buprenorphine taper schedule

[mydrugbuddy]

I know to wait until WDs are really kicking in before taking sub number 1. My plan is to start off with 1/4 of a pill, and take another 1/4 3 hours or so later etc etc until i feel thats holding me. If it turns out that i feel i need more than 2mg a day then Im not going to have enough bupe to do a taper and I'll be fucked. If 1mg holds me then I could just about make 13 x 2mg stretch into a rapid taper i think.

Anyone have any advice ?

Thanks.

 

[Myshkin]

Anyone have any advice ?

Don't. At least if you can find an alternative. Or you're very, very determined to get yourself together. Even then, I'd say face the rattle.

Honestly, sourcing black market bupe was the worst mistake I've made in years, and even a very slow taper (ending in March) left me a physical and psychological wreck.

Bupe is such a seductive drug because after a short time it doesn't really feel like a 'drug' at all. Then you stop, and it's much worse than you might imagine. And goes on for much longer than I'd imagine the AH-7921 WD would last. Not to mention it's far stronger.

Supervised tapering is the only way with subs. Even if you're 'in control' like I thought I was. It ain't as easy as you may have been led to believe.

Good luck.

 

[mydrugbuddy]

Thats not what i wanted or expected to hear. Not that I doubt that's how it was for you, I'm just very surprised.

The WDs from my DOC are said to last a month. But presumably the first 2 weeks are the worst.

If i can do a sub taper in around 3 weeks Im not gonna be too dependent on it. In some ways the quicker the taper the better i think. I cant find any alternative way to get off opiates though. Thats what the 'medical route' advised. I could speak to my drugs worker and see what she says.

I've kind of psyched myself out of quitting cold turkey and ive been trying to taper down and off for fuckin ages, with no success.

 

[scrooloose]

Would a good strain of kratom help in these situations, if only to take the edge off?

 

[mydrugbuddy]

Would a good strain of kratom help in these situations, if only to take the edge off?

Yeah, quite a few people have said it does help. I already have some knocking around, I may be calling on it again soon. I really hate the taste of it though. Thoroughly puke inducing. Makes poppy pod tea seem delicious.

 

[Treacle]

Why can't you go on a supervised taper? I'd really recommend that. What are you coming off? 2mg is not a lot, when dependant, at all.

 

[mydrugbuddy]

im getting a bit paranoid about stating too many details as ive been telling my workers what forum i use (not my u/name though). Im on a lowish dose of a mild opiate is about all i can say.

EDIT: Ive just re-found an opiate conversion table. AH7921 is about the same strength as morphine (maybe slightly weaker). According to the chart you divide the morphine dose by 50 to get the bupe dose. That works out at 3mg of bupe for me.

http://www.gp-training.net/protocol/therapeutics/opiate_doses.htm

Maybe i need to get a few more pills in otherwise 13 x 2mg may not be enough.

 

[Snakes]

i recently stopped taking bupe a day ago (subutex 8mgs) i took my last 4mg 2 days ago and woke up this morning covered in sweat. I ran out of subs a few days ago and am hoping the WD istn as a bad as oxycontin

 

[mydrugbuddy]

Is it normal for certain brands of buprenorphine tablets to come in different sized blister packs ? Say strips of 7, and also longer strips ?

I only ask because i have seen a complete strip of 7 pills, and another strip that has been cut with scissors, but by joining the pieces it can be seen that the other strip is longer than the strip with 7 pills.

Sign of fakes, or nothing to worry about ?

 

[lurching]

AH7921 is about the same strength as morphine (maybe slightly weaker). According to the chart you divide the morphine dose by 50 to get the bupe dose. That works out at 3mg of bupe for me.

Maybe i need to get a few more pills in otherwise 13 x 2mg may not be enough.

So you are taking 150mg of AH7921 now, daily? One dose per day? How long after your dose do you feel first WD?

And you have 13 tablets of 2mg buprenorphine, right?

That's likely WAY more than enough for a rapid taper. Especially if you're coming off a "lowish dose of a mild opiate", as you describe it. Myshkin speaks truth, you'll not want to stay on bupe for any second longer than you have to.


Just see what dosage bupe holds you (it might be less than 1mg per day in total) and then decrease slowly enough that it is just bearable. Keep in mind that it is long-acting and that a dose may hold you longer than 24hrs.


If you have any bupe left over after your taper, then flush it. Don't extend your taper just so that you can finish your bupe stash -.-

 

[mydrugbuddy]

Hmmm. This is so confusing. I get different/advice & opinions everywhere. Some people recommend tapering as quick as possible, others recommend as slow as possible. The clinic i went to would have tapered me down and off over the course of a month. That sounds reasonable. I definately dont want to be taking it longer than that. But i am too much of a baby to do it much quicker than that.

I usually take a total of 150 mg of AH per day, 2 doses, 1 early evening, 1 nearer to bed time. Ive never just stopped taking it, so i dont know when w/ds will start kicking in, but i know it'll be at least 18 hours.

What about the different sized blister packs ? On the manufacturers web site they show only 7 pill strips of 2mg bupe. It was on old cached site though. And these could have been sourced internationally where they do a different range. Fuck knows.

 

[lurching]

Ive never just stopped taking it, so i dont know when w/ds will start kicking in, but i know it'll be at least 18 hours.

Then try skipping a dose of AH7921 first, at the very least?
If I'm not mistaking you: you have never went longer than 18 hours without taking it? And you haven't experienced WD yet?

Buprenorphine is some pretty heavy-duty stuff, it would be much better if you could manage without it. Or at least with less than a full month's worth.

 

[Shambles]

Hmmm. This is so confusing. I get different/advice & opinions everywhere. Some people recommend tapering as quick as possible, others recommend as slow as possible. The clinic i went to would have tapered me down and off over the course of a month. That sounds reasonable. I definately dont want to be taking it longer than that. But i am too much of a baby to do it much quicker than that.

I know I'm very big on the long, slow taper thing. It does depend on the situation though. You are stepping up from a comparatively mild-moderate strength opi to a beast of one. I really don't know enough about AH-wotsit to have much of an opinion on that. Bupe I do have an opinion of though and am a massive fan of the stuff. Was the only thing to get me off the gear and did so as painlessly as it's possible to be. Just took a very long time is all. Presumably cos I'd been on the other opies so long (and probably a few other unrelated reasons).

As you would be really stepping up several notches of opi-potency doing this your situation is kinda different maybe. In your case you really have no interest in making a proper switch to bupe cos you are using it for a very specific purpose and that purpose ain't maintenance. Truth is, you're probably in fairly uncharted waters cos I doubt many people have been in this situation before given the relative rarity of AH-wotsit itself let alone longterm use of it. As such you may just have to play it by ear. Along with advice from DSP and others, perhaps.

As others have said, you really wanna be taking the lowest possible dose for the shortest possible period. Bupe has a massive halflife and I used to be able to go 3-4 days between doses (at certain stages of the taper anyway) if needs be. Don't rush into redosing if not absolutely necessary. You need to cluck or you ain't tapering. It's keeping it to within bearable limits that's the issue really. The more discomfort you can cope with the better it will be in your system. Just remember that every dose of everything you take has to come out sooner or later. The less you take the less it's gonna hurt later on

Good luck

 

[mydrugbuddy]

Thanks for the advice both.

Mr S i think you have got it spot on. Thank you and Myshkin for the good wishes. As you say I'm not gonna be using bupe for maintenance at all really, just to taper off AH.

I've tried tapering off the AH but I feel as if i cant do it - although I did at one point drop to such a low dose I might as well not have been taking it. I have experienced WD several times when i was taking ODT, and I'm not psychologically strong enough to face a month of w/ds which is what AH is said to leave in its wake. The problem is largely psychological i think, but i reckon because i believe that switching to bupe will make it easier, then it will be so. Its all in the fuckin mind perhaps.

Lurch, that is correct ive been on AH ever since it first became available. Apart from fucking up when stim binges got out of control ive never been in AH WD. I already felt i was opi dependant following the use of odt and poppies and morphine and oxy, I bought a nice big fat bag of AH , at a very cheap price per gram, (this was for maintenance) but am now reaching the stage where it wont be too much to flush.

I'll stick to my 14 pills as everyone has been saying that is more than enough for my purposes. The guy actually gave me 1 extra. Nice of him (i know its just a tactic to encourage repeat business). But 13 is unlucky. 14 isnt. I know its stupid to believe in such superstitions, but that one kind of stuck with me since i first heard it as a yungun.

Ive made a pact to get rid of whatever is left of my AH at the end of June, and then switch to bupe if and when my body is telling my mind it needs it.