JohnM1977
Greenlighter
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2017
- Messages
- 15
Hello,
I’m currently researching/educating myself on switching over from Methadone to Subutex & it landed me here..
It’s been a long tough road which I’m sure everyone here knows something about..
I’m grateful to be on my own path to recovery.. I was on Methadone for 10+ yrs & the anxiety was a major issue.. they (MMT) wanted to restabilize me every few months going higher on dose.. started @ 30ml up to 145ml in those 10+ yrs.. (i didn’t go into relapse at all since starting my journey).. I tapered off from 145ml to 50ml of Methadone in 10 months on my own.. they (mmt) were not aware of my taper.. I did it because I felt it was my only chance.. another strong motivation was that on the month I started to taper, was because my brother in law was found passed away this past March from Methadone & Xanax overdose @ 27yo.. I felt awful knowing that I got him off H only to start Methadone & he ended up abusing & injecting it.. I now know it was his choice but it still played a huge role in my life..
More about my situation.. So I just started Subutex last Monday.. I went through 78 hrs of withdrawals before jumping on Subutex.. it was a nightmare.. I was prescribed clonidine, Ativan, & BuSpar for withdrawal.. Stopped the Ativan after starting Subutex induction on my own.. that mix scares me obviously.. I was prescribed 8mg of Subutex 3 times a day.. it causes the same anxiety so I decided to take it in halves between the same timeframe.. it was better feeling & it was the same effect in length of time.. 4mg every 3 hours.. if i waited longer, I started getting mild withdrawals.. even @ 8mg subtx, I was getting the same length of time but difference was the anxiety it caused at 8mg.. Taking clonidine helps a lot but it makes me tired & loopy so being a carpenter, it’s not safe.. so I had to do something to make my situation better until my next doc appt.. tomorrow..
My concerns are..
- Why does it take 3-4 hrs to feel withdrawals when it has a long half life
- Why do I feel a buzz for about an hour then 3-4 hrs later I have to redose
- At 24mg daily, shouldn’t I be good & not needing more to keep me feeling ok (I feel the need to dose at bout 2-3am or I can’t sleep anymore.)
(Questions are for the Dr. but any input would be great)
I know I’m on high dose & im worried.. I’ve heard many things online.. “induction phase is higher until you see the doc again”, “ you were on too high of Methadone to jump over”, “you should be at a lower dose & feel somewhat withdrawal”, or “we are all different & some needs are higher in others”.
These I feel all ring true in some aspect.. maybe I’m too early in the first phase & need to stabilize.. that’s why I’m here & I look forward to reading more posts on my issue here..
Thanks for listening & hope to have a fair informational chat on these topics.. hope you all have great holiday if I don’t hear anything til after.
Sincerely
John
I’m currently researching/educating myself on switching over from Methadone to Subutex & it landed me here..
It’s been a long tough road which I’m sure everyone here knows something about..
I’m grateful to be on my own path to recovery.. I was on Methadone for 10+ yrs & the anxiety was a major issue.. they (MMT) wanted to restabilize me every few months going higher on dose.. started @ 30ml up to 145ml in those 10+ yrs.. (i didn’t go into relapse at all since starting my journey).. I tapered off from 145ml to 50ml of Methadone in 10 months on my own.. they (mmt) were not aware of my taper.. I did it because I felt it was my only chance.. another strong motivation was that on the month I started to taper, was because my brother in law was found passed away this past March from Methadone & Xanax overdose @ 27yo.. I felt awful knowing that I got him off H only to start Methadone & he ended up abusing & injecting it.. I now know it was his choice but it still played a huge role in my life..
More about my situation.. So I just started Subutex last Monday.. I went through 78 hrs of withdrawals before jumping on Subutex.. it was a nightmare.. I was prescribed clonidine, Ativan, & BuSpar for withdrawal.. Stopped the Ativan after starting Subutex induction on my own.. that mix scares me obviously.. I was prescribed 8mg of Subutex 3 times a day.. it causes the same anxiety so I decided to take it in halves between the same timeframe.. it was better feeling & it was the same effect in length of time.. 4mg every 3 hours.. if i waited longer, I started getting mild withdrawals.. even @ 8mg subtx, I was getting the same length of time but difference was the anxiety it caused at 8mg.. Taking clonidine helps a lot but it makes me tired & loopy so being a carpenter, it’s not safe.. so I had to do something to make my situation better until my next doc appt.. tomorrow..
My concerns are..
- Why does it take 3-4 hrs to feel withdrawals when it has a long half life
- Why do I feel a buzz for about an hour then 3-4 hrs later I have to redose
- At 24mg daily, shouldn’t I be good & not needing more to keep me feeling ok (I feel the need to dose at bout 2-3am or I can’t sleep anymore.)
(Questions are for the Dr. but any input would be great)
I know I’m on high dose & im worried.. I’ve heard many things online.. “induction phase is higher until you see the doc again”, “ you were on too high of Methadone to jump over”, “you should be at a lower dose & feel somewhat withdrawal”, or “we are all different & some needs are higher in others”.
These I feel all ring true in some aspect.. maybe I’m too early in the first phase & need to stabilize.. that’s why I’m here & I look forward to reading more posts on my issue here..
Thanks for listening & hope to have a fair informational chat on these topics.. hope you all have great holiday if I don’t hear anything til after.
Sincerely
John