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Detoxing from Suboxone, please help

I have used heroin for 7 years. When it finally got to a point where its quit or die I ended up on methadone for a year and then suboxone. Problem is I have been on suboxone for roughly 4 years. Last Thursday (May 19th, 2011) I took my last dose, .5 MG in the morning. Now its 4 days later and my withdrawal is only getting worst. It is especially bad at night. I came off of heroin before and it was bad, much worst than this, but got better with every day, however, with suboxone it seems to get worst every day. On 2nd night I took 5mg of xanax and still could not pass out.

Please help me, how long does suboxone withdrawal last? what can I do to make it more bearable? The body aches and inability to sleep is killing me and is severely hurting my work performance.
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Avatar universal
hey great job zeke! stay strong!
nah, i bet the back pain is form the detox.  you have a heating pad you can put on it all night? might help. and so can some plain old motrin or something like that.(i always thought what the heck can some OTC pathetic med do for pain when i am coming off of one of the strongest pain killers known to mankind? well amazingly enough- a lot! try it). clonodine i always think isn't helping me much either, but then again feeling sleepy sure beats feeling restless as all h*ll and agitated. and it seems to help with the crawling skin thing too.
you taking any vitamins or supplements type of things? they can help you feel better too but more importantly they help heal the chemical abuse your body/brain has been through, any exercise that you can force yourself to do helps too. (although i have to be honest and say the most i could ever manage was walking from bed to bathroom- but you are working so you're way more functional than i ever was while detoxing- just done it too many times and am older. trust me it gets worse and worse later on in life). and try to stay away from sugar- eat as healthy as you can. if you have access to a jacuzzi or sauna use them. hmm...sex is a good idea too if you can. help your body/brain get used to making it's own 'feel good chemicals' again, it has been a long long time since it has been called onto do so and really that is what detox is all about. anything you can do to speed up the healing and get your own natural 'feel good chemicals' will help get you to the other side of your detox.

just keep reminding yourself that you've come too far to throw it away now. it will break- just when you've given up hope that it ever will. put another big X through the day tonight on your calender and smile that you made it through another day. it will be so worth it when this is all over!
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Avatar universal
Day 14 and still feeling mild to strong withdrawal symptoms. Feels like my bones are being twisted, especially joints and my lower back has been in non-stop pain for 14 days now.

Starting clonodine today on top of 1.5mg of xanax as prescribed by the doctor, but as a trade of stopping flexaril. So far the first clonodine hasnt done much to make me feel better, just made me very sleepy.

Starting to wonder if this back pain is from withdrawals or maybe I have had back problems that suboxone kept me from feeling.
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Avatar universal
Thank you for the kind words! Day 11, still not sleeping at all and back still hurts really bad. Stopped taking flexaril few days ago, dont want to abuse another substance, besides, wiki said its only effective first few days, then it becomes less and less effective.

Just hoping the rest of the WD effects go away soon, bones still ache, still get hot flashes, and overall still feeling uncomfortable:(
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Avatar universal
Zeke, you are a legend mate, keep it up buddy, stay strong and it does get better.

mtdorashane, thats awesome inspiration.

i have a new saying i say to myself in my head "if i cant defiet myself then you have no hope" ........... you have the strength to beat the most difficult challenge you have ever faced in your life, imagine what you can achieve when you get over it and point your mind in other positive directions
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Avatar universal
Great Job Man!!!!!!!!!   I was never on subox but i was on methadone for 2 years.. detox was unbelieveable.  So i kinda know what your going thru, Stay strong man.. Life is going to get so much better for you!!!!!!   I could not mow my yard with out getting sick last year but last month i raced a 25 mile mount bike race and went to work that night feeling great!
You have a lot to look forward to!!!!!!!! It really is like a new life!!!   good luck
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Avatar universal
Dear Henry:

Thank you so very much for the words of encouragement, it made me feel that much better knowing that someone else has gone through what im going through successfully.

Right now I am on day 10, RLS is not bad, but my lower back is killing me, despite taking edication for it (such as ibuprofen 800mg and flexaril).

I was able to get a bit of sleep today and to no surprise ive dreamed of using heroin, felt so good when I woke up and realized it was only just a dream.

Im just taking it 1 day at a time and hoping to get better, but more importantly, to break free!

One thing that I can share that I learned from cold turkey suboxone DT is as follows:
Suboxone half-life is 20 to 72 hours, avg being 37 according to wiki. Weather it be 1 half-life cycle, or 2 half life cycles, I noticed that every 72 hours my condition changed. Days 1, 2, and 3 were restlessness, and inability to sleep with minor discomfort. Day 4 my withdrawal kicked in full throttle, I mean it was bad, and that too lasted for 3 days or 72 hours. Afterwards I felt a bit better and my condition hasnt changed again for 3 days. Just woke up on day 10, wondering what if anything will change, hopefully for better.

But once again, I think if someone as weak, gullible, and with no pain tolerance like me can do this, so can many other people suffering from addiction. I am 100% determined to get through this and to be my old normal self, to be bale to be happy and enjoy life and not start sweating when my pill bottle has only 1 pill left, begging the doc for the next script.
Helpful - 0
569676 tn?1315641158
Hey bud,

Congrats on your accomplishments so far.  Suboxone detox is no joke, and I wish some of the docs I had been to had told me what I was in for. hind sight being 20/20, its was probablly for the best.

I detoxed off of suboxone May 18th, 2010 after three years of treatment. My final jumping dose was 3mgs. I had just had enough, and decided to make my bullheaded self just do it.

It wasnt torture by any means, but not pleasant.  As you are finding out now. By day 10, I was feeling a world better than earlier that week, but the leg cramps, RLS, and insomnia still prevailed.  These obnoxoous symptoms persisted for about another week, and started to wane after that.  The last thing to start coming back was some kind of normal sleep, which was noticeablly better at 4 weeks post my last dose of sub.

I just wanted to give you a bit of motivation, and a first testament that it certainly does get better and can be done.  I celebrated my 1 year of clean time 10 days ago, all after 12 years of use and havent looked back.  

Just remeber two things... The severity and length of withdrawals is not necessarily all from the buprenoprhine itself.  It does have its own withdrawals, but the length and intensity is directly related to your previous DOC's Intensity and frequency of use.  Most people curse the "Blasted sub" for their prolonged agony, but its actually our using "Resume" that will determine our sub withdrawals.

After this is all said and done, stick around here... offer what you have learned and experienced to the others still suffering.  I hate to be all NA Cliche, but the most important thing I learned from my recovery is "We can only keep what we have by giving it away"

Hang in there, its all downhill from here as far as physical stuff goes! :-)

Henry
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Avatar universal
WoW, I was on 4mg, went down to 2 to 1 to .5 rapidly (within a month) and my withdrawal is still hurting me 9th day in. I cant believe you were able to do 20,16,8 to 0 and survive it without relapsing.

I guess us addicts can be strong :)
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi,
I'm pretty new to this forum but not drugs. I use to take 30 vicodinES a day & I was highly functioning, wanted to get off - so I was on suboxone for 4 years, 20mg a day everytime I wanted to take it down the dr said no.  I INSISTED, spent 1 nite in a creepy rehab cked out with no suboxone.  He would not refill it, so I went from 20 to 16,8 to 0 I thought I was dying, I think I threw up things from 5th grade. I found a Dr. who detoxed me in his office/home. But the withdrawal from that drug is worse than just opiates, it has something evil in it. And it costs a fortune. It's been over a year since that horror. I'm addicted to fiorcet now, I have severe migraines. But I feel you. I think the pharmecetical companies own some of these dr, cuz they keep writing these scripts. It's not meant for long term use.(suboxone)

Take care
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Avatar universal
I believe it and agree.  It's pure, evil greed at it's finest.  Who's going to listen to a bunch of addicts on suboxone anyway, right?  Our word lacks credibility and they can just attribute failing or relapsing to addict behavior and not misinformation on their part.
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Avatar universal
I have gone through heroin withdrawal multiple times using a single tea spoon of an 80mg methadone dosage (roughly 1/10th) bought off the street and most likely diluted, yet methadone clinics have you taking 80-100mg daily.

Mind you after taking a tea spoon for few days I did not withdraw from methadone and was fine to go, its just my craving for IV heroin always sucked me back in.

They deliberately put you on insanely high dosages to keep you hooked forever to keep sucking money out of you.
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Avatar universal
Glad to hear you are doing a little better, any progress is good progress.  Today is day 14 of sub for me and I'm going to try to make it my last at .50.  Prior 2 days was 1mg.  The more I read the more I am convinced the suboxone makers are money hungry liars.  I knew going in the things you speak of but did you know them, or does everyone know there subject to severe WD?  My sub doc prescribed 1-2 8mg tabs per day, saying I would probably be 1 1/2, possibly the 2 per day.  Gave me 60 of them for a month.  I knew this was not needed so I took 6mg the first day and was fine, maybe a slight buzz even so I probably could have taken less.  It seems the majority of sub docs believe everything they are told by the sub makers.  It's not like they are going to listen to the addict patients anyway.  If I did not have insurance my script would have cost $450.  Funny how the cash price of my DOC, perks 10mg was way less, like $60-80 for over a hundred pills.  How is it, after everyone who has taken this medication, they don't know that far less is needed and for a shorter period of time?
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Avatar universal
Day 8, feeling a little better than day 7. I think the severe pain has subsided and depression, lethargy, and fatigue are setting in.

One thing I can say for certain is having people near you is the true miracle cure. If I was alone I would not have tolerated 7 days of severe pain, not talking minor discomfort, but the kind of pain that makes you want to kill yourself. I tapered rapidly from 4 mg to 2 mg to 1 to .5 within a 1 month period I believe and I was feeling fine as I kept cutting because I was determined.

I still am determined and its become easier to tolerate the pain in bones (especially back, knees, and elbows). Still cant sleep even with xanax. Took flexaril on day 5 6 and 7, not taking it today if I can help it.

Either way, if someone as weak and gullible as me, who has been addicted to opiates for 14 years and has 0 pain tolerance can make it then anyone can!
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Avatar universal
YEAH TO THE FLUSHING OF THE TRAMADOL!!!!! =) What a wonderful decition that was!!!! Your doing soooo great!!! You should be proud, you are breaking free, and soon to be having a wonderful, amazing life again!!!

Keep up the GREAT work!!!!
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Avatar universal
Today is 7th day without suboxone. First 3 days were soso, and I thought I got through it. Day 4 withdrawal kicked in full throttle, it got really bad. Day 5 was pretty bad too. I went to see my family doctor and she prescribed me tramadol for pain. I asked her and pharmacist if it was an opiate, and I was told no.

After I took tramadol I immediately got to feeling better which frightened me and caused me to have panic attack. I found out that tramadol is basically synthetic codeine and thats why it relieved some of my symptoms, I quickly flushed it down the toilet.

Today is day 7 and I finally feel a lil better, RSL subsided a little bit and im able to sleep a little better. After 4 years of suboxone its like being born again, free of bonds, while I feel restless, weak, lethargic, and severely depressed, I am also happy to be breaking free.
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Avatar universal
If I could change anything it would be not getting on heroin IV :)
I got on sub's because I was using methadone for a year, buying it on the street, and I was told that methadone detox is hell, my friend suggested I get on subs.

In years that ive stayed on them I got my life in order, got a decent job, etc, etc and I am completely free of any drug craving. Ive been wanting to get off of subs for a long time and finally opportunity presented itself, I just had to rush the tapering.

Another problem was the fact that I didnt research what I was doing, sort of best guestimate judging by my previous heroin experiences, but now I am learning the painful fact that suboxone lingers much longer than 72 hrs.

So to answer your quest, I wish I had the strength to endure my original heroin withdrawal before switching to methadone, but I coudlnt. Going from methadone to sub's was the right decision however.
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Avatar universal
That's good to hear, I was hoping you didn't think I was pushing you to take something.  Thought that was kinda stupid of me to say after I posted it.  Keep up the good fighting spirt.  I hope it ends soon for you to.  You have come a long way even thou you are feeling down and bad.  Let me ask you, if you had this to do over, would you do the subs again? Would you have stayed on them this long or done a shorter tapper?  I'm not meaning to dwell in the past, just want to know from someone who has been there.
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Avatar universal
I didnt skip the day, I guess that was my mistake, but its too late now, im not going to use anything since ive already made it 5 days. I just pray it ends soon.
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Avatar universal
When you tappered down to .5, did you then do .25 and skip a day, then skid 2 days?  I have read somewhere it is that portion of the tapper that really makes a difference.  As to what you can do to help the WD, I really don't know.  I have read that some ADD meds seem to help with suboxone WD but I would not recommend that as I also read they are addicting as well.  You are easy prey for another addiction to get a hold of you with this state of mind.  The length of time a person is on sub seems to be one of the biggest factors in length of WD.  The more I am reading, the more I believe sub should not be used long term as long as aftercare is sought.  I am on day 11 of sub.  The doc told me to take 1-2 8mg per day.  I said sure but knew I wasn't going to be doing that after everything I read.  I took 6mg total for the first day and felt no WD.  I am down to 2mg on the 11th day and will be going down tomorrow more.  The more I see, the more I feel long term use is very bad news
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Avatar universal
Just called some detox place and they told me that my severe suboxone withdrawal is going to last upwards of 2 months and that me tapering down from 10mg to 2mg made no difference.

Can anyone who actually detoxed off of suboxone confirm any of it? are they just trying to rip people off and make $? how long does avg withdrawal last? Ive made it 5 days but its only getting worse and I dont know how much longer I can handle.
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Avatar universal
Thank you for the response. It is now day 5, the pain comes in flashes. At times it gets so bad that I feel like I will suffocate and at other times I feel almost normal.

Was able to get a few hours of sleep tonight (having taken 2mg of xanax), but now going crazy at work.

Going to see family doctor today, I hope she can prescribe me clonodine and more xanax. All in all im happy that I will be rid of suboxone and free of all addiction. I have been off of heroin for so long that I have 0 craving to get high, my life is pretty much in order, it just came with a price tag of suboxone addiction.
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185545 tn?1331074866
Hey there. Yup, I also agree that heroin withdrawal is far more intense and severe (for me it was) than suboxone and/or methadone withdrawals. I think the problem with withdrawing from long term maintenance therapies( suboxone/methadone) is the duration of the  comparatively mild symptoms rather than the intensity. It's like the death of 1000 cuts or water torture and it gnaws away at ones determination, commitment and resolve.

After 5- 6 days of worsening discomfort, symptoms should begin to subside. Talk with a doctor and explain your symptoms if you feel as though your detox is being compromised. Most doctors are happy to help and recognise the precarious nature of an addict in the detoxing phase of their recovery journey.

Clonidine can help as well as quinnine (anti-malerial) which was prescribed to me to help with muscle cramps. Bananas and/or Magnesium formulations can help with restless legs. Parecetamol (acetaminophen) will help to stabilise body temperature and temper the severity of the hold/cold sweats.

Night time and insomnia was far and away the worst symptom of all for me and I would struggle alone with my thoughts, flopping from side to side like a dying fish on land.  Most doctors are reluctant to prescribe benzodiazapine sophorifics (at least they are here in NZ) but there are over-the-counter sleeping aides which you can purchase. Unisom gels, fortified valerian concoctions or melatonin tablets can all help although I personally found them fairly ineffective. In the end I begged a doctor for a zopiclone Rx which he reluctantly caved and gave me one. LOL, I could have throttled him. 1 lousy sleeping pill. Anyway, I was grateful for that 1 tablet as it did help me to finally get some much needed sleep.

Well, I strongly recommend that you consult a doctor if you find the symptoms don't start to resolve themselves within the next day or 2.  It cant hurt to go regardless. Hang in there. It will get better.

All the best. Kind regards Jeremy (recovered addict)
3 years 6 months drug and alcohol free.
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Avatar universal
Hi!  Sub withdrawal gets worse before it gets better!  Sub has a longer half life so that means it hangs around longer in your body thus delaying the severe withdrawal.

Just take whatever OTC med that will treat each symptom. Try Melatonin for sleep...it's an amino acid and I take it when need be.

You need to be sure to eat well and definitely force the fluids!

Boxovet---You'll never stop if you continue snorting. That's like having two addictions and is hard to stop!
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Avatar universal
Thanks, its hell and getting worst. Called my pharmacy today and they said you can expect it to last 5 to 8 days, going to see my family doctor tomorrow, just dread nighttime, it gets really bad then.
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