Methadone and suboxone are EVIL
I've been taking methadone for about 5 years now for back problems (severe foraminal stenosis caused by being a competitive gymnast from age 6 to 21, growing years. I fucked my back). I'm 50 now and the methadone has been giving me heart palpitations and making menopausal hot flashes almost unbearable. My doctor has weaned me down from 80mg a day to 40mg a day without any counseling. I didn't even know my dose had been cut until I picked up my script from the pharmacy. When I confronted him last visit he brushed me off saying that was the nurse's responsibility. Hindsight, I've should have pushed the matter. DUH. A did a little research on suboxone, thought that 1 hour of precipitated withdrawal would be tolerable and I could at least get the methadone off my receptors. I'm an idiot. Advice - DON'T EVER DO THIS, ANYONE.
I stayed off the methadone for 48 hours and was in what now seems like mild w/d but I felt pretty bad. So I took 8mg suboxone sublingual (I've never shot anything in my life). In about a 1/2 hour I felt disorientated, fuzzy headed and weak and pouring sweat. In an hour the gates of hell swallowed me whole, I can describe symptoms but there aren't words that can accurately describe the torture. Extreme vomiting and diarrhea. I counted the minutes, literally, for an hour. Two hours later, not even a bit better. I sweated it out, in about 8 hours I was able to fall asleep for 45 minutes so I figured the worst was over. I felt like shit but I waited 24 hours, and tried another 4mg of suboxone. I thought I was out of danger and it would make me feel better. NOT. I was immediately thrown in pw/d's again. I read that if you take enough suboxone it can fill enough receptors so you feel better. I'm not proud of this but I was desperate. I took a total of 24mg of suboxone in a half hour praying it would help. It made the pw/d's from the night before feel like child's play. I have never in my life felt like that. If I had had a means to kill myself, I would have. And I'm a usually loving upbeat happy person and I would NEVER do something like that to my family or my pets. I waited an hour, two hours, three hours, minute by minute. I felt worse and worse and worse. I was screaming for help, something I would never usually do, I'm pretty strong. I couldn't stay in bed for more than 10 seconds and I tried, believe me. I couldn't walk anywhere, my legs wouldn't work. I fell a couple of times trying to get up. Even though I was sweating, the sweat felt like burning ice scalding my skin and I could not get warm, even in 80 degree Florida. My hands and feet were completely numb, felt like frostbite. I dialed 91 at least a dozen time, hanging up before the final "1". My 17yo daughter came home unexpectedly and immediately called my 26yo daughter who lives nearby. She got here and immediately called an ambulance. I scared the absolute shit out of my daughters.The hospital gave me a shot of valium right away. At least I stopped screaming.

I was honest with them, told them I didn't want to die and that I had done something really stupid. 8 hours later and I was still in precipitated withdrawal. 3 shots of valium and 2 doses of clonodine and I was finally able to be lucid. They sent me home which of course in hospital standards took hours. My daughter filled scripts for clonodine and valium. It was after midnight by the time she got back. I double dosed both and FINALLY fell asleep for about 3 hours. My sweet sweet daughter made ramen noodles and a bowl of crackers for me. And my favorite - diet coke. At 4am. I'm so lucky. Although I couldn't eat it. I nibbled crackers and sipped some coke. It's now 8 pm. I still feel very weak and shitty and I still can't eat. Fortunately, I could stand to lose a few pounds, menopause caused me to gain about 40. But, and I repeat, DO NOT DO THIS. It's better to be fat.
In short, no matter what anyone else posts, you know your body better than anybody and we're all different. Methadone sticks in your receptors even though you don't feel it. Better to wean to something else before trying suboxone. I've gone through more than SIXTEEN 16 hours of acute precipitated withdrawal. My whole body is sore from it and I'm still feeling w/d but this is ice cream compared to precipitated. This was a life changing experience. I keep wondering if I did something for karma to come back and kick my ass but I'm coming up short. Before I did this, I read a few posts that pw/d lasts for about an hour. One hour my ass. Do not try suboxone if you're on methadone. Not worth the gamble.
I'm a fairly normal upper-middle class woman who knows next to nothing about street drugs. The worst I've done is get the suboxone from a friend. Next time I see my doc I'm telling him what I did and what happened. I'll post it here if anyone cares. And now my back hurts like hell too!