• 💊 OTHER DRUGS 💊 Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Notable Threads 1 Notable Threads 2
    Dangerous Combos Addiction Support
    Emergency Services Benzo Guide v.1
    Addiction Stories Scary Case Studies
    Biology, Pharmacology & Drugs 101
  • Select Your Topic Then Scroll Down
    Alcohol Bupe Benzos
    Cocaine Heroin Opioids
    RCs Stimulants Misc
    Harm Reduction All Topics Gabapentinoids
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums

Opioids Need advice: Trying to get clean, here's what I have and what I've done ((Sigh))

K

KraziKat

Bluelighter
Joined
Jul 30, 2013
Messages
458
So I'm trying to get clean from opiates, finally and for for good, after about fours years of fairly steady usage. My story begins likes most: chipping with percs, then on to 30 mg blues which I'd divide into quarters, then halves – always just swallowing the pills btw. Fast forward to last month when I was up to between 150 - 200 mgs of oxy (blues) a day.

Over the years, while waiting for pills, I'd use kratom 2 or 3 times a day, then I discovered suboxone, and would use that, maybe 4 mg or 2 mg, while waiting for the blues, but never for more than a week.

On March 31, I decided enough is enough. I ran out of blues, almost out of money, and decided now is the time. On March 31, I swallowed my last pills, procured 2 and a half 8 mg sub strips and began my detox journey. On April one I took 4 mg sub with the mindset to start tapering immediately.

Was using sub every other day and also a fair amount of alcohol and some MJ. A week after my last pill, I was a little high and drunk... I looked at my two kids (4 and 2), and just started sobbing. I then came clean to my wife that I need help.

While tapering down to .5 of sub I was hating the way it made me feel. I was in acute WDs every day and miserable. I decided subs are evil, and can't fathom being on them for YEARS like some people are...so I googled around and stumbled upon a site with someone suggesting using short-acting opiates to "rip the sub off the receptors" and then detox from the blues.

It made sense at the time, and I only bought 15 from the dealer, who said goodbye to forever. I texted my other source for pills as well and told him I'm out of the game. But after 3 days of using the blues and no sub, I'm regretting it. Just so confused.

Here's where I'm at: Today is Friday, I last took 1 mg sub on Sunday. I started on low dosing of blues on Tuesday, but of course ramped up to 90 mgs yesterday. Today I woke up feeling WDs, so have been on blue pieces spaced out throughout the day so far.

I have a total of 2 mg sub broken up into about .5 pieces, eyeballed. I have 4 blues left. I have a fair amount of kratom. I have MJ and booze, of course, and access to anything OTC.

I want to be free of this opiate addiction nightmare and vicsious cycle. How would you advise me going forward based on the above? Any help/advice is greatly appreciated. I'm a 41 year old father of two, btw, and I need to be present and well enough to care for them, and I need to be functional for work. I've decided I am NOT going to buy any more pills or sub strips to get through this. Or Ever again for that matter.

Thank you for reading and thank you in advance for any advice you may have!
 
What you did with stopping Suboxone taper early and going back to oxycodone was not a good idea at all and was clearly a hasty and ill-judged decision. I don't know where you got that advice from, but it definitely does not apply in any way to a short-term taper schedule with buprenorphine but rather quitting bupe after a long-term maintenance on buprenorphine, still, I wouldn't say that's a usual way of tapering off bupe after long-term maintenance (the idea here is that when you switch to a short-acting opioids for some time and then taper it, the withdrawal will be shorter than after quitting buprenorphine, but if you take opioids for years, then no matter whether you quit bupe or heroin, you're always at risk of post-acute withdrawal syndrome). There are some sites and forums devoted to demonizing buprenorphine (and same goes for methadone), but despite the fact it can be just as hard to quit it after taking it for a few years, this is a drug that helped many people to quit opioids and get their lives back. Anyway, why would anyone use buprenorphine to taper off opioids if they were then to switch back to the opioid they have been addicted to? During a short-term taper with buprenorphine (up to a month, let's say) it's actually very desirable that it only partially activates opioid receptors, binds tightly and stays bound for a long time, that makes tapering much easier and less painful. By going back to oxycodone and trying to taper down with it again you basically made the process worse, tapering with short-acting opioids always fails in my experience. I know you're in pain and now loathe opioids you've been addicted to, but try to keep a clear mind about these things and think it through.

If you don't want to switch to buprenorphine again for a short-term taper, which in my opinion would make it much easier both for you and your family, then your only option is to ride it out with some anti-inflammatory drugs and anxiolytics/hypnotics. A short taper with buprenorphine is not going to make any harm to you.

If I was to guess why you didn't get much relief from Suboxone, it may be because you didn't induce yourself properly and certainly the amount you started with was not enough for a proper taper. With your tolerance it's possible that you might need to go up to 8 mg of bupe on the first day of the taper. Usually people are given 2 mg at first and then if the symptoms are not relieved after 1.5-2 h, they are given 2 mg more and so on until the symptoms are gone (that is not to say you should be feeling high at this point of course, but simply relieved from withdrawal). When you hit the dose that relieved your withdrawal symptoms, you can then begin tapering gradually reducing your dose to get down to 0.5-1mg and then jump off. Given the long half-life of buprenorphine the length of the taper schedule is not that important in my opinion as long as it's not longer than one month, obviously ideally you want to taper off as fast as possible (but without rushing it) and generally 1-2 weeks should be enough for most people to taper off. If you don't get stable at the very beginning, it definitely makes tapering much less efficient. The idea is to make you feel normal, the more pain you feel, the less likely you are to succeed, and the longer time you spend recovering. If you decide to taper down with buprenorphine, don't drink alcohol, it's much better to take a single dose of a benzodiazepine if you really need it than to get drunk and then suffer from hangover during tapering. I don't see any contradictions for MJ though if it helps you and doesn't have any negative after-effects. I myself was baked constantly for a full month after I quit methadone, that was hell of a ride and MJ helped a lot with restless legs and anxiety.
 
Last edited:
Yeah, being an addict getting off with 30mg oxys is never going to work...tapering bupe, then using norcos for 2 days after being off the bupe for 2-3 days is an option, but you need to only have like 60mg on hand to prevent the above from happening, but it sounds like you just should taper off the bupe and stop, geting some comfort meds and maybe a few benzos for the first days off bupe, but at least you are trying that is the most important thing.
 
Hi KraziKat
I feel for you but it sounds like you are prolonging your pain with a rollercoaster approach. Get yourself some O/C meds to treat your symptoms (like Loperamide for stomach cramps etc , anti-hystamines for sneezes, ibuprofen for aches & pains) and if you can get hold of some (non opiate based) sleeping tablets such as Zopiclone/Zimovane this will help to relieve some of the symptoms. That said however there isn't any 'magic combination' which will make it all go away but it is do-able. I'm currently on day 21 of methadone withdrawals (and I've been back at work for a week). I don't feel 100% yet but well enough to 'present' to the world.
I would agree with the advice to stay away from alcohol as it's likely to compound the issue. Personally I would add MJ to that as for many it can increase the anxiety.
Let us know how you get on
 
Thank you to all who replied. If I could do it again, I'd have never gone back to the oxy. I had read so much and become overwhelmed with anxiety that bupe was no good and I was in for weeks of hell vs. three days. Sigh.

Today I woke up after 4 hours sleep with WD symptoms -- RLS, watery eyes, aches and anxiety. I only have maybe a days worth of oxy left, which I'll say goodbye to today, forever. Then I'll wait as long as I can til taking one of my last 4 slivers of sub... then that's it. Maybe some kratom to smooth things out but I am cautious not wanting to be reliant on it. I have only a few benzos, which I'll save til as needed.

Ugh. Have a business trip Monday. I know this week is going to suck. I get back Tuesday and then the wife is away, which is good as that's when I'm anticipating the worst WD symptoms to happen. I can't have her see me in physical agony AGAIN. Hopefully by this time next week I'll be thru the worst of it and on my way.

Maybe the way I've muddied the process, the rollercoaster way, will somehow minimize the prolonged bupe WD? Again, I only have 4 .5 pieces. I am not getting more of anything opiate-wise.
 
Short-term taper schedule with buprenorphine will not prolong your withdrawal symptoms. I will repeat this again, the point of taking buprenorphine short-term is to relieve withdrawal symptoms completely or bring them down to a minimum and then make the weaning process basically painless if done correctly. The long half-life of buprenorphine along with gradual dose reduction allow withdrawal symptoms to level out. You are really not helping yourself by putting yourself through stressful and painful withdrawal. I'm not sure at what point you are with your opioid addiction, but generally the longer people are addicted and the more cold turkey or close to cold turkey withdrawals they go through, the more painful it is for them to go through another withdrawal which is a major factor in successful quitting, relapse may not happen during the withdrawal itself but may follow shortly after the physical withdrawal symptoms are gone. Ultimately it is your decision how you want to quit, but in my opinion your chances to stay away from opioids after the withdrawal are much higher if you make this transition from opioids to no opioids as smooth as possible be it with buprenorphine or methadone. These two drugs are very different taken short-term to detox and taken long-term as maintenance.
 
UkMethadonelady said:
Hi KraziKat
I feel for you but it sounds like you are prolonging your pain with a rollercoaster approach. Get yourself some O/C meds to treat your symptoms (like Loperamide for stomach cramps etc , anti-hystamines for sneezes, ibuprofen for aches & pains) and if you can get hold of some (non opiate based) sleeping tablets such as Zopiclone/Zimovane this will help to relieve some of the symptoms. That said however there isn't any 'magic combination' which will make it all go away but it is do-able. I'm currently on day 21 of methadone withdrawals (and I've been back at work for a week). I don't feel 100% yet but well enough to 'present' to the world.
I would agree with the advice to stay away from alcohol as it's likely to compound the issue. Personally I would add MJ to that as for many it can increase the anxiety.
Let us know how you get on
Click to expand...

Thank you for the advice and support. This week I rip the band aids off and let the chips fall where they may... it's time.
 
KraziKat said:
So I'm trying to get clean from opiates, finally and for for good, after about fours years of fairly steady usage. My story begins likes most: chipping with percs, then on to 30 mg blues which I'd divide into quarters, then halves – always just swallowing the pills btw. Fast forward to last month when I was up to between 150 - 200 mgs of oxy (blues) a day.

Over the years, while waiting for pills, I'd use kratom 2 or 3 times a day, then I discovered suboxone, and would use that, maybe 4 mg or 2 mg, while waiting for the blues, but never for more than a week.

On March 31, I decided enough is enough. I ran out of blues, almost out of money, and decided now is the time. On March 31, I swallowed my last pills, procured 2 and a half 8 mg sub strips and began my detox journey. On April one I took 4 mg sub with the mindset to start tapering immediately.

Was using sub every other day and also a fair amount of alcohol and some MJ. A week after my last pill, I was a little high and drunk... I looked at my two kids (4 and 2), and just started sobbing. I then came clean to my wife that I need help.

While tapering down to .5 of sub I was hating the way it made me feel. I was in acute WDs every day and miserable. I decided subs are evil, and can't fathom being on them for YEARS like some people are...so I googled around and stumbled upon a site with someone suggesting using short-acting opiates to "rip the sub off the receptors" and then detox from the blues.

It made sense at the time, and I only bought 15 from the dealer, who said goodbye to forever. I texted my other source for pills as well and told him I'm out of the game. But after 3 days of using the blues and no sub, I'm regretting it. Just so confused.

Here's where I'm at: Today is Friday, I last took 1 mg sub on Sunday. I started on low dosing of blues on Tuesday, but of course ramped up to 90 mgs yesterday. Today I woke up feeling WDs, so have been on blue pieces spaced out throughout the day so far.

I have a total of 2 mg sub broken up into about .5 pieces, eyeballed. I have 4 blues left. I have a fair amount of kratom. I have MJ and booze, of course, and access to anything OTC.

I want to be free of this opiate addiction nightmare and vicsious cycle. How would you advise me going forward based on the above? Any help/advice is greatly appreciated. I'm a 41 year old father of two, btw, and I need to be present and well enough to care for them, and I need to be functional for work. I've decided I am NOT going to buy any more pills or sub strips to get through this. Or Ever again for that matter.

Thank you for reading and thank you in advance for any advice you may have!
Click to expand...
Want to quit for good? Whatever it takes? Cold turkey- get ginseng, melatonin, 5htp, skull cap tea,
If needed (can't stress this enough) Phenibut, Kratom, Imodium, cannabis benzodiazepines (RC's if you're that desperate)
Lots ginseng in morning. Grams of it. Use any of the as needed is based solely on your situation knowledge of yourself.
Skullcap tea, 5htp
Valerian, kava
Whatever it takes to not use
 
DoctorMolecule said:
Want to quit for good? Whatever it takes? Cold turkey- get ginseng, melatonin, 5htp, skull cap tea,
If needed (can't stress this enough) Phenibut, Kratom, Imodium, cannabis benzodiazepines (RC's if you're that desperate)
Lots ginseng in morning. Grams of it. Use any of the as needed is based solely on your situation knowledge of yourself.
Skullcap tea, 5htp
Valerian, kava
Whatever it takes to not use
Click to expand...

Thanks doc. This am has been rough. As was yesterday. Just swallowed some kratom, will prob hit the Imodium. Slept pretty good last night thanks to a Valium, beer and MJ, but woke up a mess. Can't get off toilet.

I wish I had phenibut and/or kava. Ginseng, hmmmm... this new info for me. Really helps?
 
I'm trying. So now I have Passion Flower, Kava, American Ginseng and Gaba chewables. Any advice on using these products?
 
Kicking a 200mg a day Oxy habit cold turkey like that?! Damn.
I imagine you are through the worst of it... but you will need to expect Post-acute symptoms that can last several months. Anxiety, dizziness, ... a whole gamete of symptoms.
Taper methods are our friends! Suboxone taper saved my life.
Have you considered looking into outpatient program with your insurance?
I survived a pretty mean 6 year opiate dependency that started with Vics and blue Roxys, and ultimately lead to IV'ing heroin.
I did a Suboxone taper over 3 months. First doctor recommended a year long taper, current doctor recommended maintenance for life.
I also attended daily AA, these days I go about once a week. Additionally, I sought rehab... but I found more benefit with outpatient... Such as getting to carry around my own fucking keys and wallet...

The Sub taper, a good head-shrinker, and AA got me off opiates.
I relapsed 4x and countless failed cold-kick attempts before I found those 3 things. Mostly I could never survive going to work sick... if that is something that is ailing you, Suboxone taper could alleviate that. I'm no doctor, but IMO you would need more than 1mg a day to start off with after 4 years of 200mg a day, ya?
Do a comfortable slow Sub taper for instance... would get you through work, pre-empt relapses, and nail all the messiness of WD symptoms you will get.

It is possible to do this w/out a taper, I kicked Fentanyl cold once.. hardest thing Ive done next to kicking Xanax.. but the ease of the Sub taper... it was such a clean experience. Some discomfort coming completely off Subs, but mild in comparison to the long drawn out cold turkey kick from stuff like Fentanyl or 200mg Oxy per day.
There are easier ways! Talk to a doctor. You can get through this without so much risk.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top