Time to jump off the "Sub-ship"

Herbal~Jah

Ex-Bluelighter
Joined
Jul 24, 2010
Messages
776
Man it has been 3-4 years I have been on subs (2mgs-0.025mgs) and now that I am down so low and everything I am just so fuckin scared of having to deal with the w/d's...even though I know they won't be like cold turkey H w/d's I know they will last forever, i hear it takes a good 2 weeks before you are even functional again.... I dunno how I am gonna do it without a stalk pile of benzo's,herb, tea, and supplements......so thats like another couple hundred bucks just to get off this damn shit....arghhh.... anyone else make it off subs and stayed off? this is my 1st LEGIT TRY>.
 
herbal-jah I say you go for it. It'll be worth not having to damage your liver so consistently and to FINALLY be clean from opiates. It's scary but think of how much you diminished the sickness, and think about how you will never have to be afraid of the w/ds once you are finally clean.
 
How long have you been on the 0.025 milligrams? Are you stable at that dose?

If you are down that low without any serious symptoms I don't think your withdrawal is going to be that bad. Sub withdrawal does last awhile but it comes in waves rather than being hit with symptoms all at once like a full agonist. The first 2 weeks in particular do suck but I was able to work through mine and I jumped off at over 1mg. Rather than a full out dope sickness it is more of lack of motivation and lack of energy combined with some soreness/RLS and insomnia. If you are already down to 1/40th of a milligram you are basically at the equivalent of 1mg of morphine which isn't shit; you have already dealt with the majority of the withdrawals by tapering that low. At this point if you want to stretch it out even further you should start taking your dose only once every 36-48 hours. Honestly though if I were you I would just go ahead and jump off. Weed and benzos are nice but it is totally possible to come off bupe without any comfort meds if you can't afford them. One thing that has helped me during my various kicks is long walks -- they help with the restlessness. Really any kind of light cardio will make you feel a bit better. Hot showers are nice too.
 
do you mean .25mg or .025mg? I have read mutliple reports of people at .25mg walking off almost pain free. Not missing even a day of work. If you are at .025 that is practically nothing. Probably like getting off a 1mg daily oxy habit lol. You hav nothing to worry about except MAYBE some insomnia.
 
.25, if that is what you meant, is a real nominal dose. PAWS would be my concern, given the long term maintenance you've done. But if you have WD's you probably wouldn't be able to differentiate them from PAWS symptoms.

If you feel sapped, exercise will do a lot of good; it will flood you w/ endorphins and help balance your neurochemistry.
 
Yeah I meant 0.25mgs, I tried to jump off when I posted this and finally told my mother of my situation and how I needed to get off the suboxone. Anyways I ended up gettin me some $$ to go and get some detox meds like bars, ganja and mi madre had a full bottle of 30mg Temazepam she gave me. So basically I just knocked myself out for the first several days on benzos and I actually made it through about 2 weeks. Then some shit happened and i ended up in hospital (nothing to do with drug use or nething) for 4 days getting morphine IV every 2hours and sure enough when i got out the all to familiar feeling of opiate w/ds hit me hard and sense then till today I have been using about 0.5mgs of sub a day.. And now I really have no choice but to jump ship due to the fact that its almost impossible for me to find subs anymore. Its ridiculous to think I maintained on subs for so long and never once got a prescription for subs. I was just lucky to have a good friend that got scripted 90 subs a month and he would go to the mdone clinic instead of taking his subs and would get rid of the subs to me and other people, so i had it good for those 2 years. But he lost his script like a year ago and ever sense then i have basically just been finding the random sub here and there and paying out the ass for em... I am ready to quit, I'm just scared to death because this time I have no detox meds, no money what-so-ever and I can't even afford to get any supplements....this is going to suck, i dunno what I am going to do but I am literally scared to death... even though im down so low on my sub dosage the w/ds still seem HORRIBLE and I know its going to be like 6months b4 i even start to feel normal again from what I hear..... If I had the same meds i had last time i jumped ship I know i could make it, but with nothing i dunno....btw Does taking DXM and immodium really help during sub withdrawals?


I just don't know, I got about 1mg of sub left then I jumping ship, but this time with no parachute (benzos, bud, etc)..
 
Last edited:
^ Unfortunately if he has no money this isn't an option.:( Unless he can find an acupuncture practitioner that will do it for free or trade.
 
I think all the reports on BL from people using loperamide with success in wd demonstrate that it can be really useful for some people. I think it's definitely worth a try. Personally, I didn't find it overly effective - but I used it fairly early into wds, and maybe its benefit is more pronounced when the wds are really in full swing.

I have found dxm to provide some relief - I used sub threshold doses of 30-60mg 2 or 3 times a day.

Depending on where you're located, OTC codeine can be a really helpful tapering tool and stepping stone.

Also, I think the mind is a powerful thing, and your anxiety and expectations of a really horrible wd could contribute to exacerbating what you experience. I know that stopping worrying is so much easier said than done though - but maybe it'd help to try and just focus on what you're experiencing right now, rather than thinking about what it'll be like tomorrow or the next day and how much longer it'll take to feel 100%. I think it's unlikely that you'll spend the next 6 months in misery, and I also don't think that recovery is just a passive thing that you have to wait out. Sure, it takes time - but I think there's a lot of strategies you could use to make your recovery quicker and more comfortable too, in particular exercising and mindfullness meditation.

I can empathise with your position and anxieties though, I've actually just started suboxone today, but I'm planning on doing a rapid taper, so I'll probably be feeling your pain soon...I know how tough it can be to face life without opioids too, even for me just waiting out the day until I was sick enough to take my sub was stressful and had my anxiety through the roof. I definitely think you can get off this successfully- you've dropped your dose in the past, which in itself can be tough psychologically and physically. I wish you all the best - I know there's happiness out there for you.
 
Last edited:
I really dont think your withdrawal is going to be as bad as you think. But like footcrazy said if it gets terrible loperamide is pretty cheap and will help.
 
Top