Hello, I am new to bluelight and can't seem to find an answer to my question on any other threads so here goes: A friend of mine is going to be using Suboxone to quickly detox himself from a 2-3 month Opiate habit. This started for him with painkillers(Vicodin,Percocet) which lasted about 2 months advancing into injecting roxicodone and heroin for 2 weeks and then 2 weeks of methadone he was getting from another friend. He has been lowering the dosage of methadone over the last week to 50mg which he last took 25 hours ago. My question is: When can he begin the suboxone?(8mg sub-lingual strips). I have read that one should wait up to 72 hours. My friend is not going to make it that long. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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OD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic
Bupe Starting Suboxone
- Thread starter NW Addict
- Start date
orgone
Bluelighter
If he is taking methadone he should wait as long as he can. I've gone through methadone detox without subs and I didn't even feel any WD effects until the 72+ hour point.
Znegative
Bluelight Crew
^me too- I remember when I had been on high dosages (90-105mg) of methadone it took me at least 72 hours to start feeling withdrawal. However that is not the case with lower dosages (50mg and under). I'm at 50 now and begin feeling wd symptoms by 7pm at the latest.
Anyway-to the OP:
Luckily your on a lowish dose of methadone for maintenance. It's best to taper down even lower and spend two weeks taking only 30mg/day,though it may not be in your case as you have only been using strong opiates for a month and have only been on methadone for 14 days. If you want to switch over to suboxone, you're going to have to stop going to the clinic and wait until WD begins to hit you real bad..at 50mg, you'll probably reach that point after 48-72 hours. The longer you wait the better that's for sure.
Most suboxone doctors want their patients who are switching to suboxone from 'done want this patient to be down to 30mg of methadone a day..however I've known people who have take it 4 days after their last 80mg dose of methadone,and others who took it within two days of their last 60mg of methadone and they seemed to be doing alright. However, I really don't want you to think that there's no way you will get precipitated WD-I am just saying that it's not dependant on how many hours it takes since a persons last dose of Methadone, but rather, the best indicator is to wait until you really feel like you're in full blown WD-which varies diffefently from person to person.
Anyway-to the OP:
Luckily your on a lowish dose of methadone for maintenance. It's best to taper down even lower and spend two weeks taking only 30mg/day,though it may not be in your case as you have only been using strong opiates for a month and have only been on methadone for 14 days. If you want to switch over to suboxone, you're going to have to stop going to the clinic and wait until WD begins to hit you real bad..at 50mg, you'll probably reach that point after 48-72 hours. The longer you wait the better that's for sure.
Most suboxone doctors want their patients who are switching to suboxone from 'done want this patient to be down to 30mg of methadone a day..however I've known people who have take it 4 days after their last 80mg dose of methadone,and others who took it within two days of their last 60mg of methadone and they seemed to be doing alright. However, I really don't want you to think that there's no way you will get precipitated WD-I am just saying that it's not dependant on how many hours it takes since a persons last dose of Methadone, but rather, the best indicator is to wait until you really feel like you're in full blown WD-which varies diffefently from person to person.
N3DIVWNOJI999
Bluelighter
The timing behind dosing bupre after methadone is tricky, yes you have to wait until you're in moderate withdrawal and yes that can take days with such a long acting opioid such as methadone, that's why I suggest switching back to an ope with a shorter half-life such as roxi, for a week or two, then you can start your sub induction 1 day later and not 3.
N3DIVWNOJI999
Bluelighter
Honestly though, 2-3 months of ope (ab)use is not too difficult to CT, but if your "friend" really needs to take a sub, only have him start with 1mg, especially if he wants to quick taper.. In comparison i take upwards of 300mg of oxyco a day for years and 1mg of bupre gets me straight.
TimKT9
Bluelighter
Use the COWS scale of opiate withdrawal. You can google it, and it will rate you on how much withdrawal you are in, and when you find out your score, you can look it up and see when you can safely take Suboxone.