Suboxone withdrawal duration after long term use

[Tommygunn74]

I'm  new here & not so good at finding the exact type of thread so here it goes. My addiction started with injuries. I never took pain meds until I was desperate. of course things eventually got out of control. Cut to it & I had a problem so once I realized i was an addict I went on suboxone. My greedy !@#@#$ Doctor insisted on giving me a higher dose then I asked for & to top it off he convinced me i should be on it for a few years. I had enough after almost 6 years & 2 increased dosages which put me at 16mg a day. I told him I was becoming lethergic & my libido was almost non existant, yet he never mentioned it could be due to the subo. I saw an endocrinologist who told me i had the testosterone level of an 80 year old man. Im 36 & have always been an athlete until opiats. Oh & my thyroid was way low. I fell asleep driving often. I gave up so much for medication & I wont give up 1 more day of my life. Im off everything for 8 days & it seems to come in waves yet I am not feeling much better.
    Ok the questions. Has anyone been on subox for around 6 years & tapered down to .2 - .25 mg then jumped off & still suffered for more than 2 weeks? if so how long is the longest? If anyone has had the diminished testosterone & or thyroid hormone & if so did it come back more importantly how fast? I take way more pills now then I did when i was on pain meds.  I dont care how long it takes but it would be nice to know there is an end to set as a goal to count down to.

[61chevy]

I took my last dose of suboxone 14 days ago.  I tapered myself down to roughly .25-.35 per day.  Do you remember what dosage you were on when you went off?   I am feeling so drained and unmotivated.  I can't imagine 200+ days of this.  But... if that's what it takes, I'm determined.  Hope to hear back soon.
Thanks.

[isiahteeple]

I have been off suboxone now for almost 9 months after taking it close to 5 years i can't remembered now exactly how long it took to feel human again I juss know when I began to feeling better I was counting 200 + like i was saying out loud it took 200 + days for me to begin to feel human again its not yet 300 but I am on my way,it is a very serious medication to get off of but it also saved my life and almost destroyed it at the same time, I have so many mixed emotions about this, on one hand I will say it is the best drug ever invented as far as taking addicts off hard drugs but on the other hand I feel its the worst thing to come off of BUT that needs to be where the doctors step up and make godamm sure their patient's have a plan, maybe the doctors can't do all that also but someone needs to,there needs to help after the fact because its being abused and given a really bad name and its super sad to me because this medication is saving lives everyday and could be saving more lives everyday  if given and taken properly, it did the job for me 20+ years of addiction and alcoholism, a lot of people try to correct me when I say it stopped me from drinking also it was the first and only thing that ever stopped me from abusing after decades of abuse like I said I have mixed feelings about this but I will take it to my grave that it saved me, but I'm only one person I know many people that abuse it and don't take it to save their own lives but I also know looking at them it is saving their lives (right now) my worrys for them are how and when will you get off???and like my multiple doctors I had in 5+ years I was lead to believe I was a lifer, I must also ADD I was forced by the law and the courts to get off it I don't think I ever had true intentions to try myself, but had I been offered the opportunity to get help intense  help I wanna believe I would have taking it, but instead I was thrown in jail to die and that is almost what I did I didn't just feel like it, I was dying, on a holding cell floor for 7days before  I got a shower and finally put in population to lay there 13more days not able to eat or sleep (AT all)I was crazy then treatment for 30 days when I finaaly got to treatment my eyes where swelled shut one completely one I could see out of bout half way I finally slept about the 3rd day so 20+ days with zero sleep people don't really stay up that many days, it was a crazy hell,and here's the kicker they put in a suboxone clinic to get off meaning where they give it to everyone, not take them off it and the instructions for the clinic where to not give it to me well everyone around me is getting it and not feeling the hell I was (what a challenge) about 2weeks into my counciling and groups where everybody was talking about it how they are getting on it I didn't talk at all when I wanted to so badly to tell them all what not to do but it was like 20 to one nobody wanted to hear how it can hurt you because they were all looking at the good side and I know there is one also so (I don't know )here's some of my story but i dont like to tell people how hard it is to get off  now that I'm totally sober I usually say how it saved me, without it I would have never been able to disapline the mind not to do the things that were destroying me so 2 thumbs up on using it for the right reasons thumbs down on not having intense help to get off it!!!

[Nohpe]

All very encouraging. However, the question was, does anyone know, with any degree of certainty, how long one can expect to continue experiencing physical withdrawal assuming the following:
a. Has been on suboxone for six years.
b. Is presently on day 14 completely clean.
c. Did taper to .25 mgs before jumping off (again) 14 days ago.
If you don't know, its fine, but please don't lead us into abject irrelevance to cover the fact. However, encouraging. Lets see if anyone knows. Now, the length of time on the subs is given, the jump off is given. The length of the taper was months long. Thank you.

[phiaNorcoqueen]

hey, i just wanted to let you know that i went through this and was reading everything.. I too am going through horrific w/d's but not from subs but from opiates .. I'm on day 11 but i just wanted to let you know that your words have inspired me as well.. That i can keep on keeping on and This S**t isn't forever just for a little while.. And i do understand the statement of having feel like you have wheights on your legs when you move.. Oh and moving getting around the house and doing something (anything ) does seem to help.. well take care my friend and you are awesome.. But we will get through this soar my friend

Sophia

[Tommygunn74]

Thanks brother. yeah i have to say I agree with everything you said. I found god in my own way. I dont trust many organized religions. but i do believe. NY definately ***** this time of year to do this but I'm not going backwards. the worst part is my wife & son were so sick last week I had to take care of them so now im WD sick as well as the flu. I sure wish i was at your stage. I have found that a hot bath with epsom salts gives me a break from the chills for up to an hour. Got some great advice from people on here as to the vitamins to cut through the night. I quit smoking 2 years ago & it still ***** but I have 3 dogs that need to be walked & your right about that after i come in i feel better. I love to draw. Im good enough to do portraites but I have to say that I envy you for being able to do that now cause my hands are only able to draw squiggly lines right now. ha. I love american Indian everything. & the spirit animal inspired me. thank you for that Because i was feling weak & im not even hurting that bad yet. I think that my anger is focused on the meds & I get my heart pumping by pep talking my self when im curled up shaking, I say " I can take it I can take anything". Thank you for all you said it helps more... well you do know how much it helps. We all stick together we all fight together we will beat this. from now on if it says addictive im not interested.

[NoMoSquibbs]

My "doctor" did the same thing to me.  I had tapered down to 1 mg. and he wanted to put me back up to 8 mg so he could "supervise" my tapering.  I'm doing this without his help. . . Only my own ambition.  I stopped on Jan, 5 and believe me, these WD's are terrible. . . Worse than anything I've ever felt, including heroin.  I'm not hiding the symptoms with things like Kratom, or other opiate derivatives, just vitamins and good food.  To sleep, I take valerian root.  For energy, L-Tyrosine, L-Carnitine, B-12, and Red Bull.  The problem is that I live with my girlfriend and she has never had to fight an addiction like this, so she doesn't understand what I'm (WE'RE) going through.  My back is killing me all the time, my legs feel like they have weights tied to them.  These chills won't go away, and these NY winters do NOT help lol.  The best part of all of this, is that I have the support of my family.  THIS IS KEY!  This is a trying time for all of us and you will want to take something make it easier.  If you take opiates, you're only pausing the clock.  I find that music, video games, housework, and exercise are your best friends right now.  Take yourself totally out of character too.  Do things that you would never normally do, as far as your daily routine.  I'm a smoker so when I go out for a smoke, I walk around the block a bit.  I don't know if you draw, or write, but get your frustrations out that way.  I love to draw, and it helps because it brings me back to a simpler time.  I know you can't go back in time, but you can bring out the qualities you had once lost to drugs (subox included).  I also go to church.  If I could instill a bit of advise in you while you're going through this, if you haven't already, find God.  This experience is a blessing, remember that.  We have a DISEASE.  It's just like diabetes or cancer, but we have the choice to make these choices to improve our lives and feel normalcy again.  Just stick with it.  You will be richer for having gone through this, because you may oneday find yourself in a position where you can help someone in need.  Also, as hard as this is, and everything you have left in store, you will never want to return to this life again.  Shed your skin, brother.  Stick it out, you can do it!  I am from an American Indian family, and I believe that my, and your spirit animal is the Phoenix.  Now rise through those ashes, and spread those muthaf*ckin wings!  This is your freedom on the line!  Anything worth wanting is worth working for.  It's always darkest before the dawn. . . I don't have any more inspirational quotes right now, but you get the picture.  fight this, dude.  This too shall pass.  

[Tommygunn74]

Omg That is so great to hear. I have no fear of pain for the pain the drugs caused me was actually far worse. If I never felt normal I would deal with it. I appreciate your honesty. I have a boost to kick start my testosterone from my endocrinologist but I dont want to use it until the elements causing this are all out of me.but this info gives me great hope to hang on for.
I can take the pain but my wife shouldnt suffer. your news will make her  even happier than it does me.

Thank you so much for that vital hope you just gave me.

[Tommygunn74]

I started with a motorcycle accident. Then my Dealer i mean Doctor gave me vic then perks then oxy then more & more. after almost 5 years I couldnt take it he said "oh I have a solution". the subs helped so much but then destroyed me the past few months i got him to write me the 2mg strips instead of the 8mg. he argued with me for 20 min that i would fail if I switched & thats when I clicked. He cares only about money. THANKYOU for your comment.

[donefornow]

Yep- been on that low of dose and suffered for much longer than weeks - everyone is different don't let that scare you- you may be fine real soon- but for me it lasted months even on super low dose - I was long term user - have been on and off opiates for years

Libido- in beginning it never was an issue- then in last ten years everytime went on an opiate I lost all sex drive- it definitely comes back! I thought it never ever would! I had zero libido- sometimes it was a week it came back - sometimes it didn't come back until a couple months off of everything - but it will come back --

[theaddict]

wow, i wonder why he/she had you on this medication for such a long time? how long did your addiction to the other narcotic pain pills last?

members here have experience with this drug, whereas i do not. hopefully some of them will be around shortly to help you with this.