Suboxone Advice

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yankee3

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Hello Everyone,

I am new to this board, and signed up tonight because I have been reading post for over a month or so now, and found them encouraging and a great source for information from people in the same circumstances. They actually were the extra help I needed to get me over the hump and try to deal with my addiction.

I was hoping someone could help me out (I apologize in advance for the length of this).

I have been on Suboxone since 6/12, so 9 weeks. My doctor recommended that I take 16 mg/day at first. I was taking 40-50 mg of hydro a day. I was/am extremely focused to get them out of my life, but I was wondering if my dosage is too high? I started taking 12mg of sub per day, because I do not want to be on these for too long, and dont want the wd's either. In actuality I was doing 8-12 per day for 5 weeks and felt fine, and honestly felt that I could cut it down even more.

I relapsed last week, and took 200 mg of hydro between Thursday and Friday.......I stopped taking the suboxone for about 40-48 hours prior to knowing I was going to get the hydro's....i was craving them so badly that I wound up breaking down....huge disaapointment and really pissed at myself.
Needless to say, if anyone reaRAB this and is curious, it was a total waste of money because even after that long of being off subs, the hydro did NOTHING to me...
Now I am back on the suboxones...took a subutek the day after my last pills of vics. so that the suboxone and vics mix wouldnt potentially give me WD's as a side effect.

Long story short......I know that it depenRAB on the individual but does 12-16 mg of suboxone seem to high of a dosage for what I was taking (40-50 1mg vics)? I feel my DR is just recommending that dose to make money or something...

I am just really nervous that I am taking too much, and its going to take me way longer to get off these than they should..I understand it is better than what I was doing, but dont want to swap addictions either.

Can anyone give me insight to their experience with these?? Dosage, with similar use of pain killers (vics,percs etc)

On another note, the subs are great for the physical, and I am weak, so I would say for most they are probably good for the mental in most people.

Thank you in advance, and again I apologize about the length of this post.
 
I think that was your problem was cutting down already on the Suboxone from 16mg/day and you see what happened, you started to get a little bit of craving and BAM you relapsed. I would stick with what you doctor tells you even though we all like to play doctor and "think" we know what is the right dosage but in actuality they are the MD's and they are trying to help us.

I would highly suggest you start dealing with the "why's" of starting on the hydrocodone in the first place. I would suggest seaking out a 12 step meeting and preferably NA. You MUST work on dealing with life on life's terms and learn some tools for RECOVERY or you will probably end up relapsing once you start to go down on the Suboxone and completely off.

I am not trying to be mean but honest with you. If you don't learn some tools to deal with life effectively and how to deal with problems that come up, you will end up turing back to the drugs in order to deal with difficult problems in life. Good luck and try to get some outside support.

brian
 
Thanks for the quick response, Brian. I agree and have that in back of my mind that it was the reason I relapsed...but for the first 5 weeks I only had cravings a few times, and this relapse was more about just wanting to feel high than anything else....wasn't trying to self-medicate (which I definately did in the past) or escape.....but I guess ultimately "the dealing with life issues" and just wanting to get high are all the same.

I agree with ehat you said and should let the pro drive the recovery and med dosage, but I feel that this DR is just prescribing me scripts. I have yet to be to his office,he comes to my house once a month to write scipt and brief 5-10 min discussion, so just concerned.

I know I need to seek out support too, I am pretty much going this alone. I told my wife about 2 days before I decided to quit, and at first felt like not telling because I didnt want to hurt her. She new I took vic's but not close to the extent I was taking them.

Did you use sub or are still on it?

Thanks again, and I know you are just telling it like it is and not trying to be mean...
 
Just to clarify not 40-50 mg per day......40-50 (10/640 mg) hydro's per day(guess in grand scheme of things it really doesnt matter).....

how long does the sub treatment generally take? is it 6months, 1 year, 5 years?
Thanks again everyone!
 
Hi Yank....sorry I can't help much with the Suboxone questions (never on it) but wanted to say welcome. I understand the "wanting to get high" thing. Over the past few months, I've tapered from oxycodone 60-75 mg/day to 1.75 mg a day. At this point, of course, I don't even feel any sort of high.....but I HAVE thought to myself, "Wonder what I'd feel like if I just popped 5 (10, 15, whatever) mg?". I haven't done it, and I'm hoping I never do. When I get down to zero (hopefully sooooon, this is the longest taper in history), I intend to flush whatever I have left. That way, if I ever get tempted, it will be an effort to get more (calling the PM, being erabarrassed to ask for more after he knows I quit, then having to go to the pharmacy and wait for the scrip to be filled). Then, the inevitable beating myself up for relapsing. So, that's my plan anyway....flush 'em.

Anyway, good luck and again, welcome to the board....and keep us posted please.
 
Thank you for the response, NotPerky.....yea, I am killing myself for doing that....it was that "one last high"....I started to try a taper before I went on the subs, but as the amount of pills I had was diminishing, I felt I would rather eat the last 30 and try to get one last high than go straight to subs...well needless to say, the last 30 didnt get me high, so I guess I feel I didnt really have that one last one for old time sake and ripped myself off!!! what an idiot for thinking that....
I was so cocky for the last couple of weeks, I figured what the hell, lets do it one last time, I can handle this...worse comes to worse, still have a script of subs to go back to. I guess that falls right into brians advice to that I should have just stayed with the original dosage I was told...bc there is a reason.
I keep beating myself that I let it get to this. I started taking them after having a titanium plate put into my leg about 2001, than on and off recreationally a couple of years, than everday straight for the last 4 or so...so 8 years been on them.
I guess its been difficult for me personally bc I had getting off them in my mind and in a matter of days I quit, so I have a false sense of control that makes me think that I can/should only be on the subs for a limited time.....does that even make sense?

that is amazing and you should be so proud that you have tapered off that much! Its impressive. I dont think I have the strength to do what you are doing. Keep it up, be proud. Keep your course, you have gone so far.....flush 'em
 
Yank, thanks for your kind worRAB....but I can tell you, this is my umpteenth attempt at getting off oxycodone and the third attempt at a serious taper. I would say the only reason I have had such willpower this time is that I was so completely miserable being on oxy the past few months. I didn't feel "better" when I took them; in fact I felt worse (plus I felt they had ruined my life and personality), so what was the point? I was so envious of other "normal" people and I just wanted to get back to that. Hopefully I will be one of them soon! :-)

Keep talking to people here who've gone through the Suboxone experience but I think you'll know when you're ready, as I was.
 
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