subutex/suboxone

HI, i have done a detox off a 2 year Subutex Addiction. I have been clean 11 Months and still seem to be getting withdrawal symptoms? Nothing like the initial symptoms, but bad enough How long can i expect this to last?.

[Julia M Aharonov, DO]

Eleven months is a very long time to still be experiencing residual withdrawals. I can only assume that we are talking about some depression and insomnia. Those can be handled by medications. Have you spoken to a physician about what you are feeling?  
You may be hiding some other emotions behind these symptoms. Did you go to a good talk therapist to figure out why you became addicted to begin with? Most people who get addicted, do so because of some other issue, unresolved childhood trauma, depression, etc...
If that issue remained unresolved, it may be surfacing now that you are clean and may not be related to withdrawal at all.
Please tackle this head on, so that the old devil does not rear its head again. Let us deal with  it and go on to health, clean life.

[blueer]

Thanks for responding. I have been an Addict For twenty years, and have done cognitive behaviour therapy in the past.I dealt with a lot of issues at that time. I had a really bad experience coming off these meds. Just like a cold turkey without meds!! That finished after a couple of weeks. I started to feel good then, all of a sudden, i started to get the full range of symptoms again. They are nowhere near as bad as the initial withdrawal, i must admit, but they are there. I know there is a lot of mind over matter with drug Addiction. I know thats not the problem here. I was at my wits end because of the symptoms and went to my doctor, two months ago, who prescribed sertraline for depression? Since posting here i have just gone and looked up Sertraline. It seems the side effects of that are very similar to withdrawal symptoms? Like i said i was getting symptoms before i started the Sertraline. In hindsight though it does seem to have gotten worse. Just let me add, when i went to my doctor it was more for my physical symptoms than mental ones. I have always suffered from Insomnia, probably due to my long term drug use, and have learned to cope with it.

[Julia M Aharonov, DO]

You are right, Zoloft can give you diarrhea, nausea, headache, insomnia...., but so can pretty much every drug you look up adverse effects for. I like Wellbutrin as in antidepressant for my patients, but if you look up its side effect, don't be surprised if you see similar, but not as much. See if he would try that for you instead.

[blueer]

Am i likely to feel any withdrawal from sertraline? The residual symptoms i have been feeling are Flu like symptoms. Basically like a mild withdrawal but without the cravings. Do you have any opinions on P.A.W.S. after using subutex long term? I dont normally get somatic, or prolonged symptoms when i have come off Heroin in the past.

[Julia M Aharonov, DO]

You should not get severe withdrawals with stopping sertraline, especially if you are going to Wellbutrin, but do so under medical supervision.
Buprenorphine, in general is not my favorite drug, I see that withdrawal from it is one of the most prolonged and painfully miserable of all opiates.  I do not think the taper it down enough when they stop it. And frankly, it is not my drug of choice to put it mildly. I practice very differently.  
It has it's uses, however.
You are right, Heroin has mush easier withdrawal process,  but it does not mean that you should go back on it.  :)

[blueer]

Thanks. there is no chance i will be going back on heroin!!!! Like i said, i have done quite a few detox's. None are real easy, to state the obvious. I think i have just been looking for some reassurance that the way i have been feeling for so long is down to the subs. I can normally get through my depression with natural methods, exersize.e.t.c. Thanks for your help. any suggestions will be appreciated. M