Tapering Subutex after using bup IV?

[94lucymoody]

So, I'll be the first to acknowledge the immensity of a disaster I've worked my way into. I'll summarize, and honestly I don't feel like going into much detail but want to give sufficient info too.
Basically I moved from the city to a pass-thru town with nothing but tumbleweeds around. This was about a month ago; it was my half-baked attempt to quit heroin/opiates. Been on and off IV smack for six years, two of which I was on the Suboxone program for.
I had maybe a total of 15-20 pills (mostly Subutex) I brought with me with the intent of kicking the H and doing a soft taper with the Tex. I obviously underrated how hungry that inner wolf gets when it's fiending, as I did not foresee myself doing what I've been doing. Ever since I found my new roommate's dog's insulin needles I've been crushing my dose up and shooting it up. I had no idea my affinity for needles had run so deep; though with how many failed tries I've had in getting sober I shouldn't be the least bit surprised.

Anyway, yes. So I've been shooting up bup. It's nasty and I would not recommend it to anyone; I've been doing this for less than a month (clean rigs every time too) and my veins have already started to wear from it. It's a nasty habit and something I should've never messed with in the first place.
Regardless, I am where I am. I've been doing an 8mg pill every morning for the past 3 or so weeks.

I now have three left, and I am freaking out. Due to the nature of just how freaking isolated this town is, there's no feasible way to get a refill. There's not even a methadone clinic around here, for Christ's sake.
I've read about the liquid taper method and want to formulate a taper strategy ASAP. I'm having some trouble finding any extra info for IV bup users, we are a rare fucked up breed. I guess what I'm asking is, should I stop shooting now or partially into the taper to lessen the impact? And for such a large jump with very limited supply, what would be the best method to get all I can from what I do have?

I have no access to other opiates, keep in mind, I moved way out where I know no one. Made it as hard as possible for me to relapse... but now that I'm facing such a daunting detox with little to no cushion to fall on I'm not sure what the best course of action could be. I basically only have access to anything OTC, alcohol and weed.
I've used Imodium with limited success for opiate withdrawal before... it's certainly helped ease some of the discomfort. And by used Imodium, I mean I've taken maybe 50 pills before and been completely out of withdrawal. I wouldn't suggest this to anyone, nor would I like to be lectured at all... I know the risks of such practices but that is the least of my concern imo.

My question is if the detox gets bad enough, is there maybe some sort of Imodium taper I can supplement it with? I don't know the exact pharmacology of Imodium, I've heard it's a partial-opioid agonist but it doesn't cross the blood brain barrier? Some verifiable data on this subject is more than welcome, btw.


So to summarize:

1. Any special precautions or protocol for tapering as an IV bup user? I don't know if I should adjust smaller jumps or longer taper time for these factors, though I don't have much wiggle room with the 3 doses I have remaining.

2. As a way to not only ease any GI tract issues but other WD symptoms as well, how effective would large doses of Imodium be? If anyone has concrete data mapping out the pharmacology of Imodium it'd be much appreciated. Whenever I google it I always get conflicting websites saying the literal opposite things than the other. I know it's not a preferred or long-term solution, but could a couple days of mass Imodium dosing be a viable option if things get way too hairy without?

 

[Jabberwocky]

Using loperamide will be of a lot of help once you run out of buprenorphine. Use the BL search engine (or google "site:bluelight.org loperamide buprenorphine withdrawal" or something) to get more info on how to use loperamide (doses of 40-100mg should be more than enough to manage the majority of your symptoms, though I wouldn't want to take more than 60-80mg of loperamide/day for any length of time given some of the side effects, like dehydration).

8mg is a very high dose to be injecting, I have a feeling you could drop your dose pretty drastically without going into full blown acute withdrawal (like immediately going down from 8mg to 2mg per dose). You won't feel amazing, but it will help a lot if you are planning to run out of buprenorphine in the near future, like soft the landing. You can also get some Tagamet/Cimetidine to help potentiate each dose of buprenorphine you take. It should help you get a lot more bang for your mg.

If you've only been working with a total of 160mg of it over the course of a bit over three weeks though, you shouldn't have a particularly hard time coming off the buprenorphine. I mean, it won't be fun, but it won't be like you've been on it for six or more months.