Tapering Suboxone veterans, I summon your wisdom. Bidding farewell to altered states.

[LustForLife]

Hey Bluelight

I'm 40. I've been experimenting with drugs on nearly a daily basis for around 30 years give or take beginning with being introduced to weed around 8 or 9 years old. Opiates begin in my later teen years, an on and off and each time steadier habit with higher doses of stronger material. Alcoholism for about 15 years in my 20s and 30s. Hallucinogens through out my teens and now a couple times a year but I count this as something therapeutic. Benzos several years in my 30s for sleep. Dissociatives in my late 20s through late 30s. When I participated, I got more than the participation trophy lets just say that. Nearly every single day I was inebriated to some degree with some substance.

I'm now clean of everything aside from Suboxone and I'm feeling great with a positive outlook. I've been "clean," of everything aside from Suboxone since February of this year, so six months deep. Here's my current situation and how the last six months have played out.

In early February I had managed to quit everything, but began Suboxone to deal with a multiple shots of very strong kratom extract a day habit. I'm well versed with using Suboxone to come off of pretty much every opiate or opioid known to man from codeine to raw fentanyl. I'd use Suboxone for about a week around 1-2mg a day dose or less each time and be fine. This is the first time I've ever taken Suboxone for a prolonged period of time.

I've been taking Suboxone steadily once per day for 6 months as I write this. My starting dose was about 0.5mg per day. A few months later I was taking 1mg per day. I am now currently stable at 1mg of Suboxone, but took 0.75mg today anticipating stepping down my dose. It's worth mentioning that I haven't attempted to stop cold turkey nor have I missed a dose. I take it at the same time every day give or take a couple of hours. My doses are also very accurate I'm very particular about this.

In anticipation of stopping EVERYTHING soon I'm taking the following once per day with a meal:

- Omega 3 (500mg EPA + 259mg DHA)​

- 500mg L-Glutamine​

- 500mg L-Tyrosine​

- A men's multivitamin​

- 2000iu Vitamin D3​

- SOMETIMES taking 200mg Magnesium Glycinate before bed​

So as I've stepped down to 0.75mg per day of Suboxone as of today, I'm curious given my length on Suboxone at my dose (currently 6 months, 1mg maximum per day, sometimes less, no days skipped) if anyone has any similar experiences? Any tips or guidance or insight on what to expect?

Thanks for all of the years of help! I've been reading BL since the early 2000s but this is the first time I've ever made an account. The chances are high that I'm still alive and as safe as I am due explicitly to BL and Erowid.

 

[daturetard]

If you were on .5 for a long time, why did you increase, if you don't mind my asking?
It's great for your health and I'm glad you've decided to quit. Only other question, why'd you switch to subs and decide to stay on them rather than a rapid taper a after a week or two? Generally in terms of dependance, subs are much worse than Kratom, and the actual risks aren't much better, as subs can cause mouth and stomach cancers. As opposed to liver and kidney damage.

 

[LustForLife]

If you were on .5 for a long time, why did you increase, if you don't mind my asking?
It's great for your health and I'm glad you've decided to quit. Only other question, why'd you switch to subs and decide to stay on them rather than a rapid taper a after a week or two? Generally in terms of dependance, subs are much worse than Kratom, and the actual risks aren't much better, as subs can cause mouth and stomach cancers. As opposed to liver and kidney damage.

I have a history of jumping form one thing to another in the opiate realm. After years and years of jumping around from heroin, oxymorphone, hydromorphone, hydrocodone, codeine, oxycodone, and high dose kratom extracts, I decided that I would try "maintenance," with suboxone which in retrospect I think was a stupid idea.

Update on the situation: I'm still taking suboxone daily, currently at 1.5mg per day for the last month. At this point I'm definitely going to be stepping down my dose to 1.25, 1, .75, .50, then I think I'll make a tincture to step down gradually from the in 0.05mg increments two weeks at a time. Or from anyone's experience, can this be done more rapidly without discomfort?

 

[TheFunkeeJunkee]

I would recommend you get a depot injection of the lowest dose of Buperenorphine available in your country. For me it was a 64mg injection. After the following months, you drug slowly left my system and I was able to stop using Buperenorphine with absolutely zero withdrawal symptoms.

 

[mikesorrentinoe]

Suboxone was one of the worst things for me to come off of. I literally wanted to cut my arms off they hurt so bad. I did like alot of people and started using kratom slowly with my sub dose. I lowered myself to .05 of strip and kept it at that rate for 3 months. I took a pair of toenail clippers and cut that in half for another 3 months so on and so forth. I eventually came off of subs but the trick was not raising the dose. It's easily done. I consumed more kratom when I lowered my dose. Now I'm mainly taking red bali. I haven't tried to stop kratom usage as it's a cheaper habbit for my boredom. Good luck to you

 

[LustForLife]

I would recommend you get a depot injection of the lowest dose of Buperenorphine available in your country. For me it was a 64mg injection. After the following months, you drug slowly left my system and I was able to stop using Buperenorphine with absolutely zero withdrawal symptoms.

What sucks is I don't have any insurance and haven't my whole adult life. God bless America, right! I'd consider this route, but I want to try a taper and if I ultimately fail at that, then I might just have to save up and go that route because I'm way past being over with this shit. Fuck opiates.

Suboxone was one of the worst things for me to come off of. I literally wanted to cut my arms off they hurt so bad. I did like alot of people and started using kratom slowly with my sub dose. I lowered myself to .05 of strip and kept it at that rate for 3 months. I took a pair of toenail clippers and cut that in half for another 3 months so on and so forth. I eventually came off of subs but the trick was not raising the dose. It's easily done. I consumed more kratom when I lowered my dose. Now I'm mainly taking red bali. I haven't tried to stop kratom usage as it's a cheaper habbit for my boredom. Good luck to you

Can you give me a run down on your experience? Like what was your taper schedule like before you tried to jump and started having a bad time, with time frames and stuff? Other people if you have this kind of personal experience to share, please share! This is invaluable information to me, and I'm sure if any of the countless people probably in this same situation read this, it would be invaluable to them too. Thank you all! I love BL.

 

[bingey]

Black cumin seed and about 6-8 grams of Marijuana is what you need if you want to quit suboxone definately

 

[LustForLife]

Black cumin seed and about 6-8 grams of Marijuana is what you need if you want to quit suboxone definately

Marijuana is something that I gave up in my mid 20's due to how lazy, paranoid, and uncomfortable it made me feel. I miss getting stoned, eating lots of food, and laughing my ass off, I just can't handle it now. Plus marijuana isn't going to help my brain settle back to reality softly as I withdraw from opioids lol.

 

[bingey]

Marijuana is something that I gave up in my mid 20's due to how lazy, paranoid, and uncomfortable it made me feel. I miss getting stoned, eating lots of food, and laughing my ass off, I just can't handle it now. Plus marijuana isn't going to help my brain settle back to reality softly as I withdraw from opioids lol.

I don't see how you can be so sure to me Marijuana worked exactly like a hot shower temporary disappearance of th WD symptoms (the hot cold feeling in particular)
It's not like I got stoned or anything it was just a slight relief.

And what do you have to lose afraid of having an anxiety attack during opiate withdrawal is like worrying about mosquito bites in a dogfight (with planes)

My 2 eurocents

 

[stardust.hero]

Hey Bluelight

I'm 40. I've been experimenting with drugs on nearly a daily basis for around 30 years give or take beginning with being introduced to weed around 8 or 9 years old. Opiates begin in my later teen years, an on and off and each time steadier habit with higher doses of stronger material. Alcoholism for about 15 years in my 20s and 30s. Hallucinogens through out my teens and now a couple times a year but I count this as something therapeutic. Benzos several years in my 30s for sleep. Dissociatives in my late 20s through late 30s. When I participated, I got more than the participation trophy lets just say that. Nearly every single day I was inebriated to some degree with some substance.

I'm now clean of everything aside from Suboxone and I'm feeling great with a positive outlook. I've been "clean," of everything aside from Suboxone since February of this year, so six months deep. Here's my current situation and how the last six months have played out.

In early February I had managed to quit everything, but began Suboxone to deal with a multiple shots of very strong kratom extract a day habit. I'm well versed with using Suboxone to come off of pretty much every opiate or opioid known to man from codeine to raw fentanyl. I'd use Suboxone for about a week around 1-2mg a day dose or less each time and be fine. This is the first time I've ever taken Suboxone for a prolonged period of time.

I've been taking Suboxone steadily once per day for 6 months as I write this. My starting dose was about 0.5mg per day. A few months later I was taking 1mg per day. I am now currently stable at 1mg of Suboxone, but took 0.75mg today anticipating stepping down my dose. It's worth mentioning that I haven't attempted to stop cold turkey nor have I missed a dose. I take it at the same time every day give or take a couple of hours. My doses are also very accurate I'm very particular about this.

In anticipation of stopping EVERYTHING soon I'm taking the following once per day with a meal:

- Omega 3 (500mg EPA + 259mg DHA)​

- 500mg L-Glutamine​

- 500mg L-Tyrosine​

- A men's multivitamin​

- 2000iu Vitamin D3​

- SOMETIMES taking 200mg Magnesium Glycinate before bed​

So as I've stepped down to 0.75mg per day of Suboxone as of today, I'm curious given my length on Suboxone at my dose (currently 6 months, 1mg maximum per day, sometimes less, no days skipped) if anyone has any similar experiences? Any tips or guidance or insight on what to expect?

Thanks for all of the years of help! I've been reading BL since the early 2000s but this is the first time I've ever made an account. The chances are high that I'm still alive and as safe as I am due explicitly to BL and Erowid.

It took me a year to drop from .75-.013 I had to work and be a normal person. .35 was a very hard drop, .125 was a hard drop. .5-.35 the first one that took about one months. .35-.25 was harder and took about 2 months. I stopped cutting strips at this point and made a volumetric solution 8ml=8mg pill there were about 10 drops in .25ml. At this point I was dropping by drops first 9 drops then 8, then 7. Each drop took 2 weeks to 1 month to stabilize. If I felt like I couldn’t take it anymore, and some days I was sick of feeling sick, I just took one extra drop and it helped, then right back to the grind. At the end 1 drop=.0277 and I doubled the liquid making each drop .013. I still felt some symptoms RLS during the first couple days of each drop (magnesium at night helps a lot). At the end of the taper at the very bottom I had a lot of early morning waking up to panic. But it is doable. You won’t be fully sick.

Now with all that said and what I know now, and having worked in the recovery field where we give MAT. Find a provider who will optimally give you the 100ml sublocade shot. You have a year ahead of you with traditional tapering. I fell into the sunk cost fallacy and didn’t want to go back so I continued the volumetric dosing taper. I would have had less suffering and quicker results accepting the 100ml shot is equal to about 3mg/day suboxone and just titrating up (if you have to) and doing the shot.