Suboxone after 6 day oxy medical detox

[propicker]

After some extreme complications from throat cancer I was on Fentanyl for a couple years for chronic neck pain and facial nerve issues. When my career started going into the toilet I tapered off from 50Mcg down to a 12 Mcg and then on my doc's suggestion to 15mg oxys 4 times a day - the worst mistake I ever made. After 6 months I was taking 5 - 6 a day (75-90mg) and still feeling like ****. Once I could see where this was going I checked into a rehab facility and did a 6 day medical detox using a methadone taper. I came out feeling pretty good for about 24 hours and then I started getting that urgent clawing, gnawing sensation in my stomach. I tried to tough it out but it was overwhelming and I ended up grinding up a 15 mg oxy and putting a few crumbs on my tongue - prolly 2-3 mg and it fixed things. I've been doing that fix twice a day for 3 days now and my question is: Is something like this gonna work if I start spreading out and tapering off these oxy crumbs over a week or two? Or is a small dose (maybe 2mg when needed) suboxone what I should get into for a week or two? I feel I'm close to my goal of getting all this **** out of my system and I'm highly motivated to do so. This is a medical issue and I'm no druggie. I have no sweats, diarrhea, leg twitches, etc - just the crawling stomach syndrome. I fear dabbling with oxy once again - even this small amount - is at best just gonna keep me right where I'm at. I tried a TENS machine which I normally use for an old knee injury and put one electrode on my solar plexus and the other one near my groin and turned it up to pretty painful throbbing bursts and it does help mask things but not by much. The docs at the rehab said I'd have a little residual WDS but this is more than I can put up with. Anyone gone thru this or got any input? Soboxone for a few days or is that just trading problems and delaying things? Or just tough it out for this last bit? HELP!

[NeverAgain127]

By nibbling on the oxy, you are prolonging the withdrawals.  

Maybe you should just jump off and get the whole thing over with...unfortunately, although we can give you tips and advice about symptoms,there is nothing that will make them go away completely.   Withdrawing sux, and the only way through it is through it.

They ease up in time, though..  Right now, you're keeping your body addicted by feeding it just enough opiates to stay miserable.  Food for thought?

[propicker]

Nope no nausea. Not really "sick to my stomach". Not really pain. Just this intolerable crawling sensation in the pit of my stomach. More like all the nerves in my solar plexus are just plugged in to an AC socket. I thought it would be a commonly recognized syndrome to anyone who's gone thru these things. I'm 10 days out of medical detox now and about a week out, I had a couple mornings where I woke up and said "It's gone! I'm free!" but a few hours later it would creep back and I'd need to nibble a quarter of a tab of Oxy (3-4mg). I feel like I'm just treading water and not moving forward fast enough. The trouble with Oxy and what has always been the trouble with Oxy is how fast it wears off. There's got to be something I can use for this. I've heard Immodium can help but in pretty large doses. Then there's herbal stuff.....I'll try ginger. Anybody point me to anything else like that that really works? My family's out of town for a week so maybe I'll just strap myself to the bed and chew on a shoe till things change.

[NeverAgain127]

Are you having nausea?  Ginger is like a miracle cure for me when I feel sick to my stomach.   You can chew candied ginger, or make ginger tea (buy ginger root from the produce dept at the grocery store.  I know, it's nasty looking.  Peel a big piece, then mince it up into tiny pieces.  Put a HUGE HEAPING tablespoon in a mug.  Pour boiling water over it.  All the pieces will float to the top ---don't freak---put a plate on the top of the mug and leave it alone for about 5 minutes.  Uncover; all the pieces will have sunk to the bottom.  Done!  Sip slowly. )

Or is your stomach gurgly, making a lot of noises?  Are you cramping up?  You might ask your doctor for meds that will calm your tummy down.  I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome and my night table looks like a pharmacy with all the GI meds I've got.   I don't use any of them daily, or even weekly, but when my stomach troubles rear their ugly head, I've got a bunch of arrows in my quiver.

I'm sure there are other natural supplements for irritable stomach...my friend swears by a site called http://naturalnews.com/.

[propicker]

Yeah your summery of my progression of meds is exactly correct. I actually do have a fair idea of the dose of the crumbs. They're more like halves, thirds, quarters, fifths and sixths. It may not be totally exact but I'm certain I'm within +- 1mg so I prolly could do this last little taper myself if that's the best option I've got. I just hope it doesn't get ugly and dragged out. I'm prepared to feel the blahs for a couple weeks - I just can't deal with this hyper squirrely stomach thing. Is there anything for that? Like an over-the-counter thing? A folk medicine cure like frog eggs and vinegar? I wish I could just sleep thru it somehow......

[pillguy]

Well you wouldn't be able to start on suboxone until you were in withdrawal.  Subs would push all the oxy off the brain receptors putting you at risk of precipitated withdrawal.  I'm not sure if that's a big problem at your dose.
Secondly, suboxone is not really appropriate for your level of dependence.  Suboxone can be a good choice for a hardcore heroin addiction but IMO, not appropriate for your level of use

[NeverAgain127]

Hello and Welcome!

You've been thru the wringer, honey.  My God, I'm so sorry for the ordeal you've suffered.    You have to understand that this is a community of people trying to get better and we aren't allowed to give tapering advice.

That being said...you really don't know what dose you're getting with the "crumbs."    I think what is happening is that you are taking enough oxy to keep the particular withdrawal symptom you have been experiencing (the clawing stomach sensation) at bay.  

I want to make sure I understand:  you were on a Fentanyl patch for several years, switched to oxycodone for 6 months or so, then went to rehab and tapered off the oxy for 6 days with methadone.  Is that correct?

It takes a lot longer than 6 days to go thru withdrawal from opiates, even if you've taken methadone.  I was on a lower dose of oxy than you, prescribed for excruciating back pain, and I was in acute w/d for about 10-14 days.  I got slowly better every day, but it took time.

I can't advise you of what amount of your medication to take.  If you're on this low a dose, you can probably just stop.   Docs don't know what they're talking about with respect to withdrawals (just my opinion.)  I say this because there is the possibility you WILL have other symptoms, like aches, cramps, diarrhea, etc.    Everyone is different.

I'm sure someone will hop on here and give better advice than I could.  Good luck, my friend.  You DO sound "highly motivated" so I'm sure you'll tackle this issue and be just fine....
Hugs,
-Robin