Withdrawal question

[NorthEast213]

Hi Everyone. I had been using oxy from 150-300mgs orally for last 5 months.  I took my last dose on Monday at 1pm.  24 hrs after I took 2mgs sub and it helped slightly. since then I have tapered to 1 mg today. I feel crappy so far with extreme depression and anxiety. no runs but RLS no sleep hot cold chills etc. I am out of sub and getting more is not an option. I was able toi get a hold of 10 xanax for the weekend but I need your guidance and knowledge about what the next week will bring me.  did the Sub help me get through the heaviest of oxy withdrawals? did it only prolong them? Please help with any insight you can help me with.  Any reason why the Sub didnt help me more? and did it indeed maybe help me with the worst of oxy withdrawals as it has now been 96 hrs?  Thank you so much everyone.  I am so very scared about what is to come...

[dominosarah]

You keep on moving forward.  You deserve to have your life back.  Keep us posted on how you are feeling.  There are things you can do to help ease this part.  We are here to help~~sara

[NorthEast213]

That is basically my biggest question. was anything accomplished last 4 days or am i starting from scratch once the sub is gone in 36 hrs?thank you all so much

[wherestheresetbutton]

The thing about suboxone, is it has a VERY long half-life.  The way it was explained to me from a recovering sub addict is like this.

The average half life of suboxone is 37 hours.  That means 37 hours after you took your first dose, ½ of that dose is still in your system.  So if you took your original dose of 2mg, 37 hours after that 1mg was still in your system.  So if you took another one mg 24 hours after the first 2mg dose, your now at 3+mg's.  As it was explained to me, suboxone fills the opioid receptors that your normal drug of choice acts on, and allows that drug to be metabolized out of your system, while the sub covers the withdrawals.  After 3-5 days (depending on dosage/time of use/bmi/etc) your DOC (drug of choice) has cleared your system, and you can begin to taper off of the suboxone before it latches on too hard. IE the "quick suboxone taper".

I hope that made sense.  But either way, your getting closer to getting away from narcotics, a very hard decision, but one you have made.  My suggestions would be, since you are 4 days out from taking any oxy, stay away from the sub and see where your at.  I think you'll be surprised that most of the physical detox symptoms have passed.  And as Sarah said, be very careful with the xanax, if you are to take it, take as LITTLE as possible, and only if you are really having a panic attack, or horrible anxiety.  Xanax is the easiest benzo to get hooked to IMO, as it has the shortest half life, its effects wear off very fast and that tends to lead to re-dosing, especially among addicts.

I wish you luck, stick around the forum. Post when your feeling down, post if your bored, do anything in this time to keep yourself positive about the decision you've made. Life is much better on the other side! i promise

[NorthEast213]

Thanks for your awesome response. So it would seem that its not a total loss of the last 4 days then. I expect I will feel worse in 36 Hrs or so but im hoping not as bad as I would have cold turkey. as far as the benzo I will absolutley take none unless necessary. the 2 prior days I felt as if i was having panic attacks and extreme jitters.  That is when i secured them. since then i have not felt that level of anxiety so i havent taken any yet and will not unless im at that level again.  So when the sub runs out of my system completely It would have been 5+ days without oxy so thats good.  with such a short term use I shouldnt expect any withdrawal of sub  right? just the residual effect from opiate withdrawal?\

Sorry for run on sentence etc .....

Thanks again to everyone taking the time to respond. it helps so much.  please continue.

[wherestheresetbutton]

From my understanding yes, you should be "ok" after the suboxone clears out of your system.  You will still feel the post withdrawal effects, malaise, restlessness, RLS, insomnia.  Thats part of the healing process, and takes time to beat.  But the initial pain of detox will *most* likely be over with.  

I know how horrible the RLS and overall jitteryness is, and i can tell you from past experiences that trying to fall asleep with rls and the effects of xanax is pretty horrible.  I personally hate the way benzo's make me feel, and i ended up awake all night feeling retarded from the xanax.  

As all of the wiser members here always say, Protect your clean time. Cut off all ties with old dealers, anybody you got anything from. Whether its a friend a doctor or a drug dealer.  I didnt see you say anything about prescriptions or anything so im assuming you used recreationally. (if not, i apologize and please, correct me).  Life is SO much better after we get over the withdrawals.

Congrats on your clean time! keep it up!

[NorthEast213]

Thanks reset.

yes it was indeed recreational that started with ruptured discs etc.  I have cut ties thanks. Ill tell you the internet is a scary place.  It can be your best friend or worst enemy during W/d. Im very glad I found this place.  I keep kicking myself for taking the 1mg sub at 6am.  Wish I hadnt.  But oh well I guess bring it on. =(

Thanks everyone.