detoxing off of suboxin

[cocospicer]

my son has been detoxing off suboxin for 4 days now. he says he feels like dying or that his heart is going to stop. he has ate or drank anything for 4 days. i'm worried! how do you know if you need to call 911? i've nvr been through this. of course i hv read alot abt detoxing off sub on line. he was plcd on sub by a medical dr 2mths ago to get him off methadone. he has no insurance and i cant afford to continue to pay for his drugs and dr's visit's. pls help.

[DrPharm]

As he goes through the withdrawals he is not going to want to eat because his brain has gone into survival mode for the drug. During this period all he want to think about is getting high. Going without food is fine for a short period of time, but he does need to drink SOMETHING. I would recommend one of my patients Pedialyte and Gatorade/Powerade. Pedialyte will help keep his electrolytes in balance

[TysonRed]

Just like the above posts food really isnt all that important, although if he can stomach something down it will help, but he really does need to keep hydrated. Depending on what dose he came off the length of w/d can vary from person to person. I was  on sub for 18wks and when I quit I had a good 10-14day period where I felt absolutely terrible. The first 3-7days were the worst physically, after that I started to notice some improvement with each day. Just be there for support, remind him of how important it is to gut this out, he will start to slowly feel better here soon. He really does need to get some fluids down, especially when you have diarrhea/vomiting just adds to the dehydration. Im not sure if this is possible for you but if he can see a doctor and get some clonidine it can help with the sweats, chills, heart racing etc. We've all been in that place where we really do feel like were dying, but without some sort of underlying condition opiate detox is actually pretty safe. If you have any questions feel free to send me a note or keep posting, being that its the weekend you may not get a ton of responses but I'll check back later to see if you have some questions or not. I wish you and your son the best of luck, he will get better as long as he sticks this out, make sure he gets some fluids down. Take Care.

[cocospicer]

IBKleen, this is cocospicer, did you get my reply back from the questions you had asked me? im new at this. i sent it abt 4-1/2 hrs ago.

[Shelwoy]

It does depend on some things.What dose he stopped at, duration of use, etc. From what I read his experience will definitely be very unpleasant and the unfortunate thing is that methadone withdrawal is long and agonizing.Suboxone can be bad as well, but not as bad as methadone.Your son is most likely still experiencing problems from the methadone on top of the suboxone.
You have to understand the way these drugs spark the neurotransmitters in the brain.Opiate replacement drugs have a very long half life, meaning they affect the brain longer than regular opiates.Methadone is really rough and effects(PAWS) from it even after ceasing to take it can last for months.
The worst of it should be over soon, but I would definitely look into some other meds,maybe an anti depressant. Do you think your son is going to use opiates again?