• BASIC DRUG
    DISCUSSION
    Welcome to Bluelight!
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Benzo Chart Opioids Chart
    Drug Terms Need Help??
    Drugs 101 Brain & Addiction
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums
  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

suboxone tapering

jasperkent

jasperkent

Bluelighter
Joined
May 19, 2015
Messages
6,391
Location
Chattanooga, TN

Please redirect me if there are already helpful replies to this question in an existing thread.

I'm on 8mg Suboxone film daily. I need to do a quick taper(as quick as possible) but I can't afford to miss work. Any suggestions for a good dose reduction schedule?

Thanks.​
 
I would go 8-6-4-2-1-0.5-0.5-0.25-0-0.25-jump off.

Not sure how much time you have, but that would be the best mix between comfort and rapidity.

Edit: I meant to ask, have you been on 8mg/day for long? You don't want to taper too fast if you've been on it for long.
 
Last edited:
OP? You still alive? Just to reiterate, be careful doing too rapid a taper if you've been on 8mg/day buprenorphine for long. Say if you've been on that dose for a year, you should taper down MUCH slower. Probably spend a week on each dose level I listed rather than a day.

I'd love to hear back to see how you're doing and which way you've decided to go.
 
Okay, here goes...

I've been on 8mg daily for about 6 months. I plan to try your suggested schedule starting tomorrow. Think that's okay?

Before subbies, I was on oxy/hydro/heroin for about 10 years. Daily user, but drug/amount varied depending on availability and my finances. My preference was oxy and I would guess I averaged 100mg per day. Always preferred IV, but needles are hard to get around here (Chattanooga, TN) and my veins are about shot anyway. With oxy/hydro, I usually chewed 'em up and washed down with hot coffee on an empty stomach. Always got good results. Never understood snorting opiates of any kind, especially pills. Seemed like a waste of drugs (I got very little effect out of it) and rough on the nose to boot. Seems like all the kids are into it but I don't get it.

Anyway, with subs I avoided WD's of course and got a bit of an energy boost. No euphoria at all and sometimes a panicky feeling, which I hate. My source is about to dry up soon so I figure I'd best just get off 'em altogether ASAP.

Wish I could just commit to recovery, but after numerous failed attempts I don't see it happening any time soon. Over the last 35+ years my DOC's have ranged from marijuana to LSD to alcohol to benzos to cocaine to methamphetamine to opiates-- opiates being my favorite, marijuana and LSD being the least problematic, and alcohol being the most vicious. I have never been successfully abstinent from all drugs although I went 2 years once using 12-Step programs. I've tried religion, psychotherapy and everything else, too. At the age of 56 I've come to accept that I just love to get high and always will. I aim for harm reduction.

Thank you all for all your help. I'll stay in touch.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,
jasperkent
 
Wouldn't ya know it? Work has me working doubles this week and my back is acting up bad(long-term issue). I can't seem to get below 6mg w/out feeling horrible. Now I'm getting scared.
 
Sup Jasper. I wouldn't worry about it. Since you've been on subs a while, you're going to have to prolong your taper anyways.

I'd stay on 6mg for several days then go to 5, then 4, etc staying at each dose level for several days. I doubt you'll feel the difference at each jump, and your brain will get used to the taper.

You can also taper by a smaller amount on a more frequent basis. You definitely won't feel a 0.5 or 0.25mg reduction.

You need to also WANT it to work out to succeed. I hope you're there mentally.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.
 
this is my first time posting, I've been an addict since I was 15 and I'm now 28, I've been to rehab twice and on methadone program for few years, in 2010 I detoxed from methadone and within a month got hit by school bus and fractured my back. Now 5 years later I'm still in cycle of pain pills. Never inject and go back and forth between oral use and snorting, I'll take what I can find but usually it's oxycodone 30s and methadone 10mg. My question is I got my hands on 6 8mg strip of subs and I want to get myself off pills everyday. I stopped taking any methadone yesterday at 5am, I'm still using the roxys cus I find myself in pain only few short hours after last use. So I'm wondering how do I start taking the subs without having to have too much pain due to my disability in back. Hope someone can give me advice before I do wrong thing..
Thank you
 
Well I got down to 4mg and was abruptly cut off. I'm broke so I can't score anything till Friday. Doing my best on loperamide, naproxen, and lots of sugar and coffee. Feel horrible. Trying to work. Any advice?
 
Sorry to hear that, Jasper. You'll have to cowboy up and go cold turkey, bud.

People have done it and do it all the time. It'll be hard but if you want it, you can do it.

Hope, you have to wait until you are in full withdrawal before taking your subs. Read up on that.
 
Hey jasper..my suggestions to help ease the pain would def be using the lope in large enough amounts to help combat the wds. Tonic water w/ quinine and tagamet taken before you take the lope will help it's cross the BBB and make it a hundred times more effective. If you happen to have any gabapentin/neurontin or lyrica then that will help your wds more than anything else. Other than follow the Thomas recipe and stay away from Benadryl and NyQuil as they can make the RLS a thousand times worse. Hang in there bud.
 
And once the insomnia kicks in you want to eliminate all the caffeine. It was something I ignored at first but once I cut it out my anxiety and insomnia became less severe.
 
Yes DEFINITELY AVOID CAFFEINE. You'll already have insomnia, no point in feeding it.

Careful with loperamide, it has been linked to fatal cardiac arrhythmias recently. Might want to check up on that.
 
You're welcome, Jasper. How's it going so far? BTW, do you have access to any benzos like xanax or Valium? These will help immensely.
 
I am also wanting to do a quick taper and start Vivitrol. Thank you for the tapering doses. Any suggestions on how long to stay on each dose in my case? I was on 8mg subs for one month and now have been on 6mgs for 3 months.
 
Amber, you'll have to taper slower. Unfortunately, your doctor has been blindly following then medical literature which says to keep patients at high dosages for long periods of time.

As a comparison, if I use subs to detox, my taper takes 7-14 days max, starting at 12mg/day and ending at 0.5 or even 0.25mg/day on day 7/14.

For you, I'd drop 1mg every two weeks or so and see how that goes. That may even be too fast. But please remember that the point is to taper down to zero, not to ingest large amounts of bupe every day for months on end.
 
Thank you Phil. Yeah I'm a bit upset with my doctor. The original "plan" he told me was that I would wean down every 20 days. Now because of the PAWS I'm experiencing he keeps telling me I'm not ready to wean down yet. I'm obviously physically stable at 6mg after 3 months. I get the feeling he just wants me to maintain at 6mg for an indefinite amount of time. I don't see him again for a week, but 3 days ago (today being day 3) I tapered down to 4mg. I was planning to taper down every 3 days. Tomorrow going to 3mg then 2, 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, done. Can you explain a little more why this would be too fast for me and I should spread it out a couple weeks between each taper? I'm guessing because the withdrawals won't be as severe. Part of me is wanting to go through severe withdrawals as a harsh reminder and to get these damn drugs out of my system and get on Vivitrol. Thank you again :)
 
As a side note and a bit more explanation of my background... I have abused pain pills (vicodin and percocet) on and off for 10 years. Twice where it severely interfered with my life. When I started the subs 4 months ago I was not mentally wanting to quit... I just ran out of all my financial resources. Since starting the subs I have been seeing an AODA counselor every one or two weeks as well. I'm now mentally to the point where I DO NOT want this in my life anymore. I've been doing much research on what is happening in my brain and what will be happening in my brain. I know what to expect as far as withdrawals and researched things I can do to make the withdrawals as comfortable as possible. I'm trying to get my body prepared by taking vitamins, drinking detox tea, and eating better. I also have an extensive support system ready to help me daily with my son so I can commit 100% to focusing on myself and getting well. I'm feeling very strong right now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top