Opioids Opiate detox - usefulness of once off bupe

[Sowle]

Hey yall!

Quick back story - ive been addicted to heroin for the past 4yrs (once getting off for 2 weeks after tapering with bupe...but i really had been using most of the time i was on bupe and didnt give a fuck bout staying clean) and at the beginning of the year was forced to go onto methadone as part of my probation, which during like 6 months i tapered down to where i could jump to bupe, which i did for say a week and then jumped off aka straight back into oxys and kept things pretty stable for a while but now its getting back to fucking up my school/work/family and so i know its time to stop (at least the physical side of it).

I have a young family that i cant let down and as such am pretty motivated to at least address the physical aspect asap (yeah i know its the mental that keeps you coming back but i dont have the time/inclination to deal with that atm) and have a perfect opportunity as in 7 days my partner and child will be spending the week with the grandparents.

Now ive already got ur basic WD kit and have done my best to get my habit down from like 3 oxy 80s or 3 (syd, aus) caps to pretty much one 80 (tho it only holds me for like 18hrs and is pretty fucking sucky) and am aware that its going to suck balls...however (today is friday, they leave next saturday and return on the wednesday) im wondering if there is any benfit to me using the minute amount of bupe i have.

I only have like 4-6mgs and given that i want this over by the wed they get back (or at least the worst of it) a taper doesnt seem the way to go but rather than just cold turkeying from everything i was wondering if there was any benefit to utilising some of that bupe, even to just take 2mgs on the tues/wed before they go to ease into the WD...or is that just pointless? Like would I be better continuing to taper with oxys and switching like from IV to oral.

My major thing is just that this has to be over (or damn close to it) by the wednesday they get back...i dont want to do a full bupe taper as unless you are more disciplined than i, its not painfree anyway and i obviously dont have the resources

So yeah, if im wanting to rip the band-aid off quickly is there anyplace for bupe in my schedule or do i just jump from the oxy and continues to hold onto the bupe for 'emergencies'

Thanks heaps for your help and if you want this in Basics just shoot it over

Cheers

 

[Cane2theLeft]

The buprenorphine, in my view, will certainly be helpful even if you have a small amount it'll bring you from 100kp/h gradually to 0 instead of hitting the breaks and smashing head first into a brick wall.

I also think switching to oral dosing and continuing the taper until you jump off is a great idea because the oral doses will hold you longer and also help you to begin adjusting to staying away from the needle (I don't know about for you, but many have the needle fixation which alone is a bitch to drop).

Next, I highly recommend using loperamide after the bupe. I'm not sure if you've tried it in the past or are even aware of it, but as many have found around here, using larger doses can reduce or even stop a substantial amount of withdrawal symptoms. For example I went from 150mg/day oral morphine to ~24mg of loperamide (12 imodium pills) and this reduced my withdrawal symptoms by approximately 80%. I probably could've reduced them even more with higher doses but I wanted to be cautious.

If you decide to use loperamide to help you, they generally come in 2mg pills and you can slowly taper those and experience very little withdrawal... many have likened it to OTC bupe or methadone but with less (or no) high.

Lastly, I'm contractually obligated to mention this next part. I know this isn't the topic of your thread and you touched upon it, but you're going to put yourself through pain and misery for fuck all if you don't plan your next step. You can't just go from 240mg IV oxy a day to nothing in 7 days and walk away smiling and fine. Unless you find a way to address the addiction issues, its not a matter of if you go back but when and how miserable you'll be in the mean time. I'm studying addictions counseling so if you'd like to discuss this stuff further and explore your options, PM me any time.

 

[Jabberwocky]

agreed with most of what cane said there, good solid advice.

though personally if you're wanting to cold turkey, but need to function while your family is still present then i would use the bupe sparingly, then going cold turkey when they've gone.

using the bupe any longer is only putting off the inevitable withdrawals even when you're tapering; there's still withdrawals and its better to get out of the way sooner than prolonging it for no particular reason. making sure to utilise your withdrawal kit of course!

 

[Cane2theLeft]

^good call.

What I was suggesting can really spread it out, I would advise taking a couple weeks to taper the loperamide... what's great about this is that its cheap, widely available and will stop most of the w/d symptoms so if you wanted you could get a lot of the w/d pain and misery out of the way quickly while they're gone and then continue the lope taper to curb some of more severe and enduring symptoms.

If you wanted to rip the bandaid off as quickly as possible and don't have much time, bupe and lope can elongate the process.

What does your w/d kit contain exactly?

 

[ATLL765]

I would use 2mg/day if you have 4-6mg of bupe. You seem to have tapered down pretty well and your habit is fairly small now, so it's possible that 2mg of bupe would make you feel almost 100%, at least 75% I would guess. If you can deal with being at 75% for a few days or if the other things you have in your withdrawal kit can bring you up from that 75% to something more like 90-100%, it won't be too bad.

I remember when I first had gotten a habit, it was only about 6 bags/day give or take 2 and I only had 1 8mg suboxone pill and I took 2mg/day and I felt about 80% over the next 4 days. I would definitely try to use as little bupe and loperamide as possible because as stated earlier, they're opiates and will elongate your withdrawal, but if used sparingly, will make them far more manageable.