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Suboxone Taper
I see a lot of post regarding coming off Suboxone. I wanted to share my daughter's experience thus far in her taper and her upcoming quit date.
My daughter was addicted to 30mg oxycondone. She took about 300 mgs a day. She went to an outpatient rehab facility where she has to see the doctor once a week, see a counselor AND a therapist once a week, and attend NA meetings at least twice a week.
My daughter is doing a rapid taper (so as not to get so addicted to the Suboxone) and has gone from 12mgs a day down to 4mgs a day in four weeks. She'll be dropped to 2mgs next Saturday and then 1mg the next, so and so forth. On December 11th, she'll be down to .25mgs and will be taking that amount for a week, then the following week she'll take it every other day. She'll be making the jump at the beginning of her Christmas vacation from work beginning December 19th, giving her a full two weeks to recuperate at home.
She has a nice little defense system ready. Her NA friends will be around to support her and bring her to meetings... LOL! They're so funny! They said they would pick her up and carry her to the car and then into the building if they had to! She'll also have the support of her counselor and therapist. Her doctor is going to be prescribing her Klonopin (spelling?) for anxiety, Atenolol (it's blood pressure medication) as well as a muscle relaxant to control restless leg syndrome. She's also got a small army of vitamins and anti-oxidants. She has a troops (her doctor, counselor, therapist and NA friends) to help fend off the drugs, and all the ammunition she needs for this war.
I believe that a well planned and executed tapering is key to getting off the drug and getting through the subsequent withdrawals. If you are on Suboxone and tapering, the time to prepare is NOW. Take a look at the Thomas Recipe and get everything on it. Additionally, stock up on LOTS of fruits and veggies... especially those high in anti-oxidants. (You can wait to but those, of course. They may be a little nasty if you're just beginning your taper) and invest in a TON of Epsom salts and magnesium. Taking magnesium helps the body absorb the Epsom salts. You pour a cup or two of it in your bath... as hot as you can stand it.... and sit in it for as long as you can.
I have learned these things through watching my daughter try and go cold turkey off of Percocets. Unfortunately, she was unable to withstand the withdrawals and went back on them. She knows that she is going to have withdrawals once she stops taking the Suboxone, but seeing as how she is tapering to almost nothing and is only going to be on Suboxone a short amount of time, we're hoping that the withdrawals will not be so bad this time around. If they ARE as bad, at least this time around she will have a doctor she can count on to help ease her symptoms as well as a support team around her to keep her motivated.
The entire cost of her rehabilitation was a mere $400. She had to come out of pocket for the Suboxone, but their website has a coupon for $75 off for a months supply. It's good once a month until March of next year. Since she's only taking 15 8mg pills per month, she's only having to pay $60 a month for her meds. So her rehab PLUS meds has only been $460 a month. She spent three times that on Roxicets a month. Had I known about this outpatient program a year ago, I would have encouraged her to stop the Roxi's an enter detox a long time ago. I feel like I've got my daughter back!
I know the worst is yet to come, but she's a fighter. Plus she's got her army and all her ammunition. I'm really hoping this time she is able to stop ALL the drugs for good.
Wish us luck!
My daughter was addicted to 30mg oxycondone. She took about 300 mgs a day. She went to an outpatient rehab facility where she has to see the doctor once a week, see a counselor AND a therapist once a week, and attend NA meetings at least twice a week.
My daughter is doing a rapid taper (so as not to get so addicted to the Suboxone) and has gone from 12mgs a day down to 4mgs a day in four weeks. She'll be dropped to 2mgs next Saturday and then 1mg the next, so and so forth. On December 11th, she'll be down to .25mgs and will be taking that amount for a week, then the following week she'll take it every other day. She'll be making the jump at the beginning of her Christmas vacation from work beginning December 19th, giving her a full two weeks to recuperate at home.
She has a nice little defense system ready. Her NA friends will be around to support her and bring her to meetings... LOL! They're so funny! They said they would pick her up and carry her to the car and then into the building if they had to! She'll also have the support of her counselor and therapist. Her doctor is going to be prescribing her Klonopin (spelling?) for anxiety, Atenolol (it's blood pressure medication) as well as a muscle relaxant to control restless leg syndrome. She's also got a small army of vitamins and anti-oxidants. She has a troops (her doctor, counselor, therapist and NA friends) to help fend off the drugs, and all the ammunition she needs for this war.
I believe that a well planned and executed tapering is key to getting off the drug and getting through the subsequent withdrawals. If you are on Suboxone and tapering, the time to prepare is NOW. Take a look at the Thomas Recipe and get everything on it. Additionally, stock up on LOTS of fruits and veggies... especially those high in anti-oxidants. (You can wait to but those, of course. They may be a little nasty if you're just beginning your taper) and invest in a TON of Epsom salts and magnesium. Taking magnesium helps the body absorb the Epsom salts. You pour a cup or two of it in your bath... as hot as you can stand it.... and sit in it for as long as you can.
I have learned these things through watching my daughter try and go cold turkey off of Percocets. Unfortunately, she was unable to withstand the withdrawals and went back on them. She knows that she is going to have withdrawals once she stops taking the Suboxone, but seeing as how she is tapering to almost nothing and is only going to be on Suboxone a short amount of time, we're hoping that the withdrawals will not be so bad this time around. If they ARE as bad, at least this time around she will have a doctor she can count on to help ease her symptoms as well as a support team around her to keep her motivated.
The entire cost of her rehabilitation was a mere $400. She had to come out of pocket for the Suboxone, but their website has a coupon for $75 off for a months supply. It's good once a month until March of next year. Since she's only taking 15 8mg pills per month, she's only having to pay $60 a month for her meds. So her rehab PLUS meds has only been $460 a month. She spent three times that on Roxicets a month. Had I known about this outpatient program a year ago, I would have encouraged her to stop the Roxi's an enter detox a long time ago. I feel like I've got my daughter back!
I know the worst is yet to come, but she's a fighter. Plus she's got her army and all her ammunition. I'm really hoping this time she is able to stop ALL the drugs for good.
Wish us luck!
Is it clonidine or clonipin? There's a BIG difference. Clonidine is the one you want. It's an old alpha-blocker blood pressure medication. Withdrawal causes high blood pressure and anxiety, which is what the clonidine helps with. It's VERY important to take it only as prescribed. My husband took 3 times what he should have (on top of a b*tt-load of alcohol and other "comfort" meds) in an effort to sleep through withdrawal. He nearly got wish - eternally.
Clonipin is a benzodiazepine medication in the same class as xanax and valium. Some doctors prescribe a short course of a benzo during detox only. It can help with the restless legs and insomnia of withdrawal. Of course, nothing can totally get rid of withdrawal symptoms. These meds can only help make it a bit less miserable.
You deserve a huge hug for being your daughter's biggest supporter. It's amazing how much of your life you have devoted to her recovery, and you seem to be able to do it all with a smile. You two make a great team!
Clonipin is a benzodiazepine medication in the same class as xanax and valium. Some doctors prescribe a short course of a benzo during detox only. It can help with the restless legs and insomnia of withdrawal. Of course, nothing can totally get rid of withdrawal symptoms. These meds can only help make it a bit less miserable.
You deserve a huge hug for being your daughter's biggest supporter. It's amazing how much of your life you have devoted to her recovery, and you seem to be able to do it all with a smile. You two make a great team!
Also, about those NA meetings? EVERYONE there has told her how important it is for her to continue to go. She fully understands the importance of it as it has been beaten into her brain by her friends at NA, me, her husband, her therapist, her doctor, and her counselor! LOL! Besides, like I said she enjoys it...... As long as I drive her there....
Oh, don't you worry! Either myself or my son-in-law will be handing out the klonopin (again - spelling) and any other medication the doctor prescribes for her during her detox. She prefers it that way. She even said, "Ma, will you be my nurse and give me my meds? I don't trust myself...." At LEAST she realizes she has the potential to abuse drugs.
Her little arsonal of vitamins and aminos comes from the Thomas Recipe and has already been approved by her doc. She did substitute of a couple of things, but I can't remember which ones they are. We're buying a few a week as they are very expensive. We'll have them all bought and ready to go by the time "quit day" arrives.
Oh yeah... 3rddayoff? Your post went through about four times, sweetie!
Her little arsonal of vitamins and aminos comes from the Thomas Recipe and has already been approved by her doc. She did substitute of a couple of things, but I can't remember which ones they are. We're buying a few a week as they are very expensive. We'll have them all bought and ready to go by the time "quit day" arrives.
Oh yeah... 3rddayoff? Your post went through about four times, sweetie!
Thank you! And yes.... I make sure she doses correctly. I keep her meds so she doesn't abuse them. I've already seen such a big difference in her in just a few short weeks. She's not hitting the snooze button on her alarm a million times in the morning to get up and to go to work, but rather getting up BEFORE the alarm goes off and then happily gets up and gets ready to go on about her day. She says she's getting more work done (probably because she has feelings again and not completely bombed on the Roxis) and is working later hours because she says she's enjoying her job again.
She's also been getting out of the house more often, taking me grocery shopping and going out to eat with her husband more, where before she wouldn't go out of the house except to score drugs. She doesn't like to go anywhere alone... even her NA meetings. I have to take her and drop her off and pick her up. The only place she goes alone is to and from work. She works with a lot of people and is comfortable surrounded by a lot of people for some reason. She rarely leaves her husband's side or my side when her husband is working (he works evenings). When she was on the Roxis, she had no patience for people and wanted to be left TOTALLY alone. She's gone from one extreme to the other, but she's working on this with her therapist.
I've got a lot to be thankful for. This doctor she sees is incredibly understanding. She also works on a sliding scale so that people who are unemployed or make very little money can afford it. The counseling session with a drug counselor is included in the $400 a month. She has to pay for her therapy, and that's about $60 a week, but still... It is WAY less than she would be spending on the Roxi's. She's a friendly and outgoing person by nature, so she made friends quickly at NA. She was weary at first about going, but after a couple of times, she sees it as not only beneficial to her recovery, but fun at the same time!
Another benefit about her getting into this program and the affordability of it is she's got herself in so much credit card debt because of the Roxi's..... This month she's going to be able to double her credit card payments because of the amount of money she's saved. I'm telling you... this has been the answers to my prayers for my daughter.
She's also been getting out of the house more often, taking me grocery shopping and going out to eat with her husband more, where before she wouldn't go out of the house except to score drugs. She doesn't like to go anywhere alone... even her NA meetings. I have to take her and drop her off and pick her up. The only place she goes alone is to and from work. She works with a lot of people and is comfortable surrounded by a lot of people for some reason. She rarely leaves her husband's side or my side when her husband is working (he works evenings). When she was on the Roxis, she had no patience for people and wanted to be left TOTALLY alone. She's gone from one extreme to the other, but she's working on this with her therapist.
I've got a lot to be thankful for. This doctor she sees is incredibly understanding. She also works on a sliding scale so that people who are unemployed or make very little money can afford it. The counseling session with a drug counselor is included in the $400 a month. She has to pay for her therapy, and that's about $60 a week, but still... It is WAY less than she would be spending on the Roxi's. She's a friendly and outgoing person by nature, so she made friends quickly at NA. She was weary at first about going, but after a couple of times, she sees it as not only beneficial to her recovery, but fun at the same time!
Another benefit about her getting into this program and the affordability of it is she's got herself in so much credit card debt because of the Roxi's..... This month she's going to be able to double her credit card payments because of the amount of money she's saved. I'm telling you... this has been the answers to my prayers for my daughter.
Seems like she is verry well prepared and has alot of support...Thats the #1 part of detox. If she quits cold turkey, she should be doing better for xmas. I dont know much about \Subs but a detox is a detox. Couple of things to add, Some boost supplements and some L Thyrosine, it helps with energy and mental alertness Im on day like 25 and still use it.
You have to be carefull when taking multi vitamins and other herbal meds or minerals, they do have interanctions and may cause her to feel worst, so make sure she brings every single thing to the pharmacie before taking them.
Also Klonopine is a benzodiazepine and is verry addictive, and one thing us recovering addicts tend to do is over do it with the benzos in order to sleep....Make sure she deosnt take to many cause benzo w/ds suck even more than opiates....I used them for about 5 days and flushed the rest, but had a benzo problem in the past...
Its all part of breaking the addictive behavior..u know. If the klonipin makes her feel better, her brain will be substituting one addiction for another, just things to watch out for.
PPl will tell her to take benadril to help with sleep, not a good idea cause it will take her like 8-9 to fall assleep for like 2 hours...Not a good idea..
She seems to have the greatest support team ever, good for u. I was ashamed to tell my parents witch made it harder to detox...
Aftercare is the best...If she can stick to at least 2 meetings a week, she will do fine..
Good luck and re post
N
You have to be carefull when taking multi vitamins and other herbal meds or minerals, they do have interanctions and may cause her to feel worst, so make sure she brings every single thing to the pharmacie before taking them.
Also Klonopine is a benzodiazepine and is verry addictive, and one thing us recovering addicts tend to do is over do it with the benzos in order to sleep....Make sure she deosnt take to many cause benzo w/ds suck even more than opiates....I used them for about 5 days and flushed the rest, but had a benzo problem in the past...
Its all part of breaking the addictive behavior..u know. If the klonipin makes her feel better, her brain will be substituting one addiction for another, just things to watch out for.
PPl will tell her to take benadril to help with sleep, not a good idea cause it will take her like 8-9 to fall assleep for like 2 hours...Not a good idea..
She seems to have the greatest support team ever, good for u. I was ashamed to tell my parents witch made it harder to detox...
Aftercare is the best...If she can stick to at least 2 meetings a week, she will do fine..
Good luck and re post
N
Wow! I'm impressed! For once a story about Suboxone being used correctly. :-)
Sounds like everything is a Go, and that this time will be the LAST time your daughter will have to be dope sick. That is an outstanding program your daughter is working and an incredible support network. I don't think she needs luck - she's DOING it! :-)
Sounds like everything is a Go, and that this time will be the LAST time your daughter will have to be dope sick. That is an outstanding program your daughter is working and an incredible support network. I don't think she needs luck - she's DOING it! :-)
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