long term use of suboxone

[bolpak]

I have been on suboxone for 8yrs now.  What can I expect when and if I ever come off?  Can I come off?

[TysonRed]

For information purposes Ive been off suboxone since Oct.20 2008, I slipped up for 3days about 6months ago but besides that Ive been totally clean from opiates.

[TysonRed]

The simple answer is yes you can get off the the sub but you absolutely need to be ready and prepared for the life without opiates. Its hard to say what exactly you can expect when you come off, 8yrs on sub is the longest I think Ive heard anyone being on it. The last thing you want to have happen is to get off sub, go through all the physical and mental w/d's and end up back on what ever your drug of choice was before. You really need to be committed to do the work, the aftercare, meetings,therapist, whatever it takes in order for you to remain clean. I can tell you one thing for sure this forum is a great place to gain some knowledge and first hand experience with people who have been in your position, maybe they werent on sub as long as you but the same mitigating factors of sobriety still apply just the same. Im not sure what dose your at, has your doctor advised you on any sort of tapering plan or any other advice as to getting of the sub. From most peoples experience the lower the dose you can get down to before quitting does seem to lessen the symptoms to some degree, just like any other tapering of opiates before you quit. I was on and off methadone/oxycontin along with other opiates for many years, got clean a handful of times but never stayed clean longer than about 6months. My last go around I was up to 140mgs of methadone/daily, I wanted to get clean but didnt want to suffer through the methadone w/d's like I had previously experienced when I was at lower doses. At that time I was fairly naive to the whole suboxone issue, all I knew was that it was an option for opiate detox mainly for methadone patients or other heavy users of narcotics. So I had to taper down over months until I got down to 35mgs of methadone, then switched over to subooxne at 8mgs a day. I stayed at 8mgs for a couple of months before I found this site and talked with others that had varying opinions about suboxone and its use. I soon realized for myself that I needed to keep my sub treatment to a minimum and I wanted to start tapering against my doc's orders so I could be completely free from opiates. Anyways sorry all the background info, but in short I tapered down to about .25mgs before I finally quit, literally just a tiny crumb. It wasnt easy by any stretch but compared to methadone w/d's it was considerably easier. But were all differernt in how we react during detox, I imagine your symptoms may last longer considering the time you've been on and just how much sub has been built up in your system. The key really is to be as positive as possible, realize its gonna be tough but life without opiates including suboxone is so much more enjoyable and the relief of not relying on any pills to make it through a simple day is truely priceless. So make sure you are ready to take this step, your going to need some sort of aftercare, its almost a must to give yourself a better chance at staying clean. Ga Guy asked some important questions, are you really ready to quit, have you abused sub or any other opiates recently or during your treatment. The more information you can provide the more detailed and accurate advice this forum can offer. Theres a tremendous amount of support here for all addicts when they are ready to quit, this site helped me so much during and after my sub treatment. Again sorry for rambling on, but I sometimes get carried away when talking about suboxone/subutex, because I do have some strong feeling when it comes to its use. I wish you all the best and as long as you believe that your ready then I think getting off sub is a great idea. Tell us more specifics and hopefully you can get some information that you find useful. Best of luck, take care.

[GA Guy]

Do you feel ready to come off? Have you worked on the mental side of the addiction? Has the Sub worked well for you over the last 8 years? Have you taken the Sub without abusing it? What dose are you on now? As you can see, this question has more questions than answers without some more information.