Opioids suboxone problem

[InHerOwnWrite]

Hi guys. For reasons i won't go into, i am stranded in a foreign place with no access to my meds. I am accustomed to having about 2mg of suboxone a day and valium/temazepam as needed. As it stands i have only 4mg of sub to last me 5 days, so i started using it intranasally this morning to try and conserve what i have. I have been feeling mild withdrawal but think i can deal with it if it doesn't get much worse.
My question: since i am accustomed to 2mg sub sublingual per day, do you guys think i can make it the next five days with only 4mg administered nasally? As for the benzos i'm not too worried, i have a few pills left and as much alcohol as i can stomach (which is actually not much cuz the bupe withdrawal is fuckin up my stomach somethin fierce)
Maybe i'm just lookin for reassurance. But any feedback is appreciated. Thank you!

 

[PKPro]

Well that's a sticky situation! I'm sorry to hear about your plight. If you spread out your remaining sub (4mg) nasally you might be able to make it through this... Barely. Just being honest. I'd suggest you increase your benzo intake during this time period as it will definitely help. May I also suggest you invest in some diphenhydramine (Benadryl or any equivalent) to potentiate what little meds you have. Don't overdo it though because it can be dangerous. Always be careful when mixing stuff! Drinking is up to you, some find it helpful while others don't, it's personal preference. Best of luck! And most importantly, BE SAFE!

 

[InHerOwnWrite]

Thanks pkpro. Obviously i'm planning on spreading the sub out, but what dosages specifically would you suggest? I was thinkin about .3mg in the morning and another .1 or .2 if needed later in the day?
God i hate this, no longer using dope but still being a drug addict...

 

[PKPro]

I would suggest .4 twice daily. Once when you wake up, once a couple hours before bed. Take approx 50-100mg of diphenhydramine (depending on your tolerance to it) around 20-30 mins prior to dosing for maximum effect. (This will also help you sleep as a bonus!) I don't know what your benzo tolerance is but I would suggest taking more than you usually do to compensate as well. Trust me when I say you are not alone, I am in the same boat as you along with many many others, stay strong! You'll get through this! =]

 

[Tommyboy]

Instead of trying to dose lower doses at around the same intervals as normal, your best bet is to wait as long as possible before your next dose, and then take as little as possible to get by. The sicker you are, the better the suboxone will work, and the less you will need to take away the withdrawals. But if you just try taking less your body will notice the decreased dosage, and so you will probably be in mild withdrawals the rest of the time at that lowered dose. You are better off doing a trade-off of having 1 day of feeling shitty and then the rest of your days feeling more comfortable. At your dose you should be able to make it around 48 hours before feeling that bad anyway, so try to make it that long before doing a tiny dose.

I have found that the best way to do this is to leave the suboxone at home, and go out and keep yourself busy for a while, thus keeping your mind from being occupied with the thought of the onset of withdrawals starting, and wanting to dose. It has been my and other peoples experiences at doses of 4-8mg that skipping 1 day is pretty painless due to the amount of the drug built up in your system. Don't just give in at the first sign of withdrawals. If you ignore them and focus on something else they will likely go away for a while longer. Suboxone withdrawals seem to come on in waves for the first 48 hours before they become constant and progressively worse.

One thing to keep in mind is that although the intranasal BA may be a little higher than the sublingual, it doesn't last as long which makes its efficiency for tapering worse. I would skip a day and then dose 1mg sublingually on the last 4 days. Another alternative would be to take 1mg sublingually on the second day, and then 0.5mg intranasally at night if needed, then 1mg the 2 days after, and 0.5mg the final day. You can increase the sublingual BA by putting a high proof alcohol under your tongue for a minute before putting the suboxone under there, and then spit out the alcohol before administering the drug. If the 0.5mg doesn't hold you on that last day (or if you go with a different doing regimen) then you may want to try taking loperamide after the last of the suboxone, and you should be able to get by on 16-20mg of it.

As for the benzos, I would highly recommend staying away from drinking alcohol. It will only make the withdrawals worse once it wears off, and will make you more susceptible to seizures at that time. Therefore I recommend the same thing as I did with the suboxone. Wait as long as you can before dosing it, and then take as little as you can to get by.

 

[InHerOwnWrite]

Thank tommyboy, but my experienxe with suboxone has always been quite different- i've never found skipping days to be effective, as i can feel physical withdrawal much sooner than 48 or even 24 hours after my last dose. Maybe this is because i haven't been on bupe maintenance very long this time around, but every other time i've tried it i've had the same thing happen.
So far the major issue is not sleeping/restless legs,also constant yawning, general discomfort, intestinal issues. I can't take more benzos cuz i have a very limited amount compared to what i usually have access to. And as far as drinking alcohol, i do this every day and it is an integral part of my life, but i should probably cut down cuz it's really messin my stomach and head up right now. It also is making me want to start drinking as soon as i wake up to compensate for how shitty this other wd is making me feel,but i can't be doing that.
I ended up doing about 1mg between yesterday and this morning, so that leaves 3mg for rhe rest of today and the three days after. I think i'll make it, it's just not very comfortable.
Thanks friends

 

[InHerOwnWrite]

Also it's not just restless legs. My whole body feels like it needs to be moving/stretching constantly. This morning's dose doesn't seem to be helping. I think i was on too low of a dose before this shit situation happened for bupe to be really built up in my body. I'm so fucked.

 

[missmeyet?]

Well that's a sticky situation! I'm sorry to hear about your plight. If you spread out your remaining sub (4mg) nasally you might be able to make it through this... Barely. Just being honest. I'd suggest you increase your benzo intake during this time period as it will definitely help. May I also suggest you invest in some diphenhydramine (Benadryl or any equivalent) to potentiate what little meds you have. Don't overdo it though because it can be dangerous. Always be careful when mixing stuff! Drinking is up to you, some find it helpful while others don't, it's personal preference. Best of luck! And most importantly, BE SAFE!

For me (and most other people I know), taking diphenhydramine can cause RLS and other irritating body movements to be much, much worse. I would totally avoid benadryl and anything else containing it while in or on the verge of withdrawals.

 

[Paregoric Mac]

Tagamet would increase BA and make the half life longer wouldn't it?

 

[InHerOwnWrite]

This sounds ridiculous, but ihave almost no access to a pharmacy anyway. I'm in a foreign country where there are no pharmacies in walkimg distance and cabs are crazy expensive. I just did another .2 nasally and took a benzo and it seems to be helping a bit. I'll just be toughing this out for the next few days. Was really hoping not to have to take the benzo as now i only have four pills left, but it is making me more comfortable and i'm expected to do a lot of work today (my mother is paralyzed and it is my job today to transport her anywhere she wants to go, feed bathe clothe her etc)

 

[Tommyboy]

This sounds ridiculous, but ihave almost no access to a pharmacy anyway. I'm in a foreign country where there are no pharmacies in walkimg distance and cabs are crazy expensive. I just did another .2 nasally and took a benzo and it seems to be helping a bit. I'll just be toughing this out for the next few days. Was really hoping not to have to take the benzo as now i only have four pills left, but it is making me more comfortable and i'm expected to do a lot of work today (my mother is paralyzed and it is my job today to transport her anywhere she wants to go, feed bathe clothe her etc)

Be careful with the benzos as running out while having an alcohol habit is very dangerous. I also find that alcohol lowers inhibitions enough to not care about taking more bupe now even though it will cause you to run out early, so keep that in mind. Also, it's more tempting to use more bupe when you are hungover.

 

[BlueHues]

I think Tommy offered up some good advice all around. If faced with a similar situation, I'd find it very difficult to wait 48 hours between doses and would probably end up trying to just dose lower like you're trying to do. Tommy is right about the alcohol...I could easily see myself getting drunk and saying "fuck it, I'll dose enough to feel completely better now!"

Missmeyet, I agree about the diphenhydramine having adverse effects, but as long as you aren't using them to potentiate your sub all the time, 25-50mgs can go a long way IMO...

I had a wake-up call myself this week in regards to still having an opiate habit while being on suboxone...I went home to visit and ended up using on Tuesday afternoon and Thursday night. I figured I had enough bupe in my system to not have any issues, but I've been in mild WDs since Friday afternoon, just feeling better now. Taking the Suboxone everyday, you forget that you're still dependent...

Worst case scenario, you just stick it out until you're home. Hopefully you don't have to get through an appointment to get more medication!

 

[InHerOwnWrite]

Checking in with this thread has actually been helping me a lot, it makes me feel better that you guys have good advice to offer. Esp regarding the alcohol- it is very tempting to take more bupe in the morning when i'm a bit hungover, but i've been able to.avoid doing that. It sucks i feel like the alcohol is necessary at night or sleep is.impossible but it makes the daytime more difficult. Mostly i wish i had more benzos.
I'm getting thru it tho, only a couple days left. And i shouldn't have any benzo wd cuz at most i'll have one day without any before i can fill a script. Thanks guys

 

[PKPro]

Grapefruit juice helps potentiate a lot as well btw, since you have no access to a pharmacy this could be a viable option... If you are taking it intranasally you increase the bioavailability, and the grapefruit juice will inhibit your CYPs which will increase the blood plasma levels of bupe in your system along with lengthening the rate at which bupe is processed in your body as well... Best of luck!