Bupe Buprenorphine short v long taper

[Bucklecroft Rudy]

Ive been on pods for the past 5-6 months or more and ive just about had enough. Opiates just dont do it for me anymore I feel as if they belonged to a stage of my life that's over now. Im 100% ready to give them a swift kick and be done with them once and for all.
Im planning on doing a buprenorphine taper and have looked around for deifnitive guides. Theres more information than I could ever need but on BL there doesnt seem to be a thread which deals specifically with how to perform a bupe taper and what to expect.
My plan is to take 2 weeks out stock up on weed,clonidine,uld NLTX and vits/supplements. Hopefully i'll manage to get down to 0 in that time after that i'll just have to ride the paws out to the bitter end.
What should I expect with a 2-3 week taper emotionally and physically? How will the clonidine affect me? Is weed a good idea? Would it also be a decent idea to switch from pods to a short acting opiate to reduce the severity of the discomfort or is that irrelevant? On a similar note how does switching to a short acting opiate for the latter stages of the taper sound? Alternatively would taking it slowly reduce paws or will that prolong things?
If I knew what I know now about opiates I would have run screaming as the cliche goes. I never thought that i'd long for sobriety as I do now for the past 5 years or so I always assumed opiates were here to stay - I honestly believed that I was a career addict. Ive now grown to hate them with a passion. The ritual the sickness the control they exert over everything the perpetual worry. Enough is enough

 

[Jabberwocky]

Well, in my case, im on suboxone for the long run. it just provides so much help and support that I'm fully committed to something like two years on it. I plan on doing a proper taper, so I'm not too worries about w/d from it when I want to come off.

As long as you plan ahead and can manage a proper taper, I personally do not believe you're "just postponing the inevitable." That's bullshit. Then again, if you just drop straight off the sub or do a fucked up taper, you'll certainly be angry about having been on subs...

For pods, I would not suggest switching to a short acting opioid, as it won't do you much good, and this would be more like prolonging the inevitable. I think a three week taper is more advisable than a two week taper. the clonidine will, you will soon learn, be your best friend. other than the suboxone i mean.

what kind of tapering schedule are you thinking of dose wise?

how much ppt were you on?

p.s. don't worry about paws now. first thing first. you'll have plenty of time to worry about it when the time comes. there are lots of non-drug non-opioid therapy things, exercises and suppliments you can take to deal with paws. for myself, piracetam and other nootropics help immensely with paws. same with getting into a good relationship, having sex/masterbating, exercise, doing stuff you love, eating and sleeping right, etc etc. In a word, you'll handle the paws when you gotta handle them. you've got enough on your plate atm.

p.p.s. statistically speaking, I've been told by very reputable source that the longer, well managed taper/sub treatment are generally more successful than shorter tapers. so i'd advice on the long. but it all really comes down to what YOU want... do you want it to get it just over with, or do you want to do what you have to do, to do all you can do to ensure your ongoing success in the future? that's the question. many people choose the short detox because they have committments like work or something and cannot afford to spend a long time working at it.

 

[Bucklecroft Rudy]

I use around 120-140 grams pod flour daily. Theyre british pods so the morphine content is fairly low itd probably be over half that if I were using pods of reasonable potency.
From what ive heard the short taper is less painful. The short taper is supposed to be the least tough on the mind/body. With the long taper What you can do is switch to a short acting opiate for a few weeks and then do a quick bupe taper. The idea is that a 2 week taper allows you to avoid the drawn out bupe kick.
30 % reductions every 3 days was the plan and i'll probably be on around 2-4 mg of bupe so it should be over before I can cluck. Ive got an iron will and enough meds to flatline an elephant so ive no doubt the initial phase will be tolerable. Im just steeling myself for the aftermath. Everytime I kick I have to deal with the emotional senstivity (my family are impossible to live with and my last relapse happened due to the living situation) intolerable chills constant headaches and amotivation. The clonidine should lick the chills and getting the hell out of this living situation should go a looong way in dealing with the emotions.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Yea, I think you got things well under control. You know what to do. If you stick to your plans, you'll be fine. Good luck!!!

p.s. Yup, dealing with OTHER PEOPLE, especially family, can be the hardest part of this process. But then again, hopefully they'll come around, because having their support is pretty much the best possible thing in the long term/long run. Family can sure be a pain in the ass, but they can also be one of those invaluable resources...