Bupe Suboxone/Buprenorphine FAQ & Megathread v3; 2010 - 2022

[caseface99]

Don't get me wrong, it gives major relief. If i took a break for 3-4 days that would defeat the purpose of taking it at all, and i may as well quit taking it altogether. It leaves me feeling maybe a -1 to -2 on a scale from -10 to 10, which isn't bad at all. Without it i would be a -5 or maybe worse.

I know the withdrawal will last up to 3 weeks, what i meant was what day does it start getting better. Like, it stopped getting worse at day 4, so how long should i expect to stay at that maximum level of withdrawal before it start declining?

Then again yesterday i would have rated it a -2 to -3 most likely, so maybe within a couple days i will be back to the point where it leaves me feeling baseline? We'll see. Any input from those who have been through a full round of suboxone withdrawal would be appreciated though, when did the withdrawal start getting better for you?

 

[Captain.Heroin]

Don't get me wrong, it gives major relief. If i took a break for 3-4 days that would defeat the purpose of taking it at all, and i may as well quit taking it altogether. It leaves me feeling maybe a -1 to -2 on a scale from -10 to 10, which isn't bad at all. Without it i would be a -5 or maybe worse.

I know the withdrawal will last up to 3 weeks, what i meant was what day does it start getting better. Like, it stopped getting worse at day 4, so how long should i expect to stay at that maximum level of withdrawal before it start declining?

Then again yesterday i would have rated it a -2 to -3 most likely, so maybe within a couple days i will be back to the point where it leaves me feeling baseline? We'll see. Any input from those who have been through a full round of suboxone withdrawal would be appreciated though, when did the withdrawal start getting better for you?

I know what you mean then. Maybe you could adjust your dose of kratom a little lower and then raise it again down the line?

I'm also not sure how long to expect it to stay like that. Sorry.

I haven't gone through regular acute WD from buprenorphine the whole way through yet, but here's what I have gone through. Acute heroin WD took two weeks to go away, and this was after having been using heroin for no longer than 1-2 months.

PAWS from heroin use while on buprenorphine maintenance probably lasted about a year.

I don't expect buprenorphine to be as bad for me. But most people don't seem to have such long WD's from heroin like I did. The WD's lasted much longer for me than it did for others who were using around me.

 

[Pegasus]

^(@case) I'd say the "plateau" lasts until around day 14, after which it gets a little better (IME). The weird temperature fluctuations, insomnia, and restless legs for me last a bit longer than the other symptoms and these clear up not long after day 14 or so.

This is how it works in me, at least. I've managed to come off of bupe at least three times in my life so far, and am approaching yet another jump soon. The pattern is pretty much the same every time. I think because I use kratom to come off, I stupidly get myself back into the addiction knowing I can get off without too terribly much pain. The thing is, the w/d seems to get a little worse each time...

 

[caseface99]

^^ (@CH) Damn that sucks, I used heroin for 9 months and didn't notice any PAWS when i started buprenorphine. As well i never went through full acute heroin withdrawal myself but i have been told the worst of it is over after 5 days or so.


and thanks Pegasus.

---

Most of the way through day 7 since taking suboxone i think it is now, though it feels like longer. I think I'm gonna go through this thread and fine out what day i started because i swear it feels like longer than a week. Probably hasn't been but meh it's worth checking. Anyway i just took today's first dose and I am feeling pretty normal so that's cool. Though usually it's been the same as when i was tapering my suboxone dose, i would feel normal most of the day and feel off in the evening, even after taking my second dose of kratom. So we'll see what happens this evening.

Who else was it who was planning on doing this soon, was it catcalls and Been&Done?

 

[verso]

Hello, everyone!

Just quickly, I dabble in pills, and painkillers are my favorite. I like to buy a lot of them at a time because they're not always easy for me to come by. I will sometimes go on two or three-day stints, but strangely, I have never experienced withdrawal symptoms. (And I have been abusing painkillers for about two years now.)

I don't think that I am truly addicted, but I definitely enjoy painkillers. My therapist tells me that I walk a thin line and that I am sort of in the "gray area."

But, at any rate, I am going to see a psychologist who is able to prescribe suboxone. I am not sure that I really need or want suboxone, but I might take the prescription anyway to help me take a break from painkillers. (It would be a hell of a lot cheaper, and I need to start really paying my bills. I haven't made a late payment yet, but I am sort of cutting it close right now with all of my bills.)

I guess my question is this: Does it make sense for me to take suboxone without ever having withdrawal symptoms? I was under the impression that suboxone helps with withdrawal symptoms and not so much the cravings. Also, I have been told before that suboxone can be abused, and I have read a little bit of the first page of this thread, and it leads me to believe that in fact, yes, suboxone can be abused. If suboxone can be abused, then I will probably just abuse suboxone, too -- and that wouldn't be very helpful.

Any thoughts or ideas? Thanks in advance!

 

[caseface99]

^^ In my opinion suboxone isn't a good idea. It's just as addictive if not more so, so you will end up withdrawing if you take it every day, which you obviously will since you will have access to it every day of the month

Suboxone is more for people who have developed a serious addiction/dependence to opiates and want to get they're lives back together. If you don't withdraw from opiates, you probably don't need suboxone. But how long have you actually gone without taking any pills recently? Because withdrawal can take more than a day to set in.

 

[Been&Done]

^^ (@CH) Damn that sucks, I used heroin for 9 months and didn't notice any PAWS when i started buprenorphine. As well i never went through full acute heroin withdrawal myself but i have been told the worst of it is over after 5 days or so.


and thanks Pegasus.

---

Most of the way through day 7 since taking suboxone i think it is now, though it feels like longer. I think I'm gonna go through this thread and fine out what day i started because i swear it feels like longer than a week. Probably hasn't been but meh it's worth checking. Anyway i just took today's first dose and I am feeling pretty normal so that's cool. Though usually it's been the same as when i was tapering my suboxone dose, i would feel normal most of the day and feel off in the evening, even after taking my second dose of kratom. So we'll see what happens this evening.

Who else was it who was planning on doing this soon, was it catcalls and Been&Done?

Yes it's me

 

[verso]

^^ In my opinion suboxone isn't a good idea. It's just as addictive if not more so, so you will end up withdrawing if you take it every day, which you obviously will since you will have access to it every day of the month

Suboxone is more for people who have developed a serious addiction/dependence to opiates and want to get they're lives back together. If you don't withdraw from opiates, you probably don't need suboxone. But how long have you actually gone without taking any pills recently? Because withdrawal can take more than a day to set in.

I used to go on really long binges where I would buy 20 - 25 OxyContin and stay high for days at a time, but I could only afford to do that once a month, and my contact, of course, could only get the pills once a month when HIS contact had her prescription refilled. So I would be one week "on" and three weeks "off."

Recently, I have been buying and using the Roxys once a week, so I will be high for about two or three days, and then go four of five days without Roxys. Actually, a couple of weeks ago, no one had any pills, and so I went for almost two weeks without. It's strange. I feel tired, but I am always tired anyway.

 

[caseface99]

It's really up to you. But if you go on suboxone to avoid using oxys you WILL end up withdrawing, and there is a good chance you will end up not taking your bupe for a few days in order to go on an oxy binge.

Instead, you could take an opioid antagonist like naltrexone. You can either get pills that you take every day, or get a once a month shot if you don't trust yourself to take the pills. Though try the pills first in case you get side effects you don't like from them. It would suck to be stuck with the side effects for a month after getting the injection. But at least you won't get shitty opioid withdrawal from naltrexone, and wont be able to use opioids.

 

[verso]

It's really up to you. But if you go on suboxone to avoid using oxys you WILL end up withdrawing, and there is a good chance you will end up not taking your bupe for a few days in order to go on an oxy binge.

Instead, you could take an opioid antagonist like naltrexone. You can either get pills that you take every day, or get a once a month shot if you don't trust yourself to take the pills. Though try the pills first in case you get side effects you don't like from them. It would suck to be stuck with the side effects for a month after getting the injection. But at least you won't get shitty opioid withdrawal from naltrexone, and wont be able to use opioids.

I've never even heard of naltrexone, but this may be good advice. I know that if it were possible to abuse the suboxone, then I would. I was under the impression that a person would be unable to get "high" off of suboxone because it must be taken sublingualy as opposed to snorting or shooting, in which case the suboxone's second ingredient would activate and cause the person to get sick. If this is not true, and a person can get high off of suboxone, then you better believe that I would abuse suboxone. Lol

Man, and listen to me saying that I don't think I have a problem. Pfft!

Thanks for the advice, man. I might steer clear of the suboxone, then.

 

[jamesBrown]

^^ In my opinion suboxone isn't a good idea. It's just as addictive if not more so, so you will end up withdrawing if you take it every day, which you obviously will since you will have access to it every day of the month
Suboxone is more for people who have developed a serious addiction/dependence to opiates and want to get they're lives back together. If you don't withdraw from opiates, you probably don't need suboxone. But how long have you actually gone without taking any pills recently? Because withdrawal can take more than a day to set in.

I know for a fact that someone wont necessarily withdraw from suboxone if they use it everyday as a maintanence drug. I know this from personal experience.
I think its more accurate to say that if you follow the directions of most bupe doctors and follow there advice about tapering off the subs, then you almost definitely will have WD's. But if you use the subs in a way that doesnt comply completely with the methods of all these doctors than it is possible to have no WD's when tapeing off....I have done this myself.
For example, if you maintain on a MUCH lower dose(around 1-3mg's), and then taper to about 0.2mg's(which would be very easy) and stay at that dose for around a month before jumping off.....than you may not have WD's at all like me....or if you do have WD's, they will be extremely minimal and nothing to be worried about too much.

 

[caseface99]

I've never even heard of naltrexone, but this may be good advice. I know that if it were possible to abuse the suboxone, then I would. I was under the impression that a person would be unable to get "high" off of suboxone because it must be taken sublingualy as opposed to snorting or shooting, in which case the suboxone's second ingredient would activate and cause the person to get sick. If this is not true, and a person can get high off of suboxone, then you better believe that I would abuse suboxone. Lol

Man, and listen to me saying that I don't think I have a problem. Pfft!

Thanks for the advice, man. I might steer clear of the suboxone, then.

Good luck, i would definitely go with naltrexone maintenance if i were you. Unless of course you develop a more serious habit, but that's just me. I know i wouldn't want to become dependant on an opioid in order to stop using opioids that im not dependent on.. doesn't make sense.

I know for a fact that someone wont necessarily withdraw from suboxone if they use it everyday as a maintanence drug. I know this from personal experience.
I think its more accurate to say that if you follow the directions of most bupe doctors and follow there advice about tapering off the subs, then you almost definitely will have WD's. But if you use the subs in a way that doesnt comply completely with the methods of all these doctors than it is possible to have no WD's when tapeing off....I have done this myself.
For example, if you maintain on a MUCH lower dose(around 1-3mg's), and then taper to about 0.2mg's(which would be very easy) and stay at that dose for around a month before jumping off.....than you may not have WD's at all like me....or if you do have WD's, they will be extremely minimal and nothing to be worried about too much.

Yeah but you're still dependent on opioids, and most people will experience some level of withdrawal however minor even when doing it this way.

 

[SkagKush]

update............

back at 1mg now (work made my dose slightly higher).......but im slightly more constipated still, so the minor WD may return, and i may need to dose 1.5mg again.....we shall see.........

 

[jamesBrown]

Yeah but you're still dependent on opioids, and most people will experience some level of withdrawal however minor even when doing it this way.

Actually no I wasnt dependent on opiods. I would take breaks all the time from suboxone when i was on it, the longest break lasting up to 2 months, and I never once had any WD effects. It all has to do with how you maintain on the drug, at what dose, and how you taper. Its complicated but its most definitely possible because I have done it and trust me, theres nothing special about me that allpws me to do this. You just have to maintain correctly...a 0.5mg dose is preffered. The lower the better.
It has just been bashed into our brains over and over again that YOU WILL HAVE WITHDRAWALS WHEN YOU GET OFF OF SUBOXONE AND THEY MOST LIKELY WILL BE LONG AND PAINFUL. But we need to get peoples mindset away from this and show them optional ways. Because every peron I have shown how to maintain correctly on subs, has been able to do what I am talking about. I am just tired of readin all the time about the horrors of sub WD when it doesnt have to be that way. Its nothing personal...your just another one of those people who has had this idea about sub ALWAYS being painful bashed into there heads and you believed it. Thats why I want to change this shit and teach people a better way....but thats hard because the doctors dont know shit about subs and there telling patients shit thats just plain stupid and having them maintain and levels that are way too high and having them taper in a completely innefetive way. So ALL these people find it hard to think otherwise.
It just frustrates me to no end.

 

[needlejuice]

ive been reading about subs constantly on the internet for the past 4 years ive been on them, id say ive read about 2 out of 10000 people say they can come off subs after tapering without any pain. on the other hand i have read countless times of people going down to .2mg a day/ every other day and still being fucked for a few weeks when they quit. my friend had been stable on .2mg every other day for a month and he still didnt sleep for a week and a half when he quit. so excuse everyones pessimism when u say it can be done without pain. u really just have to stop taking them that is the main thing u can only taper so far it is such a rollercoaster of a drug its hard to tell when ur sick and when ur not becuz its different every day

 

[TH3_C0NMAN]

how long after subs for oxy

Hey i got a question..i took around 2-3mg of sub this morning around 8am and just took an oc40 around 10pm tonight..i never really take subs although i took some last night prob around 3mg(sub) around 8pm will i feel the oc?

 

[jamesBrown]

this has been asked and answered about a hundred times......literally....do a search. and im being much nicer than ALOT of people would be or may still be.

 

[caseface99]

@James - I am having a very easy time with my suboxone withdrawal actually. But I'm sorry, if you needed to taper to avoid withdrawal you WERE dependent. If you weren't, you could have stopped taking suboxone cold turkey and felt no difference.

And whats the point of taking suboxone? To Block the effects of opioids. I have personally IVed heroin 2 hours after taking .5mgs of suboxone and felt very strong effects from the dope. I know people who have gotten high on dope after taking between 1-2 mgs of suboxone. Clearly full blockage doesn't happen from low doses, which i have heard on here many times before.

It doesn't even matter, because ALL i was saying was that becoming dependent on opioids in order to stop taking pk's occasionally is stupid IN MY >OPINION<. How could getting on suboxone possibly be a better option than getting on naltrexone in this situation if the individual doesn't get negative side effects from the naltrexone?

---

Been exactly a week since i have taken suboxone, i think i might be building a slight tolerance to kratom now that i think about it, captain, but I'm not going to bother taking anymore. The withdrawal is extremely minor and hardly even as bad as it was when i was tapering still so whatever. Just waiting for it to be over at this point. I'll be in Jersey for Christmas in a couple days so I'll be able to get a bunch of klonopin, probably going to stop taking kratom when i get them and see how it goes.

 

[jamesBrown]

It doesn't even matter, because ALL i was saying was that becoming dependent on opioids in order to stop taking pk's occasionally is stupid IN MY >OPINION<.

.....just sayin my opinion too.


*I also never had to taper, I maintained at a dose of 0.5mg's and thats the dose that I took my breaks from and thats the dose I quit from. i started at like 4mg's in the very beginning and within a couple days was down to 0.5mg's.

 

[MDPV_Psychosis]

Been maintaining and slowly tapering from suboxone now for about 2 months. Been great... I've made so many positive changes to my life these last few weeks

I'm down to 4 to 5mg per day. Tried to go lower but began to feel depressed and hopeless so I went back up to 5mg and decided to stay there for awhile before dropping again.

At the dose I'm at now (2mg in the morning and 3mg in the evening) I'm finding myself having lots of positive energy that I am directing towards improvements in my life and into productive hobbies that make me feel good inside.

The only negatives I'm experiencing now are severe constipation and a complete lack of libido. What's strange is that these two side effects seem to be getting worse as I lower my dose. When I started at 8mg per day both were present but not nearly as prevelant as they are now.

Being a long term opiate addict I know how to handle the constipation and have kept in check... but having zero sex drive is becoming quite bothersome. My wife is patient, understanding and as helpful as can be in this department but I'm beggining to get extremely fustrated about it.

Any advice? I assume it will improve as I taper lower but is there anything I can do in the meantime? I don't have a problem getting or maintaining an erection... just zero drive to have sex. I've had sex with my wife many times but never end up finishing because it just feels sorta pointless.