Bupe Six years of bupe, will I ever get off of it completely?

[speedballs_over]

My ? is for people who have been using bupe daily for a long term; 4, 5, 6 years or more and have gotten off it and are not back to any opioids. Thanks.

I've been on bupe maintenance at 12-mg/day 2008 - 2012, then 8-mg 2012-now

Has anyone who had a nasty dope habit for awhile then switched to bupe maintenance/illicit daily use for 5 or 6 years like me ever gotten completely off and remained opioid free for a long term, longer than ever before and are still not using opioids regularly, having now a low tolerance for full agonists?

I'm desperate to know that others have beaten this beast of a bitch opioid to come off, anyone gotten all the way through PAWs? How long did it take for PAWs to resolve? What dose did you taper to b/f "jumping off" and roughly what was your taper schedule?

But it's bupe I struggle with now. I am not using any illicit, non-prescribed meds or OTC stuff at this time.

I take a benzo (3-mg/day clonazepam), lamictal, bupropion (short term for SAD, it's that time in the northern hemisphere again) and bupe. That's it.

Anyone?

Thank you!

 

[Jesusgreen]

Yes, others have. I can't speak for myself because I'm not on nor have I been on buprenorphine maintenance (though I have taken it to ween myself off opioids and avoid withdrawals and even to get high in the past) but I've been reading Bluelight for a good 6 years or so now, and read many such accounts of people being on maintenance for quite a long time, 5-6+ years, and then getting clean.

So don't lose hope, you can and will do it if that's your goal. You should do a slow taper if you've been on that long since long term users experience rather long withdrawals when coming off Bupe, so it's best to gradually reduce over time to minimise these, because you don't want weeks of agonising pain, but you can handle weeks of feeling like you got a bad flu if you have the willpower.

Talk with your doctor about slowly tapering down your doses. If they don't recommend it then speak to a doctor who's more compassionate and ready to help, or a rehab, or a friend, or even just go for doing it yourself. I'd recommend slowly going down - If you're on 8mg now, then go down to ~7.5mg for a week, then ~7mg for another week, ~6.5mg for another week, ~6mg for another week and so on. At first this'll be pretty easy, it's once you get down to below 2mg that things may start to get tough and you may wish to actually taper faster to get things over with quicker.

Check out the Sober Living section of the site, there are plenty of wonderful people ready to support you in your goal. You can get clean, you just have to want to and work at it.

In my experience withdrawals from Bupe are actually quite mild physically, just mentally a pain to endure because you know that you're a dose away from feeling a lot better, and because they take quite a a while to get through. Healthy eating, a multi-vitamin, regular exercise and things you can do to take your mind off the mental side of withdrawals will all help.

The Clonazepam you're on will certainly help matters as far as easy some of the muscle aches and pains, and dealing with the mental side of things, the Bupropion may too as it'll certainly help with the lower energy levels you'll experience during withdrawals.

I'm probably not the best person for advice on this but I wish you the best of luck and don't worry, you'll get to the other side and be clean and free of the stuff if you just get around to actually doing it.

As I suggested earlier, make sure to check out Sober Living. They'll help you a ton

 

[EarthBounded]

All I can say is good luck, I am on day one of suboxone therapy, I cannot say much and will follow this thread and I hope you keep us up to date. One thing I can say from my studies is Opiod induced hyperalgesia may be playing a role in your hard ships. My father just tapered off completely he said it was very difficult, however he only was on maintenance for about a year+. He has been Bupe free for 1 month. Can I ask- what does your doctor say to this question?

 

[speedballs_over]

Thank you for the encouragement, indeed a very slow taper - much slower than I have tried before is seeming necessary. Apparently this is going to take more time than my methadone taper - at least for me - and I was at 200-mg/day of that. It's not bumming me out too much, time is something I have & patience isn't a new aspect of the opioid train for me either.

When I get into the specifics of splitting doses on the way down I know there's a hundred and one methods people have posted here. I'm in good hands.

I do still worry about if I need relief of severe pain - surgical, major busted bone, crushed disc in the back - those kinds of things, not minor dental work...

Oh, what I would do for a mu opioid agonist that kicks bupe straight the fuck off receptors - not to get high. Just to know that it's available for people on bupe / methadone and who need a pain relief while essentially remaining on their maintenance. program. Something with good LD50 vs. therapeutic amt, a very high pain relief:respiratory depression ratio. That exist yet?

 

[ThaDudeAbides]

It's possible yes. I was on 8mg a day for about 5years or more and eventually tapered slowly to where 8mg would have me ok for 3 days. After that period of time though I'd start to get achy and feel week. At that point I'd take 4mg just to take the edge off. I think it took me more than a few months to wear I didn't feel any WD symptoms. It's much easier than getting off dope, but the WD's cans still be very unpleasant.

Now I've gotten to the point where I can do oxy once a month, have a fun time and not fall back into old habits. I can actually enjoy 20-40mg of oxy now versus the bundle a day to feel normal habit I once had. I'm not thrilled I still indulge, but I do feel good that I learned the hard way and have hit rock bottom and refuse to go back there.

If you can, talk to your DR about this. Most DR's know bupe is just a temporary state in recovery. No good DR would want you on bupe all your life.

Good luck and taper yourself slowly. It's great you want to get off of it. It you keep that focused state of mind you can ween yourself of bupe and live a healthier more rewarding life. I wish you the best.