Suboxone not helping: Pls Help

[NoEasyDays]

I am a moderate to heavy user of heroin and am struggling to transition to suboxone. I have taken subs MANY times in the past several years and they worked wonders.

The last two times Ive tried to transition to subs though has been a nightmare. The most recent time I waited 72 hrs after my last use before I took a sub. As you can imagine I felt pretty awful at that point, and I intentionally waited it out to avoid PW.

I started with 4mg (half strip), waited about an hr and didnt feel great so I took an 8 mg pill. Waited an hr and a half then took two 2mg pills. Yes, i had a mixture of 3 different subs. 16mg total and i still felt like crap.

At that point I figured I was way past the ceiling effect so decided to not waste anymore. 24 hrs later i took another 4mg strip, then an hour later an 8mg pill. Again, little to no relief, at about 12mg total.

This has never happened to me before. In the past i could wait about 12 to 24 hrs, take 8mg and feel incredible, or close anyway. Now im waiting 72 hrs and taking way more and it literally feels like im not taking anything, even two days in to taking them.

Does anybody have any insight as to what the issue might be? Have you ever heard of this happening? This is the 2nd time I have attempted this with similar results. Both times i wait it out, take subs regularly for about 2 or 3 days, and Im still feeling awful.

Any insight or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

[freesolo123]

I have found it takes up 3-5 days before I start to feel normal on subs, have never waited 3 days before starting treatment! 24hrs at most then take 8mg wait ill see if I feel easy then 8mg 1hr later, could be your dose is too low for the amount of H you used I was surprised that 16mg on my 4 - 6 bag a day habit held me but I still had a few WD symptoms like hot flashes and insomnia. After a week I was stable,

What is your plan do you have a script from a DR?

Stick with it!

 

[Lucy20]

I quit methadone using the Burmese method of micro dosing. Once i stopped the methadone I was only on subs a week then off. It was almost painless.
They are using that method to switch people now and im still in contact with a girl from my clinic and she was like you until they started micro dosing with suboxone while she took heroin.
Pm me or ask here if you have any questions

 

[NoEasyDays]

I quit methadone using the Burmese method of micro dosing. Once i stopped the methadone I was only on subs a week then off. It was almost painless.
They are using that method to switch people now and im still in contact with a girl from my clinic and she was like you until they started micro dosing with suboxone while she took heroin.
Pm me or ask here if you have any questions

Wow! I read the studies about the burmese method but never met anyone who actually did it! I referred my doctor to the case study notes online regarding that, and she looked at me like i was crazy.

So you had success with that method then...how micro of a dose are we talking? All i have left now are the chunky 8mg pills, so getting an accurate dose out of that could be a bit of a challenge.

Tell me more about your experience please

 

[NoEasyDays]

I have found it takes up 3-5 days before I start to feel normal on subs, have never waited 3 days before starting treatment! 24hrs at most then take 8mg wait ill see if I feel easy then 8mg 1hr later, could be your dose is too low for the amount of H you used I was surprised that 16mg on my 4 - 6 bag a day habit held me but I still had a few WD symptoms like hot flashes and insomnia. After a week I was stable,

What is your plan do you have a script from a DR?

Stick with it!

I did but unfortunately no longer have insurance so I dont see my doc anymore. But i have a friend who does and is able to help out.

16mg per day is actually a very large dose of bupe. The ceiling affect varies from person to person, but from what I have seen generally caps out around that dose. Meaning once you hit that dosage, no matter how much more bupe you take the affects stay the same.

I have like a 30 or 40 bags a day habit lol, on a good day anyway. Never less than a whole bundle though.

Also i waited 72 hrs because I had PW once after a whole 36 hrs, and needless to say I never want to experience that again. Id rather wait 3 days sick and be safe than risk PW again. It was THAT bad. Granted at the time i was using strictly fentanyl and had a pretty heavy habit.

Thanks for the replies, I am going to stick with it...just was hoping for some insight as to what happened suddenly that they just dont seem to provide any relief, when in the past they were amazing. Perhaps something in my body/mind has changed, or perhaps my habit is just too heavy and I need to ween down more before starting subs....

Its just a weird situation for me. I used to love subs and get a buzz from them, now i take a ton of them and dont even get releif the first few days.

Thanks.again though

 

[Lucy20]

Wow! I read the studies about the burmese method but never met anyone who actually did it! I referred my doctor to the case study notes online regarding that, and she looked at me like i was crazy.

So you had success with that method then...how micro of a dose are we talking? All i have left now are the chunky 8mg pills, so getting an accurate dose out of that could be a bit of a challenge.

Tell me more about your experience please

This is a copy and paste of my post using the Burmese method

"Im down to 26mg of methadone and I start this next week at .2 . My doctor said I'd be fine as long as I stick to taking the suboxone and don't miss doses
I've came down from over 100mg and I cant wait to be done. I have no cravings at all, I just don't want to be to sick and I've heard that subs are easier to quit then methadone
My doctor is starting on .2 first day then .2 2x day, then .4 2x day, .8 2x day etc. By day 5 I'll be off methadone completely. I really hope this works and I don't get sick. "