H taper then suboxone

Hello, I've been lurking around this forum for the past couple weeks and the information I've gotten has been very helpful. I've been using H for just under 3 and a half months now, using about .1 a day.

About three weeks ago, I realized that for a straight week I had increased my usage to .2 a day multiple times a day which scared the shit out of me because I realized I was starting to go down a road I didn't want to go down. I tried to go CT, but the WDs were kinda bad (mostly RLS) and I ended up using again after 36 hours or so. Since then I've tapered down to a .1 a day again while looking for subs, (getting a prescription through a doc is out of the question since I'm a student and most my funds go towards school).

Anyway, today my H dealer finally found me someone with a 12 mg suboxone and I'm getting it tomorrow. So at the moment I have about .4 of H, my plan is to taper down as much as possible while still not getting sick until I run out, then waiting until I can't handle WDs anymore and starting the sub. I guess my question is how should I split the sub over the WD period and what kind of schedule should I follow because I will only have one 12 mg sub or at the max 1 and a half and possibly a couple of xanax. From what I've seen, this community is very helpful and supportive and I would really appreciate the advice because I'm done with this shit, and I don't want to ruin my future chasing highs.

You quarter the strip out. I been using H for over 20 years, and when I go to prison I buy 3-5 strips Everytime I go,and depending upon who my celly is,5 strips usually lasts me at 10-15 days. Unless I'm trying to get high, but my WD is usually gone in less than 72 hours. I currently use .5-.8 every day.. Hopefully this helps guide you.

Ok so if I quarter it out, that's 3mgs a day for 4 days. I have a few question regarding the sub.

Is it better to start at 3mgs and try and take less everyday?

Do your think one 12mg sub is enough to help me get through WDs and quit?

And once I'm out of subs will I still hurt at all? And if I do, I have like 4 5mg Vicodens, should I take those?

Thank you for your help! I really appreciate it.

Oh and how long should I wait before taking another quarter? 24 hours? 36 hours? I heard subs have a half life of 36 hours so should I wait 36 hours? Or take it when I start feeling WDs again?

I would take the Vicodin before you start the Suboxone. The buprenorphine in the Suboxone will prevent the hydrocodone in the Vicodin from doing anything for you if you try using the Vicodin after the Suboxone. The first day off dope take all your Vicodin. The second day into withdrawal start on the buprenorphine.

Are you getting your buprenoprhine in pill or strip form?

You want to start taking the buprenorphine once you're into the withdrawal from the full agonist opioid (in your case heroin). So generally that is 24hrs after your last dose, whether it is Vicodin or heroin.

You want to be basically sick and in withdrawal before you start taking the Suboxone, that is how it works best. You will also be sure to avoid precipitated withdrawal that way. 24hrs is also a good rule if you want something more concrete. The longer you can wait before taking the Suboxone, the better it will work at alleviating your acute heroin withdrawals and cravings for opioids.

The sub is in strip form, to be honest the only reason I was considering taking the Vic's is in case I get WDs after running out of the sub.

Hopefully I can last 24 hrs because I'm a bitch when it comes WDs. Let's say I can't take it anymore by 12 - 18 hours would I be in the clear if I take the sub or would there still be a risk of precipitated WDs?

I remember about 2 years ago the first time I quit H I took a natlrexone too soon, not knowing that I would go into precipitated WDs and I literally wanted to kill myself. I can't believe I was actually able to follow through with quitting but I had only done for a month straight back then.

Speaking of which, I still have some naltrexone laying around so would it be a good idea to get on naltrexone once I'm done with the sub to make sure I can't get high even if I wanted to? Or can I go into precipitated Wds from the sub?

By the way, all I have is one 12mg suboxone(strip form) do you think that is enough to be able to quit and not feel too much discomfort?

Your going to have some withdrawal no matter what you unfortunately. If I was you I would forget the sub and taper for 5 days with the vicoden. But if you do go with the sub I would start at 2mg the first day then go down quickly from there. Your habit has been short and dose low so it shouldn't be too horrible though.

My bad, I just now saw your comment. The withdrawals won't be as bad though right? I can handle a little wd but not full blown.

Question about the subs, how should I space them out? I heard subs have a halflife of about 36 hours; so should I not take another quarter until I start feeling sick again?

And another thing, do I really need to wait 36 hours after my last dose before I start the sub? Or would I be cool after 12 hrs or when I start feeling more moderate withdrawals? The reason I ask is because a friend of mine actually started the subs as soon as he started feeling sick and he was fine.

You should induct on the sub once you are in full blown withdrawal. For me that usually takes 24 hours but it can be longer or shorter depending on many variables. When you first induct on the sub take 1mg then wait an hour to see how you feel. If you don't start feeling dramatically worse then you know its safe to go ahead and take your first full dose. Just remember that sub may not make you feel 100 percent better on the first day as it takes a little time to build up in your system. I would take the sub daily for 4 days then pull back to dosing every other day before jumping off completely.

Withdrawal is a very subjective thing as you know. So what I call full blown withdrawal will be different then what you call it. You will go through the full withdrawal when you stop but if you taper correctly the intensity should be reduced a good bit. You can also make it better by having a good arsenal of comfort meds. I suggest a couple doses of a long acting benzo, a muscle relaxer, clonidine, and ibuprofen. If you can come up with the majority of those the kick will be very manageable. That said at some point its going to really suck but your going to half to suck it up and get through it.

Dude, you are the one who's tearing it up in here cj!

I guess if it hurts a lot, we should try to avoid it in the future (?) lots of times we end up kicking in situations where we cannot manage & control everything! and sure as shootin', those times will come if we don't put some energy into what we do AFTER the kick. Lots of times, I just thought, "If I just wasn't strung out, life could be good." But for me, the kicking was just the immediate problem. The other problem of what to do 'instead' was a tougher nut to crack. I wish you well. Its good to have a place to talk to those of us who have done this a million different times/ways. sooner or later, something will strike a chord with you. Even the parts that suck, pass. Everything passes, right? Good luck to you!

For me, what is cool about this place is that there is so much alike about so many of us. lots of the things that are hard and make us feel pretty isolated are common, and I like hearing other people who are a lot better than me about explaining things, and making sense of things. Its good to have a place to learn how other people do it. for me..