confused about suboxone

[lisammm]

Hi, I am new to internet forums. I have been taking suboxone since august 08 because of back surgery. I have been taking 6mg for the last few months. When I discusses stopping suboxone with my doctor, he said that under 8mg is just like a placebo. That any symptoms I may have would be all in me head (psychological). In january, I threw my suboxone away determined to stop taking it (sooo expensive). Well, my mind really gave me severe withdrawl symptoms. I tried to discuss this with my doctor but he started talking about the FDA and blah, blah. I stopped listening to him because I was so fustrated with him.

Having a very addictive personality, I know that I may have problems weaning off suboxone on my own. If I take alittle more, it seems I have more energy. I am a nursing student with two children and a very supportive husband. I know I need to get off suboxone but a part of me does not want to rock the boat. I have already put my husband through so much. I guess I just do not want to feel bad.

Sorry if I am rambling. I guess I am confused about what the doctor told me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Lisa

[avisg]

No we cant give out dr names on this forum

[lisammm]

I really appreciate your comments. It really does help posting and getting responses.

thanks
lisa

[mtgoat911]

some antidepressants such as welbutrin, and a few more are know to exagerate opiate wd symptoms, all you can do is try the anit-depressant and hope it helps, good luck on your taper, please keep posting every week, it will help your accountability, knowing that people are following your taper

[mtgoat911]

yes ,you can say your doctors name on here!!! that way when people google his name this thread will come up
but doctors can contact medhelp and have it deleted, i know thats happened before

[lisammm]

I wanted to thank you for the comments. I guess its comforting to hear that it is not all in my head. At this point, I am scheduled to see a psychologist to work on some of my issues. I am not sure if I should keep my doctor or look for a new one. My doctor in Atlanta is willing to keep prescribing suboxone. Maybe I could start weaning my self off of it on my own. I know I need to stop taking more suboxone on days I think I need it. It just reminds me of my old habits. I thought of asking my husband to take control of my suboxone on a daily basis. However, although he has been very supportive of me, he really does not like me taking it. He has a hard time understanding addiction. Again many thanks for your comments.
Lisa

Can I say my doctors name here?

[refusingbondage]

OMG how frustrating.  My actual sub doctor did  not tell me I wouldn't but said I would have 'Little to Zero" withdrawal.  There is nothing like being told severe physical withdrawal symptoms are all in your head.  I asked a question on a suboxone forum (not MH, actually MH was the only place where people were honest about the whole thing) "Why am I so sick from suboxone withdrawal" I listed all my symptoms and my post was deleted and this doctor (who will remain nameless) EMAILED my personal email (which you had to give in order to create a post to him) "I dont know why your so sick.  When people tell me they have withdrawal from suboxone, I liken it to people saying they get high off of Advil - Ill listen but I don't buy it".. OMG I was furious.. Anyway Im rambling.. bottom line - what you are experiencing is a pretty normal reaction to coming off suboxone.  Everyone is different. Hang in there and stay strong. If you want off, its possible, but you will have to find the strength to taper down and eventually quit.  Prepare yourself for some withdrawal and get through it.  You can do it.  Best of luck.

[mtgoat911]

could you send me your doctors name? i am a memeber of a group that goes after these types of people
anywho,, he was lying, i am sure you know that by now, even people who get down to 1mg of suboxone still go through acute and post acute wd syptoms
try to decrease your dose by 2 mgs ever week
by a pill cutter, do not spike, read information "dealing with paws", find a supprt group, i goto na, there are others, celebrate recovery, smart, iop
have a relaspe prevention plan, if you are taking sub due to an injury or illness, find alternative ways to handle these issues
good luck, i am sorry again for the information you have been given about suboxone,
i also want to add that many of us could not taper, even the smallest dose decrease can be troubling so we found it best to jump cold turkey, if you find that you are unable to taper at home, you may need to do what i did, which is just walk away from it

[BQ77]

Tyson is completely correct.  I'm personally in the middle of tapering off Suboxone myself.  I'm at 2mg.  I will continue to taper to as low as 0.5mg and go for it, so I will keep everyone posted as I do that, but one thing you learn when you research Suboxone on this forum is this.  EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT.  

I agree with Tyson on everything really.  Get a doctor who cares.  Taper slowly and go as low as crumbs.  Set  a plan and stick with it.  Expect some minor withdrawls when you get to nothing, but you should hopefully be able to tolerate it.  You know...it definately is somewhat in our heads, but we shouldn't ignore how we feel.  I think doctors saying "it's all in your head" is just a way not to truly deal with it.  Good luck.

Barry

[TysonRed]

With suboxone you really want to taper down to lowest dose possible before you quit. I was on sub for 18wks, started at 8mgs/day and got down to about .25mgs for a week or so, then just went for it. For me compared to previous w/d's from methadone/oxycontin the suboxone wasnt physically as bad, but the withdrawals were no joke. Besides not throwing up constantly I basicly had every other physical symptom associated with opiate w/d's. Now Ive heard and read about many others experiences, some had severe w/d's while others had moderate/mild symptoms and some actually had no problems at all. So the intensity varies quite a bit from person to person and alot of it has to do with how long they've been on and what dose they quit at. The hardest part that lingered on was the fatigue, lack of sleep and some depression/anxiety issues. So is there any way you can find a different sub doctor? Regardless you should really try and taper down to less than 1mg before you try and quit, if you can get lower then by all means do so. The one piece of advice I can say is try to go into the process as positive as possible, the more I got myself hyped up over w/d's it only made it harder. This site/forum has been such a blessing for me and many others, so keep posting for support and any questions you may have. I wish you all the best, if I can help in any way feel free to hit me up. You take care of yourself, good luck.

[cathy5841]

hey lisa, welcome to the forum.  if you look in the healthpages to the right you will find a thread on our members experiences with sub.. good and bad.  you need to taper down to a crumb every few days...it will help minimize the w/ds....your dr could be wrong...lol