suboxone withdrawals after 3 weeks of use?

[sassycurls]

i stopped taking lortabs (6-7 10 mgs a day) 18 days ago.  the day after i took my last lortab i started taking suboxone that a friend gave me.  so i've been on suboxone for 17 days as of today.  the first day i took a total of about 4 mg (1 mg at a time - 4 times in that day).  the past week or so i've been taking 1 mg in the am and 1 mg around 5 pm  i only have about 3 mgs left so that's about two more days.  will i experience any withdrawal symptoms after taking such small doses a day for almost 3 weeks? if so, what should i expect? I'm starting to get worried

[J T Junig, MD PhD]

Not sure what happened-- I think that things got moved around when this forum opened up. But your advice is spot-on-- sassy has to go through withdrawal from the lortabs, which was postponed by taking Suboxone.  The dose of hydrocodone and suboxone were not all that high, so the withdrawal won't be horrible- it should peak at about 3 days, and gradually improve after a week or two.  By a month, I would think it should be about done-- but everyone is different. The suggestions about exercise and fluids are good ones.

[vicki595]

Okay...what happened??

I answered this from the substance abuse forum not the expert forum!!!

[vicki595]

Well,try not to worry. It doesn't help things at all. I have to yell at you for taking Suboxone without a doctor.  It's a complete program not something to help avoid withdrawals!!

Yes. You will have withdrawals. The withdrawal you will feel will be that of the lortabs. You only postponed it by taking the sub. Did you know that??   Suboxone is a very powerful drug.  
You'll be okay. It's not going to be pleasant but it shouldn't be horrible. Be sure to drink a lot of fluids,eat well,and get some exercise. Exercise will really help so start that today!!

Keep posting here...