Just started Subs, high dose, but want to get off. help!!

[Codex23]

In Rehab, my internet options are limited. Quick story is as follows:

IVed Heroin (.5g/day) for about the last 4 months, had 2 years of 80g/day Kratom prior to the Heroin, and Oxys/Heroin (Insulfating) for 6 months prior to the kratom for about a year.
Got into this rehab this past Saturday, Sunday they started me on Subs 16mg/day!!! (8mg AM/8mg PM)

I know this is a huge dose. Its also Friday now and i still am just sweating, i mean its not even close to opiate withdrawal but Body temp is all over the place. I do NOT want to do MAT.

I do not trust half of these doctors, as they just push for more more more subs. Someone plz give me a taper plan, or at least on how to get to a lower dose such as 4mg/day and MAYBE do MAT with that. I know if i continue this 16mg thing the WDs will be HORRID and getting off will be hard as hell. Anyone have any suggestions? My next dose is in a couple hours and should be 8mg. I really want to taper this, just need someone who has actually gone through this to help me out with suggestions. Only been on the Subs for like 4-5 days now.

Thanks!

 

[Sertürner]

I had take subs for years for opioid maintenance at 16mg a day. Dropping from your dose to even 4mgs won't be a major problem. It stops really working after you hit about 8mgs orally IMO.

 

[Codex23]

Thanks, yeah i am not a fan of these Subs at all. I just feel like a zombie man, Id rather just be clean of everything opiate related instead of this. Just an odd feeling and this is just a high and i feel quite unnecessary dose. Think I am going to take 4 now instead of 8 in the PM, than drop the AM one to 4mg as well next week.

 

[Gorillaboy21]

You?re super lucky it makes you feel like a ?zombie? because to me it never did shit.

I have subs that expired in 2014, lol! I never wanted to take them when I kicked because I felt like after I took subs, if I changed my mind suddenly, I wouldn?t Be able to get well because it?s blocking my receptors.

If I were you I?d taper down to 4 mgs morning and 8 night, or 6 morning 6 night maybe down to 4 and 4 even quicker.
I think the H is gone for the most part out of your system and your withdrawals are over all complete so you?re in that territory of continuing maintenance subuxone or just jumping off soon, good luck

 

[Sertürner]

The subs always gave me a sense of normalcy. I wasn't sick but wasn't buzzed either. I somewhat felt that I was stuck in and endless cycle of paying doctors and pharmacists to keep me a normal person for 3 years. I was happy I felt regular but it's too expensive. I ended up tapering and after a few months I felt normal again for the most part. Only it was free to feel normal after quitting hahaha

 

[Jabberwocky]

This seems better suited to Sober Living than OD.

OD->OD

 

[Lucas23]

It's all about your end game, man. If you have access to Suboxone, and a doctor you trust, then stay on them and put a plan in place to stay on them until you plan out the next step in your life.

I went through everything and Suboxone worked the best for me. Getting off oxycodone and getting onto Sub maintenance was like a dream. I felt emotion for the first time in years. Cried at TV commercials, jerked off 5 times day for a month, didn't worry about the next day's score, etc. I felt like a normal person again. Still do. Subs saved my life. It wasn't cheap. Insurance covered it but it was still expensive. But how much value do I place on my life and my family?

I started at 16mgs. Getting down to 4mgs from 16mgs was no problem. I've been between 4mg and 1mg for the last year. Have a plan in place with my doctor, whom I trust and respect, to taper off Subs this fall.

 

[cj]

It's all about your end game, man. If you have access to Suboxone, and a doctor you trust, then stay on them and put a plan in place to stay on them until you plan out the next step in your life.

I went through everything and Suboxone worked the best for me. Getting off oxycodone and getting onto Sub maintenance was like a dream. I felt emotion for the first time in years. Cried at TV commercials, jerked off 5 times day for a month, didn't worry about the next day's score, etc. I felt like a normal person again. Still do. Subs saved my life. It wasn't cheap. Insurance covered it but it was still expensive. But how much value do I place on my life and my family?

I started at 16mgs. Getting down to 4mgs from 16mgs was no problem. I've been between 4mg and 1mg for the last year. Have a plan in place with my doctor, whom I trust and respect, to taper off Subs this fall.

Good post

 

[Jabberwocky]

In Rehab, my internet options are limited. Quick story is as follows:

IVed Heroin (.5g/day) for about the last 4 months, had 2 years of 80g/day Kratom prior to the Heroin, and Oxys/Heroin (Insulfating) for 6 months prior to the kratom for about a year.
Got into this rehab this past Saturday, Sunday they started me on Subs 16mg/day!!! (8mg AM/8mg PM)

I know this is a huge dose. Its also Friday now and i still am just sweating, i mean its not even close to opiate withdrawal but Body temp is all over the place. I do NOT want to do MAT.

I do not trust half of these doctors, as they just push for more more more subs. Someone plz give me a taper plan, or at least on how to get to a lower dose such as 4mg/day and MAYBE do MAT with that. I know if i continue this 16mg thing the WDs will be HORRID and getting off will be hard as hell. Anyone have any suggestions? My next dose is in a couple hours and should be 8mg. I really want to taper this, just need someone who has actually gone through this to help me out with suggestions. Only been on the Subs for like 4-5 days now.

Thanks!

How many days have you been taking buprenorphine now?

 

[user name1]

hi codex23, hope your well!
im on subutex for almost 10 years now and can tell you with certainty that tapering from high doses
is not the hard part plus you're on it less than a week . i'm on 8mg's a day for a long time and when i was tapering from 16 it was surprisingly easy -
every week i took half the dose initially and had no problem sleeping, eating, no led legs, nothing really excpt psychological craving which were not so bad..
when i tried stopping the small doses were a bitch and needs more time before reducing...

my advice is to sit down with a piece of paper and a pen (or a pencil )
and write dates highlighting "tapering dates" (for me once a week at high dose as 16 was reasonable).
but what i cannot comment on because never was in this situation is the short time you are on subs. maybe other technique is better,
i really don't know.. if you'd like i can look up some old addiction advisor of mine and ask his professional advice. i'll try and do that mate..

in the meantime try to do what you think and feel is best for you and try and find one good doctor there if possible and share your concerns with him (hopefully there is this one good doc..)

i wish you the best and try not to worry too much, all will be fine. you'll see mate. well done!

 

[Ncsweetheart]

Ok so I can't find anything anywhere about... I've been on Suboxone for about a year and for a year I've only took a piece like a 1/8th a day and it lasts me until the next morning. Last time I got off them taking same dose the wds were complete H3ll!!! Even on that small dose. How does one taper off at such low dose. Suggestions please. Im so scared to go through those wds again. It was worse than the wds from opiates/herione. How can one taper from such a low dose. Please anything besides just cold turkey. Thanks.

 

[ElleAZ]

You should be able to drop without much ado.

I always suggest Robert_325's plan for people who want off subs. He's no longer online but it can be found on Drugs.com.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Ok so I can't find anything anywhere about... I've been on Suboxone for about a year and for a year I've only took a piece like a 1/8th a day and it lasts me until the next morning. Last time I got off them taking same dose the wds were complete H3ll!!! Even on that small dose. How does one taper off at such low dose. Suggestions please. Im so scared to go through those wds again. It was worse than the wds from opiates/herione. How can one taper from such a low dose. Please anything besides just cold turkey. Thanks.

In other words, you're currently dependent only on 1/8 of a Suboxone strip? Is that 1mg buprenorphine then?

Tapering a bit more isn't a bad idea, but the biggest thing you can probably do for yourself getting ready to transition off buprenorphine is getting medical care lined up. Namely, comfort meds: gabapentin, clonidine, diazepam, etc.

With the right comfort meds, as well as other resources like a supportive peer community IRL (could be addiction related like 12 step stuff or SMART, but it doesn't need to be addiction-centric just as long as they won't reinforce stigma and are focused on wellness/health) and a therapist, coming off 1mg of buprenorphine isn't as bad as it sounds.

Not fun, and gonna feel very out of sorts for a couple weeks, but very manageable.

 

[KraziKat]

With the right comfort meds, as well as other resources like a supportive peer community IRL (could be addiction related like 12 step stuff or SMART, but it doesn't need to be addiction-centric just as long as they won't reinforce stigma and are focused on wellness/health) and a therapist, coming off 1mg of buprenorphine isn't as bad as it sounds.

Not fun, and gonna feel very out of sorts for a couple weeks, but very manageable.

I agree with this very much. I also suggest using kratom to come off Suboxone, as needed, if you are unable to get TPD's aforementioned comfort meds. Once you are stable on kratom, taper that if you can, or jump to OTC comfort meds. I know the OP stated having had an 80 gpd kratom habit... you won't go anywhere near that. I'm thinking 10 or 15 gpd tops, to the RLS and anxiety at bay.

 

[EPL1]

Good for you Lucas!! You sound a lot like how I'm feeling lately, just ct'd (over 2 weeks ago) my prescribed long term opiate meds as I was sick of the hoops to get them. Now all my emotions are coming back, crazy feeling!!!! Keep it up!!

Your friend Ash.


(

It's all about your end game, man. If you have access to Suboxone, and a doctor you trust, then stay on them and put a plan in place to stay on them until you plan out the next step in your life.

I went through everything and Suboxone worked the best for me. Getting off oxycodone and getting onto Sub maintenance was like a dream. I felt emotion for the first time in years. Cried at TV commercials, jerked off 5 times day for a month, didn't worry about the next day's score, etc. I felt like a normal person again. Still do. Subs saved my life. It wasn't cheap. Insurance covered it but it was still expensive. But how much value do I place on my life and my family?

I started at 16mgs. Getting down to 4mgs from 16mgs was no problem. I've been between 4mg and 1mg for the last year. Have a plan in place with my doctor, whom I trust and respect, to taper off Subs this fall.

 

[ladyhlove]

16mg seems high for a half gram habit. Even if ivd. I started on 16mg myself but that was when I was doing 2-2.5grams a day (however, snorted not ivd)

After a month or two on 16mg, I just dropped myself to 8mg on my own (drs still think im on 16mg...its cool, its nice to have extras) and didn't notice a bit of a difference halfing my dose. I think, like most people have said, it really stops being noticeable over 8mg, so dropping down shouldn't be a big problem for you. Some days I even take 4mg. Less is def more when it comes to subs

 

[hidden_nurseaddict]

Just my 2 cents...
After lurking on this forum I decided to drop my dose from 20mg of suboxone once daily to 12mg of suboxone once daily. Today is now day 4 of 12mg once daily and honestly I feel much better at this dose than at 20mg daily. My plan is to reduce again at day 7 to 8mg of suboxone once daily.
Is there a forum that discusses side effects of suboxone? I found the worst symptoms I had when on high doses of suboxone was extreme hunger (gained 10 lbs since induction May 15th 2018) and painful joints. Did anyone else experience this?
Thanks,

 

[Jabberwocky]

^that kind of side effect of buprenorphine isn’t unusual. It’s actually pretty common to opioid use generally. Part of the difficulty is that transitioning to buprenorphine is often a highly stressful period, as often any form of treatment can be. And that can trigger or bring out other issues, such as binging/starving/etc.

 

[CfZrx]

You?re super lucky it makes you feel like a ?zombie? because to me it never did shit.

lol

The subs always gave me a sense of normalcy. Only it was free to feel normal after quitting hahaha

There are some great posters on this thread!---------- My .02 I walked away from a grinding morphine occasional heroin habit in late 2014/early 2015 and nowadays I wouldn't THINK of beginning a habit again. Hello to all Sober Livers!