Requesting support for tapering off low-dose of suboxone (schedule, tips, etc)

[narco-leptic]

(If this is not the right forum, I apologize - please move it to the correct one)

Hello, you can call me Jim. This is my first post. I know there are a LOT of posts discussing how to taper off suboxone, but none quite fit my situation (I started and have always been on a low dose). So let me first give some background information on my situation

I am in my mid-20's, and have been taking opiates since high school. I have been on suboxone for around 18 months now. My friend gets prescribed many more than she uses so she just gives them to me for free (so I can't really go to a doc for advice, though I might be able to go to my PCP for meds that would help withdrawal).

Though I started at 8mg a day, my normal dose now is 4mg a day (half a strip, in the morning). My plan is to wean myself off within about 6 months or so. I will take longer if required but I think due to the low dosage 6 months should be adequate.

In addition to this, I have a prescription to klonopins that I have been partially hoarding (saving 1/4 of the total month supply for the last 4 months - I get prescribed a very low amount of them) in order to help with the anxiety from tapering.

What I really need is a tapering program. I would like to be completely off in 5 months, maybe 6, to deal with the aftereffects of completely stopping for the couple months after that.


I figured either 1 of 2 strategies: Either cut a very small portion off my normal half-a-strip every day, increasing the portion cut off every week. Or maybe take my normal dose, but first week or 2 take 3mg in a day instead of 4. Then the next week or 2 after that take 3mg a day for 2 days out of the week, and so on, and go like that, cutting the taper to .5mg after getting down past 2mg a day.

The second question is: What helps both while tapering and when I'm finally off it 100%? I heard exercise is very good, so I'm jogging regularly and I joined a gym. I'm not going to a support group (I don't agree with a lot of their teachings - its just not for me) but I have a lot of friends both straight and former addicts that I can talk to for support.

The last question is: What medications are recommended to help with the discomfort of tapering and eventual abstinence?


Thank you very much for all the help in advance,


Jim

 

[caseface99]

Congratulations for making this decision man - I know from experience it's not easy.


I would always recommend seeing a doctor, and being honest. Your general practitioner can only help effectively when they effectively know what to help with.

That being said - From experience (I am not a trained professional) I would recommend dropping a maximum of .5mgs every two weeks, leading to a 16 week taper. 4mgs isn't actually as small a dose as it sounds in my opinion and experience, but 4 months is doable if you're determined. The prescription that has always helped me the most, and way under prescribed, is Gabapentin AKA Nurontin. You'll need to raise the dose of gaba frequently, however the worste withdrawal symptom I've ever heard of or experience from it is minor head aches. Be careful how high of a dose you go up to, once you get to over 1000mgs a day, you realize why one of it's nicknames is "morontin". But it will work wonders for the hot flashes.

Keep working out - and once you start dropping the dose work out even more. Cardio, cardio, cardio. Eat healthy - make sure you have proper intake of vitamins and nutrients. Meditate, and keep a journal to track your progress as well as how you feel day to day.

Recovery/support meetings can and will help a LOT - however like everything else I've mentioned that's just a suggestion. I would just recommend the meetings to help avoid relapse when you make the final jump, meetings have literally saved my life.

Good luck man. I sincerely wish you the best. It's not an easy thing to do, so I'm proud of you. Keep up the good work.

 

[neversickanymore]

Hey Narco.. Welcome to BL! Time to leave the handcuffs behind and forge your way to a free life, congratulations on coming to this determination. In a short while you will be free and feeling great.

I think that sometimes people put themselves though a whole lot of withdrawal over a long period by taking a really long time to taper.. and then at the end you still have to jump off. >Here< is a thread you may want to look at, but please be honest with yourself as to weather this aproach is a good idea for you.

I think a pretty quick taper method is the way to go, i would go as low as you can stand and keep your life together..and as soon as you can stand to take off more then take off as much as you can possibly stand.. and then wait till you can take more off. I think though that a tapper can just keep a person in a relatively miserable state for a long time with the only benefit being a little less uncomfortable in the end. Its not going to be as bad as you think. I think its really good that you are aware that the real battle begins when the acutes are done.. >here< is another type of suport group if you do not jive with the fellowships of NA/AA/etc.. they have a different approach and can be used alone or in conjunction with the fellowships if you change your mind about them.

There are ALLOT of blue lighters that have been or at where you are right now and I would suggest that you make the recovery section part of your recovery plan.. lota love, wisdom and support here A really powerful toll you will want to research while you are preparing to detox is mindfulness >here< as it may help you greatly in your recovery. I wish you godspeed on the detox and look forward to following your progress.. its hard at times and uncomfortable in the beginning.. but if done right it brings you to a really amazing place and when you finally look around at how good your life has gotten you may just shed a little tear.. I did. you can do this and i can see from your post that you are probably pretty intelligent.. while you have the time, that is while you are preparing to detox, use some of that intelligence and set yourself up with a strong recovery plan.. as the PAWS kick in really pretty quick after the acutes are done, usually about two and a half days, and usually people are so elated to be done with the acutes that the last thing they want to do is plan a recovery. Also talk to some of your friends that cleaned up and see what they are doing to live a peaceful and rewarding clean life. And please keep us informed of ant aspect of you journey you wish to share.

Freedoms waiting for you just a little ways down the path you just started

 

[feelOld]

I also did a quick taper, from 8 to 4 to 2 to skip a day to one. And I have not had a clean day for ten years, and am currently on my 7th day of no opiates. I am more than twice your age, so if I can do it, so can you. Yes, I felt like crap. Today is better, but I have been reading these posts like crazy and expect more bad days. I suggest a quick taper unless you have serious medical conditions (then see your doctor).
I am taking decongestants, dextromethorphan, NSAIDS (like aleve) cyclobenzaprine, vitamins, and Lyrica. For some strange reason, my diarrhea did not begin until yesterday, so I took my first immodium last night (regular dose). I had some benzos just in case, but the Lyrica (similar to gabapentin) has made me sleep.
My fear of withdrawal was worse than it has been. I think so much is mental, because we have been numbing ourselves. On the plus side, my libido has been sky high, also took me by surprise. So taper now, accept the yawning, sweating, restless legs, feeling like you want to jump out of your skin, and tell everyone who does not know the truth that you have the flu and a fever, which it is similar to. Do it now. And read all these posts everyday.

 

[unsettled]

In my experiences with coming off of suboxone I've found the fear of the withdrawal to be worse than the withdrawal itself. The first time I came off of it I jumped off a 4mgs a day, and although it was hell and I didn't sleep for about 5 days during the worst of it, it was manageable. The hardest part about the actual withdrawal was having to lie and tell people I had the flu when I didn't.

I've tapered off of it a couple times too, and while that's a slightly less miserable way of getting off of the subs it does prolong that misery for a loooonng time! When you do jump off just be prepared for the low grade depression and the fatigue, that was the hardest part about it for me.

Ultimately the most important thing is to be ready to come off of it. I thought I was ready the last time I quit but I wasn't. I relapsed on Heroin within 1 week of reaching a "normal" state. The bottom line was/is I'm not ready to be completely off of subs yet. I need to put some healthier changes into play before I jump off again, otherwise I know my chances of staying clean are minimal. There is a reason we use drugs, I've realized I needed to address some of these reasons while I'm still on a low dose of sub.

That's just my experience with coming off of subs though.

No matter how you go about it I'd recommend plenty of Ibuprofen or Naproxen, Loperamide, Valium or Klonopin or even Xanax for the worst of the anxiety/insomnia and plenty of liquids, including protein shakes for when you can't eat.

Keep in mind you may not need all of this, the first time I kicked subs I didn't have that bad of a withdrawal syndrome at all, if I had stuck it out that first time I could have saved myself a lot of trouble.