Bupe Buprenorphine Withdrawals

[TeeCee]

I'm worried about this too. I start outpatient today, they are also prescribing subs. I am taking 2mg/day, i have been for about 2 weeks now. how long can i stay on this to maximize my recovery (ie no relapse, get my affairs in order, etc) but not TOO long that I experience month long withdrawals. Because if thats the case i might as well do it now and sort out my life with out it....i just fear not having this safety net and relapsing. like today i'm having some pretty bad cravings, and i know as soon as i take subs it'll go away. BUT i know down the road if i do too much sub i'm going to have withdrawals and cravings anyway...sooooo yeah should i already start trying to lower my dose? Should i just hop off of it? i probably could've after detox but i'm an idiot and took the extras he gave me...

If you fear your going to relapse then it might be a good idea to stay on it longer. The idea of being on suboxone is all about giving yourself a chance to get your life back on track, so much so that you would much prefer to not use again and screw everything up. I'd say that at least give it a couple of months.

 

[Trigeminal]

Man, these doses you guys are on are scary high, its no wonder your w/d are hell. I couldn't imagine being on 4mg, let alone 8mg+ a day...

They're not "scary high," Suboxone has a ceiling effect at 2 mg and up per day. It builds up in your blood as you take it, so a 2 mg daily dose and a "scary" 8 mg dose will have the same effect on your receptors.

 

[Tommyboy]

I find that it's super easy to taper down from any amount of suboxone to around 6 mg. you can jump from 16, to 8 IME with no problem, I wouldn't bother even tapering with that jump. than from 8 to 6 it gets a little harder but still a relative walk in the park, your not going to experience any major withdrawal or at least i didn't. adjusting to four mg took a little longer, and its probably good to stay on that dose for 2 weeks before tapering further. I read that buprenorphine is detected in urine and feces up to 14 days after use, so I give it that much time to shed that extra suboxone from our higher dosages before moving on. Under four mg it gets a bit harder, and I would suggest not jumping down to two mg all at once, but going to three instead. Jumping from three to two mg was by far the hardest IMO. Just wait it out for four days though and you'll start adjusting to the two mg. I experienced some minor withdrawal at this point (insomnia, chills, anxiety, depression). Jumping to 1 mg was not so bad for me actually (I've been on it for five days now, and am adjusted). I think it was easier cause i heard everyone on forums saying tapering under 2 mg is when it gets hard, but for me, it was actually easier than going from 3 mg to 2 mg. I think I'm going to now stay on this dose for two weeks and then taper down to .5 mg/day.

by the way, once you get to 4 mg and under, i find breaking your dosage up into two dosages is really helpful. I don't think I could have ever gotten to 1 mg/day by single dosages

I agree. I have said many times that I think that it is best to try to reduce the dose as much as possible right off the bat, because it's a lot easier reducing those higher doses than it is reducing low doses. It will also drastically reduce the amount of time it will take to get off of the drug because you are dropping 8mgs right away instead of doing like 1mg a week, so you will be clean 8 weeks earlier.

I was prescribed 32mgs a day for 18 months, but I mostly took 16 mgs a day (this was 5 years ago before I knew anything about suboxone and its effective doses). I was always fine taking 8mgs, but I can't really comment on tapering because I went away to school expecting to be able to see a doctor in that area, and it turned out there was such a long waiting list that I ended up just getting off the suboxone in 3 weeks (not pleasant).

 

[DustnRoses]

How long after last dose do most of you start feeling the withdrawals? I only ask because I'm at about 26 hours since I've had any, and I don't feel anything yet....my opiate binge was unique and short, but I always prepare myself for the worst. It was basically heroin for a week, switched to sub for 3 days (1mg per day) then oxy for 3 days... and now sub again, this time for 3 days...so it was 5 days between sub dosing...had sub 11/26 - 11/29, oxy til the 1st, then sub til yesterday, the 6th...So I'm really hoping that with my low doses, short duration, and break (thought during my "break" I took oxy) that I might have avoided any withdrawals...although I know, for some people, the withdrawals don't even start til 36-48 hours.

 

[Znegative]

at a low dose like 1 mg, you should feel withdrawals within 24-36 hours, or at least I do

 

[DustnRoses]

Thanks for the reply. I agree, with a dose that low, I should feel something by now (48 hrs). I woke up this morning at 2am and couldn't get back to sleep....couldn't get comfortable, legs fidgeting, etc. but never to the point where I considered taking any sub. At work today I was able to talk to people, eat my normal meals, etc. I feel like I have a minor cold...a little uncomfortable, but totally able to function and do every day activities, which is more than I could have hoped for. Like I said right now I'm at 48 hrs and feel about 88% normal.

 

[groovee2]

Hello everyone, been on these forums since the late 1990's and I figured I would share my subutex withdrawal experiences. In Jan of '09 I was rx'd 24mg/day of subutex and over the next 30 months I weaned myself down to 2mg. My doctor advised against this at every turn but the sexual side effects and the lack of motivation that subutex caused me wasn't worth it. At the end of June '11 I stopped taking the 2mg/day.

I was in withdrawal for over 10 weeks and I averaged 90 minutes of sleep during that time. My doctor recommended and then rx'd the following sleep medications (in order): 1.Melatonin, 2. Valerian, 3.Benadryl, 4.Trazadone, 5.Serequel, 6.Ambien, 7.Sonata, 8.Doxepin, & 9.Remeron. I just couldn't sleep so I started chipping on heroin for about 6 weeks. Ended up going to my 2nd detox where they tried to give me suboxone which I refused. I ended up on Naltrexone once released from detox and stopped taking it due to terrible headaches.

Its now December and I average 5 hours of sleep each night which is a vast improvement over 90 minutes. I feel "right" for the first time in years and have not ingested dope since early October. Its different for every person but I would rather kick heroin standing on my head than to go thru subutex withdrawal again. I had every symptom that others experienced and I know that I should have tapered to a dose less than 2mg/day but I didn't and I paid for it. I made the decision to start subutex maintenance the day after I was released from detox in '09 and what drug addict is going to say no to drugs when thats all they know ?

If you are on suboxone/subutex and want to stop taking it I strongly suggest researching tapering plans and stick to them, otherwise be prepared for months of suck.

Be well everyone.

 

[SameOldShit101]

groove2, CONGRATULATIONS! (normally, I would not break out the caps lock button for just anything. This is definitely not "just anything" Your story warms my heart) I have been taking 1 to 2mg of suboxone nasally for MONTHS and I am so worried about getting off of it eventually. I have a natural imballence and I am suicidal at times even before I had began using opiates. I am VERY worried about anxiety and depression. My anxiety gets bad enough to where I get attacks. My blood pressure raises to 60/100 and my pounds! I am very worried. But, this is AWESOME! I'm really glad to see someone get off of opiates for good. Stay OFF of them man. You can think about how good that high is or you can live life and not lose life. You really are an inspiration man. :D

 

[batmanplaybaseball]

Hello everyone, been on these forums since the late 1990's and I figured I would share my subutex withdrawal experiences. In Jan of '09 I was rx'd 24mg/day of subutex and over the next 30 months I weaned myself down to 2mg. My doctor advised against this at every turn but the sexual side effects and the lack of motivation that subutex caused me wasn't worth it. At the end of June '11 I stopped taking the 2mg/day.

I was in withdrawal for over 10 weeks and I averaged 90 minutes of sleep during that time. My doctor recommended and then rx'd the following sleep medications (in order): 1.Melatonin, 2. Valerian, 3.Benadryl, 4.Trazadone, 5.Serequel, 6.Ambien, 7.Sonata, 8.Doxepin, & 9.Remeron. I just couldn't sleep so I started chipping on heroin for about 6 weeks. Ended up going to my 2nd detox where they tried to give me suboxone which I refused. I ended up on Naltrexone once released from detox and stopped taking it due to terrible headaches.

Its now December and I average 5 hours of sleep each night which is a vast improvement over 90 minutes. I feel "right" for the first time in years and have not ingested dope since early October. Its different for every person but I would rather kick heroin standing on my head than to go thru subutex withdrawal again. I had every symptom that others experienced and I know that I should have tapered to a dose less than 2mg/day but I didn't and I paid for it. I made the decision to start subutex maintenance the day after I was released from detox in '09 and what drug addict is going to say no to drugs when thats all they know ?

If you are on suboxone/subutex and want to stop taking it I strongly suggest researching tapering plans and stick to them, otherwise be prepared for months of suck.

Be well everyone.

I wish I could have this post archived. Or even better, have it framed and put up in the waiting room of every rehab and doctor's office where people are waiting to get this 'miracle drug'.

 

[parcesedum]

I'm on bure for only 4 weeks and trying to taper it down from 5 to 2 after this day I will try to go on 1 so I'm asking what will I do after (sorry from my bad English

 

[sarasluv]

I tried getting off methadone in a clinic, in a rather brutal fashion; from 25mg to 0mg in 5 days! (I still dont get how that is not considered torture) and after 15 days of taking only clonidine and lyrica i simply could not take it anymore and started again with methadone until the doctor told me that it was much easier to taper off suboxone than methadone.
So I switched to suboxene the first day the doctor gave me 20mg, needless to say i was nodding off the whole day and for the first week i was getting quite high from it. Later i found out that 20mg is a really high dose, so since then i tapered off to 6mg in about 2 months quite effortlessly. Occasionally i would wake up with a bit of sweat but nothing compared to the methadone WD and would not really describe it as the normal withdrawl symptoms of opiates. Some days I completely forget to take my bupe, especially if I have taken MDMA the day before.
Now im stable at 6mg since 3 weeks and im planning on going down to 4mg soon.
I was pretty optimistic until reading things on this forum and im a bit scared now that it will be much more difficult than anticipated. Can anyone compare tapering off methadone with suboxone and the differences?

 

[Tommyboy]

It shouldn't be that bad if you taper properly. When bupe was first being prescribed for addiction treatment the doctors were saying that the withdrawals were so minor, so people did not take tapering that seriously, which led to some bad withdrawals that they were not expecting. Also, people were taking a lot higher doses back then compared to now.

 

[Znegative]

It shouldn't be that bad if you taper properly. When bupe was first being prescribed for addiction treatment the doctors were saying that the withdrawals were so minor, so people did not take tapering that seriously, which led to some bad withdrawals that they were not expecting. Also, people were taking a lot higher doses back then compared to now.

Back when I first got on suboxone in 2006, i was told it did not cause withdrawals at all.. I have no idea where some of these doctors get that idea, as buprenorphine has been around for quite some time.

 

[Jabberwocky]

I'm on bure for only 4 weeks and trying to taper it down from 5 to 2 after this day I will try to go on 1 so I'm asking what will I do after (sorry from my bad English

Try try try not to jump off at 2 or 1mgs. You really need to get down to 0.25mg to insure you don't suffer uncomfy w/d and are tempted to start using again... bupe withdrawals take a looooooooong time, so it's imperative to taper correctly and get as low as possible before you get off it totally.

Back when I first got on suboxone in 2006, i was told it did not cause withdrawals at all.. I have no idea where some of these doctors get that idea, as buprenorphine has been around for quite some time.

Yea, and although it's a very different sort of addiction and w/d, they told me the same thing about zolpidem... what a crock of advertising shit...

 

[parcesedum]

I must be honest I had some realy f...ed experience with opiates....but I was clean for 3 years and I meet bubre and take some weekly
from the beginning I snorted them and now I'm on 2 for couples days but this morning try not to take to see how I'll be but I was filing very bad so please tell me what to do next

 

[batmanplaybaseball]

Back when I first got on suboxone in 2006, i was told it did not cause withdrawals at all.. I have no idea where some of these doctors get that idea, as buprenorphine has been around for quite some time.

They got the idea from pharmaceutical companies whose slick and targeted advertising campaigns would put a lot of the commercial brands to shame. They spam doctors with targeted seminars, free samples, monetary incentives. No doctors prescribing this medication have ever taken this drug, and maybe half a percentage of them have any knowledge of addiction outside of a four credit course they got a 2.5 in while doing premed.

 

[Jabberwocky]

I must be honest I had some realy f...ed experience with opiates....but I was clean for 3 years and I meet bubre and take some weekly
from the beginning I snorted them and now I'm on 2 for couples days but this morning try not to take to see how I'll be but I was filing very bad so please tell me what to do next

I'm sorry mate, but I don't really understand what you tried to explain here.

How much suboxone do you take normally?
How often to you take it?
How long have you been taking it?

These questions are crucial to us helping you manage a taper/detox from suboxone, if that is in fact what you seem interested in learning more about.

 

[Znegative]

They got the idea from pharmaceutical companies whose slick and targeted advertising campaigns would put a lot of the commercial brands to shame. They spam doctors with targeted seminars, free samples, monetary incentives. No doctors prescribing this medication have ever taken this drug, and maybe half a percentage of them have any knowledge of addiction outside of a four credit course they got a 2.5 in while doing premed.

So true.. I'm a visual artist, but was anyone else impressed by the clever little symbol they got on the film boxes (the scribbled line shooting through a suboxone film and transforming into a dove lol?)

 

[parcesedum]

in my post from two days ago I try to eksplane
Quote Originally Posted by parcesedum View Post
I'm on bure for only 4 weeks and trying to taper it down from 5 to 2 after this day I will try to go on 1 so I'm asking what will I do after (sorry from my bad English

 

[parcesedum]

ok couple months ago I take them only weekly but 3 or 4 week ago I'm taking from 5 to 8 a day or something up but the past week one day I couldn't fined some and that was when I was at work and I was filling very sick so I continue taking
now I'm on winter break that I take to get rid of this habit but I don't now how