Is Suboxone good for detoxing off of methadone?

[jessica555]

I have been on methadone for 3 years. I had to get on it to transition off of oxy's, fentanyl, & hydros that I had been addicted to for 5 years.  (If I had known what I know now about methadone, I would have never started taking it).  I have titrated myself down from 100mg to 15mg. I have a Dr. who will prescribe suboxone for me to help the transition off of the methadone, but will only do it with the naltroxone in it and after I have detoxed myself off of methadone for 48hrs.  I can NOT imagine going 1 day without my methadone.  How in the heck am I suppose to do this?  Will it really make me that sick if I was not to do the withdraw thing for 2 days before dosing on the suboxone?  And does anyone know how long you really stay dope sick for after getting on the suboxone?  Thanks so much for your time!

Jessica

[lucyinthesky8]

question... i've been taking methadone for 2 years now. i was between 140-100 mgs up until last november when i decided i just couldn't do it anymore. methadone has turned my life into a complete hell, even worse than my career as a dope fiend. i've gotten myself down to 17 mgs as of today and i've recently run into a problem. transportation. my clinic is 45-60 minutes away and i lost my license a few months ago and somehow i've managed to make it there and back home every day for those passed few months but i've now run out of options as far as that goes. i'm pretty much facing full blown, full length methadone withdrawal which is something that absolutely terrifies me because i've gone through that a couple times before. the longest i lasted was 5 days and i was back in the clinic. i've heard a lot of people say that in a case like this where time is an issue it is much easier to go back to using for a week and then detox off of the drugs instead of trying to cold turkey off of methadone. this is something i might consider if i didn't know that i would lose everything that i have right now [family who is willing to help me, my boyfriend, my home, etc] so this is in no way an option for me. i feel confident enough to where if i had nothing to lose, then i would try it, but that is not an option for me. on the other hand, my boyfriend is prescribed to suboxone. i believe he is sitting at 10 mgs a day? i could be wrong but i'm 90% sure that is where he is at.. anyway, he told me that he would have enough suboxone daily that he could give to me so that he and i both would be fine. if i had the money i would just go to a suboxone clinic on my own, but i don't. i will be able to buy myself enough to time maybe drop down to 10 mgs of methadone before i have to leave the clinic. can you give me any information as to approximately how long i have to wait to start taking the suboxone considering my current methadone dosage and how long i've been taking it? what mg of sub should i start out with [if that's even an choice considering how much sub is available to me, i highly doubt he will cut his dose in half]? how sick will i be at first after taking the subs and how long will it last? it is also really important for me to be able to hold a waitressing job while i'm doing this transition [i start about 2 weeks from now so i don't currently have any income] but will that be possible with any withdrawals i might experience? i know for a fact that i will be completely out of commission for at least 30 days if i try and cold turkey the methadone.. what i really want is for this to all just be over with as soon as possible with the least amount of discomfort possible. i don't see that really happening though, it seems like it's gonna be one or the other.. least amount of discomfort or least amount of time... i suppose even if i couldn't hold a job during the transition, as long as the sickness wouldn't last for more than say maybe a week or two, i would still be interested in trying to switch to suboxone. you know, as long as it is less painful and takes less time than cold turkey methadone withdrawal.. i don't know, i'm realllly confused about this whole thing.. would this even be worth is considering the amount of suboxone we have to work with? any information would be GREATLY APPRECIATED! thank you so much!!

[weaver71]

Google the COWS scale, that is what the doctors are taught in their 8 hr class to prescribe subs. That will explain when to induce subs. I was on 100-200mg methadone a day for 3-4 years and switched to subs. It took me a little more than 48 hours to be convinced I would not enter precipitated withdrawal. I did a fast sub taper over 21 days. I am now going on 3 days without subs. I feel physically ill, but the obsession that methadone caused is not there. Sub gave me a chance to break the chain of addiction long enough to form a plan and do it. I would do a slower taper if I where to do it again, but I've come this far and am sticking to my plan no matter what. At 15mg methadone you should have an easier time of it and only need 4-8mg at induction of subs. It is like coming out of a bad dream. One minute I was sick and craving and 30 minutes later I was more clear than I had been in years. I needed that break from my obsessive mind. Make a plan and resolve yourself to it. The anxiety of what's next drives people crazy. I hope that helps, Keep us posted.

[wcolemitchell]

Hey Jessica, I think that taking anything while taking suboxone will make you quite sick. I'm not speaking from personal experience, just from what I've read.
I myself am on 110ml of methadone but am going down ten ml's every two Weeks. My goal is to switch to Suboxone to get rid of my side affects. i.e.: I've gained forty pounds, extreme sweating, so much so that I got fired from my landscaping job because my employer deemed out unsafe for me to be out there due to the amount of  perspiration. Methadone has complete control over my body and life. I heard Suboxone was way better but I'm kind of torn,I wonder of I should just check myself into a detox center and be done with it. Methadone has made me lose myself.I'm depressed and suicidal and I used to be outgoing and happy. I don't know who I am anymore.. any tips would be appreciated.

[1midnightchild]

Congradultions I really do wish the best, stay strong, it goes a long ways...
Mark Zamora, Peace and good luck...

[Sppac]

i was on methadone for about a year and i weened myself off to 5ml of methadone i then stopped dosing for 3 days and i did start to withdrawal the worst of it was the urgency of urinating like a UTI or something i didn't sleep well at all for 2 nights because of it... on the 3rd night (which was last night) i took 1 - 25mg tablet of benadryl and 2 Tylenol PM's it didn't seem to be working after about 2 hours of still having the urgency thing so i took about 1/4 of a suboxone that i had left over from my drug using days and EVERYTHING seemed to disappear and i slept like a champion i did wake up with the shakes and a little groggy because of the PM's but its gone... even though i have very little shacks i took another little chunk (less then a quarter of a suboxone) and i feel 100x better than every before.. i will continue the update on my progress, but i really really think its over... now keep in mind your probably going to have very very little amounts of withdrawal symptoms (this always happens when you get off of methadone) but its nothing compared to before and is totally tolerable for a week or so then you should be clean and clear... so really you only need half a suboxone at most..

[bashe67]

Debbie317 is oh, so right! I'm going through it now and it feels like i'm going out of my mind. Legs and arms kicking, Can't sleep, don't want to eat, lost 3 days work so far. was on 45 mg of methadone dry for 3 days then 10 mg of suboxone. this is my 4th day with the suboxone and i feel the same. got two hours sleep in 4 days. my doc was off and wont be back till the 5th day. i'm so pissed off!! I was led to believe it would be an easy transition. Bull!