Agree with flmagi...............from what I have read you really have to go down to a sliver, which is my plan. Too many try to jump off at 1 or 2 mg. and that just does not work. I have my razor blade ready.......LOL. I will and I can do this even if I have to go down to 3 granuals.
I'm still at 3-4 mgs a day, so I can't give you my story. But my sister,allaboutmary, has been on the Sub the same time as me (about 4 months now), but has tappered down to barely a crumb and really hasn't suffered at all. She's getting ready to do the every other day thing. She has done this taper very slow. So I can say, I'm seeing the slow and low taper work without discomfort.
Soon I'll be telling you how I'm doing.
Jumping off at 1/2 mg is not the issue. I never even got up to a high dose. I maintained at 4mg. Almost all of these "success" stories of no WD are on drug company websites. During my WDs I heard from many people that the WD period sucked, and it lasts a long time. I was horrified. Then I read the Sub. faq on the health page and was even more scared. That faq is dead on, the longer you stay on Sub, the harder the WDs. I can't say this enough. THE LONGER YOU STAY ON SUB. THE HARDER THE WDs.
I am about at wits end to folks thinking Sub has no long term consequences as far as WDs go. I never took a high dose, and I went through HELL for almost 2 months. not weeks, months.
I will be the first to admit the drug gives you a great opportunity to make changes in your life. Would I have gone the Sub route if I had the information I have now? No way. The toll that stuff takes on your body is horrible. It is a must for some, and if it works, great.
Plz remember suboxone is only a tool to help you recover .Taking one pill to get off another pill is not going to teach you how to get and live clean ,but it will give you the opportunity to make a recovery plan and get counseling . It will give you the time to learn how to live you without your DOC. Sub is only the first step .
subaxone is like a miracle drug my husband goes to the clinic for it and shares his dose with me 3 8 mg. a day and they have been keeping us clean and off of the 2-3 80 mg oxys we were taking now for weeks
I just started Suboxone last week and the doctor told me there were no WD's from them and that he wants me to be on them for at least 6 months.. He also only gave me 7 pills and wants me to come in once a week for the first month then switch to every other week then monthly. Does this sound right? How are your doctors prescribing it to you? I have insurance thank God but it costs me $25 a visit plus $25 for each prescription refill.. so $50 a week right now... I know the end result is worth every penny but I just wanted to make sure this doctor has my problem in mind and not his wallet first.
I am also scared of the WD's at the end.. I could never try CT from the Oxy's, I would not make it to work and lose my job. He prescribed me 8mg tablets whcih seem to work for 24 hours but the last 3-4 hours I get cold sweats and feel the WD's comming on but minor. Is this normal?
Thanks for any help and good luck Chubbers!
Bob
I'm on sub on 3mg a day and doing really good been on it for 2 1/2 months and not had any cravings, yes I'm really scared of WD's after sub and don't know what is going to happend but what I do know is that I really want to be free of pills and that I think will keep me away from sub or lortabs but if I have to go back to sub I would do it again (so far).
chubbers sorry but I think you have ask this question before maybe I'm getting you confused but just do something about it I think you are ready just do it.
i am scared as he** for the tapering. But most of the success stories I read were those of people that did not jump off at 1/2. The went to 1/4, 1/8, then 1/16 with a razor blade.
In other words they went down to a shaving every day, then every other day, every 3 days, etc. I plan on taking that route. Seems to be successful. Good luck to me. LOL
I have been off of sub for a few months now. The WDs were very uncomfortable. There is a suboxone/subutex FAQ on the lower right hand corner of the page that is pretty dead on.
I really believe the length of time you are on it, will affect how your WDs will be. If you are on it for months, expect WD's, and expect them to last several weeks or longer.
Will tapering help? Sure, but you will still have WD's/
I maintained at 4mg for alm ost 6 months and jumped off at 1/2mg. It was living hell. Pull up my old posts to see the misery I went through.
But it did allow me to beat my craving and curb my life style. my profession gives me access to many different types of people, and I could be tempted to use again if I wanted to. Sub really prepared me for this season, and I am so glad I did it.
But it did have a cost, just remember that.
Chubbers..I am not really a sub advocate in most cases...but what are your choices? u need to write them down and find one u can live with to get clean....I am thinking u r using again but not sure.....it becomes a matter of what is left to try sometimes and this is one thing that u have not tried...I do know that you will have to be responsible with it and it is not going to keep u from relapsing later on after u quit the sub...u will have to change ur life choices as well....maybe it is worth a shot if u do it by strict guidelines and get aftercare....u have stayed clean a week tho and relapsed....gotta think it thru with your personality and your situation and make a responsible decision...i hope that u can find ur answer
I am also still on it. It has been a life saver. I am down to about 1/4 of a mg. I feel certain this time that I will not relapse after getting off it. Like Hop said it gives you time to learn to live without the pills. I highly recommend it. The biggest problem I see people posting about is the withdrawal when they jump off at too high a dose. I have tapered down to a crumb pretty painlessly.
Chubbers: I am still on it. I have talked to about 5 people who have successfully tapered off the sub. I had the same reservations about it also. It has been a life saver for me. Think of it like this. Even if you go through w/d symptoms you can still learn how to live without the pills and that is what is most important. Take it for what you will. For me, to learn how to go each day without craving pills and get all my habits back to normal is what is going to keep me clean.
I was on sub for 3 months and have now been off for 8 weeks I was on 2 mgs the whole time my dr was a buthead and wanted me to stay on them and i didint do enough research and jumped off at that dose and went thru bad w/ds but i have been clean now for 8 weeks and feel great dont have any cravings for my doc....I think if i could do it over again knowing what i know now i would do a short taper good luck