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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards

Question about bupe withdrawal

firahs75

firahs75

Bluelighter
Joined
Dec 3, 2010
Messages
139
I have been on bupe for a year now and have weaned down to 2mg a day. My goal is to get down to 0.25 mg a day before skipping days and then stepping off when I reach 5 days skipped.

It is a little disconcerting to read all of the stories about how hellish and long-lasting bupe withdrawal is. I have read many accounts of folks who were on bupe for a year or more weaning down to 0.25 and 0.125 and going through a month of hellish withdrawals before starting to feel better. Are these people just exaggerating?I thought bupe withdrawals were supposed to be mild!

I would expect nasty withdrawals stepping off at 2mgs but not at 0.125mgs! I am very worried because I really want to be free of bupe, but I have to work, so I cannot be rendered non-functional for 3-4 weeks as some accounts suggest.

Bottom line: If you're at <= 0.25mgs before stepping off, is it really that bad?

If it is as bad as they say, would it be feasible to switch to a maintenance dose of Oxy (equal to 2mg sub) for a month or so and then re-induct on sub on as low a dose as possible and do a rapid taper(8-10 days)? Thanks!
 
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I have never tapered down below a mg but I can tell you withdrawl from 1.25mg was fucking awful worse then heroin IME. As for the switch to a short acting opiod thats the theory I have read many people talk about it but I havent seen anybody come back and say how it worked. If you try it post back and tell us about the expierence.
 
crimsonjunk said:
I have never tapered down below a mg but I can tell you withdrawl from 1.25mg was fucking awful worse then heroin IME. As for the switch to a short acting opiod thats the theory I have read many people talk about it but I havent seen anybody come back and say how it worked. If you try it post back and tell us about the expierence.
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Surely there must be some bluelighter that has tried switching to a short-acting opioid from sub that can lend his/her insight on the matter.
 
crimsonjunk said:
I have never tapered down below a mg but I can tell you withdrawl from 1.25mg was fucking awful worse then heroin IME. As for the switch to a short acting opiod thats the theory I have read many people talk about it but I havent seen anybody come back and say how it worked. If you try it post back and tell us about the expierence.
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How long did the W/D's last in your case?
 
@ firahs75 , are you doing this on your own or are you under the care of a doctor? I have seen various buprenorphine taper regimens, and a lot of people are able to discontinue after feeling settled on.25mg Now, many of these people will feel some degree of withdrawal, and it can take a full month to feel close to 100%, although YMMV, as some are feeling quite well after2 weeks., and some have long drawn out symptoms. My biggest advice is to taper as slowly as you can. Don't drop to that next lower dose until you are feeling comfortable on the current one. The ideal taper would be something like a 10% decrease every 10-14 days after reaching the 2mg mark. Some people need a longer interval. The main thing is to not let anyone rush you, and proceed at your own pace. Expect some discomfort after jumping off, but remember how far you've come and what a waste it would be to jump back on. Sounds like you're committed to discontinuing As for the switch to a short acting opioids, I have seen some doctors prescribe a SMALL quantity of something quite weak, but this is not recommended practice. I've seen this fail in two situations: 1.) where the patient uses the PRN supply too quickly, and this worsens the eventual withdrawal, and 2.) the PRN opioid is used appropriately, but the patient can't function without it and comes back desperate for more. In this second case, lots of these people will need to go back to a small dose of bupe and have the plan reevaluated. And I've never seen your last idea used in practice. What would be the advantage of switching to an equivalent dose of oxy for a while, then back to bupe on a fast taper? Best to get off the bupe and ask for help if things don't go well
 
I started off on 16 mg suboxone, and stayed on it 2 years. In April of this year, my doc started tapering me from 16mg-12mg (for 2 weeks), then to 8mg for 2 weeks, then 6mg for about 3 weeks, 4mg for 4 weeks, and so on, and now I recently took my last dose of suboxone for good, at 2mg. Not anything less than that. And let me tell you what has saved me: a drug called catapres, AKA clonidine. It is a non-addictive blood-pressure medicine, used often to treat withdrawal. I was a heroin addict for 6 years, and I can tell you that suboxone IS a walk in the park compared to it. Some people disagree, but if you research clonidine reviews when used for opiate withdrawl, you will find that 9 times out of 10, people are singing it's praises. I think the people that have the most trouble with suboxone withdrawal are the people who have only ever been addicted to vicodin, percs, etc, and so the withdrawl from sub may seem much worse for them than withdrawl from vicodin. Which, let's be honest, is a walk in the park compared to heroin or oxycontin. (NOTE: I said COMPARED TO) Everyone is different, but having a good doc makes all the difference in the world. Had I known about clonidine (not to be confused with clonipin) 2 years ago, I would have saved myself a LOT of trouble and heartache. If you were to ask my opinion, I would say get the clonidine if you can (your sub doc should gladly write a scrip if you ask), and STOP THE SUBS NOW!!!!! The sooner you stop, the less you drag it out and the less you miss work. There are stories out there of people who get off METHADONE (yes, you heard that right) in a matter of a week with help from clonidine, and they manage it successfully with minimal discomfort. Whatever you do, don't try to self-medicate yourself with other opiates; it will only drag things out longer. Instead, get the clonidine, stop taking the subs, and take a few days to 1 week to let the clonidine do its work. It will make you sleep through the whole thing, if you're lucky. The dreams it gives you can be wild, but the trade-off is worth it. No sweats, no nausea, no heart-pounding chest pains, no goosebumps, NONE OF THAT. Only side effects that are pretty common is you get dizzy when you stand up, and you may be a bit gassy. But it is WORTH it. Anyway, I don't know if that's what you wanted to hear, but I wish someone had told me all this years ago. The absolute best of luck to you!
 
I've got 60 OC 20's. Theoretically speaking, I should be able to wean off those.
 
Are you sure that using oxycodone to help your taper is a good idea if you are down to only 2mg of buprenorphine per day? 60 x 20mg OCs are enough to get you an oxy habit as you come off the buprenorphine, and as they are so recreational I would imagine the temptation to take too many would be pretty high.. I could easily be wrong though, I have no personal experience. What was your plan for using them in your taper?

Good luck <3
 
effie said:
Are you sure that using oxycodone to help your taper is a good idea if you are down to only 2mg of buprenorphine per day? 60 x 20mg OCs are enough to get you an oxy habit as you come off the buprenorphine, and as they are so recreational I would imagine the temptation to take too many would be pretty high.. I could easily be wrong though, I have no personal experience. What was your plan for using them in your taper?

Good luck <3
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I was thinking of taking enough as much as oxy as I need to stave off sub withdrawal (probably 30-40mgs initially) and then go down 5mg a week until I am down to 5mg or 10mg, at which point I will step off. Backup plan is to do a 10 day Methadone taper (30mg; 30mg; 25mg; 25mg; 20mg; 20mg; 15mg; 15mg; 10mg; 10mg) after the oxy if it is too rough. I have heard that the 10 day methadone taper works really well for coming off relatively low doses of short-acting opiates. The key to success is willpower. I guess I'm gonna find out.
 
Simply going down to 0.25mg every other day may be good enough for you. If you need to use something else, there are a few options, but one stands out far above the rest IMO (assuming you are not in Australia or a small handful of other countries).

I don't recommend using methadone. You could use oxycodone, but the doses you're describing are too high. Jumping from 0.25mg every other day would be like jumping from 5-10mg oxy a few times a day IME.

I'd recommend kratom if going the substitution route though. It's damn near perfect for coming off of bupe IME (which I've done three times, twice with kratom). It is essentially a mild opioid plant that is well known for its use in opiate withdrawal. If you're interested, I'll give you all the info you need.
 
Pegasus said:
Simply going down to 0.25mg every other day may be good enough for you. If you need to use something else, there are a few options, but one stands out far above the rest IMO (assuming you are not in Australia or a small handful of other countries).

I don't recommend using methadone. You could use oxycodone, but the doses you're describing are too high. Jumping from 0.25mg every other day would be like jumping from 5-10mg oxy a few times a day IME.

I'd recommend kratom if going the substitution route though. It's damn near perfect for coming off of bupe IME (which I've done three times, twice with kratom). It is essentially a mild opioid plant that is well known for its use in opiate withdrawal. If you're interested, I'll give you all the info you need.
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PM'ed you.

Thanks to everyone for the helpful feedback so far. Cheers!
 
i too am stopping abusing subs...its day two with out taking 2mgs...feel slightly nauseous. am i going to feel withdrawal symptoms?
 
If you've been on them awhile then you are going to feel wd's for sure. If you can stabilize on 0.5mg or lower, Kratom really seems to be the way to go.
 
i've been taking it everyday for 2 weeks...boyfriend is making me stop so i dont get addicted...im still going to feel the wd after two weeks?
 
If you have only been taking it for two weeks, STOP NOW!!!!

By now you are probably past the wd's from whatever short acting opiate you were addicted to. I first got on subs cause I had an oxy and morph habit. How I wish I would have just quit cold turkey, or at the very least, quit the subs after a week or two. Now I've been on them for a year and it is a bitch getting off them.

However, if you think that you will go right back to your opiate of choice, spiral out of control, and your life will fall apart, a longer period of sub maintenance might not be a bad idea.
 
You shouldn't have any withdrawals in that case. Two weeks is not long enough to develop a habit. Just don't take it too frequently.
 
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