• The Dark Side 💕 Welcome Guest 💕
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Notable Threads Urgent Hotlines
    Bereavement Mindfulness
    Suicide Support Anger Management
  • TDS Moderators: AlphaMethylPhenyl | paranoid android

Stuck in Suboxone Hell, need a gameplan that works.

S

ShamrockClouds

Greenlighter
Joined
Mar 11, 2015
Messages
39
I need help. I am not a rookie when it comes to sober living. I have had issues with alcohol, cocaine in the past. Went to NUMEROUS inpatient/outpatient treatments, halfway houses, sober houses....even a 5 year "visit" to the land of 10,000 Lakes and Treatment Centers (Minnesota). I was able to put that shit behind me, met my current fiance and started to build a great life. Then I managed to shatter my ankle in 8 places playing hockey, cue the surguries, plates, screws and of course PERCOCET.

I was responsible and told my Dr about my past issues and he said he would administer the pain medication as needed. This is where my inner addict came out to play. I really didnt NEED more pain meds than prescribed, but after about a week, I started CRAVING it...and boy did I fall apart.

After about 4-5 months taking anywhere from 30-150mg a day, basically whatever I could get my hands, I decided to try cold turkey...holy fuck balls. Couldnt handle it.

I was introduced to suboxone from a friend and I really thought it was magic. I was taking between 2-4 mgs a day, which i see now is too much...way too much. I have been cutting my dose over the last 3 weeks and have managed to get down to between .5 and 1mg a day, but there is definitely some discomfort, which lead to look into how i can get off subs as fast as possible.

Yesterday I was reading about using oxy to get off suboxone, it made sense in theory. So today I took 1-15mg oxy and then another an hour later. Pure addict behavior...and im soooo pissed at myself...so pissed.

I dont know what the fuck to do at this point, and here is why.

I got a job offer for my dream job. It has taken a lot of sacrifice just to get this opportunity and under NO CIRCUMSTANCE can I let it slide. I am supposed to start in 12 days and I am also scheduled to sit for my series 7 exam next tuesday.

Should I get back on subs? Go CT? I guess I am more freaking out at this point. I want NOTHING to do with drugs/alcohol or any kind...just want my god damn freedom back and not need "something" to feel OK!

Need help with a plan and support to help me get through whatever I have to do.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Shamrock
 
Hey Shamrock and welcome to BL:)

People do switch over to shorter acting opiates to make the opiate detox quicker than the suboxone causes.

Don't beat yourself up this is hard. Your doing great.

The subs will have prevented the oxy from working at all so no big deal there.

It takes between 10 to 14 days to detox or adjust to a dose switch with the subutex. So you can cut you dose down by doable amounts once every two weeks and tapper down as far as you need and then jump off.

You could also just jump.. you will see the light at the end of the tunnel in two weeks.

Here are some great medications to help you detox the opiates. Since your a poly addict then I would consider if the use of the benzos is in your best interest as detoxing a benzo habit is often worse then kicking opiates and there is no need to trade one habit for another.

medications for acute opiate detox

The medications I would explore the use of for detox would be:
>Clonidine< DOSED EVER FOUR HOURS..

one of either
>NEURONTIN< >HERE< >HERE< >here<
OR >Lyrica<
OR >phenibut<

>A BENZO BUT JUST AT NIGHT<
>a nsaid<
>melatonin<
tylenol
Senokot S is a stool softener and laxative. If you do not want the laxative you can go for strait stool softenerDioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate.

(Opi Withdrawal) what is the best comfort meds for opiate w/d?

Your Personal Opiate Withdrawal Arsenal


You got this... I would also look back into your bag of tricks from your previous work on your addictions and come up with a strong game plan to make your recovery as peacfull and sucsessfull as possible. You got this.. hey and quit being so hard on yourself=D;)
 
Neversickanymore,

I really appreciate your respnse, depending on which route I go, I will definitely take your advice. Some good news on my end, I have an extra week than initially anticipated, prior to starting the new job (30th as opposed to the 23rd), which is GREAT. Since my post, I have not decided which way to go, either jump from where I'm at or wait to try and ween my sub to under .25 and jump. I have had absolutely zero consistency these past 8 days...taking sub and oxy off and on to feel "ok". I know i have to stick to my plan, just need to devise said plan.

Also, can anyone tell me exactly where I am, given my dosing this past week and what to expect if I were to just jump from here. Any suggestions are welcomed. Im terrified of WD but even, more scared of not getting this shit out of my body as soon as possible.

Sat- 1mg sub @ 12:40pm, .5 sub @ 11pm
Sun- .5 sub @11am
Mon- .75 sub @ 4am, .25 sub @7pm
Tue- .75 sub @11:45pm
Wed- 45mg oxy between 4pm and 11:45pm
Thurs- 30mg @ 6.35pm
Fri- .5 sub @ 7:50am
Sat- .5 sub @ 12:45am, 45mgs oxy between 4:30pm-7:30pm and 22mg @ 11:45pm
Today- Nothing and its noontime as i write this.

I have had a total of 4.75mgs of sub and 142mgs of oxy in the past 8 days.

I currently have very very mild rls and some back pain.

Thanks!
 
Hi crimsonjunk,

Roughly 4 months....took my first one 11/08/14, but didnt start daily for about 2 weeks from then.

Also, and update...waited to take anything yesterday until i literally couldnt handle the rls and back pain, watery eyes, freezing cold, etc...took .5 of sub and 1mg of melatonin to sleep at 10pm....took away 90% of WD and was able to fall asleep...but woke up at 3 with my extremeties running away...took another 1mg of melatonin and smoked a bowl of weed and fell back asleep

Took another .5 at 7am and I now feel good. Going to try and make it to 7am tomorrow...
 
I just quit subs exactly 3 weeks ago and didn't start to feel better til a couple days ago. I used for close to 15 years and tapered down on subs, cutting in half every few days. I felt fine until about 2-3 days after stopping the subs. I found the withdrawl extremely tolerable compared to cold turkey, which I could not handle and tried a few times. I worked 6-7 days a week during the withdrawl and didnt miss a single day of work... and found keeping busy a huge help. Also excersize and hot baths and Gatorade helped so much. I couldn't sleep or eat at all.. was restless, naseus and was freezing cold all the time. Was annoying but definately not the end of the world. I was only on subs for a month so I'm not sure if this will work for you, but a quick taper did work for me. Stay strong and good luck, if you want it bad enough you can do it!
 
Justwannabefree,

Thanks so much for sharing ur experience, even though I dont know anyone on here from Adam...it is the only real support network I have at the moment...and it helps, a ton.

I only have 10.5mg of sub left, and I am 100% determined that its my last. My plan going forward is to level out at .5 over the next 5-6 days, then drop down to .25 for 5-6 days, then jump.

What did you taper down to before you jumped? Did you find anything in particular that worked for sleep, even slightly? Exercice is daily for me already, so thats covered...and there is no lack of work to do in anticipation of my start date for work. Did you take any supplements that you noticibly felt better? Or any other OTC stuff? Any experience with melatonin? I am hearing it may be making my RLS worse, do you know if this is accurate?

Its great to also hear your opinion on the C/T route, I thought I was pretty strong willed, but nothing could have prepared me for day 2-3 of C/T wd's....and I think that experience is making this process more difficult as, thats all I have to compare it to.

Last question, how were you at work the first 5-6 days? Im worried about making a bad physical impression as its a very competitive, fast paced, do-it-right the first time work environment, and i need my brain to be functioning as close to 100% as possible.

Thanks again!
 
I only have 10.5mg of sub left, and I am 100% determined that its my last. My plan going forward is to level out at .5 over the next 5-6 days, then drop down to .25 for 5-6 days, then jump.
Click to expand...

With what you have left this is a very solid plan. :)

During the acutes I would not engage in aerobic or anaerobic exercise.. I would switch over to prolonged, but steady gentle exercise. Long easy walks on level fairly level surfaces. walking on a treadmill. The reason for this approach is in acutes our adrenals can spike hard and we can deplete the reserve with pretty negative consequences.

With long easy exercise we promote the brain to create the neuro chemicals we need, but without causing the release and eventual loss of those chemicals.

So if it were me I would avoid the runners high until past the acutes as it has a very strong chance if not an assured chance of having a brief respite of positive followed by a long increase of negative effects.

Once the acutes are over I would return gently to your normal workout. If you experience a brief period of feeling great after a workout followed by feeling misserable then I would scale back down to the exercises that build the neurotransmitters without releasing them.
 
To the OP: When coming off sub it is best to get to as low a dose as possible before jumping off. I was on suboxone for 18 months and when I jumped off I had made an 8mg pill last me 6 weeks (so like less than .2 mg per day) and had minimal discomfort. The w/d symptoms didn't hit me until about the 3rd day after my last dose, and were pretty much gone after 11-12 days. It is very important to stay busy as stated above, and also the OTC anti-diarrhea med loperamide is helpful for the GI distress. Congrats on the new job, and good luck with your taper plan.
 
4 months isn't too bad. My experience comes from kicking a larger much longer sub habit. There's no free lipunch but stocking up on comfort meds and tapering is the best advice I can give. Sub withdrawl is a marathon instead of a sprint so keep that in mind. You may not feel right for a couple weeks.
 
I hear people say that sub WD doesnt come on for 3-5 days from last dose, however, if thats the case, what would I classify the syptoms I have at the moment? It has been 27.5 hrs since my last .5 sub and just woke up up with extremely watery eyes, freezing my ass off (its currently 72 degrees inside), nauseous, large pupils, wicked achey back, moderate RLS.....bla bla bla.

Would this mean I would be in absolute hell in 2-3 days or just an example of how everyone is effected differently? Why would some feel after 24 hr and some after 72? Is this any indication of the total duration of acutes?

If I can get my hands on more sub I will most likely taper even lower, sounds like the best route for this guy. I want to do it right, one time, and be done. Knowing myself, I need to be sure I dont set myself up for failure.

Thanks again everyone, this is so helpful and informative cant thank you all enough!

Very interesting about the aerobic/anaerobic exercise. Makes a lot of sense though! I will definitely take your advice!
 
Just updating to keep myself honest, and to stay on track. I plan to post daily even if nobody else is reading, and will do so through the remaining 2 weeks of my taper and then through my WDs.

Took my .5 today at 9:30am. I was initially going to wait until I felt like I absolutely needed it, but decided to stick to the plan and take at the same time daily, as I feel taking it all over the place is addict behavior.

Feel good atbthe moment, going to keep busy by studying for a while then get some exercice.
 
Thanks neversick, good to hear positive feedback or if im doing something thats going to make things more difficult or prolong the process!
 
I would say the quick onset of withdrawal is just an example of everyone being different. That 72 hour number is simplistic as there are many variables to consider. It sounds like you have a plan and your sticking to it. That's a good sign.
 
Good morning BLer's....ready for another day, sticking to my plan. Last nights sleep was awesome...minimal discomfort of any kind...can feel my body growing used to the .5 mg.

I have a very busy day today so it should fly by. Also, taking my Series 7 exam tomorrow.

Finishing my coffee and taking my .5 then off to the grind!

Oh, one question...is it safe to take 1 200mg Advil PM and 1mg of melatonin to sleep?

Shamrock
 
Taking my exam today, everything continues as scheduled, just took my .5 and then gonna study and get going.

I think tomorrow or Saturday will be my next drop in dosage, will be going down to .25.

Again, melatonin and Advil PM is a wobder combo!!!!
 
neversickanymore said:
Nice work. I think staying with the game plan is a good idea. People that jump ahead with long half life opiates don't feel the results of thier decisions for a few days.
Click to expand...

What do you mean? I made the jump.

It was terrible. More than 30 days later still not good.

When I was reducing my doses, and then zero - not able to work, socialize, NOT AT ALL.
Worst scenario, and it's not still not good..(?)

I think I get it, you don't feel it that bad because there are still some stuff left in your body.

I'm very slow today.
 
Last edited:
Neversickanymore, appreciate the encouragement! I had a very busy day yesterday, but possibly the best in recent memory. I passed my exam and that is a HUGE weight off my shoulders.

There was a slight alteration to my plan, would love some feedback to see if i fucked myself of if i can stay on track...

Yesterday morning was considerably earlier than usual (wake up time) and as a result took my sub much earlier (at 6am, compared to 9-10am)....

By the end of the night, around 10pm....i had RLS from hell...and couldnt fall asleep even though i was ass tired! I took a little less than .25 of sub, and was sleeping within 40 mins....great nights sleep and feel incredible and rested today.

Its now 10am and have not taken my morning dose because im not sure if i should just take .25 and pick up tomorrow with the .5 or just stick to the .5 now.....any thoughts?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top