Suboxone Withdrawls Help

I have been taking 1mg a day for over a year now and the time has come I wanted to be free of taking anything. Im on day 5 right now and was expecting a week of hell, but the more I read up on things It looks like I was greatly under estimating the length of time this could take. I have no work for another week so I will have a full two weeks sub free before I would need to resume work. I am in a dark hole right now, and would love to have some light shown knowing I can get out of this. I get little to no sleep and feel I am going completely insane at times. I also have little to no support from friends/family making this that much more difficult. I would just like to hear from someone how I could possibly expect to feel after a week? two weeks? when is the worst part over and the "downhill" part start? If I would have known this withdrawl (withdrawal) lasted so long I would have tried to kick my origional oxycontin habbit and skipped the suboxone proccess. Finding out these withdrawls last so long 5 days in puts a major dampen on my hope. Any response is greatly appreciated I will be watching this post as I know I will not sleep tonight. Help please!

[feohmoon]

Try not to get discouraged because you were on a low dose so it will be somewhat easier for you.  There are alot of people on here that are very educated and supportive, MedHelp is an excellent outlet for you and can provide a lot of help.  Check out the Thomas Recipe and drink plenty of water, exercise, eat healthy...it is easier to say than to do, I know, but it really does help.  
Do not allow yourself to get down because everyone is different and positive thinking will carry us a long way.

[BrentD]

Thank you so much for response. I have been sitting here looking at my screen since I made my post. Also I went shopping with a friend the other night who suggested I bought healthy foods and ended up buying a lot of fruit, cereal, soups, and other things that sounded good so im somewhat stocked up on some healthy food for this. Its fairly hard to eat right now though I almost have to force food down, is this common? I will check out the Thomas recipe though as well, thanks again for response its greatly appreciated.

[feohmoon]

It is hard to eat but try your best to get good nutrition as it goes a long way in helping our bodies to heal.  That is great that you picked that stuff up because that is exactly what you need,  
2.5 years ago, my fiance and I successfully detoxed from methadone and it was rough but we made it through and you will too.  I wish that was the happy end of the story  and we were completely successful but that just is not the case.  We were successful in detoxing from methadone and staying clean for months before falling back into that vicious cycle.  Now here we are again over 2 years later, detoxing from suboxone - just like you - It is small amounts and this is our first day with nothing...so it is hard but it helps to have others go through it with you.
Keep posting.

[BrentD]

I am in the same boat. I have detoxed from oxycontin, methadone, and now suboxone. Although none of them were a successfu month or two this is the first time I am very committed to being clean from here on out. The hardest part for me so far has been I have let my family down so many times in the past by relapsing and they now think I have been clean for a year while I was really on suboxone the whole time. I was just talking to a friend and decided tomorrow I need to tell my mom and dad because the disapointment it may cause would be well overweighed with their support that I greatly need right now. Also by telling them I feel it will help me stay away from it that much more. Thank you so much its nice to have someone to talk to in these dark times that actually knows how I am feeling. I hope the best for you and your fiance and thank you very much for your support.

-Brent

[BrentD]

Midnight and beginning of day 6. I almost think its not worth while to hop in bed as I can lay there comfortably for about 15 minutes and once I start rocking It doesnt stop and the night becomes hell. I have realized that the scolding hot showers though almost make me feel completely normal for up to 20 minutes after. On my day 5 I had lots of chills,lack of energy and motivation to do anything, yet sitting around drives me nuts. No headaches or runs and I dont know if I should be expecting that to come or if they were to happen they would have by now. I will be letting my parents know what I am going through today in hopes to gain their support which is much needed right now. I thank this forum and feohmoon for the help getting through day 5.

[feohmoon]

What a miserable night...I had a terrible time trying to sleep and spent the majority of the night tossing and turning, sweating and freezing.  Hope it is going better for you.
I think talking with your parents is a great idea because their support will really help your recovery.  
Last night, my shower helped for a few minutes before I was clammy again and felt as if I had not showered in days.  That is ok, I will take what I can get and a glimmer of hope is a glimmer of hope, regardless of how short lived it is.
You are doing great, day 6 is quite an achievement and you should be proud.

[BrentD]

I heard my messege come up while rocking around in bed. You basically described what I am going through word for word tonight along with the previous nights. This is the worst part for me. Roughing out a whole day which seems like forever just to have night come and not only not be able to sleep but not lay in bed comfortably is the WORST. Ive took 3 scolding showers because for a good bit after I almost feel like I have no w/d symptoms at all. I think the past 6 days I have aquired maybe 2-3 hours of sleep. Things could be worse I guess, and every night struggled through is more time on the clean clock. Hope you're managing well and stick with me through this. Cant wait to have a first night of some actual sleep.

[feohmoon]

The lack of sleep accentuates every other withdrawal symptom thus making it seem much more difficult and a lot longer too.  The nights seem to last forever but at least another day has passed and that is another day farther away from pills.  
Showers help once I get out and get dried off, but when I first step into the shower, it is excrutiating with the hot and cold feeling and pins and needles all over the body.
I am not a fan of country music but there is a song that you can find on you tube called 'If You're Going Through Hell'...listen to the words...it helps.
Hope you get some sleep...I will be here today, talk with you after you get some good rest.

[guv338]

You are both doing great. Reading your posts bring back very vivid memories of Jan 2009 for me.  I don't have any miracle cure to offer but only encouragement that you can do this and will one day be so glad that you stuck it out and got this behind you.  Life is too short to live under the power of opiates.  Just accept where you are right now and fight for each new day clean. Time is the only thing that will get you to the other side.  My best to both of you and you are in my prayers. Keep up the fight.  Refuse to go back.  guv

[BrentD]

Thanks guv, words of encouragement help alot when the bad waves hit. Suprisingly I think I managed to fall a sleep from somewhere between 4-5am to 9:30am, the most sleep I have caught so far and it felt great looking at my clock when I got up seeing not a few minutes had passed but a few hours. Hoping for more of these nights to come!

[feohmoon]

I am glad that you got some rest...that really helps.  Last night ws absolutely miserable and I know there will be more to come.  
We have to leave our little warm and cozy house and venture out to pay a couple of bills, run some errands and pick up some groceries...ugh.  We want to put it off but we also want to eat...we cannot out it off any longer.  I am so introverted and such a recluse (sp?) when I am feeling bad like this.  I am so angry with myself for having arrived here again but we will persevere.  Wish us luck as we venture out on this rough day.  It is cold here too and I freeze so badly anyway...we also drive a jeep and our back window is out (we could zip it up but that is no quick or easy task especially in the cold)  Thanks for listening to me whine.  
Talk with you soon...keep taking care of yourself, we are going to get past this.

[BrentD]

I have been with my parents since I woke up this morning and their support is unbelievable. I feel that going 5 days without them and now having them on my side and not mad is going to make it soooo much better. Yeah going to do things as simple as grocery shopping takes a lot of motivation for me to get up and actually go do as well, but it needs to be done and results with feeling good to get out and do something even though its very hard. Keep warm and hope your day is going as good as possible. My hopes and confidence to get through this have gone up by a ton today.

[feohmoon]

That is awesome that you have a good family who is a strong support system, that really does make all the difference.  It is good to hear that your day has gone well.  You even 'sound' different than earlier (you might even catch some sleep tonight)  You are absolutely right about feeling better by getting out - even though it seemed unappealing and was excrutiating walking through the grocery store, it helped us feel better overall I think.
Honestly, I knew this would be rough but I was not expecting this...it is eerily familiar to methadone withdrawals.  The difference is that this comes in waves so there have been a couple of times today I have felt ok, but the sweats, chills, aches, pains and anxiety never seem to be far around the corner.  At least that is a sign that the toxins are leaving the body.  
The Natural Calm makes a big difference and I believe that has helped tremendously.  I am so ready for this to be over and no looking back.

[BrentD]

Today was a great day in general. From the moment of waking up and seeing I caught some actual sleep and didnt wake up to my bed sopping wet started the day well. After the day going by faster than any previous days so far because of being with family and getting out of the house a little bit has put me in a fantastic mental state. Also this midnight marks my day seven which I have been anxiously waiting to get to. I think by being in such a better mental mindset I will notice all the symptoms getting better even if they are miniscual. I think staying in a bad one would just keep dredding the sypmtoms that still are there and you wouldnt be able to notice the little changes happening for the better. I still dont feel great, but I know every day will be better than the last. I hope this gives you something to look forward to in a short time to come. As always, I hope you and your fiance keep high hopes and are managing well.

[feohmoon]

That is great that you are feeling so much better - getting out with your parents sounds like it was very beneficial for you.  That is awesome that you have that support.
Ugh...I really just did not expect to feel this bad.  What little bit of sleep I was able to get last night was interrupted by patchy, insane dreams and miserable sweats.  This morning, I cannot seem to stay out of the bathroom.  Feeling so bad.

[feohmoon]

I am so nauseus this morning...and I feel like I am going to jump out of myc skin.  Was day 3 like this for you?

[BrentD]

Yeah I wasnt expecting this at all either. I thought it would be fairly easy, boy was I wrong. I aslo have lots of dreams and weird / scary ones I hate them. Yes it was day 4 for me and I had the jump out of my skin thing going on and it was the worst day for me I was going nuts. I made it through that day and it was the only one I had like that. I hope the same is for you and after today that wont come back. You can look forward to better days coming soon. Wish you the best.

[BrentD]

My dads laptop broke before I started coming off subs and I took on the project to fix it for him. The parts arrived today and the lap top was in as many pieces as it could possibly be in so it gave me a nice project to work on today. After getting it all back together and working and saving my dad tons of money in the proccess feels great all together. Im finding little projects like this that are self rewarding in the end really help bring more of the good "waves" than the bad in these hard days. Feoh I hope you are doing well, rough out those first miserable days and I promise theres better ones to come, sooner than I could have ever hoped. I still feel like crap, but I am finding ways to take my mind off of it and it helps!

[Iwant2Bclean]

I just wanted to message real quick and tell you that I am 11 days off 2mg of Sub's. I have not felt this good in so long I can't remember. I was scared to death of what was to come when I came off them and I was scared for no reason. The WD's were nothing more than spending some time on the commode. I was also having some issues with low Potassium and think that may have played more of a role than actual WD's. I know everyday will bring something new but I really feel I have the Subs kicked. No looking back. I wish you all the best and if you ever want to chat I am here! Always nice to have somebody going through the same thing to talk to!
Krissy

[BrentD]

I was very scared too especially when I started finding out the suboxone 1/2 life is much longer than regular opiates, it was a real downer finding that out. Your posts were one of the first few I read on this site and it really made me realize its possible to get over sooner than alot of the things I was reading were saying. You have been an inspiration from getting over it so quick and having such a great attitude about life now. Thanks for letting me know these crap days do end, and theres a great life to be lived dependant free afterwords. Glad to hear you are doing so well.

Brent

[Iwant2Bclean]

I had heard all the horror stories about Suboxone and that it would be hard to get off of and blah blah blah. Well I was running out of options and Suboxone was the only one I had. I went for it and I will thank God everyday for getting me through it. 8 months is not a long time to be on something but in a way it is when you are an addict. I just said enough is enough I don't want to depend on a pill to get me through the day. Suboxone would have been that for me if I was on it any longer. Out of the 6 that started Sub's the same day I did I am the only one that made it. Out of 100 total there was like 10 of us that made it. The ones that didn't had no desire to get clean. Most did it to keep from getting sick when they ran out of their DOC. They would come in get the therapy get their script fill it go home sell what they could and get their DOC and hold onto the Sub's til the DOC was gone. Ppl like that really make me mad. There is so many ppl where I live trying to get in this program and have to wait cause they have all they can take. This world is sure full of some wack jobs. Brent feel free to message me anytime. I love to talk and if I can help somebody along the way that makes it all that much more enjoyable. Just know you are not alone and these bad days will soon be filled with nothing but good days.

[BrentD]

I know exactly what you are talking about with the majority of people using suboxone to get by when they dont have their DOC. Most of the people I know here do the same thing. For the year or two I was on suboxone, I was getting it from someone who simply sold his suboxone script to go and get his more desired drug with the money.Stupid. I abused oxycontin for 3-4 years and went straight to suboxone for about a year and a half. It saved me in the sense I would never think about doing oxy and had no desire to, and wasnt making me do stupid things to get it. So all together I havent been completely sober and felt normal since I was 18 (6 years ago). I have few good friends left that are clean but they help me really want to live a normal life again. I cant wait and the days are brightening up already it seems. Thank you for the encouragement. And when you say messege, is there a way talk other than on the forum? I havent explored around much so the only way I know of communicating to people is through this post.

[worried878]

Congrats

u r so close
sub and methadone have a long halflife so wds are often longer than other drugs
Many times wds from these drugs will not really affect a person physically for up to 3 days

It is great u have decided to be drug free

be sure u have a plan and a support sustem

keep moving forward

[worried878]

h sleep

Valerian root was good for me..many like melatonin...tylenol pm and benadryl products are also used to help just thru the hard part...5htp at night also helped me sleep

there r safe drugs like phenergan that is for tummy viruses that will induce sleep as well..moost drs will call it in as it is not a drug of abuse

good luck and hang tight

[worried878]

OH    LOL

Natural tricks for sleep
I didnt have sleep issues during wds but did major time after my divorce

a cold room//sub zero if u can..i have aportable ac in my window..a fan whatever as it slows the metablolism and induces sleep...bundle up!

If you have tried for an hour to sleep, it is often a good idea to leave your room for 30 minutes of so as it is easy associate the agonly of tossing and turning with your bedroom

Keep it dark in your room..have ear plugs if noise is an issue
Dont drink fluids or exrcise for 3-4 hrs before bed
a hot bath or shower right before bed can help sleep///making sure u have at least 30 minutes of down time before sacking out isd also important

Reading helps me, others us the tv or radio....whatever soothes u

[Iwant2Bclean]

You can message me on yahoo if you have it
Krissy_Fuda  is my user name.

[BrentD]

Thanks for all the tips! I have tried a couple of them but most of them are very good ideas that I havent tried yet, I will be seeing if any of them can help. Today was my day 7, its midnight here starting day 8. Most of the day today I felt the same as usual and then tonight I was walking around and I was like wow, I feel better in general. Its amazing I was still expecting another full week of pure hell. Im so happy! I think the remaining symptoms will start to die off as well from here, I can deffiniley see the light at the end of the tunnel now. Hope I can find one of your sleep tricks to work for me, that would be wonderful. Thanks for all the info and wishes.

[BrentD]

Didnt hear anything from you on your day 4 (which was my worst day by far). I hope you are still going strong and do the best you can. Im only 3 days ahead of you I think and as of tonight I was walking around and noticably felt better. Its amazing. Please push through these few more rough days and I promise the good ones come sooner than I would have ever thought! Best of luck, stay strong.

[feohmoon]

Yesterday was terrible, my fiance spent most of the day running around trying to pick up meds to help me stop throwing up.  I ended up taking an ativan (something very unusual for me as I do not take meds of that nature) because I felt as if I had a crazy amount of anxiety in my chest and throat, I could not type or sit still...I could not even watch TV.  I have never understood anxiety but if that is what I was feeling it is miserable.  
My stomach and throat is a little raw today but nothing like yesterday, if I can just avoid those feelings again I know I can make it.  It did make me realize that my regular withdrawals are not unbearable.  
So glad to hear that you are doing well and I cannot wait to have a couple more days of clean time as I know it gets better each day after this.

[BrentD]

I understand exactly how you are feeling. Anxiety is extremely frustrating and uncomfortable and it seems to have a massive presence during these times. Yesterday I had a movie on and I actually started watching it, all the time before I would just play them to have background noise and something going on in my room. I think thats a slight sign of it starting to go away. If your w/d goes anything like mine, the worst day is over and over the next few days I hope you notice little things going away and getting better. Right now the biggest thing I notice is the chills. I still get them a bit and they make me uncomfortable at times, but hey....if thats it then I feel like im home free. I do still have a little anxiety, still kinda hard to sleep BUT I am sleeping, and my stomach sometimes makes me feel like I have to burp but I dont and it in return makes it feel like I have a knife in my throat. All these remaining symptoms were  far worse before so it feels like they are very managable now. Better days are just around the corner. Keep going strong, both of you! Will feel so good for this to be over and never look back. Normal life #1.  

Brent

[feohmoon]

It makes a huge difference to have people to interact with that are experiencing the same thing.  Anxiety is not something I am accustomed to so I have a new found respect for people living with that feelling of dread...how miserable.
I am feeling better than yesterday, the chills stick around for a bit longer but as you said, if that is all that is left...we have definately got this.  Schoolwork is causing some stress which is intensifying the withdrawal symptoms that I have.  Bad timing for that but it has to be done.  It is all I can do to concentrate enough to be productive.

[BrentD]

Day 8! I broke that week barrier that I have never been able to do in the past, although I have never been this devoted. I remember a couple times I would run out of my subs and be like alright lets just do this, and 4 days in I would end up going and picking some up. Then a month after that I think WOW that month flew by I wish I would have kept those 4 days rolling I would be completely fine by now. Feels so good knowing at the end of this month I can look back and not have regret and wished I had kept going, but actually DID keep going. Every day being added sub free feels phenominal, I love the feeling of the days clean growing larger and larger.

[BrentD]

On my day 4-5 I was expecting my dads lap top parts to come to fix it, and I honestly didnt even know if I could think enough or clear enough to where I should even attempt to be messing with it. The parts ended up coming day 7 and I thought oh well I will tinker with it here and there when I feel comfortable. I ended up putting the whole thing back together all in one shot and it works like a charm. It was only a couple days before that the thought of working on it simply made my mind hurt. I think you are close to those days ending and you will be able to concentrate more on your schoolwork without having such a cloudy mind. Very glad to hear you are feeling better than yesterday, everyday now should be better!