotionally ( oh but the mushy song fodder I've gained...sheesh), and few really knew I was afull-blown addict.., they just thought I was some bleeding-heart hippy with talent, easily controlled...taken advantage of. I didn't care when I was high how folks treated me, but I'm not high now.

The amazing looks of surprise I'm getting are worth all of this....I actually told someone to leave my house last night because I didn't like his tone with me, someone I dearly love like a brother...and you'd have to just know how I've been...i don't do those things...I'd just  say screw it who cares, I'm flyin...no cryin'...lol I'm already holding some folks accountable for some things, including myself of course.

So my closest ones are backing away from me now...they are already making comments like...wow...so this is you sober huh?..want a beer?..some crack?..please don't eat us!!!!???...lol...but seriously, my wife and those closest to me are already saying things like "Wow...you're standing up for yourself...you've said no to like ten people this week asking for things from you...that's more than...EVER!"

My wife says I look different, stern, serious, she says it looks like she might indeed have her Shawn back...which is so nice to hear....I  look different to myself in the mirror somehow.

truth is...I feel aggressive...and PLEASANTLY so...I'm not being mean or rude to anyone because I really love people. I'm a musician, i love to express my heart to anyone who'll listen...but I'm not taking any crap any more..

I really had NO IDEA..that the subox was carrying me the way it was, because it was such a downgrade from being high...yet still kind of warm and comfortable....am i making sense? without it...I'm switched on in a way I haven't had ANY drug give me yet...so I imagine as my mind gets used to being fully on  I'll calm down...anyone go through a "switching on" thing at round 9 or 10 days?

I feel GREAT, still some lingering unpleasantness...but it's getting interesting in enough ways to keep me distracted. catch y'all in a few...hang in there, and so will I.

[free2626]

what did you do for detox?? you get a drink?  I am on day 2 for suboxone withdrawals and they really suck so far!  Much worse than opiate withdrawals...anyone thinking about getting on suboxone im not trying to scare you but DO NOT....its the easy way out and it results in much worse withdrawals....just take the one or two days of opiate withdrawals trust me.

[doglover84]

I have been addicted to opiates for 12 yrs...age 27...was clean for 5 and this past yr I've been using switching btwn h or oc and suboxone...this last 3 wks or so I took subs, very little maybe. 25mg daily...then I got 60 oc 5s which lasted me 2 n a half daya...im taking subs now, I shoot em sometimes just cuz of the needle love...anyway I just want opinions about how bad wd from these subs might b...been taking them for 3 days and oc ffor2 days prior n sub for about 3 wks prior to that...will the wd be bearable...I mean, I've kicked heroin in a jail cell many many times, so im assuming sub wd at home wont b too bad????? Thx guys!

[Ballgame]

This thread is 2 years old. Might not get a reply from those people. Might be better off starting your own thread