Suboxone Withdrawal

[Nurse123571]

Ok heres my story. I started smoking pot daily around age 17 then that went from vic's, lortab's, morphine, fentanyl patches and then came the evil oxy contin, which has been my drug of choice for the past 3 years. It ruined my life and my relationships and I am in extreme debt right now.  Anyway I started taking suboxone 8 mg daily (my partner in crime, my boyfriend, was the one who was prescribed 16 mg, but generously have half his dose daily). anyway its been about one year since starting sub's and I'm wondering when the WITHDRAWAL's end??????  I tapered my dose which was recommended by many mg by mg down to 2mg daily. It's been 4 days since I last had a sub and I am freaking out. I had to get off subs because my boyfriend lost his job and he cant afford the $200 doctor vists and the $400 monthly prescription. 4 days and its *****, i cant sleep, i toss and turn all night, have horrible back pain, and I feel like my bones are gonna jump out of my body. Xanax and ativan did not help at all. HOW LONG DOES SUBOXONE W/D LAST??? It in no way compares to coming off of oxy's but it still *****, I cant function and I have zero energy. Its 3:02 AM. I CAN'T SLEEP.

[Nurse123571]

Thanks to everyone for your suppport. I can't believe I posted a comment last night and so many responded already.  I am litterally feeling so much better typing/talking about all of this. I am so glad I found this site. IBprofen seems to be helping with the backpain. So I have another question-my bf was able to get a couple subs from a friend of his. I'm feeling a little better today but I have the subs right in front of me. should i take like 1/16 of one, since some suggests thah 2mg was way too much to jump off from? I'm thinking I shouldn't because I'm just have to go thru this again, but are the w/d milder if i take like a tiny fraction of a pill over a course of say 2 weeks? My mind is telling me don't do it but my sweaty hands are saying what the **** are you waiting for.

[christos24]

hey. sorry to hear about the situation, its funny, i have the exact same story exceot i am the boyfriend in the situation. i had been on 32mgs a day of suboxone daily, and i would generally give my gr almost half, she took a little less than me. unfortunately for me i destroyed my wrist and ended up being put on opiates, and after a couple of months the addict in me came back to life and i started the vicious cycle all over again. i now have been on methadone, now at 95 mgs daily,for over 7 months. the wd's from suboxone from 2mgs should last 3-6 weeks. as far as wd;s go its very similar to methadone. it takes longer for the wd's to start cuz of the long half-lives, but once they begin its slow creeping hell than last over a month generally, but also being down to 2mgs is def. helpful. some will argue till the death that suboxone wd's is milder than methadone, but ive been through both(not intentionally) and both suck and if anything i would say by a millimeter methadone wd;s are worse than sub.-christos

[refusingbondage]

Please remember that yes it is scary and yes it itsnt easy but nothing about addiction is.  You CAN kick suboxone.  For me it was the hardest thing ive done in my life, but Im about 83 days off suboxone and actually feel free again.  You can break down the sub even smaller than 1 mg..many have gone down to a literal crumb or sliver of sub every day or two before jumping.. nurse, I know your not able to do that. but at day 4 you only have a few more days before you begin to feel improvement.  hawaii - dont be afraid -- be determined and dont let the subs beat you. You can beat them.  A good hard fight and getting our a*ses kicked but winning the fight is sometimes exactly what we need to always remember never to use -- like OC said, knowing how hard it was helps not to use again.  I wish you both the best of luck and lots of strength and positivity.  If you hve any questions, dont hesitate to pm me.  

[hawaiimed]

wow; I've been on sub for a yr and a half, and just learning that sub is hard to kick. wow.
scary. I have anxiety/panic attacks occasionally and just cant face it, the same kind of symptoms and lots of them; fatigue, depression, sweats, mood swings.
I am down to 1 mg a day for a few months now.

[ochooked]

Hi Nurse ----- Refusing is telling you the truth --- It does get better and you are close to the end.  I too was on Sub for awhile and know the agony you are going through.  Do not start up again if you have made it 4 days ---- you will only prolong the agony and that would be a shame after this much suffering.  Yea, Sub is one of the worst to W/D from but you can be very proud you have made it through the worst at 4 days -- only a little further and you will be FREE.  You know, if you want any sort of good news - it is that all of the agony you are in right now will be a big deterrent later if you are tempted.  Every time I even think about a pill I remember the horror of those W/D's and say "no thanks - never again."  So, please Nurse, hang in there ---  Please keep posting - it helps you and other who come looking for encourgement.  You have a lot to offer on this site.  All the best and Happy Thanksgiving.

[refusingbondage]

Hi- congrats on getting off oxys.. I know a bit about suboxone.  From my experience and talking others 2mg is high amount to jump off from.  I jumped at 1mg and had some pretty severe withdrawal for a while.  Im told that the withdrawal lasts so long coming off suboxone due to the long half life-- It stays in your system for a while after you take your last dose. I wont lie to you - it may be really tough the first 2 weeks.  I found medhelp on day 8 and posted a panicked message not unlike yours begging anyone to tell me how long.  And many came by to help thankfully.  First, you need to know that no matter how bad it is - you are doing the right thing and it takes a lot of strength just to make it to day 4.  So congrats.  In short, for me coming off subs (after about 2 years on them) the worst of the physical withdrawal lasted about 2 weeks.   By day 10 it began to slowly improve (I returned to work around day 10).  Keep in mind we are all different.  best case scenario you will be feeling better in a few days.. worst it will be about 2 weeks.. unfortunately --withdrawal happens.  No matter what opiate you take-- and subs are opiates - most of us will unfortunately experience some withdrawal coming down.  But I promise you that no matter what you are going through now - it is so worth it.  One of these days you will wake up feeling better and NOT addicted to anything - subs or oxys and its true freedom.  Do what you have to do to get through the next week, you can do it!  Please keep posting and work out a recovery plan.  For me this is the first time ive been clean in many years and I do give much credit to this forum and all the support Ive received here. Hang in there-it gets better.  

[kim715]

I don't know much about sub..but some of the members here who are on or have been on sub have shared their experiences in the health pages here.Maybe you can find some answers there until someone comes along who has first hand knowledge of it.Hang in there more will be along in a few hours who will be able to help you out.All the best...Kim