Oh man, 3 to 6 milligrams? that's an insanely high dosage
your best bet is to taper down with IV usage
When I quit, I was doing 26 mcg. not mg but micrograms. 0.026 mg. per shot.
best of luck on your journey
I am 9 and 1/2 months off IV buprenorphine. I used it for 5 years.
First, thank you for your reply. You were a pillar in this community before I ever picked up a needle, but you've been twice the help since I have. (And congrats - buprenorphine is a cruel mistress. I hope you feel incredible.)
Second, I plan to get seriously low-dose before I make the jump, but 26mcg seems almost unfathomable. I've tried this before though and thus, understand the appeal of avoiding PAWS (if possible) with a protracted taper.
For anyone else out there in a similar situation, the only upside I can see is that there's a fairly low (much lower than 3-6mg IV) saturation point for buprenorphine where most of your receptors are covered with significantly less:
4mg sublingual gets 60%, 8mg covers 75% according to my research... so hopefully I can drop to 4mg sublingual quickly and stick it out until that feels normal, then taper without damaging my veins further...
Sorry if I'm wrong, but it not suboxone (bupre + nalaxone) is a new pruduct that they had put out so that people can't IV or snort it, Isnt this the prurpose of nalaxone ?
I'm on 8mg bupre by day since 2/3 years, started at 12 mg/day.
That sweet bupre kind of saved my love relation and my wallet
I think you're thinking of the replacement for MS Contin or whatever the most advanced release system of the Oxycontin brand is. It starts with an 'I' but I'm too rushed to look it up right now. I saw Forbes compare the two and I'm afraid people are gonna have to do some serious research to get around the newest mechanism; a perfect-weight polypropylene polymer (if I remember correctly) that turns into a viscous, stringy gel. Completely inseparable - supposedly.
I will warn anyone that
if it's your first dose of Suboxone off of your preferred opioid, DO NOT INJECT as the precipitated withdrawal I brought on was unspeakable. That is what actually got me to stay off heroin. Fear of that happening again. (At least for the first month which is the hardest.) Bupe' has definitely made my addiction far more manageable too.
In theory, yes, in reality, most people seem to able to IV it, at least at lower doses, without any problems (but not all people, as I found out to my incredible discomfort). This is supposedly due to the higher binding affinity buprenorphine has for the opioid receptors relative to naloxone.
OP, it seems like the easiest thing to do would be to start with your current dose, and then if the lower BA puts you in withdrawals, gradually increase it until you're well again.
I agree, I think low-dose is key for IV. (Anything higher than 1mg/shot IME is useless, and possibly insoluble - depends where you read.) I guess I'll try to switch it up 50/50 plugged/IV and see if I can improve that ratio. It's the needle I'm really addicted to, because
for anyone out there who hasn't tried IV bupe, don't, there's no rush, I just got caught up in the ROA and now am only comfortable with an exorbitant amount.
I'll try to come back here and share what amount plugged/sublingual equates to my IV dose, anecdotally. Hopefully someone else can utilize the experience.
