Has anyone successfully gotten off suboxone after being on it long term?

[Addicted89]

Hi, I am 32 year old female. Been on suboxone for 2 years now. The positive part of this is that my life is much less chaotic and I'm otherwise clean and sober. The con is that suboxone makes me a shell of a person and I have no drive/motivation, can't sleep well, feel confused and slow, have extreme constipation, get very nauseous frequently and vomitung spells that last up to six hours a few times a month min and doctor scant find the cause, can't get up in the morning (can sleep 12 hours and not feel rested), isolate and can't find pleasure in things, have gained weight since going on suboxone and I eat extremely well (vegatarian and %100 organic)....I could go on. I was addicted to heroin and a number of opiate pills for four years before suboxone, but before that (and even during the first few years of that) I was a straight A student, very motivated, social and fit. I try to go off of suboxone but I have no tolerance for pain and can't handle it. I start feeling symtoms even if i miss one dose which my DOC says is impossible but I'm not making it up I just feel every little thing so intensely which is prob why I started opiates in the first place. I'm a single mom with no family or support and I'm a good mom (the only thing I'm good at right now) but I want to be better and stop struggling financially because I am always tired and slow. I'm scared to quit suboxone because I read posts about how extensive withdrawl is and I don't think I can handle it, especially because I have no one to help me with my daughter. Has anyone successfully gotten off suboxone and stayed off? I wonder if it's even possible. Sometimes I feel like if I tried I would feel bad forever...like I have some sort of deficiency that only opiates make better. When I was on opiates they made me feel normal and I tried to quit so many times and felt horrible even after months of not using which is why I started suboxone. It's hard to tell which of my problems are from suboxone and which aren't but I have read quite a few posts from people that feel like me and are on suboxone. Can't find many success stories with getting of it though....thanks.

[Sure_Eh]

i dont have the answers youre looking for as im going through this exact thing also.  i swear i could have written the exact same thing... single mom on it for two years now. im terrified to get off but the side effects are robbing me of any bit of happiness while im "suboxone sober".  my depression is getting worse, i never want to leave my house, im so nauseous every morming that i dread having to get out of bed. ive completely isolated myself and it was the exact opposite when i first got on the program. i was happy and energetic. i couldnt wait to start my new life. The lethargy and apathy creeps in so slowly that i felt it was just my usual depression doing its thing. this is so diiferent though!  i dont feel healthy mentally or physically. i feel brittle and achey. im down to 4 mg and want to continue the taper but just like you, i have a child i need to raise and a job i need to get to.  I dont feel like tapering and those things can be done at the same time. im stuck and desperalty need to feel like a human again. not just some depleted empty sick foggy and complacent peice of ****. i want to be happy and energetic again for my daughter but i see no light ... my doctor said two years isnt long enough. ( i used heroin for one year..)   he keeps telling me that im going to fail and relapse and i cant do this to my daughter.   does anyone have any advice on how to get the courage to quit and any tips on the best way to taper.  it saved my life and for that im so thankful... it does have its purpose and gave me my life back. but its also robbing me of any sort of joyful healthy motivated and clear experiance.  ive quit a 15 year meth addiction but i cant find it in me to get off these subs...  

[mombojombo]

Oh sweetie.  Your post really moved me.  I am so very sorry that you've been through so much and things are so hard now.  Mom to mom, that hurts and you are struggling.  

Who is telling you that you can't taper? Your doctor?  Why?  Because you've only had 2 years clean from heroin and he thinks you're at risk for relapse going back to it with just two years clean time? Two years sounds pretty good to me . . .  everyone is always at risk of relapse and has to be vigilant. But I'm just trying to understand who is discouraging you from trying.  

You should be proud of yourself for getting clean from a long time meth addiction (wow, go you) and heroin and I am in awe of you. It's so hard. And you have done it!  And you will keep doing it.  

Life is feeling so crappy now, I can understand wanting to make this leap and try.  What kind of support do you have?  Family that can help?  Support groups? Care help?

I am glad you found us and want to be your friend. I know the hardship of life and am a mom too. I really want life to be good for you.  I'll be around this weekend and will check back in case you post again.  Big hugs

[mombojombo]

I'm still really crossing your fingers you come back. Hope you are doing alright and I'm (we're) here for you.  Sending you hugs upon hugs.  

[azumpire]

Im on day 34 clean, and only about 2 days ago, did I finally start to feel normal. Thanks to the 3 amino acids I was taking, and thanks to the natural way of creating a balance of endorphines.  There are many supplements you can take to increase neurotransmitter production,(L-Tyrosine) but without many active or desensitized receptor sites there is no way to produce the proper balance of endorphins (as well as other neurotransmitters like dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine) naturally to get absorbed by enough receptors to feel good. This is what I thought, until I read an article on how to naturally create more endorphines in your brain. Certain aromas, actions, and foods can lift your mood by influencing the production of endorphins — the brain's "feel-good" chemicals.
Vanilla Extract worked for me.  2 days after inhaling vanilla for a few minutes, my PAWS are just about 100% gone. And I can sleep now thru the night FINALLY, without using Valerian Root. I must say, Tryptophan is indeed a miracle amino acid and got rid of my depression. Not saying this will work for everyone, as each persons body chemistry is different. But its been scientifically proven to work, and it did for me.

[Addicted89]

hi everyone.  Just wanted to update and thank you all for your responses.  I have decided to taper.  I am down to 1.5 from 2 and am going to taper until .25 and then stop.  I have to say though, to all the people who compare w/d to the flu...I have never ever experienced a flu that was as painful and difficult as w/d.  I hear people make that comparison all the time and not to be negative, but I just don't see it.  The flu doesn't make you depressed either or give you that horrible sense of impending doom that w/d does or the leg pain.  Anyway to sum it up here is what I have learned from you guys will help: trazadone, immodium, clonidine, ibruprophine, amino acids (especailly tryptophan), potassium (babanas), emergen-c, kava kava, valerian root, hot showers, excersize, no caffine or sugar and a multi-vitamin.  Thank you all again

[azumpire]

I picked up Kava Kava tablets at the 0.99 cent store.. And for me, I took 2 of these during the day, and they really really helped me.  Today is day 9, and its the best Ive felt in a long long time. Maybe its cause I slept for 12 hours last night :)

[brandiroars386]

Body temp was definitely an odd symptom, but yes, I seemed to be freezing when I am usually warm.  With the RLS and cramping as well as the anxiety, I took Clonidine.  It really helped me.  As far as the depression, I'm Bi-Polar as it is, so it hit me pretty hard.

[Addicted89]

Im glad to hear about the trazodone. Maybe that will help with the depression. Seems like people are saying it takes a few months to feel normal. Maybe the trazodone will help with the depression at least

[Addicted89]

Brandiroars, congratulations on your 60 days! It's inspiring to me. Does magnesium help the rls? When I've tried to quit before that was the worst part. That and feeling like I couldn't control my body temp. My rls was more leg cramps than leg crawling but I've experienced both. But the depression and anxiety was the hardest part by far. I wouldn't be able to function and start tripping out about how far behind I was getting on stuff and quit

[brandiroars386]

The insomnia and RLS drove me crazy!  The WD from Opiates didn't last as long as from Subs, which surprised me..... did you find that to be true as well Bad Co?

[Bad Co]

My doctor prescribed for me trazadone to help me sleep too. It helped after the second week. A lot The first 14 days, there just wasn't anything I could find that gave me a good nights rest. Valerian root kinda, sorta helped but not until the second week started.
My withdrawals from suboxone lasted quite a while, but the lack of sleep and rls was miserable. Hot baths/showers, ibuprofen, and exercise were my best remedies to get my strength and energy back.......eventually.

Best of luck to you.

[azumpire]

sorry that I did not read the rules of the forum before posting. Im on day 8 of being clean off of 8 years of using suboxone, 6 to 8mg per day, every day. Each day is getting a little bit better. Doctor has prescribed me trazadone for 14 days to take each night before bed.  
Just take 1 day at a time, and be mentally strong

[brandiroars386]

I tapered down with the help of my doc.  Towards the end, I would see how long I could go without it, then finally told the doc that I thought I could do it.  It just tasted like crap, I felt somewhat out of it and realized after the taper that I could do it.  Yes the pain sucked, the initial WD wasn't pretty... bathroom issues, insomnia, sweats, crazy dreams.  Yeah I thought about getting some oxy bc I knew that would take it away.  But I didn't by the Grace of God.  I would say the worst of it lasted about a week or so.  I did notice that when I started feeling better and over did it, the next day I would start hurting again.  It's the mental that's getting me right now.  I will have 60 days tmrw, but I can't lie, I think about it a lot.  I dream about it in such detail that I wake up and wonder if it really happened.  BUT I know I don't want to be a slave any more.  I don't want to be chasing the pills, wondering if I will have enough, where im gonna get more, if my guy even had any. I did take clonidine which the doc prescribed and I feel it worked well for me.  I also took Imodium, vitamins, drank lots of water, sometimes Motrin.  This site has really helped me too.  You will feel good again,  really.  It takes TIME.

[Addicted89]

Wow nursegirl, that is really great advice. I am on 2mg now and that sounds doable! I am in NA and have been claiming clean time because to me i am not injecting drugs or even drinking for the last 2 years so.....I don't know if that's wrong of me or not. I don't think I could tell the people in the program what is going on, but I will keep going to meetings, they have really helped me. I can't imagine how amazing it would feel to not have to worry about taking something everyday to survive. If I don't get a refill onetime it's just like before, I feel sick and flip out. It's no way to live. What do you give people to help with the withdrawl? I've heard of clonidine, does that really help and do you think a doctor would give it to me because I don't think a psychologist can right? Should I get on an antidepressant now so I can better handle the withdrawl, I'm telling you when I've tried before I am unable to feel any sense of pleasure or happiness and the feeling of doom is so strong I have prayed for god to just take my life. How long does it take for THAT to go away, I was never like that before. I have only lasted a week the other times I tried to quit but I went cold turkey off of 2mg. ANY suggestions about things that will make it easier I will take down and then run by my doctor. Where I live there are only a few sub docs and they are all just in it for the money. They see 11 or 12 patients an hour. I feel like mine won't be much help coming up with suggestions, but maybe he'll entraine mine especially if Ive researched them. Thanks so much!

[Addicted89]

Hi brandiroars386,
Thank you for replying! That is so good to hear! Most of the things I've found say you are only supposed to use suboxone for a few weeks just to get through withdrawl. I wish I'd known that. Did you take anything to help with the symptoms? How do you feel now? How long did the pain last? I am so so sensitive physically and the few times I've tried to stop suboxone I was thinking crazy things, like that I should just get some Vicodin to help me blah blah. I am not myself when I stop taking it and not myself anymore when I do, but if I know there is a light at the other end I think I can do it. I just am scared I will never feel good again if I stop.

[nursegirl6572]

I worked in a sub clinic for a while and I can tell you that indeed many people successfully come off suboxone.  A lot of people struggle as well though.  I've found that the people who were the most successful were those who TOOK their time, doing a SLOW and gradual taper, and tapering down to the lowest dose possible.  Those people did much better than those who tried to jump off at higher doses (2mg+).  A positive attitude goes a long way too!

There is a huge fear component, as with any withdrawal/detox.  If you can get yourself into a good state of mind, after you complete a gradual and deliberate taper down to a low dose (in our clinic, patients were advised to taper down to at least 0.5mg if not lower), you can give it a go.  Make sure that you've taken the time during your sub program to "work" your recovery.  If all you did was take sub and not work on a recovery plan, including formulating an aftercare plan, you will be a very high risk for relapse, because essentially you didn't address the addiction, you just medicated it.  That's paramount...you HAVE to be sure you've worked on your addiction properly before even considering coming off the sub completely.

Best of luck to you, keep us posted!

[brandiroars386]

Hi and Welcome!  I was on opiates for 2 years, and then Suboxone for about a year and a half.  I am 58 days clean.  It is possible to get off of them.  It is hard though.  I had to go thru WD from that too.  Once I made the decision to do it, I spoke with my Doctor and came up with a taper plan. It did work, however was really tough for me.  You can do it, however, in my opinion you need help from ur doctor.  It was a crappy ride but very doable.  Had I known I would suffer through WD again, I may have made a different choice. I just had to suck it up and dance through the fire and you can too!!  Good luck!