Trying to Reduce My Opiate Pill Dose/Tolerance..Have Suboxone Strips and QUESTIONS

[ProbablyScrewed]

Hey there. I need to post anonymously bc I'm concerned I'll be tracked down on the internet even though my friends and family know I am prescribed meds.
***Also, I apologize, but I forgot to include the category in which this post might belong so I am resubmitting. Forum Category: Basic Drug Discussion.***

So here's my situation: I am prescribed 75mg Nucynta every 4 hours (6 tabs per day) however: sometimes I need to double or triple up on the tabs because my tolerance tends to go up FAST and I have VERY HIGH levels of chronic pain.

I was on fentanyl 50mcg every 48 hours (15 patches per month) for 15 months before I weaned myself off because I was sick of the fentanyl merry-go-round.

Anyway, when I started to run low on my Nucynta this month I came into a few 50mcg fentanyl patches and 2-3suboxone strips.

So for the past week I've been cutting strips off the fentanyl patches and placing them on my gums..I know the dangers of this but it's how I weaned off and I'm very careful. I haven't gotten buzzed from the Fentanyl since I started doing this last week but I have successfully staved off the withdrawals and have not taken much Nucynta (making it possible not to run out of them before my next refill).

The weird thing is this: when I did take Nucynta after the fentanyl wore off after the first day taking fentanyl again, I had to take 5.5 tabs of Nucynta to get out of withdrawal. That amount of Nucynta normally would have sent me into a state of euphoria but all I had was dry mouth and no withdrawals. It was then I remembered how much I HATE fentanyl and how strong it is and how fast my tolerance goes up.

So this weekend I have a four day weekend. I want to STOP the fentanyl, try the Suboxone strips and get back on the Nucynta. I know from past experience I cant take more than 2mg of Suboxone or else I'll get sick (throwing up, etc). So I'm going to cut the strips.

My concern is this: after taking the suboxone on my 4 day weekend, I'm going to have to go back on SOMETHING just to make it through a workday...
SO: HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GO INTO WITHDRAWAL FROM SUBOXONE AT 2MG PER DAY FOR 4 DAYS? (sorry for the caps..just wanted to make it clear what my question was).
I don't want to waste my Nucynta by taking it too early and I don't want to miss more work bc of withdrawals.

Oh, I am also prescribed 3mg Xanax per day so I do have that to help with the withdrawals BUT they don't ease the chills and the pain itself so even a fistfull of Xanax won't help me crawl into work.

Thanks everyone who has any input!

P.S. what i'd really love is to be off of all pain meds but my chronic pain is just too ridiculous right now. i hope to eventually get off of the opiates. so tired of the dependence.

 

[uno22]

You will not suffer withdrawals from taking subs for 4 days. You may still be withdrawing from your other opiate medications if you stop the subs after only 4 days, but fentanyl is short-acting and therefore the withdrawal is short.

I'm not sure if this helps.

 

[Smokey_McPot]

2mgs for 4 days? suboxone typically lasts about 36 hours for me, but i dunno if 4 days would allow it to build up in your system. i would wait a day and a half, like today, i knew i was gonna score some roxis after work so i didnt take my 1mg dose of subo this morning (i usually dose around 5 am) and my last dose was yesterday morning. i started to feel WDs creeping up around 11am... got my roxis around 2pm and im feeling great now.

of course, everyone is different.

if i were you, id use the rest of my good stuff til i was out, wait a day or 2 then start suboxone. but thats just me.

 

[Choosing_Positive]

2mgs for 4 days? suboxone typically lasts about 36 hours for me, but i dunno if 4 days would allow it to build up in your system. i would wait a day and a half, like today, i knew i was gonna score some roxis after work so i didnt take my 1mg dose of subo this morning (i usually dose around 5 am) and my last dose was yesterday morning. i started to feel WDs creeping up around 11am... got my roxis around 2pm and im feeling great now.

of course, everyone is different.

if i were you, id use the rest of my good stuff til i was out, wait a day or 2 then start suboxone. but thats just me.

I second that you should wait 'til you're done with the opiate before starting the suboxone, btw, has a very long half life and taken sparingly can help you through your withdrawals. Good luck anonymous guest...

 

[Choosing_Positive]

Sorry if this is off topic, but can the 8mg/2mg suboxone strips be cut into smaller pieces, say if the other pieces were put into a sealing plastic bag? Not to be kept for more than a few days, btw.

 

[Smokey_McPot]

^yes, thats how i use it.

i cut off 1mg every morning, put the remaining strip back in the foil sleeve, then put that into one of those air-tight plastic bubble things that candy or bouncy balls come in (the 25 cent machines at the grocery store) then put that into a box. ive never noticed any change in strength... and im sure using a little ziplock would be just fine!

 

[Choosing_Positive]

Thank you smokeymcpot. So, you cut one eighth of a strip? How do you measure? Eyeball, ruler?

 

[Smokey_McPot]

i used to just cut 7 even slivers in each strip so id know how much to fully cut in the morning, but after doin it for so long i just remember what the dose looks like... even sleepy-eyed. it was even easier with the pills though, i could make an n8 pill last about 2 weeks.

whats your situation like?

edit - maybe we should go to PM so we dont further derail this thread?

 

[Choosing_Positive]

I don't want to derail the thread. Thank you for your responses, as they answered exactly what I needed to know. Thanks!

Back on topic, OP - Suboxone has a 36hr half life so at 4 days (2 mg/ea day), do the math and you have your answer.