I've heard that subs make you go through withdrawal when you start because they're so much weaker, but eventually stabilize.. but if that's true, I don't see too much advantage in doing that since it sounds like I would still be unable to study and go to exams.
Any advice?
I personally have successfully and comfortably switched from 1-1.5 bundles (in the East Coast, 1 bundle is supposed to equal a gram in weight, but it doesn't always work that way) of pretty good heroin in the past, granted that I waited a full 24 hours before dosing the suboxone.
Suboxone should NOT make you go into withdrawal (or actually its referred to as
'precipitated withdrawal') as long as you wait until you're in moderate to sever withdrawal to take it.
Also, suboxone/Buprenorphine is a very
potent opiate, and is stronger than heroin as well as fentanyl microgram/microgram. The only reason it won't work for especially large habits is because it is a partial agonist with a ceiling effect, so even though IV Bupe is 30x stronger than IV morphine, after a certain dosage (somewhere between 4-8mg), the opiate effects plateau, and taking more suboxone does nothing but keep withdrawals at bay for longer, as well as block almost every other common opiate.
However, even if you are unfortunate enough to wind up in precipitated withdrawal, with heroin, the longest it will last will be a couple of hours, after which the buprenorphine will take hold of the receptors and you will begin to feel better. Depending on your habit, the first two days may be a little uncomfortable, but most likely you'll be okay. Just make sure to wait at least 24 hours, and take only 2mg of suboxone at a time (most people find this is the most effective way of switching to buprenorphine, as it is gradually introducing the drug to the system, rather than hitting it full force with a whole 8mg tablet).