This is not necessarily directed at OP, whose habit sounds like it is unlikely to run into trouble from precipitated withdrawal. This post is more for people who stumble into this thread with serious habits, and read SKL's advice. Regarding:
My "patented" Suboxone rapid taper formula:
IF YOU INDEED HAVE A SERIOUS HABIT:
(And this is also posted for posterity)
This is a slight departure from medical orthodoxy and a definitive departure from the box insert, but it is considerably more comfortable, but you need access to a decent amount of Suboxone at least for the beginning.
1. At first sign of withdrawal, take 8mg of Suboxone. ********this is too much if you have a small habit, and you shouldn't be bothering with suboxone anyway if that's the case
2. Every 30 minutes feeling precipitated withdrawal, take an additional 1-2mg. ******ditto
3. You will wind up at quite high a dose (12-32mg probably) ****ditto
4. Immediately down to 8mg, or 12mg if 8mg is intolerable. ****you get the idea
5. Down to 4mg, 1mg per day.
6. Down to 2mg, 0.5mg per day.
7. Down to 0.125mg, halving dose each day, using if necessary nasal RoA or a medicine-dropper.
This is if you don't want to stay on long-term; otherwise stop at step 5 or at 8mg and a gradual taper to 4mg, which I would consider an ideal maintenance dose.
Notes:
Contrary to popular belief, precipated withdrawal can be defeated by increasing Suboxone dose, the dose just has to be large, as it will occupy all of the μ-receptors eventually, even the ones that it has kicked off your typical μ-agonist like heroin, hence steps 1 & 2.
This advice is, in my experience, not good for all serious habits. When I was using heroin I didn't have a problem with precipitated WD as long as I took enough bup. But it is not always the case that you can break out of precipitated withdrawal by using more buprenorphine. About a year ago I switched my drug of choice from street dope to fentanyl HCL powder from the internet. After a while, I got up to about 14mg/day of fent, which is admittedly a shitload. I precipitated withdrawal by taking bup (started at 6mg) as soon as I started feeling sick (sweating, shitting, cold). Some notes from that experience:
1. What followed was by far the most severe withdrawal I've ever experienced. I've been using for 14 years, and gone through WD hundreds of times, but nothing, even cold turkey from similar fent doses, came close to the severity of the precip. Many times worse than cold turkey from 1g/day h habit.
2. I had 30 count 8mg generic subutex on hand. After the initial dose, I took more and more and more. It was hard to keep anything under my tongue with the vomit, but I ended up dissolving 4 or 5 tablets under my tongue. It did not bring relief within the usual 45min. I had to suffer through 3-4 hours of the worst withdrawal I had ever encountered before I could hold still, stop puking, et cetera.
3. Since then, I've made the mistake twice more. Each time from not waiting long enough after the fent to take bup. Each time it has been horrible with no way out except to wait. One of those experiences lasted over 12 hours before the precip faded, and I settled onto the buprenorphine. Other times, I've waited 2-3 days after my last fent dose to take bup; the total suffering during the waiting period is not even close to the total suffering from even the shorter of my precipitated withdrawal experience.
SKL's other advice regarding post-acute withdrawal and jumping off bup from low doses is good. I don't know about testosterone supplementation. It might help with the "meek" feeling we're all familiar with after getting clean. I've jumped very low and very high. Low jumps are definitely gentler. High jumps from bup still aren't too terrible compared to other things, but it all depends on your, er, sensitivity.
On post-acute withdrawal associated nightmares and sleep problems: if you have a doctor, consider asking them about prazosin. It's an alpha blocker used back-in-the-day for high blood pressure. Lately, a lot of research has been done on using it off-label to treat people with PTSD-induced night terrors. I have had very good luck with prazosin killing my night terrors, which follow me around for months and months after kicking, or even moving from full to partial agonist. It's also a mild sedative, and helps me get more restful sleep.
Parting remark: I'm not posting this to diss on SKL, or to start an argument. I'm sharing a number of anecdotes relating to precipitated withdrawal (which OD has tones of threads on) to try and help any passing readers. These experiences of mine are in direct opposition to SKL's claim that you can dose your way out of precipitated withdrawal with more buprenorphine. You may well suffer far more during that precip period than you would during the suggested 2-3 day wait-- that has been my experience.