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Harm Reduction Progress Mega Thread

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thanks, i appreciate it. It feels good to have those couple there and not needing to take them and not wanting (ATM) to take them. I just hope coming off kpins in a couple months doesn't make me cave in and fuck up and be back to the same old shit.

I was on bupe maintenance for 4 years and did over a year in drug and alcohol counseling and feel i can do it though.




4 years and getting off was "ok"? Glad to hear this man and i'm sorry if i missed that if you have posted about it earlier. 4 months of Subutex now and really thinking about that final taper. Checking out Kratom and tapering plans. Stay clean and enjoy the many things life has to offer :)

Edit: Today for the 1st time ever, i plugged 4 mg Subutex for a change, usually i sniff tiny lines and on 2mg these days. I have plugged the oranges fuckers only once before but was hating them with any ROA and don't think i felt any difference, i even sniffed an 0.5mg afterward just to be sure. I have to say that it's a little different than sniffing but not more intense or anything, i will probably give it another shot sometimes, was nice to have my nasal passage "really" clear for the whole day. Reminded me of low doses of codeine back in the days, don't know why and it came as a slight opiate warmth that wasn't bad for the day and for the sake of change.

Goodnight, and may the force be with us all
 
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i just counted on a calendar and it has been 17 days clean of bupe (my last bupe appt was Jan 21st and i skipped it and havent gone since Dec 21, so starting Jan 21st is how long i've been clean, i donno what day i was counting from before lol) :D this is great. and i feel good too although i am more tired than usual.. but the w/ds from suboxone *for me* after 4years were 1/100th of the w/d's of almost a year on methadone (keep in mind these are post street drug use) i never had OC withdrawals do anymore to me than give me restlessness, especially in the legs (which is normal) anyways i didn't think i could do it because i was using mental issues (bipolar & anxiety) as an excuse to stay on bupe, so suboxone was my band aid.. but i ripped that shit off and feel actually proud of myself in a way i haven't in a while.. if i can do it, anyone can. good luck to anyone who finds themselves in the position to come off bupe. it is not as bad as people make it seem.
/update
 
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^that's great to hear! 17 days after how long you were on it is a lot to be proud of! Keep it up.

How's everyone else doing?
 
^that's great to hear! 17 days after how long you were on it is a lot to be proud of! Keep it up.

How's everyone else doing?

pretty damn good *knocks on wood*
will be coming off kpins soon, but besides drugs..
i just got my car fixed, inspected and registered on thursday so i have my whip back.. was only missing my car for a day n a half but it feels longer when you cant go anywhere cuz you don't have your car lol. Not much else is going on.. my kids came to my house this past weekend and just went home today, we had a good time.

How you doin?


________________________________________________________________--
EDIT: iight im outtie for a bit. peace BL.
 
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^that's great to hear! 17 days after how long you were on it is a lot to be proud of! Keep it up.

How's everyone else doing?

Finally got internet set up :!

Made it to San Francisco alive, have gotten pretty situated. just over 3 weeks since I've taken suboxone now. I ran out of kratom a few days ago and didn't quite feel up to stopping completely yet, still didn't feel to great physically without anything, so I've been taking 6-8mgs of loperamide at night once a day for the last few days. I feel pretty good this morning for the first time so I'm hoping to get that number down to 4mgs tonight. Weed helps alot too. Finally i have access to something that helps, that won't just prolong the process. So I've been smoking at night too but that's it.

I'm probably just prolonging the inevitable with the lope hoping for the painless transition that doesn't exist, but whatever. I'm so used to tapering after 2 years of this shit I have to taper until i can't anymore.
 
^That's the way to do it. I was taking opioids for pain for 4 years daily followed by about 6 months where my use was more recreational and doses escalating and I used loperamide to come off.

I took it as slow as I needed to and so it took 6-8 weeks to come off about 24mg initially but it was pretty painless. Doxylamine at night for sleep was also beneficial.
 
^Ha, no... I meant when I started tapering, I started on 24mg of hydromorphone. I was on pods so its hard to estimate but I'd say the equivalent to between 150mg-200mg oral morphine/day.

I was alternating pods and hydrocodone for a while and taking about 120mg a day 2 weeks out of the month but then when I switched to only pods my doses went up so somewhere in the 150-200mg range before I went to 24mg loperamide and tapered.
 
I'm not doing too bad. Been clean (with exception of Suboxone and Kpins) since the 28th of January, with the exception of a slip up on the the 5th of February with some dope. I needed some money so I grabbed a ball of tar for someone, ended up taking a little "tax" out of the bag for myself. Even on 16mg of Suboxone for over a week (only 8mg that day), I managed to catch a pretty good buzz off of two shots of dope. Heroin is a strong motherfucker. 8)

I think what I need to really focus on is making some lifestyle changes. I've decided as soon as it warms up around here (hopefully before fucking July) I'm gonna get myself a fixed gear bike.
NSFW:
screenshot20110209at149.png

Pretty damn sexy huh? Now that's something to look forward to. I can't wait till it's warm enough out to go riding on that, or hit up the skatepark. Although my knees have been really bad lately. I'm hoping I can still skate without being in too much pain - my Fibromyalgia is still an issue.

I've actually given seeking any treatment for my fibromyalgia with the exception of neurontin (scripted by my Sub doc) because I doubt any doctor around here is willing to treat someone on Suboxone or with a past history of drug abuse. I can't even get benzos legitimately and I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Such bullshit. Most doctors in my area aren't willing to script narcotics at all, much less someone who's been on Suboxone. So I guess I'm just going have to suffer and deal with it.
 
i think i am officially off subs now.. it was a week yesterday since i have taken any :D
(besides 1mg once towards the beginning to see if after a couple days off i could get a buzz.. and i did) i have 1 &3/4 tabs left that i will save for future "recreation" if i ever get the unmanageable craving for opiates.

EDIT: Everyone can come check in now, the water's fine.

Yeah man, great news!


My bupe taper has gotten to the point where I am not dosing until absolutely necessary, and even then in smaller doses. I've been in this situation plenty of times before, and I can tell I'll be ready to jump to kratom in a few weeks. I just need to stabilize on this new lowered dose first!
 
I just moved the next step in my valium taper. I finally committed to taking a maximum daily dose of 1.5 mg. I was on the 2mg for almost a month, but was finally able to move down. Hopefully I will be alternating between 1.5 and 1mg daily, and in 3 weeks be down to 1mg daily.

It has been 30 hrs since I last dosed, and I am feeling really good, other than not sleeping much. I'm in that window between feeling good since the drugs are getting out of my system, and feeling bad from withdrawal from the drugs leaving my system.

I was on 3mgs of xanax for 5 years, and never missed a day of dosing, so I would say that getting down to 1.5 mg of valium is progress.
 
^that's awesome man, you're so close! Good call on tapering slowly. Benzo PAWS can be some of the most protracted and the largest factor in mitigating/preventing this is the gradualness of the taper.
 
Hi everyone! Last week was a bit discouraging, i had it out with my sub doctor. He lulls me into a feeling of security and then at the end of the appointment says something to leave me off balance and wondering where i stand. He also spent 20 min. talking to me about the book i was reading in the waiting room, and then charged me an extra 25 bucks for going over my $150 half an hour by fifteen minutes. When i asked the receptionist to talk to him (he was standing right by the door) she told me he was busy but she could leave him a message. i left in tears, though that ass hole didn't get to see, and cried the whole 2 hours home. After regaining composure i called and left a detailed message about why i was angry and what we needed to address in the next session. Sometimes i forget i'm paying a pretty heavy fee, and should be able to speak my mind without feeling like a degenerate. He was coming down hard because i didn't taper off of the xanax (in 1 month) like he advised. i will let him know in no uncertain terms next time that i will not be tapering. The xanax goes last. Bastard.
This week has been great. Energy levels are good, and i'm feeling hopeful. i'm really glad to hear everyone is doing well, sorry i haven't posted for a bit, i was feeling anti technology. To the mods, i hope we're doing well enough to keep this thread going.. i know you've had to push it forward a bit, but i think everyone is grateful to have it. Thanks!
 
i just counted on a calendar and it has been 17 days clean of bupe (my last bupe appt was Jan 21st and i skipped it and havent gone since Dec 21, so starting Jan 21st is how long i've been clean, i donno what day i was counting from before lol) :D this is great. and i feel good too although i am more tired than usual.. but the w/ds from suboxone *for me* after 4years were 1/100th of the w/d's of almost a year on methadone (keep in mind these are post street drug use) i never had OC withdrawals do anymore to me than give me restlessness, especially in the legs (which is normal) anyways i didn't think i could do it because i was using mental issues (bipolar & anxiety) as an excuse to stay on bupe, so suboxone was my band aid.. but i ripped that shit off and feel actually proud of myself in a way i haven't in a while.. if i can do it, anyone can. good luck to anyone who finds themselves in the position to come off bupe. it is not as bad as people make it seem.
/update



Hey man I have a question - what was your dose of subs and whereabouts the the WD's peak? I remember reading your post at 1 week clean and thinking "oh boy, he probably hasn't even started to WD yet" but it would appear that I was wrong?

S
 
Hey man I have a question - what was your dose of subs and whereabouts the the WD's peak? I remember reading your post at 1 week clean and thinking "oh boy, he probably hasn't even started to WD yet" but it would appear that I was wrong?

S

my sub dose was 1-2mg/day..
if i had to put a "peak" on it, it would be around days 3-4 (i suppose)
but the w/d's were like some w/d's i never experienced... it was REAALLYY drawn out for like a week of misery but after that week it's been great (mostly).
like it was very subtle w/d's the whole way through, and i just figure i am done since i don't feel any negative effects anymore (besides leg pain)
 
I have been recently experiencing some of the worst pain I have ever been in. Besides for being under anesthesia, I haven't taken any full agonist opiates after the surgery despite how painful the metal plate + screws were at first after the nerve block wore off.

I have still been on buprenorphine for a while, no cravings. I had to raise my buprenorphine dose to 0.1 mg to be able to get more adequate pain relief (which still was only taking the edge off).

I am also still struggling to do some of the positions that my arm naturally would be in, but I am doing much better than I was at first. :)

I hope everyone is progressing well through 2011 thus far, because it has certainly been the most challenging part of my life to date.

What surgery did you have Captain? I broke my elbow and had to have a plate and 3 screws put in. It also caused alot of nerve damage, so I have chronic pain even 3+ years after?
 
Thanks for the kind words to everyone, in 2011, Captain.

Speaking for my self...well...I've got a healthy relationship with Jacob, my Pharmacist. And most other staff there.

We often chat for 10-20 minutes...long after the Subutex has dissolved...about computers, drugs, and life in general! I think Jacob's personal touch has left me feeling worth something, in a human being part of a sick society way.

Just like here, really. Where people do not judge others for their past addictions. I do not appreciate the people who are abusing Subutex, either by taking it to get high, or using heroin whilst on Subutex. Those people, I try and help see sense.

Because, I was just the same, years ago. A heroin addict. And I could not see a way out until my buddy told me to get into rehab. So, I went and have never looked back. I did not even know what methadone was, or even heard of Subutex. But, when they told me what Subutex did, I just knew it was for me.

Some people you just cannot help though. Like my friend, Chantal. She has been using for over a decade, the heroin. And has been on and off it all that time. She'll always be an addict, I'm afraid. The lifestyle is just second nature to her. Having to score every day. Offering sexual favours for a bag. She is an attractive girl, don't get me wrong. I'd give her drugs for a poke! Haha.

I just feel hopeless.

That this beautiful creature, this woman, cannot help herself or accept help from anyone else, including me...to stop the addiction. To stop playing the game. To break the habit and kill the dragon.

There is one girl though. A friend from Cambridge, she has been clean the same amount of time as me. And she is absolutely stunning. She is very wealthy. She has like a £1000 tag watch, which she DID NOT pawn for her habit! That is something very special to her. That watch. And her other expensive jewellery.

Cambridgeshire girls are wealthy tho, and speak the Queen's English ~ most are born with a silver spoon in their mouths :)

But, even though she has a boyfriend. I'm falling in love with her. We're both former addicts, she is on methadone, I'm on Subutex, and neither of us work for a living. Since, who'd want an ex-junkie as an employee?

Like, when they ask...what did you do for the last 10 years unemployed? The answer, smoke heroin, doesn't really help! Even IF its the truth.

Any tips about finding work, as a former addict? Like ~ do you bring it up during interview? What you say?
 
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