Keep Sub appt. or taper/cold turkey

[K'd-OUT-in-AZ]

One other thing:
What if she wants to give me TOO much, is it possible to decline and ask for a lesser dose. For example, I was hoping to start at about 4mg a day and wean from there. My friend said a lot of doctors, even if your habit isn't too bad, start you at 16 or even 24 to keep you around longer. If this happens, should I request a lower starting dose, or accept it but only take the smaller amount I was aiming for.
AND if I do take the smaller amount, can they tell in my blood work?

Sorry if this post and the last post straddle the rule fence.

Thanks

I don't think you will need to worry about starting out at 16-24mg, I've never heard of that. But if you plan on doing a taper and not maintenance then it is possible you may be started at something like 8mg and taper from there but yes, you can request starting at a low dose. I think they would prefer you do it however if you are still feeling withdrawals from 4mg, you will be increased.

 

[kmatrixg]

I don't think you will need to worry about starting out at 16-24mg, I've never heard of that. But if you plan on doing a taper and not maintenance then it is possible you may be started at something like 8mg and taper from there but yes, you can request starting at a low dose. I think they would prefer you do it however if you are still feeling withdrawals from 4mg, you will be increased.

I was at 24mg a day for 2 weeks at the start. It was a wild 2 weeks. I quickly tapered to 16 the next week and stayed there for another month. The 24mg was a stabilizer dose. I had managed to get down to about 150mg Percocet/240mg OC day at the time of my appointment too which is pretty moderate use when switching to replacement therapy.

To the OP:
Don't be afraid of everything you read on the internet about Buprenorphine before you actually experience how your body reacts. It really seems EVERYONE reacts differently from the next guy on bupe. Some have god awful W/D, others it's a walk in the park for what they're used to. Some people have precipitated W/D when taking Bupe too fast, some do not. I did not. I relapsed a few times while on sub and as soon as the OC let me down, I'd take a sub to get back up. I quit a week ago CT at 6mg a day, then on the third day I decided to Google buprenorphine withdrawals out of curiousity because I didn't feel bad and I started to read about people experiencing worse W/D than when they kicked H at just 1mg a day.

The thing I attribute to this Bupe kick being so much easier than opiates was the fact that I had no anxiety about not dosing. I was ready to be done. 6 years as a slave is long enough for me. The acute W/D are done but the extended should last awhile. I've forgotten how to fall asleep on my own after nodding every night for that long. Haven't slept but 14 hours all week.

All in all, try it out. Bupe W/D might not be so bad for you at your daily dose of Vic's.

Don't forget that time is your best medicine and most importantly have faith in yourself.