I'm looking for other peoples input on this topic because i feel that a lot of recovering or trying to recover opiate addicts would disagree with me. In MY opinion Suboxone/Subutex, and Methadone should not be used for extended periods of time. Even the typical month or two detox done by doctors doesn't really work, it just prolongs the withdraw. I say this from personal experience with both. For me they worked great at first, aside from minor side effects, but by the time I was weaned down and finally took my last dose, i was in bad withdraw at about 36 hours after. When i say bad i mean even worse than when i started going to the clinic. Cause after a little over a month your body will become dependent on the Suboxone or Methadone, and most of us know that Suboxone withdraws can last a month and Methadone can last a for months! Thats the reason why i have always picked dope back up after i completed the programs. I cannot fathom the idea of being on Methadone or Suboxone for the rest of my life or even a few years at that. I'm not hating on anyone if it works for them it works for them, just didnt for me. It finally took a couple big wake-up calls for me to finally get it and have 9 months sober now, besides my adderall script which i dont count cause ive been on it since i was a child. It is amazing the person i have become, but it will always be tough here and there… I was hopeless… No matter what, there is ALWAYS hope and we can change. Sorry i rambled a bit this is my first post, id just like to hear what people from all over feel about this topic…. THANKS!!:D
I have done this MANY times... It is possible VERY possible to get off of suboxone with out ANY WITHDRAWLS WHATSOEVER... it has to be done very slowly and very carefully.... I can show you the schedule that I use.. here it is..
SO the first few days I am trying to detox here is what I do...
First day, DO normal amount of heroin i usually do. Wait.. Take 24mg suboxone when I feel the beginning feelings of withdrawl. I know for my body that I don't have to wait to be on a 8 or 9 on the withdrawl scale to take suboxone, for me if I wait that long, It wont work and I will fuck up and use again, the way for me to get off of dope effectively is to try to avoid withdrawl at all costs.
next day, when I don't feel 100% I take half of my normal dose of heroin and wait again for it to wear off, again when I feel sick I take 24mg of subs... At this point I am trying to build up a good amount of sub in my system so that I wont need to dose wit heroin. I keep doing this until I no longer need to do the heroin shot to feel normal it usually takes about 3 days. On the forth day I no longer need the heroin to keep me in check, all I need now is a steady dosage of subs on a schedule.
Every night I dose 16mg for 8 days. On the 9th day I take 8mg and I continue that for 5 days. Then for three days I take 10mg, the reason that I don't stay on a steady dosage is because by the end of the first few days I have built up a massive amount of subs in my system so i reduce the mg to keep it up but not too high, when it starts to lower the amount left in my body (when the massive amount starts to metabolize out) then I up my dosage 2mg to 10 instead of 8 for three days. After those three days, I go back down to 8mg. Now my body is comfortable on 8mg. I have successfully tapered slowly enough to get down to 8mg. I Continue to take 8mg for at least three weeks. after three weeks I break up my pill into quarters and start taking 6mg a day for 2 weeks. Then for three weeks I take 4mg. Then for 5 weeks I take 4-2 mgs whatever I need, and during this time I try to take the least amount possible to stay comfortable. After my 5 weeks is over I then go down to only 2mgs for 3 weeks. After that three weeks I go down to 2mg every other day. or 1mg a day, (your choice) for three weeks I do this. Doing this gets your body used to getting less of the opiate, but at such a slow pace you dont really notice any withdrawl symptoms at all. Then again after that three weeks I cut my dose in half again to 1mg every other day. (or .5mg a day again what ever works better for you.) when you are comfortable doing this then you take 1mg to .5mg every 2 days. and then after three weeks of that take .5mg every three days. and then after that for like 2 to three weeks I find I dont need the suboxone anymore at all. the key to this tapering method is doing it extremely slowly so your body isn't getting freaked out by a lack of opiates but you are slowly reintroducing normality to your body and it adjusts very slowly. below I am going to show a schedule of what I just explained.
This is how I successfully wean off of suboxone with NO withdrawl effects whatsoever.
Day 1: Normal dose of Heroin,
Wait until that wears off and then dose with 24mg ( or your amount you need to reach homeostasis)
Day 2: Half the normal dose of heroin,
wait until it wears off then dose with 24mg
Day 3: half the normal dose of heroin
wait until it wears off then dose with 24mg
Day 4: By this time I no longer need the herion b/c i have built up enough sub in my system, and I no longer need the heroin. on this day I take 16mg of suboxone.
Day 4 to Day 11: Dose 16mg of suboxone nightly or in the morning your choice.
Day 12 to Day 16: 8mg Nightly
Day 17 to Day 19: 10mg Nightly
For three weeks I take 8mg nightly
After that I take 6mg for 2 weeks nightly
After that I take 4mg for three weeks nightly
After that I alternate days taking 2 to 4mg for five weeks (during this time try to take the least amount possible that will keep you in a good mood and not giving you cravings.) It is important to try to taper down to 2mg by the end of these 5 weeks but do so slowly enough that you aren't getting cravings and so that you feel normal.
After that I do only 2mg for three weeks nightly
After those three weeks I do one of these two, 2mg every other day or 1mg every day for two weeks nightly
Again, after that for weeks I take my dose and cut it in half, wither 1mg every other night or .5mg nightly for 2 to 3 weeks.
After you are comfortable at this level go ahead and skip a day and take .5mg every other day for 2 weeks
After that go ahead and take .5mg every 2 days for a couple weeks (do what is comfortable for you, there is no rush, if you rush this wont work.)
When you feel comfortable cutting down again try to take .5mg every 3 days for 2-3 weeks.
Then if you really want to taper all the way out do it again, .5mg every 4 days for 3 weeks.
I find after that, I no longer need the suboxone, and I am free of it, and feel like a brand new person, a person who doesn't need opiates to feel normal. I have used this schedule to get off of heroin many times. I have done this with out ANY withdrawl in the long term I have not ever got withdrawl from suboxone using this method, I made this up myself because this is what works for me, I'm sure people with different metabolisms might have to tweak this to work with your body. For me though this works.
I know some of you are going to ask me why I take heroin while I am taking suboxone, for me, this is the only way I can transition to suboxone without feeling like total and complete shit for 3 days while transitioning. If I don't dose with dope the first few days, I am not going to sleep, and I will be kicking all night long, and because I work full time, I don't have time to be sick. So yes I take suboxone and heroin together, mind you, I NEVER take suboxone while feeling the effects of heroin. I only take heroin AFTER i have been feeling sick and the suboxone isn't enough to get me normal. There comes a point when you have so much suboxone in your system that you wont feel the heroin if you do it anyways... The only reason that I can feel the heroin in the first few days when I am sick is obviously because I don't have enough in my system, that is why i am still getting sick, the suboxone isn't occupying all of my opiate receptors and I need that heroin to fill them just until the suboxone can get in there and slowly reconfigure the activation of my opiate receptors to a more normal level. The goal in the beginning is to get off the heroin and get enough subs in your system so you don't need it, that is the only reason i use it, at that point you have to be willing to just stop and only do it to feel normal, NOT TO GET HIGH.
I hope this helps, I know it can seem a little confusing AND LONG. but it works for me and i hope that i can help you get off of heroin pain free as well. This schedule took a lot of tweaking for me to get it right for me, so don't expect it will be perfect for you, but you can find what works best for you, and adjust it accordingly.
THANKS!
OPIDOPECAKE
