Rapid Bupe Detox Protocol - READ IF APPLIES TO YOU!!!

Hi everyone, this is my first major post here. I joined specifically to report on this rapid (5-7 days) H detox using Buprenorphine (subutex, suboxone, etc) taper.

I've been using H (west coast black tar, very high quality - possibly never stepped on, exactly 2 links down from the importer), ROA = vaporizing dabs, for the last year and half. I have successfully withdrawn for periods of a couple weeks at a time with very little discomfort on at least 5 occasions during this 1.5 year period using this method. For reference, I was smoking about 1.3g's/day for the last 4 months nonstop until this point. I had been planning on detoxing again but kept coming across extra funds and saying "one more time". This time, as I tried to score "my last half ounce", I discovered my dealer got busted and instead of branching out to other sources I decided the cosmos is giving me a sign. It's time to withdraw!

Enough about me.

Before I describe the Rapid Bupe Detox Protocol, let me say that I am horrified hearing reports of individuals whose doctors have put them on "maintenance" doses of 16-24+ mg of bupe/day for unbelievably long periods of time (I've even heard people report their doctor saying "for the rest of your life"), sometimes with no plans for tapering at all. As a man of science, I hate to say this, but many of these doctors don't know shit and are either wittingly or unwittingly destroying your chance of escaping the clutch of opiate addiction. There is some discussion here at BL regarding this phenomenon. If you're one of these BMT patients, you will benefit vastly from this protocol - and have plenty of subs left over to stockpile for later! YAY!

You'll also want to have on hand some benzos (I like xanax and valium for different applications but klonopin and other benzos will suffice just fine), some GHB (if you can get it), clonidine (check your grandma's cabinet - you only need a few), alcohol and weed/hash (adjusted and administered to taste - I've been vaporizing mid-grade hash all day throughout this protocol for comfort and mood lifting). ***EDIT - READ BELOW REGARDING MIXING BENZO'S AND GHB***

Below is the Protocol. You can obviously make adjustments for yourself, but if you follow the general pattern it works. It is broken down by day (Day 1, etc), how much bupe to take, and what I experienced during that time, with time elapsed noted for major dose events:

Day 0: I smoked the last of my H at 9:00pm. It was a bittersweet experience, knowing that this is the last time for a while that I'll eat the Dream Lotus. Went to bed a couple hours later and had nice heroin dreams.

Day 1 (8-12mg): Before most major signs of withdrawal have set in (my nose is a bit runny as are my eyes, but that's it), I take 1mg xanax, 0.2mg clonidine and a small cap of GHB to help take the edge off the symptoms which will be increasing soon. I go to bbq with a few friends and have a few beers with them (this also helps the onset of w/d's). The withdrawal symptoms have been steadily increasing, and by 6pm (21 hours since last dose of H) I am in full blown withdrawal (my eyes and nose are salivating like crazy, bone and joint pain at 6/10, my legs want to move like I'm riding a bicycle, I'm sneezing in sets of 10 in a row, etc). I take my 8mg subutex and break it into 1/4's, crush those and insufflate the entire thing over the course of 1 or 2 hours (insufflation has a slightly higher bioavailability than sublingual according to the literature). Whether you snort of sublingual it, go in small amounts to minimize waste.

About 7:00 I take 10mg. valium and about +/- 6 caps of GHB (!!! - read notes at bottom), lie down in bed and start watching something on Netflix (all the while my legs are kicking bike pedals). Next thing I know, I abruptly wake up at 1:00am to find my bed absolutely thrashed, blankets twisted up at the foot of the bed, pillows on the ground like they were thrown there, and a wet spot on my bed that even my squirting ex girlfriend couldn't compete with.

Basically, I did the same thing to myself that they do in hospitals when they knock you out and put you into acute withdrawal to compress the total withdrawal time down to hours.

I should also note, I was feeling GREAT. Just a bit of mind fog and dizziness from the benzos and G. I insufflate an additional 4mg of subutex to top off my previous dose.

Day 2 (6mg): I'm feeling great despite the fact that I only "slept" (more like was comatose) about 5 hours max last night. Most people don't sleep at all on night 1, bupe or not. I take 0.5mg xanax and 0.2mg clonidine to minimize any discomfort until my next dose of bupe. In the meantime, I took care of errands and hung out with a couple friends like it's just another day. At about 6:00 (45 hours since last dose of H) I crush up 3/4's of a subutex (6mg) and insufflate that over the course of 1-2 hours. I took 10mg valium about an hour before bed. I went to bed at my normal time that night and went to sleep like I'm not withdrawing from heavy H use at all. I slept about 6 hours that night.

Day 3 (4mg): Still feeling awesome. I take 0.5mg xanax and 0.2mg clonidine like previously and go about my day. I'm talking meeting clients, depositing checks at the bank, grocery shopping, etc. I should note that I'm in an uplifted mood despite suffering from chronic depression (bupe really helps in that department). I wait until about 2:00pm (65 ours since last H dose) and I insufflate 4mg of bupe. I continue to go about my day and take another 10mg valium before bed. Slept like a rock.

Day 4 (2mg): Still feeling great. I no longer require clonidine so I discontinue that (I probably could have done that yesterday too). I just take my 0.5mg xanax and go about my day. I insufflate 2mg at around 2:00pm again (89 hours since last H dose). I was able to sleep this night without any valium, however it took me longer to fall asleep. I still slept a solid 6-7 hours, nevertheless (which is my average anyways - I rarely sleep 8 hours unless I sleep in on weekends).

Day 5 (1mg): I woke up today in good spirits. I know I have plenty of bupe plugged into my brain and am having no w/d symptoms (no runny nose, etc). I'm going to discontinue the xanax since I feel 0 discomfort and just go about my day like I haven't been a H user the last 4 months straight. It is 2:00 now and I'm insufflating my 1mg bupe. I intend to sleep with no benzo's having been taken all day tonight. My mood is elevated and I am extremely productive today. I also have enough subs left to prolong my taper down to 0.25mg, and am considering doing that. Most people with a limited supply would be able to jump off from today's 1mg with little discomfort, but I have the privilege and luxury of being able to taper down lower, which I'll take advantage of.

Day 6 (0.5mg): As I predicted, I was able to sleep last night having taken no benzo's all day, without issue. I fell asleep sometime around midnight and woke up at 7am. That's a normal full night's rest for me. I've taken my 0.5mg bupe (I'm switching over to suboxone film at this point as cutting the strips down is easier than measuring the small amounts of powder) this afternoon and thus far, spirits remain high and I feel no discomfort. I noticed slight sensitivity to changes of temperature at these lower doses of bupe but it isn't anything I can't handle (I'm rationalizing it as necessary since I've been doing the opposite using H the whole time and my body is just starting to feel again). In fact, I've cheated nature so badly by suffering so little and having been so productive these past days that any discomfort I have coming (if any) will be taken in full stride. I took some temazepam and valium tonight but for recreation, not because I needed it to sleep. All work and no play makes Phil a something something...

Day 7 (0.25mg): Full night's sleep last night, awoke this morning with spirits still high, but groggy from last night's recreational benzo dose. At 9pm this evening it will have been a full week since I last smoked any H. I will cut a 1/16th of my suboxone strip and then cut that in half and put that tiny lil square under my tongue sometime today for a 0.25mg dose of bupe. I'll hold at this dose for a few days before jumping off. I should note that I feel like I can jump off at the point I'm at with no trouble whatsoever.

Day 8 (0.25mg): Events continue as they have been. I took 0.25mg by cutting a suboxone film strip down (it's quite tiny) this afternoon. I feel great. I've literally gotten through the last week with no issue. Tomorrow I'm going to jump off and go a day without bupe. I expect all to go well. I'm not ignorant; I know about PAWS etc. I expect some discomfort, but the biggest river in that regard has been crossed at this point. I'll report at the end of the day how it went with zero bupe (there's still some swimming around in my head even today, I expect).

Day 9 (0mg): Starting off my first day with 0 bupe. So far I feel great, but have noticed some sensitivity to temperature, but I believe it is psychosomatic. I have things to do today and expect to be highly productive. Will update if there's anything important to say later.

Day 10 (0mg): I went the entire day yesterday with no chemicals whatsoever (except for THC). I will do the same today. I've noticed mild discomfort with chills during major changes of temperature but that has been noted above already. Also, as the bupe flushes out of my system I can feel my depression returning (I'm also having nightmares in the place of pleasant opioid dreams) but this might all be placebo. In either case it is easily handled. I was able to sleep yesterday at my normal time and woke up nice and early today to begin checking things off my "to do" list. I expect to sleep fine this evening also.

Day 19 Supplemental Update: So, it's been nearly three weeks since I began this blog. I have almost fully discontinued all bupe/benzos as comfort meds as I feel I didn't need them. Instead, if I felt any lingering withdrawal discomforts, I used exercise to power through it and feed it natural endorphins. In the interest of honesty, I have "relapsed" - not exactly an accurate word because my purpose in this project was strictly to withstand the acute withdrawal period of heavy H use (ROA vaporization/inhalation) -a couple times this last week or so. It will be of some interest to anyone reading that I have not experience any rebound withdrawal issues from these newly introduced doses after the acute withdrawal phase was over. In case you're wondering, I've smoked less than a gram in the past week and a half. I noticed my tolerance dropped considerably and can catch nod-level state from a couple dabloads.

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For all intents and purposes, this protocol is over. I can choose from here what I want to do with the rest of my life. Opioids being by DOC, I doubt I'm quitting or anything like that. What is certain is that I will not be spending $400+/week on it and using 1.3+ g's/day like a damn fool. I could have put a $10k down payment on a nice car if I hadn't smoked H for the last year and a half and although it is a bit sad to think about, it's also a useful reminder.

A couple notes to keep in mind:

1. As you may know, you have to wait until you are in full blown withdrawal before taking your bupe. If you are impatient, you'll go into precipitated acute withdrawal syndrome, which is more painful than cold turkey withdrawal and will waste your bupe. There's no hard and fast rule as to when the appropriate time is - it's time when you are fully in withdrawal and are feeling agony.

2. Using bupe in high doses for long periods of time is by far NOT the most effective application of this wonderful molecule. It is a powerful beast and is best used temporarily to stave off the physical pain of full-agonist opiate withdrawal and steadily tapered down from there. Used in higher quantities for longer periods of time it just becomes its own unnecessary addiction and you'll have to take months to taper down safely.

3. To demonstrate the power of bupe - once, early in my career when my brain was opiate naive, I took 4mg of bupe. I was high for about 48 hours straight and was nodding for 10 of those hours. I was even a bit scared because I hadn't expected it to last so long.

4. If you're going to do this, don't tell your doctor (hopefully he doesn't piss test you and check for metabolites). He thinks he's the end-all-be-all of medical knowledge and will probably be insulted and it won't result in anything positive for you. You'll end up with a huge stockpile of extra subs at the end of this that you can keep for a rainy day.

5. Some might consider the drug cocktail I took on Day 1 to be recklessly dangerous. I know my body and have done this before and have it down to a science. Taking 6 caps of GHB at once might not be a good idea for you. I'm not a doctor and am not giving medical advice, so just know thyself and operate accordingly. READ BELOW ALSO!

6. Buprenorphine has a very long elimination half life. You're going to have bupe molecules plugged into your opioid receptors for days after the last day you dose any bupe (even at the final 0.5mg level). Keep that in mind when and if you feel any PAWS setting in after you jump off - you'll have trace bupe in you for a long while.

7. You're not out of the woods once you make it to the first day of 0 bupe. Now is when the mental war begins. You probably won't have any physical symptoms, but you will have mental cravings and what I call "the mindfuck", where my depression multiplies by several orders of magnitude. Remember, this is a mental thing. You can get through it. Whatever you do, don't ruin the hard work of the past week by giving in to the cravings and hooking a sack.

REGARDING THE MIXING OF BENZO'S & GHB CONTROVERSY:
Yes,as I noted in point #5 above when I originally began writing this protocol, the drug cocktail I took on Day 1 is slightly dangerous (or the danger varies from person to person - it might be fine for me based on my tolerances and dilution of GHB on hand, and it might be deadly for someone in Australia). The whole point is that any reader would understand that the "one small cap" I took first was the equivalent to whatever is your small dose (wherever in the world you are and however you take it - the smallest barely active dose), and the "6 caps" (same small caps) is 6x that amount (a relatively large dose). For me specifically, my GHB was diluted at slightly less than 1g/10ml and my small caps hold approx. 5ml, so 6 such caps is a 3g dose of GHB (a high dose). Yes, I was actively trying to knock myself out. However, I've been familiar with these substances for years and know where my limits lie. I took myself right up to the ceiling and booped it on its nose.

Now, I spent hours last night researching the combining of benzo's and GHB/GBL. Here's what I've discovered - everyone who has simply asked about it and gotten replies from people who've never done it, have been warned that it is EXTREMELY dangerous and should not be done UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES (and I agree to some extent as they both are CNS depressants acting on the same receptors). However, every time someone with experience has chimed in, they've mentioned either that they did it once with no ill effects, or they do it all the time with no ill effects, which would also be my experience. But everyone is different. For reference, I had zero tolerance to GHB when I used it on Day 1 (the last time I used it was over 4 months ago).

Nevertheless, in the interest of safety, and I do agree with Crank that safety is important and is a huge part of the mission of BL, I will now recommend that anyone trying what I did either puts aside the GHB or the benzos and either uses one or the other. I will continue to do what works for me, but I don't want anyone to die just because my body is different from yours. It's just very nice to be able to be knocked out during the most agonizing portion of the withdrawal period, which is the reason why I administered said drug cocktail to myself. I drastically minimized my suffering during the acute withdrawal period...how's that for "harm reduction"?

I wouldn't call that a detox protocol so much as just covering the withdrawal symptoms by getting wasted on a combination of two extremely potent GABAergic drugs.

Putting aside the issue of recommending that people combine xanax/valium and GHB (with clonidine on top), you don't even bother to give times for your doseages of these other drugs or specific doses for the GHB (obviously this is going to vary based on purity, but you could at least give people a rough idea what a "cap" is supposed to be - the gap between "nicely buzzed" and "comotose" is pretty thin with GHB even without throwing xanax and valium on top).

I realize the threshold between buzz and comatose is slim with GHB, but c'mon man...a "cap" is a cap of a water bottle. Did you want me to figure that out in ml's?

I'll eat my left hand if anyone gets hurt mixing 1mg xanax or 10mg valium with GHB.

And if you wouldn't call it a detox protocol, what do you call it on day 8 or 10 when you can go opiate free for the rest of your life?

I realize the threshold between buzz and comatose is slim with GHB, but c'mon man...a "cap" is a cap of a water bottle. Did you want me to figure that out in ml's?

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I've never heard of anyone measuring GHB using water bottle lids in my life, and it's a fairly common drug in the music scene here in Australia. You have to allow for the fact that people use drugs in different ways and describe their use in different ways in different parts of the world when you're writing on an international forum. A more common meaning for "cap" is capsule, and I figured that maybe you were obtaining it in some kind of premade capsule form akin to the capsules they put fish oil in (never heard of it being distributed like that, but stranger things have happened).

I'll eat my left hand if anyone gets hurt mixing 1mg xanax or 10mg valium with GHB.

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Considering the amount of people who end up ER every weekend in certain cities here in Aus just from taking GHB alone, I hope for your sake you're right handed. And you seem to be at least moderately experienced with these drugs, you should know how fiendish they are and how easily it is to lose track of how intoxicated you are and take more.

And if you wouldn't call it a detox protocol, what do you call it on day 8 or 10 when you can go opiate free for the rest of your life?

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I'd call it self-deception at best, extreme arrogance at worst. You're only half way to your "day 8 or 10," you still have bupe (and probably trace amounts of xanax and valium, assuming you haven't taken anymore since then) in your system and are already describing intense mental cravings and preexisting depression amplified by several orders of magnitude. And the scientific reality is that most relapses happen days, weeks, months or even years after the individual has overcome the acute withdrawal symptoms as a result of boredom, depression, cravings and a lack of lifestyle changes away from what led to opiate addiction in the first place.

I'm not trying to be a dick, if this was just your description of your attempt to get clean I'd wish you well, but presenting it as a protocol which others should follow is absurd and dangerous. A "man of science" should know better.

How do you measure out your GHB? I'd be willing to bet that 75% of the world gets their GHB in water bottles and uses the caps of those bottles to dose. Very few GHB vendors hand out their GHB in vials with droppers if any at all. The only other container I can think of is an eye dropper. Even then, you drip the G into the CAP of the eye dropper!

No, it's neither absurd nor particularly dangerous.

Your over-indulgence in safety mongering reminds me of parents that forcibly chaperone their kids on Halloween with flashlights on at 5pm, hours before the sun's even down. Should we also not smoke any cannabis after having drank alcohol? May as well never mix any two drugs at any time then should we?

And I'm not "already describing intense mental cravings and preexisting depression amplified by several orders of magnitude", if you would be honest for a moment I wrote that at the bottom as a warning of what will happen after the protocol is over. Yes, I'll go through that, but it's all mental and easily overcome, at least for someone willing to utilize some willpower. In the meantime, I feel excellent, which is what I've been reporting.

And make no mistake - I did not say that I am quitting for life. Opiates are my DOC and I absolutely PLAN on using again whenever I damn well please. The point is that once you've made it to that point where you cut off the bupe, the worst is over and with a little willpower you can go whichever way you want. But please, do get all negative about that and assure me and everyone else that it isn't true.

How do you measure out your GHB? I'd be willing to bet that 75% of the world gets their GHB in water bottles and uses the caps of those bottles to dose. Very few GHB vendors hand out their GHB in vials with droppers if any at all. The only other container I can think of is an eye dropper. Even then, you drip the G into the CAP of the eye dropper!

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Unless you've travelled the world and interviewed GHB users in different cities and countries, that's pure conjecture.

Everyone I've known who's used GHB either carried it in small plastic containers (about the size of the ones they use for urine samples, although I believe they originally come from the toy store) and measures it with oral syringes, or carries it in a specific brand of eye-dropper containers which quite conveniently have lids which hold almost exactly 1ml of liquid (good for sneaking into clubs and so forth), although I've heard of it being sold by the dose in those little plastic fish soy sauce comes in (and seen suspicious quantities of the same plastic fish on the dancefloor at raves). Never seen or even heard of anyone using a bottle cap to measure their dose, and water bottles are only used to transport larger doses (half litres, litres, etc).

No, it's neither absurd nor particularly dangerous.

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Combining CNS depressants is one of (if not the) the greatest causes of acute drug fatalities, and GHB and xanax are both notorious for both the thin line between comfortable intoxication and excess and for their disinhibiting effect. It's extremely dangerous, even for people experienced with these drugs, and suggesting it as a treatment modality for opiate withdrawal, when people are likely to be less than attentive to exact dosing in their search for relief, is beyond the pale.

Your over-indulgence in safety mongering reminds me of parents that forcibly chaperone their kids on Halloween with flashlights on at 5pm, hours before the sun's even down.

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I'm sorry for being a buzzkill by stressing safety on a forum which exists for the purpose of encouraging and enabling safe drug use 8)

And I'm not "already describing intense mental cravings and preexisting depression amplified by several orders of magnitude", if you would be honest for a moment I wrote that at the bottom as a warning of what will happen after the protocol is over. Yes, I'll go through that, but it's all mental and easily overcome, at least for someone willing to utilize some willpower.

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I slightly misread one sentence, that's hardly a good basis for accusing someone of lying. And I don't see how being extremely depressed and full of cravings in a few days from now, instead of now, is a huge improvement.

And make no mistake - I did not say that I am quitting for life. Opiates are my DOC and I absolutely PLAN on using again whenever I damn well please.

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So what happened to people being able to go opiate free for the rest of their lives because of your protocol? You've already described your own inability to control your heroin intake, what makes you think any other addict is different?

The point is that once you've made it to that point where you cut off the bupe, the worst is over

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That's absolute nonsense. Putting aside the question of PAWS, statistically speaking, the majority of relapses happen after acute physical withdrawal is over, for the same reason that people relapse on drugs like cocaine, meth or ketamine which don't cause physical dependence - because the psychological dependence is the real hook that draws people back. If "[going] opiate free for the rest of your life" was a simple matter of avoiding withdrawals, everyone would go to rehab once, taper and never get high again, instead of going through the elongated cycle of detox > depressed > relapse > detox > depressed > relapse etc. which is far more common for opiate addicts (and which you describe yourself).

and with a little willpower you can go whichever way you want.

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Where was your willpower when you " kept coming across extra funds and saying "one more time""? And you said yourself that you've detoxed several times over the last 18 months and each time developed a habit again within a few weeks. Doesn't sound like your willpower is helping you very much there.

I slightly misread one sentence, that's hardly a good basis for accusing someone of lying. And I don't see how being extremely depressed and full of cravings in a few days from now, instead of now, is a huge improvement.

It's a huge improvement because now it would be bone and joint paint, restless legs, no sleep, etc. etc. Physical symptoms. Not mental.

So what happened to people being able to go opiate free for the rest of their lives because of your protocol? You've already described your own inability to control your heroin intake, what makes you think any other addict is different?

They can if they want to. You only quit something if you actually want to. I didn't actually want to quit, I was taking breaks for various reasons.

Where was your willpower when you " kept coming across extra funds and saying "one more time""? And you said yourself that you've detoxed several times over the last 18 months and each time developed a habit again within a few weeks. Doesn't sound like your willpower is helping you very much there.[/QUOTE]

You don't know me, man. I did that because I could. I wasn't using rent or bill or food money, I was using surplus money. And the breaks I took? Those were breaks, taken on purpose, with the intent to put some space in between my use. Stop assuming that I was trying to quit every time and then relapsed due to mental cravings and depression.

It would be one thing if I was telling people to take 3x the normal dose of the benzo's. We're talking 1mg MAX on the xanax (0.5mg otherwise) which is a standard dose, and 10mg valium which is a standard dose. I'm not a medical professional but I really don't see CNS depression occurring from taking the minimum payload of these drugs, even when mixing with GHB. I might be being slightly reckless, but you are also being overly cautious.

Anyways, I'm done with this. Onlookers, take from it what you want. Maybe skip the GHB if you're worried you're going to die. I've done this at least 5 times and...here I am. But just so no one dies, just skip the G.

I came here to help people but apparently I'm a pretty bad guy according to Crank. Maybe next time I'll keep it to myself.

Of the three times I've OD'd on opiates, two of them resulted from injecting fentanyl powder of questionable consistency (the high sucked anyway, don't recommend it).

The other one happened when I injected a lower dose than normal of oxy (80mg, instead of my usual 100 - 120mg at the time), in a location where I had shot up frequently. The only difference is that I had taken 10mg of nitrazepam (equal in potency to 10mg of valium or 0.5mg of xanax) about 12 hours beforehand. Instead of going outside for a cigarette then back inside to nod off on the couch watching TV with my friend, as I had so many times beforehand, the last thing I remember is hitting the vein before I woke up being shaken and slapped, water splashed over me, being told I'd passed out and started going blue. So yes, even small amounts of a downer in your system can compound the effect of dosing another downer. Anyone here will back that up.

Tolerance is also a factor. 0.5mg of xanax might be nothing to you, but the first time I took benzos, I took 0.5mg of xanax and could barely keep myself awake through the next two lectures at Uni. Of course that kind of 'first dose' extra-potency fades quickly, but if someone with minimal experience reads your post and decides that it's safe to combine 10mg of valium with "+/- 6 caps of GHB" (however much that is, you could at least give a ml dose) then they could quite easily wake up in a hospital bed.

When it comes to mixing drugs, especially potent downers, over-caution is preferable to recklessness any day. And that's what BL is here for, to teach people caution so they can use drugs with the minimal risk of damage or death. I don't think you're a bad guy, but I do think you're giving dangerous advice.

And this is all taking into consideration that I even anticipated someone having a similar reaction to yours and wrote Note #5 at the bottom explaining that such a large dose of GHB might not be appropriate for everyone.
Just so everyone is clear, my GHB was fairly dilute at a max. Of 1g/10ml, and the small caps I was using were the "green" (less plastic/smaller) water bottle caps that hold approx. 5ml of liquid. So at 6 of said "caps", I took nearly 3g of GHB.

Edits have been made in the original post to reflect this and other related info.

I agree with crankinit. U should be fine with just the 8mg sub u don't need all that other bs. And u philmckeer said itself u don't plan on quitting for good