Suboxone question!!!!

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digmusic

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You are going to have withdrawals inevitably. I just think of it as karma - there's just no way to stay on opiates for years and get by without having any withdrawals at all. I wouldn't want to stay on suboxone my whole life because that's a lot of money and what if you lost your prescription on vacation or something? The longer you're on it, the worse the withdrawals will be. 16 mg is a really high dose as well, most people don't need so much to get by, as it is a very strong pill and 16 mg is just unnecessarily high.
 
I have been on Suboxone since Sept. 2004, and I live in a small town so I'd have to drive 200 miles round trip to Dallas or Austin every month to get it. At first, I did go to a rehab place, and from all that I've read and the Dr.s have told me, it takes at least a year for your brain to recover from all that artificial stimulation of your pleasure centers. Suboxone does this also, but in a VERY small way, so that you won't go through withdrawls from regular opiates, which as you know are HELL! I found a Dr. only 45 miles away, and he had me wean down to 2mg, then nothing, to see how I felt. I did go through very mild w/d's (some restless legs, insomnia), but nothing compared to the "real" deal. I have 7 ruptured discs, but even if you don't have intractible pain, NA teaches that once an addict, always an addict, thus you need to be on maintenance, not "weaned off"! You need to find another Dr. who truly understanRAB. My Dr. understanRAB how this one dude tried to party w/$200 of heroin for nothing b/c he's on Suboxone...it nullified the effects. Another woman said, I don't know what it is, but just that tiny 2mg twice a day makes all the difference in the world between me being ok and going back, even though she's been clean for years. SB is a safe safety net. Why the rush to quit? You need to heal. I graduated to Subutex this past year, and I take 2-6mg per day. 8 if I really hurt. Maintenance is critical. You gotta stay on SB for at least a year, and then wean if you want. Also, once I weaned from 2mg. to 1 to crurabs. There was basically no w/d's. (I couldn't afford my prescription until I got my check, so I didn't have a choice). But don't worry. You'll be fine as long as you don't do something crazy like quit Suboxone and stay with this doctor. Believe me. I've been there.
 
Hello,
I am new to this website. I am a recovering drug addict and alcaholic and I am working a 12-step program. I am 24 years old. I have 104 days sober today (WOOHOO) lol. Life has gotten so much better for me, it is amazing. I was using oxycontin for about 4 years, about 240-300mg a day. Basically as much as I could get my hanRAB on. I am currently on Suboxone and have been on it for about 4 months. My Dr. has me taking 16mg a day. I feel I am ready to start tapering down. I started reading posts on websites and it sounRAB like getting off suboxone has the same withdrawls as when your withdrawling from oxycontin and it hurts physically and mentally just as bad. Is this really true? I am actually very worried that this may be true. I have noticed that a lot of the people saying this are people that were addicted to vikadon and not oxy (I am not lowering their addiction because i know everyone is different and and addiction is an addiction). Can they just think it is so bad because they were kicken from vikadon and not oxycontin, or are the w/d's just as bad gettin off vikes as it is oxy bc i know oxys withdrawls were sooooo horrible. I felt SOO depressed and was sooo dope sick, sweats, pain, vomitting, the whole deal. I am just very concerned that i will have trouble getting off the subs. Please help me understand this and give me advise and some knowledge with what i will go through getting off these subs. My doc said he will slowly taper me off the subs.
 
Why do you "have to be on suboxone for at least a year?" This seems arbitrary and made-up. I wish I'd never done suboxone maintenance.
 
Hey JamJam,
Thank you very much for your response. U mentioned that I should find another doctor because i need to be maintenanced. My doctor told me that there is no rush watsoever to get off the suboxone and it is when ever i feel ready to do so and when tha time comes it would be a longggggggggg process. He also said everyone is different and if i feel i need to be on it for life, then thats what i need to do, at a lower dosage obviously. Is this a good thing my doctor is presenting to me? And how long to plan to stay on the subs. The Program helps me mentally very much too. Allows me to grow as a person and have tools to stay sober. I hit meeting up at my home group everyday unless work doesnt allow me to. I look forward to ur reply.

Thank you to everyone else that has responded and i welcome more responses with open arms.
 
First and foremost CONGRATS on the 104 days of sobriety! That is SOOO GREAT!

I am so glad you see life being so much better now. To answer your question I will first say I have never been on Suboxone but I have witnessed on this board a lot of people who have decided to taper off the Sub go thru some pretty horrible withdrawals. I don't say that to scare you but the w/d from sub is very similar to an opiate w/d but usually lasts longer.

I am sorry to give you that bad news. Now, each person is different but I have not heard of anyone getting off the sub with out having w/d.

Maybe some others can chime in who have gone thru this before.

Good luck to you and keep us posted.

Blessings.
 
Hey DigMusic,
Thank you very much for your response. I would not mind being on subs for life because it is something that helps me stay off the streets and sober. I do agree with the dosage tho, I would not want to stay on that high of a dose. Also, i dont pay much because of my insurence. I pay VERY little actually. about $35 a month. I expect that wouldnt change in price? if u know something i dont please let me know. Thank you very much for helping me and responding, I look forward to it every day
 
Hey Secrets1983,
Thank you very much for replying to my post. I was afraid id get that answer about the subs lol. Life is so great now. Are there any cons to staying on suboxone for ever? It seems to make me feel "normal". I still have to deal with life on lifes terms. It does not get me high, so it isnt like i am hiding from my emotions through it bc i still have to deal with my emotions as they come. Thank you very much!
 
Hi Bigdawg,
I'm also on Sub, Subutex 16mg. per day. I had tapered down to as low as 4mg. and seemed to do ok but then went off an anti-depressant I was on and had a bad relapse of my depression so I'm trying to stable out again and went back on my original dose. I can say that going down to 4mg was actually really easy. I have heard that getting to 1or 2 mg. can be ok but getting down to zero from 1mg-2mg is the tough part. I get scared too because I have major depression and I don't want to fall into that dark abyss when I try to go off the sub. Right now I'm just focusing on staying stable and not thinking of tapering just yet. I hope I know when it's the right time....keep strong and when you are ready to start the taper, I think the most important thing is to GO SLOWLY. It doesn't matter how long it takes but if you go slow enough, I have heard it's fairly painless. You will have some withdrawal symptoms but I think it can be managed with your doc's help. Good luck to you!

KEW
 
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