2nd day on suboxone

[mdan9mm]

Hi everyone, hope your all doing well. I just joined and this is my 1st post. This is my 2nd day of suboxone (8mg tabs), every 12 hours. Holy sh** i hope these killer headaches go away, along with the nausia, i feel like puking every few minutes, and also the fatigue, BUT, on the bright side, I have had absolutey zero withdrawel symptoms, it is quite amazing. Im looking to chat with other addicts like me, who are in the same boat. even my dr said it would be a good idea, so, here i am !! looking forward to putting these dam pills behind me for good. Although I've said that many times already, and usually take my once a year trip to a detox !!! . 4 times in all so far and i have to lie to my kids about were i'm going. i have three boys ages 10, 7, & 5 and wife who can't take it anymore with what im putting her through, which i cant really blame her. so you see, i do have quite alot to lose, like most of you also. Well, I have to run, but will def check back in a little while to see if anyone replied, take care..... we can do this !!!!  

[Lynn79]

     This is just my opinion, but 8 mg is way too much.  I don't know why doctors start people at that dose.  They say that you have to find the right dose for you, and that you should drop it down little by little, but I think they should start low and move it up if need be.  I started on a 4 mg pill, and I was wondering why I had headaches and nausea.  I decided on my own not to take the other 4, and to my surprise it lasted all night and through the next morning.  Long story short, I found my "perfect dose" at 2 mg.  This has done the job just fine for me, every morning for the last year, and I have never needed to increase it at all.
     My mistake, however, was thinking that Suboxone was a miracle cure, and that it was this magical medication for drug addiction.  Unfortunately, it is just another opiate, which is why you have absolutely no withdrawal symptoms.  Your body cannot tell the difference, and soon your mind won't either.  If you stay on 8 mg every 12 hours, you will probably feel high all the time.  I think Sub should be used as a detox med, and nothing more.  That is, use it at the lowest dose possible to alleviate your withdrawal, and only during the time it takes your previous drug to leave your system.  Then taper.  If not, it just leads to another addiction.  And I feel I am in for a much longer battle than if I had just quit my DOC without Suboxone.

[ochooked]

I totally agree with Lynn -----  I hope you will do some research or read some of the post that have been on this site before you take what your doctor says as 'gospel' about Sub.   You should only take a very small amount and then repeat it in 30 minutes if you are still in W/D's.  As Lynn said - this stuff is no joke and will become your new DOC unless you can set a schedule to get off very quickly.  I did not realize this and stayed on Sub (low doses) for 21 days --- then tried to jump off after weaning myself down to only a crumb.  Sub doesn't let you go easily.  There is NO free get out of W/D ticket --- Although you may not be having them while on Sub, you will certainly have W/D's in a major way when and if you try to quit it.   I really do wish you well but only wish I had been told about the real effects of Sub before I found out the hard way.  Over the last 4 to 6 weeks there have been many on this site who were honest enough to admit that they too were deceived and suffered horribly when they tried to quit the Sub.  Now, having said all that I really admire that you are serious about quitting the Dope ----  Many of us have, but I don't know anyone who did it without having to suffer from W/D at some point.  All the best.

[refusingbondage]

I would also have to agree with Lynn and ochooked. I was duped into suboxone as an easy and painfree way to avoid withdrawal.  Joke Joke Joke.  I started on 16mgs and suffered the same sickness as you.  In fact I couldnt do anything the first few days.  I was so sick I could only lay in a dark room and try not to throw up.  But at the time I wasnt in withdrawal so even being that sick I was happy.  I will tell you the sickness got better after a few days -although the headaches came every day even as my doses went lower and lower I still got those darn headaches.  I will also stress the importance of what ochooked is saying in that you should be very careful with the subs and try to get off of them as soon as possible.  Sub is so powerful and addicting and you will not realize that unfortunately until your doctor tells you its time to quit, assures you that you will have little to no withdrawal and then you go home and spend 2 weeks in he11.  I am  33 post sub and still have wd symptoms. But, most important is the choice you've made to stop using.  If you really want to quit you will and you can.  Its so hard but its not impossible.  I commend you for taking any step, even if its toward sub, to get clean and hope you keep up the fight.  Good luck and God bless.

[mr.lucky66]

I guess these folks popped your ballon mdan and I'm sorry if you are disillusioned about sub after reading their experiences. These sub docs don't really know what they are doing are in many cases are making people worse. I hope you can keep this treatment short as posible.

[PanSinoeis]

Back when I was on Methadone, 40mg per day, after about 3 days I got sick.  I was at work, in August (in Texas), walking 10-12 miles a day, and it was hot.  And I could not hold down fluids.  I felt very thirsty, and would drink a whole lot, 5 seconds later, I would vomit it all up.  About 2 dozen times I threw up in about 6 hours.  I went back the next day to the methadone clinic and I told the doctor what happened.  He said we need to up your dose.  I was blown away, I could not believe he was telling me that.  The Whole time I felt like I was over-dosing.  I had never done anything other than hydrocodones And methadone was much much stronger.  Needless to say, I went down in my dose, 5mg a day, till I was off!  But it showed me, that doctors may not always know what's best for people.  He wanted me to be as addicted to methadone as he could get me.  That's how it seemed to me.  So the clinic could make its money.  That's just how I saw it.  I only spent 30 days on Methadone.  That stuff had me a whole lot more intoxicated than hydrocodone ever did.  16mg of Suboxone per day seems to be real high, from what I've read from other peoples experiences.

[landbray]

Hi,
I have been on suboxine since 6-24-08 after a 28-30 year addication to morphine, vic's ,perks and xanax. I had tried to stop many times before but never could. My husband is also an addict. He tried to get clean with methadone about 9 years ago. He was on it 4 yrs.
that was a nitemare. But not enough to keep him clean any longer then 10 months.
We have 3 suboxine drs in our small city. Only the one I go to is following the program as it is suppose to be. Drug counseling a must, urines, pill counts. You mess up once your out, there are to many other people who are waiting to get on it.
Although I know that my long term goal is to be 100% clean , for now I use the suboxine.
I started on 3 8 mgs a day. I did that for about 3 wks then went down to 2 8mgs a day. That is what I still take. It works for me. I am not tired,I didn't miss work, I am more productive .  the headaches have eased, the sweating is still pretty bad though .
I have not had cravings that make me wanna get high,(which some people do with suboxine) even though your not suppose to. Some people will abuse it others won't.
It isn't for everybody but it does help allot of people. I know personally 2 people that successfully finished it. One is 26 yrs old the other 53 yrs old.
But I also know  people who abuse the suboxine, either by selling it to get DOC or using it as DOC
I don't expect it to be a "mircale drug" b/c there is no such thing. be nice if there was!
You still need aftercare, meetings, cousnling, sponser , what ever works for you.
Which is what suboxine is really about. What is right for someones personal choice.
I personally choose suboxine and for me it has been the right one.
good luck to you,
paaddict

[mdan9mm]

WOW !! I just got home from work and actually couldnt wait to put the computer on and see the replies, as mr.lucky66 said " my balloon was popped, well sort of. As i sit here, i have the 8mg under my tongue, as it is to be taken every 12 hours. I gotta tell you, when i look in the mirror, i never thought my pupils would be so constricted, like freaking pencil points !! still feel like puken every 15 or 20 mins but the headaches did go away, after i took 600 mg advil. man, now im confused, and i will def tell my dr who i am seeing this friday about what i read on the forums, which no dought he will reply, " are they dr's ? ".
my DOC was always persc, vic, hydro's the 10/350 about 15 to 20 a day, which is why i always went back to detox as a i couldnt do it at home. i had surgery on my arm in 2001 and never touched any of these pills in my life until then and the addiction took off from there, buying em on the intenet, dr shopping, etc...your right 8mg does feel kinda strong as i feel high, not sure if i am, but with my pupils the way they are, holy sh** !!., but  i have extreme fatigue as well, cotton mouth, and headaches, its a strange feeling, like when you take too many vics. well it was nice to here from so many of you and hope we continue to " talk " as i want to keep you guys posted with my progress, and i want to hear about your experiences with the suboxone...have a good night....

[mr.lucky66]

Mdan, nice to hear back from you and to know you are listening to other's experiences. Like pan said, she or he was on vics and percs and went to a methadone clinic and then got so loaded! I have seen this happen to hydro addicts on clinics and it takes them to a whole new level of addiction and suffering . Everything is pointing to shorter  and shorter courses on sub to the point of a less than 2 weeks because it's too new for long term and not studied and these sub docs don't seem to know or realize how addictive it is. all the best .

[Dog55]

Probably nothing new to add, but as a sub veteran, i also believe your dosage is too high. When I first started taking it I took 8 mg, but soon realized I need much less, and ended up using only 2 mg daily. Doctors really know very little about this. This is certainly a self-dosing drug. Work with as little as possible and go from there. You can always take a little more later in the day if it doesn't see to be enough.

[ochooked]

Mdan --- I hope you will continue to post your own experience as you work to get clean.  Everyone on here is rooting for you ----  Now, you have a variety of different inputs so I think it is like eating chicken ----  You try to pick out what is good for you ---- "you swallow the meat but spit out the bones" :).  All the best, man.

[Kova]

I agree with all.  when i was detoxing from methadone, 2mgs of Sub would keep me feeling okay for 2-3 days!  but i still got those damn headaches.

Kova

[mdan9mm]

Well well well look at the time already, its almost feeding time for the junkie...lol..not funny but thats how i feel., i feel like taking just 6mg instead of the 8mg at noontime. not sure what to do. and whats with the freaking hiccups & heartburn !! im eating rolls of tums and rolaids. and im also supposed to walk around with beady little pin point pupils the whole time on this stuff ??..feels like im back on the vics & oxys, only overdosing ...not sure im liking this stuff.

[refusingbondage]

If you dont experience bad withdrawal from lowering your dose, you should try to.  The least amount of sub you need to feel ok, the better.  Try just taking 2mg.  Wait about half hour -see how you feel.  It really sounds like its too high a dose for you, so all things lead to lowering that dose.  1) its making you sick and 2) the quicker the taper the better before you become completely dependent on it.  Dont let that happen to you.  I hated sub the whole time I was on it, but yet found myself on it for almost 2 years.  We are all happy to hear from you and wishing you nothing but luck.    

[Kova]

I got bad heartburn from Sub as well, and that was from just 2mg!   then if you take large amounts of ant acids....along with the Sub, you get major constipation!  

[mdan9mm]

Well i feel better as i just spoke to my dr. and i told him i want to cut back to 6mg even though its only the 3rd day, as the 8mg is too strong. I told him i feel the way i do when i took many hydro's ( the nasusea, cold clammy skin, goosebumps, headaches ) all of us on this site know ourselves and what the symptoms are/were when we took too many. he says it sounds like im detoxing, but judging from my experience with this **** all these years he said fine, as i know myself. But he said to have the other 1/4 piece with me in case 6mg piece dosn't work. im gonna do 6mg for another day or so and go down to 4mg. He wont be happy but its my body.

[worried878]

16 mg a day is alot..unless u were an IV drug abuser or on methadone at a high dose for a long time....u describe wd symptoms that i had in ur post....i dont think i felt as bad as u described during the 4 days of physical wds...i would imagine it is from too much sub tho....unless u had a 300 mg a day oxy habit..that is a bu!!load of sub...be safe and talk to ur doctor about these symptoms

[mdan9mm]

As i put in my last post, i did speak to him and like i said before, you know yourself and when you take too much of the oxys, vic, hydros,etc. my DOC was always the hydro's 10/350 approx 15- 20 per day for years, well until i would take my usual trips to a detox center to detox, but then i'd pick up a month or two later or sometimes, as soon as i got out. From what all you guys (and gals !!) have been telling me and from what ive been reading, 8mg every 12 hrs is way too much, i can tell that what im feeling IS NOT wd's, but too much of the sub. So im gonna do 6mg now, and another 6mg at midnight, and see how it goes.
            I just wanna say thanks again to all you on this site that really seem to care, you have no idea how i cant wait to log on and read these posts, they really mean alot, so im still not sure how to use sum of the features here, like inviataion, etc, please invite me to all...lol.....take care, get i'll get back soon.....

[Lynn79]

I completely agree with refusingbondage.  Please just try 2 mgs, and then if after an hour you don't feel okay, take 2 mgs more.  You sound like the kind of person who is a firm believer in following your doctor's orders.  There is nothing wrong with that, but your doctor has never needed or used Suboxone.  He is going by a piece of paper that they got when this drug first came out, before it was able to be studied in long-term users.  Trust me, you will feel so much better on a lower dose, and LOWERING your dose against doctor's orders is not at all defiant.  It is realizing what you feel in your own body, and doing what's best for it.  Defying your doctor would be to take MORE than recommended, which is what we did when we were addicted to pills.  Like paaddict said, some people have great experiences and some people have horror stories.  Mine started as a great experience, and it really has done wonders for the way I feel.  It is just that now it has been a year, and I am starting to feel like I am stuck right back where I started from.  If I can prevent anyone else from going through the same thing, that is what this forum is here for.  Please just try lowering your dose.  You can always take more, but you can't take less when your body has too much and you get headaches and nausea.  I have not had one negative side effect since dropping down to 2 mgs daily.  All the best!

[Lynn79]

I wrote my post before I got to read yours somehow, just incase something I said didn't make sense or was explained in your post.  Listen, cutting down to 6 mgs twice a day from 8 mgs twice a day is not really a big difference.  It is still way too much.  Suboxone is only needed once a day.  It will last the entire day.  It has a very long half life, and when you stop taking it, you will actually feel the effects for two or three days.  Most people I know take one 2 mg pill once a day.  I take mine every morning in the shower, so that if the effects happen to ware off at night I am asleep and don't notice.  Going "down" to 12 mgs a day will still give you nausea and headaches.  You said that you are only on day three, which means that your DOC is still leaving your body.  It is during this time that you really need to find the lowest dose possible to do the job.  If you keep taking large amounts, and just suffer through the sickness, your body will get used to it, and then after your DOC leaves your system, your body will want more of the Sub.  I was started on one 4 mg pill a day, and even that was making me sick with the same symptoms you are describing.  What you are feeling is not withdrawal, because according to the comparison scale between Suboxone and other drugs, you are probably taking more opiates than you were before.  I know you have no reason to listen to people you don't know, on the computer no less.  But if you try taking a 2 mg pill (or even a 4 mg pill), once a day, if you don't feel okay you can always pop another one.  Just try it for one day.

[mdan9mm]

Thanks Lynn79, I appreciate the reply, I really do. Well, I took the 6mg at noon, instead of the 8mg. I already feel a little tired, my head is filled with cobwebs, my vision is wierd, & my pupils are pinpoints again. But i feel better inside that I already stepped down from 8mg to 6mg. Tonight at midnight i'll take the another 6mg. By the way, the first night i took the 8mg, i felt like i took 20 mg valium !! im was knocked the hell out !!, then last night, hardly slept at all, tossed and turned like i was on wd's., but did not have the twitches or the sweats, no wd symptoms just couldn't sleep. Anyway, i do wanna go down to 4 mg and then 2mg, i just dont know, or don't think i should make such a drastic cut in the sub, so soon. What do you guys think. Stay on the 6mg for another day or so, then go down to the 4mg, etc ???????..........

[mr.lucky66]

I think you are getting some good advise here. How long does this doc want you to be on it? If it's a long time that's a bad sign especially for vicodin. That means he's treating all addicts the same and he doesn't know how to use this drug. I could be wrong but am probably not. I would listen to the people who have been there more than this sub doc. I don't want to see you suffer later.

[ochooked]

Hi Mdan -----  I just wanted to say that, after my experience with Sub, I hope you will stop such a high dose.  The ones on here who advised to try just two mg and wait are right.  You can always take a little more if you really need to but I can tell you that when you want to get off of Sub -- it will be very difficult.  Taking less is better and you can determine you body's need by just taking a small amount.  I wish you all the best.

[Lynn79]

I think that right now isn't a time that you have to worry about tapering, or making too drastic of a cut.  Your body has so much of the Sub plugging up the receptors, that it is not going to notice if you change your dose around.  Each and every day that you take 6 mgs, or 4 mgs, twice a day, is another day that your body is getting used to the dose.  It is right now that you still have a chance to find the lowest dose possible to keep you out of withdrawal.  That's what this medication is for, to stop the withdrawal symptoms.  Taking more than is required to do that will make you feel high from it.  Please.  Just TRY taking at the most a 4 mg dose (if you're scared to jump way down to 2), and see what you feel like for a whole day.  I think you will be suprised.

[cosmogrl78]

is there anything besides these drugs to help with withdrawls?? has anyone used xanex??