Tapering off of Suboxone....

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schao

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Hi all,

I was on 16mg of Suboxone and did a taper of 12 days to get off of them. I was off of Suboxone officially for 12 days, but the withdrawals were soooo horrendous I got back on them (all through my doctor). I am currently taking 4mg doing a very slow taper and was wondering if anyone had a positive success story on how they got off of Suboxone with minimal withdrawals (if that is even possible).
I want off of this medicine soooo bad, but when I got off of them before the withdrawals did not let up at all - all the way through my 12th day off..and I just couldn't suffer anymore.

Any suggestions for me?

Thanks,
Sherrie
 
I feel your pain. I was a total non-drug/non-alcohol person til I was 33. A Dr. put me on opiates for chronic pain from a wreck. She failed to mention that after 2 years, I'd be an addict. I bumped it up, all the way up to 20 10mg Norcos at a time. The w/drawls were so bad i literally hung myself just to escape what I thought was a hopeless case. Then here on HealtrabroadoarRAB in 2004 I read about Suboxone. So I went to a 30 day rehab, got on it, and 5 mos. ago I "graduated" to Subutex, 2mg twice a day. I just have to wonder where all this pressure to hurry up and "quit" all meRAB is coming from? Don't feel any guilt for being human. Your brain spent quite a bit of time being artificially stimulated, and it takes TIME for it to rebound. The stigma that society or you put on yourself is counter-productive. So be it if you need to be on maintenance until you've sufficiently healed. Suboxone doesn't get you "high", therefore there is no reward system...it's a stabilizing medicine if and until you can rebound to a place where you can truly trust yourself again and then wean off. It's no different from an antidepressant. Haven't we spent enough time beating ourselves up for being such "failures"? It takes one opiate addict to truly understand the others, and I understand. It's called being human and having feelings. If you set up unrealistic goals you may be unknowingly setting yourself up for a relapse. Sweetie no one can tell you what's right for you but you. Some people lose weight easier than others...different metabolisms. It's the same w/addiction. Meth addicts in prison don't "use", but neither have they learned alternate coping mechanisms and skills. Strict total abstinence is not a cure-all. Use any and all tools until you are physically, mentally, spiritually, and personally healed and then cross whatever bridge you come across. But for sure the LAST thing you need is extreme pressure/guilt trips to force you to stop the one medicine that will allow you to heal at your own pace. It is never wrong to forgive yourself and be kind to yourself. You're not a bad person for staying on Suboxone however long you need to...you're doing it the thoughtful and right way, not the "get clean instantly" way. I pray you will do well and see the truth in this.
 
Thank you for the reply. However, I'm not sure what it had to do with tapering off of Suboxone. I've never abused any drugs..just was in pain mgmt. and then went on Suboxone to taper off which unfortunately I'm having a hard time doing. No one is forcing me to do it, and I don't get any guilt trips. I want off this drug more than anything for me, not anyone else. Any other help for me?

Thanks,
Sherrie
 
Hey Sherrie,

Tapering off Suboxone can be very hard if you try to do it too fast. You have already experienced that so now you have to slow it down considerably.

First, taper down to 2mg. You can cut your 2mg pills in have and do 3mg for a week or so, then go down to 2mg (this will minimize any withdrawal).

Once you are down to 2mg (stay at that dose for about two weeks), then you can take a razor blade and trim off a sliver of the 2mg pill. Take that dose for a week or two, then next time trim off a little more. Do this until you have just a sliver left. You will have (if any) very minimal withdrawal.

It takes time, so be patient. You had a horrible experience but now you can rectify it.

Keep in touch and let us know how you're doing.

Lot of luck,
emsmom
 
Hi emsmom,

Thanks for the advice! Did you go through a Suboxone taper as well, or know anyone who has? I can maybe get down to 3mg and be ok, but after that it might be a bit rough, we'll see.
I'll let you know how it goes..thanks!

Sherrie
 
Hey Sherrie,

No, I haven't tapered off Suboxone. Well, I went from 16mg to 8mg without any withdrawal at all, but I didn't expect it anyhow.

My knowledge about tapering comes from this board. There have been many people on this board who did the "razor thing" and had alot of success.

If you go from 4mg to 3mg, you shouldn't have much withdrawal at all. The most important thing to do is keep busy. Don't sit around "waiting" to see if you're going to experience anything terrible, cause chances are, you'll overanalyze.

If you feel like the drop from 4mg to 3mg is too much to handle then you can try the razor thing and maybe do 3.5mg, then 3mg, then 2.5mg then 2mg etc...

Tapering off Suboxone with minimal withdrawal can be done, you just have to be patient and have a plan :)

If you need anymore help, don't hesitate to ask :)

emsmom
 
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