Bupe Buprenorphine Withdrawals

[Tommyboy]

Yeah I know, I like buprenorphine it's a nice opioid but only for irregular dosing, few times a month max, ya know? At least that's the most frequently I've been able to use it with anything close to full agonist euphoria, and it's analgesic potential isn't enough for my pain but I want to try it to supplement my full agonist therapy, for rebound pain.

Same with me. When I was first prescribed it I remember tossing a few under my tongue, waiting a little while to feel the effects, and then thinking "wow, this is what they are giving me to get off of drugs?!?!?" 4 days later though just about all of the euphoria was gone, and the only time during maintenance that I would feel good from it was when I would take 3 days off, get sick, then dose. Since getting off of suboxone I have gotten a few here and there, and I break them into 2mg pieces for 4 days, but by day 3 I don't feel much euphoria, and by day 4 it doesn't really do anything in terms of euphoria.

I was on bupe for a year and a half, I reduced down to fucking 0.2mg/day - the withdrawals were fucking horrible (no different from a smack cluck). Don't believe the hype.

Just make sure you prepare yourself - Benzos,weed, alcohol, lofexidine/clonidine, drinking water, vitamins, clean bedsheets and clothes, and access to constant showers or baths.

What dose were you on during maintenance? I was on suboxone for the same amount of time as you, was prescribed 32mg/day but usually took 16mg, and I tapered down from the 16mg - nothing over about 2-3 weeks since I was suddently cut off, and those withdrawals were terrible. I always figured that it was because of my dose and because I really didn't taper, but maybe I would have still gotten sick if I tapered more, so maybe it's better that I just stopped real quick.

 

[RorerQuaalude714]

I'm on 16 mg of bupe per day and I get pretty damn sick after about 16-18 hours after my morning dose, sometimes sooner. Basically, when I take my morning dose, I know exactly when I'm going to end up getting sick again. I first start to feel it at around the 12 hour mark with minor w/d symptoms, then a few hours later I'm puking my guts up, sweating, etc. Often times, I'll wake up in the middle of the night really sick and have to take my dose then, which fucks me over for the next few days until I go for my pharmacist observe dose and carries at the start of the week and "reset" my dosing cycle. If I try and tough it out until morning, I'm so dopesick in the morning I can barely function.

The fact that I'm on a benzo does help, as does the fact that I take zolpidem or zopiclone at night, but that being said, bupe still gives me pretty fierce withdrawals between doses. My addictions doc keeps saying that this shouldn't happen because of bupe's long half-life, but it still does on a daily basis. I'm actually starting to consider switching to methadone to rectify this. Any suggestions about that?

 

[Tommyboy]

I'm on 16 mg of bupe per day and I get pretty damn sick after about 16-18 hours after my morning dose, sometimes sooner. Basically, when I take my morning dose, I know exactly when I'm going to end up getting sick again. I first start to feel it at around the 12 hour mark with minor w/d symptoms, then a few hours later I'm puking my guts up, sweating, etc. Often times, I'll wake up in the middle of the night really sick and have to take my dose then, which fucks me over for the next few days until I go for my pharmacist observe dose and carries at the start of the week and "reset" my dosing cycle. If I try and tough it out until morning, I'm so dopesick in the morning I can barely function.

The fact that I'm on a benzo does help, as does the fact that I take zolpidem or zopiclone at night, but that being said, bupe still gives me pretty fierce withdrawals between doses. My addictions doc keeps saying that this shouldn't happen because of bupe's long half-life, but it still does on a daily basis. I'm actually starting to consider switching to methadone to rectify this. Any suggestions about that?

What drugs and doses were you addicted to before getting on suboxone? The half-life of methadone varies a lot (from 15-60 hours) and is usually shorter than the average half-life of suboxone (37 hours), so I don't know if switching would work, but maybe your body reacts weird with bupe.

You shouldn't be getting that sick after such a short amount of time, but is their any way you can split your dose, or is that what you are already doing? If I understand correctly you just have to take one supervised dose a week, and then you get your take-homes for the rest of the week, and do this each week. That should give you the freedom to split your dose, and keep you from getting sick. I'm going to stop here until I hear your replies so I have a better idea of the situation.

 

[RorerQuaalude714]

What drugs and doses were you addicted to before getting on suboxone? The half-life of methadone varies a lot (from 15-60 hours) and is usually shorter than the average half-life of suboxone (37 hours), so I don't know if switching would work, but maybe your body reacts weird with bupe.

You shouldn't be getting that sick after such a short amount of time, but is their any way you can split your dose, or is that what you are already doing? If I understand correctly you just have to take one supervised dose a week, and then you get your take-homes for the rest of the week, and do this each week. That should give you the freedom to split your dose, and keep you from getting sick. I'm going to stop here until I hear your replies so I have a better idea of the situation.

I was addicted to prescription narcotics, with oxy being the opioid I used most. I was an IV user and my average oxy dose was variable, it was anywhere from at least 160 mg on an average day and up to 480 mg or more on a day when I was on a binge. My heavy binges would be about once or twice a month or whenever I could afford them, to be honest. Upon starting the Suboxone, I never got sick like this, and I started at 4 mg. It wasn't until I broke the 10-12 mg mark that I started to get sick between doses. I would divide up my doses, and my addictions doc suggests that I try doing that, but I'm just concerned that it may cause some other unforeseen problem. I think that the problem may lie in the fact that one of the other meds that I take is Tegretol, and that its enzyme induction is causing the problem.

 

[vikenRedbull]

repid detox

Yeah I know, I like buprenorphine it's a nice opioid but only for irregular dosing, few times a month max, ya know? At least that's the most frequently I've been able to use it with anything close to full agonist euphoria, and it's analgesic potential isn't enough for my pain but I want to try it to supplement my full agonist therapy, for rebound pain.

Tricomb

can you please let me know how to use a single sub pill for RAPID detox please

i currently am taking about 6 norcos a day (10/325 (hydro)) for about 10 months. i can survive off of 2 pills a day, one in AM and one in PM. but you know how hard it is not to take more when you have them.
however i wish to stop.

can you share with me the dose to use a sub pill for someone with a case such as mine. Thanks A TON!

 

[RorerQuaalude714]

Tricomb

can you please let me know how to use a single sub pill for RAPID detox please

i currently am taking about 6 norcos a day (10/325 (hydro)) for about 10 months. i can survive off of 2 pills a day, one in AM and one in PM. but you know how hard it is not to take more when you have them.
however i wish to stop.

can you share with me the dose to use a sub pill for someone with a case such as mine. Thanks A TON!

I'm not tricomb, but I'll give you my 2 cents on this . First, you have to detox from your opioid of choice for a few days (at least a week) to get it completely out of your system, as the Suboxone can cause what's known as "precipitated withdrawals"; basically an extremely intense form of opioid withdrawals that are generally short-lived and cannot be reversed by taking an opioid. Second, buprenorphine (the opioid and active ingredient in Suboxone) is extremely potent. You're on 60 mgs of hydro a day and can survive off of 20 mg....well in terms of an bupe dose that isn't excessive, it'd be especially difficult to split the tablets into sections that small. Bupe is pretty serious stuff, and IMO, a rapid detox with it isn't such a great idea because it can lead to dependence on the bupe. Take it from someone who's on bupe, it does cause nasty withdrawal symptoms, much more than what you would get from a taper from 60 mg of hydro. Just do a slow hydro taper and you'll be fine.

 

[Tommyboy]

I was addicted to prescription narcotics, with oxy being the opioid I used most. I was an IV user and my average oxy dose was variable, it was anywhere from at least 160 mg on an average day and up to 480 mg or more on a day when I was on a binge. My heavy binges would be about once or twice a month or whenever I could afford them, to be honest. Upon starting the Suboxone, I never got sick like this, and I started at 4 mg. It wasn't until I broke the 10-12 mg mark that I started to get sick between doses. I would divide up my doses, and my addictions doc suggests that I try doing that, but I'm just concerned that it may cause some other unforeseen problem. I think that the problem may lie in the fact that one of the other meds that I take is Tegretol, and that its enzyme induction is causing the problem.

You should definitely split your dosing up, and you can do it gradually. Take the majority of your dose in the morning, saving a little for later, and slowly move more and more of your morning dose to your later dose, until it's split. If you have been on the Tegretol the whole time you have been on the suboxone, then it might be the higher dosage of suboxone that is causing the problem with it, so you should consider tapering back down.

I'm not tricomb, but I'll give you my 2 cents on this . First, you have to detox from your opioid of choice for a few days (at least a week) to get it completely out of your system, as the Suboxone can cause what's known as "precipitated withdrawals"; basically an extremely intense form of opioid withdrawals that are generally short-lived and cannot be reversed by taking an opioid. Second, buprenorphine (the opioid and active ingredient in Suboxone) is extremely potent. You're on 60 mgs of hydro a day and can survive off of 20 mg....well in terms of an bupe dose that isn't excessive, it'd be especially difficult to split the tablets into sections that small. Bupe is pretty serious stuff, and IMO, a rapid detox with it isn't such a great idea because it can lead to dependence on the bupe. Take it from someone who's on bupe, it does cause nasty withdrawal symptoms, much more than what you would get from a taper from 60 mg of hydro. Just do a slow hydro taper and you'll be fine.

I agree with everything except for the part I bolded. You don't have to wait that long in order to avoid precipitated withdrawals. 24 hours is almost always enough time to wait, unless the person was taking methadone before the suboxone, which takes longer to get out of your system. For hydrocodone though you are good to dose the suboxone 24 hours after the last dose. Other than that, I agree with the rest of your post.

 

[Just1moretime]

I've been on Suboxone for 3 years now, have tried tapering off, went from 8mg one time a day to 4mg to 2mg, and now down to 1mg a day. I've tried to quit completely several times, but everytime the w/d's are just as bad as when I first was put on suboxone 3 years ago for 150mg fentanyl and 50mg oxycodone a day addiction. Anyone have any suggestions on how to not go through horrible 2 week physical w/d's? I've thought about taking hydrocodones for 2 weeks and then try handling the w/d's from that to see if it's any less intense as sub w/d's? Any advice would be very much appreciated...

 

[Just1moretime]

Also I have a plate & seven screws in my leg, which causes a great amount of pain daily, so wondered if Norco's would be the way to go?

 

[Donewthislife]

I've been on Suboxone for 3 years now, have tried tapering off, went from 8mg one time a day to 4mg to 2mg, and now down to 1mg a day. I've tried to quit completely several times, but everytime the w/d's are just as bad as when I first was put on suboxone 3 years ago for 150mg fentanyl and 50mg oxycodone a day addiction. Anyone have any suggestions on how to not go through horrible 2 week physical w/d's? I've thought about taking hydrocodones for 2 weeks and then try handling the w/d's from that to see if it's any less intense as sub w/d's? Any advice would be very much appreciated...

Try and taper down to a lower dose of Suboxone. People on here have tapered down to micrograms before jumping off. Cut your dose every 4-5 days by about 15-25%. I've heard that Kratom works for Sub withdrawal too. Can I ask you why are you coming off Subs?

 

[why me]

I am trying to get off 2mg of subs taken daily for 8 months....was at 12mg for 16 mos prior and tapered to 2mg...........every 24 hours I feel crappy as hell in the am until I take my 2 mg.
I knew nothing about subs and went to a shrink who had me as her only sub patient.......so I now know I should have been off this within a couple months..........all I had was a 30mg oxy habit orally.

anyway the doctor moved away and the new dr wants me on gabapentin etc to detox and I think I am better off withdrawing with low dose vicodin or 5 mg perc

I can already tell he wont treat me w/o the gaba and he's expensive monthly..and gaba has real issues from what I read

How long after my last 2mg sub (taken daily for 8mo) should I switch to vicodin or oxy 5 or 10 and then get through the sub wd nightmare ?
How many hours.is recommended? I dont want to waste the timing process or few pills.........I know I can stop the few weeks of low dose pills
btw I have had no opiates (relapses) for 2.5 yrs

I am a family man w/ a job that will not tolerate a month or more of being SUB W/D dysfunctional so this seems to be the course for me.

Please give your advise on how soon after last sub and what strength needed to get through the sub nightmare
Have access to a couple benzos but that didnt help with the sub taper below 2mg......still felt like I was in panic mode

This crap is wicked and the SUB drs here are nuts and money grubbers

Thanks in advance for any info that isnt you're a drug addict so why do this.
I cant afford to lose my job and go broke with the sub thing anymore

Thanks

 

[Tommyboy]

I've been on Suboxone for 3 years now, have tried tapering off, went from 8mg one time a day to 4mg to 2mg, and now down to 1mg a day. I've tried to quit completely several times, but everytime the w/d's are just as bad as when I first was put on suboxone 3 years ago for 150mg fentanyl and 50mg oxycodone a day addiction. Anyone have any suggestions on how to not go through horrible 2 week physical w/d's? I've thought about taking hydrocodones for 2 weeks and then try handling the w/d's from that to see if it's any less intense as sub w/d's? Any advice would be very much appreciated...

As someone else mentioned, taper down to a lower dose before stopping. Get down to around 0.25mg, then start skipping days, and then stop. You can take loperamide to help with the withdrawals once you are done with the suboxone.

I am trying to get off 2mg of subs taken daily for 8 months....was at 12mg for 16 mos prior and tapered to 2mg...........every 24 hours I feel crappy as hell in the am until I take my 2 mg.
I knew nothing about subs and went to a shrink who had me as her only sub patient.......so I now know I should have been off this within a couple months..........all I had was a 30mg oxy habit orally.

anyway the doctor moved away and the new dr wants me on gabapentin etc to detox and I think I am better off withdrawing with low dose vicodin or 5 mg perc

I can already tell he wont treat me w/o the gaba and he's expensive monthly..and gaba has real issues from what I read

How long after my last 2mg sub (taken daily for 8mo) should I switch to vicodin or oxy 5 or 10 and then get through the sub wd nightmare ?
How many hours.is recommended? I dont want to waste the timing process or few pills.........I know I can stop the few weeks of low dose pills
btw I have had no opiates (relapses) for 2.5 yrs

I am a family man w/ a job that will not tolerate a month or more of being SUB W/D dysfunctional so this seems to be the course for me.

Please give your advise on how soon after last sub and what strength needed to get through the sub nightmare
Have access to a couple benzos but that didnt help with the sub taper below 2mg......still felt like I was in panic mode

This crap is wicked and the SUB drs here are nuts and money grubbers

Thanks in advance for any info that isnt you're a drug addict so why do this.
I cant afford to lose my job and go broke with the sub thing anymore

Thanks

If you are going to switch back to hydrocodone then do it once you feel sick from the suboxone withdrawals. It's hard to give an accurate time-frame for when you should switch to the hydrocodone, so it's easier to say to just wait until you are feeling sick so that you dont waste any of the hydrocodone.

You should get below 2mg before switching though. Drop each week or so going from 2 --> 1.5 --> 1 --> 0.75 --> 0.5 --> 0.25 and then try to just stop like that. If you go to the hydrocodone then only take a little bit (no more than 10mg), then lower down to 5mg or less, skipping days in between dosing at the end before stopping completely.

That's just one way you can try to taper, but it's not the only way.

 

[why me]

Thanks for the response............this is my problem.....it's getting lower than the 2mg every 24 hours.......like to 1.5,,,,,,,,,,,I work with my hands in direct view of people and WD can't be obvious.
I cant take off much time from work.......whats another option please

 

[Tommyboy]

You can try splitting your dose to 1mg in the morning and then 1mg at night, and you can lower your dose by taking 1mg in the morning, and .5 at night, alternating the night dose between 1mg and .5 until you stabilize at a night dose of .5, while keeping the morning dose at 1mg. Once you stabilize at 1.5mg for a week or so, then try alternating nights with taking the .5 at night, and not taking anything at night, while still keeping the 1mg dose steady in the morning. You can try the same thing after that, splitting the dose into .5 in the morning and .5 at night, and reducing the night dose down to .25, alternating back and forth between .5 and .25 at night, and basicallly keep doing the same thing as before.

Just try to get down to 1mg, and when you want to go lower than that we can cross that bridge when we get there. I don't see how it would be obvious to anybody at work if you lower your dose. You can start alternating the doses on fridays, so you have the weekend to begin adjusting, but either way I think you should be fine until you get below 1mg or 0.5mg. I went from 16mg to nothing in a couple of weeks after 18 months at that dose, and I was able to work alright after around 10 days, so I think you should be fine. As long as you taper well you should only have a few shitty nights of sleep followed by low energy and feeling achey after that, but that should not be obvious to anybody at work.

 

[Just1moretime]

Try and taper down to a lower dose of Suboxone. People on here have tapered down to micrograms before jumping off. Cut your dose every 4-5 days by about 15-25%. I've heard that Kratom works for Sub withdrawal too. Can I ask you why are you coming off Subs?

Thank you for your advise, I will look into the Kratom. I am trying to come off the Subs, because I am ready to not have to take any medication to just get on with life. My doctor did just switch me to the 20mcg butrans patch, which through my research is alot smaller dose of bupe than the Subs. Do you think the butrans will be easier to come off of if I go from the 20mcg, to 10mcg, and then 5mcg? Also, if you think the butrans idea will work better for coming off completely, how soon should I try tapering? Is kratom legal in the U.S., and where can I get it?

 

[Just1moretime]

I know my username makes me appear to have alterior motives, but I found out that in order to change it I have to close account and open a new one, (hassle). I was in a different point in my addiction when I set up original account...

 

[80mg]

I jsut took my normal dose and got a stomach ache...da fuq? Wds?

 

[Mr.Scagnattie]

I jsut took my normal dose and got a stomach ache...da fuq? Wds?

Not if your stabilized on the bupe.. Could just be a coincidence, hah.

 

[dopiate]

Well I guess I'll start the first of a series of posts over the next couple weeks. I've been on Suboxone for 5 years and for the last 3 i have been injecting it (properly btw, micron filtered, clean syringes). The majority of this time I have been injecting <1mg total per day with normally 5-6 shots per day but the last 9 months I've been taking about 0.6mg per day.

I'm a recent college graduate and I haven't secured a job yet and I realized if I will ever be off buprenorphine, now is the time. I recently cut my usage drastically down to 0.2mg/day with only 2 shots per day (0.1mg/shot). Since then I have cut 0.03mg every 2 days and I'm now at 0.12mg per/day. I have been supplementing with 15-20mg of loperamide thoughout the day and 0.05mg clonodine for sleep if needed.

Overall the w/d has not been that bad. The first day after a drop includes yawning, restless legs, etc but loperamide truly does help a lot. The largest issue is just a feeling of general tiredness. Sleeping has been periodically difficult, i wake up at about 7am. I only have about 2mg left of buprenorphine but at such a small dose it will last a little while. I'm going to continue to drop every couple days and then cease usage when I get real low.

The positives of this experience are several and generally unexpected. I hate injecting. But overall after 3 years of careful use (1000's of shots), I have never had a single acute medical problem other than my arms have light scar marks around high use areas but I do not scar easily. I've never lost a vein. I love not worrying about the appearance of my arms. I love not worrying about planning ahead my shots and worrying about someone finding out (i have had countless dreams about this). My mind state is positive and hopeful.

I will try to update throughout the process because bluelight, with all its positives, is short on success stories and I hope to be one. I sure as hell could use a couple right now. I have a job interview that I am flying to next week so that will be a challenge but the more things I do with decreasing suboxone will just give me confidence.

P.S. Shout out to Captain Heroin, he's a great guy and everyone should be nice to him, he's never been anything but helpful to me.

 

[i are spectre]

in response to using bupe as a way to "ease" your small opioid withdrawal: man people need to be careful. suboxone is a bad idea if you are an addict. chances are you won't be able to get off the suboxone, then you are FUCKED.

trading a silly norco habit with its week long withdrawal max to a bupe withdrawal that may last months or even a year.
addiction to bupe will happen just as fast and easy as the norco/oxy habit. stay away from bupe unless you have absolutely no other option.