HELP! switching from methadone to suboxone

[Mlo25]

Hi, i was clean for a lil over a year and relapses almost 2 months ago on heroin. I stayed on it for about 3 weeks and then went and got on methadone mant and now have gone from 40mg to 90mg in almost 4 weeks. Two days ago i stopped going to the clinic and i got ahold of 3 suboxone 8mg strips and i was wondering if i can start taking them tmrw when W/D kicks in hard. I will be 3 days of methadone. Also ive had some friends cut the strips in quarters and take 2mg at a time and not get sick. True or false? Also my friend did a study on suboxone and he said he descovered that the brain can only obsorb 2mg of the sub in a dose. Has anyone els herd of this? Thank u for the help its greatly appreciated

[AmyK318]

I just wanted to add, as well as confirm what u said in your comment about switching to suboxone from methadone so quickly! I can attest to the fact that some of the most awful w/d that I ever experienced was by doing just that!!! Those w/d's didn't even compare to pain pill w/d!!!!!  I had been on methadone at the time for about 5 years @ 120mg & began working for some doctors that prescribed sub. As I would take the patients back to their exam rooms I'd ask about their experience being on the sub & I never heard anything negative, so I decided I wanted to give it a try! Well, having faith in the docs that I was working for, I came clean & told them about my addiction, how much methadone I was taking, for how long, etc., and that I wanted to try suboxone! Well, considering they had to be specially trained to be able to prescribe suboxone, I trusted they knew what they were doing when they told me that all I needed to do was be off the methadone for 72 hours!! So, I didn't dose come that next Friday & spent the weekend w/o methadone so I could begin my "new life" (no more clinics)!! I had taken that Monday off as well & thank God I did because by the time I got home (after he gave me my first dose in the office) I was experiencing the worst w/d I had EVER EVER had!!!!! Needless to say, I ended up going back & staying on the methadone, which I'm still on today. I've been clean & on MMT for 9 years as of May 15th!

Anyhow, I just wanted to share my experience with everyone & hope that no one will have to go through what I did!! Good luck to all of u that are still struggling & I hope what ever way u choose to get off opiates is successful!! And, just remember, do what YOU feel is right.....just because your choice of therapy didn't work for another doesn't mean it won't work for you!!!!

[EvolverU]

Hi there,

I'd like to roundly agree w/. everything Motye & NG said. I would also like to strongly caution you that taking Subs 72 hrs. after your last dose of M'done represents a real risk of what are commonly known as 'precipitated withdrawals' which are 20 times (figure I just made up;) worse than regular acute withdrawals. I've seen this happen in real life & it's horrific. While most folks are probably safe after 72 hrs. off M'done taking their first dose of Subs., some aren't. M'done has a very long half life & if enough of it is not out of your system, the Subs, which bind to the receptor sites more tenaciously than any other opiate will completely & suddenly block the residual waning effect of the M'done (a full agonist/painkiller) on the Mu receptor site w/o replacing it with an equivalent effect (as subs are only a partial agonist & are also an 'antogonist'). So, in certain individuals, if taken too soon, it might take days of Bupe adminstration before the person starts to feel better. I'm not saying this to alarm you but to educate you as to the possibilities!

Besides, take it from me & others on this forum -- there's no magic bullet!! You can switch from one opiate to another..to another -- you'll still have to deal with w/d's in the end. The longer you wait the harder it will be. That's the simple Truth of the matter. A good plan & some serious soul-searching is called for before you embark on this because to tell you the truth, the real problem is not the physical w/d from Heroin/M'done or Subs (& I've done all three) -- as horrible as they are -- the real challenge lies in staying clean. That's why we relapse. That's why it's called a disease. Otherwise we'd kick the physical habit & stay clean, no? Having to learn to sit in our own skins no matter what life throws our way is the monumental challenge that faces us after 'detox' & understanding this is of paramount if you want to get & stay clean.

I so feel for you & want you to know that you're in the right place. Please, keep posting & let us know what you're thinking & feeling :))

[beatbutnotbroken]

Hello there...well it is all about what you want to do..me I am proud 20 days clean off a 5 year run with methadone got upto 105mg then tapered to 45mg and jumped.(at a clinic the pink juice) I am 35 male and went thru some terrible times and still am but I want to be free from the chains of addiction. We're addicts and I know now that if I want to be free I will have to work on changing everything that I used tobe when I was using. Main thing is that you have to do what you want. If you think you cant live FREE from the disease of addiction then the sub is good but u are bound to it. But if you truly want to be FREE you will have to fight for it. I get up everyday now and push myself to the limits and I know that I will live a long and happy life with out needing something to make me feel normal.  N/a and A/A and working the steps with a sponsor is what Im doing now.
Goodluck it is your LIFE........

[nursegirl6572]

I agree with motye, that you'd be better off just coming off the Methadone, you have an advantage in that you weren't on it too too long.  REALLY, it would have been ideal if you hadn't went to Methadone either, and just endured the heroin w/ds.  

I would really recommend getting some professional help and doing this the RIGHT way.  Buying subs off the street is just self medicating, addict behavior, it isn't recovery.  You're also stuck in the cycle of medicating away w/ds, going from one opiate to another.  You need off that merry go round.

My advice is to do a somewhat brief taper (due to the short period of time you took the Methadone), get down to a low dose, then jump.  Make SURE you're diving into aftercare....you need to do the WORK not just get clean.

Very best to you, keep posting.

[kerri0219]

Hi! I was on methadone for almost 3 years. . My highest dose was 105mg.. I detoxed for over 2 years and got down to 35mg.. When I got down to 35mg the clinic dr told me that he didn't think I was ready to come off of methadone because I was only 28.. I was in shock after that was the whole plan for over two years. . I was so angry, I stormed out and never went back again. . By night 3 I really felt like **** so I took a half of an 8mg suboxone film (4mg) and within 15mins I felt like a new person.. It took all withdrawal symptoms away. . That was July, 2013.. I have been on Suboxone for a year now. . I take 12mg per day and I haven't had cravings or anything. I didn't realize how much methadone actually affected my mind and personality and my mood and my outlook on life until after I was off of it.. Suboxone, in my opinion is a miracle! I don't get high off of it, it doesn't change me and like I said I have had no cravings at all! Oh and waking up every day and not having to go to a methadone clinic is a great thing!!!! But I waited a little less than 72hrs than took 4mg of suboxone and I never felt better! Good luck

[motye51]

I csn say, as having been on suboxone for almost 7 yrs, thats not really going to work. If im understanding this right you are going to use the 3 subs to ward off w/d from the methadone, right? Methadone and sub w/d is longer than opiate and h w/d and all your going to end up doing is switching methadone for suboxone. I know the w/d from methadone ***** *** but SO DOES SUB W/D!!! you would do better to just w/d off the methadone. Using the subs u r going to make this last longer. #2...No, i do think the neurotransmitters can absorb more than 2mg, as it has a build up affect. Thats how subs work, over time. I picked up the subs after a long time on opiates and i now know it was a big mistake. Think of it this way..if u break up the subs into 2mg pcs and take one every day for roughly 2^3 weeks, thats enough for it to build up on your brain that when your out you will w/d off the subs, even just 2mg!!! Not really sure this is the way to go. Please be very careful.