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Tapering Suboxone taper journal & advice

You can try, but starting and stopping opioids tends to make the road a bit bumpier. But find out what works for you! What do you mean by "starting over?"

You've been using for a really long time, so it is not at all strange that you're having a bit of a rough go at it. Trying other things to help with the transition off oxycodone, like taking long walks and spending time doing stuff you love (away fro boredom) is also really important in helping to get the most out of buprenorphine.
 
Some of the side effects that you're experiencing are the opposite of what I experienced, but then again we all know how each med tends to affect everyone differently. I think I've mentioned this before but I found that once I started taking the subs my sleep became A LOT better. I was able to sleep thru the night whereas before when I was using I'd wake up several times a night and was always up a lot earlier than I wanted to be or had to be.

I've struggled with major depression for a very long time, well before I started using, and as part of my med treatment I take meds at night to help with sleep. I currently take gabapentin and seroquel for sleep and perhaps that's made a difference for me at night with certain symptoms you're experiencing, like RLS (I haven't dealt with that at all over my entire time on subs, even when tapering) and I've read about people here who talk about taking gabapentin to help with that. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to look into getting an rx for something to help with your sleep and RLS.

I can't say for sure that those meds are the difference for me bc I've been on them for awhile, long before I started taking suboxone. And I'm going to continue taking them even after I stop the subs bc they are part of the med combo that is helping me not drop low enough into depression to need ECT again... and my last rounds of ECT were around August/September and that certainly wasn't my first time doing ECT so you get the idea of how bad my depression has been for several years.

Sorry, I just went off on my own tangent there... all I really meant to say is it might be helpful to try taking something at night so you can get some sleep and then will perhaps have more energy during the day.
 
Thanks everyone. I have tons of gabapentin here for my nerve pain, maybe I will take one tonight?? I don't take them to much because they make me feel drunk lol It may work to get me to sleep all night though..

I meant starting over by the induction process again, like taking tiny pieces until I'm WD free??
 
If you have enough buprenorphine to do that, it isn't a horrible idea. How much buprenorphine do you have left, or are you working with a regularly filled prescription?

I'd try taking some gabapentin tonight first though - 800mg at bedtime with a 8 oz glass of soda water (something fizzy without caffeine and ideally without sugar), a cracker and a piece of cheese (a bit of salt and protein/fat). That should really help you get the most out of the gabapentin and knock the fuck out :)
 
Hell yea 800mg will knock me out. 300 knocks me on my ass. I'm about to take one and I have 43 8mg subs left, you know that's enough for like a 2 month taper?
 
Yeah taking 300mg is my dose as well. I hope it helped last night. I'm just curious though why you haven't been taking the gabapentin at night if you know it's helped you before? No judgement, I'm just curious... I know there are people who just don't like to take something for sleep, or sometimes what they take can leave them with a hangover feeling in the morning, etc...
 
It tends to make me feel hungover the next day & we have 3 kids and it makes me feel like crap! But my hubby loves it lol

Now I was scared to take it with the subs because I read about it having an interaction together. I won't take anything while on subs, but it seems like the more I read, the more people I see who take it with subs. I have capsules& tablets so tonight I'm cutting it to make about 200mg & hubby has off work tomorrow, so I'm going to try it.

I know you're not judging.
 
There shouldn't be any significant interactions between gabapentin and buprenorphine/naloxone. You're 100% fine taking the two together (worst case scenario - you get woozy, which would be rather ideal).

Where are you at in terms of your thinking today on how you're going to try and get the most out of your remaining supply of buprenorphine?
 
Well I'm thinking that I will use what I have and not go back to the doc, it's way to much money and I think I have enough??

I have some advil pm that I'm going to take tonight if the gaba doesn't work.

And tomorrow I'm going to take 2mg in the am and 2mg in the afternoon.

Took 2mg this am and about 3mg just now. That will be it for the day, so hopefully I can sleep all night tonight and tomorrow feel ok and not be so tired during the day.

I know one thing, I'm have some serious cravings right now. I haven't really had them too bad.

Hopefully it passes soon.
 
Having cravings...I think that is the one of the most important parts to planning a jump. It's completely normal I think, I was shooting my suboxone and trying to do H with it for the first couple of months.

I think when I got to the point where I forgot about getting fucked up and started thinking "how do I get off this crap suboxone that I'm enslaved to everyday," I was ready.

Sorry if I'm preachy, I'm not a doctor, I'm just an ex-junky. I just wanted to point out that I think the mindset is very important to quitting...for good.

"Quitting is easy, I've done it hundreds of times." -Mark Twain
 
Hey everyone, I haven't posted in a few days, it's been busy around here with our 2 youngest kids having birthdays. We are having a party today & I'm sitting on the couch trying to get moving, just like every day it seems, I'm stuck on this couch falling asleep! I've been struggling with being tired this whole time on subs.

I've been on subs before & never have I struggled with being tired like this. It's totally had me out of balance this entire time.

Anyway, I need some honest advice. It may sound stupid, that's why I need some help. I have 20 10mg oxys, do you think it's possible to wait until WDs kick in, then use them to taper myself off this crap? I just honestly can't take this tiredness. Its affecting my ability to stay up with my kids during the day & take care of what we need to do....

I'm on 3mg subs a day right now. Thanks!!
 
If you decide you want to try that, you could, but there are some very significant risks involved. It would make a lot more sense to keep tapering down on your buprenorphine until you're under 2mg/day and then use that oxycodone to assist in a short detox than using it to do so right now. The risks are just significantly higher right now in terms of picking up another habit and/or relapse and causing yourself unnecessary pain and suffering.

It will also be important how you use the oxycodone if you decide to go that route.
  • You'll need a really strong plan for yourself, and you'll need at least a couple people IRL keeping you accountable to your dosing schedule.
  • You'll also want to wait until you've stopped taking the buprenorphine for a number of days, so that you don't start taking the oxycodone until you're in full blown buprenoprhine withdrawal. Meaning you'd want to wait about 3-5 days after cessation from buprenorphine before starting to take any oxycodone.
  • You'll need to limit yourself to like 20-40mg/day, taking the oxycodone for no longer than 5-10 days. That will at least get you over the most acute part of the buprenorphine withdrawal, but you will still end up experiencing some significant effects of the tail end of the acute withdrawal when you are off the oxycodone (if not before as well).
  • You'll still want to have other comfort meds on hand to manage the overall detox, regardless of whether you're using oxycodone or not to help.

The bottom line is that oxycodone is not at all a very useful medication to use as a comfort med or detox aid. You're going to have to utilize other comfort meds anyways if you're going to do this without too much discomfort, so in my mind I wonder why even take the risk of adding a potent short acting opioid to the mix. It reminds me of when I hear of people talking about using heroin to detox off of methadone or buprenorphine. It never seems to turn out well...

All this said, if you just want to take the oxycodone to get high/feel good, that is another issue. As long as you are clear about your intentions in what you are doing, and don't get too confused or deluded about what is likely to cause more or less harm, I wouldn't judge you for taking a little lapse holiday. It's just a matter of having to get back on the wagon after you are done, which may or may not be more difficult. The power of choice is in your hands.
 
Yea I'm not sure if I should go the oxy route right now, I was thinking the same thing like I should wait until I'm on a very low dose of bupe & jump off.

I'm going to cut my bupe back starting today & hopefully I will get energy back again. I just hate this groggy, shitty feeling I've had this whole time.

I don't want to take the oxy to get high, I just don't want to be sick or tired like this for another month.

Ugh. Decisigns.

I am pissed that I ever got myself into this mess. Thanks for the advice!!
 
Try and be a little gentler and easier on yourself. Beating yourself up will only make this all the more difficult. Even if you are feeling sluggish and have a family to take care of, you can still do a lot of little things each day to take care of yourself and be kind to yourself. This is what you need more than anything. It will make an incredibly more significant difference, starting to be kinder and gentler with yourself and your current struggles, than any comfort medication down the road.

It is understandable to be frustrated with the whole situation, trust me I know this very well. The thing is that it just doesn't serve any purpose, other than to beat ourselves up. We are already more than capable of doing that though, or else we would have never landed in this mess to begin with. Keep your chin up kickin. If you need to take a little siesta now and then, take a little siesta now and then. It will only do you good.

Have you been able to go out and get any kind of aerobic exercise or go on any nice nature type walks recently? Or do anything fun or laid back?
 
I know I am tough on myself. I've always been that way. I haven't been out much because the weather sucks!!

I do plan on getting out more this week since it's getting nicer out. It's too hard with little kids to take them out in the cold.

I was thinking of getting an exercise bike or a treadmil. I'm hoping that may help...

Thanks for the understanding, my family just don't get it.
 
I don't have much time to get into a lot of detail, but recently I took 3 norco the day before I had my appt to get my monthly norco rx (have to test positive) and up until that point I'd been doing well on 2mg daily of subs. Well taking even those 3 norcos messed with my mind and caught me off guard... and then a few days later I took a few more norco (on my way to the ER, long story on that one) but again it really messed with my mind. One thing I learned is that even after doing so well on the subs for almost 2 months that it's still really not a good idea for me to take ANY norco at all. My mind reverted back to thinking about taking just a few more, that it wouldn't do any harm, that I could handle it, etc. I wrote more about it on my original thread here, but just wanted to let you know what my experience was like with "just taking a couple"...
 
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